Count This Cowboy In (13 page)

He cocked his head as he looked at her and asked,
"What?"

She smiled at him and said,
"You're the better leader.  I mean, dancer." 

He gave her a warm smile and a wink
and was just ready to respond when they heard someone say, "Trevor Nottingham, is that you?"

They both turned to see who it was
and Trevor immediately got to his feet.  The two men, both big men, did what Sam called a manly embrace.  She smiled, thinking she could almost see the testosterone oozing from the two men.  It looked to her as though they were obviously friends that hadn't seen each other for a while.  As if Trevor read her thoughts, he made the introduction.

"
Sam, this is Clay Amstutz, my best friend all through school.  Clay, this is Sam Simmerly."

"
Nice to meet you, Sam."

"
And you, Clay.  Why don't you sit down and join us?  It looks like you two have some catching up to do and maybe I'll get you to tell me some good stories about Trevor."

"
I don't know that we need any of those," Trevor said, looking at Sam with a fake stern face, "but we do have some catching up to do." 

As Clay sat down
, Trevor called the waitress over to order a beer for his old friend. "The last I heard, you were in Austin working as a detective for the police department."

"
Yeah, I was, but now I have my own detective agency."

"
Good for you," Trevor enthused.  "Where is it; in Texas, or are you back here?"

"
Well, a little of both.  The firm's in Amarillo, but I'm actually here on a case.  I stopped in here hoping to run into at least one person I knew, but this is better than I'd hoped for.  I was going to stop out at your ranch tomorrow to see you.  How have you been?  I was sorry to hear about your parents.  Are you and the ranch doing okay?"

"
I'm not going to lie, it's been tough.  I kind of got thrown into running the ranch before I was ready, and I've been struggling through it.  Why don't you stop by tomorrow and we'll get caught up?  I'll fill you in and you can tell me about this business of yours.  Better yet, where are you staying and how long are you going to be here?  I've got four extra bedrooms at the ranch. Why don't you stay there?"

"
I just arrived this morning and got my business done already.  I'm already checked in at The Embassy Suites and I have to leave tomorrow, but I'd love to come out for awhile."  Looking at Sam, he said, "Unless you two have plans.  I don't want to interrupt anything."

She assured him,
"No, no plans.  Go ahead."  They made plans to have a late lunch together the next day, then visited awhile before Clay left. 

Trevor looked at his watch
. "I think we have time for one more dance before we head home, too.  You up for it?" 

She quickly took his offered hand and they were back out on the dance floor.  She felt like she was floating through air as he swirled her around and around the dance floor. 

They left with both of them smiling and in a jovial mood.  As he was driving home a song came on the radio he liked and he started singing along.  She looked over at him, a bit surprised.  He was as good a singer as he was a dancer.  She loved to sing and joined in.  Now it was his turn to look at her, a bit surprised.  They smiled at each other as they finished the song together. 

He picked up her hand and squeezed it. 
"It seems we like a lot of the same things."

"
Seems like it."

"
This is going to be fun."

"
It is, isn't it?" 

He lifted her hand and kissed it.  She smiled.

When they got home, he led her through his house, picking up a bottle of wine on their way to the guesthouse.  They went to the back patio again.  It was a lovely evening and neither of them wanted it to end.  He sat down on the porch swing, pulling her down beside him.  He easily slid his arm around her, gently pulling her over to rest her head on his shoulder.  After a few minutes of very companionable silence he said, "Thank you for going to dinner with me tonight."

"
Thank you for taking me.  I had a wonderful time."

"
Me, too."  After another minute he asked hesitantly, "Sam, can we talk a minute?"

"
Uh-oh, that sounds serious."

"
Kind of.  It seems to me we've been getting along real well."

"
Yes."

"
Not just working together, but I feel like there's something more between us.  Is it just me, hoping there's something more between us, or do you feel it, too?"

"
There's no beating around the bush with you, is there?"

"
Not usually, no, especially with something that's this important to me."

She took a deep breat
h. "Trevor, I feel something between us, too, but it––"

Trevor gave her a minute, but when she didn
't finish, he became worried. "It what, Darlin'?"

Without looking at him, she said,
"It kind of scares me."

"
Why?  How?"

"
I don't usually have problems making friends."

"
I saw that tonight."

She paused a bit at his words, but then went on,
"But when it comes to a serious relationship, or any relationship with a man, I'm very skeptical and I tend to move slowly."

"
Why is that?  I mean, why are you skeptical?  There's nothing wrong with moving slowly, but why are you so skeptical of men?"

"
Because I – because they – I can't ––"

"
Sam?  It's okay, I've got you, you're safe.  You can tell me anything."

For some reason that she didn
't understand, those words touched her heart and she knew he was telling the truth.  She did feel safe.  Still not looking at him, she said, "I've only ever trusted one man and he ––"

"
Oh, sweetheart, you're doing good.  I've got you, go ahead and tell me.  What did he do?"

She started crying
and trembling, but managed to get out, "He betrayed me."

