Jesse's Brother Read Online Free PDF Page B

got out of the car.
“A sheep can’t fit in your car,” he said as he took some mail from his truck and unlocked the trailer door.
“I know. I just want to help you with all this stuff.” She walked over to the passenger side of the truck. Noah’s smile faded. She also wanted to get to know him a little better but the only way it would happen was by finding stuff out on her own. Going inside would help her learn a lot more.
“That’s nice of you, Samantha, but I don’t need help, really. Take your car home. I’ll be over there in a few to pick you up.”
He turned his back to her, walked up the few stairs to his front door, and then shut the door behind him.
She frowned. Why didn’t he invite her inside? Maybe this was all a game to him. She shook her head. It couldn’t be a game. Noah didn’t seem like the type of man who’d play with another person’s feelings. But there had to be a reason.
Wild thoughts ran through her mind as she got back into her car. What was the big deal if she took a look inside the trailer? What was he hiding?
She shot one last look in her mirror before going back down the dirt road. Within minutes her car was parked in front of her parents’ house with her sitting on the hood. Maybe she shouldn’t go with him after all.
She sat cross legged, and brought the straw to her lips. Coffee should’ve been named heaven in a cup. Shifting her gaze, she pretended not to see her mom approaching from the house.
Her mom walked over to her. “Samantha.”
“What?” She kept her eyes in the opposite direction. Forget the idea of waiting here while Noah got the sheep. The more she stayed here, the more she didn’t like her mother. She only wished Mom would realize she was actually pushing her away instead of helping.
“Where have you been?” her mom fired at her.
“I’m not a child anymore.”
“But you’re staying in my home.”
“That’s funny because I thought this was my home, too. My mistake,” Samantha said.
Her mother stood with her hands folded across her large bosom. Her apron was wet, giving a good indication she had been busy doing dishes. “I’m worried you’re out tarnishing your good name.”
“You have more important things to do than to worry about me.”
“Like what?”
Samantha motioned toward her mom’s wet tummy and replied, “The dishes.”
“You were with him, weren’t you?” Mom pointed in the direction of Noah’s trailer. “With who?” She turned toward her mother and slid her sunglasses down enough to peer over the top of them.
“Noah,” Mom snarled.
“Oh. I did run into him in town. We stopped at the feed store is all.” Smirking, she bit her tongue to stop the harsh words trying to break free. She took a deep breath to calm herself down. “Why don’t you like him, anyway?”
Her mom tapped the toe of her shoe against the gravel. “He’s bad news.”
She laughed. How could Noah be bad news? “And what makes you think so?”
“Look at him. His earrings, no family, and just everything! I bet he’s a hoodlum from the city.” Her mother rested her hands on her hips and looked down the road, in the direction Noah would be coming from at any moment. “So your time with him was innocent? You didn’t do anything that would shame our family?”
“Yes, and I’m leaving with him, too,” she said with her voice fill with contempt. “You know, I really wish you would accept me as an adult. That includes accepting the decisions I make.”
“Samantha Lynn Johns! I didn’t raise you to be a whore!”
She tried to squash the shock of the hateful words. What she wanted to do was to hop off the car and leave Alban altogether. It took all of her effort to stop herself. It didn’t matter what her mother claimed she was, she knew she wasn’t a whore. But the words had stung, like so many other times before.
“Don’t worry, Mom, I’ll tell you all the juicy secrets over breakfast tomorrow.” So much for restraint.
“You’re going to make