Along Came Love by Rita Hestand Page A

good at this kind of thing,
Jake…"
    Jake chuckled again, "No bro…this is
something I have to work out for myself."
    Deke nodded.
    "Don't worry so much…okay?" Jake saw the
distress in his brother's face and wanted to relieve his mind, but
he wasn't going to say another word about his plans until he was
sure about them. He'd led everyone down the wrong path already, he
wouldn’t do that again.
    "Alright, since I'm butting into your
business, I might as well butt in good. How about you and Samantha,
is this serious?" Deke blurted.
    "Boy, you don't beat around the bush do you?"
Jake chuckled.
    "You don't get answers by being shy." Deke
smiled. "And I've kind of wished you would for a long time now. I
mean just because your first relationship didn't work, doesn't mean
you can't have another."
    Jake stopped for a minute, as though
remembering that relationship, then glanced over at his brother. "I
hadn't thought of Darla in years."
    "And Sammie Jo mentioned a Laurie Beth, in
Peaceful…what of her?"
    Jake glanced at the hay, and thought for a
minute then shrugged. "Laurie Beth is a nice lady that I've known
her ever since I moved to Peaceful. We've gotten along good. But
she's sorta been pushing me towards the bar exam and the
partnership, telling me how much money I'll make, what a future I
would have. A lot like a brother I know."
    "And….is this bad?" Deke countered.
    "Right now it is…for one thing, Laurie Beth
is a lawyer and she wants me to be one too. She wants it so bad
she's been talking law non-stop for months now. It has somewhat
hindered our relationship, if you get my drift. I respect her,
think a lot of her, but I don't love her." Jake announced,
surprising himself.
    "So Darla is history, Laurie Beth is about to
become history…where does that leave Samantha?" Deke inquired.
    "I like her…a lot…" Jake answered slowly.
    "Does she know it?"
    Jake shrugged, "Samantha is man shy right
now…I think I've got my work cut out for me there. She's just
coming off a divorce from another lawman."
    Deke nodded his understanding.
    "One more question, and this is my
business…Sammie Jo, I heard you had to talk to the counselor about
her. Want to fill me in on that one?" Deke asked, scratching his
booted foot into the hay.
    "No use fretting that one either, bro. I did
talk to her counselor, but it wasn't anything to worry about. She's
just playing match-maker…" Jake laughed.
    "For you?" Deke queried.
    "No…for a couple of teachers. And Samantha is
her counselor. We've devised a way of nipping that in the bud, so
to speak." Jake informed him.
    "Oh, and just how do you plan on doing that,
I haven't been able to stop her," Deke admitted.
    "Samantha and I are playing into her hands.
She's decided Samantha and I are meant for each other. So we are
playing it up, we'll have this settled by the wedding."
    Jake assured him.
    "So…you and Samantha aren't serious about
each other?" Deke asked, turning his head with a question in his
eyes.
    Jake stopped and turned to look at Deke, "I
didn't say that either…"
    "You are quite a mystery bro, but I aim to
figure you out before you leave." Deke affirmed.
    "I'll look forward to it…" Jake chuckled.

Chapter Seven
    Hannah and Rusty got there about noon, and
Hannah dug right in and helped Emma with the noon meal. The three
girls talked almost non stop and the men couldn't do much but lick
their lips and get to work. Since there were so many kids, they
made a small table for them on the back porch and crowded them all
around it. The kids couldn't have been happier, it had been a while
since they had seen each other.
    Hannah's little one slept through most of the
meal and that made it easy for her to join in the conversation
too.
    Everyone ooh and awed over the baby and
couldn't believe Rusty and Hannah made it all look so easy. Jake
couldn't take his eyes off the baby. "He's so little…"
    "They all are at this age, Jake," Hannah
laughed. "You are so good with kids, it's time you