Chapter Four

 

Sam had the same feeling as Wendy about someone looking over his shoulder, and he could just imagine who that was. He didn't know Wade Weston well; and he didn't want to judge him. He of all people knew that jumping to conclusions about a man was not a good thing. However, he sensed in Wendy a strange tension that could only mean one thing. For some reason, the cowboy she had always loved was scaring her. Sam didn't like that. Women were a commodity that he respected, enjoyed and admired. To scare one was unthinkable in his eyes.

Maybe his brother had taught him that, by running off on Melody. Maybe his parents had instilled that in him long ago. His father had set a great example of how to treat a woman and Sam agreed.

Killed in a car accident before their time, Sam's folks died instantly, the Sheriff had told Sam and his brother. Sam was twelve. His brother had raised him and not without a lot of trouble between them, as Sam was unlike him in every way.

When his brother stole some hubcaps, Sam took the blame and was given some civil duties to perform for six weeks; at sixteen, he felt like he had a record. On and on it went, his brother in trouble, Sam taking the blame. But when he got Melody pregnant and run off on her it was the last straw for Sam. For this, he would not take the blame. Melody's father had thought all along that Sam was the bad guy and he certainly didn't want his daughter hanging around him. So when he took Melody to the hospital in the old man's truck, Mr. Sims saw his opportunity to put Sam away.

Sam explained what had happened, but the old man preferred charges against him just to get him out of the way of his daughter. Sam sighed, he secretly hated the fact that he had a record and that everyone would always know it, and distrust him. But for some strange reason, Wendy did trust him; it gave him hope.

The past was behind him. And he hoped for a better future. Even though he'd done his share of mischief, none of it against the law, everything had worked out. Melody had her baby, a boy, his nephew.

Sam didn't regret taking the blame for everything in his brother's life. What he regretted was that there was no justice for the truth. And deep down, Sam had missed his brother.

So Sam had a record for getting into trouble, and he'd have to be careful or he'd be in prison, a place he never wanted to be. He'd have to handle himself correctly with Wade or the man could cause him all kinds of trouble.

Now thinking of Wendy, he felt immediately protective of her. He knew it could mean trouble; after all, he had taken blame for a lot that wasn't his doing. Wade Weston was a respected foreman for one of the biggest ranches in Texas. If anything went wrong, it would be Sam who would go to jail. He knew that, so he wouldn't make any first moves, but he wasn't going to let Wade scare Wendy either.

The big difference between now and when he tried to protect his brother was that Wade now had it in for him, and one wrong move and Sam would go to jail.

He'd keep his eyes open and his mouth shut for a while, but no one was going to harm Wendy, as long as he was around. Right or wrong, good or bad, trouble or no trouble, Sam was born the protector and he'd die that way, he silently vowed.

 

~*~

 

Sam showed up at seven on Wendy's doorstep, this time packing a fistful of wild flowers he'd picked for her. When Wendy opened the door, he presented them to her as though they were gold.

Wendy looked at them in surprise, and almost burst into a giggle, but seeing his sincere face, she didn't. She reached out to take them, covering his hand with her own. "They are beautiful…"

His eyes met hers. She blushed.

"Glad you like them." Sam smiled. "Some girls don't like wild flowers, but to me, their God's flowers, he planted them for us to enjoy."

Wendy smiled. "I love them. So many pretty colors too. And what a beautiful way of putting it."

Sam glanced around the house, all was quiet.

"Are we still going riding?" Wendy asked, putting the flowers in a vase from the kitchen and adding some water. She took her time arranging them and then she put them on the table. "That's just the perfect thing for the table…" She smiled.

"It does add some color, doesn't it?" Sam agreed. "Yeah, I thought a nice ride would be fun, we can sit out on a blanket somewhere and watch the stars."

Wendy glanced at him. She hadn't realized just how romantic Sam's nature was until now. She had never had anyone treat her so well in her life. He didn't take advantage; he didn't come on too strong. And as she stared at him from the table, she soaked up the sweetness in Sam silently.

They walked down to the barn, and Caleb had their horses saddled and waiting for them. Wendy glanced at Caleb skeptically. "You knew we were going riding?"

"Yep, Sam stopped by earlier and said he wanted to take you for a ride. So I got 'em ready for you. You two have a nice time." Caleb walked away.

