Coming Home: (Contemporary Christian Romance Boxed Set): Three Stories of Love, Faith, Struggle & Hope

by Debra Ullrick

  “You got that right, honey. Matter of fact, I’m taking her into town with me Monday morning and introducing her to some of my friends, and then she’s going to my quilting club meeting with me Monday night.”

  “What would Homestead do without you, Aunt Edna? Let’s see,” Sami said, tapping her finger on her chin. “You’re the town’s matchmaker, baker, news carrier, and now the greeting committee. Where’s your cape, Super Edna?”

  Edna laughed and swatted Sami on the backside. “Funny.” She turned and headed inside. “Don’t stay out here too long, it’s getting pretty chilly.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.” Sami gazed up into the night sky. Stars sprinkled in the darkness like glittering diamonds against a cloudless night. She smiled. It was the first time in years she felt like everything was at peace in her life.

  The next morning when Sami opened the door to Chase, she was surprised to see Kaylee standing beside him. Kaylee rushed in and threw her arms around Sami’s waist. “Hi, Sami, I wanted to see you today.”

  “Kaylee, you almost knocked her over.” Chase pulled her back and looked at Sami with an apology in his eyes. “She begged and pleaded to come along with me this morning. I hope you don’t mind.”

  Sami’s heart smiled for her. “Of course not. Good morning, Kaylee. It’s nice to see you again.”

  “I brought you something.” She held out a single pink silk flower. “It’s pretty, ain’t it?”

  “It’s beautiful, Kaylee. Thank you.”

  “Well, who do we have here?” Aunt Edna asked, coming down the stairs.

  “I’m Kaylee, remember?”

  Aunt Edna chuckled. “Yes. I remember. How are you this morning, Kaylee?”

  “I came to see Sami and bring her that.” She pointed to the flower Sami was holding. Placing her hand beside her mouth, she whispered, “It was in Nana’s flowers on the table. She said I could have it.”

  “It’s just beautiful, Kaylee.” Aunt Edna patted her shoulder.

  “That’s what Sami said, too.” A smile spread across her little face and joy danced in the child’s dark eyes. Sami realized Kaylee’s eyes were the same color as Chase’s, and that made her heart flutter.

  Chase looked at his watch. “It’s time to go, sweetie. Miss Edna, are you ready?”

  “Can I stay with Sami? Please, I’ll be good. I promise.” Kaylee clasped her hands together and bounced up and down.

  “Kaylee.” Chase squeezed the child’s shoulder and sent her a look that said he didn’t think that was such a good idea.

  “That sounds like a wonderful idea,” Sami said, brightening to it herself. I mean if it’s all right with you. I did promise her I would let her ride Stardust.”

  “Are you sure? She can be a handful at times.”

  “Yes, I’m sure. She’ll be fine. Besides, a promise is a promise.”

  “If you’re sure, I’ll call Emily to make sure it’s okay with her, and if she says yes, I guess she can stay and visit with you while we’re off to church.” Chase stepped to the side and pulled out his cell phone. A moment later, he smiled down at Kaylee. “Your Mom said it’s okay.”

  Kaylee jumped up and down with excitement. She reached out and slipped her hand in Sami’s. “Can I really ride Stardust?”

  “You sure can. Okay you two go on to church.” Sami pushed Chase out the door. “Kaylee and I have plans.”

  ♥♥♥♥

  “You really made Kaylee’s day yesterday. She was still talking about riding Stardust even after she was in bed last night,” Chase said to Sami as they walked out of the house to start their daily chores the next morning.

  Stopping on the porch, Sami leaned against the banister, and smiled up at Chase. “She’s a sweet little girl. I like spending time with her.”

  He inched in close, locked his fingers in hers, and pulled her hand up to his lips. “You know you have me wrapped around your little finger, don’t you?”

  Sami tipped her lip up. “Chase, you don’t need to say things like that.”

  “Why?” He pulled her hand up against his chest and smiled down at her.

  “I don’t know. You just don’t.”

  “Do you really want me to stop?”

