Stick in the Mud Meets Spontaneity (Meet Your Match, book 3)

by Rachael Anderson

  “Sorry, bro. Didn’t meant to hit a nerve.” Instead of climbing back on his ATV and leaving Colton alone, Will lingered. “If you really don’t want this girl to leave then why not give her a reason to stay? Since when have you ever given up without a fight?”

  Colton paused by the fence, looking over the top of the well-used, leather saddle toward the barn. He’d given up because Samantha had said New York wasn’t negotiable, but did that mean it really wasn’t? Had he given up without a fight? Was there a chance Samantha would consider finding a different job instead—say in Colorado?

  Colton would never know because he’d put an end to their relationship before it had a chance to begin. He’d gotten hurt, jumped to conclusions, and cut his losses.

  Is that how he wanted things to end?

  No.

  Colton nodded at his friend. “Know what, Will? I’m actually glad you dropped by this morning.”

  “Glad enough to offer to feed me whatever smells so good?”

  Colton sniffed the air, and the scent of fresh-out-of-the-oven blueberry muffins teased his nostrils. How had he not noticed that before? “It’s technically not my house anymore, but we should definitely investigate. Just let me put this saddle away.”

  Will clapped him on the back. “Now you’re talking.”

  The rumble of a gas-powered motor blared in Sam’s ears as she battled to keep the chainsaw steady enough to cut the large block of ice into the shape of a cowboy boot. It was Kajsa’s birthday party tonight, and she planned to make the coolest (no pun intended) centerpiece Kajsa had ever seen. Unfortunately, there was nothing delicate about chainsaw blades—especially one held by shaking hands. By the time she shut off the engine, the boot looked more like something an Eskimo might wear.

  Sam removed her safety goggles and studied the L-shaped lump of ice. No matter. She would do the rest by hand. Fishing through her quickly-gathered tools, she grabbed a hammer and a chisel and began pounding away at the ice. Within the hour, she’d turned the Eskimo shoe into something that looked more like a chalk outline of a cowboy boot. She found some sandpaper for smoothing, and after going through several sheets, Sam finally had a decent ice sculpture of a cowboy boot.

  All she needed now was Adi. Sam glanced at the time on her phone. She’d invited Adi over to help with the cake and centerpiece while Cassie finished some last-minute shopping, but if she didn’t show up soon, the boot would become a puddle.

  Five minutes later, the back door slid open, and Adi walked out in a knee-length sunflower sundress, lugging one of Noah’s tool cases. She looked beautiful and festive, a stark comparison to Sam’s cut-off jean shorts and dampened pink tank.

  Sam smiled. “Perfect timing. Is that the Dremel?”

  Adi’s blonde, curly ponytail bounced as she nodded. “Sorry I’m late. Me and Kajsa helped Aunt Jane paint a room this morning and it took forever to get the paint off.” She sat the case on the table and examined the ice sculpture. “Wow, that really does look like a boot!”

  “You sound surprised. Did you really think that it wouldn’t?”

  Adi shrugged. “Daddy said you’ve never sculpted ice before, so I should say something nice no matter how it looked. But it looks so boss! And I’m not just saying that to be nice.”

  Sam touched the tip of Adi’s nose. “So I have your dad to blame for your lack of faith in me. He’s lucky he loaned me his Dremel so now I can’t be mad at him.” Sam opened the box and pulled out a small tool in the shape of a plastic soda bottle. It looked different than the one the artist had used in the YouTube video she watched, but a Dremel was a Dremel, right?

  With Adi’s help, she figured out how to attach the bit, found an extension cord in the garage, and turned it on. The tool hummed, the bit spun, and Sam grinned at Adi. “What do you say? Should we girl-up this cowboy boot?”

  Adi nodded, her eyes bright with excitement.

  Using a picture of a boot she’d found online, Sam began drawing decorative designs across the sculpture. After a few minutes, she handed the Dremel to Adi and let her take a turn. Her small hands shook with the vibrations of the tool, and the lines and curves began to look as though they had a mind of their own. It was adorable.

