It also could have been the fact that Sam told his mom he didn’t want to know anything about any of the McCaffreys at all. If she brought them up, he would hang up and not call back for a few days. Eventually, she got the message and stopped talking about them. Sam hadn’t heard a single word about the McCaffreys in over three years.
“How have you been?” Sam asked, hoping to change the subject—again.
“Not too bad,” Gabe replied. “I’m working the ranch with Jesse and a few of the others. We’ve almost doubled the herd since you left.”
Sam grinned. “Nice.”
“Jesse has been good for the ranch and the surrounding community. He’s done some real good things around here.” Gabe regarded Sam strangely. “Does Jesse know you’re home?”
Sam huffed. He so did not want to talk about Jesse McCaffrey. He was hoping not to even see the man. Really. Sam shoved down that small part of him that said he was lying through his teeth. It was safer if he just didn’t see Jesse, speak to him, or even think about him.
“It’s been really great seeing you again, Gabe. Maybe we can get together while I’m here.” Sam waved his hand back toward the ranch as he backed away. “I need to get going. I haven’t even told Mom I was coming.”
Sam rolled his eyes when Gabe arched his eyebrow again. He wasn’t ready to go into explanations to anyone, not even the man that used to be his best friend. He wouldn’t know what to say even if he was ready.
I fucked up
didn’t seem like it would cover the entire length of everything that had happened to him over the last five years.
“I’ll catch you later, Gabe.”
“I’ll follow you to the house.”
Sam had no idea why Gabe wanted to follow him to the house but whatever. He climbed in his car and started it up, then drove up the long driveway to the main housing complex. He could see Gabe following behind him in his truck. Sam frowned when he saw Gabe talking on his phone.
Who the hell was Gabe calling?
Sam’s stomach clenched when the main house came into view. He had spent years running around the place, and taking it for granted more often than not. But over the last five years, the large mansion had come to represent home.
Which was strange considering that the actual house he had grown up in and shared with his mother was beyond the main house. He wasn’t a McCaffrey. He was the son of the McCaffrey housekeeper. He was an outsider always looking in.
It hadn’t meant much growing up. Since Mrs. McCaffrey had died giving birth to the youngest McCaffrey son, Sam’s mother had taken over the household and practically raised the five McCaffrey boys. Sam had been raised right alongside of them.
It wasn’t until his twenty-first birthday that Sam learned how different he really was. It had been a bitter lesson but one he had learned well. He would never want for something that wasn’t his again. He wasn’t a McCaffrey, and he never would be.
Sam passed by the main house and drove around back, parking his little car in front of his mom’s house. He knew she would be inside the main house right now, but that gave him time to get settled in before the questions began. He needed that time to figure out what he was going to say to his mom. Explaining away the last five years wasn’t going to be easy.
Sam climbed out of his car then went to the trunk to grab his stuff. There wasn’t much. He hadn’t taken the time to grab more than the basics before fleeing. With one wrist in a cast, he had to make three trips to get everything inside. After stacking everything in the corner of his room, he sat down on the side of the bed.
He hadn’t expected his room to look the same as the day he had left. He had been hoping to maybe just stay on the couch or something until he could get on his feet. Sam flopped back on the bed and covered his eyes with his arm. This had been unexpected. He didn’t know what to think. It was like his mom expected him back at any time.
That was a good thing, right?
“Samuel?”
Sam smiled when he heard the front door open and close and his mom’s voice calling out to him. He jumped up off the bed and raced out into the living room. He stopped at the end of the hallway and just stared at his mom, the woman he hadn’t laid eyes on in five years.
“Damn, you just get more beautiful with age, don’t you?” He grinned when a soft rosy flush filled his mom’s cheeks. Gods, he loved the woman. “I hope that’s a trait I get from you when I’m older.”
“Samuel.”
