“Let’s get you back home so you can get out of those wet clothes and take a hot shower,” Cheyenne said softly. “Then I’m going to find out who saddled these horses this morning.”
They returned to the ranch in record time and made it before the storm broke. Cheyenne stopped the truck by the barn and jumped out. He yelled to Jose, who came running up immediately.
“Help me unload the horses and tell me who saddled them this morning,” he demanded.
Jose looked confused as he opened the door to the trailer and started unloading the horses.
“
Senor
Mitch saddled them this morning, and I loaded them.”
Cheyenne came around and helped Sam out of his truck. Suddenly the storm broke and the rain came down in torrents. They both ran for Sam’s Chevy and were drenched by the time they reached it. Cheyenne quickly opened the door and Sam and Dundee slid in. Dundee headed for his shotgun spot on the passenger side.
“I’ll give you a call later on,” Cheyenne told Sam as he shut the door.
Sam rolled down her window. “Thanks for the ride and picnic. It was great, really. And I loved Dakota. Give him a good rub down for me.”
“I’ll do that,” Cheyenne said and ran his thumb softly across her cheek. “Now get on home and out of those wet clothes.” He leaned through the window and gave her a kiss on her nose.
Sam looked at him closely before rolling up her window, but couldn’t tell what he was thinking. He had those deep brown eyes that were impossible to read. As she headed down the driveway she saw Suzanne standing inside the barn watching them. The dark look on her face gave Sam more shivers than the cold rain. This place was creeping her out and she decided it was time to get out of Dodge.
When Sam got home, she pulled her wet clothes off and headed for the shower. She let the hot water pound on her body and soaped up with her favorite Bath & Body shower gel. As she toweled off she saw bruises forming on her body.
Sam put on her favorite pajamas from Victoria’s Secret. Not one of the sexy, see-through camisole jobs, but a pair of soft, long flannel pants with a tank top that read ‘I’m too sexy for my shirt’. Then she padded into her kitchen, fed Dundee and put her teakettle on to boil. This was a good evening to stay in, have some hot Celestial Seasonings tea, and finish ‘Sex and Sizzle’, she decided when she heard the rain beat against the kitchen window.
Sam settled on her couch, took an extra strength Tylenol with a sip of Green Tea and started to catch up with the adventures of Sienna and Seth when her doorbell rang.
Probably Mom or Mason, She thought. Or both.
Sam flung the door open ready to give her brother a big hug when she froze. There on the doorstep stood Cheyenne with a hot pizza, a six pack of Coors and rain drizzling off the rim of his black cowboy hat.
“I felt like a pizza tonight and thought you might want some. I also wanted to make sure you were okay. Can I come in?”
Sam opened the door wider and Cheyenne stepped through and headed for the kitchen.
“That smells wonderful. Did you get it at Johnny’s?” Sam asked.
“Yep, one of Johnny’s ‘sweep the kitchen’ pizzas. Doesn’t get any better than this.”
Sam pulled two plates from her cupboard and handed one to Cheyenne. In a matter of minutes they had their plates piled high with pizza and two bottles of beer on the coffee table while they sat side by side on the sofa.
“I talked to Mitch after you left and he swore he never did anything to that saddle. He said he didn’t notice anything wrong with either of the cinch straps. He was upset when I told him what happened. He got real agitated and wanted to come by and see if you were okay. I told him not to worry, that I was bringing you some dinner and would check on you. He seemed distressed you got hurt. I can’t figure out if he’s acting to cover up something or if he’s just got the hots for you.”
The beer was warming Sam’s blood and relaxing every muscle in her body. She was too tired to think of an appropriate comeback so she rested her head on the back of the couch and chewed on her pizza for a minute before she answered.
“I talked to him when we danced at the auction and he seemed to be a compassionate, sincere person. I’m usually a pretty good judge of people. I just can’t imagine him cutting that strap.”
