Ricky, not knowing what was going on, tried to get his gun out of his holster as he dodged hot coffee and flying books. Steve watched with amused interest at the whole fiasco while Samantha pulled herself together and motioned Ricky to put his gun away.
“Hi Samantha,” Steve said in a smooth voice. He had a Wall Street Journal tucked under his arm and was dressed in an expensive suit. Of course he was. Steve was a partner in the law office of McBride & Sinclair, one of the most prestigious firms in Denver. His father’s.
“Hi, Steve. How are you doing?” she asked as she sopped coffee off her jeans with a napkin.
“You know this guy?” Ricky was pissed and Sam could tell he really wanted to shoot someone. Steve would have been a good start.
“Yeah, I know this guy. It’s okay. He surprised me.”
Ricky holstered his gun. “I’ll get us more coffee.” He gave Sam a curious look before he went back to the counter. Two shop employees rushed over and set the table upright and cleaned up the spilled coffee. Not a single drop landed on Steve.
Steve watched Ricky a moment and then turned his beautiful blues on Samantha. “You look well, Samantha. You haven’t changed a bit.”
Sam’s eyes narrowed as she looked him in the face. She knew his comment wasn’t meant to be a compliment, which was confirmed by the sneer on his lips as he looked her up and down. She suddenly felt very self-conscious in her beat up jeans and jacket with her blond hair hidden under an old baseball cap. Without thinking she pulled her cap off and let her thick hair loose and then ran her fingers through the long curly locks so they flowed freely down her back. An unconscious habit she did when she was frustrated or on the verge of losing her temper and she was close to both. She reined in her anger and looked up at Steve with what she hoped was cool indifference.
“You look well, too. How are your parents?” She asked stiffly.
“They’re fine. They’re in the south of France for the winter. They’ll be back in time for my wedding in June.”
“Yes, I read about your engagement in the society section of the paper. Congratulations.” She was proud of her self-control for not adding “asshole” at the end.
Ricky came back and handed Sam another cup of coffee but didn’t sit down. Instead he pulled his body up to his full 5’10” height and looked Steve up and down.
“Steve, this is a good friend of mine, Rick Montenegro.” She remembered in time to drop they “y” from his name.
Ricky nodded his head and folded his arms.
“Nice to meet you,” Steve said. Then he glanced down at his Rolex. “I need to be going but it was nice to see you again. Good-bye Sam.”
He slowly turned away and they watched as he left the building.
Sam blew out a gusty breath of relief.
“What was that all about?” Ricky asked. He picked their books up off the floor and sat down.
“Steve and I were once engaged. I dumped him four years ago.”
“No shit! You were engaged to that tight-ass snob?”
“Yeah, I know it’s hard to believe, but when we were in college he was actually a nice, down-to-earth guy. He changed when he got into law school.”
“Why’d ya break it off?”
Sam took a big yoga breath and tried to calm down. “We were living together. I came home one night after a hard day at work and he pissed me off.” Sam took another yoga breath and mentally counted to ten before she let it out slowly.
Ricky sipped his coffee and stared at her. “What the hell are you doing? Your eyes are glazing over.”
“I’m practicing my yoga breathing so I can bring my stress level down.”
“Well, you’re freakin’ me out. You look like you’re going into a trance or something. Stop doing that and tell me what he did to piss you off.”
Sam gulped down some coffee and looked at Ricky.
His mouth turned up in a smile. “This is going to be good, isn’t it?” he asked her.
Sam grinned and watched his eyes twinkle in anticipation. “Yeah, this is a good one. Steve told me I had to choose between him and my job. He said he didn’t want a wife who spent all her time in barns covered in cow manure and horse shit. He didn’t think it would be good for his image when he joined his father’s law firm. He gave me an ultimatum, him or my career, and then he left for a study group.”
“You’re a vet, for God’s sake! What did he expect?”
