Count This Cowboy In (25 page)

"
I can't believe Dad would take them, though," Sam said as she was thinking out loud.  "And how did she get them?"

"
Clay did some checking and found out she has a sister with a mental condition.  Guess what one of her medicines is?"

"
Okay, so we know where she got the pills then, but I still can't believe Dad would take them."

"
Clay asked the doctor if it would be possible to slip these into food or drinks and the doctor said it would be.  They could be crushed and put into food without altering the taste."

"What?  Is that what killed Dad?"

"
That question's not as easily answered, unfortunately.  The doctor said the medicine in large doses could cause a heart attack."

"
Which is what Dad died of."  She looked up at him, furious.  "That bitch killed Dad!"

"
Whoa, calm down, Sam.  First of all, watch your language.  I understand you're upset and you have every right to be.  But watch your language.  You're a better person than that."

"
So what happens now?"

"
Clay went to the prosecutor's office and laid out all the facts he'd found.  He asked the prosecutor if there was enough there for them to initiate an investigation.  They told him absolutely and they're looking into it right now.  Clay said he'd keep me informed.  They'll probably want to talk to you sometime during the investigation."

Sam sat there stunned.  Trevor pulled her back against his chest. 
"I'm sorry this all happened, Honey.  I wish I could do something for you, to help you."

Leaning against him, feeling his strength, she said,
"You have done something for me.  You started the whole investigation."  She looked up at him and said very sincerely, "Thank you so much for that, Trevor.  I don't think I can begin to tell you what this means to me."

"
Honey, I just couldn't believe that your dad deserted you.  That was tearing you up, I could tell and I just didn't believe it.  So all I did was ask Clay to look into it.  He did all the work."

She looked into his eyes with understanding. 
"You were taking care of me again."

He smiled down at her and said,
"Trying to, yes."

"
And again I feel cherished.  Thank you."

"
Sam, I want you to know, I don't know what lies ahead, but it could get difficult.  Remember, though, you're not in this alone.  Let me help.  I'm here to lean on.  I have big shoulders; let me do some of the worrying for you."

"
I'll try."

"
You'll do more than try, or you'll have something else to worry about," he said as he patted her bottom meaningfully.

She smiled as she said,
"I'll try hard."

"
That's my girl."  He held her as she digested all the information she'd learned tonight, asking questions here and there.  During a quiet time he said, "Sam, I am so glad you decided you're okay with me helping you.  I want to take care of you through this ordeal."

Leaning against his chest she said,
"I'm glad I finally saw how much I need you."

He could easily see she was exhausted, probably from all the information she
'd been given, so he tucked her into bed early, locking the door on his way out.

The next couple days Sam seemed preoccupied, but Trevor gave her time to think through all that she
'd learned.  He got her to open up and talk occasionally, but she was keeping a lot of it locked inside her.  He was getting worried.  He and Grant and a few of the other men were busy breaking some of their younger horses, so he gave her more time alone to think.  But if she wasn't talking more by the weekend he would push her a bit to get her to open up about her feelings.

Saturday was the day Sam generally did any shopping she needed to do, while Trevor was working.  Sometimes she watched whatever they were doing that day.  He thought she m
ight be out there watching today, but she wasn't.  When he came in for lunch he asked Consuela, "Is Sam doing some shopping today?"

"
I don't know.  I thought maybe she was out watching you guys.  I haven't seen her since pretty early.  She really seems upset about her father."

"
I know.  She hasn't wanted to talk about it, but she needs to."

"
If anyone can get Miss Sam to talk, it will be you, Mr. Trevor.  Keep trying.  She's not in a good place right now."

"
I agree.  I don't like not knowing where she is."  He took out his phone and called, but she didn't answer.  He called again before he went back out to work, but still got no answer.  "Consuela, would you mind trying to call her again if she's not back in the next hour?"

"
I will call if she's not back."

"
Thank you."  Trevor put his hat back on and went back out to work.  As he was heading for the ring, though, he glanced over at the barn and on a whim he went there instead.  He went past Thunder's stall to Lady's, but it was empty.  He quickly went to the saddles, but her saddle was gone, as well. 

He ran out to ask Grant,
"Did you see Sam ride out today?"

"
No.  Why?"

"
She didn't tell me she was going riding today, but Lady's gone and so is her saddle.  She's been so preoccupied lately I'm worried about her."

"
I wouldn't worry too much, boss.  She's as good on a horse as I've seen."

"
Normally I agree.  But she's been so preoccupied she didn't even tell me she was going.  I have no idea which direction she went.  It worries me that she didn't come back in for lunch and she's not answering her phone."

"
Yeah, it's not like her to be out this long.  Do you want us to go out looking for her?"

"
I know she seems to want a lot of time alone to think, but I really wish I knew where she was.  Let's work with one more horse for a bit.  If she's not back and still doesn't answer her phone, we'll go look for her."

"
Sounds reasonable, boss."

* * * * *

Sam was out riding Lady, trying to come to grips with the fact that her stepmother could have actually been to blame for her father's death.  That brought all the pain of his death back, but it also brought on anger.  She was angry with the lady he married.  She never did like her or see what her father saw in her.  That made her angry with him.  Immediately after those thoughts entered her mind, she felt guilty for having them.  Mixed in there were thoughts of what should happen to her if the prosecutor charged her with something. 

