Chapter Eight #2
That brought a smile to Natalie’s face. “No need, I know exactly who it was. Neil Frey. I worked with him on a few projects at my last job. He’s crazy talented and did an amazing job for us last time. I’ll reach out and see how soon he can be available.”
She left out the part about them being good friends outside of work and how she’d been in his wedding.
Heck, Neil knew her nearly as well as Cyn did.
Doing a project with him could definitely help stave her homesickness.
So could exploring this attraction with Sam, though she didn’t plan to go down that road.
Hanging out with Neil would be much safer.
“Perfect,” Steven said. “Continue working the angles out west, and keep your chin up. I’m sure your hard work won’t go unnoticed.”
She hoped like hell he was right.
*
Sam stayed up later than he should have that night, researching the black-footed ferret and endangered species in general.
By the time his eyelids refused to stay open, he’d found what he was looking for.
The US Endangered Species Act. According to the summaries he found online, it looked like the EPA could delay or block development that could harm a protected species or its habitat.
If that was the case, it was only a matter of time before Terakion packed its bags and said adios.
The only bummer was that meant Natalie would be gone, too. Maybe it was for the best, her leaving before anything could develop between them. After all, it wasn’t like she was moving to Marietta; her stay here was only temporary, and him pursuing her would be like turning down a dead-end street.
Didn’t mean it wouldn’t be fun to explore things with her while she was here.
He crawled into bed, trying to push that idea from his head.
Tricky part was, Natalie was the first woman in ages he’d felt any inkling to pursue.
It was almost cruel. The universe literally throwing temptation at him, all the while planning to yank it away before it could turn into anything meaningful.
Then again, maybe this was a peace offering. Something divine to help heal him and prepare him for the one Madison kept saying would one day appear. Maybe this was how he was supposed to scratch that itch.
Or maybe I’m just tired as hell and need to go to sleep.
The next morning, he headed to the horse barn after breakfast, planning to spend the day with Carlos going where his truck couldn’t.
Carlos was a transplant from Texas, and both a worker and a talker—the best of both worlds when it came to keeping Sam’s mind busy.
Because ever since Natalie had agreed to come out to the Flying J, she was darned near all he could think of.
“So, I hear y’all had company for dinner last night,” Carlos said as they leveled off from climbing the first small crest at the foot of Copper Mountain.
So much for best of both worlds.
“Yep.” He kept his gaze ahead, on the lookout for snakes.
The terrain was rockier here than the main pasture, with plenty of hiding places for rattlesnakes and their prey.
Whiskey, his bay gelding, wasn’t easily spooked, but navigating this stretch was always a team effort between horse and man.
Also, it kept him from having to make eye contact with Carlos.
Sam hoped his clipped answer would clue Carlos in that this wasn’t a topic Sam wanted to discuss.
“Eli said—”
“Not going there.”
Carlos arched a brow. “Since when is talking about your granny’s new recipe off-limits?”
“Sorry, man. Not where I thought you were going.”
He chuckled. “Hey, you know me and food. Once Eli mentioned Sunnie’s new bison stew recipe, I’ve been craving it ever since.”
Sam nodded, relieved that food had remained the topic of conversation.
The ranch hands could be as bad as schoolgirls, the rumor mill flowing freely from the Flying J to Marietta and back again.
The last thing Sam needed was Carlos to get him talking about Natalie and that conversation get skewed as it made its way into town.
He tried thinking of a safer topic as they slowed before a narrow, rocky stream.
“Besides, I know better than to poke the bear this early in the morning about his first crush in years.” Carlos offered him an unrepentant grin as he guided his black mare forward. “Gotta let you get through your coffee first.”
Thanks, Gramps.
Damn that man and his sappy, romantic heart. Sam needed to nip this rumor in the bud before it got back into town and directly to Natalie herself. Especially since Sam wasn’t entirely sure yet how he felt on the matter. Attraction was one thing, but a full crush? He didn’t think so.
Sam gave his horse a nudge. “And there is no crush!”
Despite that claim, Natalie haunted his thoughts throughout the day.
