Heights: Circumstances of Fate, #2

By Frankie Pendles

The hot romance between Sam and Anna picks up in a small mountain town. This story follows "Converge" in the Circumstances of Fate series. The couple's relationship is pushed to the limits as they are confronted with temptation and lust. Family drama only adds to the turmoil. Do Sam and Anna have lasting love, or will temptation be too strong to overcome?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Frankie Pendles
• Release date: Apr 21, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224219551

Frankie Pendles

About Frankie Pendles  Frankie Pendles is an accomplished novelist with a passion for entertaining readers with her creative imagination. She resides in Texas with her husband and a full crew of rescue dogs. To keep up with the latest releases from Frankie, sign up for updates at frankiependles.com or follower her at bookbub.com/authors/frankie-pendles  In addition to the Circumstances of Fate series, Frankie's other books are listed on her website at frankiependles.com. She also publishes stories chapter by chapter on Patreon and Radish. 

Book preview

Chapter 1

Anna

Anna breathed in the chilled air. At this height, the air always seemed clean and fresh. It was such an improvement from breathing in the combusted exhaust of tens of thousands of cars on her daily commute back home. Well, actually, she was home now.

Cumberton had been her home for the first 18 years of life. After high school and after what happened to her on prom night, Anna needed a change. She headed to the big city to start a new life. There, she welcomed her daughter into her life. There, she also got divorced and was sexually harassed at work. Except for memories with Viv and Sam, that city held nothing but deep regrets.

As the sun radiated warmth over her skin, Anna reflected on what once was. She rarely let her mind go back there, but she found strength in the day. Her time in the city was marred by the turmoil of a divorce and intense sexual harassment at work. Even Sam has a tough time of it. A highly publicized workplace allegation drove him away. Both sought relief from big-city life.

Just before they both left town, seemingly heading in different directions, they shared several torrid, intimate weeks. While the sex was undoubtedly the best of Anna’s life, Sam and Anna quickly connected on a deeper level. Deep longing filled her as she reflected on their first night together. Sam was a powerful lover, and she lost herself completely when they connected.

The moment passed as the reality of her current situation set in. Her mother was recently released from a mental health facility and required constant love and support from Anna and Viv. Today offered a respite of sorts from her responsibilities. The grumble of a car running over the steep, graveled road to her mom’s house woke Anna from her thoughts. Sam had exciting plans for them that day. Secret plans. Anna loved secrets.

She ran into the house to say goodbye to Viv and her mom. They were in front of the TV watching one of those rose shows. Her mom and daughter were so caught up in some dramatic scene on the TV that they barely acknowledged her. Anna grabbed her jacket and headed out the door. It was a light blue jacket that highlighted her skin’s natural glow.

Sam walked around the car just as Anna reached the bottom of the porch steps. His physique never failed to amaze her. He was a tall man with naturally wavy, brown hair. He'd grown it out a bit over the last few weeks, and it now gave him a carefree vibe that looked great on him. His sculpted jawline and chiseled features always made her tingle.

He said, Hey, babe. You look great!

Sam wrapped her in a warm hug. Her hands found his back. For a moment, her mind went back to their last time in bed. Her hands were on his bare back, and his muscles rippled with power as he brought her to ecstasy. The short-lived daydream made her knees weak.

He broke the hug and planted a kiss on her lips. His lips were firm and thick, and his barely-there scruff grazed her skin. Sam smelled of cedarwood and some combination of manly spices.

Come on, let’s go! he said.

He opened the car door and waited for her to slide in. Once he got in the car, too, he took her hand and kissed it.

I can’t believe how lucky I am, Anna.

What do you mean?

He said, I get to spend the day with the most amazing woman.

And the night, too, if you play your cards right.

Anna loved to tease him. He wiggled just slightly, as if to shake away the dirty thoughts she’d conjured in his head.

So, where are we going? Anna asked.

Instead of answering, Sam started humming. He clearly wasn’t about to tell her. The humming stopped as he made his way onto the main road. It wasn’t a busy road. Hardly any tourists made their way up to Cumberton. The road was narrow and winding through. She questioned if the guardrail would protect them from falling into the ravine below.

Anna loved almost everything about the mountains. The air, the smells, the cool weather... The one thing she didn’t care for is the heights. There was something about looking down and seeing only a long, sharply descending mountainside that made her absolutely queasy.

She shifted her eyes back into the car to avoid being sick. They listened to the music for about 10 minutes. Anna didn’t want him to take his eyes off the road, so she made no effort to initiate a conversation.

Sam pulled the car off at a local gas station, patted the steering wheel and said, She’s gonna need some energy to get us there.

While the tank was filling up, Sam went inside the convenience store. When he came out, he carried a plastic bag filled with stuff. Now, Anna was curious. Where could he possibly be taking me that we need that much stuff?

As he slid into the car, she said, You’ve gotta tell me what we’re doing today.

Oh, you’ll see. I promise you’ll love it.

The sun filtered through the window, spreading a glow across his wavy hair. Anna couldn’t help but admire his rugged profile against the sunshine. She smiled, taking in the bliss of the moment. It’s so easy to get caught up in the business of life, but this was one of those moments that was worthy of pausing and enjoying it for all that it is.

Chapter 2

Sam

SAM TURNED ON THE IGNITION to his Honda, but he didn’t put the car in gear. The intensity of the moment that unraveled only moments before in the convenience store fractured his focus. The many options of snack mixes and granola bars consumed him as he stood in the center of an aisle, but his decision-making was interrupted by a firm grip on his bicep and the smooth sound of a woman’s voice.

He turned to face Ginny as she said, Sam! I didn’t expect to find you here! It's been a while. What have you been up to?

Sam’s response was polite enough. He said, "Just getting settled in really. What about you? You look exhausted.

