Radnor nodded. “We’ll come in a week to collect the agreed-upon spices.”
“That’s fine.” Hunter Keep might not be as large or as prosperous as some, but they did well enough, mostly with spices and plants used in cooking and medicines. Some were very rare and grew only in the mountainous region around their home. Some were deadly unless harvested properly, and those at Hunter Keep kept that knowledge a carefully guarded secret. They also had an abundance of salt, which everyone needed to some degree. It allowed them to trade for what they could not produce themselves.
Sednar, the other Craddock brother, joined them. He had the saddle from Jace’s gelding cinched on the stallion in a matter of minutes. Jace thanked him and mounted the massive horse, bringing him quickly under control. He was a spirited beast and suited Jace well.
“Until next week.” Jace led the way. Darian came behind him leading the horse Jace had ridden here. Neither spoke until they were well away from Craddock Keep.
“That went well.” Darian came up alongside him on the path as he spoke.
“It did.” Jace quickly calculated what was left of this season’s spice crop. “We have enough to barter for some new lambs to expand the herd.”
“I heard Carn sired a litter of pups.”
Jace knew his brother wanted one of those pups to train. Carn was a massive wolfhound owned by the Dannon brothers and was one of the best protectors a man could have for his home and his flock.
“If they’re not wanting too much for them,” Darian continued, “I think we should claim one of them if they’re willing to sell.”
As elder of the two by three years, Jace’s word was the final one when it came to what happened at Hunter Keep. But he always listened to his brother’s counsel.
“He’d be a prime bloodline to breed more pups,” Darian pointed out.
His brother was right and, as usual, they were thinking along the same lines. It was the same reason they’d dug deep into their coffers and paid the price for the horse he was riding. If they could breed the stallion with some of the better mares they already owned, they would likely get some fine colts to fill their empty stables.
They’d spent the last five years since their father’s death trying to make their home more self-sufficient. The old man and his two brothers had almost driven the place into the ground before they’d been killed in a freak hunting accident, buried beneath a deadly landslide in the mountains.
Jace glanced up at the darkening sky. “We can send word to Dannon Keep as soon as we get home. I don’t want to leave again so soon.” His mother was in charge while they were away and, while he didn’t doubt her capabilities, he hated to put that burden on her.
They rode for a few more hours, but Jace knew from the ominous clouds gathering above them, they weren’t going to beat the storm home.
“The wind is really picking up.” Darian glanced toward the woods at the base of the mountains. As if on cue, a bolt of lightning struck the ground, illuminating the world in a brilliant flash of light. A boom of thunder rocked the earth. Fallen leaves and debris kicked up, swirling around them. The horses shied and his new stallion tried to bolt.
Jace held on tight to the reins and wrapped his thighs around the beast. “We need to take cover.” A sense of urgency filled him. Out in the open was no place to be in a violent storm.
The skies darkened further and rain began to pound down, stinging his skin. Jace cursed the weather. He’d hoped they’d be home long before the storm was upon them.
“This way,” Darian yelled above another boom of thunder. His brother led the way to a small outcropping of rocks sheltered by some trees.
When they were close, Jace dismounted and tethered the horse to the trunk of a tree. He didn’t trust the branches to hold beneath the might of the creature.
His hair and clothes were dripping by the time he stepped beneath the outcropping with Darian. His brother was in the same shape, his long, blond hair hung in hanks around his face. The difference was, his brother was smiling. Even now, he found the joy in the power of the storm.
“It’s really coming down, but should blow over quickly.” Darian swiped a lock of hair out of his face.
Jace started to answer, but froze when the air in front of them began to shimmer.
“What is that?” his brother asked.
Jace cursed the fact his sword was still lashed to his saddle, but quickly drew the knife from his boot. It wasn’t as powerful a weapon as his sword, but the blade was six inches long, extremely sharp and he knew how to use it. Darian moved up beside him, his knife in his right hand.
The shimmering solidified and a tapestry hovered in the air in front of them, the rain seeming not to touch it. It was about two feet wide by three feet long and the picture on it changed repeatedly. He’d seen it once years before at Castle Garen. It was the magic tapestry, the one that brought potential brides to Javara from other worlds far away.
“Is that the tapestry?” He could hear the disbelief in Darian’s voice. “Doesn’t it bring a woman with it when it comes.”
They both peered through the thick sheets of rain coming down around them, but there was no one there. The horses whinnied and trumpeted their displeasure as the storm continued unabated.
Jace squinted at the tapestry, watching the image on it change. There were no stone castles or keeps on it. No huts with thatched roofs and no horses. Instead, there was a vast, dusty land with a white structure in the distance.
He leaned forward, drawn to it, wanting to see more.
“No!” his brother yelled. He felt Darian’s hand wrap around his arm and then Jace was falling into darkness, into nothingness. He heard his brother cry out and reached for him. Then the world went black.
Chapter Two
Jace’s eyes snapped open and he sprang to his feet, knife in hand. Where was he? Where was Darian? He looked around and his heart skipped a beat when he saw his brother lying in the dirt at his feet. He fell to his knees. “Darian.” He shook his brother, grateful to see the slow rise and fall of his chest. He was breathing.
