Chapter Twenty-One

Sam

What the fuck is wrong now?  I wake up early, go down to the barn to try and make some repairs, and suddenly Leandra stomps past like someone set fire to her purse collection and pissed on her face.  Not to mention my sister screaming her head off and chasing after the woman.

“Freeze,” I demanded, throwing off my gloves and glaring at Chrissie with a look intended to stop her in her tracks.

“I didn’t do anything!” she insisted, holding her hands up in innocence.  “Will someone tell me what the heck is going on around here?”

“That’s what I’d like to know!”

We stared at each other in confusion, neither wanting to be the one that spoke first. 

“Why don’t you let me know what you’re talking about,” I finally suggested, breaking the stalemate.

“I just walked back into the house to grab some sunscreen and I accidentally stumbled upon mom talking to Leandra.  I knew something was wrong because of her tone of voice.  It’s rude to eavesdrop, but I needed to know what mom was saying.  I can’t even believe it, Sam.  It was awful!”

“What did she say?”  Chrissie did have a flair for the dramatic, and I was hoping it wasn’t as bad as she was making it out to be.

“Mom pretty much told your wife that she dressed like a tramp, wasn’t good enough for you, and that she’d do whatever it took to break up the marriage.”

“Oh, shit.”

“Yeah.  My thoughts exactly.”

“Did she really use those words?” I asked, wondering if maybe my sister was exaggerating.

“Sam!  Mom’s actual words were ‘street walker,’ ‘hussy,’ and ‘walk away now or I will make things difficult.’  She totally threatened Leandra and I don’t understand why.  What possible reason could mom have for acting that way?  What’s going on and why is no one telling me the truth?”

Unfortunately I had a very good idea what motivated that confrontation.

“Mom doesn’t want us to have minds of our own, Chrissie.  We’re supposed to toil away on the family farm busting our asses for the rest of our lives.  She wants to keep us naïve to the ways of the world for as long as possible.  Why do you think Jacob turned to drugs?  It was his only escape.  I’m breaking the cycle.  I refuse to be guilted into staying and taking over the fields.  I want to live my life on my own terms.”

She stood there speechless, eyes wide open, mouth gaping in shock.  I’m sure my expression must have mirrored her own.  I have no idea where that anger suddenly came from.  Maybe it’s been there all this time and just bubbled to the surface now.

“Don’t let her win, Sam.  Go after your wife.”

So I did.

It didn’t take much sleuthing to find Leandra.  I followed the trail of trampled grass until I came to a small clearing of trees not too far away.  My boss leaned against a tree trunk in what I can only assume was some sort of yoga pose.  Her hands were in the air, face pressed close to the ground, and a tight ass stuck up in a delicious way that made me want nothing more than to take her from behind.

Even though my cock rose to attention at such lewd thoughts, I forced myself to behave and handle the situation.

Clearing my throat in order to gain composure as well as alert her to my presence, I took a few deep breaths before diving in.

“So, I hear you had a nice chat with Katherine this morning?”

“I’m busy at the moment,” she replied coolly.  “A little privacy would be appreciated.”

With a sigh of resignation, I took drastic action.  Getting as close as possible without being in range of her fists, I mimicked Leandra’s pose and grunted in satisfaction after getting it right on the first try.

“Since when do you do yoga?” she asked in annoyance.

“My boss takes a class and I’m forced to go with her as protection from any douchebags leering at her ass.  I might have picked up a thing or two from watching the other ladies.”

I attempted a complex maneuver and nailed it without any effort, much to Leandra’s dismay.

“How did you do that?” she demanded, falling flat on her face when she copied my stance.

Choosing to relax and stretch out in the grass instead of further taunting her, I simply smiled.

“Let’s talk about this morning, okay?” I pushed, wanting to get things out into the open.

“I woke up alone, took a refreshing shower, got dressed, and am currently in the process of my morning meditations.  There’s not much else to tell.”

“Chrissie’s story contradicts that statement.”

“Your sister is a tattle tale.”

“I’m her older brother.  I already know that.”

Slowly reaching over, I picked a dandelion and stuck it in her hair.

“I’m sorry about my mom,” I whispered, leaning back and refusing to make further eye contact.  “I should never have brought you here.  It’s not fair that I made my problems into your problems.  That wasn’t my intent.  Can you just pretend none of this ever happened?  I mean…you’re not really my wife.  Just ignore my mother’s behavior and don’t hold it against me when we get back to New York, okay?”

