A vision of the young boy filled his head. Sammy. He’d never seen a kid so eager to learn and so eager to please. He’d never known a kid so open to love, so hungry for the love of a strong male.
Lucas would put his heart on the line for the kid, but he wasn’t willing to do the same for Nicolette. Besides, although she hadn’t told him Cassie’s plan, she had to know what her friend intended.
Nicolette was probably just wasting time with a rugged cowboy who had been judged as unworthy by his own mother. He and Nicolette came from completely different worlds.
He liked to believe that when it came time to say goodbye to Sammy, he’d have the knowledge that he’d been a part of teaching the kid about hard work and discipline, about affection and praise. He’d know that he’d been a father fill-in temporarily.
But he knew in his heart that he couldn’t be a temporary lover to Nicolette. He had sworn he’d never allow any woman into his heart again. He’d sworn that he would never give another woman the power to hurt him.
He had a feeling she could hurt him, that if he allowed it she could crawl under the shield he’d erected around his heart that day that his mother had left him.
He was grateful to see the herd of cows in the distance and his fellow workers, some on horseback and some standing by the chute where the cattle were herded in five or six at a time so that Dr. Dan could chip them.
A hard day’s work in the warm sunshine with his fellow cowboys and a big herd of cattle was just the ticket to drive thoughts of a beautiful, desirable woman right out of his mind.
Chapter 7
Breakfast at the café was a treat. Cassie chattered with Sammy about the ranch while Nicolette sipped her coffee and tried not to think about what Lucas had shared with her the night before.
She watched Sammy dig into his thick French toast and did her best not to consider how many mornings Lucas had gone hungry in his life.
Fifteen wasn’t grown and ready to face the world all alone. How could a mother just walk away from her child and leave him to the mean streets of the city? She couldn’t imagine the horror of being all alone, of being afraid and having nobody to turn to for comfort.
As breakfast progressed she found herself sharing some of the story with Cassie. “According to Lucas that’s how all the men came to be here. It took less than a year for her to get all her young cowboys at the ranch. Your aunt must have been an amazing woman.”
Cassie released a sigh. “I wish I would have known her better. Adam talks about her like she was a little bit saint and a little bit mama bear. He told me she had a temper and could crack a bullwhip within an inch of a man’s face. In fact during the local fairs and such she’d put on a show with her bullwhip.”
“Maybe Lucas could teach me how to crack a bullwhip,” Sammy said, and then licked a glob of syrup off his lower lip.
“Not a chance, buddy,” Nicolette replied and handed him an extra napkin. “You could put your eye out with one of those things. Maybe it would be better if you asked Lucas to teach you to ride a horse.”
“Really? That would be awesome.” Happy with his mother’s reply, he continued digging into his breakfast.
“Maybe you could follow in your aunt’s footsteps and learn to handle a whip,” Nicolette said to Cassie.
“Ha, the only whip I’m interested in is the whip of my gorgeous locks on a windy day,” Cassie replied airily.
“You’re so shallow,” Nicolette said teasingly.
“I know. That and oil and acrylic painting are the only real talents I have.”
“Have you managed to get any painting done in between meetings with Adam?”
Cassie frowned. “Not much, but we’ve only been here a couple of days. I’m hoping now that Adam has given me the crash course in ranch management I’ll have a little extra time to spend on my painting.” She took a sip of her coffee and then continued, “To be honest, I’m already homesick.”
Sammy looked up from his plate, obviously stricken by her words. “But we aren’t leaving yet, are we?”
“Not yet, little buckaroo,” Cassie replied. “We’ve still got plenty of work to do to get the place in tip-top shape.”
“I hope it takes forever and ever to get the work done,” Sammy exclaimed. “I don’t want to leave here for a long, long time.”
Nicolette mentally added her own wish to her son’s. She wasn’t ready to leave the ranch and Oklahoma yet. She hadn’t tired of the vastness of the starlit sky at night, the clean spring air that greeted her every morning. She wanted to explore the wildflowers that dotted the pasture, take in the scent of hay and leather.