“I don’t know. He never objected to my career until after we were engaged and his parents got involved. I don’t think they wanted a daughter-in-law that was a large animal vet, to be truthful with you. I think they put pressure on him to get me to quit my practice.”
Sam was calm now and smiled at Ricky. “It took me about two seconds after he left to decide what I was going to do. I wasn’t about to give up my career. The more I thought about his ultimatum, the madder I got. Geez, I’m not always covered in cow manure and horse shit.” Sam thought a second. “Well, maybe I am, but most of it washes off. Anyway, Steve was so arrogant and sure I would give in to his demands. I decided to show the jerk what I thought about him and his stupid image, so I loaded up my stuff in my truck and left.”
Ricky studied her face. “I don’t think you’re telling me everything. I’ve known you since first grade. You wouldn’t have left without getting some kind of revenge. Spit it out.”
Sam batted her eyes at him innocently.
Ricky shook his head. “That old trick won’t work on me, sweetheart. Talk.”
“Okay, okay. I found some big horse turds on the running boards of my truck and stuck his engagement ring in the middle of one and left it on the kitchen table.”
Ricky roared with laughter. “I knew it! God, I wish I could have seen his face when he got back home.”
Sam grimaced a little and wiggled in her chair.
Ricky stopped laughing and looked at her. “There’s more, isn’t there?
Sam looked down at her hands and then a wicked grin spread across her face. “Yeah, there’s more. I might have overdone it a little because I left more horse turds scattered all over the condo. Actually I left a ton of turds in his place. It seems that I had an overabundance of turds in my truck. I put turds in his favorite coffee cup, in his underwear drawer, in his new tennis shoes, in the nightstand by his condoms, you get the idea. The place was covered in horse turds. I was the turd fairy that night. I think he got my message.”
Ricky was grinning from ear to ear. “Judging from the daggers in his eyes I’m positive he did.” He reached out and patted the top of Sam’s head. “You always were a little spit fire.”
“I know. That’s why I’m taking yoga. It helps calm me down and control my temper. I never saw Steve again until tonight. It was quite a shock to see him standing over me.”
Sam was finishing her coffee when she saw Ricky look over her head and break out into a huge smile.
“You are one lucky broad tonight, babe. Look who just walked in the door.”
Samantha turned and groaned. In the past ten years she’d only had several brief encounters with Cheyenne Wells, but even those were too much for her. And here he was right on the heels of Steve McBride.
“Shit, I live a charmed life don’t I?”
Ricky patted her shoulder as he stood to greet his old friend. “Hey, Cheyenne. Haven’t seen you in a long time. What brings you into town on a night like this?”
Cheyenne shook Ricky’s hand. “Needed some new jeans and thought I’d get a cup of coffee before I faced the bitter cold outside.” He turned and looked down at Sam who was sitting with her chin in her hand looking miserable. His lips curved into a slight smile. He leaned over and picked up a book sitting on the table and whistled softly.
“This is some serious reading, are sure you’re up to it Sam?” He was holding Ricky’s self-help book in his hand.
Sam gave him a deadly stare as she grabbed the book and thrust it into Ricky’s stomach. Ricky grunted and sat the book in front of Sam.
“I tried to talk her out of it, Cheyenne, but she was determined to get it. She told me it was on the best sellers list and she had to have it.”
Sam’s eyes darkened as she stood up and pushed the book into Ricky’s chest. “Ricky Montenegro, if you ever want to live to see another sunrise you better tell Cheyenne the truth or I’m going to beat the ever lovin’ snot out of you! This is your book and you know it!”
Ricky calmly took the book and softly patted Sam’s arm. “Okay, Sam. If you say so.” With tongue in cheek, he turned to Cheyenne. “As Sam told you, this is my book. I’m going to take it home and read it tonight, right Sam?” He blinked big innocent eyes at her.