He shook him again, keeping one eye on his surroundings. He had no idea where they were, but it didn’t look familiar. Stalks of dry brown wheat stood still, the hot air thick and unmoving. Above him, the sky was clear and blue.
What had happened to the storm? The horses? And why was his clothing dry instead of wet? How long had they been here?
“Darian.” He tapped his brother’s face, maybe a bit harder than was necessary, but he’d feel better about the situation if Darian was awake and on his feet.
His brother’s eyes shot open and he sat up quickly, barely stifling a moan as he grabbed his head. “What happened? Where are we?”
“I don’t know.” Jace slowly stood and had to squint against the brilliant sunlight. As far as he could see there were no people or homes, nothing beyond the sea of grain.
Darian slowly came to his feet and brushed the dust off his leather pants and vest. “The tapestry. What happened to it?”
Jace couldn’t see a single thread of the tapestry and swallowed down his rising anger. Were they stuck here, wherever here was? “I don’t know,” he repeated. He hated not having answers.
“One thing for certain. We’re not home.” Darian turned in a full circle. “Any idea which direction we should head.”
Jace went with his gut and pointed off to his left. “That way.”
They walked in silence, both of them on their guard, knives in hand. He had no idea if the people here were hostile or what kinds of animals they might encounter. It was hard to come to grips with the idea, but the tapestry had not brought a potential bride to them. Instead, it had ripped them from their home and taken them somewhere unknown.
Had they offended the gods in some way? The sorceress who’d created the tapestry?
What would happen to their mother, their people and Hunter Keep when they did not return home? Thankfully, no one would miss them for a day or two. If the ta
pestry worked as it normally did, it would return within three days and they could go home. Until then, all they had to do was survive. He refused to consider any other outcome. Once again, he wished he had his sword. Unfortunately, it was back in Javara with the horses. They had no food, no water and no idea where they were.
“This happened once before, didn’t it?” Darian broke the silence. Jace could tell his brother had been mulling over the same things he had. “Marc Garen got pulled away to his woman and then brought right back to Javara.”
That was the only time in their history that such a thing had happened. Jace didn’t know what was going on here. Why they’d been taken. But the tapestry was gone and they appeared to be stuck here for the time being.
Jace heard a rustling and then the brittle snap of vegetation being trod on by a boot. He grabbed Darian’s arm and dragged him down until they were both crouched among the stalks of grain. It wasn’t much cover, but the brown of their clothing and their blond hair helped them blend.
“Damn bank.” A disgruntled female voice reached them and Jace glanced toward his brother, who raised his eyebrow in silent question. He shook his head, indicating they should listen a bit longer before revealing themselves.
“And who does George Rawlins think he is, sniffing around my land?”
It was obvious the woman was upset. Her voice was deep and husky and Jace wanted to see her, to put a face to the voice. He eased up just enough to catch a glimpse of a tall woman wearing some kind of pants and extremely short tunic. He frowned. The tunic clung to her breasts like a second skin and it was more than obvious she had an ample chest.
Her hair was obscured by a strange covering of some kind, the brim blocking the top half of her face from view. He needed a better angle.
Suddenly, she froze, her gaze shooting around and landing right on him. Her eyes widened and she took a step back. “Crap,” she muttered.
Jace slid his knife back into his boot and slowly stood, hands open in front of him. The last thing he wanted to do was frighten her. She didn’t appear to be armed and she was a lovely creature.
Her face was lightly tanned, her lips full, her nose straight. Dark-blue eyes narrowed and anger snapped in them. “Who are you and what are you doing on my land?”
Her land? She must be wealthy indeed if she owned land. And where was her man? Her father? It was unheard of for a woman to be alone in their world.
Darian stirred beside him and stood. Fear flashed over her face before it was quickly covered by anger. She straightened her shoulders and he felt pride at her courage. He wished her head covering was gone so he could see her hair more clearly.
Jace took a step toward her and she held out her hand. “Stop right there, mister. Start talking or I’m calling the sheriff.”
Sam’s heart was racing and her palms were sweating. What were these two enormous men doing in her fields? Both of them were tall, well over six feet. Their clothing was identical—leather pants, moccasin-style boots and open vests, which exposed a vast amount of tanned, muscled flesh. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on either of them.
She wanted to swallow but dust and fear had made her mouth too dry. Two sets of pale-blue eyes watched her. She felt like a mouse about to be pounced on by a hawk. Make that two hawks. Even their faces were hard and their jaws looked as though they were hewn from granite.
The one who’d stood first had a skinny braid on either side of his face. Both had hair so blond it was almost white.
“I am called Jace.” At least she had a name for the one with the braids. His nose had a slight bump in it, as though it had been broken at some point in his life. A white scar, about three inches long, bisected his left cheek.
Vikings. That’s what they reminded her of. They were even wearing bronze arm- and wristbands. They looked as though they should be on the cover of a romance novel, much like the ones she kept under her bed. All they needed were swords to completely pull off the look.
“Jace what?” She was pleased with how calm her voice sounded. She slowly pulled her phone out of her back pocket and prayed she could get service from here. It wasn’t always reliable.
