The Cowgirl's Secret (The Diamondback Ranch Series #) (25 page)

Sam glanced around the waiting room. Everyone's eyes lasered in on him waiting to hear his answer. Sam liked Sarah Sue. Sure, she was a busybody, but she'd done her fair share of good deeds matching up folks in and around Salt Fork. Maybe she could lend a hand and help him with Tori.

Sam took the plunge. He'd be damned if he hem-hawed around any longer about him and Tori being a couple. "It's an engagement ring. I've come to ask Tori to marry me."

A collective gasp whished around the room. Six pairs of eyes widened in surprise.

"An engagement ring? Why so it is!" Sarah Sue clasped her hand over her heart and smiled in delight. "Hot damn, darlin'. I knew it! I had one of my premonitions. Got it the first time I saw y'all together. Knew it for certain after Doc's retirement party and watched you two dance all those dances together. Do you mean to tell me that you've been carrying a torch for that girl
all these years
?"

Sam nodded. "We started dating when she was going to school in Dallas." He filled her in with the details about the long-term, long-distant relationship. Everyone in the waiting room grew quiet and listened with unabashed curiosity.

"And now she's back in Salt Fork, but doesn't have a minute to call her own," Sam said. "She has no time to socialize, no time to see me, no time for a life outside this clinic. I'm getting pretty desperate, so I brought Poncho in for an appointment. Tori can't refuse to see a patient, now can she?"

Sarah Sue's eyes gleamed with merriment. "No, indeed she can't. And you say you asked her to marry you before, but she put you on hold, so to speak?"

"Yes, and I know she wants to marry me, but taking over this practice and absorbing the fallout from Stone Creek is taking up every waking moment and then some. I don't know when she'll find time for the actual marriage ceremony. She can't abandon the clinic; I understand that. Except I feel like time is running out."

Sarah Sue absently rubbed her cat's white fur as she stared out in space for a moment. "Let me think a spell, darlin.' Where there's a will, there's a way. First, let's get that ring on her finger, okay? Then we'll worry about the wedding." She looked at all the other folks sitting around the reception area. "What do y'all say we help Sam out a little here? Let's let him go next to see Dr. Tori, all right?"

Everyone nodded in agreement, smiling and murmuring good luck.

Sarah Sue reached over and patted Sam's arm. "Now, if she gives you any trouble about setting a wedding date, you come by the cafe and I'll see what I can do. I've helped most of those McCade boys get their wives; it's only fitting I should help Tori, too. Now hush! I think she's coming down the hall. Everybody look real natural-like."

Footsteps clicked on the old linoleum floor and Tori stood in the doorway with her head bent over a clipboard. "Next!"

A quiet hush descended upon the room as everyone waited to see her reaction when she discovered Sam sitting in the reception area.

Tori looked up and the clipboard clattered to the floor. "
Sam! What are you doing here?
"

He jumped up and pulled Poncho along with him across the room. He stooped to retrieve the clipboard and handed it to a very startled Dr. Tori McCade. She blinked and took the board. "Thanks. Is something wrong with Poncho?"

"I'm not sure. I'd like for you to check him out--"

Tori glanced down at the clipboard, then back up at Sam. "I'm sorry, you'll have to wait. Mrs. Perkins and her pug are next on the list."

Mrs. Perkins waved an airy hand. "You go ahead and tend to Sam, darlin'. Prissy and I will be here when you're done."

Tori tapped her pen on the clipboard. "Okay. Thank you. This shouldn't take long."

"Take all the time you need, dearie," Mrs. Perkins said with a twinkle in her eye. "You mustn't rush these things, you know."

Tori turned around, her forehead scrunched in confusion. "Follow me," she said to Sam and led the way down the hall to an examination room.

Sam followed and admired the soft sway of Tori's hips, encased in a set of light blue scrubs. It didn't matter what she wore, she never failed to make him dizzy with desire.