Without saying a word, Trevor stood up, picking her up with him.  He carried her inside the house and sat down on the couch, settling her on his lap and wrapping her in his arms. 
"It's okay, Darlin'.  I don't want you to get cold or worry about anyone hearing us while we talk.  You're safe here.  Can you tell me who it was that betrayed you and how?" 

She didn
't say anything and he gently rubbed her back, trying to comfort her.  "You'll feel better if you talk about it, Sweetie."

He hoped she
would choose to share her story with him, but he wasn't going to push.  If she wasn't ready yet he'd hold her and talk to her, but he wouldn't push her.  When she talked to him he wanted it to be because she trusted him.

He whispered soft assurances to her and held her tightly
and was resigning himself to the fact she wasn't ready yet, when she quietly said, "My dad."

He was shocked.  The few times she
'd mentioned growing up it had been when she was living on a ranch and it always sounded like she got along real well with her parents.  He quietly said, "Thank you for trusting me, Sam.  Can you tell me what happened?"

She didn
't say anything, but he felt like she tried to several times.  He tried to help her.  "When you were growing up, you seemed to get along good with your dad, didn't you?"

Among her tears she said,
"Yes."

"
So whatever happened, it was when you were older?" 

She nodded her head
and reached up with one hand to hold onto his shirt again, like it was her lifeline.

"
Sweetie, if you feel like you trust me enough to tell me, I think you'll feel better."

He watched her trying to get control again
and when she had finally calmed a bit she said, "When I was growing up I loved him.  And he loved me.  I know he did."

"
I'm sure he did, Sweetie.  You said you're an only child and he spoiled you a bit, so I'm sure he did love you."  Trying to keep her talking, he asked, "Did you spend a lot of time with him?"

She nodded. 
"Yes, I did."  He watched as his brave little lady took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and pulled herself together. 

She snuggled into his chest a bit further and said,
"Okay, I've never told this to anyone before, but you might be right.  I might feel better if I talk about it, so here goes, the story of my life.  Feel free to stop me when you've heard enough and you're bored."

He hugged her to him
and when she laid her head against his chest he rested his cheek on her head.  "I can't imagine being bored, Sweetie and thank you for sharing this with me."

"
You shared the story of your life with me and I feel like I know you better now.  If I share my story with you maybe you'll understand me a bit more." 

He nodded, hugged her a bit
and held her as she started her story.

"I grew up on our family ranch, just like you.  It was in Texas, outside of Amarillo.  I was an only child and my dad, Hank, knew how much I loved ranching and he taught me everything.  It didn't matter to him that I was a girl.  When I wanted to learn to ride a horse when I was three, he taught me.  When I wanted to help him ride the fences when I was eight, he let me.  Anything I wanted to learn, as soon as he felt I was big enough and mature enough, he taught me."

"
Good for him."

"
I agree.  We talked all the time about how some day I would inherit the ranch.  He was sure I'd be just as good a rancher as he was.  When I graduated from high school I was ready to start my hands-on training to take over running the ranch.  Like you, I'd worked on the ranch ever since I can remember and could do anything any of our ranch hands could do, except maybe the heavy lifting, but now I was ready to watch and learn the management part of it.  Mom and Dad had other ideas, though and they talked me into going to college.  Dad insisted that learning the business end of running a ranch was just as important as knowing how to do the physical end of it."

"
I agree with him."

"
Did you get a degree in business, too?"

"
Yes, of course.  You sound like you didn't want to."

"
I didn't.  But they insisted, so reluctantly, I went.  I took business classes for them, but I really liked ranching, so I also took classes in animal husbandry.  Some day I was sure I'd have a large herd of top of the line cattle and horses."

"
An ambitious goal."

She shrugged. 
"It didn't seem like it.  It only seemed natural.  Anyway, that all came crashing to a sudden halt my sophomore year.  Mom died suddenly and Dad was lost.  I was worried about him.  I wanted to go home to be with him, but he wouldn't hear of it.  He insisted I stay and finish my schooling first.  He promised we'd run the ranch together after I graduated."

"
That was probably hard for him to do, but he was thinking of you."

She reluctantly said,
"Yeah, maybe.  But I finished that school year and went home for the summer.  Dad and I were closer than ever, helping each other through the grieving process.  When it was time to go back to school in the fall I begged him to let me stay home.  I was worried about him once I got home, but by the end of the summer he was doing better.  I was afraid to leave him again, though.  I tried to convince him to at least let me take a year off.  I was sure we'd both feel better by then and I could go back and pick it up again."

"
He didn't like the idea?"

"
No."

"
I have to admit I understand what he was thinking.  Once you stop it's hard to get started again."

"
Yeah, that's what he said.  He told me my schooling was important and it had been important to my mom.  He told me I only had two more years and then I'd be there full time and we could get down to business. He told me we'd start on a new breeding program and by the time I was ready to take over running the place we'd have the best herd of cattle in Texas."

She
sighed.  "I told him we could do it now, together.  But he told me ––"  She paused and tears came to her eyes again.  "He told me I would always be the apple of his eye and he was going to miss me when I went back to college, but it was important that I finish college." 

"
That was probably hard on him."

"
I know.  It was hard on me, too, leaving him like that, but I understood why it was important to him that I finish school, so I went back in the fall."