Inherit The World

Chapter One

No one told her Sam was coming back. Maybe they didn't know. It was possible they were just as surprised as she was. Sam left eight years ago, right after his high school graduation. The first few years he was gone, he'd come home for Christmas and for a brief visit in the summer–until three years go. Three years ago Sam stopped coming home at all. He always had an excuse to stay away, but now he was there, drinking a cup of coffee and making her fall in love with him all over again.

She stared at him for a minute, not believing he was real. He was exactly the same as the last time she saw him, but somehow he was even hotter. It was as if all the features she'd loved about him before were more refined. His hair was still short, his mop top of dark curls poked out in all directions. He was still handsome, even more so with a five o'clock shadow. He sat on a stool at the counter in nothing but his boxer shorts, a habit she hoped he never broke. She wanted to take the coffee cup out of his hand and crawl up onto his lap. She'd show him just how he affected her. And that's when he looked up.

"Alice," he put his coffee down and stared at her for a moment before a smile appeared and he continued. "How are you?"

Alice padded across the floor in her bare feet and made a beeline for the coffee maker. She was now aware of how little she was wearing. Her nightgown barely covered her ass. "Good. How've you been, Sam?"

She turned to see him shrug his shoulders. Something was wrong, she knew it instantly. Sam wasn't back for a random visit, he'd come back for a reason.

All the possibilities ceased to rush through her head when Sam appeared beside her. He reached past her for the carafe while she stirred her coffee. She tried to ignore the electricity coursing through her body. The feelings she spent three years burying were right there at the surface.

"I'm okay."

If he meant his answer to come out as nonchalant it had the opposite effect. She tore her gaze away from her coffee and glanced at him. One look at the bags under his eyes told her he was hiding something. Something painful. Her heart broke for him. She'd spent three years trying to convince herself she was over him. She knew now just how wrong she was.

Her mouth opened, then her mother burst into the room.

"Sam!" She flung her arms open and embraced him, kissing him on the cheek. "Your father never told me you were coming."

"He doesn't know," Sam returned the embrace. "It's nice to see you, Cathy."

"You didn't tell him you were coming?"

Sam shrugged his shoulders and took a sip of his coffee. "Thought I'd surprise him. Where is he?"

"He's already at the office," Cathy rolled her eyes. "You should stop by and surprise him. Hey, Sam, do me a favour?"

"Sure, Cathy. What do you need?"

"Can you give Alice a ride into the office when you go see your dad? Her car is in the shop. I would take her, but Martha called this morning. She needs me to stop by."

Alice buried her smile in her coffee cup. "What's wrong with Martha?"

Cathy waved a hand in the air. "Oh, you know, she left her husband."

"Again?" Alice raised an eyebrow.

"You know Martha, she falls in love with guys who are all wrong for her," Cathy shook her head, then patted Sam on the cheek. "Do yourself a favour, Sam. If you ever fall in love, make sure it's with the right girl." Her mother flew out of the room, thanking Sam even though he hadn't agreed to anything.

Alone again, Alice wanted to ask him why he was really home. Instead, it was Sam who started asking the questions.

"Why do you need to go to the office?"

"I'm working there." Alice didn't miss the way Sam's lips twitched. For some reason, her working at the office seemed to please him, or amuse him, she wasn't sure which. "I started a year ago." Instead of running away like Sam, she stayed. She wanted to learn the business. Her stepfather, Charles, told her the best way to learn the business was to be in it. Charles said he could teach her things she'd never learn in any school.

Sam glanced at the clock. "What time do you have to be in?"

"Nine."

"Okay. I'm going to grab a quick shower. Meet you at the car in an hour?"

Alice nodded as he left the room. In his absence, the feelings from three years ago lingered. Confusion. Loneliness. Lust. They were all still there.