  She stood there for a moment, took a step forward, tilted her head upward, and stared into his eyes. “Not really.”

  They stood on the porch only inches from each other, smiling.

  The nearness of her made his senses crackle like static from a carpet. He wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her. He wanted to feel her heartbeat against his. He reached for her, and she didn’t pull away. Instead, she eased into him, ran her hands up his arms, and locked her fingers behind his neck. Her touch alone caused his heart to race out of control.

  “Hey! Come on you two. It’s too early for this stuff,” Miles joked as he stepped out of the house onto the porch. “We have a full day ahead of us, remember?”

  Sami moved away from Chase like a shot from a gun and shrugged. “Sorry, Chase. Miles is right. Gotta go. Boss’s orders.”

  It was a full day’s job bringing the herd down. By three-thirty, all of the cattle were finally on the south pasture. There were high fives and handshakes all around to celebrate a job well done.

  Everyone was unsaddling their horses when Chase took a hold of Sami’s arm and pulled her off to the side. “Sami, did you hear about the concert in the park tonight? I think one of the local bluegrass bands is playing.”

  “I heard something about it. I think Miles is taking Katie.”

  “Yeah, that’s what he told me. Clint and Elaine are going, and Daniel is taking someone, too. Would you like to go with me? We could grab a bite to eat at Maude’s first, then go on over and listen to the band. What do you say? Do you want to go?”

  She tilted her head and angled her gaze up to his. “Are you asking me out on a date?”

  Chase saw a flash of panic race across her face. “We don’t have to call it a date if you don’t want. We can call it two friends going out to have some fun. We’ve worked hard enough for the last few weeks for it, don’t you think?”

  Sami bit down on her bottom lip. “I don’t know.”

  “Come on, Sami. We need some time together outside the ranch.” He put his hands on his hips. “I’m not going to take no for an answer. So you might as well say yes to save us some time.”

  That dragged a smile to her face. “Okay, sure, why not? I’d love to go with you tonight.”

  He slapped his hands together, pulled her close, and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “Great! Then I’ll be back around six to pick you up.”

  “I’ll be ready.”

  He saw the uncertainty flash in her eyes. “It’ll be okay, Sami. Trust me. We’re just going out to have some fun tonight. So smile.”

  ♥♥♥♥

  “I don’t know about this, Aunt Edna. I think I should call him and cancel. I don’t have a thing to wear.” Sami paced the floor holding three different shirts. She flung the clothes on the floor and flopped down on the bed.

  “Oh no, you don’t. You are going to get dressed, put your make-up on, brush your hair, and meet Chase at the door when he comes a calling at six o’clock.”

  “But—”

  “No. I’m not going to let you back out of this date. Now get up and get dressed.” Her aunt took hold of her arm and pulled her to her feet.

  “How many times do I have to tell you, it’s not a date?”

  “Fine, then it’s not a date, but you’re still not backing out on this…” She held up her hands and did a quotation sign with her fingers. “Not a date night.”

  Later on that evening, Sami sat on the sofa, chewing on her nails and staring at the clock on the wall. The closer it got to six o’clock the more anxious she became.

  “What’s the big deal, Sami? You’re just going out with Chase. You’ve been working beside him for weeks. It’s not like you’re going out with a stranger. Unless...” Brent bounced his brows up and down, puckered his
lips, and made a kissing sound. “Kissy, kissy.”

  “Brent!” Edna scolded and slapped him in the back of the head. “Stop teasing your sister. She’s nervous enough as it is.”

  He laughed, took a bite of his sandwich, and then washed the sandwich down with a gulp of milk. “I’m just saying.”

  “And I’m just saying, be quiet or I’m going to whop you on the head, too.” Sami snapped and kicked his cast. “And it’s not a date. We’re just going out as friends.”

  Knock. Knock. Knock.

  “He’s here.” Aunt Edna cut her eyes over at Sami and gave a quick head bob toward the door. “Are you going to make him stand out there all night?”

  With her heart pounding a like sledgehammer, Sami stood, smoothed down her hair, took a deep breath, walked over, and opened the door.

