Worth the Risk

  Unexpected Love

  WORTH THE RISK

  Jenna Byrnes

  Total-e-bound Publication

  www.total-e-bound.com

  Unexpected Love: Worth the Risk

  ISBN # 978-1-906590-19-2

  ©Copyright Jenna Byrnes 2008

  Cover Art by Lyn Taylor ©Copyright March 2008

  Edited by Janice Bennett

  Total-e-bound books

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Total-e-bound eBooks.

  Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Total-e-bound eBooks. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.

  The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.

  Published in 2008 by Total-e-bound eBooks 1 The Corner, Faldingworth Road, Spridlington, Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, LN8 2DE, UK.

  Warning: This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This story has been rated total-e-burning.

  Dedication

  To Jude, thanks for the support, as always!

  Trademarks Acknowledgement

  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

  Goodyear Blimp: Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company

  Hershey’s Kisses: Hershey Chocolate Co.

  Jeep: Daimler Chrysler Corporation

  Lifetime Networks: Lifetime Entertainment Services Cable LT Holdings, Inc.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  “This place is a filthy mess!” Sarah Stevens looked around the loft apartment above her garage and groaned. “I had no idea it was this dirty.”

  “It’s not that bad.” Her brother Doug touched a lampshade, and a layer of dust floated into the air. “Um, okay, maybe it is…”

  “Arghhh!” Sarah cried out and looked at the ceiling. “Why did we leave this until the last day? I should have been up here a week ago.”

  “What’s wrong?” called a voice from the backyard.

  Doug stepped to the open door. He looked down and smiled at his wife Bailey, spread out in a lounge chair.

  “It’s kind of dirty up here. Sarah’s regretting leaving this ‘til the last day.”

  “I’m sorry, Sarah!” Bailey yelled. “This is my fault, let me come up and help you clean.”

  “Not a chance!” Doug replied before Sarah could say it.

  Sarah went to the doorway next to him and they both looked down as the very pregnant Bailey attempted to get out of her chair.

  “Just stay put,” Doug added. “There’s no way you’re climbing all these stairs in your condition.”

  “I can do it,” Bailey insisted, still struggling to stand.

  Sarah laughed. “You can’t even get out of your chair! Doug is right, we’re not letting you come up to help. I’ll get Mandy and we’ll do it.”

  Bailey dropped back into her chair and smiled up at them apologetically. “Sorry. I feel bad, considering I asked if my replacement at the library could stay here during my maternity leave. It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

  “It’s going to be fine,” Sarah told her. Seeing her sister-in-law struggle to do anything with a stomach so huge made her chuckle, and she suddenly felt calmer and ready to tackle the mess. “I’ll get my energetic teenager and some supplies, and we’ll knock the job out in no time.”

  “I’ll get Mandy.” Doug put a hand on his sister’s shoulder. “And I’ll come back up and help you. I used to live here, I’m pretty good at cleaning the place.” He jogged down the long row of stairs and stopped at the bottom to plant a kiss on his wife’s forehead. “Can I bring you anything?”

  Sarah heard tenderness in his voice and watched them for a moment wistfully.

  “More lemonade?” Bailey held up her glass.

  Doug smiled at his wife as he took it. He leaned down again and kissed her mouth this time, and Bailey slipped her arms around his neck.

  Sarah stepped back into the apartment, giving them some privacy. Her brother and Bailey were deeply in love, a fact that was obvious to everyone who saw them together. They were also two of the most stubborn people she knew, and when they weren’t kissing they were usually arguing. Since the day they first met a year and a half ago, sparks of one kind or another constantly flew between them.

  She couldn’t be happier for them, but still felt a tinge of jealousy. It’d been a long time since anyone looked at her with such affection. Sarah didn’t realise how much she missed the touch of a man until she spent time with a couple in love. Everything she was missing dangled tantalisingly right in front of her but it was not hers to have.

  Peeking out the window one more time, Sarah saw Doug massaging Bailey’s shoulders as he whispered something into her ear. His gentleness was one of his sweetest features. Sarah envied her sister-in-law for a moment before turning away. It didn’t help her lonely situation to keep watching. It only made it worse.

  Sarah knew her brother had always been a catch, with his long legs and muscular build. He wore his dark brown hair short and messy. A three-day-beard added to his dishevelled appearance. Two years younger than her, Doug looked and sometimes acted like an ornery kid, but he was one of the smartest and most responsible men she knew.

  Bailey evidently had sensed that as well at some point after their rocky first meeting. She came from Chicago and wasn’t thrilled to be in the small town of Perry, cleaning out her mother’s house after the woman’s death. Sarah didn’t know how quickly Doug and Bailey fell into bed together because they’d kept that pretty well hidden. But when it was time for Bailey to make a decision about selling her mother’s house, Doug convinced her to marry him instead and moved in with her.

  One last glance out the window told Sarah that Doug had gone inside to fetch Mandy. Bailey sat alone on the lounge chair rubbing her distended stomach.

