Cowgirl Up! (10 page)

“Guess I didn’t think you’d want to spend an evening with a vet who spends half her time drenched in cow dung and horse poop.”

“Guess again,” he said as he pulled Sam close and plucked a rose from a nearby bouquet to place over her ear.

Sam was surprised to find that Cheyenne was a good dancer. She had taken Latin American dance classes in college so she was able to follow him when the music changed from a Salsa to a Mambo.

“Where did you learn to dance so well?” Sam asked him when they took a break and sat down at one of the patio tables.

“A friend of mine talked me into taking dance classes a few years ago and I discovered I liked it. Can you believe it? A cowboy who doesn’t have two left feet? I was amazed I could do something besides country and western line dancing. I did better than I thought and had a lot of fun so every once in awhile I sign up for more classes. “

Someone hollered ‘Limbo!’ and everyone cheered.

“It must be time for the annual Limbo contest,” Sam told Cheyenne. “Are you game?”

“You bet!”

Cheyenne grabbed Sam’s hand and they got in line. The music started and they watched as the couple ahead of them held hands and leaned back to scoot under the Limbo bar. They easily made the first round. The bar was lowered and everyone danced under it again. By the time it was lowered the third time, couples were having trouble making it through.

Cheyenne and Sam made it until the sixth round. That’s when they lost their balance and fell backwards laughing.

Some of the younger Ramirez children and grandchildren kept going. The battle came down to Angelo and his cousin, Vanessa, and twin six-year-old sisters, Christina and Selena. Angelo and Vanessa were working their way slowly under a very low bar when Angelo fell back and pulled his cousin with him. Everyone laughed and cheered and then it was the twin’s turn. They made it look easy as they leaned back and inched under the bar. The crowd whistled and applauded. They both took a bow and then ran off giggling.

IN THE EARLY morning hours, when the party was breaking up, Sam walked with Cheyenne to his truck.

“I’m glad you came,” She told him as they strolled down the sidewalk holding hands.

“Me too." He turned around and pulled her close. This time Sam was ready when his lips came crushing down on hers. The kiss was demanding, sensual and way too short. Cheyenne turned Sam loose but she reached up and pulled his head down to hers. She could feel his lips curve slightly as he cupped her face with his hands and then ravished her mouth without mercy. Sam hated when the kiss ended and they separated with hesitation. Cheyenne ran his thumb down her cheek.

“Check your schedule for next week and call me on Monday. We’ll set up a time for you to come over and ride that gelding I was telling you about.”

He leaned in and kissed her eyelids, nose and lips.

“I’ll do that,” Sam promised.

He gave her one last lingering kiss and then climbed in his truck and drove away.

Sunday morning Sam slept in. When she was able, she pulled herself out of bed and drank a pot of coffee. She spent the morning recovering from too many Margaritas the night before and doing her weekly chores, or “daily dozens” as her grandpa always called them. In the afternoon Sam went to her yoga class and after two hours of stretches, deep breathing, sun salutations, and downward facing dogs, she was renewed.

Sam got to work early Monday morning and after checking voice mail and messages, she looked at her schedule to see if she had any time open during the week to take Cheyenne up on his offer to visit the Wilson ranch and do some riding. Wednesday looked good, so she picked up the phone and punched in the numbers for the Lazy W.

It took a few minutes for Suzanne to find him, but Cheyenne finally came on the line.

“Howdy, princess. Can I call you that? After the past few weeks I can’t decide if you’re the Champagne princess or the Limbo queen.”

Sam cringed. “Uuuh, gee. Princess or Queen, what a choice.” She resisted the urge to bang her head down on her desk while she listened to Cheyenne’s chuckle on the other end of the line.

Doc walked through the office door with a bag of Bunker’s bagels and Sam perked up. Who needed to worry about being a princess, queen or dork when there was a Bunker’s cinnamon raisin bagel in the office? In fact, when the scent hit her nose she didn’t care what anyone thought about her as long as she could get her hands on a hot bagel and some fresh cream cheese.

“I was calling to see if Wednesday was a good day to come out and ride that gelding you were telling me about.” Sam grabbed at the bagel Doc waved in front of her.

“Sure, Wednesday would be a great day. The Wilson’s left yesterday and won’t be back until late Wednesday night. I think the weather will hold out so we might be able to take a little trail ride.”

“Sounds good. What time should I be there?”

“How ‘bout nine o’clock. I’ll have the horses saddled and ready to go.”

“Nine it is. I’ll see you then.” Sam hung up the phone and sank her teeth into the bagel with a heavenly sigh.

“I’m taking off on Wednesday, Doc. At least for the morning.”

He nodded with a big smile. “Got it covered.”

ON WEDNESDAY, Sam and Dundee were at the Lazy W at nine sharp ready to go.

Doc was out of the office that morning due to an emergency, so Sam had the phone from their office forwarded to her cell phone. As luck would have it, just as she entered the barn and saw Cheyenne her cell beeped.

“Dr. Kendrick speaking.”

“Is this the vet?” an excited female asked on the other end of the line.

“Yes. You seem upset. Is there a problem?”

“Well, I’m not sure if there is a problem or not, but there might be so I thought I’d better call someone.” The voice sounded breathy and blonde.

“Okay, so what might be the problem?”

“Well, this is bad. I’m so worried. You won’t believe what happened just now.”

“Try to calm down and tell me,” Sam said in her most soothing voice.

“Well, you see doctor, I accidentally gave my sister a rabies shot and I don’t know if it will hurt her. She was helping me give my Jack Russell puppies their shots and while she was holding one he jerked and the needle went in her hand.”

She wasn’t sure before, but now Sam was positive the caller was a blonde. “You gave your sister a rabies shot?” Sam did a mental eye roll and looked at Cheyenne. She had his full attention and he was grinning from ear to ear.

