Cowgirl Up! (13 page)

Sam was about a half block away when she saw the group push their way through the crowd of small children and enter a popular cafe. She moved toward the children and a few minutes later she was standing in the café’s foyer. It was filled to capacity and she could hear loud music coming from a patio in back.

It took a minute for her eyes to adjust to the dim light after coming out of the bright sunshine. She looked around. Mitch was nowhere in sight.

All that effort and she lost him, Sam moaned inwardly. Note to self: Never go into the private eye business. You’d go broke!

Sam headed back to her truck, disappointed that she didn’t find Mitch. She was so confused by what she’d seen. Maybe he could work at the ranch and still be against the annexation, but somehow it didn’t seem right. Why bite the hand that feeds you? If the Wilson’s found out he was a part of the demonstrations, he wouldn’t have a job for long. First chance she had tomorrow she was going to talk to him.

As Sam got closer to her truck she heard a horn blaring. A crowd was gathered around the street laughing and pointing. She suddenly realized they were laughing and pointing at her truck. She ran up to see what was going on.

Dundee was sitting on the driver’s side with his front legs resting on her steering wheel. He was blowing the horn with his paw as he panted and smiled at the crowd.

Sam gave him one of her best ‘knock it off’ looks. He blew the horn again. She opened the door and he jumped into the back seat.

“You’re going to get us arrested for disturbing the peace!” Sam scolded him. He turned and grinned.

The next day, as they were packing up their West Nile vaccinations for the Lazy W horses, Sam couldn’t help but grumble a little to Doc.

“I don’t think Marietta is gonna be too happy if she sees me out there,” She warned.

“I don’t care, Sam. I need your help and besides, you’re a damn good vet. I wouldn’t have hired you if you weren’t. Marietta doesn’t run my business. If she doesn’t like it she can get another vet to treat her horses. I’m getting pretty damn sick and tired of her damn attitude. She’s not going to tell me what to do.”

Wow, Sam thought. Three damns in one sentence. Doc must really be getting pissed off with the Wilson’s.

She loaded her stuff in Doc’s truck and jumped in with Dundee.

When they arrived at the Lazy W, they set up their gear in the treating room and the men started bringing the horses in to get their vaccinations. Suzanne was identifying the horses with a chip scanner and making notes in a big record book.

True to his promise, Cheyenne had all the hands helping out as the team worked throughout the morning without taking a break.

Cheyenne introduced Sam to Matthew, Alberto, Ramon and Frank as they came in leading their horses, but she didn’t recognize any of their voices as the one she heard on the cell phone. When Cheyenne gave her a questioning look after each introduction, she could only softly shake her head no.

“We’ll talk at lunch,” he told Sam quietly when he got the chance to whisper to her without anyone close by.

Sam noticed Suzanne watching them. She had been quiet and sulky all morning. Sam knew Suzanne wasn’t happy about all the attention she was getting from Cheyenne.

Doc finally announced that it was time for a lunch break and the crew walked out the door. Suzanne went back to her office while the others headed toward the restrooms to wash up.

Marie had prepared several kinds of sandwiches, tamales, tortillas and green chili for lunch. She had everything spread out on a buffet table under the covered patio outside the barn office.

Sam got in the line and put tamales on her plate and then covered them with green chili. She grabbed a bottle of water from the ice chest and sat down at a table. Cheyenne sat down beside her with his plate filled to the brim with tamales smothered in green chili.

Doc was off to the side talking to Lance, but Sam didn’t see Mitch in the lunch line.

“I haven’t had a chance to tell you that I saw Mitch in Boulder yesterday,” She told Cheyenne. “I was in town to pick up supplies and as I drove by the county offices there was a group of demonstrators picketing against the annexation of the Wilson property. He was one of the demonstrators.”

Cheyenne stopped eating and looked at her. “Are you sure it was him? He didn’t work yesterday. He told me he had to finish up a project at school and was driving up to Northeastern for the day.”

“I’m positive it was him. The strange thing is I know he saw me but he acted like he didn’t recognize me. I parked the truck and tried to catch up with him but he was with a group of guys that headed for Pearl Street Mall and I lost them. This morning when I came in he acted like everything was normal as usual. I was hoping to talk to him at lunch, but I don’t see him.”

Cheyenne looked around at the group eating under the patio.

“He must have gone to the bunkhouse to wash up, but he should be along in a minute and we’ll both talk to him.”

Sam barely finished her tamales when she heard some commotion coming from the front of the Wilson’s home. Lance stopped talking to Doc and hurried toward the house as Marietta came storming around with Mitch following close behind.

“I just found the idiot who’s been putting these notes in our mailbox!” she announced in a shrill voice as she waved an envelope in her hand. “It’s him!” She pointed a finger at Mitch.

Mitch’s face was red and angry.

“I keep trying to tell her that I didn’t do it. I went out front to check the mail box for the bunkhouse and I noticed an envelope in there that was addressed to you so I just put it in your box.”

“I was watching him from the front of the house. He was walking back and forth like he was making sure no one was around to see him and then he put this in our box,” Marietta flung the envelope into Lance’s hand.

“I was afraid it might be another one of those threatening notes and I didn’t know what to do, Mr. Wilson,” Mitch tried to explain nervously. “That’s why I was walking back and forth. I knew if it was and I was seen with it you’d suspect me. I’d heard about those notes but I’ve never seen one so I wasn’t sure what this was. I thought it might be a note from one of the neighbors and I figured the best thing to do was to put it in your box.”

Lance looked at the note and then at Mitch.

“You’re telling me you didn’t write this, son?”

“Yes sir. It happened like I told you. I found it in the bunkhouse mailbox and was putting it in your box.”