The silent way Caleb accepted Sam for who he was and what he was, told Wendy there was nothing to fear from Sam.

"Thanks, Caleb," Sam called, taking the reins so she could mount.

Caleb smiled and waved at them.

It was getting cooler, and they had dressed for the occasion.

"How long you been riding?" Sam asked as she waited for him to mount.

"Since I was about four. I was the oldest to get on a horse for the first time. Most of my sisters were practically born on a horse. But once I did ride, Dad couldn't keep me off," Wendy admitted as they rode out on the path.

"Where's a good place for looking at the stars, do you think?" Sam asked.

"The meadow. Come on, I'll show you." Wendy kicked her horse into a light run.

Sam followed.

When they reached the meadow, she turned to look at him. "You're pretty good in the saddle too."

Sam grinned. "I have been riding since I was a tyke too. I never had one of my own though. Not after my folks died, too expensive to feed. But horses kind of take to me for some reason."

"How did they die, Sam?" Wendy asked as they dismounted and Sam spread the blanket out on the ground.

He gathered wood for a small fire, and before long they were warming up and relaxing beside each other.

"They were headed for El Paso, to see some relatives, when a carload of teenagers who'd been drinking too much, lost control of their car and hit them broadside."

"Oh my God. What an awful thing."

Sam nodded. "They died instantly. The car had turned over and rolled a couple of times. Mom was thrown from the car, Dad was still buckled into his seat belt, but his head went through the dash. No airbags in that car; it was too old."

"How old were you?"

"Twelve."

"Did you go into a foster care or something?" she asked, staring at him as he stretched out so he could look at her.

"No, my brother and I managed on our own."

"But…didn't the authorities see to you?"

"Nope, we sort of escaped their capture after that. We'd hide out the minute we saw a car coming up the road. They knew we were there, and that we didn't want to go into some government plan thing. Finally, they got tired of trying to catch us and left us alone."

"It must have been hard on you."

"Sometimes. We were good at hunting; we had rabbit, squirrel, and deer when we could get it. I picked a lot of berries back then. We made it work out; sometimes a neighbor lady would come by with a dish for us. She was a sweet old lady, Mrs. Posey. She worried over us all the time. I guess God sent her to watch over us. She's gone now, and I miss her."

"You believe in God?" Wendy asked.

Sam smiled. "Look up there…." He pointed to the sky.

The stars were out and they looked like diamonds glittering in the sky. "Nobody can look up there and not believe. Look at yourself. Look at the size of your finger."

"My finger?"

"Yeah," he laughed. "It's the perfect size to clean your ears out, or your nose if you have a mind to do so. God made them that size, just right. It's like a car…everything on a car is made for a purpose, so is our body. Look at your lips, at first glance they are just lips, but when you smile…it's like heaven." His eyes glistened into hers.

Wendy was mesmerized. How could such a simple cowboy have so much insight? How could a man who'd spent a lot of time dodging trouble know so much about life? And how could a man be so…sweet as to appreciate a smile?

"Now," he looked at her again. "Lay your head down and watch the stars. Every now and then you see a falling star; that means you get a wish."

She giggled. "You believe that?"

His voice went throaty. "You gotta believe."

Just then, a star did soar across the sky.

"Close your eyes and make a wish," he said huskily.

She closed her eyes, and then looked over at him.

"Now, don't tell me what you wished for, or it won't come true." He chuckled.

She nodded.

She lay down and looked up at the stars. "You know, as many times as I've been out here, I've never taken the time to enjoy them, like this. Funny what we take for granted, isn't it?"

"I guess it's kind of a cheap date, but I always enjoy it," Sam murmured.

"The universe is so big…It makes you feel small."

"I used to be able to name a lot of the constellations, but that was back in my school days."

"Did you go to college, Sam?"

"No…there wasn't much money then. I was lucky to graduate from high school. What money I earned went into buying clothes, paying bills. The house was the only thing we had. Our folks paid it off before they died."

"At least you had that. Do you still own it?"

"Yeah…we do."

He looked at her and smiled.

"I was going to college until Dad died, but his stipulation in the will said we had to stay on the ranch, and so I put it off."

"Education is important. But you have to figure out what you want to do with your life first. I mean, just going for the sake of going isn't that good. You gotta have some goals in life."

