“Okay, okay. I found some big horse turds on the running boards of my truck and stuck his engagement ring in the middle of one and left it on the kitchen table.”
Ricky roared with laughter. “I knew it! God, I wish I could have seen his face when he got back home.”
Sam grimaced a little and wiggled in her chair.
Ricky stopped laughing and looked at her. “There’s more, isn’t there?
Sam looked down at her hands and then a wicked grin spread across her face. “Yeah, there’s more. I might have overdone it a little because I left more horse turds scattered all over the condo. Actually I left a ton of turds in his place. It seems that I had an overabundance of turds in my truck. I put turds in his favorite coffee cup, in his underwear drawer, in his new tennis shoes, in the nightstand by his condoms, you get the idea. The place was covered in horse turds. I was the turd fairy that night. I think he got my message.”
Ricky was grinning from ear to ear. “Judging from the daggers in his eyes I’m positive he did.” He reached out and patted the top of Sam’s head. “You always were a little spit fire.”
“I know. That’s why I’m taking yoga. It helps calm me down and control my temper. I never saw Steve again until tonight. It was quite a shock to see him standing over me.”
Sam was finishing her coffee when she saw Ricky look over her head and break out into a huge smile.
“You are one lucky broad tonight, babe. Look who just walked in the door.”
Samantha turned and groaned. In the past ten years she’d only had several brief encounters with Cheyenne Wells, but even those were too much for her. And here he was right on the heels of Steve McBride.
“Shit, I live a charmed life don’t I?”
Ricky patted her shoulder as he stood to greet his old friend. “Hey, Cheyenne. Haven’t seen you in a long time. What brings you into town on a night like this?”
Cheyenne shook Ricky’s hand. “Needed some new jeans and thought I’d get a cup of coffee before I faced the bitter cold outside.” He turned and looked down at Sam who was sitting with her chin in her hand looking miserable. His lips curved into a slight smile. He leaned over and picked up a book sitting on the table and whistled softly.
“This is some serious reading, are sure you’re up to it Sam?” He was holding Ricky’s self-help book in his hand.
Sam gave him a deadly stare as she grabbed the book and thrust it into Ricky’s stomach. Ricky grunted and sat the book in front of Sam.
“I tried to talk her out of it, Cheyenne, but she was determined to get it. She told me it was on the best sellers list and she had to have it.”
Sam’s eyes darkened as she stood up and pushed the book into Ricky’s chest. “Ricky Montenegro, if you ever want to live to see another sunrise you better tell Cheyenne the truth or I’m going to beat the ever lovin’ snot out of you! This is your book and you know it!”
Ricky calmly took the book and softly patted Sam’s arm. “Okay, Sam. If you say so.” With tongue in cheek, he turned to Cheyenne. “As Sam told you, this is my book. I’m going to take it home and read it tonight, right Sam?” He blinked big innocent eyes at her.
Sam growled and both men grinned at her. Cheyenne hadn’t seen her up close and personal since their high school graduation and she’d matured quite nicely over the past ten years. Her tall, curvy body was stiff with anger and her intense blue eyes sent sparks flying through the air at both him and Ricky. He remembered her skinny frame in high school, but now she had gorgeous curves straining against her T-shirt and tight jeans. He rocked back on his heels and watched her with interest, enjoying every minute.
Cheyenne’s hungry looks were not lost on Samantha. She saw the lust in his eyes and that infuriated her. But she knew part of her anger was the lurch she felt in her own heart when she saw the look on his face. She didn’t like what she was feeling. No, not one bit. But she had to admit that his black, shoulder length hair, and striking Native American features made him look strong and sexy, and one thing she didn’t want to think about was Cheyenne being strong and sexy.
Samantha grabbed her books and jacket and with a quick glare over her shoulder she tossed her head and flounced toward the checkout stand. “Men!” she mumbled under her breath, not caring if her words carried back to them.
Cheyenne drew in a sharp breath as he watched her pay for her books and then stomp out of the store with her hair bouncing behind her, shimmering in the glow of the street lights.
“She’s some piece of work,” noted Ricky as he watched her leave.
“That she is,” agreed Cheyenne, smiling to himself. And he knew he was going to make it a point to see her again. Whether she liked it or not.
LATER THAT evening, Sam and her significant other were stretched out relaxing on an over-stuffed couch. She was reading ‘Sex & Sizzle’ and he was watching some mindless sitcom on television. She sighed and he turned and looked at her with bored eyes.
“Just listen to this, will ya? I can’t believe I’m wasting my time with another one of these predictable books. Tell me if you’ve heard this before.”
“Sienna opened the French doors to her balcony and stepped out to watch the fading sunset. The gentle ocean breeze cascaded across the bow of the boat, caressed her face, and brushed her flowing blond hair gently against her bronze skin. Seth was standing in the shadows, waiting. His strong jaw set in determination as he watched the woman he loved cross to him. She had known he was there, waiting for her to come to him. As she moved into his arms, his dark, brown eyes melted to a deep sensuous chocolate. He kissed her lightly on the lips, nipped at her soft inviting neck, and then teased her with his mouth as he sought her lips again. The kiss deepened and she sighed as her mouth opened to receive his passion and love - the unending love she had been waiting for all her life.”
