The Princess of Coldwater Flats (6 page)

“Cooper Ryan,” he said, thrusting out his hand. The man shook it, nearly crushing the life from Cooper’s hand as he did so. Cooper raised his eyebrows, wondering if he’d offended the man by asking about Sammy Jo and if he and red-beard were about to end up in a fight.

But apparently red-beard just liked to crush bones because he said amiably enough, “Sammy Jo Whalen’s a rodeo princess.”

“
Ex-
rodeo princess,” a feminine voice corrected somewhere to Cooper’s right.

Glancing around, Cooper saw a woman in skintight jeans hunched over her pool shot. Her top scooped a little too low and her breasts looked as if they threatened to spill out. Wriggling a bit against the table she lined up the shot and smoothly pocketed the number twelve ball with enough English on the cue ball to set herself up for three more straight shots.

Red-beard watched without much interest. “Sammy Jo Whalen’s a regular tigress. Took down my little brother in a wrestling match when they was at Harding elementary. Humiliated the hell out of him. He won’t talk to her ‘til this day.”

“She’s a pain in the butt,” the woman added with a sniff.

“Ginny, there, don’t like her much. But then she’s just jealous.” Red-beard grinned.

“I ain’t jealous of nobody.”

“Except Sammy Jo. Ginny can’t never forgive her for stealin’ Brent Rollins’s heart,” Red-beard added for Cooper’s benefit. “Josh Johnson,” he said by way of introduction. “So, what’cha askin’ about Sammy Jo for?”

“Probably got an itch for the Princess, too,” Ginny declared, slamming a ball into the pocket.

“I bought the Riggs place. Sammy Jo is my new neighbor.”

“Serenity Ranch?” Ginny looked up, impressed. “They was askin’ a lot for that place.” For the second time since arriving in Coldwater Flats, Cooper got the once-over from a woman, but unlike Sammy Jo, Ginny’s gaze lingered on a few spots that both amused Cooper and made him slightly uncomfortable.

“So, you’re that corporate rancher, huh?” Josh regarded Cooper with a frown.

“Word travels pretty fast around here,” Cooper said dryly.

“There’s more going on in Coldwater Flats than anything you can catch on them TV shows,” the bartender chimed in, sliding Cooper a beer across the bar’s nicked finish.

Cooper took a long drink. It had been a week since his meeting with Sammy Jo, a week in which he’d round up his cattle and sold them off, bringing in the new herd he’d acquired over the past few months. Everything had gone like clockwork. His plan was moving right along.

Except Sammy Jo Whalen hadn’t been far from his thoughts, and he wasn’t certain which way to jump when it came to her. He wanted the ranch the easiest way possible, but that meant booting out Sammy Jo. Tonight he’d wandered into the High Noon Saloon intending to get more information. It was the only tavern in town that looked as if the windows had ever been cleaned. He hadn’t wasted time; he’d asked about Sammy Jo Whalen straightaway, and once again, the people spoke right up about her.

That was something he’d learned. The good folks of Coldwater Flats were more than willing to talk about Sammy Jo. Everyone had an opinion. Whatever else you could say about Sammy Jo Whalen, she was unforgettable.

Ginny laid down her pool cue and walked up next to Cooper. Her sharp eyes sized him up. “So, you bought the land next to the Princess and now you’re asking about her.”

“Well…‌yeah.”

“Was I right?” she demanded.

“Right?”

“About that itch…”

Cooper smiled. “I was just curious.”

“Ahh…” Ginny lifted a knowing eyebrow.

He could practically smell the interest growing. If he wasn’t careful, Sammy Jo would hear of his questions, and he had a feeling she was smart enough to put two and two together and get at least four. It seemed safer to let them believe what they wanted to believe. “She’s a very pretty woman.”

“Ain’t that the truth!” Josh snorted.

“Stubborn as sin,” Ginny stated flatly.

“A lot of guys have looked at her,” the bartender offered, putting in his two cents’ worth. “But then she starts in bein’ all bossy and stubborn and they hightail it fast.”

“Gonna take a real man to tame that wildcat.” Josh grinned at Cooper.

Cooper didn’t respond to that. “I saw her at the bank the other day,” he said instead.

“Oh, yeah.” Josh nodded sagely. “Money troubles, and lots of ‘em.”