“Yes, like I said, it was an accident, but I’ve been trying to talk to someone to find out if she needs any medical attention. She’s thirty and in good health, except for the rabies shot. Her doctor’s office is closed – it doesn’t open until 9:30 so I thought I’d call a vet. You should know, right?”

Sam closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead with her thumb and forefinger.

“Yes, I do know. Just relax. The dosage for a puppy is not strong enough to cause your sister any harm. She won’t have to worry about getting rabies for a year or two, but I would highly recommend that you try and give your puppy another shot. Maybe someone else should hold the puppy, or you could bring it in to your regular vet for the shots.”

“Oh, thank you doctor. I was so worried. I mean, she’s my only sister and I didn’t want to hurt her. The shot stung and she’s mad as hell at me, but it really wasn’t my fault. At least now I can tell her she’ll be okay. Thanks again, doctor.”

Sam closed her cell phone and looked Cheyenne square in the eyes.

“How soon can we get out of here? I need a break.”

“I’ve got Jose loading the horses in a trailer now and we’re heading for the hills. We need to leave right away because Marietta and Lance came back a day early.”

Sam groaned.

Cheyenne laughed. “No worries. They’re sleeping in. Plus Marietta is going into Denver this afternoon so you should be safe. I had Marie, the Wilson’s cook, fix us a nice picnic basket so we can have a little lunch somewhere on the trail.”

Sam narrowed her eyes at Cheyenne and looked at him suspiciously. It sounded like this little demonstration ride was turning into an all day affair and was planned in advance without her approval.

“What’s in the basket?” She asked.

Cheyenne opened it and peeked inside. “Looks like Marie packed some of her famous chicken salad sandwiches, Cowboy Cookies and Trail Mix.”

The homemade cookies did it. Sam headed for Cheyenne’s truck with Dundee at her heels.

“What are you waiting for?’ she hollered at Cheyenne as she opened the door for Dundee and then jumped in behind him.

Cheyenne smiled as he watched Sam’s pony tail bounce as she sprinted to his truck. Feelings of lust and something deeper hit his midsection as he followed her to the truck. He hated to admit it, but he was falling for her in a big way.

It took about 45 minutes to reach the parking area at the top of Dunraven Trail in the Roosevelt National Park. It was a warm May morning, but jackets and gloves were still needed in the crisp, high mountain air. The horses were already saddled and Sam helped Cheyenne unload them and put their bridles on.

“Hmmmm, no bit on this bridle, is it like a hackamore?” Sam asked Cheyenne.

“It’s called a
Jaquima
in Spanish, which is probably the same thing. Only these bridles have an Alsador under the chin, which is a little more severe than a plain hackamore. I promise you our horses are well trained and you’ll be in total control even without a bit.”

The gelding Sam was going to ride was beautiful. He was a solid chestnut with no white markings and a thick mane and tail. He playfully pushed his nose into her chest as if to say, “howdy, be my friend.”

“He’s gorgeous, Cheyenne. What’s his name?”

“
Dakota Roja.
In case you didn’t notice, I’m riding
Brio
. He’s doing wonderful and excited to be on the trail. You ready to go?” Cheyenne asked as he mounted the stallion.

“Yep. You lead out and I’ll follow,” Sam said as she threw her leg easily over
Dakota
.

Cheyenne rode
Brio
through a small opening in a fence and headed for a trail that led over a hill and down the mountainside. It was a little rocky for a few feet and then the trail opened up and followed a small stream that meandered through the mountains. Sam followed on Dakota with Dundee close behind and marveled at how smooth the horse was, even on the rough descent to the main trail.

It was a beautiful spring day and warmer than usual for Colorado. Butterflies fluttered around Columbine’s and other mountain flowers that were beginning to bloom. The air smelled of fresh pines and mountain breezes. Aspens were exploding with bright green leaves, and small yellow mountain daisies and tiny violets could be seen popping up everywhere.

THEY RODE FOR several miles, crossing over small wooden bridges and through shallow parts of the stream. Sam was totally relaxed and enjoying herself immensely. Except for a few hikers they met going down, they were the only ones on the trail. They had to ride single file, but occasionally when they came to wide areas in the trail they rode side by side. The horses were trotting in sync, or as Cheyenne said, they were in their corto step, the even 4 beat gaits the Paso’s were famous for. It was close to noon when they came to an open meadow with a small trail that led to a wooden hitching post where they tied up their horses. Dundee plopped down in some shade and waited for lunch.

Cheyenne reached behind his saddle and took off a rolled-up blanket he spread over the meadow grass. Then he unhooked his saddlebag with the small picnic basket and laid it on the blanket.

Sam reached in and pulled out sandwiches, chips and cookies. Marie had even tucked in cloth napkins and two small bottles of wine with twist off caps. Holy shit! Merlot and cloth napkins! Sam thought to herself. There was even dog biscuits and bottled water for Dundee.

Sam could see Cheyenne watching her closely with a big grin on his face. She tried not to let him see how impressed she was with their ritzy picnic.

“Is there a problem?” he asked.

“No. I’m starving. Let’s eat.”

They sat side-by-side on the blanket sipping wine while they munched on their sandwiches and chips. Sam fed Dundee some of the dog biscuits and poured the water in a little cup for him as he settled next to her.

“This is an absolutely beautiful trail. Do you come here often?” Sam asked.

“Oh, several times during the summer if I can. Although not usually with a gorgeous vet and one of Marie’s picnic lunches.”

Sam cut her eyes at Cheyenne. “When did you learn how to flirt? Or is it just the mixture of high altitude and wine?”

“Could be the altitude,” Cheyenne said with a serious look. “I haven’t had enough wine yet to really flirt.”