  Sarah stepped to the door. “Baby kicking much today?”

  “Every day! She’s going to be a gymnast, I’m sure of it.” Bailey rubbed her sides and made a face.

  Sarah grinned, knowing her sister-in-law was ordinarily concerned about maintaining her appearance. But this last month of pregnancy seemed to have drained Bailey’s energy, and all she managed to do was pull her long brown hair into a ponytail and call it good. “Don’t worry, it’ll all shrink back into shape.”

  “I’ll take your word for it. I’m glad to have someone to talk to who’s been through it. Doug is great, but he’s a man, and what do they know?”

  “Not a dang thing!” Sarah smiled mischievously as her brother returned with his hands full of cleaning supplies and one glass of lemonade.

  “What’s going on? I leave for one minute and you’re talking bad about me? Maybe you want to clean the loft by yourself.” He handed the glass to his wife, giving his sister a dirty look.

  “No! No! I don’t! I’m sorry!” Sarah laughed as Doug grudgingly climbed the stairs.

  Bailey told him, “I have a right to talk bad
about you.” She pointed to her stomach. “You did this to me.”

  Grinning and raising his eyebrows, Doug said, “I sure did. I enjoyed it too.”

  “Hurry up.” Sarah rolled her eyes, anxious to get away from their ‘in your face’ sexuality. She grabbed some things from his hands as he reached the top of the stairs. “Where’s Mandy?”

  “On the phone. She’ll be out when she’s done.”

  “Right,” Sarah snorted. “I won’t hold my breath.” She took the rest of the supplies from Doug and set them on the table. “Why don’t you vacuum and I’ll work on the bathroom? When Mandy shows up, have her start dusting.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Doug saluted her.

  Sarah smiled as she slipped into the bathroom. She and her brother had always been close and she loved when he and Bailey spent time with her, even if they were all over each other. Mandy was good company, but she was fifteen and had been experiencing the growing pains which went along with that. Suddenly, spending time with mom wasn’t the highlight of her girl’s day anymore. Thoughts of her daughter as a child floated through Sarah’s mind as she began scrubbing the shower stall.

  “Tell me again why we’re doing this?” Mandy stuck her head in the bathroom.

  Sarah jumped, startled. “Geez! Don’t do that to me!”

  “Sorry.” The pretty blonde-haired girl’s face lit up. “Didn’t mean to scare you. Why do we have to clean this place today?”

  Sarah stood up from where she’d been kneeling and looked at her. “I told you, the woman who’s filling in for Bailey at the library will be staying here the next couple of months. She arrives in town tomorrow.”

  “Why does she have to stay here?”

  “Bailey thought it would be a nice thing to do, is why. So did I. We have the space, and this way the woman will have a kitchen and everything. It’ll be much more comfortable for her than staying at the motel.”

  “She’s paying rent, I hope.” Mandy looked at her own reflection in the mirror over the sink and fluffed her bangs.

  “She is, but that’s not the nicest thing for you to say. What’s the matter with you today?”

  “I’m sorry, Mom.” Mandy turned to face Sarah. “I just want to finish here. Dee invited me over to study after dinner, and at this rate dinner’s going to be very late.”

  Sarah turned Mandy around and headed her out the door. “Not if you get busy. Start dusting and cleaning the windows and mirrors. We’ll be done in no time.”

  “Whatever.” Mandy picked up the dust rag and spray.

  Sarah cringed. If I had a nickel for every time I heard that word. It has to be growing pains. Mandy was definitely going through something. It really hit home at age fifteen, when her attitude and language started changing. Nothing terrible, Sarah would never allow that. But small, subtle changes that were not necessarily for the better.

  Kneeling again to continue scrubbing the shower floor, she wondered how different things would be if Mandy’s father hadn’t died of leukaemia when the girl was just a child. Shaking her head, Sarah tried to get the thought out of her mind. Ron had died, she and Mandy survived, and the years passed. At times, especially when she was alone at night, time dragged. When she looked at her daughter, half grown, Sarah wondered where the time had gone.

  The shower sparkled, and Sarah made sure the rest of the bathroom did the same before she moved on to the kitchen. There wasn’t much to be done in that room, since Doug left the place very clean when he moved out. Before long the whole little apartment smelled lemony-fresh.

  “Can I grab a sandwich and head over to Dee’s?” Mandy was halfway down the stairs.

  “Carry this, please.” Sarah shoved some supplies into Mandy’s hands. “Yes, I don’t care. Eat and go, just be home by ten.”

  They locked the loft apartment and headed into Sarah’s kitchen, where Bailey had prepared sandwiches for all of them. “We’ll give you a ride,” Doug told his niece. “But sit down and relax for a minute. I need a sandwich and a cold drink before I go.”

  “Okay,” Mandy agreed.

  They ate while trying to ignore the girl’s impatiently tapping toe.

  “Sorry we couldn’t stay longer to visit,” Bailey apologised to Sarah as Mandy rushed them out the door. “Thanks so much for all you’ve done. I know Sam will be tickled with the place.”