She stopped on the threshold, her hand going to the sapphire necklace she always wore, even in bed. The one he'd given her all those years ago. "After you." She held the door open and waited for him to pass through, then closed it and stayed where she was, eying him warily. After a long moment, she pushed off the door and walked toward him. "So, what's wrong with Poncho?"

"I'm not sure. There's something in the collar area I think you'd better check out." Sam unclipped the leash from the collar and set the dog free in the small confines of the room.

"The collar? You mean something's on his neck?" She looked at Sam, concern etched in her lovely face. She was a natural when it came to caring for animals. It was one of the things he loved about her most.

Squatting down on her haunches, Tori snapped her fingers at the little dog. He trotted over and licked her face. She scooped him up and stood with him cradled in her arms, kissing him and rubbing his belly. "What's wrong with the handsome boy? Let Dr. Tori see," she crooned in his floppy ear. When she took hold of the metal dog tags, she gasped and whirled around. "
My ring! You've brought my ring?
"

"I've brought your ring." Sam stepped close until he stood directly in front of her, her subtle fragrance teasing his senses. He reached out and rubbed Poncho's fur, brushing his fingers against Tori's breasts. Her blue eyes snapped to his and her breath hitched in her lungs.

"
Oh, Sam
. . ." Her voice was a feathery whisper. Beckoning, inviting, tempting.

"
Oh, Tori
." He tenderly cupped her jaw in his hands and kissed her, savoring the taste of her sweet lips, plunging his tongue inside her mouth, curling it against hers. She sighed and leaned closer. Poncho yelped in protest and wiggled to get free.

Tori jerked back and set the dog on the floor. Her breath came out in ragged gasps. She smoothed wisps of golden hair from her cheeks, sweeping the heavy mass behind her ears. Sam loved her long blond hair, especially the cluster of curls that formed a curtain when they made love in bed with Tori on top, straddling him. His body hardened at the visual in his overheated imagination.

He stooped to unhook the ring from the dog's collar. Then he took Tori's left hand and slipped the emerald-cut diamond onto the third finger. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the sensitive skin below the knuckles. "For the second and I hope the last time, I'm asking you to marry me. Will you be my wife?"

Tori looked at the ring on her finger, then at the man she loved with all her heart. Why had she continued putting him off for so long?
What
had she been so afraid of?

She blinked back the tears threatening to spill. The reasons seemed foolish now. She'd been worried he would make her lose sight of her goals and dreams, sidetrack her from focusing on becoming a vet.

That might have been true her senior year at UTD, he'd certainly distracted her then, but it had been far from the truth during her years in vet school. Instead of derailing all her carefully laid plans, Sam had encouraged her to go after them full speed ahead. He'd also convinced her to give their relationship a fighting chance.

Hadn't he been behind her every step of the way for five long years? Hadn't he waited for her while she finished her degree? He'd been true to her in every sense of the word.

Yes, her life was chaotic right now. It might always be chaotic, but she knew Sam would always be there for her, loving her like no man had loved her before. And she loved him. She wanted to marry him and live the rest of her life by his side.

With a huge smile, Tori flung herself into Sam's embrace, draping her arms around his neck and kissing him with all the fervor of the pent-up emotions bursting inside. "Yes, Sam. Yes, I'll marry you!"

"Thank God!" His hot mouth crushed down on hers in another searing kiss. He held her body close, cupping her butt and pushing his erection against her stomach, demonstrating just how much he wanted and needed her.

After a deliciously wicked moment of unbridled passion, Tori broke the kiss and gazed up into his face. "So why didn't you just wait until after work to ask me? Why go to all the trouble and bother of bringing Poncho to the clinic?"

Sam groaned and tightened his arms around her. "Are you kidding me? I've been trying to sneak a moment alone with you ever since Sunday night when you left me high and dry to go tend to Ben Erwin's pregnant mare. I haven't seen you the past two nights, because you've been so busy with work. It's damn near impossible for me to see you in private during the day. Then it hit me. The only sure way to get an uninterrupted moment alone with you was to bring Poncho to the clinic, take a number, and sit in the waiting room."

