Page 17 of Securing Samantha

Whiskey rubbed his forehead. “I screwed everything up. I scared her and the kid.”

Leo frowned. “His name is LJ. He’s your son. Not the boy or the kid. Stop distancing yourself from him. He doesn’t deserve it.”

Whiskey rested his head in the palm of his hand.

“Claire’s coming over in a bit. Before she does, I want to talk to you. When Rahimi held you, you never once saw Ash or heard him?”

He shook his head. “No. They moved us around constantly. I don’t remember him. I don’t remember a lot after the explosion. Bits and pieces come to me.”

“You said a ton about it last night,” Leo offered.

“I did?” He straightened into the chair.

“You thought a woman disguised herself as Samantha. You tried to choke her.”

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, tell me I didn’t hurt her!” he rushed.

“You didn’t. She dialed my number and you responded to my orders. She thinks she said something to set you off.” Leo’s brows arched in question.

“We argued. I remember walking back to my cabin and getting angry at her. She lied about the boy…LJ, coming down with the flu. She said she didn’t feel like attending the appointment with Claire because she didn’t like what Claire advised,” Whiskey told him.

Leo sighed. “I want you to stay here with Taco and Shadow. I won’t blow smoke up your ass. I know you went through hell. Your body’s healing and you’re going through the motions of counseling. You say what you think we want to hear, or you don’t respond, or walk out. I see Samantha’s frustration. The team’s on your side. We want you to heal and whether it’s a year from now or ten years, we’ll have your back. But we see Samantha’s hurting. LJ’s worried the bad man came back. I vowed to care for your family if something happened to you. Brother, I’m keeping my promise. I’ll care for your family while you work on yourself, but I’ll protect them from you if I need to.”

Whiskey nostrils widened at Leo’s warning. Anger filled him. Blood pounded in his ears. Did anyone understand? He felt bad about the boy. He never meant to hurt either of them, yet it seemed he managed to do it all the time.

“Let Claire know I’ll be on the enclosed patio.” Whiskey stood and made his way to the patio overlooking the mountains.

Samantha planned on taking LJ to Whiskey’s parents for the weekend. But after last night she wanted him to stay close. If her son said anything, she didn’t know how to explain to Whiskey’s parents their son made his way home.

Her body involuntarily shivered as she thought about the night before. Whiskey seemed trapped in a dream. Luckily, he responded to his leader’s orders. Disappointment filled her at the thought he became more enraged by her calling him Liam or mentioning her nickname to him. It broke her heart. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. This evening, Bryan Jennings planned to visit her shop. She set Becky to the task of cleaning every nook and cranny while she made sure every label faced straight on the shelves. Her tea blends sat prettily on the counters and her new natural essential candles made the space smell heavenly. The scent didn’t overtake the room, but immediately relaxed anyone coming into the shop.

She checked her watch. Mr. Jennings called and scheduled to arrive in thirty minutes. She scanned the room to make sure everything was in order. Spying a stray cobweb, she grabbed her ladder and made quick work at swiping away the offending dust. She checked all the labels as she stepped down. The bell chimed on the door. Her foot slipped as she missed the rung on the ladder, flying into the air. She let out a startled gasp before two strong arms caught her and she stared back into the deepest pair of brown eyes.

“Oh! I apologize,” she exclaimed.

The handsome gentleman broke into a smile only seen on commercials.

“No worries.”

“Can I help you with anything?” she asked. He lowered her slowly to the ground. She straightened her silk top and brushed her hair back, flustered at the man’s attention.

“I have an appointment. My name is Bryan Jennings. I’m here to meet with Samantha O’Neil.” He shook her hand as she grasped his.

“She’s me…I mean, Samantha.” She let out a nervous laugh.” Let’s start this again. Hi, my name’s Samantha O’Neil.”

He flashed her another dazzling smile. “Hi, I believe I caught the shop girl falling off the ladder. You might want to tell her boss it’s not good to stand high on a ladder without anyone present.”

She smiled, “I’ll make sure her boss gets the message. What brings you in Mr. Jennings?” she teased.

“My company tested your products and we’re, no, I’m quite impressed with them. I was hoping for a tour of your shop and maybe discuss a bit of business.”

She took a deep breath as she got her body under control. “Shall we start on this side of the shop? I make specialty tea blends. All the herbs come from organic growers. I trade with other shops for my ingredients if I can’t get them locally, which I use as my first choice. I work with Bear, a friend of mine, and we use his barn to dry the herbs. He works with a local co-op to harvest the rest of my ingredients to support our local economy. Mint is grown on the mountain. We carry peppermint, chocolate mint, and pineapple mint. It blends well in hot or cold teas. Due to the naturally occurring menthol, it calms the mind and body, which can help reduce stress levels. Peppermint helps with upset stomachs and symptoms related to IBS. Lavender is grown locally too. It’s shown to ease anxiety, aid in sleep, reduce inflammation in the body and ease headaches.” Samantha pointed to the teas which included the locally grown lavender.

“I’m impressed with not only your business sense and dedication to organic products but also your knowledge about the ingredients.” Bryan picked up the sleepy time tea and read the back of the bag.

“I do a lot of research. I want to produce a quality product,” Samantha confirmed. She moved them to the other side of her shop. “I use the same ingredients in my skin care products. Peppermint essential oil soothes irritation or itchy skin and scalp. It also works on bug bites. Lavender oil moisturizes your skin and aids in acne prevention. I use it in my hair products for the calming scent and it’s known to promote hair growth and prevent thinning. It provides hydration and strength as well.” She watched as he pulled sample jars from the shelves to smell or read the ingredients.

“You’ve managed to impress me even more, Ms. O’Neil. I’d like to discuss an offer with you.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s dinnertime, I heard Ty’s is the place to visit while in town. Can I persuade you to join me and we can go over the contract?”

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