  When the boot was covered in lines, circles, flowers, and arcs, the girls carefully moved it to the large freezer in Sam’s garage where it would wait until the party. Then they headed inside to decorate the cake. Noah and Cassie’s refrigerator had sprung a leak a week earlier, and now a huge section of their kitchen floor was in the process of getting redone, so Cassie had asked if they could have the party in the Kinsey’s backyard.

  “Is Kajsa still at the ranch?” Sam asked as they slathered turquoise frosting on the bottom tier of the cake.

  Adi nodded. “Aunt Jane and Colton are keeping her busy until tonight. She’s so excited.”

  Sam bit her lower lip, wishing she wouldn’t have asked the question. Thinking of the ranch made her think of Colton, and she’d been trying her hardest not to go there during the past two days. But even though she’d kept herself busy with a few things on her bucket list—like finding the perfect mascara, attempting to make another lemon meringue pie, and donating blood—thoughts of him constantly took up space at the back of her mind, making her question New York and if it really was where she wanted to be in the fall.

  When the bottom tier was finished, they added the top tier and frosted it with a white base layer and turquoise polka-dots. Sam had filled two bags with frosting so they could each do the job.

  “Hey, Adi,” said Sam, adding another dot, “you know I’m moving to New York at the end of the summer, right?” It was a question that had been bothering her ever since her discussion with Colton the other night. Years ago, when she’d told the girls she’d be leaving for college, they’d had a meltdown. They’d cried and clung to her, saying they didn’t want her to leave them. But with the New York job, there had been no crying, no clinging, and no exclamations of missing her. Maybe the reason Kajsa hadn’t said anything to Colton was because they didn’t know either.

  Or maybe they’d grown up enough that they didn’t care.

  “Yeah, I know,” said Adi as though it was old news. Her mouth didn’t droop even a little. Ouch.

  “Do you know how far away New York is?”

  “Really far,” said Adi. “Daddy said it would take at least three days to drive there.” She sounded so nonchalant about the whole thing that Sam’s heart began to deflate. Had they outgrown their old babysitter already? Please no.

  “Aren’t you going to miss me?”

  Adi stopped piping and turned her large brown eyes on Sam. “I always miss you when you’re gone. But I know you’ll be back because you always come back. Cassie said that’s what sisters do.”

  Sisters. The word wrapped around Sam’s heart like a fuzzy blanket fresh from the dryer. To the girls, she was no longer the babysitter who would move on and out of their lives. She was their sister. Sam had always wanted a sister. Now she had two.

  She threw her arms around her former-charge-turned-sister and pulled her close. “That’s right, Adi. I will always come back. I could never stay away from my sisters for long.”

  Adi smiled, and Sam’s day brightened.

  They finished the cake by trimming the base of both tiers with tan frosting that looked like a rope. The finishing touch was Sam’s present to Kajsa. On the top of the cake, she rested a small jewelry box in the shape of a tan cowgirl hat. Inside was a sterling silver horseshoe necklace embedded with tiny, sparkling cubic zirconias. Kajsa wasn’t one for jewelry, but Sam hoped, given that it was a horseshoe and a gift from Sam, she’d wear the necklace. It would look adorable on her.

  “She’s going to love it,” said Adi.

  “I hope so.”

  “If not, I’ll wear it.”

  Sam smiled at that. Adi loved necklaces and earrings and bows and all things that had to do with accessorizing. “What do you say we paint our nails while we wait for Cassie to get
here with the presents?”

  “Only if I can pick out the colors.”

  “Sure.”

  By the time Cassie arrived, Sam had green, pink, and orange, neon-colored toenails. Her feet would definitely draw some notice tonight.

  The Kinsey house was a flurry of activity when Colton arrived with his family. As they walked up the driveway, he purposefully slowed his steps, gravitating toward the back of the pack. Would Samantha pretend like nothing had happened, or would she do her best to avoid him? Relationships could be so awkward. Why had he gotten all bent out of shape over New York, anyway? If he hadn’t, Sam would probably be the one to open the door and greet him with a warm smile and a hug.