In truth, even though she hated to admit it, she wasn’t ready to leave Lucas yet. His story had stirred her on all kinds of levels. She’d wanted to mother the child he had been, she’d wanted to nurture the lost teenager and she’d wanted to make love to the man he had become.
It was a good thing he’d gone upstairs when he had last night because if he’d kissed her, if he’d caressed her in any way, he would have had her right there on the sofa if he’d wanted her.
Heaven help her, she’d known the man less than a week and she already wanted to take him to bed, learn every nuance of his heart and soul. It was crazy. She was crazy.
“Earth to Nicolette,” Cassie said.
Nicolette looked at Cassie blankly, realizing she’d been lost in her head and had no idea what had just been said. “I’ve asked you three times if you’re ready to go,” Cassie said.
Nicolette looked down at her plate, surprised to realize that while she’d been thinking about Lucas she’d eaten all of her breakfast.
“Unless I intend to eat the silverware, I guess I’m ready to go,” she replied and loved the sound of her son’s responding giggle.
By the time they’d paid, it was still early enough that they stopped into the shop where Lucas had bought Sammy’s cowboy boots. Nicolette had decided she needed a pair of her own.
“They’d be a great novelty item when we go back to New York,” Cassie said while Nicolette perused the various styles and colors.
The minute she saw the muted red boots with the black embroidery of roses, she knew they were meant for her. She left the store with them on her feet, knowing that they were an extravagance she could ill afford and yet rationalizing to herself that she needed them to be out in the pastures and around the ranch with Sammy. They weren’t a luxury, they were practical, she told herself firmly.
It was nearly eleven by the time they reached the house. Cassie parked the car and then brought around a golf-like cart so they could head to the area where the men were working.
“Look at all the cows,” Sammy said as they rode up a small hill.
The valley on the other side was an impressive sight that nearly stole Nicolette’s breath away. Lush green grass and a sparkling pond partially surrounded by trees looked like a beautiful rural painting.
The herd of cattle and the cowboys on horseback appeared like a scene from a Western. Reddish-brown dust stirred beneath the horse hooves and the cattle moos made a peculiar chorus that was a pleasant sound.
Nicolette instantly identified Lucas among the men on horseback. He sat tall and proud in the saddle, as if confident he was exactly where he was supposed to be and doing what he loved.
She envied him that, the obvious sense of belonging he’d found here with Cass and his fellow cowboys. She couldn’t imagine what he’d do when Cassie sold and if the new owner let him and the others go.
Where would he go? Where would he find a family like the one Cass had built here? She kept telling herself he wasn’t her problem, but she couldn’t help but worry about his future, about all of the cowboys who might be displaced.
Cassie parked the cart and she and Sammy got out and began the walk down toward where the action was happening. Nicolette chose to stay in the cart. She didn’t want to get in the way of the work. Cassie needed to see what was happening, and she knew there was no way she could hold Sammy back fr
om being a part of it all.
She was perfectly content to remain in the cart and feast her eyes on the cowboy who had already subtly marked her heart. It was strange. All of Cass’s cowboys were good-looking men, as if the old woman had chosen to surround herself with eye candy. But no matter how handsome the others were, it was Lucas who caught and held Nicolette’s attention.
The morning waned and finally the work was done with the cattle appearing no worse for the wear.
Cassie and Sammy returned to the cart, Sammy chattering excitedly that Lucas had agreed to give him horse-riding lessons later that afternoon.
“Did you see all the cows, Mom? They’re so big up close,” he continued as they rode back to the house.
“The bigger the better.” Cassie spoke like the true owner of the ranch who knew those black Angus were her cash cows.
Maybe there was some hope that Cassie would change her mind over the next few weeks and decide to make her life here, where her aunt had built a dream.
Although Cassie spoke of being homesick, she could put the ranch up for sale at any time, without further repairs being done, and still make enough money to probably never have to worry again. She could leave tomorrow with the ranch in the hands of a real estate agent and head back to the city she professed to love. But so far she didn’t seem to be in a huge hurry to cut and run.
