Kinkade, Lea - I Got a Feelin' [The Chisholms of Texas 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Lea Kinkade Page A

had been in a series of foster homes. It seemed to her that, in all the foster homes she had been in over the years, the children all seemed to be vying for the attention of the parents, so they never seemed to grow close to each other.
    Samantha, being somewhat shy and unassuming as a young girl, had gone virtually unnoticed as she passed from foster home to foster home. Early on, Samantha had learned that it wasn’t safe to care for anybody too much, as they could be gone in the space of an hour. That’s about how long it took her to pack up her belongings when she was moved between her various foster homes. People promised to keep in touch, but they never did.
    “I understand your mother is a force to be reckoned with. What was it like having her for a mother growing up?” She was really enjoying the stories he was telling her about his siblings and business and wanted to keep him talking.
    “Oh, no. That’s a conversation for another evening. I’ve talked your ear off already about my family. Tell me about yourself, darlin’. Do you have any brothers or sisters? What do your parents do?” He seemed to genuinely want to know more about her.
    Knowing how he would probably react to the full-blown version of her life, she decided to give him a short version of the truth that was her life and see how he reacted.
    “As far as I know, I’m an only child. I haven’t seen or talked to my mother since I was around seven. I was in and out of state custody since I was a baby. I was in and out of foster homes for most of my childhood. One day, she just stopped showing up for the visits. I was in foster care until I turned eighteen. My father was never in the picture.” While telling him the story, she had been looking down at her lap. Raising her glance to meet his, she saw surprise and an emotion resembling pity flash in his eyes.
    “No! I didn’t tell you so you could pity me, damn it. I just felt you had a right to know the real me before this… thing between us goes any further.”
    “I don’t pity you, darlin’. I feel stupid for bellyaching about my family to you, and I feel a little angry at your mother for not seeing what a wonderful person you are, but I don’t pity you. Look at you. You had nothing and no one to count on. With hard work you now own your own business. You’ve left that all behind and you’re a success. If you thought your story was going to make me run away from you, you were wrong.” He moved closer to her on the couch.
    Touching her cheek with his fingertips, he softly caressed her. “It only makes me admire the person that you are today even more. I thought you were pretty awesome before I heard what you had to overcome in your life. Now, I think you’re almost too good to be true.”

    * * * *

    Seeing that she was becoming emotional and knowing instinctively that she wasn’t ready for him to see her like that, Ryan stood.
    “Look, it’s getting pretty late and I should probably get going. How about I meet you Monday under our oak tree and we can have lunch together and swap a few more stories. I’ll even tell you about my mother.” She had really seemed to like his stories about his family, so he dangled the story of his mother to her as an incentive.
    She laughed, as he’d intended. “Okay. I’ll see you Monday then.” She looked a bit uncertain as she walked him toward the door. Seeing her vulnerability touched him on a level that he’d never been touched on before.
    “Monday it is, darlin’. Take care, and be sure to lock up after me,” he said as he leaned in gently and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. “By the way, I’m glad you’re finally acknowledging this ‘thing’ between us.” As she locked up after him, Samantha could hear him whistling as he walked down the steps to his truck.

    * * * *

    As Ryan entered Chaps & Spurs, he couldn’t stop thinking about Samantha Michaels. He wanted her. He hadn’t been this interested in a woman in a long time, if