Chapter Fourteen
Sam looked at the reflection in the mirror. She liked the black evening gown and she especially liked the effect of the onyx choker. She slid her feet into the heels and pushed the gold and black hair pin into the neatly arranged bundle at her neck. The hem of the gown swirled around her ankles, the slit offering a long view from floor to mid thigh.
Logan felt his jaw drop when she came out of the dressing room. This was one of the dresses she bought while out with Anya. This dress clung to each and every single feminine curve. The top was low and had sparkling slender black straps that showed off her smooth shoulders. She turned slightly to adjust her heel and he knew every bit of common sense vanished. There was almost no back on the dress.
“You like?”
“I…” Logan watched her walk, lift her little bag from the bed and move to the stairs of the loft.
“I’ll take the stunned male gleam in your eyes as a yes,” Sam grinned and went to the front door.
“You two are never going shopping alone!” Logan called as the front door opened.
Anya winked at Sam. “I take it he likes the new dress?”
“I swear to god…” Ian followed her with a low growl. His eyes went from the redhead in black to the brunette he’d escorted there. Anya’s dress was similar to the one Sam wore, only in a deep shade of yellow. “There’s no back on that damn dress!”
“They are brothers, remember?” Sam chuckled.
Anya faced Ian, hands on her hips. “We are women. We enjoy being women,” she stepped closer, her voice dropping seductively. “And you enjoy knowing that we…go home only with you,” she put her hands on his face, kissing him softly.
Sam smiled, her palm out to Logan as he came to her side.
“You’re beautiful…both of you,” Logan said honestly. “Sexy, feminine and lovely. Let’s go…we have friends to join,” he tucked her hand on his arm.
Logan watched as they girls all gathered before the dinner, standing and talking, comparing dresses while the males just stared like lambs to the slaughter. He realized he wasn’t the only one of them who thought he had been in control of his life.
Sam relaxed much later, dancing to the soft music with her arms around his neck. “Hmmm…me thinks your palms have strayed a bit, Logan.”
“I hadn’t noticed,” was his sexy response, his fingers dipping inside the low back of her dress. “Here I thought it was an open invitation.”
“Perhaps it was a lure,” she teased, giggling softly when his mouth roamed along her throat. "It’s going to be a long drive home if you continue that, Logan. We drove up with Anya and Ian, remember?”
Logan swore softly. He’d forgotten about their double dating arrangement. His hands reluctantly moved higher on her back.
“This is just wrong,” he muttered at her laugh.
“Poor dear,” Sam brought her palms around, cupping his face. “I’m going to the restroom. Get something cold to drink.”
“No kidding,” Logan wandered to the bar.
Sam left the restroom and saw her mother near the front door, striding up to her parents.
“Darling! You look amazing,” Elizabeth took Sam’s hands and stepped back. “We meant to come over to your table, but got sidetracked with some friends.”
“It’s okay, mother,” Sam looped her arm through her mother’s and walked with them to the wide front porch. She leaned on the high stone wall.
“It’s a wonderful lodge,” Morgan said with a nod.
“Samantha, I want to talk to you,” Carson Strang moved to stand in front of her, his voice hard and cold.
Sam looked toward the entrance. “I don’t have anything to say to you.”
“Why are you harassing my daughter, Strang?” Morgan Elliott glared at the man.
“I spoke to the police,” he said as if no one had spoken.
“I hope they cautioned you about filing inaccurate missing person’s reports,” Sam said flatly.
“I couldn’t figure out why they hadn’t come to see me, you see,” he continued, watching the woman carefully. “Then last night, it came to me when we were talking.”
“Carson, listen to me,” Sam began slowly. “I do not understand what your fixation is with me. I honestly don’t.”
“There was only one explanation. The police told me you were off getting married on Friday morning.”
“Why is my life your business?” Sam demanded, her hands flying into the air in frustration.
“Because you weren’t getting married on Friday morning,” he told her harshly. “I met you just outside your house. I rode with you to where you left your car.”
“You’re wrong…why in the world…”
“You’re being used by Sheffield,” he spit out angrily.
