by Kate Morris
Tears stream down her soft pink cheeks. The wind whips her dark hair into her face, which she pins behind her ear.
When she doesn’t say anything, Simon explains, “I spoke with John about a month ago. He told me he had this.”
“A month ago?”
He grins and nods. “Yes. I should’ve done this two years ago, but I couldn’t.”
She nods as if she understands. He’s not sure if proposals take this long. He’s is pretty sure she is going to reject him, though, because she’s not answering. The pause between them seems interminable. Then, without speaking, she nods and loses control. She smiles, then laughs, then cries a little.
“Yes?” he asks as she covers her mouth and nods.
“Yes,” she mumbles behind her hand.
Simon stands and grabs her up in a hug with one arm while moving her hand away from her mouth so he can soundly kiss her. Gently, he sets her back to her feet before pulling back. Then he tries to cup either side of her face, but the ring box is in the way.
“I love you,” he says, looking directly into her eyes so that she’ll fully understand and trust him. “I’m so sorry I hurt you. I’m sorry it took me so long to figure this out. I’ll never do that again.”
She nods. “I know. You’re just really dumb.”
He chuckles. “I agree.”
Simon pulls the ring from the box and places it on her trembling finger. It fits very well. He’d talked to Mr. Vance in town, who used to do soldering work as a plumber and asked if he’d be able to make an adjustment to it if he needed one. Luckily, it seems that won’t be necessary.
“That looks good on you,” he says solemnly and pulls her forehead to forehead with him. She nods.
“I always loved her wedding rings,” she says. “When I was a little girl, she’d let me wear them for a few minutes.”
“You look good wearing a part of your past,” he states. “And now we’ll be able to make new memories wearing that ring. You’ll always carry a piece of her with you.”
“And you’ve always carried a piece of me with you,” she says, to which he frowns, not sure what she means. “My heart, Simon.”
He leans in and kisses her again. “And you have mine, as well.”
He doesn’t even care if they go through the formalities of a ceremony. As far as he’s concerned, he has married her right here, right now, in front of her family and God. It’s enough for him.
“I love you,” she says, making him swell with pride.
He lifts her off the ground and kisses her more thoroughly. Like every time he’s ever kissed Sam, it quickly turns to a passion that he feels he can barely suppress.
When he sets her on her feet again, Sam asks, “Can…can we go through the house?”
After a pause of contemplation, Simon gives in, “Sure.”
“You’ll be with me. I can do it,” she assures him and grins.
Simon takes her hand firmly in his and leads her to the back patio. Then he uses the lockpicking kit and grants them entry. He’s not sure how this is going to go. Typically, just thinking about her family makes Sam melancholy. She doesn’t let go of his hand, but Simon does lock the door. He follows her dutifully as she walks through the kitchen, running a finger along the granite island top.
“My mom was the best cook,” she says with wistful remembrance.
Then they go to the living room where she pauses a moment. After the firefight here, Simon and Cory came back and made sure the blood was cleaned up. She goes upstairs, Simon on her heels. She walks down the hall to her brother’s room. She tells him about a time he ditched a big party he was supposed to go to at a friend’s house to instead spend the evening watching teen girl movies with her because she had a bad day and fell off her horse during a competition taking a high jump. The emotion she expresses about her brother tells Simon how much she loved him. She moves next to her twin siblings’ room.
“They were so cute, Simon,” she says in a sweet tone. “I’m so glad they were a part of my life, even if our time together got cut short.”
Next is her parents’ room, and Simon expects the worse. He releases her hand as she walks ahead of him, away from him.
“I’m sorry, Sam,” he says, wishing for the millionth time that he could change the past.
She turns to him, standing in the middle of her parents’ bedroom and says, “I know. It wasn’t your fault. Not our fault.”
He nods and walks closer, taking her hands in his.
“I’m ready,” she says and hugs him around the waist. Simon rests his chin on the top of her dark head and tries to absorb any pain she still has about her family.
