“When you get time, stop by my office. I need to file a final report. Thanks Sam.”
“I’ll get over there as soon as I can.” Sam promised and hung up the phone.
“Oh geez,” She mumbled to herself. What was she going to do when Luke came back to town? When Cheyenne came into her office last night and held her in his arms she was hoping that everything was forgiven. But he hadn’t called her that morning so she wasn’t so sure now.
Sam was checking her schedule when she heard someone come in her office. She looked up and saw Cheyenne leaning against her door with a bag of Bunker’s bagels in his hand.
“I brought a peace offering,” he said with a slight smile.
“Is there a cinnamon raisin bagel in that sack?” Sam asked as she watched his face.
“Yep, and cream cheese.”
“Well, what are you waiting for? The smell is driving me nuts and I sure need a cinnamon raisin bagel this morning.”
Cheyenne’s smile widened as he pulled up a chair and sat down. He put the sack in front of Sam and then leaned back and propped his feet up on the corner of her desk.
Sam opened the bag and the aroma rose up and saturated the room. She pulled out two bagels and smothered them with cream cheese and handed one to Cheyenne.
“I have some questions and Sheriff Olson said you would be the best one to answer them.” Sam told Cheyenne. “Why did you come home last night? You weren’t planning on coming back until Sunday.”
“I got a message.”
Sam gave him a puzzled look. “Who called you?”
“I didn’t get a phone call.”
Sam looked at him even more confused. “Well, how did you get the message?”
Cheyenne leaned forward and looked at her closely.
“I heard the “Coyote de la Muerte”. He said. “My grandfather, Jack Running Wolf, told me about the legend when we were on a camping trip together one summer. I was about eight or nine and we heard the coyotes howling one night. That’s when he told me about how coyotes were messengers from the Great Father. He also told me if I ever heard a lone coyote cry at sunrise or sunset to stop and listen. He said that the coyote was sent by the Great Father to warn of an approaching death and I should listen and follow my instincts. Yesterday, right at dusk, I was coming back from the stalls after checking on our horses when I heard him. I remembered my grandfather’s teachings so I stopped and listened. My instinct told me you were in danger and I needed to get back to Fairview right away. I didn’t even think twice. I climbed in my truck and started driving. When I got close to Fairview I tried to call you at home and on your cell but you didn’t answer. Then I called the bunkhouse but no one answered so I called Lance. He didn’t answer either. I really started getting nervous. I knew something was terribly wrong and I had to get to the Lazy W. That’s when I called Sheriff Olson. I told him to get to the ranch as fast as possible because someone was in danger. When I got to the Lazy W I could see the flames coming from the hay barn. By that time the fire engines were turning in the driveway and I saw the flashing lights of Sheriff Olson’s car right behind me.”
Sam’s eyes widened with amazement. “I know about the Coyote of Death. My dad told me about the legend when I was a little girl.” Overcome with emotion, she lowered her head to hide her tears. “You, Dundee and the ‘Coyote de la Muerte’ saved my life.”
Cheyenne reached out and put his hand under Sam’s chin and raised her head. A tear leaked down her cheek and he leaned forward and slowly kissed it away. Then he lowered his head to her mouth and Sam could taste the salt from her tears on his lips. Cheyenne gently pulled away and looked into the sky blue eyes that left him weak.
“When I drove up you didn’t look like you needed much help. You were really doing a number on Lance. You looked pretty wicked in the moonlight sitting on his back shaking the living daylights out of his head. You may not remember, but it took several of us to pull you off of him.”
Sam gulped back a lump in her throat. “He hurt Dundee and I got a little angry.”
Cheyenne smiled. He lifted her fingertips and tenderly kissed them.
“How is Dundee doing this morning?”
“He’s okay. I left him at home with Mason and my grandpa. I’m going to check on him at lunch.”
Cheyenne looked at Sam and then brought the palm of her hand up to his lips. His brown eyes were intense and turning to melted chocolate.
“We need to talk, Samantha Rain.” he told her brusquely.
“What about?” Sam asked quietly.
Cheyenne didn’t say anything as he let go of her hand. Sam watched as he slowly got up, walked to the front door of the clinic and turned the “Open” sign over to “Closed”. Then he locked the door, closed the blinds and unplugged the phone. He came back into her office and stood in front of her desk.
“I never got to answer your question the other night about whether or not cowboys go commando. Now’s a good time, isn’t it?” he asked as he shut her door.
I want to thank the following people for their wonderful help with my book:
Darcie Wein – the best neighbor and editor a girl could ever have. You bring so much joy to my life, laughter to my heart, and material for my books!
Sheila Shepherd – my gorgeous cousin and model, for the use of her picture on my book cover.
Jeremy Kron – my webmaster and ebook publisher — you’re the best!
Cathy and Mike Eberhardt – and all my horse friends at Distant Thunder Ranch who make sure all my trails are happy ones.
Cindy Newell and Kathryn Kloberdanz – my cheerleaders and proofreaders who introduced me to Lemon Drop Martinis!
And to my awesome kids and grandkids that gave me all these marvelous laugh lines on my face!
As a youngster I was pure tomboy. I grew up in the country outside of Denver, and of course, we had all the traditional farm animals — you know — chickens, roosters, cows and horses. But, the horses were the best. Always loved them and always will. And growing up “country” was awesome.
I think I inherited my love for the country and horses from my dad. He’s from Texas and he and his siblings grew up on a ranch. He still has the silver belt buckle he won at a rodeo when he was 16. My Texas cousins did some rodeo too. When we were young and dumb, I watched them barrel race and do some bronco bustin’ and calf ropin’.Me? I never went that far. But I did love the trail riding.
I learned a lot of wise cowboy sayings from my Texas relatives. Stuff like, “Don’t squat with your spurs on”; “Speak your mind but ride a fast horse”; and “Save the horse, ride the cowboy.” My favorite came from my cousin, Michael — “I thought my first name was ‘Dammit’ until I got in first grade.” But another saying that stuck with me was “Cowgirl Up, or lay there bleeding.” Who knew that years later it would be the perfect title for my first book!
After I graduated from high school, I went to college, moved to the big city, got a job in an office, and discovered the world of shopping. It took awhile, but eventually I metamorphosed into a semi—fashionista. I loved the world of perfumes, accessories and current fashion trends. Pantyhose … not so much.
However on weekends, I was back in my blue jeans and cowboy boots. Nothing’s better to me than being on the back of a horse riding the trails in the Rockies with my horse friends. Except for being at Gordon Biersch with my trendy girlfriends sipping a Lemon Drop Martini.
I’ve always loved to write. Even as a kid I was constantly thinking up stories, and they almost always revolved around mysteries. Over the years, I continued to write as a hobby, and had numerous human—interest stories published in newspapers and a few articles in magazines and on the Internet. And yes, they all had humor.
Then in 2006, my neighbor told me about St. Martin Press’ Malice Domestic contest. I’d never written a book before, but I decided to give it a try. The rules were the book had to be a mystery, but nothing with a lot of gore, and if it had romance, no explicit sex scenes were allowed. Humor was optional.
I didn’t win the contest, but my book made the short list! The Judges encouraged me to find an agent and sell my book. I tried for several months but life interfered with my plans for being the next New York Times best—selling author and my book ended up on the back shelf… literally.
Then the best thing for an avid reader that could ever happen did. Ebooks were invented along with kindles and ipads and nooks, O my! So here I am — six years later — finally releasing my first book. And all I can say is “Yee Haw!”