Cowgirl Up! (7 page)

“You could be right since it happened the same day Marietta got the threatening note in her mailbox,” Sam said. “If it were me I’d take a close look at my help. He’s got a lot of men out there working on the ranch. One of them could have easily injected those horses without being seen.”

SAM WAS BUSY that spring with the foaling of calves and colts. Things had calmed down at the Lazy W Ranch and fortunately no other horses came down with the Salmonella virus and
Brio
was recuperating at CSU.

The days flew by and the next thing Sam knew it was a week before the big fundraising event for the therapeutic riding center.

Sam always enjoyed going every year and circulating with the volunteers and donors at the dinner. Plus it was fun to bid on the various items up for auction. It was even more rewarding to know that the funds helped support one of the nation’s premiere riding centers.

At the center, children and adults with disabilities, many in wheelchairs, could be seen pushing their chairs or walking in braces to the loading ramps. When they mounted their horses you could see pride and joy in their faces. Even if they couldn’t walk, they could ride. The neat thing was the horses didn’t know they had disabilities and accepted them just as they were. It was a magical place.

Sam and Isabella decided they needed new dresses for the event and met one afternoon at Flatirons Crossing Mall.

They started at their favorite department store that was having a big sale and had a huge selection of dresses. They were trying on everything in their size, and the sales clerks were running back and forth as they narrowed down their selections.

Sam was looking for something slinky in black and was going through the racks when a middle-aged woman came in with her husband. She was short and pudgy, probably about a size 18. He was balding and had a belly that extended over his belt. Sam could hear her mumbling under her breath and it was obvious she was not happy about something. Sam sensed there were sparks flying between them because she could smell the man’s fear. It was sweat. Sam didn’t know what he did to piss her off but he was breathing hard and his eyes darted back and forth as he frantically looked through the racks.

Isabella came out of the dressing room to show Sam her latest choice. She looked stunning in a full-length red dress that meshed to her body. It had a slit on one side that went up past her thigh and the red accented her olive complexion and long black hair and dark eyes.

“That’s it!” Sam exclaimed as Isabella twirled around and swung her hips in an exaggerated model pose.

Sam heard a noise behind her and turned to see the man starring at Isabella with his mouth open. His eyes were glazed over and he was actually drooling. He took a step back, hit a rack of clothes and lost his balance. He fell backwards and was buried under an avalanche of silk and sequins when his wife came running up.

“Robert! Watch what you’re doing!”

Isabella and Sam ran over to help pull him up and get the rack back in place. Two sales clerks came up quickly to help. The man’s face was purple as he mumbled something incoherent to his angry wife.

Isabella and Sam retreated to the dressing room while the couple helped the clerks hang the dresses back on the rack.

“I think you’re right, this is the one,” Isabella told Sam with a giggle.

“Oh, that dress is deadly. We might have to register it as a lethal weapon.”

A clerk came in with a black dress.

“Try this on,” she told Sam. “I think you’ll love it!”

Sam pulled the slinky black dress on and stood back. It was exactly what she was looking for. It was above the knee with one bare shoulder and hugged her body like a glove.

She came out of the dressing room to show Isabella.

“Ay, yi yi! That’s it, girlfriend!”

The clerk smiled and nodded her head. Sam turned around and saw a good-looking hunk walking down the aisle checking her out. He walked into a post and fell down. Sam grinned.

“Wrap it up,” she told the sales clerk.

The night of the fundraiser was warm and gorgeous with a full moon. Sam had on her new slinky black dress. She’d pulled her hair up in a knot on top of her head and a few blond wisps floated softly around her face and neck. Sam was going for the sophisticated and sexy look. Isabella was in her full-length red dress that clung to every inch of her gorgeous body with her long black hair flowing nearly to her waist. Sam sighed. Isabella exuded sexiness without even trying.

They rode together in Isabella’s little black Mustang convertible to the historic Fairview hotel where the event was held each year. After giving the keys to the valet, they wasted no time signing in and heading toward the room where all the auction items were displayed. Hors d’oeuvres were served to them as they began looking over the wonderful array of items. It was like a garage sale at Martha Stewart’s house.

“Wow, here’s a really neat painting that would look great in your den,” Isabella told Sam. It was a beautifully framed watercolor of a black paint horse that was absolutely magnificent.

“Well, the starting bid is $500 so let me have a few more drinks and maybe I’ll consider bidding on it. Shit, what am I saying? I’d have to be stone drunk to bid on it, and even then I couldn’t afford it because all I have is $300 in my checking account until payday.”

“I’m going over to look at the jewelry,” Isabella told Sam and headed across the room.

As Samantha slowly worked her way around studying all the items, she didn’t notice Cheyenne enter the room until he came up to her.

“You vets sure clean up nice,” he said casually as he studied her.

Sam stared at Cheyenne. This was their first meeting since the day she put Brilliante down. The last time she saw him in a tux was at their high school prom. He didn’t look so hot then, but he looked pretty damn good now. Sam took a deep yoga breath and let it out slowly. “Yes, I can actually show up for a dinner without a trace of horse or cow poop on my shoes.”

Cheyenne grabbed two glasses of champagne from a passing waiter and gave one to Sam, never taking his eyes off hers. Then he stepped back, grabbed her hand and turned her around slowly, his dark eyes soaking up every inch of her body.

A chill ran down Sam’s back and she suddenly felt very self-conscious.

So this is what it’s like for a man’s eyes to melt to a deep sensuous chocolate, she thought. And hot damn, do I love chocolate!

“Not bad,” Cheyenne said with a smile when she was facing him again.

“How is your stallion doing?” Sam asked. She had to change the subject before he saw her squirm under his gaze.

