40 SAM
“Xavier, I need you to check whether the new sack deliveries are complete. We’re going to need to organize the warehouse for the annual inspection.
” I instructed my faithful squire at the farm.
“And thank you, Xavier… Since I got here a few months ago, all I’ve done is ask you what to do and take credit for it. ”
He laughed.
“Oh, please, ma’am—” He corrected himself. “Sam! Sorry. I can’t break the habit.”
“Fair enough. We’re partners here, until the new owner takes over and you become my boss and finally fire me!”
“I can never thank you enough for the opportunity to run the farm.”
“Abuela trusted these lands to you like she trusted her own life. No one could do this better than you.” I smiled. “Now go. I need to wrap things up here and get these leather boots off.”
The man left, closing the door, and I stared at all the invoices I still needed to issue.
The door opened again, but instead of Xavier or another employee, I found myself looking at a gray-haired man in jeans, a navy blue t-shirt, and sunglasses. I stood up, surprised.
“Connor?” I ran to him and threw my arms around him. “My God… is it really you?”
He held me by the waist, lifting me up as he kissed me without holding back.
“When you said you’d wear cowboy boots and a hat, I thought you were joking.” He smiled, looking me up and down. “Does that door have a lock?”
I laughed. I was so happy, so radiant. The door lock was the last thing on my mind.
“Wait, you said you couldn’t come because Ethan hadn’t gotten a flight home. And your dad?” God, I had so many questions, but I just wanted to kiss him, and that’s what I did again.
“If I’d known the reception would be like this, I would’ve broken Ethan’s leg sooner,” he joked, and I went to swat him, but he caught my hand mid-swing. “I already told you, you need to be faster if you want to surprise me.”
“How long are you staying?” I asked, pulling him out of the office. “Wow, I have so much to show you.”
“We have a few extra days. A gift from Gretta.” Gretta was almost an ethereal figure. We’d never met, but we were always in contact somehow. “So does that mean you’re really going to sell the farm?”
“Already sold!” I said excitedly. “That’s the best part of what I have to show you.”
I pulled Connor through the farm toward the main house where I’d been living while I was here.
We climbed the front stairs, greeted by Lynx, who recognized him immediately and tried to steal his attention. I couldn’t blame her… I missed him too.
We went straight to the private part of the house, heading into my bedroom with Connor taking the lead.
“I won’t lie. I’ve been looking forward to this part.” He pushed me against the bedroom door and his lips claimed mine.
“Hey, hey. Easy there.” This time I was the one who caught his wrists when his hands wandered toward the center between my thighs. “First I need to show you something that arrived today.” I went to the mahogany desk and grabbed the envelope. I handed it over and sat down, waiting for him to read.
While Connor scanned the paper, I felt the anxiety practically bursting from my chest. I could barely sit still on the bed.
“My God, you can’t possibly take this long to read,” I grumbled.
“I’d already finished. I was waiting for you to grumble.” He winked. “The Juilliard School? Do they deserve you?”
“Oh, come on. Don’t joke. It’s the best art school in the United States.” I pulled him to me.
“And you’re going to be the best Asian art history professor this world has ever seen.” He held my face between his hands and kissed me.
“I start next semester,” I said between kisses.
“You could go now… to get used to it, you know?” He pulled his shirt off. “Like an internship in New York before you officially start.”
“An internship, huh?” I leaned back on my elbows, watching him move over me. “What would I learn in this internship?”
Connor undid the buttons of my blouse with a single pull, exposing my bra. Then he kissed my abdomen, slowly moving up, and I threw my head back, enjoying the sensation.
Over the last eleven months, we’d had to get creative dealing with the distance and Connor’s lack of internet skills. There were night after night of phone conversations that always ended in some kind of dirty talk, my vibrators echoing through the silent farm.
“Ahh, Samantha… my little one,” he growled. “I have so much to teach you.”
Connor bit gently into the soft flesh of my breast.
“This is officially the best birthday of my life,” I moaned as he sucked my nipple into his mouth.
“The day is just beginning. I have big plans for you today.”
Connor pulled off his pants while I shed my clothes with the eagerness of someone who’d been anxiously awaiting this reunion.
From the day Connor left and I stayed behind for another month in that hospital, not a single day passed without me wondering if it had all been a delusion.
Without the scars and the flowers Connor sent me daily, I’d have thought I never left that desert.