Cowgirl Up! (20 page)

“Your brother?” asked Luke.

“My younger brother, Mason, was born with Down syndrome, so it’s nice to be close to help my parents whenever I can.”

Luke looked at Sam with admiration.

“You have such a totally functional family. You’re amazing.”

“We’re not all that amazing. You haven’t seen us in action. We can be quite dysfunctional and scary most of the time.” Thoughts of her grandpa’s cooking, her dad’s accidents and Misfit’s wild rides immediately came to Sam’s mind.

Luke parked the Lincoln and walked Sam to her front door.

“Thank you so much for coming back to the ranch. I was really dreading this trip, but I’m glad I got to meet you and that you were willing to share your time with me. Thank you.”

Luke raised Sam’s hand to his lips and kissed it lightly. Then he leaned over and kissed her cheek.

“I hope I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Sam waved goodbye as Luke climbed back in the Lincoln and drove down the driveway.

Holy Shit! Sam said to herself. Life is full of surprises. Then she thought about Cheyenne and felt a twang in her heart. She was disappointed he didn’t try to make up to her when he had the chance at the Wilson’s. “Guess it’s all over for us,” Sam sighed and walked into her house and slowly closed the door.

The next morning Sam got up and dressed in her usual “vets uniform”. Only this time she decided not to pull her hair up in a ponytail and cover it with a baseball cap. Instead she let it hang loose. Sam knew Cheyenne liked it that way. She was determined to get to the Lazy W and talk to him before he left town. One of them had to be a grown up and try to patch things up so it might as well be her. She even put on some lipstick and mascara. Why not? Vets could look sexy sometimes, right?

Sam and Dundee climbed into her truck and headed for the Lazy W.

The place seemed strangely quiet after all the activity of the day before. Sam looked around for Cheyenne.

Suzanne came out of her office with her chip scanner and records.

“Hi Suzanne, is Cheyenne here?” Sam asked.

“No, he left early this morning with Jose, Ramon and Alberto. They went to a show in Pueblo and won’t be back until Sunday night.” Suzanne was polite but there was a definite smugness in her voice

Sam turned and walked toward the treating room. Doc was already there.

“Do we have many horses left to immunize?” Sam asked.

Suzanne looked at her records. “Not too many. We only have Frank and Matthew left to help but we should get done by lunch time.”

They got down to business and were finishing up around noon when Lance came in with Luke.

Lance looked tired and slightly hung-over, but Luke was exuberant and in high spirits.

Dundee had been lying down in the corner on top of Sam’s sweatshirt all morning, but bounced up to greet the two men when they entered the room.

“Hey fella,” Luke said bending down to give Dundee a body rub. “Aren’t you a pretty guy.”

Dundee melted under his touch and rolled over to expose his stomach.

Sam smiled and shook her head.

“You’re his friend for life now.”

“Is he your dog?” asked Luke looking up at Sam.

“Yes, I have to claim him. I don’t think anyone else will.”

Dundee looked up at that moment and grinned.

“Look at that! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a dog grin before.”

Doc laughed. “Old’ Dundee grins at everybody.”

“Is that his name, Dundee?”

“His full name is Crocodile Dundee,” Sam told him. He’s an Australian Shepherd so I named him after Paul Hogan’s character from the movies.”

“He’s a cool dog.”

Dundee grinned again and they all laughed.

“I’m showing Luke around,” Lance told them. “He’s never been out here before and I think he’s mesmerized by Colorado and the Lazy W.”

“I’m truly captivated by all the beauty that surrounds me,” Luke smiled and gave Sam a meaningful look.

Sam felt goose bumps pop up all over her body. Guilt hit her for a moment when she thought of Cheyenne, but it passed quickly. Why should she feel guilty? He took off without trying to patch things up between them so it was obvious their relationship was over.

Lance turned to Sam. “I was going to show Luke your horse. He’s in a stall in the back. Frank, can you saddle him up and give us a little demo in the arena?”

“Sure boss,” Frank answered and headed for the tack room.

“He’s not my horse, yet,” Sam told Lance. “I may not be able to afford him.”

“Oh, you’ll be able to afford him. I’ll make sure of that.”

“I want to pay a fair price for him, Mr. Wilson.”

“You already did in my opinion. It was your quick action that saved
Brio
. I want to give
Dakota
to you as a gift. Call it a token of my appreciation for a job well done.”

Sam was speechless. “You’re very generous but I can’t accept a gift that expensive. I don’t feel right about it.”

Lance smiled. “I won’t take no for an answer. Don’t make an old man like me beg you to take this gift. You’ll hurt my feelings if you don’t, so it’s settled. You can pick him up any time you want.”

Doc walked over and patted Sam on her shoulder.

“Take him, Sam. He’s right and besides, the old buzzard can afford it!”

“I don’t know what to say. Thank you!” Sam exclaimed and hugged Lance.

They walked to the indoor arena and watched as Frank brought the beautiful chestnut in the building.

In the middle of the arena was a long, narrow plank about 50 feet long called a sounding board. Frank mounted the horse and circled the arena.
Dakota Roja
arched his head perfectly and headed toward the board. Everyone could hear the steady rhythm of the four beat cadences as the horse pranced down the wooden plank. Frank brought him around and put him through his paces as Lance explained the different steps to his nephew.

“He’s doing a corto, or slow trot now. Then Frank will get him into a largo, or faster trot.”

“He’s magnificent!” Luke said totally enthralled. “I can see why you love these horses.”

