Sam couldn't believe she'd told Stone about her father. She hadn't told him all of it, but she'd told him that she was the one responsible for his death and he'd defended her actions. More than that, he’d understood them. He was showing her at every turn that she was important, that she mattered, that he believed in her. When she’d said goodbye to him this morning, she hadn't been ready for the ache that accompanied his departure.

No one except Carla had induced the kinds of feelings she was dealing with now, and she didn’t know what to do with them. She knew where Stone stood. He'd taken every opportunity to let her know that he wanted to be in her life, even that he loved her. The hitch, was that she still wasn't sure exactly what that meant for her, for him, for them. She wasn't sure where she stood. She knew her feelings for him went far beyond anything she’d felt before, but could she say she loved him? She hadn’t said those words to anyone since that fateful night half a lifetime ago, not even Carla. Sam was certain Carla knew she loved her, knew how impossible it was for the words to come out of her mouth, but maybe she should start there. Just thinking about it made her break out in a sweat. If there was one thing Sam knew though, it was if you wanted to have different, you had to do different.

It was on that thought that her doorbell rang. She put down the cucumber she'd been slicing and went to get it.

"Carla!” She exclaimed happily, when she saw her friend standing there. “That is so weird. I was just thinking about you. No Maggie today?"

"No. I have some things I need to talk with you about."

"Okay.” A niggle of worry trickled down Sam’s spine. "That sounds ominous. Do I need to sit down? Get a drink?"

"You might want to do both.” Carla responded with a sigh, sliding onto one of the barstools.

"Before I get into the heavy stuff though, tell me about Stone. What's going on with you two?"

Sam smiled involuntarily and Carla cocked an eyebrow at her.

"You like him."

"God, Carla. I do, but I’m terrified. I’ve never had a relationship like this. I’m totally out of my depth."

"Well,” Carla said with certainty. “I will tell you, if there's a man who can match you in just about every way, Stone is it."

"You know, Carla, he challenges me in ways I never imagined I could be challenged, but he's also one of the very, very few men I know who actually treats me like a human being. No,” She corrected thoughtfully. “Stone treats me like a woman.”

Sam wasn't sure she should, but she said the next part anyway.

"He told me he loved me."

She watched Carla's eyes go wide before she set down the drink she'd been sipping.

"He said that? Wow."

Carla picked her cup back up to take another sip.

"How did you feel about that? What did you say, when he told you?”

“I said something lame, like, he can't love me, or I have too much happening in my life right now, or something." Sam hung her head. "Carla, I don't know how to do this. I don't know how to let someone like Stone into my life. Not the way he wants to be there." Sam looked at her friend imploringly. “Tell me what to do..."

"Oh, sweetie.” Carla looked at Sam with sympathy. “I can't tell you what to do. You have to find your own path. I’ll tell you what not to do, though. Don't let fear be the thing that keeps you from experiencing the best life has to offer you. Don't let that bastard excuse for a father be the one who rules your life from his grave. Don't give up on everything you've hoped and prayed for that has nothing to do with business. Don't give up on yourself and don't give up on love."

Sam stared silently at Carla.

“I want to give him, give us, a chance. I just don't know how. I don't know what that looks like."

"That’s actually the easy part." Carla answered with a smile. "You keep seeing him. You keep letting your feelings show up. You keep talking and sharing and not shutting down. You don't shut him out. You just do a little every day and you take stock. Take stock of how you're feeling, what you're thinking. Take stock of what's healthy and what's not. You're a brilliant woman, Sam. You can definitely do this."

"When did you get so smart?”

“I’ve been married a lot of years, plus a couple kids to boot. If I haven't learned a few things, I should hang it all up and wash my hands of it."

"Alright,” Sam sighed. “So, what are those ominous things you needed to talk with me about?"

Carla opened her purse, taking out a manila envelope, she slid it across the bar to Sam.

"Cameron found this on your security footage. It's from the morning that note was left on your desk."

The photos showed a person of slight build, wearing a dark hoodie and ball cap with sunglasses. The lower half of the face looked feminine, but whoever it was, they had done an excellent job covering up. It would impossible to make an identification from that. Sam flipped through a couple more photos and stopped, pushing down the rage simmering inside of her.

"They're using a key."

Carla nodded solemnly. "Yep. Whoever it is, it's someone who works for you, or someone who works for you is using this person. Either way, it's bad news for you."

"Who has access to this floor after hours?" Sam asked, still thumbing through the photographs. Something about this person niggled at her. They were familiar somehow, she just couldn't put her finger on it.

"No one except you, Nora, and Security has access to these floors between the hours of nine p.m. and seven a.m. But look at the time stamp."