Sam looked down at her current object of affection. “Do you want to know what this book’s all about?”
Whether he did or not she knew he would patiently listen so she continued. “It’s about a rich and talented artist who goes on a singles cruise to Fiji, runs into her next door neighbor who happens to be on the same cruise, and they fall in love. And of course, he’s loaded. He’s a famous architect who’s a dreamboat and travels all over the world in his private jet.”
Sam tossed the book on the coffee table and pulled her legs up underneath her. “Did I mention he has dark, curly hair, a slight Scottish brogue and is totally irresistible? Now where can I find a guy like that? Or better yet, why can’t my life be more like one of these romance novels?”
Sam’s roommate, Dundee, leaned over and licked her hand. She smiled down at him. He always did that when he was trying to comfort her.
Dundee was a Blue Merle Australian Shepherd. Sam found him in the pet store at the mall four years ago. When she saw him in a cramped cage hidden by a big “HALF OFF” sign, she couldn’t resist. She plopped down her credit card and took him with her. She had just walked out on Steve that night and needed something warm and soft in her life.
Sam was happy living with her new partner. Except for occasionally driving her crazy by honking the horn when she left him alone in her truck, he was the perfect companion. He never talked back; he got excited every time he saw her, and he didn’t have cold feet when he nuzzled up next to her in bed at night. She kinda liked that, even if he did snore and fart sometimes.
Sam picked up the book and walked into her bedroom with Dundee at her heels. As she passed the mirror on her dresser, she stopped and backed up to look at her reflection.
“Now look at me – I’m a REAL woman! Not like one of those made up hotties in my books!”
Dundee yawned and jumped up on the bed.
Sam studied herself intently as she rotated her body in the mirror. All 5’6” of it. She cringed. “Why do I have to be so real?!! I don’t have full, sensuous lips, sexy eyes or hair like a goddess.” She tossed the book on the floor. “Okay, so what if I’m 28 and single. I’m well educated
and I have a wonderful career. To hell with Seth and Sienna. I’m going to bed!”
Sam put on her PJ’s, jumped into bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. Dundee settled into the curve of her back.
A few minutes later she could hear his soft snore as she drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Two
The next morning while making her rounds, Sam found herself placing a large thermometer in the rectum of a dairy cow. She thought briefly about her statement the night before about her wonderful career. Okay, so maybe being a vet wasn’t always glamorous, but it was her chosen career and she was proud of it. It was just that today she wouldn’t call it wonderful. Not while she was standing in a cold drizzle with her hand up a cow’s butt. Maybe tomorrow would be wonderful.
Sam looked around Ralph Anderson’s small dairy farm and couldn’t stop herself from glancing toward the horse stalls. When Ralph called her that morning her first thought was that something had happened to Maggie’s new colt. She was relieved to hear him tell her about a sick cow. She watched the mother and son huddle together contentedly in a stall staring at her. Her heart caught. Somehow she was going to talk Ralph into selling that colt to her.
Ralph watched Sam look at the new colt and grinned. She was standing in the rain in what he called her “vet uniform.” Tan barn jacket, blue jeans, T-shirt, and Roper boots. Her hair was pulled back into a pony tail pulled through her favorite ball cap that had “Barn Goddess” printed across the front. He knew she was shocked the day before when she saw the colt for the first time. He couldn’t figure out why for the longest time. Then he remembered right when he got in bed that night.
“Well, hell!” He had exclaimed to his wife, Gracie. “He looks just like her old horse, Sinbad.”
“What are you talkin’ about, you ol’ fool.” His wife asked sleepily. He had woken her up with his outburst.
“Maggie Mae’s new colt. He looks like the horse Doc Kendrick had when she was a kid. You remember ol’ Sinbad don’cha?”
Gracie turned and looked at him a second. “Yeah, I remember. That girl was all over the territory on that horse.” She smiled. “I’ll never forget her and Sinbad riding over to bring us her mom’s homemade soup when we both had pneumonia that one year. She came over everyday for two weeks. She couldn’t have been more than eleven at the time. I can still see her gallopin’ down the road holdin’ on to that basket. Didn’t even spill any soup. Did she ask about buyin’ him?”
“Nope, but I bet she’s thinkin’ about it.”
“Well, you sell him to her if she asks. She never did ride much after that horse died. Broke her heart like nothin’ I’d ever seen.”
Gracie heard Ralph snore. “Ol’ fool,” She muttered as she turned over and went back to sleep.
The next morning Ralph called Sam. He knew his ol’ cow, Blackie, was coming down with a cold, but he had medicine in the barn to give her. The real reason he wanted Doc Kendrick to come out was so he could feel her out about the colt. If she did have her eye on him he was going to make sure she got him. She had been his vet since she started her practice, and most of the time she never charged him for her visits. The Kendrick’s had been good neighbors. Any time they needed anything, all they had to do was call Tom or Sarah and they were right there. That really helped, especially when their kids went off to college and weren’t around to help. He remembered the year he and Gracie had pneumonia. If it hadn’t been for Tom and Sarah he didn’t know what they would have done. Tom came in the middle of the night to take Gracie to the hospital when she got so bad she couldn’t breathe and Ralph had been too sick himself to drive that night. Sarah came over every day to check on them. When she couldn’t make it, she sent Samantha on Sinbad.