“Old Gil liked the smell of a bad investment,” the bartender said.

“Bees to the honey,” Ginny agreed.

“What happened?” Cooper asked, settling himself on a barstool.

“The old man always wanted a boy.” Josh leaned back as if preparing for a good, long yarn. Ginny hopped onto the stool on Cooper’s left, and the bartender, who introduced himself as Sam, leaned forward, showing annoyance when a couple strolled in and looked at him expectantly. Muttering beneath his breath, he went to serve them, as Josh continued, “Gil treated Sammy Jo like a boy, and she acted like one, too. Learned to rope and ride from the ranch hands. Free as the wind and rawhide–tough. When all the other girls were gettin’ into lipstick and hairspray and boys, Sammy Jo was herdin’ cattle and gettin’ sick on rotgut liquor down at Shady Glen with Tommy Weatherwood and a few of his friends.”

“Tommy ended up buyin’ hisself a place at Shady Glen,” Ginny put in.

Josh glared at her for interrupting. “‘Course, Sammy Jo never took to liquor, not like Tommy, anyhow.” Josh glanced at Ginny, who snorted and muttered something into her beer glass. Cooper decided Ginny must have liked Tommy Weatherwood at one time as well as Brent Rollins. Whether Sammy Jo meant to or not, she’d made an enemy of Ginny just by being more attractive.

“You wanna know about Sammy Jo, you should talk to Tess Dunsworth,” Ginny told him.

“Tess works at the bank,” Josh supplied. “Name’s Tess Miller now. She and Sammy Jo are friends. Tess’s got a daughter the same age as Ginny’s,” he added for reasons Cooper didn’t quite understand until Ginny blasted Josh with a hard, cold glare. Apparently, Ginny didn’t want Cooper to know all the facets of her personal life.

“Sammy Jo took to animals,” Josh said picking up his story. “Half the time she was tryin’ to give away barn kittens when old man Riggs tried to drown ‘em.”

“Riggs drowned kittens?” Cooper repeated, appalled. He was no cat-lover, but good Lord.

“Riggs didn’t have no heart,” Ginny explained. “Had a lot of cats and just did away with ‘em. Probably did the same to puppies, but no one knows for sure. Named that damn place Serenity Ranch, too. Now, ain’t that funny?”

“I’m changing the name,” Cooper told them as Sam returned from serving his other customers.

“To what?” The bartender asked.

The Triple R
. “I don’t know yet,” was the only answer Cooper could give. When he bought out Sammy Jo Whalen, he’d adopt the name for the whole spread, but until then he had to be mum.

“When Riggs up and died, we thought Gil Whalen would buy Serenity,” Josh said. Cooper hesitated, his beer halfway to his lips. “Combinin’ those two ranches would make it the best darn place around. Prime ranchin’ land. A bunch of developers looked at Serenity, even made offers to Gil for the Triple R, too. Gil practically ran them off with a shotgun. Then he let the whole damn thing slip away. Don’t that beat all?”

“Sammy Jo seems to want to make a go of it,” Cooper said.

“Well, she ain’t but one bitty girl. She can’t do it.”

Cooper didn’t think Sammy Jo would like being called a girl, let alone a bitty one. She was ranch-tough and a woman through and through.

“Her uncle came down to buy the place after Gil’s death,” Sam revealed. “Don’t know what happened, but he left with smoke comin’ outta his ears, he was so mad at Sammy Jo.”

Cooper observed, “She certainly knows how to win friends.”

“She’s trouble,” Ginny returned flatly.

“You know, you oughta make an offer on the Triple R, if you’re interested,” Sam suggested. “Sammy Jo has got a lot of financial problems. You might just be the answer to her prayers.”

“She’s probably waitin’ for some Prince Charming to save her.” Ginny smiled meanly. “Go on, mister, make her an offer. I bet she snaps it up without even a thank- you.”

A vision of Sammy Jo Whalen crowded inside Cooper’s mind: slim, volatile, headstrong, willful and sure of herself. But she had the softest-looking lips, and a mouth, though stubbornly set, that seemed to want to smile. Her hair was that natural yellow blonde, just shy of golden, and her irises were the brightest, most luminous emerald he thought he’d ever seen.