Tori bit her lip. "I am
so
sorry, Sam. I know you're frustrated beyond belief. I am, too. But don't worry. I've contacted a friend of mine, and she's eager to reopen the clinic over in Stone Creek. In a couple of months, my schedule should become much less hectic. Then we're sure to be able to plan a wedding and start our life together."

"That's good news, sweetheart. Only I don't know how much longer I can wait. I'm dying here, Tori."

"
Please, Sam
--"

The door to the examination room burst opened and six very excited and happy people stood outside, applauding loud enough to raise the roof.

Sarah Sue stepped into the room, and the others crowded in close behind her. "Congratulations, folks! Looks like we're going to have ourselves another McCade wedding. And it's about time, too!" She hugged Tori and Sam, then Tori again, talking all the while. "Darlin', I am so happy for you. Now you listen here. From what I've heard, you've kept this man on hold for long enough. I'm glad you've finally decided to put him out of his misery. Take my advice and don't go putting off the wedding. Marry Sam as soon as possible. Now, show us all that gorgeous ring on your finger, then we'll let you get back to the doctorin' business."

***

One evening, a few weeks later, Sam sat at the almost deserted lunch counter in Sarah Sue's Cafe, drinking a cup of coffee and eating a piece of coconut cream pie. The only other customer finished his dinner and paid his tab. Sarah Sue escorted him out the door and locked it for the night.

Sam finished the pie and pushed the plate away. Sarah Sue picked it up and wiped the counter with a damp dishtowel. "Now that we have the place to ourselves, tell me what's troubling you, darlin'. I thought by now the wedding invitations would surely be sent and big plans would be underway. After all, it's been six weeks since you and Tori got engaged. I declare. Is that girl acting ornery again? You know she can't rightly help it; she's a McCade after all. That bunch is mighty headstrong and as stubborn as they come."

"Don't I know it." Sam raked his fingers through his hair. "I guess I'm going to be forced to take matters into my own hands if I ever want her to be my wife. Tori's busier than ever with her own practice, plus she's helping Dr. Shelly reopen the Stone Creek Animal Clinic."

"So whatcha going to do?" Sarah Sue asked. "Short of kidnapping her, I don't see what there is you
can
do?"

Sam gazed at his coffee cup, tracing the rim with his finger. "Dallas said I might have to resort to that. He was joking, of course."

"Of course, he was joking." Sarah Sue picked up a ketchup bottle and wiped it clean. "You can't go kidnapping her. You'll have to think of something else."

Sam plunked down his coffee cup, his mind buzzing with a wild idea. "Wait a minute.
Why
can't I kidnap her?"

"
Kidnap Tori
?" Sarah Sue flung the dishtowel over her shoulder and stared at him like he'd gone batshit crazy. Maybe he had. Crazy in love and desperate for Tori to be his. "I've never heard tell of anyone kidnapping a bride in real life. Sure, it's done all the time in those romance novels I read every so often. But you can't actually kidnap her, Sam. It just isn't done."

"Why not? Her schedule is obviously never going to slow down. If I keep on waiting, we'll both be old and gray before we ever find the time to get married." Sam stared off into space envisioning and discarding several schemes in which he could lure Tori away from Salt Fork. He'd need help, of course. As one idea took firm hold in his brain, he smiled. He knew just who to call to help implement it.

Sarah Sue leaned an elbow down on the counter and rested her chin on her palm. "You do have a point there. Let me think a minute, darlin'."

Sam stood up, dug in his pocket and slapped a few bills down on the old Formica countertop to pay for his pie. "No need for you to think about it at all. I know exactly how I'll go about it. Wish me luck, Sarah Sue. And don't breathe a word about this to anyone, okay?"

"Sure thing, hon. My lips are sealed." The waitress smiled. "And good luck to you, Sam Garza. I'm pretty sure you're going to need it."

***

That weekend, early on Saturday morning, Sam and Tori sat in the back passenger seats of one of Tyler McCade's airplanes, headphones in place, seatbelts buckled. Caitlyn McCade rode shotgun while her husband sat behind the controls.