The way she’d smiled at him from across the table last night.
The way she’d gotten along so well with Madison and Norah.
The way her laughter had lit up the room.
If it weren’t for her being employed by the company sent to build some ridiculous resort next door, he would struggle to find a reason not to pursue her.
And then there was the whole her living out of state thing.
Did he really want to risk his heart on an outsider again?
By the time he got home and showered that night, Sam had decided to stop overthinking and just let things play out as they would. If Natalie wasn’t interested in him, no big deal. If she was , she’d let him know. And if that happened, well, he’d be a damned fool to push a woman like her away.
Besides, no one said every relationship had to be for life. They were both grown-ass adults—if they wanted to mess around, that was their business. But she’d have to make the first move. That way, he wasn’t setting himself up for a broken heart. If it happened, that would be on her head, not his.
For some reason, that logic left him feeling better.
Sam made dinner for him and Madison at their place, and when she headed off to her room to do homework, he pulled out a beer and went to his favorite rocker on the front porch.
The million-dollar view of Copper Mountain was from the back of their home, but the front view allowed him to appreciate both the rolling meadow that served as their front lawn and the foothills to Yellowstone in the distance.
This time of day during the summer, on cloudless days, the setting sun painted their meadow in yellows and golds.
He savored each sunset, blessed to live with the people he loved most.
Would the view change if Natalie’s resort did ultimately go in? Would its parking lot lights pollute his night sky? Its guests bring extra noise to Meridian Road?
He drew a long pull from his beer, trying to picture it while hoping none of those things came true. There had to be a way to stop the development from happening. Was Gran right? Could Natalie be the ally they needed?
Beside him, his cell phone buzzed. He answered without looking, assuming the call was his parents. They’d been calling from whatever port they were at around this time each night. Not that he was jealous. Much.
“Calling to rub it in again, eh?”
Silence greeted him on the other end. Sam pulled the phone from his ear to see if the connection had been lost, and spied an unfamiliar number. On a grimace, he tried again.
“Hello?”
“Sam?”
“Hey, Natalie.” He hung his head, feeling like the world’s biggest idiot. They’d exchanged business cards yesterday, but he’d yet to put her number in his phone. At the time, he’d hoped not to have a reason to. “Sorry, I thought you were my folks calling to tell me about their vacation.”
Laughter greeted him. “Nope, it’s just me.”
Just me. And didn’t that have him smiling like a damned fool.
“I hate to bother you,” she continued, “but I was wondering if you had some time to talk. Maybe yet tonight?”
He looked to his beer, glad he was only on his first. “In person?”
“Yes. I can come out there if you like,” she said. “Save you a trip into town now that I know the way.”
Did he dare ask if she wanted the rest of the family to be there? And was this trip for business or pleasure? He glanced behind him. Madison was inside doing her homework. Pleasure wasn’t really an option at the moment.
“Uh, yeah, that’s fine. I’m at the house, though. Do you want me to drive over to the lodge?”
“Whatever you think is best.”
This was sounding less and less like a pleasure run, for which he tried not to feel disappointed.
Even so, his selfish side wanted her here all to himself, where they could talk without being interrupted by Gramps’s teasing or Gran’s stern looks.
“Here is fine. My grandparents are probably settled in for the night.” A lie—there was a 99 percent chance they were sitting on the lodge’s back porch, enjoying the sunset, same as him.
“And I’m not exactly sure where Norah is.
” Also a lie—she’d be down at the stables, having spa time with her horses.
“Okay. So, how do I get there?”
“Drive out the same as you did last night. But when you first turn onto the Flying J’s main drive, watch for a mailbox with the numbers 201 on it. That’ll be our road.”
“Great, thanks,” she said. “I’ll see you in about twenty.”
“See you then.”
Sam hung up, took another long pull from his beer, and sat back in his rocker. What could she want to talk about this late on a Thursday night? The project? The ferrets? The ranch?
That was when he realized they had company coming for the first time in ages. And guess who hadn’t cleaned up the dinner dishes just yet? On a soft curse, he hurried for the door.