Sam Men of Clifton, Montana Book 7

by Susan Fisher-Davis

  “Well, maybe you can work for him then,” Sam yelled back, not really knowing why he was feeling so upset, she was a grown woman.

  Betty Lou gasped. “Why are you being like this?”

  “Because I thought something might have happened to you,” Sam shouted.

  Her eyes widened as she stared up at him, and then a big grin split her face. “I love you too, Sam Garrett.”

  Sam reached her in two steps and hugged her. “Don’t ever do that again, okay?”

  He kissed the top of her head and then strode back to his office. He really did love that woman.

  Chapter Eleven

  Several days later, Sam sat in his office staring out at the snow swirling around. He’d won the election so life moved along as usual once more. Watching the snow, he thought about Thanksgiving being only two weeks away. The holidays were coming and he looked forward to spending them with Tessa.

  The temperatures were supposed to dip into the single digits tonight and he hated the thought of the accidents that would possibly happen because foolish people get out on the road thinking they can handle icy conditions. Sighing, he picked up his pen and continued to fill out reports. He glanced up when Betty Lou stepped into his office wearing a worried expression.

  “Something wrong?” Sam asked.

  “Rick’s here to see you,” Betty Lou whispered.

  Sam dropped his pen on the desk, leaned back, and frowned. “Did he say why?”

  Betty Lou shook her head. “Do you want me to send him back?”

  Sam blew out a breath and nodded. Rick had lost the election to him, and they hadn’t spoken since Rick called to congratulate him. Although Sam had threatened to fire him if Sam won, Rick quit before Sam could do it. Sam wasn’t sure he actually would have fired Rick but he didn’t get the chance to make that decision. Rick was a damn good deputy and now, because of the man’s stubbornness, the department was shorthanded due to his leaving. Sam stood when Rick entered the room.

  “Have a seat, Rick.” He jerked his chin at the chair.

  Rick seemed nervous for some reason but he nodded, and took a seat. He glanced around the office and took a deep breath. “Sam, I…” He cleared his throat. “I need a job.”

  “Do you seriously think I would’ve fired you, Rick?” Sam raised his hand when Rick started to speak. “I know what I said, but you were one of my best deputies. I admit that I was angry that you would run against me. It makes me question your loyalty, and then you upped and quit…” Sam took a deep breath. “How do I know in another four years you won’t try it again?”

  Rick shook his head. “I’ve learned my lesson. This town loves you, Sam. There’s no one who could run against you and win.”

  Sam sat back in his chair and stared at Rick until he shifted in his seat. “I’ll tell you right now if I do decide to hire you back, and you run against me again, and I win—I will fire you.”

  “I understand, Sam, but you don’t have to worry. I won’t run again—not against you anyway.”

  “I’ll get back to you in a few days,” Sam told him and stood. When Rick stuck his hand out, Sam hesitated but then took his hand, and shook it.

  ****

  Tessa walked out of the operating room and almost ran into Jodi. “Whoa, Jodi. What’s your hurry?”

  “I was looking for you. A dog’s just been brought in—hit by a car.”

  Tessa ran behind Jodi to the waiting room where she came to a stop when she saw a man standing over, what looked to be a Siberian Husky, lying on the floor. He glanced up at Tessa and shook his head.

  “He came out of nowhere.”

  “It’s all right. So I gather the dog isn’t yours?”

  “No ma’am. I was driving on Copper Ridge and as I said, he was just there. I couldn’t stop in time.”

  Tessa nodded and squatted down beside the dog and put her stethoscope to his chest and listened. “I can hear a heartbeat, that’s good.” She ran her hands over the dog. “I don’t feel any broken bones but I’ll need to x-ray him, uh…her.” Tessa smiled up at the man.

  “I have to get to work. What happens now?”

  Tessa felt through the dog’s thick fur. “She has a collar. It says her name is Whiskey.” Tessa shook her head. Where did people come up with the names for their pets?

  The man nodded. “All right. Thanks.” He turned to leave.

  “Wait,” Tessa said and he turned back toward her. “I need to get some information from you. My receptionist will get it from you.”

