Who cares? It got us here and that's the main thing.
"Down there."
Garth pointed to a sign on a dark glass window a short distance from where they were standing. 'Newland, Newland and Cooper. Solicitors.'
Sami walked toward the building and lifted her hand to open the door but it opened before she could touch it.
"Sorry, please, come in."
Sami looked up into the rich, dark chocolate-brown eyes of the handsomest man she had ever seen. His glossy dark brown hair hung stylishly over his forehead and curled around his ears. A polo shirt in rich blue was tucked into moleskin pants hugging his hips and strained over his crotch. Letting her gaze travel further down his legs, she compared his shiny brown boots to her dusty scuffed ones.
Her brain forgot to tell her feet to lift up and she stumbled at the step falling toward the floor. He reached out a hand to catch her, gripping her arm in a steel-like vice.
"Fuck, sorry. I didn't mean to throw myself at you." The heat raced up her face when he raised an eyebrow and let go of her arm. Stepping aside he held the door for her brother and then walked out closing it behind him.
Way to go Sami, swearing at the locals already. Good way to make friends and influence people. Not.
Garth pushed her into the reception area and she looked around, her befuddled mind taking it all in. Straightening up, her gaze honed in on the petite blonde behind the desk with a tight smile plastered on her face.
"Good afternoon. How may I help you?" Sami bristled as the girl looked the pair of them up and down and fidgeted with her pen, her discomfort obvious.
"Um... Sami Darling to see Mr. Newland. I... um, I... think he's expecting me." Sami jammed her hands into the back pockets of her jeans and wished herself a million miles away. This town with its pretty gardens and quaint historic buildings was so far away from everything she knew. Neither of them fitted in here and the look on the blonde’s face shoved it home in a way that dug under her skin.
"Certainly. If you would take a seat over there." She indicated a couple of chairs against a wall dotted with landscapes and a magazine rack casually propped between the seats. "I'll let Mr. Newland know you are here."
Sami and Garth walked over and sat down. She kept her eyes on the woman behind the counter straining to hear what she was saying but gave up and looked around. People were going about their business outside and she kept her gaze on the footpath watching and waiting for someone to come and give them the keys to their future.
"Miss Darling?" A middle aged man stood in front of her. His warm brown eyes were crinkled and the smile on his mouth lifted her spirits. "I'm Rupert Newland. If you would be kind enough to follow me down to my office?"
"Yes, hi. I'm Sami, as you know, and this is Garth, my brother. How do you do." She moved forward. He shook her outstretched hand before he turned and led them down the hallway.
"Can I get you a drink? Coffee, tea? You must be tired after such a long trip." He walked around to the back of his desk, indicating two chairs.
"Coffee would be great, thanks." She looked around the room, before sitting down in the worn, antique, leather chair.
He picked up the phone and ordered coffee. When he hung up, Rupert smiled at them folding his hands on the desk. "I'm so glad you could make it. I think your grandfather would be pleased to know you have decided to take over the farm."
Sami met his gaze and a chill ran down her back. The smile didn't meet his eyes. He seemed cold and distant.
"Well, I don't quite know about that. You see, we didn't even know we had a grandfather. As far as we were concerned we had no family." Sami ran her palms over the legs of her jeans, feeling uncomfortable under his scrutiny.
What the hell was his problem?
"It's a shame when families break down but you are here now and ready to take over the farm. I'm sure he would have approved. Tell me"—he leaned forward and tapped his manicured fingertips on the desk —"do either of you have any farming experience?"
"We ran cattle until Mum got too sick and we had to sell up. Although I doubt anything we did will have much of a bearing on the kind of farms you have out here." Garth looked to his sister for confirmation. "Don't you think so, Sami?"
"Sure looks different from what we are used to." She raised an eyebrow and looked back at the solicitor. "Exactly what kind of farm are we talking about, Mr. Newland? You seemed to have sidestepped the question every time I have asked you." Sami sat back and lifted her foot, crossing it over her knee and cupping it with her hand. She tapped a rough broken nail against the heel of her well-worn dusty boot, keen for this conversation to be over.
There was a knock on the door and a young lady in a grey pencil-thin skirt tottered in on very high heels with a tray of coffee. She glanced at Sami and Garth before placing it on the table in front of them.
Rupert smiled and waited for the cups to be shared around before he spoke again. "It has been a bit of a mixed bag for years actually. Your grandfather bred some of the most magnificent horse flesh I have ever seen." His smile twisted as if he had tasted something bad before he spoke again. "He also
