Page 46 of Theirs to Treasure

“Why were you so mad, Sam? You didn’t have to hit Dane.” Josie gave him a hurt and mad look.

He speared his fingers through his dark hair. “It kills me anytime I see you in pain. I just want to be there to take it away from you. Then to think that Dane was misusing you made me crazy.”

Josie thrust her hands on her hips. “He wasn’t misusing me, he was helping me.” She stared at Sam. “There is no way that a relationship between us is going to work if you think I don’t have the sense I was born with. Yes, I was in a crap relationship six years ago. That’s because I was in too deep with my sisters, work, and school that I couldn’t even see if the sky was blue. I’m past that. If you can’t respect me for the woman I am, then we don’t have a chance in hell of working out, Sam.”

Chance kept his mouth shut and prayed Sam would say the right thing.

“What about when you wore the heels?” Sam asked.

“I was stupid, I grant you that. Chance told me about you chopping wood. Should I always assume you’re an imbecile?” she asked him.

Chance managed not to laugh.

“Uhhhm, I would prefer it if you didn’t,” Sam said delicately.

“How about if I assume you are an intelligent human being who can sometimes be an idiot and that you could really use someone to lean on from time to time?” she asked softly.

Chance watched the slow smile that crossed his partner’s face. Sam walked up to Josie and took her into his arms. “Can I assume that you are a beautiful, outrageously smart, kind, and occasionally misguided woman who might consent to lean on me from time to time?” he whispered against her temple.

“I would really, really like that.”

“What about Chance, should we let him in on this?” Sam asked.

She turned in Sam’s arms and held out her hand for Chance. “What about it, Chance? Can you admit to wanting to lean on us from time to time?”

“Absolutely. Hell, I’ll even admit to being a kind and outrageously smart individual.”

“And a smartass,” Sam said.

“Yeah, I’ll cop to that too,” Chance agreed. “I’ll cop to the sky being green if I can somehow talk you out of your clothes. It’s been a long day, I think it’s night-night time.”

Josie rolled her eyes and looked over at Sam. “Does he ever stop?”

“Hell, if he’s talking about you stripping, I sure as hell hope not.” Sam turned her so that they were all facing one another.

“Come here, you beautiful, feisty lady. Do you know how turned on I was when you threw down on Sam? Scared the piss out of me that he’d fuck things up, but you got me all kinds of hot and bothered.”

She looked up at him. “Really? Or are you just teasing again?”

He paused. “Hey, I know I tease, but I’m serious. You were a sight to behold.” He stroked back the hair from her face and tilted up her chin, so they were looking eye to eye. “I sometimes hide behind the jokes, I’ll grant you that, but I’m telling you the truth. I’ve been wanting this relationship for the three of us before you even arrived in Fate Harbor, but I knew that it would take some doing. I was worried about both of your pasts, and how you would relate to one another.”

“Before I moved to Fate Harbor?”

Chance knew he needed to confess to this before it was all over with, and now looked to be the best time.

He nodded. “Josie, I helped to get you the bank loan. When I saw you on Betty’s computer screen and remembered what you were like all those years ago, I had to meet you again. I have been halfway in love with you before you stepped foot in the state of Washington.”

* * *

She didn’t know how to respond. Sam’s hand came to rest on her lower back. She turned to him. “Did you know about this?”

“Yeah, he told me the day after we went to dinner at Butch and Betty’s.”

“You mean, after we…”

“Yeah, after that night,” Sam confirmed.

She turned back to look into Chance’s blue eyes. “But why did you maneuver me like that? Did you think I was some kind of pity case?”