  “I hope so. You’re bringing her by tomorrow after work then?”

  “Yes, we’ll be here about five-fifteen.”

  Doug suggested, “Why don’t I get us some take-out and meet you all here at five-thirty?”

  “That would be great. Thanks, hon,” Sarah told her brother.

  He leaned over and kissed her cheek before placing a hand on Bailey’s back and leading his wife out. “You bet. See you tomorrow, Sis.” He called ahead to Mandy, who was climbing into his truck, “Buckle up, Squirt.” Doug winked at Sarah and closed the door as they left.

  Breathing a sigh of relief at the sudden peace and quiet, Sarah sat at the table a few minutes before finally getting up and doing the dishes. She poured herself a glass of white wine and carried it into the living room with the newspaper and a novel she’d wanted to read. It seemed like the perfect night to get started.

  She kicked off her shoes and yanked the ponytail holder from her hair, letting her wavy blonde tresses fall around her shoulders. Settling into her easy chair, she sipped wine as she scanned the evening’s headlines. By the time she cracked open the novel her drink was gone, and somewhere around page five, so was Sarah. The book slipped into her lap and her head leaned back against the chair as she quietly dozed.

  * * * *

  It was a subdued Thursday at the water department where Sarah worked as office manager. With only three people working under her, she didn’t have a tremendously big job. She did have seniority, having worked there longer than anyone else by a number of years. When five o’clock came, Sarah was out the door, heading home to meet her new tenant.

  She really hoped the woman was friendly. Sarah’s evenings were free since she didn’t have a special person in her life. She had plenty of associates at work and church, but no prospects for dating and no one she considered a true confidante. Doug and Bailey were her closest friends but they were entering a new phase in their lives, and while Sarah knew she’d see plenty of them and the baby, she felt she needed to cultivate her own interests. She secretly hoped her new tenant might fill the bill.

  She stopped at the market and bought a bouquet of fresh flowers, which she put on the table in the loft. She opened a window to let in some air and heard Bailey’s car in the driveway. Heading down the stairs, she froze halfway when she saw her sister-in-law approach with a tall man who carried two suitcases and a bag over his shoulder. Holy smokes! He towered over Bailey, with broad shoulders and a trim physique. His light brown hair was drawn back, and when he turned his head she spotted a long ponytail. Sarah blinked to clear her eyes. Maybe Sam has a boyfriend…or a brother. She descended the stairs slowly, looking at him and then at Bailey.

  “Hi, Sarah.” Bailey smiled sheepishly. “I’d like you to meet Sam Buchanan. Sam, this is my sister-in-law, Sarah Stevens.”

  Sarah looked at the man as he set his bags down. This could not be Sam. Sam was supposed to be a pudgy lady librarian with glasses and sensible shoes. This guy, in tight jeans and a denim shirt, looked like he’d be more at home on a ranch. She found her gaze settling on the bulge at his crotch and looked up quickly.

  He extended a hand to her. “Hey, Sarah, a pleasure to meet you.”

  “You’re Sam?” she asked stupidly.

  “I am.”

  “But you’re a man.” An incredibly sexy man. This was not what she’d planned. Sarah forced herself not to stare.

  “I am.” He nodded again.

  Bailey cleared her throat. “Um, sorry about the misunderstanding there, Sarah. I spoke with Sam via email several times, but I guess we never got into the gender issue.”

  “He’s a man.” Sara
h said to Bailey. I wasn’t expecting a man! The thought made her tingle with nervous energy. She had no idea what to say next.

  Bailey chuckled. “His references are top-notch. Several people in Chicago spoke very highly of him. I can show you if you’re concerned—”

  “No.” Sarah shook her head, trying to wrap her mind around the situation. She couldn’t seem to get past the tight jeans, and turned to Bailey, trying to maintain composure. “I’m sure his references checked out. You wouldn’t have hired him if they hadn’t.” She looked at him. “I have a teenage daughter. I guess I’m a little overly protective because of that.”

  Sam raised a hand, nodding. “Understood. I have about a dozen nieces and I’m very protective of them too. I can assure you, everything will be on the up and up. If at any time you feel uncomfortable just say the word, and I can move into the motel. I understand they have at least one room without roaches.”

  “They charge more for that one,” Bailey added.

  They chuckled, and Sarah laughed. She already felt uncomfortable, but not for the reasons he meant. He seemed gracious and well spoken. He was a librarian, for goodness sake. She was sure things would be fine, if she could keep her overly-anxious libido in check.

  Doug’s truck rumbled into the driveway and he got out, carrying several bags of food. Sarah moved to help him.

  “Hey,” Doug said, eyeing Sam warily.

  “Hi, Doug.” Sarah took some of the load from him.

  “Hi, sweetheart.” Bailey stretched up to give him a kiss as he approached. “I’d like you to meet Sam Buchanan. Sam, this is my husband Doug…Sarah’s brother.”

  “Hey, Doug,” Sam said affably.