Sam finished her pizza and got up and opened two more bottles of beer. She handed one to Cheyenne and sat back down. As she sipped her favorite brew she could feel the fatigue set in.
Cheyenne got up and took the empty plates and bottles into the kitchen. Sam could hear him loading the dishes in the dishwasher and cleaning up the kitchen while she lounged on her sofa. She was full, warm and content and unable to keep her eyes from closing. Seconds later she was sound asleep.
In Sam’s dreams she felt someone pick her up, carry her to her bedroom and slip her under the covers. She snuggled under her comforter and could feel Dundee lay down beside her. Then someone kissed her forehead, caressed her hair and tucked the comforter up around her.
“Thanks, Mom,” Sam murmured as she drifted off to a deep sleep.
WHEN THE ALARM woke Sam the next morning, she could see the bright sun beaming through her windows. She jumped up quickly and groaned when her sore muscles came to life.
Sam moved slowly around the room and looked at the clock. She had just enough time to get ready and get to her office. Then she stopped and looked in the mirror.
“Holy shit!” Sam moaned when she saw her reflection. Her hair was sticking up all over and she had big bruises on her arms and butt.
Sam limped into the kitchen and saw the empty pizza box and beer bottles in her trash and remembered the night before. So it wasn’t a dream. She must have fallen asleep on the couch and Cheyenne had carried her to bed and tucked her in.
Then Sam saw the note on her kitchen table.
“You really are too sexy for your shirt. Cheyenne.”
Sam remembered her last comment before she fell asleep.
“Oh, God! I called him Mom!” Sam put her head in her hands. “I am such an air head!”
Sam barely made it through her office door before the phone started ringing. She needed a bagel fix and she needed one badly, but neither Doc nor Melanie was around so she decided to grab the phone first before leaving for Bunker’s.
“Dr. Kendrick speaking.”
“I’m checking to see if you’re still breathing this morning,” said Cheyenne.
Sam was surprised but pleased to hear his voice.
“Yep,” she answered. “I’m a pretty strong girl so it takes more than a fall in a mountain stream to keep me off my feet.”
“Somehow I knew you’d be up and at’em. I wanted to let you know that Lance and Marietta received another nasty note late last night. It was delivered right through their front living room window.
Sam sat up. “Wow! Was it wrapped in a rock?”
“Yep. Just like in the movies. It caused quite a stir around here. The note read like the others. Don’t sell out to developers or they would regret it. I asked Lance to turn it over to the sheriff and he’s thinking about it. Seems like the threats are getting more and more aggressive. I also wanted to tell you that I’m having background checks run on everyone we’ve hired in the last year. You may be right. It could be someone on the inside.”
“Where do your hands sleep? In a bunkhouse together?”
“We have a really nice bunkhouse for our men. Not like in the old days when they had one big room with actual bunk beds. They tore that building down years ago and remodeled the old foreman’s house and made it more upscale. It’s actually a nice ranch house with 5 bedrooms with separate baths. Jose, Ramon and Alberto have lived in it since they came from Puerto Rico, and Mitch and Frank moved in when they started. The only two that live off the ranch are Suzanne and Matthew and they both live with their parents in Fairview. Before Mitch we had a goofy ol’ guy named Roscoe. He was pretty good with horses, but kept to himself and didn’t socialize much. There’s nothing wrong with that but now I wonder if he was planted to investigate how we operate and learn our schedules because he worked here for about six months and then left abruptly. No notice or anything. He just told me he was leaving one day and that was it.”
Sam thought a moment. “So maybe we need to check out Roscoe, Frank and Mitch. Although I still have a hard time believing a vet student would intentionally inject horses with a deadly virus, it would be a good idea to clear him.”
“Yeah. I’m going to call on the background checks and mosey on over to the bunkhouse today and see if I find anything unusual. I’ll talk to Maria, too, because she cleans the place. In the meantime, I’d like both you and Doc out here to vaccinate our horses tomorrow and I’ll make sure all the hands help out so you can hear their voices. You might be able to recognize the voice you heard using the cell phone the other day.”