“I don’t believe him and I want his butt off my ranch this instant!” demanded Marietta. “I saw what happened with my own eyes and he’s a liar.” Then she got right in Mitch’s face. “You’re fired bucko, so get your stuff and get out!”

Mitch looked at Lance.

“You better go, son. I’m turning this over to the sheriff and if you’re innocent you don’t have anything to worry about. But I can’t have you working here any more. Pack your bags and get on out.”

Mitch turned without a word and headed for the bunkhouse.

“I’ll tell Suzanne to get his paycheck ready and go check on him.” Cheyenne told Lance. He stopped by Sam’s table. “I’ll talk to him and see if I can find out anything about yesterday. But from the looks of things, I think Marietta is right and he’s the one who’s been planting all those nasty notes. It makes sense now since we know he was at that demonstration.”

The afternoon progressed smoothly but everyone was extremely quiet. Mitch had been popular with the Lazy W crew and Sam heard a few of the men grumble about his dismissal.

Cheyenne came back later in the afternoon and when they took a quick break he pulled Sam to the side.

“I couldn’t get him to talk to me. When I asked him whether or not he was at that demonstration yesterday, he just clammed up and glared at me. He packed his bags and left, told me to mail his check. That was it.”

“Shoot, I was hoping to get to talk to him. Do you have his phone number? Maybe he’ll talk to me.”

Cheyenne lifted one eyebrow and gave her a dark look. “Oh, I’m sure he’d love to talk to you, but I’m not so sure I want him to. I think he’d like to consider you more than just a friend.”

Sam looked at Cheyenne exasperated. “Don’t be so juvenile. I’m not going to ask him for a date. Even if I did, it wouldn’t be any of your business.”

Cheyenne reached over and gave Sam’s ponytail a teasing jerk. “I’m still not going to give you his number. We need to let the professionals handle this investigation.”

Cheyenne was standing close to Sam and as she backed up he moved forward until she was pinned against the wall. He put his hands on either side of her shoulders and leaned forward. Sam put her chin up and looked at him with challenge in her eyes.

“The last time you pulled my ponytail like that I punched you in the nose.” She warned him. “And who are you calling a professional? Sheriff Olson?” She asked sarcastically.

Cheyenne threw his head back and laughed.

“Well, as much of a professional as we’re going to get around here. In the meantime, I’d kinda like to keep you to myself. I’m not a sharing kind of guy.”

He leaned forward and caressed his lips across Sam’s cheek. “So why don’t we have a real date this Saturday night?” he whispered in her ear.

“Okay,” Sam said slowly. “What do you have in mind?”

“Well, I have a lot in mind, but maybe we should keep it to dinner and a movie. Or we could go scoot our boots over at the Grizzly Rose if you want.”

“The Grizzly Rose sounds like fun,” Sam smiled. “Now, are you going to let me go?” She looked at Cheyenne’s face and saw his lips tighten and his eyes go dark.

“I’ll pick you up at six. Don’t dress too sexy or we might not make it out the door.”

Sam felt her knees weaken. His eyes were turning into melted chocolate again and she could feel wet desire sear through her lower body.

Cheyenne leaned over and brushed his lips across hers. Then he turned with a satisfied look and walked away.

After finishing up at the Wilson’s, Sam and Doc headed back to their office. It had been a long day and Sam was still sore from her fall the day before. She checked her messages, did a little office work and then she and Dundee climbed into her Chevy and headed for home.

Sam stopped at her place, grabbed a swimsuit and walked over to her parent’s house. A nice relaxing hour in their hot tub was what she needed.

Sam’s mom was in the kitchen making buffalo patties to grill when Sam came through the back door.

“Hi, Mom. How’s it going? I thought I’d sit in your hot tub for awhile.”

“Good God, sweetie! What happened to you?” Her mom exclaimed when she got a look at her bruises.

“I had a fall off a horse yesterday. I was riding with Cheyenne in the mountains and someone had cut the cinch strap on my saddle and it gave way when I was crossing a stream.”

Sam’s mom stopped and looked at her with alarm.

“Why the heck would anyone do that?”

Sam shrugged her shoulders. “Cheyenne suspects it was meant for Marietta. He borrowed her saddle for me to use that morning. “

Sam’s mom salted the meat and shook her head. “Maybe you should steer clear of that place until things settle down. There’s too much going on right now with the Wilson’s with all that annexation business. I hate that someone may have done that to hurt Marietta, but it scares me to death that it happened to you.”

Just then Sam’s dad entered the kitchen with Mason.

“What’s this I hear about a cut cinch?” He asked, concern creeping across his face as he hugged Sam. Mason immediately came around the other side and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

“Family sandwich,” Mason said with a grin.

“Yep, family sandwich. The best kind,” Sam smiled and hugged them back. “Not too hard. I’m a little sore today.” Then she told her dad what had happened the day before.

“This is getting serious,” her dad’s face was wrinkled in thought. “A few threatening notes are one thing, but trying to do someone bodily harm is just plain crazy. I hope you’ll let Doc handle things at the Lazy W until all this blows over. I don’t like it at all. Did you hear there’s a meeting tonight in Boulder that’s open to the public to discuss the prospective annexation and zoning of their property? I’m sure there’ll be a huge crowd. I’ll be glad when this whole mess is over and everything gets back to normal.”

“Can you stay and eat dinner with us?” Sam’s mom asked her. “We’re having Mason’s favorite – buffalo burgers.”

“Sounds wonderful and I’m starved.” Sam looked around the kitchen for her grandfather. “So where’d you hide Grandpa?”

“He’s visiting Aunt Susan in Dallas for a few days. He got a direct flight from Denver International so we put him on the plane yesterday and Millie met him. He’ll be back next week. Why don’t you pour yourself a glass of wine and relax. After we eat, Mason and I will join you in the hot tub. We’ll make another family sandwich.”