  “I just gave you all the information you need. I hit her by accident on Copper Ridge. Look, I really have to get to work. I’m already late because of this dog.”

  Tessa stood slowly. “Because of this dog? This dog was probably scared to death and trying to find her way home when you came along and hit her. Just how fast were you going? Copper Ridge is a dangerous road and frankly, you should have seen her and been able to stop soon enough if you’d been going slower. It’s icy out there today.”

  The man shuffled his feet. “I wasn’t speeding. She ran out in front of me.”

  “Uh-huh. Well, I happen to know the sheriff pretty well, so would you rather talk to him or my receptionist?”

  The man huffed and followed Jodi to the desk. Tessa blew out a breath. What a crock. She couldn’t call Sam to report a man most likely going too fast and hitting a dog, but the man didn’t know that. Tessa walked to the desk and called her two vet techs so they could take Whiskey to the x-ray room. While she waited for them to come get Whiskey, she called the phone number on the collar only to hear it was no longer a valid number. As she hung the phone up, one of her patient’s owner entered and smiled at her.

  “Hi, Doc Mac,” Shirley Hampton said in greeting.

  “Hi, Shirley, I suppose you’re here to pick up Piglet?”

  “I am.” Shirley glanced to the dog lying on the floor of the waiting area and frowned. “Is that Whiskey?”

  “You know Whiskey? Who’s her owner?” Tessa was relieved someone knew to whom Whiskey belonged.

  “Ann Yates, but she moved to Idaho about three weeks ago. She hit hard times and moved back to her mother’s place.”

  Tessa could feel anger washing over her. “Do you know if she left the dog with someone?”

  “I seriously doubt it. I talked to her right before she left and she said she was going to have to turn Whiskey in to the local shelter since she couldn’t afford to keep her and her mother wouldn’t let her have her there.”

  “Well, obviously Whiskey wasn’t turned in at the shelter. I thought she felt a little thin.” Tessa watched as her two techs picked the dog up, laid her on a stretcher, and then wheeled her toward the x-ray room. “Thank you, Shirley. I’ll have one of the boys get Piglet for you. I need to help Whiskey.”

  She practically ran down the hall and when she entered the x-ray room, Tessa asked one of the techs to get Piglet, the cat.

  ****

  That evening, Sam and Tessa lay in her bed. She had her head on his shoulder and he had his arms wrapped around her tight.

  “So, Rick wants his job back?” Tessa asked Sam.

  “Yes. I suppose I’ll let him have it. He is a good deputy but I’m talking with the other men about it first since he left them high and dry.”

  “Sam, you threatened to fire him,” Tessa teased with a chuckle.

  “Yeah, I know I was pissed. What can I say? Tell me about your day.”

  Tessa told him about Whiskey and no one owning her. “She’s a beautiful Husky. She has blue eyes like you.”

  “I’m sure someone will take her.”

  “Thing is I only have three days to find her a home before I have to take her to the shelter.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t have the room, Sam. There are times we’re completely full and even when we’re not, I have to keep space open just in case.”

  “I understand. I hope you don’t have to do that though. She doesn’t have much of a chance at the shelter
. Bo was about to be euthanized when I adopted him. They just don’t have the room there.”

  “I know. I wish I had room for her, but I don’t.” Tessa sneaked a glance up at Sam and traced a finger along his jaw. “You do though, Sam.”

  “I already have a dog, Tessa.”

  “You have so much land and Bo would love her.”

  “No,” Sam said adamantly.

  “But Sam—”

  “Tessa, I can’t take another dog.”

  Tessa sighed. “All right. I’ll figure something out.”

  Sam pulled her closer and kissed her forehead. Tessa chewed on her bottom lip thinking about Whiskey needing a home and she was going to do all she could to find her one.

  “Do you have plans for Thanksgiving?” Sam asked her.

  “No. Do you?”

  “Katie and Riley invited me to their place. Our parents went on a cruise together. What about your parents?”

  Tessa hesitated before answering him. “Uh…my parents go skiing.”

  “Do you want to go to Katie’s with me?”