Carla pointed to the lower corner where the time stamp read seven a.m.

"So this person knew access would be limited before seven, but also knew, or was mostly certain, that nobody else would be there at that time."

"Yes." Carla agreed. "And look at the time stamp when they exit the elevator back at the lobby level."

"So it took them less than four minutes to get to my office, plant the note, and exit the building?"

"They were quick. But that's not all. Look closely at what they're wearing in this photo." Carla pulled the first photo out of the pile.

"And this photo.” She place the photo of the person leaving the building next to the first one.

“I don't see any difference." Sam said, confused.

“I didn't either, but Cam caught it."

"Look at the shoes."

"Or lack thereof." Sam said with surprise. "What happened to the shoes?"

"Cameron's at your office right now doing a sweep. He thinks they left their shoes behind, probably with some surveillance equipment, so they could come back later."

"When I’m gone.” Understanding dawned on Sam. “When they don't have to worry so much about the time it would take to set it up."

"Call Cameron right now." Sam said suddenly. “Is he still there?"

"Yes, most likely." Carla was already dialing Cameron’s number, pressing the button to put it on speakerphone.

"Hey sexy, I’m still at Sam's offices."

"And I’m with Sam and you're on speakerphone." Carla admonished with a grin. "So don't make too many inappropriate comments."

"Hi, Sam." Cameron said heavily. “I’ve got some good news for you, and some bad news. What do you want first?"

"Hey Cam. Give me the bad news first." Sam told him with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"My team and I have found quite a few devices in your office. It looks like someone has been listening to your conversations for a while now. The person who was in here did indeed leave their shoes well hidden, and those shoes are holding video surveillance pieces, though they're incomplete."

Sam groaned. "Please tell me that's not the good news."

"No." Cameron continued. "The good news, is the fact that they're incomplete, means this person is planning to come back."

"That's good news?" Sam asked dubiously.

"Very good news. Because we can set up our own equipment today and get full visuals of them when they do."

"And what about the other devices? If we disable them, then the person or people behind this will know I’m onto them."

“I wanted to ask you about that. I know it will make working here a little more difficult, but I think we should leave everything, play it to our advantage. If you know someone's listening, and they don't know that you know, you can plant whatever you want in their heads."

Sam smiled. This was why she loved working with Cameron. He always found the silver lining in an otherwise dark situation.

"Ok, leave everything. Set up your own so we can get eyes on this person and we'll see where it takes us."

"You got it. We'll be done inside the hour and I’ll give you a login so you can see what I see. Did Carla tell you the rest yet?”

Sam looked at Carla with a raised eyebrow.

"We haven't gotten there yet, honey."

"Ok. Talk to you later then. I love you."

“I love you too, Cam."

"What's the rest?" Sam asked once Carla hung up.

"The note, it's a verse from the Bible. The passage tells about Moses getting the Ten Commandments and talks about God's forgiveness, but then says that the sins of the father will be visited on the children to the third and fourth generations. Cameron thinks this is someone who both dealt with your father and was burned, or is a child of someone who was wronged by him."

Sam's heart fell to her stomach. "Carla, do you have any idea how many people that could be? All my father ever did was do people wrong." Sam put her head in her hands and groaned softly. "Why now? Why not ten years ago? Five years ago? What's the significance of this time frame?"

Sam looked up at Carla. "What is it about my merger that’s bringing this person out? Because that's the only thing that's changed. And now we know, with certainty, that I’ve had ears on me for a while. That explains the leaks."

"Yeah.” Carla nodded. "Maybe if we can figure out who has some emotional investment in your failure, we can narrow the list of suspects."

Sam scrubbed her hands over her face, sighing with exasperation. "Again, it's going to be a long list. Ugh! I just want to be done with this! All I want is to be rid of these shackles my father left me with. Why is that so hard to do?"

"That's not all you want." Carla said softly. “If that were all you wanted, you would have offloaded CSM years ago. No, what you want is a complete dismantling and absorption to something else. What you want is for Norman and James to fall and fall hard." She pointed her finger at Sam. "And that is why you'll keep fighting until you get everything."

"You're right, of course." Sam sighed with resignation. “I’m just tired, Carla. Taking that trip to Hartstone, being able to really relax, it just highlighted how tired I am. I miss it." Sam frowned. “I didn't think I would. I thought I would be so happy to be back in the city, but I really miss the quiet. The peace. I miss being around those people who are just who they are. No one's out to impress you or make you think they're something they're not, that includes me. I could see myself in a place like that. Having some peace for all the trouble life has thrown my way."

Carla smiled a slow, knowing smile.

"What?" Sam huffed. "No. It's not because of Stone. I miss him too, I’ll admit it. But it felt so… good. You know? To just be. It just, it was nice. While it lasted anyway.”