Frank rode him down the plank once more and then rode back to the group and dismounted.
Dakota
immediately put his head down and gave Sam a friendly nudge.

“Well, I see he’s the one who picked you and not the other way around, “ Lance noted. “You’ll make a good pair.”

Sam smiled and rubbed the horse gently on his nose.

After the demonstration, Frank took
Dakota
to his stall and everyone headed back to the barn.

“I’ll be out here Saturday morning to pick him up if that’s okay with you,” Sam told Lance.

Lance nodded his head. “Any time you want. I’ll have his registration papers and brand inspection ready for you.”

Luke came up and helped Sam carry her gear to the truck.

“If you don’t have any plans, maybe we can go into town and have lunch.” He said with a smile.

“Sure. What are you hungry for? We have an excellent Mexican restaurant in town.”

“Mexican sounds perfect.”

“Good. Why don’t you jump in my truck and I’ll drive.”

A short time later Sam’s truck was parked under some shade trees with the windows down for Dundee, who was asleep on his pillow, and she and Luke were settled in a booth at Rosa’s.

“Fairview is such a nice town. So relaxed and not fast paced at all,” Luke noted. “No wonder you love it here.”

“It’s always been home to me. I go to Denver from time to time but that’s almost more than I can handle. I’m always glad to get back to my stompin’ grounds around Fairview.”

A waitress shuffled over to their table and Sam recognized Meg O’Reilly, Ian’s sister. She was easy to recognize because of her fire red hair that matched her red lips and penciled eyebrows. Sam knew the red hair was real because all the O’Reilly’s had the same color. Meg was in her thirties and looked like she had been rode hard and put up wet. She had a reputation for living on the wild side and her face showed the evidence of what chain smoking and too much alcohol could do to a body. Everyone in Fairview knew she was on the prowl for a new man since she’d broken up with her biker buddy, and Sam could see her giving Luke the once over while he gave their order.

“Two beers and two monster burritos coming right up!” Meg repeated. She winked at Luke as she turned around and walked toward the kitchen. He watched her depart then looked at Sam.

“Everyone is so friendly here.”

Sam leaned forward and motioned with her finger for him to lean forward. “I think she’s flirting with you,” She whispered to him. “That’s why she’s so friendly.”

Then Sam leaned back and winked. She figured she could flirt too. Besides, she didn’t want him looking at Meg too much. Although Meg had a hard face, she still had a killer body and there was enough cleavage pushed through the top of her uniform to prove it.

Luke broke out into one of his sexy smiles and chuckled loudly.

“I think I’m going to have a hard time leaving this place tomorrow.”

“Oh, you’re going back tomorrow?”

“Yes. Unfortunately I need to get back. I tried to get my schedule cleared so I could stay a few more days, but wasn’t able to do it. My assistant is going to have a heart attack if I don’t get back for an appointment tomorrow afternoon. We’re going to leave first thing in the morning.”

“So what do you do in San Francisco?” Sam asked.

“I’m an architect.”

Sam looked at him incredulously. “No shit. You’re really an architect?”

Luke smiled. “Yes, I’m really an architect. I’m working on a new art museum for the city of San Francisco. I was right in the middle of some final planning meetings when my uncle called. I took a lot of heat when I postponed the meetings to come here. Then I made it even worse when I decided to stay an extra day.”

“Sounds like you have a tough boss.”

Luke smiled again. “Yes, I do. Tougher than you can imagine.”

He leaned forward and motioned with his finger for Sam to lean in closer.

“I’m the boss,” he whispered.

“No shit!” Sam was mentally hitting her head on the table. Why did she keep saying no shit?

“You seem really shocked. Is being an architect all that bad?”

“Oh, no. That’s not it. You just don’t look like the architect type.”

“What type is that?”

“The snobby, untouchable type. You’re not that way. You’re very approachable and you have a great smile.”

Luke looked deep into Sam’s eyes and gave her one of those smiles. Sam was getting goose bumps again.

Meg came up with their food. As she set the plates and drinks down she bent over to make sure Luke got a good look at her boobs. “Do you need anything else?” she asked.

“Not right now,” Luke told her. He smiled politely and purposely avoided looking at her chest. Sam admired his self-control.

“Enjoy your lunch then.” She gave Luke a big toothy grin and sauntered off, swinging her hips for all she was worth.

Luke didn’t even notice her grand exit because he was already digging into his cheesy burrito.

Sam sat back and looked at him closely. She was thinking of Seth from her romance novel.

“Maguire. That’s a Scottish name, isn’t it?” She asked.

Luke looked up and nodded. “It sure is. Why?”

“Just curious.”

Next he’ll tell me he owns his own jet, Sam thought to herself. Then I’ll have to go to a psychiatrist and get therapy because I can’t be living my romance novel.

“So tell me why you became a vet?” Luke asked.

“It was something I always wanted to do. I love animals and was always rescuing injured rabbits and birds when I was growing up and nursing them back to health. I intended on being a small animal vet but when I was in college the large animals interested me more. I’m not so keen on cows, but I love horses. I hope to specialize in horses only. I’m leaning in that direction now and I’m slowly cutting back on my cattle clients.”

“The Paso Finos are fabulous horses. I’ve never seen anything like them.”

“They are wonderful. They’re excellent trail horses. I’m more into riding in the Rocky Mountains than in a show ring. Mason and my dad have horses and they ride some easy trails. I want to be able to ride with them when I can.”

“Maybe the next time I come for a visit you’ll take me on one of those trail rides,” Luke suggested. “It sounds like fun.”