The Cowgirl's Secret (The Diamondback Ranch Series #) (20 page)

"Better now that I have you in my arms." He kissed her on her lips, then nuzzled her neck, and inhaled her sweet fragrance. Serenity and a peaceful warmth flowed through his veins, banishing the cold sorrow to the nether regions of his soul. He hugged her close, resting his forehead to hers. "I love you, Tori McCade."

"I love you, too, Sam Garza."

He grabbed her hand and kissed it. "I don't know what I would have done, how I'd have survived, if you hadn't been here to help me through all of this."

Tori shook her head. "I couldn't stay away. I've been so stupid. Acted so stupid. I'm so sorry."

"We'll work it out," he said. "I'm not letting you go again; I need you too much. We'll work it out somehow."

"Yes, but not right now. Later. We'll talk later." Tori put her hands on his cheeks and kissed him with a tenderness that almost unmanned him. Her kiss was soothing, life-giving, life-affirming; it touched him to the core, helping to heal the empty ache in his heart, making it all better.

Sam hugged her closer, taking the kiss deeper. Tori melted in his arms and delved her tongue inside his mouth. She seemed to know instinctively what he needed and wanted. How best to comfort him, what to do to take his mind off his sorrow. It wasn't long before she was driving him mad with longing and desire, making him want to lose himself inside her again.

Dear God in heaven. He had to have her now. Right now.

"Hold on," he said, his voice gruff with passion.

Tori sighed as she nestled her head against his shoulder and tightened her hold around his neck. Sam gathered her in his arms and stood up. He kissed the top of her head, her soft curls, and started walking to his bedroom.

***

Several hours later, Sam groaned in deep contentment, as he lay spent on top of Tori, their naked bodies tangled and gleaming with a fine sheen of sweat. His brain felt drained as did his body.

That was a good thing. He didn't want to think about anything other than the woman in his arms and the pleasure they gave one another. How good it was between them.

They hadn't had time to talk about their future these past few days. When he'd called her about his mom, he'd hoped and prayed Tori would put aside their differences and come be with him.

She hadn't failed him. She'd been his mainstay all through the funeral arrangements, the visitations and the funeral itself. And afterwards, when everyone had come over to the house, she'd acted the perfect hostess. Her love for him shone in her eyes, and he basked in the glory of it.

No, they hadn't talked about the future yet, but she'd obviously had a change of heart as well as mind. He hoped like hell they could come up with a workable solution to their problem. He'd meant it when he'd said he wouldn't let her go again.

Tori moved beneath him. "I don't mean to complain, but I can't breathe."

"Sorry." Sam kissed her forehead and rolled off. He dragged her close to snuggle against him. She threw a leg over him and leaned her head against the hollow of his shoulder. He took her hand in his and held it near his heart. "I want to thank you for coming to be with me and staying these past few days. It meant a lot."

Tori sighed and her breath was warm on his bare chest. "This is where I belong, Sam. I know that now." Tori lifted her head and traced his strong jaw with a lazy finger. "I belong with you. Here. Now. Forever."

He grabbed her hand again. "Damned straight this is where you belong. But what finally made you change your mind? What about your plans?"

Tori shrugged. "You said it yourself: I can be with you and study to be a vet at the same time. I'll need you to encourage and support me. And if push comes to shove, I can practice anywhere. Right here in Dallas, if that's where you want to live."

Sam struggled to a sitting position, dragging Tori upright, too. "Now hold on a damn minute. Where's the headstrong stubborn Tori I know and love? The Tori McCade who was so hell-bent on pursuing her goals with no distractions or impediments?"

Tori placed her hand on over her heart. "She's right here. Right where she wants to be. Right where she belongs. With the man she loves more than life itself."

A peaceful feeling settled in Tori's gut after stating aloud what should have been obvious to her from the start. Sam stared at her like she'd lost her marbles. Well, maybe she had. No, what she'd lost was her head and her heart . . . to him. Right from the beginning. Only she'd been too dead set on following her carefully mapped-out plan, unable to see or admit that her life had drastically changed when she'd met Sam Garza.

"I was so miserable when we broke up," she said. "I felt numb inside. Your mom's death made me see things more clearly. Made me realize what's truly important. I love you, Sam. I want to be with you. I want to marry you. The sooner, the better."

He narrowed his eyes. "Before you change your mind?"

Tori lowered her gaze and shrugged a bare shoulder. "I'll admit it's going to take a little time for me to get used to the whole thing. It'll be strange at first, not going to A&M like I'd originally planned. Not to practice in Salt Fork--" Her voice caught on a sob, and she couldn't finish the sentence as the reality of taking such a step, a different path in her life, hit her full force.

Sam grabbed hold of her shoulders and looked deeply into her eyes. "Babe, there's no way in hell I can let you make such a sacrifice. My mom's death has made me see a few things differently, too. Made me think of all you said, and what a bastard I would be to make you change your lifelong goals and dreams for me."

Tori's bottom lip trembled. Her heart clenched at the thought of losing him again. She didn't know how she would bear it. Did he really not want to get back together? "But I love you. I want to be with you."

"I love you, too. Except you were right. You need to get your degree. You've worked hard to make it happen. And you need to take over that practice in Salt Fork. You were right when you said we should trust in the strength of our feelings. I want you to go to A&M. In fact, I insist."

Tori couldn't believe what she was hearing. "But four years is a long time like you said. What will
you
do while I'm at school?"

Sam placed his thumb beneath her chin and tilted her head. "Well, let's think about it a little bit. With my mom gone, there's nothing holding me here in Dallas. I could go down to College Station so I'd be near you. But that would distract you too much. What about if I go--"

"Not New York, Sam. That's too far away."