  Instead, it was Mrs. Kinsey’s smile that greeted them. She ushered everyone inside, saying how glad she was that they’d made it. Again, Colton let his parents and brothers move ahead of him. As he passed the entrance to the living room, a hand reached out and yanked him inside, and he suddenly found himself face to face with Samantha with no idea what to say. Her curls were piled on top of her head in an artistic way, and her face was no longer half red. She looked gorgeous. The only thought going through Colton’s mind was how much he wanted to pull her close and find out what her lips tasted like today.

  Thankfully she was more prepared than him. She held up a piece of paper two inches from his face. “See this?”

  The words blurred and made him go cross-eyed, so Colton took the paper and lowered it. Her summer bucket list came into focus.

  “I see it,” he said slowly, not sure where she was going.

  “Great. Now watch this.” She stole it back and walked over to the coffee table where she promptly dipped the corner of the paper into a flame of a candle. It caught fire, and she continued to hold it until the flames neared her fingertips. Then she dropped it on a ceramic plate next to the candle and smoothed her fingers against her gray flowered skirt before facing him again.

  “My bucket list is officially no more,” she announced, clasping her fingers in front of her. “I don’t want to run a triathlon, jump out of a plane, or have a fling anymore.”

  When she didn’t continue, Colton said, “What do you want?” There had been nothing spoken about New York or the end of the summer or anything else that threatened to tear them apart. His heart beat double-time as he waited for her answer.

  She approached him, stopping a foot away. “To find out what we might become and go from there.” Her eyes reflected uncertainty and worry, but also hope.

  Cautiously, Colton reached out, took a hold of her forearms, and pulled her hands apart. Then his fingers slid down to her hands and interlocked with her fingers. “Okay.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  She let out a breath. “Good. Because I don’t think I can handle living through any more days like the last few have been. If you had any idea—”

  “Samantha.” He pulled her against him.

  “Shutting up.”

  This time when he kissed her, she tasted like vanilla frosting and smelled like cherry blossoms. Colton was reminded of the summer his mother had hung all the clothes out back, letting them dry in the fresh summer air. He’d been seven at the time and loved running through them, smelling the soap and feeling the soft fabric brush against his face.

  That’s what Samantha felt like. Soft. Fresh. Breezy. Everything about her was lovely and feminine, the antithesis of his everyday life of dirt, sweat, and the smells of animals. A life without her in it wasn’t enough anymore.

  New York is a bad idea, he wanted to say. A horrible idea. Don’t go.

  “And here we go again,” Mr. Kinsey’s voice intruded once again.

  Colton immediately released Samantha and stepped away, forcing his gaze to meet her father’s.

  “You know,” Mr. Kinsey said. “In the year and a half I dated Becky, not once did I get caught making out with her. But only a couple weeks into your relationship, I’ve already caught you twice. Do you need a lesson in discretion?”

  Colton shook his head. “No, sir.”

  “So this won’t happen again?”

  “No, sir.”

  A giggle escaped Samantha’s mouth, and her father turned to leave. “Dinner’s ready.”

  Before Colton could follow, Samantha rose to her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “Rain check?” she whispered.

  “Definitely.” With her hand in his, they walked through the kitchen and into the backyard.

  Kajsa oohed and aahed over everything—from the decorations to the presents to the cake. Maxwell continually lunged for the ice sculpture and Georgia managed to pull herself up to the table and grab a fistful of cake before anyone could stop her. When Kajsa read that the McCoys had signed her up for her first legitimate barrel race, she squealed.

  “Are you sure I’m ready?” she asked Colton, her new horseshoe necklace glinting in the sun.

  “You’ve been ready for months now. We just wanted to give it to you for your birthday.”

  Then it was hugs all around. Hugs to her dad and Cassie for her very own saddle, new boots, and some cute plaid tops, hugs to Emma and Kevin for the new art set, complete with drawings of horses for her to color, hugs to Mr. and Mrs. Kinsey for a basket filled with her favorite treats, and hugs to Samantha for the necklace.

  “I’ll wear it every day,” she promised.

  “You’d better,” said Samantha. “Otherwise, Adi might.”