When she pulls back, her eyes are surprisingly dry. He’d expected tears, but what he sees in her blue eyes is joy. Someday, he hopes to have total closure on this part of their lives, as well. He’s just not quite there yet.
They drive back to the farm holding hands and find the house empty with a note on the island stating that his sister and Cory will return to the farm in a few hours from their visit with the neighbors. They will likely bring the children back with them, meaning the chaos will ensue in a few hours.
“Seems like we have some time on our hands,” he says. “Would you like to go for a ride?”
She hangs her coat on its hook in the mudroom, and Simon removes his hoodie since it’s too hot for inside the house. Sam turns to him and walks closer until she has nearly backed him against the counter behind him.
“No,” she states.
“Really?” he asks, not bothering to hide his shock. She always wants to go for a ride. She’s usually the one who initiates it. “I figured you’d want to ride. Well, what do you want to do, then?”
“I can think of a few things,” she murmurs seductively and leans into him.
He’s fairly certain he knows what she means now as her hands slide up his chest. Her fingers run straight up through his hair and pull his head down for a kiss, which he obliges being the gentleman he is. Simon kisses her with a newfound sense of freedom, freedom of being seen, freedom of being allowed to, freedom of his own guilty conscience. It’s a completely freeing experience.
Simon spins her around and lifts her onto the counter and slips in between her thighs. “Sam,” he whispers hoarsely against her mouth.
She pulls back but slides her hand down the front of him all the way to his pants. Quick as lightning, he snatches her wrist. Her eyebrow shoots up.
“You started something last night,” she says and kisses his neck, which sends a shiver down his back.
“I finished something last night,” he corrects.
“We didn’t get to end it,” she insists and wriggles her small hand free. It heads south and cups him through his khakis. Simon grabs her hand again.
“Hey, now,” he warns. “We did end it.”
“No, I didn’t get a say in how that ended,” she counters and pulls free again.
“It ended the way I wanted it to,” he clarifies.
Sam, not one to be put off so easily, pulls him closer until she has herself pressing up against him between her thighs. She raises her legs until she can pin them behind him. Then she clenches the front of his shirt with both fists and pulls hard until he is forced to kiss her again. When he is done and leans away, she is panting hard like last night. He was hoping that wasn’t going to be a one-time incident.
“Simon,” she pleads softly.
“Sam, we need to wait,” he explains gently and strokes the side of her face while holding her around the waist. “I want to wait until we’re married.”
“I don’t,” she immediately answers and kisses his neck and moves to the spot below his ear.
Simon closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, holds it there before releasing it. This is going to take every last ounce of his self-control, what miniscule amount is left, if he is to resist her.
“We don’t know when Cory and my sister left,” he says, appealing to her logical side. “They could’ve gone over the
re a few hours ago already. They might be home with all the kids any minute now.”
“Then we’ll hurry,” she exclaims with devilish intent.
This makes Simon chuckle. “No way. I am not hurrying or rushing our first time together. I also don’t want it interrupted by twenty noisy kids running through the house.”
This causes her to frown and then pout.
“Right?” he asks for confirmation. She looks down at the narrow space between them. Simon hooks a finger under her chin to force her to look at him. “Hey, don’t think it’s because I don’t want to. I do. Lord knows I do. More than anything I’ve ever wanted, as you could tell,” he says, referring to her touching him. This causes a tiny smile to form on her full mouth. “I just don’t want this to be spoiled by anything or anyone this time. I want to take our time. I want a little damn privacy,” he says, making her smile widely this time. Simon strokes her soft cheek. “I’ve waited so long to make you mine, Samantha Patterson. A few more days is nothing.”
She throws her arms around his neck and hugs him close to her. Although the sexual tension is still there, Simon can tell his logic has won out. She nods against his neck, then kisses there gently but without sexual implication.
“I love you,” he says.
“I love you, too, Simon,” she replies shyly.
“You’re worth the wait, Sam,” he says and pulls back to look at her.
She grins lopsidedly as if he has embarrassed her.
“Unless you want to do what we did last night,” he offers. “I’m always up for that. For the record.”