Well, gee. Thanks, Sam.

That didn’t come out right. I’m sorry.

Ginny eyed him up and down, spending extra time gazing at his crotch.  She looked so long, in fact, that Sam moved a bag of trail mix in front of himself. A sad look drifted across her face, and she sighed.

Feeling completely uncomfortable, Sam said, Hey, it was nice to see you, but Anna’s waiting in the car.

Ginny reached for Sam’s arm again and replied, Oh, sure. You know, I’d love to have coffee or lunch sometime after the baby is born. Just the two of us, you know. Since Jason and Anna don’t get along well.

Sam knew full well that they got along just fine. Too fine, probably. More than that, he knew Ginny knew.

She gazed at him with a combination of loneliness and longing, and she continued, It would just mean so much to me to connect, you know. On a deeper level. The last words were loaded with meaning that Sam couldn’t ignore.

Sam nodded without actually agreeing to anything, and she hugged him for far too long.

In the car, Sam took a deep breath, knowing the encounter would upset Anna. She was fiddling on her smartphone, and she immediately looked up when he said, Oh, hey, I saw Ginny in there.

Sam knew all about the bad blood between Anna and Ginny, Jason’s wife. Jason and Anna dated for several years in school when he shattered her world on prom night. Jason and Ginny weren’t just making out in the swimming pool at an after-party. They were all-out having sex in front of dozens of their friends. Cumberton is a small town, and news of Jason’s betrayal spread like wildfire through the grapevine. Anna was publicly humiliated. Humiliation and heartbreak drove her out of town a few days after graduation, and she didn’t look back.

Anna kept Sam in the loop about her time with Jason since she got back to town recently. Despite his wife being very pregnant, Jason asked Anna out within days of her arrival. It was supposedly platonic, but that didn’t stop him from being obnoxiously handsy at the local bar, O’Henry’s. She fought off the groping, not realizing Sam was watching from across the bar. Anna had no idea he was even in the same state. Her look of both shock and joy was one that Sam wouldn’t soon forget.

That was the moment when Sam and Anna realized that they had both moved within miles of each other, unbeknownst to them. It was the moment their relationship reignited, and Sam hoped the flame would burn forever.

Oh, what did she say?

Sam and Anna had unexpectedly bumped into Jason and Ginny at a local cafe last week. Jason quickly invited them to join them at their table and refused to take no for an answer. It was uncomfortable, to say the least. Jason couldn’t take his eyes off Anna. This was obvious to Ginny, who decided to ogle Sam in response. It showed how toxic Jason and Ginny’s relationship was. A married couple with three young children shouldn’t be so blatantly coming on to other people in front of each other. Or at all, really. But definitely not in front of each other.

Sam almost expected Ginny to storm off in tears or to start calling Anna horrible names. Instead, she flirted shamelessly with Sam for most of the night. While Anna was rebuking Jason’s over-the-top advances, she kept a watchful eye on Ginny. Ginny had a history of going after her men, and Sam saw the fight in Anna’s eyes. She wasn’t about to let Ginny just walk in and swoop away her man this time.

After that unbearable dinner, Anna confided in Sam about the rumors she’d heard about Ginny and Jason. After Jason cheated on Anna on prom night, he clearly hadn’t had his fill. Jason was a perpetual cheater, and Ginny was stuck raising a few kids with him.

Of course, stuck wasn’t necessarily the right word. Everyone has choices. It’s just that some choices are easier to make than others. In Ginny’s case, she had no independent source of income and three children to feed. Even if she wanted to leave Jason, it probably wasn’t realistic.

Nonetheless, the marital issues with Jason and Ginny had nothing to do with them. Sam and Anna got out of the cafe as fast as they could that day, and they hadn’t seen the couple again until today.

Chapter 3

Anna

Anna watched Sam impatiently, but he was lost in thought. Well? What happened just now?

Well, she gave me a hug and flirted a bit, Sam said.

This is gonna be trouble. With both of them.

Sam said, It’s only trouble if we let them get in between us. And we won’t.

Neither one of them seems happy. I don’t know how many women it takes to make Jason happy, but the answer is definitely more than one. Ginny seems intent on doing everything she can to catch your eye. Maybe to make Jason jealous, or maybe just to get some male attention. Either way, I don't like that we’re involved in this, Anna said.

We aren’t, Anna.

She’s clearly interested in you.

Sam replied, But I’m not interested in her. At all. Zero. Zilch. Nada. I’ve only got eyes for one beautiful woman, and she’s right here, he said, reaching for her hand.

They were already traveling back down the winding mountain road, to some unknown location. Anna didn’t want him to focus on anything but the road, but she wasn’t done with the topic yet.

She said, Because you know I’ve been cheated on. Several times actually. Anna was referring to her ex-husband as well as Jason. I’ve done that whole thing, and I don’t care to do it again.

Sam said, Well, as long as I’m here, you don’t have to worry about it.

Anna took a deep breath and turned to look at the side window. It was a mistake. The expansive view was gorgeous, but the elevation made her queasy. Despite the brilliant sunshine and blue skies, Anna closed her eyes and focused on keeping her stomach’s contents down. Even though she lived in Colorado for her entire childhood, she never got over her fear of heights.

After a while, Anna felt the car rumbling over a gravel road. She must have dozed off because the clock said several hours had passed. Sam was beaming with pride, which seemed unusual until Anna realized where they were.

Not long after Anna and Sam reunited in Colorado, Anna told him about all of her favorite places in the area. One of those places was Baker’s Falls. It was an out-of-the-way place that her dad took her to only once. The path to the falls was mostly overgrown, but a natural treasure awaited you at the end if you completed the trek.

Getting to the Baker’s Falls trailhead took several hours, and there would be