  “Do you think they’d mind?”

  “No…not at all.”

  “I’d love to then.”

  He rolled so that he was facing her. She smiled at him.

  “I want you, Tessa,” he said, dipping his head and putting his lips to hers.

  “Sam…” she moaned.

  “I know when you want me, Tessa,” Sam whispered. “I can see it in your eyes. I can feel it in your touch.” His hand moved over her chest and down her stomach to between her legs. “I can feel it here, when you’re wet for me.” His lips pressed against hers and he moved his mouth over hers, parting her lips with his tongue. It dipped inside her mouth. “I love how you taste. Here.” He kissed her. “And here.” His finger rubbed against her clitoris. When she leaned into him, he reached for a condom.

  Tessa groaned low in her throat. “Sam…” His name rushed from her in a breath as he settled between her thighs.

  “I can never get enough of you,” he whispered against her lips. She took the condom from him and rolled it slowly down over him making him growl. “I think you enjoy doing that way too much.”

  Tessa chuckled. “I really do.” Then she gasped when he slid inside her inch by inch.

  “I can’t tell you how much I want you every day, Tessa. I think about you constantly. Not a day goes by that my cock doesn’t go rock hard when I think of you.”

  “Sam…”

  “I want you any way I can have you—against the wall, on the floor, on the stairs, in the bed…on you, under you, or…behind you. But in all the ways and times I want you, all you’d ever have to say is no, and I’d stop. I’ll never hurt you, Tessa. I’d never do anything to make you doubt that.”

  “I don’t doubt it at all, Sam. I know you’d never hurt me,” Tessa whispered in a jagged voice.

  “I would hope so, Tessa,” Sam said as he pulled out of her and then slammed back into her making her gasp. Her legs wrapped around him as he rode her hard and fast. Both of them groaning as their orgasms hit them.

  How was she ever going to tell him the truth? He wanted her to trust him and he trusted her, but she didn’t deserve it. He’d never hurt her, but she was going to hurt him. Deeply. If only things were different. If only she could find the right way to tell him the truth.

  ****

  Thanksgiving Day arrived, and the weather was clear and bright. When Sam arrived to pick up Tessa, she told him she needed to stop in at her office to check on something. Sam followed her down the hallway toward her office. When she glanced over her shoulder and smiled, he felt his dick twitch. The tight black skirt she was wearing hugged her ass and the sexy red stilettos had him adjusting his cock as he entered the office behind her. Damn her.

  “Have a seat, Sam. I’ll only be a minute,” she said as she set her purse on the desk then put her reading glasses on.

  Sam blew out a breath and took a seat in one of the wingback chairs in front of the desk. He watched her walk around her desk and sit down. She shuffled papers around to find the folder she wanted and then proceeded to make notes on a sheet of paper she’d removed. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was exquisite, even wearing her glasses. The red blouse was unbuttoned just enough to where he was able to see the tops of her breasts. Shit! His dick hardened. When he raised his eyes to her face, he found her looking at him. A small smile lifted her lips.

  “You’re evil as fuck and slowly killing me…and you know it, Tessa,” Sam muttered. Her husky laugh had him wanting to jump the desk, lay her across it, and have his way with her. She stood and walked around the desk and sat on the edge of it across from him. He swallowed hard.

  “I don’t want to kill you, Sam. That would be such a waste,” she said in a low voice.

  He couldn’t take his eyes off those long legs. When she raised one and placed a red stiletto clad foot on the arm of his chair, he about came right there. He could see under her skirt to the small strip of lace barely covering her. His eyes met hers. Tessa leaned toward him and ran her hand over his shoulder and he almost died when she raised the other leg and placed her foot on the other side of him. His dick wanted to explode. Those red stilettos were killing him. Without taking his eyes from hers, he wrapped his hands around each ankle and grinned when he felt her shiver. He slowly moved his hands up her calves, to behind her knees, and up her thighs then he stood and moved between her legs. Leaning toward her, he placed his lips on her neck. When his fingers ran along the elastic in her panties, she moaned.

  “Are these new, Tessa?” he asked as his finger pulled on the elastic.

