But even more importantly, she had caught
the eye of a very handsome young Captain in the US Army, Jeff Rowe. Jeff had
watched Sam shoot, and was totally fascinated by her. How could any beautiful
woman, like Samantha, develop that sort of skill with such a big gun?
Sam had never had a boyfriend. She had not
grown up like a normal girl. Her life
with the clan had been pretty grim. She was forced to focus more on keeping
body and soul together, than on anything else. As she got older, she was
beautiful, could shoot a flea off a
squirrel at one hundred yards, but she was wary, and never learned to play
and laugh without constantly having to look over her shoulder. Her Mama and sister at the Clan were nice to her, so she clung to them. But as she grew, Samantha
realized, more and more, that their love was not unconditional, not no matter what, but was designed, in
some way unknown to her, to benefit the Clan. But Samantha was a loving child,
and she needed somebody to love. So, she directed that love to those who were
nice to her. Yet as she grew older, a feeling grew inside her that her love was
being used. Why, she did not know.
This produced insecurities, and she built a wall around her loving heart. She
never learned to totally and unconditionally trust.
Jeff never had a life of privilege, either. But
he had an important thing that Samantha lacked. He had a real honest-to- God
family that loved him. No matter what.
That family included a mother and sisters.
Jeff, although he was a loyal soldier and
a really tough guy, was a gentle and fun loving man. Samantha knew she could
trust him with her life, but could she trust him with her heart?
Jeff dedicated himself to helping Samantha
learn to play, to laugh. So…..flirting, watching the stars, picnics, word
games, going to a dance or two, became commonplace. Often, Jeff was busy
keeping other guys away from beautiful Samantha, as much as possible. But by
this time, Samantha had begun to love him and trust her heart to him. A measure
of gentleness came over Samantha, and she was no longer just a beautiful girl
who could shoot a buffalo gun with deadly accuracy. She and Jeff had began to
long for a deeper relationship.
US
Captain Jeff was the commanding officer of the US troops in Little Rock at the
moment. Jeff and Samantha spent time together on the shooting range, and she
even helped raise the skill level of a career officer in the US military,
though he was slow to admit that. After all, he was a man, but what a man he was!
Samantha was saving her money. Before
long, she bought her own business. A restaurant and bar. Dead eye Sam’s
Restaurant and Bar finally, at long last, came to be. Over the next month, it
was running smoothly, pretty well on its own. About all Samantha did was visit
with the customers, most of whom were admirers of Samantha. She had never taken
a vacation, but now she could. She knew she could trust her employees. It was
time for her to find Tenny.
The night before she was scheduled to
leave, Sam and Jeff ate a nice meal together at Dead eye Sam’s, as they often
did. After the meal, Jeff suggested they go to Samantha’s apartment. Samantha
was already going over thoughts in her own mind, hoping to bring this about. Samantha
had hoped they could spend a little time together before she left. High quality
time, but not too good.
Jeff had a lot on his mind. The election
was coming up. But when with Samantha, the election, mostly, faded into the
background temporarily, and he could think mostly of her.
“The
democrats don’t even have a candidate. Course, there’s really no need. The
Federal Government is not about to allow a Democrat to govern. But the
Republican Primary is beginning to heat up. Lots of hard feelin’s. The governor
right now is not running, he’s moving up to the Senate. But I’m afraid there’s
going to be trouble in the primary, and I don’t have near enough troops to keep
things under control. I don’t want you coming back right in the middle of
trouble, could be dangerous. Please, Samantha, be back well before the Primary.
You’re too important to me, and I may be too busy to help you much about then.”
Samantha smiled. “You’re so important to me, too, Jeff. I worry about you, not having enough troops.”
Samantha
had a nice apartment on the second floor at Anthony House, one of the nicest
buidings in Little Rock. It had a great view of the river area, also of the Governor’s
State House, just a block away.
Once inside, Samantha asked, “Want some coffee,
Jeff?
“Sure, Samantha. But don’t be long. I’ve
got plans for tonight,” he said as he smiled at her.
With the coffee perking, she returned. Jeff
pulled her to him and kissed her tenderly. Samantha placed her arms around his
neck and pulled him close. They kissed again, more seriously.
Samantha noticed
Jeff was getting, maybe, a little too
romantic. She pushed him to arm’s length, gently, and said, “The coffee. I was
about to forget it. Be right back.”
Jeff took only a sip, and returned with
even more excitement to the business at hand. After a few minutes, Samantha
pushed back. “Jeff, I’ve got to tell you something. Before I forget it myself,
and we get too carried away, you need to know. I’m saving myself for the man I
marry. I don’t want to lead you on, with all this kissing. I love you more than
life itself. But I just needed to let
you know that before we go too far. This is difficult for me, because I really don’t want you to stop.
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