She laughs and buries her head in his chest. “Simon! Don’t speak of that. Ever!”
“That was probably the best night of my life so far!” he admits and laughs. She laughs, too. Last night was great. Today is also good. He hopes to have many hundreds, thousands more with her.
Chapter Thirty-one
Paige
The family returned three days after Simon proposed and came home in the evening. They’d waited for Robert’s funeral, and it took longer than they anticipated preparing to leave. Lucy said she thought the people would want him buried on Fort Knox instead of the farm, so they indulged that. Unfortunately, Charlotte had to be fed by Talia, who is the only lactating woman for miles and had to pump. She hadn’t minded in the least. Reagan told them over the radio that it would be fine. She didn’t sound very pleased about it, though. She just sounded irritated by having to be away from her daughter, mostly. Everyone was exhausted and just happy to be home with their children finally, who were driving her and Cory, her brother and Sam crazy with their questions of when their parents were coming back. After telling their news, the family congratulated Simon and Sam. It was such a good feeling having everyone home and safe. Paige hasn’t been this happy in a while. Except for when she married her husband, of course. Herb had ordered everyone to bed for rest and to be ready for a meeting first thing in the morning. Now, they are having that meeting around a big platter of hot berry and honey scones she helped Sam make along with pots of coffee Herb brought from the fort. There are loose ends that need to be tied up on the farm for Derek and Sue, and they are all gathered in Doc’s office to discuss everything.
“When are G and Luke coming home?” Sam asks.
“Soon,” Herb answers. “They wanted to stay a few weeks with their mother to help her through this.”
Paige can tell that he’s lost a lot of sleep in the last week. She feels terrible for Herb. She can’t imagine what he must be feeling right now. He only got his son back and now to lose him.
“That’s understandable,” Sam says. “They are coming back, aren’t they?”
“Yes,” Herb answers. “They’ll come home. Lucy said she might move into Pleasant View in a few months. She wants to stay to help Sue and Derek with the transition first. She has a lot of experience with the fort and the system and goings-on, the daily life that Robert set up there. She’ll be a valuable resource.”
“That was nice of her to offer to help,” Hannah comments.
“Yes, dearest,” Herb states. “It really was. And once they have settled in up there, then she’ll move to Pleasant View. She wants to stay closer to Gretchen and Lucas.”
“Simon,” Sue states, gaining her brother’s attention, “Derek and I were talking about it, and since you and Sam will be getting married and probably don’t want to live in the house here, we’d like you and Sam to live in our house out in the woods. I know it’s a lot bigger than you need. Derek built it for a family of five, but you’d have your own place. It’ll be a lot more room than your small cabin. Then maybe Huntley could move to the cabin. We just can’t bear the thought of the house being empty while we’re gone.”
Paige is pretty sure Sue has tears in her eyes at the thought of leaving her home. They all do. Nobody wants them to leave.
“Plus,” Derek adds, “it would shore up security on that end of the property. And with Hunt in your old cabin, we’d have that point covered, as well.”
“Thanks, Derek,” her brother says and looks to Sam, who nods. She’s sitting right next to him, and they are holding hands. It must feel great being able to finally share their love in front of everyone. They’d spent so long hiding and suppressing and denying it. Or maybe that was just her big, dumb brother doing all of that. Either way, she is smiling so widely at Simon, and he is doing the same that their cheeks must be getting sore. “We’d be honored. We’ll take care of the place until you guys return.”
Derek looks at Sue. Paige sees the look that passes between them as the conversation continues around the room. She doesn’t think they’ll be returning to the farm anytime soon. It causes her to feel a great deal of sadness. Sue has become such a good friend, such a loyal companion, and someone she often turns to for advice. They all turn to her. The girls rely on her.
Simon adds, “And Robert’s man called in you said, John?”
“Yes,” John answers this time. “He said the President hasn’t moved for the last three days. We’re not sure if someone got a message to him that Robert is gone or why he isn’t moving forward.”
