Stick in the Mud Meets Spontaneity (Meet Your Match, book 3) (10 page)

Sam smiled, knowing she’d finally gotten it right. She’d spent a week of late-night hours looking for the perfect font, drawing the cabin into illustrator, and adding some trees. The simple lines were rough and imperfect, like it had been rendered using quick swipes of a magnetic doodle pad, but that was the effect Sam had wanted. On the McCoy ranch, there were no clean, straight lines. Everything was a just little rough, muddied, and disorganized. Real.

A few of the carpeted stairs squeaked as she trotted down them. She found her mom and Emma on the back patio, sipping freshly squeezed lemonade and chatting while the twins crawled around on the grass, Maxwell in little khaki shorts and a blue t-shirt and Georgia in a happy, floral sundress. Sam’s heart tugged at the thought of leaving in a few months.

She set the recently printed paper on the patio table before capturing Maxwell around the waist and hefting him up to give him a raspberry on his exposed, chubby tummy. All of his shirts fit a little too tight and rode up every time he moved. Maxwell giggled, and Georgia wrapped her tiny arms around Sam’s calves.

“Feeling neglected, are we?” Sam dropped down on the grass, let Maxwell escape, and pulled Georgia on her lap. The sweet baby gave Sam’s face a hard pat before curling some of her fingers over Sam’s lower lip.

“Ow,” said Sam, prying them loose. Then she gave Georgia a raspberry on her neck, making her giggle as well.

“I found Georgia trying to suck the lid off a purple marker the other day,” said Emma. “I think she was planning to color her hair with it.”

Sam sat Georgia back down and rose, brushing blades of grass off her denim skirt. “You guys need to lay off the purple jokes. My hair hasn’t been that color for days and will never be again.”

“Hallelujah,” said her mom, holding up Sam’s printout of The Shack graphic. “What’s this?”

“It’s for Colton.” Sam took a seat next to her mother. “To say thanks for the riding lessons. I’m going to have it engraved into a Bamboo plaque. What do you think?”

“I think it looks awesome.” Her mother handed the picture to Emma. “But haven’t you been helping him fix up the place to say thanks for the lessons?”

Sam shrugged. “This is a bonus. I think it’ll look great next to his front door.”

Emma examined the picture. “This does look amazing. Did you draw the landscape yourself?”

“It’s not as good as you could have done,” said Sam. Emma was an amazing artist who could pick up a pencil or paintbrush and bring anything to life. Sam, on the other hand, used her mouse and computer. There was a definite art to graphic design, but she would always consider herself more of a cheat and Emma the real thing.

“I disagree. It’s beautiful. I love the simplicity of it.” Emma handed it back. “I hear you’ve been spending a lot of time over at the ranch. And what’s this about getting chased by a wild horse and nearly killing yourself?”

Sam laughed. “Don’t worry. Maj doesn’t chase me anymore. She just ignores me.”

“Unlike his trainer,” said her mother with a sly look.

“Oh please, Mom.”

“I’ve met Colton a few times,” said Emma. “He’s very nice.”

“He is.” Sam mentally added funny and clever and gives the best hugs ever—though she wasn’t about to say that out loud. Her mother and Emma would pick that up and run a marathon with it.

Not that her mother needed any encouragement. “Oh, she thinks he’s a little more than nice,” said her mom. “Reading between the lines, I’d say she also thinks he’s handsome, great with horses and kids, and hilarious. Isn’t that right, sweetie?”

Sam chose to plead the fifth, sipping her lemonade instead.

Emma glanced at her babies. “Sounds like a fun summer diversion to me.”

“Exactly.” Sam shot her mother a pointed look. “He’s a
diversion
—not someone who is going to keep me from going to New York.” Normally, Sam talked to her mother about pretty much everything, but when it came to Colton, she treaded more lightly. The last thing she wanted was for her mother to get her hopes up that something—or
someone
—could keep Sam in Colorado. New York was the next step in her life—not the McCoy ranch.

Her mother shrugged. “You can’t blame a mother for trying.”

“Do you really want me to settle down already?” Sam asked. “I’m only twenty-three.”