  “Hello, Chase.”

  “Wow, you look great.” He pulled off his hat with one hand and held out a bouquet of wild flowers in the other. “These are for you. I know they’re not as beautiful as Kaylee’s flower, but I hope they’ll do.”

  Sami held the flowers in her hands and buried her face in them. Closing her eyes, she inhaled the sweet fragrance.

  “Good heavens.” Aunt Edna came over and took the flowers from Sami. “These are beautiful, Chase. Aren’t they, Sami?”

  The flowers and his handsome smile were not doing anything to make the pounding stop. “Oh, yes they are. Thank you.”

  “I’ll put these in a vase for you, Sami. Now you two kids get out of here and have a good time tonight. Drive safely, Chase.” Her aunt gently pushed them out the door onto the porch and closed the door behind them.

  They both stood on the porch, stunned. When they looked at each other, they broke out in laughter.

  Chase grinned. “I guess she was ready for us to leave.”

  “I guess so.”

  He slipped his hat back on and bent his arm out for her. “Shall we go?”

  ♥♥♥♥

  Sitting at Maude’s diner, Chase stretched his hand across the table and locked his fingers in hers. When she lifted her head and smiled, his heart did a little ditty causing his breath to hitch. He cleared his throat and smiled back.

  Pointing at her empty plate, he asked, “Well, how was your steak?”

  “It was good, and yours?”

  “Mine was good, too. But the company’s so much better.” He caressed the top of her hand with his thumb.

  She giggled, and then smiled at him. “The concert starts in a few minutes. Shouldn’t we be heading over to the park?”

  “I guess we should,” he said, gazing at her with a soft smile, “but I’m enjoying this time where I have you all to myself.”

  “Well, well. What a pretty little sight. It’s my girl, and her tag along whipped puppy.”

  Chase looked up and right into the snarling, snarky face of Billy Salter. His eyes fixed on Chase and Sami’s entwined fingers.

  Salter reeked from the smell of whiskey. Suddenly, he slammed the whiskey bottle down on the table, causing Sami to jump. She yanked her hand away from beneath Chase’s and dropped it into her lap.

  With no patience for this man at all, Chase cut his eyes up at Billy. “What do you want, Salter?”

  “I just came in for supper. Do you have a problem with that?” The muscles along Salter’s jaw line twitched.

  “I don’t have a problem with it as long as you move on.”

  Sami slipped her hand across the table and laid it on Chase’s arm. “Let’s just go, Chase.”

  “Ah, come on, Sami, are you not even going to talk to me?”

  “I have nothing to say to you,” Sami said never looking up at Salter.

  He put his hand over his heart. “Ah, you hurt my feelings.”

  People in the diner were beginning to stare and whisper.

  Knowing this showdown was coming sooner or later, Chase slowly rose to his feet. “Look, Salter, the only reason I’m not throwing you out right now is because you’re drunk and can hardly stand up on your own two feet. But, I’m giving you fair warning, if you say one more thing to Sami, drunk or not, I will take you to the door and pitch you out into that street.”

  Salter threw his head back and laughed. Instead of looking at Chase, he smirked down at Sami. “Well, Sami, it looks like you have a watchdog. I like this look on you though. I like it when you wear your hair down.” He reached down and twisted a strand of her hair around his finger.

  Sami gasped and shivered away from his touch.

  “Hey.” Chase shifted his body in between Salter and Sami and took hold of Billy’s shirt. “I’m warning you, Salter. If you ever touch her again, you’re going to have to answer to me.”

  “Look here, you two,” Maude yelled from behind the counter, shaking a spatula. “I’m not going to have this kind of stuff going on in my diner. Billy, I think you’d better leave now before I call the sheriff. I mean it.”

  “Okay. Okay. I’m going.” Salter jerked away from Chase’s clutch on his shirt. “But one day it’s just going to be me and you, Townsend.”

  “I’m looking forward to it.”

  Salter walked to the door, stopped, and said over his shoulder, “I’ll be seeing you real soon, Sami, and be sure to wear that same dress. I like the way it fits.”