Ralph was still watching Samantha. She couldn’t keep her eyes off the colt.
“He’s a pretty thing, isn’t he?”
Sam turned her attention back to the cow. “Yeah,” She said softly. “Who’s the sire?”
“You remember ol’ man Stoddard’s paint stallion, Chief? He’s the father. I bred Maggie cuz she’s gettin’ old and I wanted the grandkids to have a good horse to ride when they visit. Didn’t realize until last night how much he looks like your old horse, Sinbad.”
Sam turned and looked at Ralph’s old, weathered face. “Yeah, I noticed yesterday.”
Ralph looked at his feet and kicked some mud with his boot. “I was worryin’ last night. I really wanted a filly for the grandkids. Don’t want no stallion, or gelding. I may sell that colt when he’s weaned so if you’re interested in buying him you let me know.”
Sam stopped and stared at Ralph. She didn’t say anything for a minute. She couldn’t believe what she’d heard. She thought she’d have to get down on her knees and beg to get that colt away from Ralph. She almost wept.
“Yeah, I’m interested in him,” she finally told him when she could control her voice. “I’d appreciate it if you’d let me have first chance if you decide to sell.”
Ralph kicked more mud with his boot. “Well, consider him yours. We’ll talk ‘bout terms after he’s weaned.”
Ol’ Blackie decided to cut loose at that moment and Sam moved her hand seconds before a big glob of steaming cow poop landed on her boots. She shook her head and looked at the thermometer. She hoped this wasn’t going to be a sign of what her day was going to be like.
“Blackie will be okay,” she told Ralph. “She’s got a little cold. I’ll give her a few antibiotics and she’ll be as good as new.”
Sam walked back to her truck to get a penicillin shot. It took every ounce of restraint she had not to jump up and let out a whoop until she was out of sight.
Then her cell phone beeped and she came back down to earth. She grabbed it off her belt and looked at the caller ID. It was her office.
“Hey, Sam.” It was Melanie. Doc Howard’s wife.
Sam looked over at the colt and remembered how angry she was at Doc when she was sixteen. She’d blamed him for Sinbad’s death but now, thirteen years later, she was his partner. She forgave Doc the day after Sinbad died when her dad told her what Doc and Mel were going through. Mel had cancer and was taking chemo treatments. Doc nursed sick animals during the day, and then went home and nursed Mel. Sam’s mom spent a lot of time helping Mel during that time, and fortunately her cancer went into remission and she made a full recovery. Then a year later, when Sam’s brother, Mason, was born with Down syndrome, it was Mel that came over everyday to help her mom. Doc and Mel didn’t have any children, so they unofficially adopted Samantha and Mason. When she decided she was going to be a vet, Sam spent endless hours bugging the dickens out of Doc. She followed him around asking a million questions which he patiently answered. He even let her ride with him when he made his rounds sometimes. He became her mentor and friend. She cried when he asked her to be his partner after she finished college.
“What’s up?” Sam asked. She could see Mel in her mind, one slender hand on the phone and the other pulling her dark hair over one ear.
“We got a call from Cheyenne Wells. He needs you to stop by and check out Mr. Wilson’s champion stallion. He has diarrhea and is off his feed today.”
“Yeeuu,” Sam said. Although not because of the diarrhea. It was the word Wilson that made her want to throw up. The Wilson Ranch was usually Doc’s exclusive client, which was fine with her. She still hated the snooty Wilson’s. Not to mention that she wasn’t looking forward to seeing Cheyenne again.
Lance Wilson, the owner of the Lazy W Horse Ranch, was in his late 60’s, very narcissistic and totally hen-pecked by his jealous wife, Marietta. Marietta was not a nice person. She was brash, arrogant, mean and spiteful. Sam shuddered. She wanted nothing to do with either of them. She never could figure out how Cheyenne, who was their manager and head trainer, could put up with either of them. Then she thought again. Maybe Cheyenne was getting what he deserved. He had certainly made her life miserable when they were in school together. But the honest truth was she’d rather go bac
k and stick her hand up ol’ Blackie’s butt than deal with Lance or Marietta Wilson that morning.
“When’s Doc getting in? He’s the one the Wilson’s always want out there.”
“He called me this morning. He extended his private training session in Montana for that famous newscaster, you know the one on NBC or ABC or whatever. He asked me to tell you that he won’t be back until tomorrow sometime, and Cheyenne said they needed someone out there right away.”
Sam sighed. That’s what she got for being a partner with one of Colorado’s renowned horse trainers.
“Okay, I’ll go. Call Cheyenne back and tell him I’ll be there as soon as possible.”
Minutes later, Sam finished packing her gear and called for her loyal companion. “Hey Dun, let’s go!”
The dog bounced into the white Chevy Silverado and crawled up into the passenger’s side. He always rode shotgun.
Cowgirl Up! Page 2