"You know you can go back anytime." Carla interjected without losing that stupid smile.

“I’m going for thanksgiving.” Sam offered. “Stone just invited me."

Carla's smile turned into a full-fledged grin. “I knew it!” She exclaimed, laughing. "That man is so head over heels for you. Do you know he invited my family too?"

Sam looked at Carla in surprise. "No. he didn't say anything about that."

"He probably thought you'd be more comfortable if we were there as well. He's always thinking of things like that, thinking ahead."

“I am actually relieved. I did want to go to the ranch, but you guys are so important to me, I wanted to be with you too. This is perfect. My best friend and my... boo…boyfriend.” Sam stumbled over the word. “Wow. That is surprisingly strange and difficult to say.” Sam couldn’t keep the silly grin off her face. “I’m happy you’re going, Carla. All we have to do is get through these next couple of weeks unscathed, then we'll be able to enjoy a few days at Hartstone.”

Sam knew it wasn't going to be as easy as it sounded. If dealing with James and Norman wasn't enough, now she had to figure out who would want to see her fall because of something her father had done. She had a mile-long list of people her father had wronged. Most of them, she'd been able to make reparations to. There were some though, that she hadn't been able to find or simply wanted nothing to do with her. How was it that her life seemed to be getting better and worse and the same time?

* * *

Sam was delighted to be wrong about things not being so easy when the weeks passed without further incident, and nervous, because the weeks had passed without further incident.

Carla, Cameron, Maggie and Max flew with her to Colorado for the Thanksgiving holiday at Hartstone. Sam knew Stone would be gathering them from the airport, but she hadn't expected his companion.

The moment she laid eyes on the wiggling ball of fur and energy that couldn't wait to greet her, she broke into a huge grin, laughing, calling his name.

"Jasper!"

Stone simply said "go" and the dog was hurtling towards Sam as fast as his legs would carry him. She knelt and caught the quivering, yelping mass of fur in her arms, nearly crying with the joy of having him there. He licked her face and her arms and pressed his whole body into her like she could absorb him.

"Oh, Jasper I missed you so much!"

She scratched his ears, held his face, and laughed when he licked her chin, then buried his head in her neck.

"Just so you know," Said that chocolaty voice that kicked her heart up a notch. “I feel the same way he does. I think if I bowled you over and started licking you though, it wouldn't have quite the same affect."

"No." Sam agreed, laughing up at him. "The effect would definitely be different."

Something flashed through his eyes as she pushed Jasper gently away and stood to greet the man who was turning the world she knew upside down. He gathered her in his arms and held on tight. She was determined to say it first, so before he finished the inhale that she knew would lead to the words, she spoke.

“I missed you, Stone. I’m so happy you invited me. I’m happy I’m here with you."

He brought a hand up and put a finger under her chin, tilting her head back for a tender kiss. His lips brushed softly against hers as he whispered against her, “Sweetness, I’ve missed you more than you can imagine."

He moved so his breath was hot against her ear and finished his thought. "Let's get all of you back to the ranch so I can show you just how much I’ve been thinking of you." Sam shivered with delicious anticipation and nodded against him.

"Come on y'all!" Stone called out. "Time to get a move on."

Stone helped them get their luggage into the back of the big Rover and called Sam to sit up front with him. As soon as everyone was buckled in and they were on their way, he reached over, slid his fingers through hers, brought her hand to his lips and held them there a moment.

"I'm really happy you're here too, Sam. I can't remember a recent holiday I’ve looked forward to so much." He gave her knuckles one more kiss and rested their still intertwined hands on her thigh.

I love you. It was a fleeting thought that caused Sam’s breath to catch as she stared at him. She watched the corner of his mouth quirk and hoped she hadn't said it out loud. No, she was certain, almost certain, it had only been in her head.

“I know I’m a handsome fella, but if you keep staring at me like that, you might make me a mite nervous."

"I'm sorry. I just had to look at you for a minute."

It was partially the truth. She did love to look at him, and it wasn't that she didn't want to say the L word out loud. She realized that she did want to. She just didn't want the first time she said it to be in a car full of people.

Stone kept his hand wrapped around Sam's for the duration of their tide to Hartstone. He and Cameron carried on conversation, but he couldn't help glancing at Sam more often than he should have. She was quiet, distracted, for the rest of their journey and he was getting a little nervous about it.

Maybe he shouldn't have said just how much he was missing her, but she'd said it first. In the beginning, she’d seemed truly pleased to be here, but as they drove Samantha sank further and further into her own thoughts. He was doing his best not to push her, to let her take him as she needed to. He was not going to be letting her go, that much was certain, unless she genuinely wanted him out of her life, but Stone knew that wasn't the case. Sam responded to him like no other woman he'd ever been with. He simply couldn’t imagine a life without her. He just had to convince her that he was worth it, that she was worth it, that they were worth it.