  Through a mouthful of turquoise cake, Spencer said, “Dusty was going to sign up for the bronc riding, but he chickened out.”

  “At least I wasn’t afraid to ride a harmless little sheep,” Dusty shot back.

  “That was over ten years ago,” Spencer said. “When are you going to stop bringing it up?”

  “When you stop being such a moron.”

  “You’re the moron.”

  “Will you two please be quiet?” demanded Kajsa. “You promised you wouldn’t fight at my party.”

  “Oh, that wasn’t fighting,” said Dustin. “That was just a lively discussion between brothers.”

  Colton’s father stopped in front of the buffet table and directed a hard look at his sons. “Those involved in the next ‘lively’ discussion will get clean-up duty after the party is all over.”

  That quieted the brothers. But it also gave Colton a good reason to goad them into a “lively” discussion again.

  “Remember that time when someone filled your boot with manure, Spence?” said Colton. “You always thought it was Brock, but really it was Dusty.”

  “What?” spluttered Spence, spewing some remnants of his cake at his brother. “You are so going to pay for that.”

  Dustin glared at Colton. “Traitor,” he mouthed.

  Samantha joined in the fun. “Last week, I overheard Spence saying that you looked like a bobble head on the back of a horse, Dusty.”

  “It’s true.” Spence chortled. “You bounce all over the place when you ride, like an amateur city boy.”

  Dustin’s jaw clenched, his fist tightened around his fork, and Colton smiled and slung his arm around Samantha’s shoulders, leading her away. “That should do it. You can thank me later.”

  Sure enough, the bickering began anew, and the brothers ended up with a dishrag and broom in their hands.

  As the night came to a close, Colton scanned the backyard, listening to the chatter and laughter that filled the space between the fences and beyond. Adi had pitched in to help his brothers clean up, and Georgia and Maxwell sat in highchairs, digging into a pile of mashed-up cake. The light breeze from earlier had turned into more of a gust, quaking the aspens, tossing the helium balloon bouquet, and blowing Sam’s curls all around her head.

  Colton pulled her close and pressed a kiss to her forehead, thinking how great it felt to be part of the family, how lucky he was to have Samantha at his side, and how determined he was to do whatever it took to keep things this way.

  After the party, Colton became a daily part of Sam’s life. She sp
ent most mornings at the ranch, hanging out with him while he worked with Maj, going on a quick ride with him, or helping his mother with lunch or various other projects. When it came time for Kajsa’s afternoon lessons, she went home to do something with Adi, watch Maxwell and Georgia for Emma, or spend time with her mom or dad. Then evening rolled around, and she’d see Colton again. They’d get together for dinner at the Kinsey’s house, The Shack, or go out for a burger and country dancing or to a movie.

  On the Fourth of July, the Mackies, Granthams, and Kinseys all joined the McCoys for a tasty barbeque and homemade ice cream, complete with sparklers. As darkness fell, they gathered together some blankets, climbed into the back of a few pick-ups, and travelled on a bumpy dirt road up the mountain to a clearing where they settled in and watched the spectacular Memorial Park fireworks show. Snuggled under a blanket next to Colton, Sam wanted to stay there forever. That had been a great day.

  And so had the others. Sam looked forward to them all, thinking more of Colton and less of New York. But every once in awhile, her thoughts drifted into the murky, uncomfortable territory of her future. She’d already signed a six-month lease on her apartment and sent a check in the amount of her first and last months’ rent. If she was going to get out of the contract, she’d have to find someone to take it over soon. Very soon. She also needed to give Brecken Design enough time to find a replacement.

  Replacement.

  The thought of someone else sitting in the cubicle meant for her scratched at Sam’s nerves the way fingernails scratched against an emery board. It didn’t feel right. Nothing felt right—neither leaving nor staying.

  With her blinds closed and the evening sun beginning to dim, Sam stared at the August calendar on her phone. Besides a friend’s birthday on the fifth and National S’mores Day on the tenth, only one other event was scheduled—an event that had been created over three months ago. Lying on her stomach on her bed, Sam tapped on Thursday, August 24, then again on the event scheduled at 10:45 AM.