“If nothing else, maybe we can eliminate your staff. If that’s the case, then we’ll know we need to look outside the ranch. Do you keep a guest log of your visitors?”
“We do have one they can sign, but if someone is coming around to cause problems or leave threatening notes, they’re not going to be signing our guest log. It wouldn’t hurt for me to look it over though and see if I recognize any names. It’s so hard because Lance has always run the ranch loose and open. This is like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but we’ll give it a shot. So, guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Guess so. By the way, thanks for the pizza and beer last night. I’m sorry I fell asleep so early in the evening. That wasn’t very polite of me.”
Sam could feel Cheyenne’s smile on the other end of the line. “Tucking you in was my pleasure, princess.”
Sam hung up and sighed. She could feel that damn rash again. It was either caused by Cheyenne, or knowing she was going to spend another magical day with Marietta.
SAM HEADED OUT the door and drove toward Bunker’s. She got her favorite cinnamon raisin bagel and a plain one for Dundee then turned the truck towards Boulder. She needed to pick up some vet supplies for the next day.
Sam had to go through downtown by the courthouse and county commissioner’s office to get to their supplier. While she was stopped at a light she noticed a group of protestors in front of city hall. Not an unusual sight in Boulder so she didn’t pay much attention until one sign caught her eye.
Save our open space! Say NO to Developers and stop the Annexation of the Lazy W Ranch!!
There must be a vote coming up on the annexation of the Lazy W so homes can be built on the property, Sam thought to herself. Oh boy, that could be a real battle for Lance and Marietta.
The light turned green and Sam started to pull away when she suddenly hit her brakes and slowed down. She couldn’t believe her eyes. Mitch was holding up one of the signs and yelling protests as the cars passed by. He turned and stared straight at her truck. Sam’s heart skipped a beat, but if he recognized her he didn’t let on and continued with his protests.
Sam slowly drove by the group and watched from her rear view mirror as Mitch and the others disappeared from sight.
Sam quickly pulled her truck into the nearest parking spot, rolled the windows down a few inches and locked Dundee in.
“I’ll be right back,” She told him as he jumped on his pillow in the back.
Sam quickly crossed the street and headed towards the demonstrators. She wanted to find Mitch and talk to him. The crowd had spread out and some were leaving the area.
She thought she saw Mitch with a group about a block away and hurried towards them. They turned and headed for Pearl Street Mall laughing and talking. Sam walked as fast as she could and a few minutes later saw them enter the busy street.
Pearl Street Mall was about five city blocks in the center of town that was closed to traffic, bricked over and made into a pedestrian mall in 1977. The hippie era had ended by then, but none of them left Boulder. The first shops and cafes reflected the hippie influence that refused to die out. Then the 80’s hit and the yuppies took over and invaded the mall. It became an artsy and popular place to hang out.
The city did a great job with the trees and flowers they planted in the middle of the boulevard. Hundreds of red tulips appeared under the trees in the spring, and Sam loved to eat lunch whenever she could spare the time at The Blooming Columbine. It was a corner restaurant that specialized in vegetarian dishes. Sam wasn’t a vegetarian but she really liked the atmosphere. She would eat outside on the patio, watch people go by, and soak in the sunshine and fragrance of the tulips. Then for dessert she would walk across to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for a peanut butter cup. These were no ordinary peanut butter cups. These were half-pounders. Her philosophy was if you’re going to indulge then you don’t need to mess with any wimpy candy bars. Go for the big boys.
The Mall also drew unique entertainment. This day was no different and as Sam inched her way through the throngs of students and tourists she could see a mime entertaining a large crowd by pretending to squeeze into an imaginary box. A few stores down a group of four young violinists were playing concertos and across the street a clown was making balloons into animals for a crowd of children. Somewhere she could hear a guitarist belting out John Denver songs - typical Pearl Street ambiance.