"How come you know so much about everything?" Wendy asked.

"I don't. I just watch folks, see their mistakes, and don't want to make the same. You learn from life and living, Wendy. You want to be a plumber, you go to plumbing school; you want to be a cop, you go to an academy to learn. You want to be a cowboy, you get a job on a good ranch and you stick with it for about twenty years, and then you can call yourself a cowboy." Sam chuckled.

"How old are you, Sam?"

"Twenty-four." He glanced over at her. "And you?"

"I'll be twenty my next birthday."

"Twenty is a good age."

"You sound like you’re thirty." Wendy glanced at him.

She shivered a bit, and he stared at her. "You cold?"

"A little, it's getting a little nippy."

"No problem," he rasped, and pulled the other side of the blanket over her and she moved toward him, nearly on top of him. Their eyes met, and Wendy's heart beat quickened. She could feel the kiss before it came, she wanted it so much. His lips were like a live wire, electric, and melting hers to putty. She swooned at the gentle way he moved his mouth over hers, encouraging her to open her lips to his. He was coaxing her, not demanding, not insisting, but persuading.

Wendy thought for sure her first kiss would be awkward and immature, but there was nothing awkward about Sam's kiss, exploring her lips and mouth, with such a tenderness she felt her heart almost explode.

It was like finding the other half to a puzzle; they fit together as though meant to be together.

Her heart swelled that this gentle man could take her innocent kiss and make her feel so alive.

He finally let the kiss ebb, as he drew breath and buried his head against her cheek. "I've been wanting to do that since the day I walked into your kitchen. But I had no idea you were such a great kisser."

"You think I'm a good kisser?" She barely breathed.

He turned her over, so she was on the bottom now, and he was staring into her eyes.

"I do…but you're like a juicy watermelon on a hot day. You don't just dive in without thinking about it. You savor the wanting for a while. You think about the fact you may never get another, and when you do take it…you don't devour, but you enjoy every minute of it, so you can recall it at any given moment."

"Wow, you are a romantic, aren't you Sam?"

"I sure hope so…" He grinned, and kissed her nose.

But their eyes met again and when she thought he would kiss her once more, he moved the blanket and got to his feet.

His body seemed to speak volumes.

"Something wrong?" she asked, scrambling to join him.

"No…" He stared at her. "Nothing at all. But if I'd stayed down there in the blanket with you, I might have done the wrong thing, and I so don't want to make any mistakes with you…Wendy. I value what we have, whatever it is…whatever it may come to be."

Wendy wasn't sure what he meant. But her cheeks flamed.

"I've had very little experience with this…" she began.

He pulled her chin up so he could stare into her eyes. "God lady, if you were any better, we'd be making a baby right now…"

Wendy blushed again, this time she could feel the color coming into her cheeks.

"Oh!" Wendy's eyes widened.

"Yeah, oh!" He grinned. "Come on, I better get you back to the ranch, it's too cold for this tonight."

Before thinking, she blurted, "But I wasn't cold, Sam…"

"I know…neither was I." His glance fastened onto her possessively.

He seemed to let that sink in as they rode back to the ranch.

When they returned the horses to the barn, the barn was quiet. They unhitched and combed their horses, then he walked her to her front door.

"Goodnight Sam, I had a wonderful time," she said as she barely turned to him.

"Me too. I may not see you tomorrow; I got to check in with my probation officer, he's all the way downtown. It will take most of the day."

"Oh…Did you tell Cade?"

"Yeah, he knows. He even offered to drive me down there, but I knew he had a lot to do today."

He started to walk off the porch, and then as though he thought better of it, he turned to look at her, and walked back. Slowly, he lifted her chin. "Kissing you could become a big habit with me."

And then his head bent and he took the softness of her against him. The kiss went on and on, until he finally thrust her away from him. His breathing was erratic, hers too. She stood there with her eyes closed for a long moment. When she opened them, she saw the way he looked at her and smiled.

"Goodnight Wendy, I had a good time too…" he said throatily.

It seemed as though their thoughts connected and he could almost finish her sentences before she spoke them.

She went inside, closed the door and leaned against it. Her knees were shaking, her heart pounding, and there were stars in her eyes. She smiled, letting that new womanly feeling swamp her as she went upstairs and lay on her bed, dreaming about stars and kisses.