And she possessed two of the most charming, irresistible dimples he knew he’d ever laid eyes on.

Some strange, deeply buried, chivalrous part of himself wanted to help her, but he shoved those thoughts aside and concentrated on his own self-interests. And the patrons of the High Noon Saloon had just given him a reason to make an offer.

“I don’t know,” Cooper said, playing along. “Buying the Triple R might be more than I want to bite off right now.”

“Oh, go on!” Ginny waved at him. “You can afford it.”

“It’s not a matter of money,” Cooper said.

“What, then?” Sam asked.

Three pairs of eyes regarded him with frank curiosity. “I got the impression she really loves that ranch,” Cooper said, treading carefully.

“She’s gonna love it right into the ground,” Josh snorted.

“You’d be doin’ her a favor by makin’ an offer,” Sam added.

“You really think so?” Cooper asked innocently.

“I know so!” Ginny jumped down from her stool and headed back to the pool table. “Not that I give a damn what happens to the Princess.”

“I do,” Josh disagreed. “I like Sammy Jo.”

“Me, too,” Sam declared. He pulled two more beers without being asked and slid them to Josh and Cooper.

Cooper rubbed his jaw reflectively. “Well, she sure doesn’t need that ranch. It’s an albatross around her neck.”

“Huh?” Josh looked across the top of his beer and licked foam from his beard.

Ginny came back, snapped her fingers at Sam who pulled her a beer, too. She took a long swallow.

Deciding it was time to lay his cards on the table, Cooper took a stand. “She’d be better off selling the place, paying off her debts, and buying herself a whole new life,” he proclaimed decisively.

A tad too decisively as it turned out, because Ginny commenced to choke and sputter, coughing so hard Cooper had to slam her on the back a couple of times.

Gasping, she came up for air. “You go tell her that, mister. And after you do, come back here and let us know how she took the news.”

Josh, Sam and Ginny suddenly broke into uproarious laughter. They might all agree that Cooper ought to buy the Triple R, but convincing Sammy Jo of that fact appeared to be another matter altogether.

“Sounds like Ms. Whalen doesn’t take kindly to advice,” Cooper said.

They all doubled over again. And that’s when Sammy Jo Whalen herself strode into the High Noon Saloon.

THE PRINCESS OF COLDWATER FLATS — NANCY BUSH

Chapter Three

Conversation stopped as fast as flames doused by a bucket of cold water. Sammy Jo looked around in confusion. You’d think the patrons of the High Noon Saloon had never seen a woman in a skirt before.

“Well?” she demanded of the room at large. Immediately, everyone’s nose went back to their beer glasses, pool balls clicked and the din of conversation returned.

Sam scurried over to her end of the bar. “What would you like, Sammy Jo?”

“I don’t really want anything, Sam. I was looking for…”

Her gaze landed squarely on Cooper at that moment. He was leaning against the curve of the bar at the far end, elbows back, chest thrust forward so that his denim jacket revealed the straining buttons of his shirt. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on the man’s body. She didn’t have to stretch her imagination to know how hard those muscles must be.

“I was looking for Doc Carey,” she lied, switching gears.

“The doctor don’t drink,” Sam said, regarding her curiously.

“One of my mares is sick and me and the doc have been missing each other. Just thought I’d look here.”

She wasn’t fooling anyone, but Sam wasn’t sharp enough to get the picture. She hoped Cooper wasn’t paying close attention to their conversation. He had ears that heard too much and eyes that saw too much. She knew that for a fact already.

“Hi, there, Sammy Jo,” Josh Johnson greeted her, rising from his stool and gesturing her to take it.

“Hi, Josh. Thanks, but I’m just stopping by.”

“Have you met your new neighbor?”

Sammy Jo spared a glance at Cooper whose eyes slid her a disinterested look in return. “We’ve met. How are those cattle doing?”

“All taken care of,” Cooper answered.

“Meaning?”

“They’re mostly gone.” His voice was tight and Sammy Jo couldn’t help flushing, mad at herself for antagonizing him right off the bat. What was she thinking? “Is there a problem?” Cooper drawled. Everyone looked at Sammy Jo expectantly.

“Not that I know of. Sam, I’d like a beer, after all,” she called to the bartender.

“What brought you to the High Noon?” Josh asked her.