She was so confused; she decided to go out riding.  That
's what she had done from the time she was small.  Taking a good hard ride, then sitting by herself somewhere that was quiet always helped her sort things out, so she felt drawn to do it again.  Unfortunately, she was moving on autopilot and never thought to tell Trevor she was going riding.  She also never thought to make sure her phone was charged. 

She rode a long way, to a part of the ranch she
'd never seen, before stopping to think.  When she felt a little more settled and ready to go back, she realized she hadn't told Trevor she was going, so she took out her phone to call.  The low battery light was flashing, so she put it back.  If she called him now it would use what little battery life it had left.  She knew to save it in case of an emergency.  She'd just hurry back so he wouldn't worry.  Hopefully she'd get there while he was still in having lunch.

She mounted her horse and was ready to go back when she heard a commotion
among the cattle.  She looked over just as she saw some cattle chasing off a small brown bear.  She knew she was too far away to kill it and she sure wasn't going to go off chasing a brown bear into the woods, but she took her rifle out and shot in the direction of the bear, hoping to scare it enough to keep it from coming back.  Then she went to check on the cattle. 

What she found was devastating.  The bear had gotten a calf, which was hurt pretty bad, but still alive.  Being careful to watch in case the bear returned, she looked at the calf and knew it would never be able to make it back to the barn.  It was also big enough that she
'd never be able to get it onto her horse and it probably wouldn't survive the long ride home.  She thought about riding back to get Trevor and the truck, but she wasn't sure the calf would last that long, either.  Especially if the bear came back.

She took out her phone and called Trevor, hoping it lasted long enough.  Her adrenalin was flowing and she was trying to calm down so he
'd be able to understand her.

Trevor and Grant had just headed back to the ring to work with one more horse when Trevor
's phone rang.  He took it out and said, "Oh, good, it's Sam." 

He answered, but Sam was upset
and her phone kept cutting in and out.  All he heard was her frantic "need help… bear attack… hurt pretty badly…. woods… please hurry."  The line went dead.  He quickly tried calling back, but it went right to voice mail. 

He told Grant what happened
and they debated what to do.  Trevor called the phone company to see if they could get a general location, but were told her phone was either turned off or dead.  They quickly got all the ranch hands together and sent them out in pairs of two, all armed, to search anyplace close to woods.  He kept two of them at the ranch in case someone needed something.  Everyone had a phone with instructions to call Trevor as soon as they found anything.

Trevor called his neighbor to the north.  Mr. Sanderson ran The Thunder Gulley Ranch.  It was a larger ranch than his
and to be able to cover his ranch efficiently he had a helicopter.  Trevor quickly explained his situation and asked if he could hire him to take him up in the helicopter.  Twenty minutes later Trevor was at his ranch and they were taking off.

They flew over all the wooded areas on Trevor
's ranch, looking for any signs of Sam or Lady.  Finally, after searching for half an hour, they found her.  They couldn't see much from the sky, though, as far as injuries.  She looked to be sitting up, but he sure saw a lot of blood.

Mr. Sanderson was afraid to put the helicopter down too close for fear the cattle would be scared and stampede, so he put it down in a neighboring pasture.  Trevor was out before it was actually clear down firmly on the ground, running over toward Sam. 

He could hear her crying before he got there and his heart about leaped out of his chest when she cried, "Trevor, I'm so glad you found me."  When he got to her, though, he took one look at the calf and at her and knew what happened.  He had so many emotions running through him at that moment that all he could do was wrap his arms around her and tell her, "I love you, Sam."  The overwhelming emotion he was feeling at the time was relief that she was okay.  The anger could wait for now.

She cried into his shoulder, mumbling things he couldn
't hear.  He heard her clearly, though, when she cried, "Trevor, please don't let her die.  She's hurt badly, but she's so little."

His feisty little fireball was tough as steel when it came to some things, but had a heart of gold
and when it came to children or animals she was the most sensitive person he'd ever met.  She was as worried about this little calf as could be.

Trevor quickly checked the calf.  The bear had done enough damage to cause quite a bit of bleeding, but luckily it looked worse than it actually was.  No artery had been opened and the active bleeding had already stopped, thanks to help from its mother, who was licking the wound.  He took out his phone and called Jeb, who had stayed at the ranch and told him to bring the truck.  After calling him he called their veterinarian and told him what was happening, so he could meet them at the barn.

He called Grant next.  Grant would call off the search and send the men back.  He was to make his way then to where they were, as Trevor would need some help getting the calf
's mother back to the barn. 

Mr. Sanderson had reached them
and Trevor explained what had happened.  He thanked him for his help, told him to send him a bill and told him he had a man on his way in a pickup.  He sent him on his way home with thanks.

Trevor asked Sam,
"What about the bear?"

"
It was too far away, but I shot in his direction to try and scare him off.  I've been watching, but haven't seen any more sign of him."

He immediately scanned the area and was on high alert from then on while they waited for Jeb with the truck.  Trevor was finally able to convince her that there wasn
't anything they could do for the calf until they got it back to the barn and the vet and that letting the mother care for it was the best thing they could do for her right now.  Sam reluctantly moved away and let the mother take care of her baby.

She was trembling as she moved away
and Trevor held her in his arms.  He sat down on the ground with her, holding her in front of him.  He rubbed her arms and kept assuring her the calf would probably pull through.