“Hunter.” It was the other man who spoke. He was slightly shorter than Jace, but no less intimidating. “My name is Darian. Darian Hunter.”
He smiled and it made him less intimidating. He looked remarkably like Jace, who was obviously his brother, except his hair was longer, falling to halfway down his back. Jace’s hair hung to just below his shoulders. None of the men around here would wear their hair that long, but it certainly didn’t detract from their masculinity. If anything, it added to it.
“Why are you here?” They didn’t look like crazed killers. And they’d made no move to attack her. In fact, they seemed to sense her unease and were keeping their distance. Sam relaxed slightly, but kept her phone at the ready. She had the sheriff’s office on speed dial, considered it only practical since she lived and worked alone.
Jace shook his head. “We’re not sure.”
Okay, what exactly did he mean by that? “I’m Sam Calloway and you’re trespassing. This is my land.” Maybe they worked for one of her neighbors and had gotten lost. It was easy enough to do if you weren’t familiar with the land and these two boys certainly didn’t look local. “Are you lost?”
Darian nodded. “Yes, lost.”
Sam sighed, knowing she just couldn’t leave them here, not in this heat. They didn’t have any supplies with them, no water at all. A body could die of heat stroke if he wasn’t careful.
“Who are you working for? Adams? Cutler?” Those were her two closest neighbors. A bead of sweat rolled down her temple and she took off her hat and rubbed her arm over her forehead before pulling it back on again.
The men exchanged glances. “We are not working for anyone.”
Great, just great. They were drifters. Just what she didn’t need. “Well, you’re out of luck with me. I’m not hiring. And there’s no money to steal back at the house. I’m dirt poor.” Hopefully that piece of news would get them moving along quickly.
“You might try the feed store in town. They always know who’s hiring.” She pointed off to her right. “Road is about two miles that way. Go left when you hit it and it’s about twenty miles.” No way was she going to feel guilty for not offering to drive them. She couldn’t afford to waste the gas.
Both men stiffened, but it was the tough one who spoke. “We are not thieves.” Jace propped his hands on his hips and scowled at her.
She mirrored his stance and scowled right back at him, her patience almost shot. “I’m not accusing you, I’m just laying out the facts.”
“We mean no offense.” Darian offered a smile. Damned if he wasn’t just about the most handsome man she’d ever met. Both of them were, but Jace was a little more rugged, less pretty than his brother.
A tingling sensation low in her belly caught her off guard. Oh hell, not that, anything but that. She was attracted to him, to them. Crap, she was attracted to both of them. Okay, so they were handsome in a rugged way with muscles that looked as though they’d been sculpted by the hand of God, but she didn’t need that in her life right now. She had enough troubles without adding a man to the mix.
“Look, you guys need to go.” Cursing herself, she knew she couldn’t simply boot them off her land without at least giving them some water. “You can follow me back to the house and I’ll get you some water. After that, you can be on your way.”
No way was she offering them anything to eat. It didn’t appear as though either of them had missed a meal. They were both filled out nicely.
Stop it, she admonished herself. No noticing how sexy they both are. Of course, her hormones paid her no attention and both her nipples stood at attention. She fought the urge to hunch her shoulders, hoping they wouldn’t notice.
“Follow me.” Making her decision, she turned her back on them and strode toward the house. It would take at least twenty minutes to get there. She cursed herself fo
r not taking the tractor, for allowing George to upset her.
She’d get rid of these men and then figure out what she was going to do about her situation. Sam glanced over her shoulder and was relieved to note that they were keeping a good distance between her and them.
Then she realized they were talking and wished they were close enough for her to hear what they were saying. She raised her phone and was pleased to see she had service. Should she call Sheriff Pritchard? Her finger rubbed the button but didn’t press down. She didn’t feel threatened but, then again, she didn’t always have the best judgment when it came to men. George was a case in point.
She hurried, lengthening her stride. The quicker they got back to the house, the quicker they’d be gone. She ignored the slight pang in her chest at the thought of being alone again. That was her life now and she’d just have to get used to it.
Darian did his best not to watch Sam’s ass as she walked, but it was impossible. The clothing she was wearing emphasized her small waist and curvy hips. His gaze went up her slender spine, noting the black braid that hung just below her shoulder blades, but then it went back to her swaying behind.
“What do you think?” Jace asked, keeping his voice low.
“I want her.” His cock was semi-erect and he wanted to make a place for himself between her firm thighs and fuck her until she screamed with pleasure.
Jace cursed. “Besides that?”
Darian dragged his gaze away from Sam. Jace was staring at him, his expression a combination of anger and need. There was no doubting Jace wanted her too. Good, that meant he’d fight for her. With both of them trying to convince her, maybe they could sway her mind and have her agree to belong to them.
He had no idea how things worked in this world, but he was willing to learn. He was also counting on the tapestry returning in three days to take them home. He didn’t want to think about what they would do if that didn’t happen.
“Why is she alone?” Darian glanced around. “Where are all the people?”
Jace shrugged. “I don’t know, but we can’t let her send us away. The tapestry brought us here for a reason. Sam is obviously alone. Maybe she needs us.”
Strands of Love Page 2