It wasn’t long after lunch that Lucas returned to the house. He’d apparently showered and cleaned up at the bunkhouse, for his dark hair looked freshly shampooed and he smelled of minty-clean soap.
“I heard there was a little cowboy around here who wanted to learn to ride a horse,” he said.
Sammy jumped up off the sofa, his hand in the air. “Me, you know that it’s me.” His entire body vibrated with excitement.
Lucas looked at Nicolette, his gaze drifting down to her new boots. “I like the new footwear. You wear them well.”
It was ridiculous how much his compliment meant to her. “I figured they were more appropriate for around here than the sandals and heels I brought with me.”
“I like a woman with good sense,” he replied.
“And I’d like to get on a horse,” Sammy exclaimed, obviously wanting action rather than any more conversation. He ran toward the kitchen door and Nicolette and Lucas followed.
“I hope you don’t intend to put him on one of the big horses you all ride,” Nicolette said, unable to halt the tinge of worry as she thought of her little boy on the back of a big beast.
“You know I’d never do anything to put Sammy at risk. Surely you trust me enough to believe that.”
“Of course I trust you, Lucas. I think I’ve trusted you since the moment you knelt beside Sammy’s bed and told him that real cowboys bathed every night.”
For a brief moment she wanted to dive into the softness that filled his eyes. She wanted to forget that he could only be her temporary cowboy.
He broke the moment. “We’d better get outside before Sammy chokes on his own excitement.”
She laughed, an excitement of her own building inside her as she thought of her son’s happiness and the opportunity to spend more time watching the two most important men in her life interact together.
Sammy stood by the stables, waving to them to hurry. “Come on,” he yelled. “I’m so ready.”
“And I’ve got the perfect mount for you,” he said to Sammy once they’d caught up to him. “Her name is Candy because she’s so sweet-tempered. She used to be Cass’s horse.” He paused a moment, as if needing to tamp down the grief that he must feel whenever he thought of Cassie’s aunt.
“Funny,” he continued. “Cass was the strongest, most independent woman I’ve ever met, but she had a bit of a fear of horses. Wait here.”
He disappeared into the stable and minutes later returned leading a brown-and-white-dappled horse that was smaller than the horses the men rode. He also had his own horse saddled and ready to ride. “You might want to introduce yourself to her,” he instructed Sammy. “She isn’t one you met when you were in the stables before.”
Sammy moved to the front of the horse. “Hello, Candy. My name is Sammy Kendall and it’s nice to meet you.”
Lucas burst out laughing. The deep rumble wrapped around Nicolette’s heart despite the fact that she knew it was at her well-mannered city boy’s expense.
“That’s not quite what I had in mind.” Lucas pulled a lump of sugar from his pocket and handed it to Sammy and then showed him how to offer it to Candy from the palm of his hand. “Now, scratch her nose and let her smell you. That’s how you introduce yourself to a horse.”
Sammy smiled blissfully as the horse nuzzled his hand and then sniffed his face. He stroked Candy down her nose and giggled as she nuzzled the hollow of his throat. “I think she likes me.”
“She definitely likes you,” Lucas replied. “Now, you two hold tight and I’ll go grab Candy’s saddle. Before you actually get to ride, you have to learn how to saddle a horse properly,” Lucas said.
While Sammy continued to get acquainted with Candy, Nicolette watched Lucas walk away. The man had the rolling-hip swagger of a sexy gunslinger down pat. He made her fantasize about pulling him down in a stall full of fresh hay and stripping him naked.
Lucky was apparently well trained, as the big horse didn’t move, although he turned his head in the direction of the stable as if impatient for Lucas to return.
Lucas had been gone only a couple of minutes when the sound of horse hooves filled the air, coming from around the side of the house where no horses were stabled. Nicolette turned just in time to see a rider on a huge black horse riding toward them.