“No. I just don’t want you to move to the other side of the country where the crime rate is over three times as high, there are more people than square feet, and studio apartments in a decent section of town cost the same as a big, beautiful home here. How are you going to afford to have any fun with such high rent?” Sam’s mother refused to let her get a more affordable apartment in a not-so-decent section of town.

“You know me. I’ll make do. Maybe I’ll find a roommate.”

“And where would she sleep?” said her mom. “On the floor? Or will you invest in bunk beds?”

“Maybe
he’ll
sleep in my bed with me,” Sam quipped.

Her mother’s eyes narrowed. “Not funny, daughter. Not funny.”

Emma laughed. “Sam will be just fine. She’s going to prove her worth and be offered a raise in no time.”

“It’s nice to know somebody has a little faith in me,” said Sam.

“I’m your mother. It’s my job to worry.”

“Just like it’s my job to cause you to worry.” Sam took a sip of her lemonade, ready to steer the conversation away from anything involving New York or the McCoy ranch or a certain cowboy who was on his way to becoming more than a distraction, though she’d never admit that to her mother. “Speaking of causing you worry, do you happen to know of any reputable pilots around who wouldn’t mind letting me jump out of a plane at three or four thousand feet?”

“What?” squeaked her mother.

“Skydiving,” said Sam. “It’s on my bucket list.”

The fence creaked under Sam’s weight as she swung her legs over the top rail and sat down, hooking her boots around a lower rail to keep her balance. The sun hid behind fluffy cumulus clouds that offered some pleasant shade to the ranch. With no breezes to stir the air, it would be a warm day. Colton glanced up from tightening the saddle around Your Majesty’s stomach while Kajsa stroked the horse’s jaw.

“Hey there, Cowgirl,” Colton said to Sam with a smile that made her heart flutter. “When I saw you drop off Kajsa earlier and leave, I figured you had other things going on today.”

“I needed to grab something at a store that didn’t open until ten. So I ran a few errands, waited for the store to open, and now I’m back. Lucky you.” Sam had planned to do other things today, like sculpt some ice or find the perfect mascara, but after picking up a prescription for her father, her thoughts veered in Colton’s direction, and she found herself steering her car this way. He’d become a bit of an addiction, and she couldn’t find the willpower to stay away. Crossing items off her bucket list didn’t sound nearly as fun as riding with Colton or chatting with Colton or fixing up the cabin with Colton or admiring his nice lines as he worked with Your Majesty. Besides, who knew how things would change after today.

In only a few hours, Cassie and Adi would be boarding a flight home, and Sam felt torn. Only fourteen days ago, Sam had yearned for the day when Adi returned so the summer could get back to normal. But now everything would change, and Sam wasn’t sure she’d have a reason to drop by the ranch anymore. It wasn’t like she could keep asking Colton to give her riding lessons indefinitely.

“I wish I’d known you were coming back,” said Colton. “I wouldn’t have saddled Maj just yet. We could have gone riding first.”

“No worries,” said Sam. “I’d rather watch you ride.”

“Will you be staying for lunch today, Sam?” Mrs. McCoy’s voice came from behind.

Sam swiveled around to find her standing on the front porch. “Hi, Mrs. McCoy. I’d love to stay for lunch, but only if you’ll let me help.”

“I can always use an extra pair of hands,” she answered. “In an hour, come on in, and I’ll put you to work.”

“Will do.”

“Hey, Colt,” she called to her son. “Have you seen Spence and Dusty anywhere?”

“Last I saw, they were mucking out the stalls in the boarding stable. I’m assuming they’re now helping Dad work with Phoenix. We promised we’d have him ready to go by this weekend.”

She nodded. “Just making sure they are up to some good.”

“They’re never up to any good. You know them.”

“Just like their older brother.” She gestured toward the mustang. “I take it you’re planning to ride her today?”

“Ride. Get bucked off. Repeat. Should be a fun morning.”

His mother smiled. “Your definition of fun is very different from mine. Don’t forget to come in for some lunch.”