Sam didn’t try and suppress the tears that came to his eyes this time as he rushed across the room and into the arms his mom held out to him. He buried his face in her neck and inhaled as deeply as he could. Everything in his world settled as the sweet scent of lavender filled his senses.
“I missed you, Son.”
“I missed you, too, Mom.”
Sarah Bishop leaned back and ran her hand down the side of Sam’s face, her eyes searching his. “How long are you home, Son?”
Sam shrugged, glancing away. “I’m not sure, Mom. I have some thinking to do before I make any decisions.”
Sarah nodded. “Does Jesse know you’re home?”
“Jesse?” Sam frowned. That was the same thing that Gabe had asked him. Why was everyone so interested in whether Jesse McCaffrey knew he was home or not? “No, why would he?”
Sarah’s mouth pressed together for a moment, a pensive look wrinkling her forehead, and then she shook her head. “You need to let Jesse know you’re home, Son. He runs the place now.”
“I’m not here to see Jesse, Mom.”
Really.
He wasn’t.
“You still need to let him know that you’re back, Son. He’s going to want to know.”
“Why?”
“Samuel.”
Sam knew that tone. It was the one that said Mom was putting her foot down. He could argue with her until his face turned blue, but it wouldn’t do him any good. “Fine.” Sam sighed deeply. “I’ll go tell Jesse that I’m home.”
Sam didn’t understand why everyone was all fired up about him telling Jesse that he was home, but if it would get everyone off his back, he’d do it. Right after he got done throwing up from the butterflies swimming around in his stomach at the thought of seeing the man again.
“He’s out on the range right now, but he should be back soon.” Sarah patted Sam’s arm. “Why don’t you go wait for him on the front porch of the main house? I’m sure he will want to see you the moment he gets back.”
Sam seriously doubted that, but who was he to argue? Sam leaned in and gave his mom a small kiss on her cheek and then walked out of the front door. His stomach was clenching, and his palms felt damp and clammy.
Maybe coming home wasn’t such a good idea. He had intended to avoid Jesse at all costs. Now, it looked like everyone was doing everything they could to make sure he was placed right in Jesse’s path.
Sam’s steps slowed as he rounded the front of the house. He stopped at the edge and looked toward the front of the house. His eyes settled on the long porch that ran the length of the front of the house. His memories of the place were good and bad.
The wide stone front steps that led up to the thick double doors were where Jesse had kissed Sam for the very first—and last—time. The steps were also the place Jesse had been standing the last time Sam ever saw him.
Sam’s feet felt like lead weights as he walked toward the steps. He could think of a million different places he would rather be than right here. Well, he didn’t mind being home so much. He just didn’t want to be in the crosshairs of Jesse McCaffrey.
That scared him more than Desmond did.
Sam walked to the edge of the steps then climbed up to the top. He turned and sat down, resting injured wrist on his thighs. He didn’t know what Jesse did around the ranch anymore, so he didn’t know how long he had to wait.
The cloud of dust coming up the driveway at a breakneck speed was a big clue. Sam swallowed hard and pressed his cast against his stomach as he tried to quell his nerves and hold it together long enough to get away without losing his composure.
Jesse McCaffrey was coming for him.
And he looked pissed.
Jesse could see Sam sitting on the porch as his truck skidded to a stop in front of the house. He still couldn’t believe that Sam had finally come home. He had been stunned when Gabe called him and gave him the news. He had instantly jumped in his truck and headed for home. The need to see Sam had overshadowed everything else.
Sam stood up when Jesse climbed out of his truck and slammed the door shut. He could see the apprehension on Sam’s face as he approached.
Good.
Sam needed to be apprehensive.
The man had left him high and dry without a word and hadn’t spoken a word to him in five years. Sam needed to be more than apprehensive. He needed to know his ass was in a sling. Jesse wasn’t going to stop this time.
Sam Bishop belonged to him and had from the day he turned twenty-one. Jesse had waited five long years to claim what was his. He wasn’t going to wait any longer than it took him to get Sam upstairs, naked, and spread out across his bed.