His face was hidden by a ski mask, and by the time alarm bells went off in her head the rider swept past her, grabbed Sammy and threw him on his belly across the saddle in front of him and continued on.
The scream that had momentarily been trapped inside her by abject horror released, the high-pitch sound of sheer terror.
* * *
The scream shot adrenaline through Lucas as he raced out of the stable. He saw the rider heading out toward the main lane to leave the ranch, and he saw the absence of Sammy next to his mother.
His heart slammed into his ribs as he lost no time. He flew onto Lucky’s back and nudged the horse’s sides with his heels. Lucky responded, racing after the other horse as Lucas filled his hand with his gun.
The black horse was bigger, but Lucky was faster, and it didn’t take long before Lucas was close enough to hear Sammy’s screams of fear, his grunts of pain as his body slammed up and down on the saddle.
Rage seethed through Lucas. Who was on that horse and why had he taken Sammy? It had been a brazen act in the middle of the day with Nicolette standing right next to her son.
He urged Lucky faster, knowing that if he somehow managed to fall behind the black horse then Sammy would be gone and nobody would have a clue how to get him back or who had been responsible for taking him.
Sammy’s cries stabbed Lucas in the heart. He had to be bounding around with each galloping step, possibly breaking ribs or being injured further.
“Stop!” he shouted when he was close enough to be heard. “Stop and let the boy go or I swear I’ll shoot you in your back.” To prove his point he pointed to a nearby stand of trees and fired.
The sound of the gunshot pierced the air and the black horse slowed just a bit. “The next shot will kill you, or at the very least make you wish you were dead,” Lucas shouted.
He pointed his gun in the center of the man’s back, no doubt in his mind that he would shoot if necessary. There was no way in hell he would allow this man to ride off to some unknown destination with Sammy in his possession.
They were at the black gates that formed the entrance to the ranch. He fired another shot just over the left shoulder of the rider. That was apparently enough for the man to know he meant business. Slowing his horse just a bit, he tossed Sammy to the ground, where the little boy rolled to the side of the lane and into t
he brush and remained unmoving.
Lucas’s heart stopped beating. As the rider on the black horse once again began to gallop away, Lucas pulled up and dismounted, but before he could rush to Sammy’s side the sound of pounding horse hooves came in the distance and he was passed by six of his fellow cowboys on the trail of the perpetrator.
Thank God. Hopefully they would catch up to the man, but right now Lucas’s entire concern was for the unmoving child on the side of the road half-hidden by brush. When the horsemen passed, Lucas rushed to Sammy’s side.
“Sammy?” he said and knelt down. Sammy’s eyes were closed and once again Lucas’s heart began to beat, but too fast, too frantically. Did the little boy have broken bones? Had he suffered internal injuries from the tumble?
“Sammy, you’re safe now,” he said, and holstered his gun so he could get to his cell phone to call for help. Before he could dial a number, Sammy’s eyes opened and he slowly sat up.
Lucas nearly wept with relief. “Sammy, are you okay?”
“I think I’m okay.” The young boy’s voice quavered, but Lucas hoped it was more with fear than with the pain of serious injury.
“Can you stand up?” Lucas asked.
“I think so. Everything hurts, but nothing hurts really bad.” With Lucas’s help, Sammy got to his feet. He threw his arms around Lucas’s waist, held tight and began to cry.
“Shh, it’s okay. You’re with me now and nothing bad is going to happen to you again,” Lucas said as he patted Sammy’s shoulder. He wanted to kill somebody as he heard Sammy’s cries, felt the warmth from him as he clung to him. He was just a little boy, for crying out loud.
“Thank you for saving me,” Sammy said and finally released his hold on Lucas. He swiped the tears from his eyes. “Why did that man take me?”
“I don’t know, little partner, but we’re going to find out. Now we’d better get you back to your mother before she has a complete heart attack. You can ride back in front of me on Lucky, but you’ll sit tall in the saddle like a cowboy should.”
A Real Cowboy Page 9