  Chase took a step toward the door, but Sami stood and took hold of his arm. “Let’s not let him ruin tonight. The concert’s about to start. We don’t want to miss it.”

  Chase looked down into her face. She was smiling, bravery barely covering the fear in her eyes, and her chin trembled.

  Not liking the situation one bit, he paid for their meal, and as they stepped out on the sidewalk, he pulled her close and kissed her on the top of the head.

  “You know I won’t let him ever hurt you.”

  She smiled up at him and whispered, “I know.”

  Chapter Ten

  The next morning, Sami lounged on the porch swing and watched the sunrise above the horizon. A smile fixed on her face as she thought about the last few hours she’d spent with Chase.

  He had held her hand during the concert, and then afterward when he brought her home, he held her in his arms as they sat in the swing together and talked until 3:30 in the morning.

  She pulled the blanket tighter around herself and glanced down at her watch. The butterflies in her stomach began to dance at the thought of seeing him again. She knew she was falling in love with him because she couldn’t stop smiling. “I’d better get dressed before someone sees me still in the same clothes I left here in last night.” Quietly, she slipped inside.

  Twenty minutes later, when Sami walked into the kitchen she heard her father say, “Miles, today when we start separating the cattle for the sale, I want the men to start branding the calves we’re keeping in our own stock, too.”

  “You got it. You know, I can’t believe we’re going to be ready for the cattle sale after all and with a few days to spare.” Miles gave Sami a high five as she rounded the table.

  “It was a close call, but with everyone’s hard work it certainly paid off,” her father agreed.

  “No regrets for hiring Chase then?” Miles drained the coffee from his cup, rocked his chair, and tucked his hands behind his head.

  “Not a one. That boy’s a hard worker. I like him.”

  She tried to hide the excitement warming her insides.

  Miles leaned close to Sami and whispered, “I don’t think Pop’s the only one.”

  “Sami,” her father sat back in his chair.” I noticed out at Sunset Ridge, there were a couple of places in the fence that need some repairs. Do you want to go on a fence-check run today to flag and mark the damaged areas?”

  “Sure, I can get started on that right now.” Sami grabbed up a couple of toaster strudels that Aunt Edna had just put down on the table and headed out.

  While Sami was tucking the markers into her saddlebag, Chase strolled into the barn. “Good morning, Sami. I missed you at breakfast.”


  “Good morning to you too. I’ve got a lot to do today, and I wanted to get started as early as possible. So we could…”

  “Spend some time together later?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Did you get any sleep after I left last night?”

  “Not much.”

  “Me either. For some reason, I just couldn’t get this beautiful woman with the most amazing blue eyes out of my head. What should I do?”

  She bumped him with her shoulder. “When I get back, we’ll have to have a talk about your problem.”

  “Where are you going?” He traced the pattern on her shirt sleeve with his finger.

  “I’m going out on a fence run while you men do the branding.”

  “Fence run?”

  “It’s an idea Miles came up with a couple of years ago. One of us usually goes out every couple of months or so to check for any damaged areas along the fence line. We used to carry a wagonload of supplies out on the run. Sometimes we had enough supplies, and sometimes we didn’t.” She reached down and picked up the bag of tacks and a hammer, walked around on the other side of her horse and stuffed them into the other saddlebag.

  “But now, when we’re out on the run, if we find a place that needs repairs, we tie one of the markers across the top of the fence.” She pulled a writing tablet out of her saddlebag and showed it to Chase. “Then we take inventory of the damage and calculate the supplies that are needed. Later we go back out with the right amount of supplies and repair the fence. That’s why the markers are bright neon yellow so they’re easier to spot from a distant.”

  “That’s a smart idea.”

  “Miles has his moments.”

  They both laughed.

  “So, how long does this usually take?”

  “Well, all I’m doing is just the fence run on the south side. If there’s not too many damaged areas, I should be back in a few hours.”

  “Are you going out alone?”

  “Yes.”

  His face fell into a scowl. “I don’t like the idea of you being out there all alone.”