“Strange,” Simon comments. Paige agrees. It is weird that he isn’t advancing. “Still a hundred or so miles out?”
“Probably about eighty,” Kelly says. “We’ll know more tomorrow. He’s supposed to call the farm. General McClane had a few good, loyal advisors left. They’ve rooted out two more of Parker’s men, though. They think that’s it. As far as everyone knew, Parker only trusted a few people enough to let them in on his plans.”
“And Sofia?” Paige asks. “What’s to become of her?”
“The sheriff in town is handling it,” Herb says. “We’re not sure yet. He thinks she is harmless, but until this is all over with the President, we must take precautions.”
“And the car dealer?” Sue asks.
Paige noticed last night that Reagan was exceptionally quiet. She is sitting next to Hannah on the sofa and is holding her sister’s hand. Kelly and John stand behind them. Hannah’s stomach is getting huge. It seems as if it has grown so round since leaving a few days ago. Reagan resembles her grandfather with the mirroring dark circles under her eyes, which also seem bloodshot. Maybe later she can talk to her, make sure she’s ok. Reagan is not much of a talker, though.
“It’s already been decided by unanimous jury decision,” Sam’s Uncle Scott tells them. He made the journey to the farm from town early this morning along with Dave the Mechanic. They said they had news to bring.
“And?” Paige prompts.
“He’ll be hanged tomorrow morning at dawn,” Dave relays. “Sorry, you wanted to know. There it is.”
Squealing laughter and tiny footsteps running down the hall cause a few of them to laugh. Then Huntley can be heard chasing and calling after Mary. He and Justin are on babysitting duty of the younger ones. They’re both such good boys. Paige has such hopes for their futures, these tiny spirits so full of potential and love and kindness.
/> “No, that’s fair, Sergeant Winters,” Herb says so formally. “It’s a just decision for what he did to so many.”
“I agree, sir,” Dave says.
Paige isn’t so sure it’s the right thing to do to hang the man. But, then again, justice must be swift and exacting now. They can’t afford to be limp-wristed and weak. They need to send a message to the surrounding counties and communities. Tyrannical, bullying behavior ending the lives of innocent people will be their demise. Cory knows this bothers her and tightens his grip on her hand to provide comfort.
Dave also tells them all that he and his wife and children and six of his men and their families will also be moving to Fort Knox to help Derek run the place. Henry will continue to run his farm and will be using some of his own men to help and recruiting more to grow it.
Her uncle tells them that he has already moved his and Sam’s belongings into town where he will be the full-time doctor at Herb’s practice when the other doctors can’t be there. It is a huge relief for Simon, which he explained the other day. He was concerned that he was going to need to do it. The town has grown so fast, so huge that they need a mini hospital there now. Any time something big comes up, one of them has to run to town to handle the emergencies. It worried Simon that the farm would be short-handed if he moved to town. Now with Derek leaving, they would’ve been, especially during planting and harvesting seasons. Sam’s uncle taking over on the days that Simon and Reagan can’t be there is going to be a huge help.
“I guess it won’t matter now, though,” he says and smiles gently at his niece, who in turn, smiles up at him. He shakes Simon’s hand. “I’m glad she’s staying here. It makes me feel better knowing she’ll be somewhere safe. I know the McClane family will take good care of her.”
“Yes, sir,” Simon returns. “We absolutely will.”
“Tomorrow’s the big day, huh?” Scott asks him.
“Yes, sir,” Simon answers.
Sam didn’t want to get married in town. She wants to be married on the farm. There will be a celebration held in the Johnson’s barn afterward. The neighbors and their friends will be in attendance. Herb insisted. It is very short notice, but Paige knows the people will pull together and combine efforts to give them a nice reception. They’ve already had four days since Simon popped the question. When Simon told her the other day about Sam’s mother’s ring, she’d wept. It is such a poignant thing to have done, John saving it. She’s glad she’ll always have that part of her mother. When Simon had buried their own mother, he was only fifteen. He probably didn’t think to do that. It’s fine. Her mother will always be in her heart. Her father, too.