"No, I'm back in Texas for good."

Tori could hardly believe Sam was actually contemplating scenarios so they could be together. She was almost afraid to breathe; afraid she'd break the spell he'd woven around them. "So if you're not going to live in Dallas or New York, and you're not going to come with me to College Station . . . where will you go?"

He smiled that lethal smile of his and the impact hit her square on. "What would you say about Salt Fork?"

Tori's heart almost flat-lined, and she eyed him in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding. What in the world would you do in Salt Fork?"

"I don't know yet," he said, lifting a shoulder in a shrug. "The idea just now popped into my head. There has to be something I can do in Salt Fork."

"Sam, I don't think you realize how small my hometown really is. There's basically one main street running through town with one stoplight. If you blink, you miss it."

"Now wait a minute," Sam said. "Small towns have a charm of their own. Before I left New York, I was pretty burned out. I was ready for a change, a slower pace of life."

Tori rolled her eyes and snorted. "Oh, you'll get a slower pace of life in Salt Fork. Believe me, I know."

He smiled again. "And yet, you want to go back there to live. It obviously holds an allure for you and a special place in your heart."

She nodded. "It's home. My family's there and so is the Diamondback Ranch. Three generations of McCades have lived there, four if you count my niece Kelsey. There's nothing there for you. Nothing to do; no one you know."

"That's not all-together true." Sam grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles. Her heart skipped a beat. "
You'll
be there, babe."

Tingles of awareness skittered up her arm. "No, I won't. I'll be going to school in College Station."

"Yes, but think about it. You want to go back to Salt Fork after you finish school. In the mean time, I'll be there when you come home for holidays and when you move back for good. Then we'll get married, settle down and have a kid or two. We'll begin our life together. Until death do us part."

She laced her fingers with his, holding his hand; dark skin contrasted against light. They complemented each other, belonged together. "You make it all sound perfectly logical," she said. "But I don't know. Are you really willing to wait for me to finish vet school? That's four years, maybe even five. And I can only imagine how difficult a long distance relationship will be."

"Yes, it will be difficult," he said, lifting her hand to his lips again. "There's no question about that. But with me in Salt Fork, you'll be able to focus on your studies. I want you to be happy, babe. I want to spend the rest of our lives together. If that means putting our relationship on hold, then that's what I'm willing to do. Although, I do think we'll have to meet up once in a while for pre-conjugal visits, if you know what I mean. I have to have my Tori fix, every now and again."

She knew what he meant. She was addicted to him, too. "But what will you do, Sam? What kind of job could you possibly find in Salt Fork?"

"If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm not hurting for money, sweetheart. I'll still be able to work remotely and write code for my friend's game development company. Believe it or not, writing code is relaxing in its own way."

"Relaxing? Right, mister. That's a good one." Tori shook her head. "I can't believe you actually want to go live in Salt Fork, Texas, of all places."

Sam wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close. "I don't want to lose you. If that means letting you go for a while and do what you have to do, then so be it. You have roots in Salt Fork. You have family there. I don't have roots in Dallas anymore. I have no family. There's nothing to keep me here."

Tori pulled back a little and searched the rugged features of his face. "What about your cousins in San Antonio?"

He rubbed the back of his knuckles against her soft cheek. "What about them?"

"
They're
family. You could move to San Antonio."

"Why would I want to do that? I love you, Tori. I want to spend my life with
you
. Salt Fork's the obvious place for me."

She frowned, and Sam traced the deep furrows on her brow. "What's wrong now, babe? You're the one who wanted to put our relationship on hold and take it up again at a later date. You should be overjoyed."

"I am, I am." She worried her bottom lip and peeked at him through golden lashes. "You're going to think I'm nuts."

"Nuts about me, I hope."

"Besides that," she said. "I was thinking if you do go to Salt Fork . . . I'd rather we not tell anyone, and I mean not one single person, that there's anything going on between us."

It was Sam's turn to frown. "You ashamed of me, Tori?"

She cupped his jaw. "Oh, God.
Of course not
. It's just that my brothers would be all over the both of us. They're very protective of me. They would make your life a living hell. And besides that, you have no idea about small-town gossip. Trust me on this. It will go much smoother if we keep our relationship secret until after I graduate."

"But won't your brothers be angry when they find out we've kept such a secret from them? And what about your mother? I know what my mom would have felt like if I'd kept that huge a secret from her."

"We'll have to take it one step at a time, okay?" Tori hurled herself against the man she loved and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him soundly on his mouth. "Oh my God, Sam. I can't believe you're willing to do this for me. You're making all my wishes come true. I want to build a house on my portion of the Diamondback Ranch. I want it to be two stories, made out of native stone with a tin roof and a view of the Double Mountains from a big front porch. I've had the site picked out since I was a little girl. You wouldn't mind living on the Diamondback Ranch, would you?"

Sam hugged her close. "Not as long as it's with you, babe. Not as long as it's with you."

***

PART TWO

CHAPTER NINE

A man only has so much patience.

Sam's voice echoed in Tori's brain as she sat at the cluttered oak desk that had seen over forty years of service under Doc Pritchard. She'd been back in Salt Fork for just a little over a month, and she'd been swamped with taking over Doc's practice. She'd tried to set up some sort of schedule, but that was pretty much impossible, especially since the animal hospital over in Stone Creek had closed its doors last week. Now Tori was the only vet in a fifty-mile radius and her workload had doubled overnight. She felt like she was swimming upstream with cement boots on her feet, barely keeping her head above water, with no rescue in sight.