He pulled up in front of the big cabin the Everson family would stay in, and helped them pull their luggage inside while Sam grabbed Carla, dragging her around the side of the building. Oh, how he wished he had some listening devices. Cameron gave him a knowing look, but just smiled.

"Those two do that quite a lot. Used to scare me. Now I just let them be and wait for the fallout. It's usually really good, or really bad, but most of the time it's good. I’m not worried though." He said with a chuckle.

"Why aren't you worried?" Stone asked cautiously.

"Because they're probably talking about you." Cameron laughed heartily, but Stone failed to see the humor of this situation. He cast a nervous glance towards the two women who were walking back to them. His heart sank when Sam swiped a tear from her cheek. She smiled a wobbly smile at him and Carla gave her a hug before helping her into the SUV.

"Take care of her, Stone." Carla said as she walked past him and led her family into the cabin.

He didn't know what that meant, and it appeared he wouldn’t get a chance to ask. Sam was waiting for him, so that had to be a good sign, right? He hustled around the front of the SUV, and climbed into the driver's seat.

Sam was quiet while he navigated their way to his cabin, then jumped out before he'd could even put the vehicle in park. She didn't say a word or make a move to gather her luggage, she just walked up the steps and through his front door.

Stone stared at that door, still sitting in the car, wondering what was waiting for him on the other side. His mind conjured a couple scenarios he didn't like at all.

Bite the bullet, he murmured as he jumped out of the car and jogged up the steps, telling Jasper to stay on the porch. His heart was beating hard, but he kept his face a careful blank when he opened the door. Sam stood in front of him, hands at her sides, looking remarkably calm except for the shimmer of tears in her eyes.

Shit. He thought. This is bad. He was just about to launch into his fight speech, the one where he told her all the reasons she should stay with him. The one where he begged her not to give up on them just when they'd gotten started. Stone never begged, but he would...

“I love you."

Her words were a whispered prayer, completely short-circuiting all the thoughts that had been swirling through his mind a moment ago.

“I love you, Stone."

She said it more firmly, but he could see the tremble in her hands, though they were pressed to her sides. He knew what it meant for her to say it out loud. His breath whooshed out as relief, then joy, poured through him. Stone took one giant step to her, grabbing her up, and swinging her around as he cried into her neck.

"Oh, baby."

He set her back on her feet and took her face in his hands, staring into those beautiful green eyes. He wiped his own tears, then hers, away with his thumbs and pressed his lips to hers. He moved over her, pouring every ounce of emotion he was feeling into that kiss. When Sam sobbed against him, he pulled back, keeping his eyes steady on hers.

"Why the tears, Sweetness? Tell me what's going on in that beautiful head of yours."

“I don't...” She began and stumbled. “I don't know."

Sam took a shuddering breath, then let it out slowly.

“I didn't expect to be so overwhelmed. It was just... once I said it... a lot. It was a lot more than I was prepared for."

Stone’s heart felt like it would burst from his chest. All he wanted to do was lay her down and love her like he'd been thinking about for weeks, but he knew she was so vulnerable right then, feeling a little raw emotionally, so he'd let her make the call. When she pushed back from him, saying she needed a shower, he sighed inwardly, mentally preparing for a cold one of his own, until she looked back over her shoulder at him.

"You coming or not, cowboy?”

In one smooth motion, Sam pulled her sweater over her head and let it drop it to the floor as she sashayed toward his bathroom. She was going to give him a heart attack today.

Stone growled and kicked off his boots. "Oh we're both gonna be coming real soon, Sweetness."

When she replied over her shoulder, “That's what I’m counting on." He had to wonder what he'd unleashed. He was loving it, but he was wondering.

"Say it again." He said with a gravelly voice when he had her shoved up against the tile wall, her legs wrapped around his waist, taking every last inch of him into herself. The water had long turned cold, but they were creating so much of their own heat they barely even noticed.

“I love you.” She gasped while he drove into her. "God, Stone. I love you."

He was a greedy bastard, he wanted it all. He pulled her hips against himself, grinding into her, giving it to her exactly where she needed it. When he felt her tighten around him and knew she was close, he gave her a little more and when she cried out, he buried his head against her neck, closing his eyes on a groan, falling over the edge with her. He was still holding her tight, not wanting to let go. Both of them still breathing heavily.

"Mine." He breathed into her. "Tell me your mine."

"Yours.” She breathed into him. "I'm all yours, Stone.”