It worked. Immediately Cheyenne’s face grew serious as he stopped another waiter working the room with a tray of crab puffs. He gave one to Sam and stuffed the other in his mouth.

“He’s completely recovered,” he said after he finished off the puff and emptied his champagne glass. “In another week we’ll be able to start working him again, but slowly. So far we haven’t had any more outbreaks of the virus, so we’re hoping this was just a one-time incident.”

“I hope so too. We know the horses were injected on purpose, but why would anyone do that to those beautiful animals? The only thing I can think is that someone was trying to scare the Wilson’s and stop them from selling their property to developers.”

Cheyenne nodded in agreement and then smiled down at her.

“Speaking of horses, I understand you’re interested in buying a Paso. Why don’t you come to the ranch sometime so you can ride one. We’ve got a handsome chestnut gelding for sale that’s as smooth as silk. He’d be perfect for you.”

“Well, I was thinking about buying a Paso until I saw the new colt out of Maggie Mae. He’s the spitting image of Sinbad, and Ralph is going to sell him to me when he’s weaned.”

Cheyenne reached out and brushed his thumb gently across Sam’s cheek. “I remember when Sinbad died. You were so heartbroken you missed a whole week of school. I wanted to tell you how sorry I was, but I was afraid you’d knock me flat on my butt if I even came close to you, so I never did. I wished I’d been braver.”

Samantha narrowed her eyes and looked up at Cheyenne. She thought at first he was mocking her and she was ready with a nasty comeback. Then she saw the kindness in his striking black eyes and realized he wasn’t trying to get a rise out of her. He was serious. Funny, she thought to herself. She’d never noticed how handsome he was with his bronze face and hair pulled back in a tail. His Native American features were prominent and powerful. She bit her lip and sucked in a deep breath before answering.

“Thanks. It would be really nice to ride a Paso and see what they’re like, but I’d have to come when Marietta is away from the ranch. In case you haven’t heard, I’m number one on her hit list.”

Cheyenne chuckled. “You’re not the only one, trust me. She has a list a mile long. She’s going with Lance to Puerto Rico to look at some mares in two weeks so that might be a good time to come over. Maybe you’ll have some free time then.”

“I’ll check my schedule and let you know.”

“Hey, Sam! Come look at these bracelets,” Isabella called to her from across the room.

“Sounds like she found something worth bidding on. I’ll see you later.”

As Sam walked across the room to join Isabella she knew Cheyenne was watching her every move. She crossed her fingers and hoped she wouldn’t trip or do something stupid to blow her exit.

Sam was concentrating so hard on walking sexy she didn’t see Marietta Wilson making a beeline for the same jewelry table. They smacked into each other and champagne flew up in the air and came down everywhere, but mostly on Marietta. Every conversation in the room stopped and there was a deadly silence.

Well, so much for my sexy ass walk, thought Samantha. Her whole enticing exit in front of Cheyenne was ruined. He was probably halfway to the front door running for his life by now, and if he wasn’t he should be, thought Sam with a grimace.

“You stupid idiot!” exploded Marietta. “Why don’t you watch where you’re going! Look what you’ve done to my dress!”

Sam looked at Marietta’s expensive silk suit. It actually looked better with the champagne drops sprinkled all over it. Kind of gave it a retro, 60’s look. Like tie-dyeing with Cristal, or maybe Tott’s in this case.

Lance rushed over and tried to calm his wife down, which Sam knew from previous experience would never happen in this century.

“Now Marietta. I saw the whole thing and it was an accident. Let me get you another glass of champagne.”

“Oh, you’re an idiot too!” she muttered and stomped off to the ladies restroom with Lance following close behind.

“
Esta quvruna,
” Isabella said with venom coming over Sam.

“I thought I knew all the bad Spanish words, but I don’t know that one and I hope it’s a really bad one,” Sam told Isabella. “Because if it’s not I may have to come up with something super ugly in English.”

“Oh, it’s bad girlfriend. Trust me.”

One of the volunteer waiters came over and offered Sam another flute of champagne.

“Well done, doc. You sure put a smile on everyone’s face. If we’d known you were going to drench the queen of mean in champagne we’d have sold tickets and made a million dollars for the center!”

Sam looked up and was surprised to see the Wilson hand, Mitch, handing her the champagne.

“Well thanks, I think. Mitch, right? I didn’t know you volunteered at the Center.”

“I’ve been doing it for about a year now. I volunteered to help serve at this dinner and didn’t know it was going to be so much fun. Let me know if you need any more champagne.” He smiled at Sam and then turned around and moved through the crowd.

“Wow, he’s got a great ass, doesn’t he?” Isabella whispered in Sam’s ear as she watched Mitch hand out drinks.

Sam paused and took a good look before she grabbed Isabella’s arm and headed back to the jewelry table.

“Yes, he does. Shit! We’ve got to get some men in our lives so we’ll quit drooling every time some good looking hunk comes around.”

“Well, I heard a rumor that cowboys go commando. Do you think that’s true?” Isabella asked Sam.

They both stopped and turned to give Mitch another long look. His back was to them and he bent over at that precise moment to pick something off the floor. Timing is everything. They both sucked in their breath and stood there mesmerized.

“I don’t know.” Sam took a big gulp of champagne.

“I heard they don’t like tidy-whities or anything else binding them when they’re ridin’ and ropin’ those doggies.” Isabella said in a half-trance. “Ay-yi-yi! I’m getting all hot and sweaty.”

Sam shook herself and poked Isabella. “We’ve got to stop this. We’re driving ourselves insane. Let’s get back to reality and go look at that jewelry.”

They turned and slowly walked to the table.