Colton’s gaze returned to Sam, and he winked. “Wild horses couldn’t keep me away.”

Sam smiled. Whenever he flirted with her, it melted her insides and turned them into something sweet and yummy, like strawberry jam.

Your Majesty moved forward between Sam and Colton, blocking them from each other’s sight. Colton laughed and said, “All right, Maj, you’ve made your point. I’ll pay attention to you now.”

From her perch on the fence, Sam studied the mustang. When Kajsa had first psychoanalyzed the animal, Sam had considered it cute—a child’s imagined reasoning of an animal’s strange behavior. But now the observations fit so well. It was bizarre. Maj was bizarre. She was like a human trapped in a horse’s body.

“You finally going to ride that beast?” Dustin hopped on the fence next to Sam, and Spencer followed suit. “Hey, Sam.”

“Hey,” she answered.

“Don’t you two have somewhere you need to be?” said Colton. “Where’s Dad?”

“He took Phoenix for a longer ride in the mountains, so we’ve got some time.”

Colton looked like he was about to tell them what they could do with that time when Kajsa piped up, “Let them stay. Maj likes it when everyone is watching.”

Colton nodded as though considering it. “Okay. But I want you out of the corral before I mount up.”

Her lips formed a pout. “But why? Maj would never hurt me.”

“I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

“Fine.” The soft dirt took all the stomp out of Kajsa’s boots, and as she joined the others on the fence, Sam hid a smile. Kajsa was developing a strong personality of her own. No wonder she and Maj got along so well.

The horse had an audience of four people when Colton finally mounted her. She danced sideways as she adjusted to the weight of a rider, but Colton leaned forward and patted her neck, saying something too low for anyone else to hear. She calmed down after that, and although she didn’t obey all of Colton’s commands—or even most of them—she didn’t buck him off either. Colton stayed in the saddle—never raising his voice, only talking and exercising the trait Sam had come to admire most about him: patience.

Did anything get to that man? Day after day, he’d spent hours with that horse, standing in that same corral, taking what had felt like extreme baby steps to Sam. But now, fourteen days into the 100-day competition, he was riding a wild mustang. Sam had seen a lot of beautiful things in her short life, but the scene unfolding before her now touched the artist inside her. The mustang’s glistening black coat and powerful, sleek lines. Colton’s poise and grace; his charm and patience. The backdrop of dry grass speckled with trees, with a large mountain looming in glorious splendor beyond.

This, right here, was the truest sort of beauty that existed—a moment that couldn’t fully be captured by any sort of medium. It had to be breathed, smelled, tasted, felt.

“This is boring,” said Dustin, swinging down. “I came for a rodeo and all we got was a dance. C’mon, Spence, let’s get those last few stalls cleaned up before Dad comes back.”

Sam watched them go, but when the horse gave a loud whinny, she turned back to find the mustang rearing with Colton barely hanging on. The horse came down, kicked up his hind end, and Colton landed on the ground with a thud. Kajsa jumped into the corral and grabbed the reins to calm the horse, and Sam scurried to Colton’s side.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Just when I start to get a little confident about Maj, she pulls a stunt like that.”

“It hurt her feelings when Spencer and Dustin left,” explained Kajsa in a matter-of-fact way.

Colton accepted Sam’s hand and hefted himself up, brushing as much dirt from his clothes as he could. “Well, she won’t always have an audience, Kajsa. How do you propose we teach her to get over her pride?”

Kajsa pursed her lips and finally shook her head. “I don’t know. But I’ll give it some thought.”

Whether or not Colton agreed with Kajsa’s assessment of the horse, Sam loved that he made the young girl feel like she was taking part in this training process, that she had thoughts worth voicing, and a voice worth hearing. He’d make a wonderful father one day.

For someone else’s kids
, Sam forced the thought, even though she felt a stab of envy at the idea of Colton with another woman. What was she thinking? They weren’t even dating, and even if they were, Sam would be leaving in a few months for a completely different life in New York. A life that included subways, hustle and bustle, high-rises, pollution, and cityscapes. A life where the only horses she saw would be the ones the policemen rode. A life completely different than this one.