In response, she let out a loud grunt of disapproval.

“The day I hired you, Sam, it wasn’t just for a normal job.  Being my bodyguard isn’t a nine-to-five, forty hour a week type of gig.  You’re my right hand man.  It’s your duty to keep me alive, keep me safe, and make sure things go as smoothly as possible.  In return, you’re paid handsomely and you’ve become a valuable member of my little crime family.  If you think for a second that I don’t protect one of my own, then you’ve completely lost your fucking mind.  When someone is part of my inner circle, their problems become my problems.  If you’re not happy, then it means things aren’t running smoothly, which is going to cause me to be unhappy.  If I’m not happy, we have a fucking problem.  And right now, Sam…I’m not happy.”

That’s what I was afraid of.

The problem was…I didn’t know how to fix it.

“What did my mom tell you?” I asked, knowing pretty much the gist of it, but hoping I could pinpoint exactly what upset my boss if she repeated it to me.

“Her son is destined to inherit the family farm, marry a nice girl, and make babies.  He’s not supposed to take up with a cheap whore, fly off to sin city, and never return again.  She wants you to be with a good woman, which is clearly not me.  Therefore, I can either leave or she’ll take matters into her own hands.”

The whole time she spoke, Leandra’s voice had a dead tone to it.  Emotionless.  For a woman who was always very passionate, she was trying way too hard not to show her hand.  I knew a poker face when I saw one.  Some part of my mom’s words hit home in a way that was affecting her.  But why?

“Sin City is technically Las Vegas,” I explained, desperate to lighten the mood.  “Why didn’t you tell her to fuck off?  I’ve seen you make waitresses cry when they bring you the wrong order.  Why the show of restraint?”

Leandra picked a blade of grass, spun it around in her hands, and completely ignored me.

“Answer me,” I demanded. 

“I wanted to make a good impression.”

Wow.  I hadn’t expected that.

“But it’s obvious that we’ll never see eye to eye,” she admitted sadly.  “So I’ll just have to accept that I’ve become a statistic.”

“How so?”

“Add me to the list of innocent young ladies that are hated by their mother-in-law,” she replied, sucker punching me in the gut and finally cracking a smile.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but did you just categorize yourself as an innocent young lady?”  That could not have been further from the truth if she’d just said she was an alien from planet Neptune.

“Due to the fact that it’s been ages since I’ve gotten laid, I think I will classify myself that way.  But you might want to change the subject because a true innocent appears to be headed our way.”

I turned my head to see Chrissie hesitantly approaching.

“Is…is everything okay now?” she asked, voice rising in panic.  I knew my sister hated confrontation, but this was more than that.  She’d honestly taken quite a shine to Leandra, and I think there was fear that her new friend would leave.  I’m just putting out fires left and right today.

“Yes, we’re fine,” I replied, taking the lead on this whole situation.  “My wife was just about to offer to help you pick raspberries.  Leandra loves getting her hands dirty.  You two should make fast work of filling the bushels with fruit and then you can teach her how to make jam.”

My boss launched into a coughing fit and then mumbled something about paybacks.

“We’re harvesting and then cooking?” Leandra repeated in wonder.  “That sounds so…farm living.  I can’t wait to get started!”

Chrissie appeared apprehensive, but she visibly relaxed when Leandra promptly got up and hooked arms with the girl.

“Those raspberries aren’t going to pick themselves!  Let’s get going!”

“I’ll be keeping an eye on you from the barn,” I warned, needing them to know that I would be there at the first sign of trouble if my mother made an unwanted visit and stuck her nose where it didn’t belong.

Leandra instantly raised an eyebrow and purred, “Like a bodyguard?  Do you think I need a bodyguard, Sam?”

“Yes,” I admitted, giving her body a once over and liking what I saw.  “I think that’s definitely a position I would be well-suited to fill.”

Before she could laugh, I reached out and gave my boss a firm smack on the ass.  I can honestly say that it was instinctual and I put no thought into the action.  Had my brain been firing on all cylinders instead of clouded with anger at my mother, I never would have done it. 

As I froze and anxiously awaited her reaction, she merely narrowed her eyes curiously, smiled, and walked away.  It seems like I succeeded in calming a tense situation, and for that I was grateful.  One crisis averted, but how many more were about to unfold?