Sam growled and both men grinned at her. Cheyenne hadn’t seen her up close and personal since their high school graduation and she’d matured quite nicely over the past ten years. Her tall, curvy body was stiff with anger and her intense blue eyes sent sparks flying through the air at both him and Ricky. He remembered her skinny frame in high school, but now she had gorgeous curves straining against her T-shirt and tight jeans. He rocked back on his heels and watched her with interest, enjoying every minute.
Cheyenne’s hungry looks were not lost on Samantha. She saw the lust in his eyes and that infuriated her. But she knew part of her anger was the lurch she felt in her own heart when she saw the look on his face. She didn’t like what she was feeling. No, not one bit. But she had to admit that his black, shoulder length hair, and striking Native American features made him look strong and sexy, and one thing she didn’t want to think about was Cheyenne being strong and sexy.
Samantha grabbed her books and jacket and with a quick glare over her shoulder she tossed her head and flounced toward the checkout stand. “Men!” she mumbled under her breath, not caring if her words carried back to them.
Cheyenne drew in a sharp breath as he watched her pay for her books and then stomp out of the store with her hair bouncing behind her, shimmering in the glow of the street lights.
“She’s some piece of work,” noted Ricky as he watched her leave.
“That she is,” agreed Cheyenne, smiling to himself. And he knew he was going to make it a point to see her again. Whether she liked it or not.
LATER THAT evening, Sam and her significant other were stretched out relaxing on an over-stuffed couch. She was reading ‘Sex & Sizzle’ and he was watching some mindless sitcom on television. She sighed and he turned and looked at her with bored eyes.
“Just listen to this, will ya? I can’t believe I’m wasting my time with another one of these predictable books. Tell me if you’ve heard this before.”
“Sienna opened the French doors to her balcony and stepped out to watch the fading sunset. The gentle ocean breeze cascaded across the bow of the boat, caressed her face, and brushed her flowing blond hair gently against her bronze skin. Seth was standing in the shadows, waiting. His strong jaw set in determination as he watched the woman he loved cross to him. She had known he was there, waiting for her to come to him. As she moved into his arms, his dark, brown eyes melted to a deep sensuous chocolate. He kissed her lightly on the lips, nipped at her soft inviting neck, and then teased her with his mouth as he sought her lips again. The kiss deepened and she sighed as her mouth opened to receive his passion and love - the unending love she had been waiting for all her life.”
Sam looked down at her current object of affection. “Do you want to know what this book’s all about?”
Whether he did or not she knew he would patiently listen so she continued. “It’s about a rich and talented artist who goes on a singles cruise to Fiji, runs into her next door neighbor who happens to be on the same cruise, and they fall in love. And of course, he’s loaded. He’s a famous architect who’s a dreamboat and travels all over the world in his private jet.”
Sam tossed the book on the coffee table and pulled her legs up underneath her. “Did I mention he has dark, curly hair, a slight Scottish brogue and is totally irresistible? Now where can I find a guy like that? Or better yet, why can’t my life be more like one of these romance novels?”
Sam’s roommate, Dundee, leaned over and licked her hand. She smiled down at him. He always did that when he was trying to comfort her.
Dundee was a Blue Merle Australian Shepherd. Sam found him in the pet store at the mall four years ago. When she saw him in a cramped cage hidden by a big “HALF OFF” sign, she couldn’t resist. She plopped down her credit card and took him with her. She had just walked out on Steve that night and needed something warm and soft in her life.
Sam was happy living with her new partner. Except for occasionally driving her crazy by honking the horn when she left him alone in her truck, he was the perfect companion. He never talked back; he got excited every time he saw her, and he didn’t have cold feet when he nuzzled up next to her in bed at night. She kinda liked that, even if he did snore and fart sometimes.
Sam picked up the book and walked into her bedroom with Dundee at her heels. As she passed the mirror on her dresser, she stopped and backed up to look at her reflection.
“Now look at me – I’m a REAL woman! Not like one of those made up hotties in my books!”