To change the subject, she said, “I was surprised Jake didn’t come to pick me up. Is he out working on the case?”
He opened the front door and cleared his throat. “Yes, he’s busy right now.”
Samantha looked around the living room as he steered her over to the sofa. Something seemed to have changed while she was away, but she was too tired to figure it out. She smiled while her brother fluffed a pillow and tucked it behind her back.
She patted the seat next to her. “Sit down and tell me what Jake’s up to now.”
He turned away. “I’ll fix you a nice cup of tea.”
She watched him scurry away, her tension building. She didn’t need a house to drop on her to tell her something was very wrong. She surged to her feet and wobbled a moment as a wave of dizziness washed over her. After a few minutes, the feeling passed, and she relentlessly tracked Tad into the kitchen.
He shot an alarmed glance her way as she approached. “Something wrong?”
“You know darned well something’s wrong.” Samantha’s toe tapped impatiently on the faded linoleum. “I want to know what’s going on, and I want to know now.”
He sighed. “I told Jake this wouldn’t work.”
“What?”
“Keeping you on ice.” Tad shrugged. “I’m supposed to keep you out of trouble.”
She frowned as his words washed over her. Jake had another think coming if he thought she would stay cosseted like some hothouse flower.
“He seems to have forgotten we’re a team.”
“Not anymore,” Tad said, his brow furrowing.
“So, he wasn’t bluffing last night.” She frowned. Jake had tried to protect her, but she wouldn’t let him shove her aside so quickly. “No way. I’ll get him to see things my way when he returns. When is he coming back?”
“He’s not.”
“What!” She slumped into a dinette chair.
“He cleared out last night. He told me to tell you you’re through. After the fiasco last night, I think you’re better off staying out of it. This is your chance to make a clean break from the goon. Take it.”
She couldn’t believe it. Jake had probably broken up with her to protect her, but what if he’d meant it? Either way, she had to see this through to the bitter end.
“I can’t. Whether he wants me or not, he’s stuck with me. It’s personal now, and I have a duty to our family to see this crisis through.”
He shook his head. “There’s much more to this than a sense of duty.”
She sagged in her chair. “I’m in love with him, but I’ll get over it.”
Chapter 6
Samantha glanced at Tad’s solemn expression as they drove toward their father’s estate. He was probably bracing for the upcoming disclosures he’d have to make to their father. As for her, she intended to put the proper spin on things before Jake had a chance to label things in harsh black and white.
She also intended to find out how Jake felt about their relationship. Had she been a fool to give her heart and body so quickly? He had touched her deeply, had made her want to take the risk, and now he was gone. Had he left to protect her? Or, as Tad had said, was it a way of breaking off their budding relationship?
She knew Jake enjoyed their mind-blowing sexual encounter as much as she had, but he’d never said he loved her. In retrospect, she couldn’t help dredging up Grayson’s derisive evaluation of her shortcomings as a mate.
However, there was more at stake here than her on-again/off-again love affair with Jake. Clearing her brother’s name would have to take precedence. When she’d vowed to stay involved with this case, she’d meant it. She would clear her brother’s name and assist Jake, come hell or high water.
They turned into the driveway of their father’s estate. The house's white colonial façade looked cold and forbidding in the fading daylight. She hoped it wasn’t an omen of what was to come.
Tad switched off the ignition and turned to say, “You don’t have to do this, sis. Dad’s liable to be still freaked out about your disappearing act. I can face the music alone. I think Jake’s right, and you should stay out of it. Or, as he put it,” Tad added with a grin, “be a nice little lettuce and stay in the icebox.”
Samantha rolled her eyes. “Jake is not right. Number one, I belong in the thick of things, where I intend to stay. And two, I do not appreciate being referred to as produce.”