“Get away from me,” her voice fell to a rough command.
“You weren’t off getting married, because you were with me Friday. Until you ran from the car,” he continued coldly.
“Sam…” Logan spoke her name, her eyes shifting swiftly from Carson Strang to him and back. He knew in that instant that she remembered everything. The expressive hurt in her eyes tore through him like a blazing inferno.
“You threw my keys out onto the sand,” Samantha said coldly. “You tried to rape me and force me to marry you just to get your hands on my money. Yes, the police should have been to see you, should have thrown you into jail. And they still might because you won’t go away and leave me alone. I don’t want anything to do with you, don’t you get it? I do not like you. Even a little bit.”
“And Sheffield is any better?”
“Logan has honor and integrity and strength that you’ll never know in your entire life,” Sam said passionately, her gaze settling on the dark haired man striding to their small group. Carson Strang pulled himself up straight, backing away hastily. He wasn’t blind to the fury on Sheffield’s face at the moment.
“Get out of here, Strang,” Logan said with lethal strength in his tone, his eyes never leaving Sam’s face. “I’ll deal with you another time.”
“She’s onto you now, Sheffield,” he spit out angrily.
“Get out of here, you bastard, before I take you apart,” Logan ground the words between his teeth, ignoring the man as he vanished in the throngs of people leaving the party. It was almost midnight and things were winding down.
“Mother, can I talk to you for a minute please?” Sam looked at Logan. “Why don’t you find Anya and Ian so we can go home? I think I’m a little tired, please, Logan.”
“Sam…”
“We can talk at home, Logan,” she said quietly, struggling to keep the stinging moisture trapped behind her lashes. She waited until he disappeared into the lodge. “I want to go home with you, Mother…dad…and I want to go now, please.”
Morgan Elliott took her palm and led her quickly through the parking lot. They were on the road out of the lodge by the time Logan appeared at the entrance.
Ian heard the frustration and anger in the oath that left his brother’s lips.
“What happened?” Ian asked quietly, following Logan to the SUV.
“Strang,” Logan said flatly. “I’ll deal with it.”
“Where is Sam?” Anya looked from Ian to Logan.
“I’m not sure. I think she went with her parents,” Logan climbed behind the wheel of the SUV, driving blindly through the night streets. He pressed a button on the phone, slipping it into the cradle for hands free. “No answer, now there’s a surprise,” he growled.
“Perhaps you should give her time, Logan,” Anya said softly.
“Did she tell you anything?”
“Sam has not told me anything. But I am a woman. If she is angry about something, she will need time to think,” Anya explained carefully.
“I can’t fix it if she won’t talk to me,” Logan ground out.
“Being a pigheaded bull, crashing down upon her is not the answer at this time, Logan,” Anya threw back with every bit of strength to match his. “You both have your share of…” She mumbled to herself, a soft growl leaving her lips.
“Stubbornness,” Ian supplied quietly.
“And pride,” Anya added softly.
“I will make this right,” Logan informed them firmly.
Elizabeth held her husband’s hand as he drove, looking into the back seat now and then at her daughter. Sam was silent, her hands holding the small bag on her lap and her head turned to stare into the passing night.
“Samantha…”
“Mother, I love you…but I honestly can’t talk about this right now,” Sam’s voice quivered slightly. She laid her head against the cool window.
“Darling,” Elizabeth began quietly. “Whatever Logan has done, it can not be undone. And it can not be fixed, if you don’t talk to him. Shout at him, but…”
“When I have things sorted out in my head, believe me, I will, Mother,” Sam assured her.
“Why did you not tell me what that…that…” Elizabeth exhaled angrily. “Why did you not go to the police, Samantha? Carson Strang should be in jail.”
“Elizabeth, give Sam time, alright?” Morgan squeezed her fingers gently.
“It’s all a little confusing right now, Mother…I need…I need to reconstruct some things in my mind…before I can explain it to anyone else, I have to be able to understand it,” Sam explained honestly. “I’m okay…”
“Logan did not look okay, Samantha.”
“At this moment…I honestly don’t care.”