"Secrets We Keep: Love, Lies, and a Long-Buried Mystery"

Snow Ground City is located in Utah. "I think I see him!" you exclaim. Madison Henderson, who is the sister of Samantha Henderson, stood on her tippy-toes at the Snow Ground International Airport terminal. This was an action that Samantha thought was unnecessary because Madison already towered above the majority of the individuals that were surrounding her. "Wait." Once more, Madison strained her eyes and let out a resounding groan of dissatisfaction. "No. To heck with it. Samantha let out a groan. That must have been the twelfth or thirteenth time in the last ten minutes that her sister had yelled in her ear that their nephew was at last coming into view. Samantha's tolerance wore thin with each new mistake that she made. "Are you positive that the message board correctly reported that the plane has touched down?" Samantha cast a quick peek in the direction of her younger half-sister. It had been more than an hour since Jared's aircraft was supposed to arrive, and the delay was not completely unexpected considering the intense snowstorm that was occurring outside. The response was, "Of course." Madison masticated on her lower lip nervously. "But...I guess I should go check that again. I'll just go ahead and use the loo now." After Madison became distracted and strayed off, Samantha and the rest of her family who were waiting beside her turned their attention back to the top of the escalator. Madison followed suit. Actually, virtually everyone. Even though it had been two years since they'd seen their elder brother while he was serving a two-year LDS mission in Taiwan, her twin nephews, who were ten years old at the time, were more interested in wrestling each other than paying attention to the faces of the visitors. This was the case despite the fact that it had been two years since they'd last seen their older brother. Why did she feel the need to repeat her attendance at this event? Samantha had attempted to play the typical card when Madison had called earlier to see if she was coming. She stated that she, unlike her stepmother and a vast extended family, was not even Mormon. Madison had asked if she was coming. That had a poor reception among the audience. Because Violet was spending the night with her father, Samantha was unable to utilise her other go-to justification, which was that she didn't want to keep her little daughter up too late on a school night. After that, Madison was forced to resort to using more forceful methods. I feel guilty. After all, her sister did not enjoy the privilege of driving a vehicle equipped with four-wheel drive, and it was well knowledge that she was a poor motorist. Particularly when there is snow. As a result, the obligation to one's family won out. Madison owed her a mountain of debt. Samantha concentrated her attention on the newcomers who were queuing up at the top of the escalator. There were a lot of new people. To start things off, there is an adorably casual family of four wearing T-shirts, shorts and flip-flops. They were going to be in for a rude awakening when they saw what Utah in the first week of April looked like when they went outside and experienced it for themselves. Samantha speculated that the elder couple's arms were full of gifts because they appeared to be indulging grandchildren based on the gift bags they were carrying behind them. The next person to appear was a solitary figure with dark brown hair who was carrying a duffel bag over his shoulder. It was as if I had seen him before. However, considering that he was nearly ten years older than her nephew, who was twenty-one at the time, it was improbable that he would be their guy. But despite this, there was something intriguing about him. A powerful jaw, a slightly crooked nose, and thick, wavy hair that practically demanded to be— Her wind became obstructed in her trachea. Oh, my good Lord. It is not possible. This won't work. Not at this juncture, of all times. Not when she was encircled by her horde of a family, dressed in a puffy, white snow coat and cumbersome boots. She reached her hands towards her head to touch her hair. Yep. as she hurried out the door, her hair was pulled back into the simple yet functional ponytail she'd chosen. This was not at all the picture of seductiveness that she had in mind for this particular time. She wiped her sweaty palms on the sides of her jeans as Sam Reuben's figure grew closer. The sight of him brought back a flood of painful memories. Even though he was older and more worn out, he did not appear to have lost any of his good looks since the time he was in high school. Sam, who had been a stoic and slim eighteen-year-old athlete, continued to look stern and slender, but with broader shoulders and the assurance of a grown man who had pushed past the uncertainties and self-consciousness of youth. Sam was now thirty years old. Unfortunately, he continued to give off the impression of being just as enticingly touchable as she had always thought him to be. He had down nearly all of the remaining floors of the lift. "It's him!" she exclaimed. Peg, her stepmother, was the one who answered the call for help this time around. "It's Jared!" the person said. Undoubtedly, Samantha was able to make out the long, lanky figure of her nephew just above Sam's broad shoulders as the moment finally arrived for him to come into view. Instantaneously, the family began waving hand-painted welcome signs towards Jared in an effort to grab his attention. These placards were shoved into the air. Samantha, however, was unable to take her gaze away from Sam for any length of time. That meant she didn't notice the twins charging at him until they were just a foot away, and by then it was too late. Sam was able to stride around the couple with ease, despite the fact that a tight line around his mouth suggested he was frustrated. He turned his attention to her as he did so. Her hazel eyes, the colour of which she could never tell whether were sea green or stormy grey, peered at her in a way that was both obvious and decisive. She suppressed her breath and waited for any indication that she was being recognised. Instead, he averted his sight, walked passed her, and then vanished without a trace. Her body began to wilt as the adrenaline that had reached its pinnacle earlier was flushed away as a result of the severe disappointment she felt. Sam hadn't even noticed that she was there. Sam Reuben gave a brief expression of gratitude to the lady working behind the rental car desk at Snow Ground's International Airport before turning and glancing around the cramped baggage claim area. It didn't take him long at all to locate the carousel that was designated for passengers arriving on the aeroplane from Los Angeles, and he proceeded to head in that direction. He took a quick look at his watch. It won't likely be for much longer. After setting his duffel bag down on the tiled floor, he waited for some time by leaning back against one of the pillars. Even though it was the first week of April, there was thick, white snow falling from the sky, and he glanced out the window to see it. That was when he realised that Mother Nature likes to keep everyone on their toes. In addition to that, it appeared like the snow was staying put. Sam hadn't been back to his old stomping grounds in a very long time. Too extensive. "Get whipped!" The shout was immediately followed by the sight of the two young boys who had come dangerously close to colliding with him at the foot of the escalator. The unfortunate little get-together that he had the misfortune of running into upon his arrival was now making its way to the baggage claim area where he was. Hell. It's possible that not enough time had passed. If he had been in any other airport, he would have immediately believed that the group of applauding individuals holding hand-made signs that were sparkling with glitter were awaiting the arrival of a famous person from Hollywood or the music industry. But given that he had only recently arrived in Snow Ground City, Utah, he was well aware that this was not the case. Sam's suspicions were validated when he saw Elder Jared for the first time after returning from his mission. It was a crew to greet those returning home. A member of the welcome home crew had blocked passage between the bottom of the escalator and the remainder of the airport because they were unaware of the general standards of civility. A difficulty that was made worse by the fact that the two small spawning had almost sent him crashing on his behind.