“Jesse…um…hi.” Sam’s eyes darted away. “I…uh…”
Jesse bounded up the stairs and grabbed Sam’s arm. He frowned when his fingers closed around something hard and rough instead of soft and silky. He glanced down, gritting his teeth when he saw the neon green cast under his fingers.
Jesse couldn’t speak. He couldn’t ask Sam how he had injured his wrist or came to have bruises around his jawline. He knew if he opened his mouth, he wouldn’t be able to stop from shouting. His emotions were too close to the surface. It was just better if he claimed Sam before saying a word.
He reached over and wrapped his arm around Sam’s waist, careful of his injured arm, and escorted him into the house. He felt Sam’s steps falter when he pushed open the front door and knew Sam was confused and scared. He could smell it on him.
Jesse kicked the door closed and reached for Sam, swinging the man up into his arms. Jesse was delighted to find that Sam wasn’t any bigger than he had been when he was twenty-one. If anything, he had lost weight.
But he still fit perfectly in Jesse’s arms.
He always had. Sam was perfect for him. Jesse knew he had a long road ahead of him to convince Sam of that. The man had run scared the last time. Jesse wasn’t going to allow that again.
He would claim Sam so that the man was his. The beast lurking inside of Jesse would settle after that. And then he would allow Sam to get used to the idea that he wasn’t going to be anywhere except at Jesse’s side.
“Jesse, what—” Sam’s words turned to a soft cry of surprise when Jesse kicked in the door of his bedroom and carried him inside.
Jesse walked over to the bed and dropped Sam down on top of it. Without a word, he walked right back to the door and closed it, locking the outside world out and them in. His fingers moved to the hem of his cotton shirt as he turned back to face Sam.
Sam’s sat up, leaning back on his good arm. His jaw dropped open as Jesse pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside. Jesse cocked an eyebrow, smirking when Sam’s face flushed and he glanced away.
“Eyes on me, Sam.”
Sam’s amber eyes snapped back to Jesse almost immediately, his face burning even brighter. Jesse toed his boots off then reached for his belt buckle. He got his belt unbuckled and was reaching for the zipper when he heard Sam inhale sharply. Jesse glanced up.
“Wha—what are you doing, Jesse?”
Jesse stopped undressing and walked toward the bed. If Sam didn’t understand what he was doing, he would just have to show him. And that idea wasn’t exactly a hardship for Jesse. Sam Bishop was drop-dead gorgeous. He always had been to Jesse.
Jesse climbed up onto the bed and carefully crawled up Sam’s slim body until he hovered over the top of him. The further up the bed he moved, the more Sam scooted back until he was lying back against the top of the mattress.
“Jesse.” Sam’s hand raised up as if he wanted to touch Jesse then fluttered back to his chest. “I…what”—Sam licked his lips, instantly drawing Jesse’s gaze—“what’s going on?”
Jesse reached up and rubbed his thumb over Sam’s plump lips. Damn, they were the softest thing he had ever felt. Jesse still remembered the one brief kiss he’d received five years ago. He didn’t think he’d ever forget.
“You figure it out,” Jesse murmured right before he lowered his head and took his second kiss from the man meant to be his. The moment their lips met, Jesse groaned. Sam tasted just as good as he remembered, maybe even better.
Jesse licked along the seam of Sam’s mouth until the man’s lips parted slightly then he dived in, pushing past Sam’s lips to explore inside. The tremble that shook Sam’s body was like a heady stream of lust shooting right into Jesse’s veins.
After Sam had left so abruptly, Jesse had questioned the man’s eager response to their first kiss. He wondered if he had imagined the desire he had seen burning in Sam’s eyes all those years ago.
Now he knew he hadn’t.
Sam wanted him just as much as he wanted Sam. Jesse needed to know why Sam had left. His heart ached for that knowledge. But he wasn’t going to ask a single question until he claimed Sam and made the man his.