  “No,” she said breathlessly.

  “Good,” he whispered right before he ripped them from her, making her gasp. He grasped her legs behind the knees pulling her closer to him, and moved his finger to her wet folds. “You’re wet. Do you want me?”

  “Sam…”

  “Tell me, Tessa.”

  “Yes,” she hissed. “I want you. I want you so much.” A sudden frown darkened her expression and her hand reached down and removed his from her.

  He frowned at her but then she gave him a small smile as she moved her finger to where his had been. Sam groaned. He wanted to be inside her so much, he was sure he was going to die if he wasn’t soon. When she raised her finger to his lips, he took it into his mouth and sucked her essence from her finger.

  “Sam, kiss me,” she whispered and for some reason, Sam thought he heard a profound sadness there so he decided it was up to him to make it go away.

  Moving his lips across her cheek, he took her lips in a deep kiss then moved his tongue into her mouth and tangled it with hers. Her moans set him on fire.

  ****

  Tessa was never going to survive Sam Garrett. The man was too sexy. No man had ever pleased her so much or made her want to surrender to him. She was completely and totally in love with Sam and she had no right to be. As much as she would love to make love to him right now, right here in her office, she felt it was wrong. She was about to spend Thanksgiving Day with his family and didn’t deserve that.

  She smiled against his lips—his sexy, hot, delicious lips. “You are an amazing man, Sam.”

  “You’re driving me wild with that skirt and those heels.”

  “My fuck-me shoes?”

  Sam chuckled. “If that’s what they scream, then wear them more often.”

  “I will if you like but right now might not be the time to enjoy them,” she said, hating herself when she saw him frown in disappointment.

  “You’re right. We need to get going to Katie’s for dinner.”

  “I’ll need to go up to my apartment and get panties on since you ripped mine off.”

  “Or you could just go without.” Sam grinned.

  “Not happening, Sam.”

  Tessa put her hand out to him. When he took it, she started for the door but he pulled her back to him and pressed his lips against hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he
deepened the kiss. Would she ever get enough of this man? Mentally sighing, she knew she’d have to. No matter how much it would hurt her, she would eventually have to stop seeing him.

  Just as they arrived at Riley and Katie’s it started to snow. Sam helped her down from the truck and held her hand as they walked up the steps. She suddenly questioned her choice of heels but when she saw Sam’s gaze sweep over her, she knew they were the best decision of the day. The door opened and Riley stood in the doorway.

  “Good to see you, Tess,” he said as he hugged her.

  “You too, Riley.”

  They stepped inside and Katie hugged her brother and then Tessa.

  “I’m so glad you could join us, Tess.”

  “Thank you for allowing me, Katie. Where’s Sadie?”

  “Taking a nap but she’ll be up soon and she’ll be thrilled to see her Unc Sam.”

  An hour later, they were sitting together at the table, talking about Riley and Sam’s friendship when Sam suddenly glared at Riley.

  “I was always telling the guys to stay away from my sister. But this one…he didn’t listen.”

  “I rarely talked to her when we were younger.” Riley laughed reaching out and squeezing Katie’s hand.

  “Why was that? Katie is beautiful,” Tessa asked with curiosity.

  “I was so gangly when I was younger. I never got asked to the prom because I was taller than the boys in my class,” Katie mumbled.

  Riley leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Aww, darlin’, if you hadn’t had that frizzy hair, I would have asked you. You were always beautiful.”

  “No, you wouldn’t have, Riley,” Sam growled. “It was bad enough when you were seeing her behind my back.”

  Riley laughed. “Yeah, my chin still hurts.”

  Katie gasped. “You hit Riley?” She glared at her brother across the table.

  “Only once. He deserved it. He hurt you, made you cry. Or don’t you remember?” Sam shrugged.

  “I made up for it. I married her.” Riley laid his arm across the back of his wife’s chair and kissed her cheek.

  “Dada,” Sadie screamed.

  Riley stood, took Sadie from her highchair, and held her. He kissed her cheek too. “I love you too, squirt,” he said, making Sadie giggle.