Chapter Sixteen
S am invited Natalie to ride along while he worked Wednesday, trying to get as much alone time in with her as he could before Neil arrived.
And he made sure she understood that there would be no horseback riding involved, truck and four-wheelers only.
Unfortunately, she’d been pulled into another project for work and occasionally had online meetings with the folks back east. So, they’d struck a compromise—she’d work her job until noon, then head out to the ranch and ride with him the rest of the day.
Which actually worked out perfectly—he was able to get done what he needed to on horseback in the morning, then came back and got cleaned up for lunch. By the time Natalie arrived, Gran and Norah had light meals waiting for them in the lodge’s family dining area.
“Thank you all so much,” Natalie said when she saw lunch waiting for them. “I finished the stew you sent with Sam yesterday and hadn’t had time to stop and get anything to eat on my way out here.”
“Hon, don’t ever feel like you need to eat before coming to visit. At the Flying J, we always have food on hand,” Gran said.
Norah nodded. “So, what do you two have planned for this afternoon?”
“No idea,” Natalie answered with a laugh. “Sam invited me to ride along while he worked today. It sounded a whole lot more fun than sitting at my desk any longer. This new project has kept me cooped up inside more than I’d hoped this week. I’m missing all the Montana out here.”
Sam watched the women carrying on, the sight making him happier than a pig in mud.
Now that Gran and his sister had moved past their suspicions concerning Natalie’s loyalties, they were treating her like one of their own.
Even more, he suddenly realized, than they’d really ever welcomed Sasha.
But how to convince Natalie that Montana could be the perfect long-term destination?
That was going to take some thinking.
“Oh! I forgot to tell you—corporate is still trying to win you all over.” Natalie grinned as she shared Terakion’s pathetic attempt to placate them over losing their farming land on the Nelson property.
Sam was more than ready to catch these ferrets on film so they wouldn’t have to worry about the fate of that lease any longer.
They all finished lunch, and soon Sam and Natalie were in the truck, AC on, tunes cranked, and heading out to check the western fencerow for Stubby-damaged locations.
There were driving paths along the outer perimeter of the ranch for this exact reason.
Fences often needed mending; it was the nature of the beast. However, this particular beast sent him traveling these paths more often than most.
“So, why does Stubby keep trying to escape?” Natalie asked.
“Not sure. Personally, I think he’s got a thing for the neighbor’s prized Highland cow, Miss Petunia.”
She laughed softly. “Well, maybe if you gave those two a date night on occasion, he wouldn’t always be so mad all the time.”
Sam chuckled. That was him a week ago, and scratching his itch had definitely worked wonders for his mood.
“Maybe so,” he said. “Though I think that might lead to some bizarre-looking calves no one has any use for.”
“Or maybe the calves could be a new kind of hybrid everyone wants in on.” She shrugged. “Sometimes, you’ve got to experiment a little on the way toward finding the perfect solution.”
Sam liked where this conversation was headed. “Is that what you did at your last job? Experimented until you found those startup companies the right marketing plan?”
“Exactly. And I loved it—no two jobs were the same. Where I’m at now is completely different. Terakion has a model laid out to minimize thinking. Heck, half our introductory speeches are scripted. It works great for onboarding and training, but it doesn’t allow for much creativity.”
“Do you miss it?” Sam reached over and took her hand.
Natalie was quiet for a moment. “Sometimes,” she said. “I missed it terribly when I first left. Not just the job but the people I’d worked with, too.”
“Like Neil.”
She grinned. “Well, Neil was someone we contracted to come in and do shoots for us from time to time. But, yeah, Neil, too.”
“You made new friends at Terakion, though, right?”
Natalie’s smile dimmed. “Yeah, but the connections aren’t as deep, you know? I’m on the road a lot, so honestly, I’m closest with my boss and the woman who does all my travel arrangements.”
“But you’re happy there.”
Another pause. “I’ve enjoyed the change of pace and getting to see so much of the country these past few years that I never would have if I hadn’t changed jobs. But I’m ready for a change, to maybe try something different.”
Sam nodded. Time for something different. He could be that something different. But she would still need an outlet for all that creativity. What did Marietta have that might fit the bill?
She looked to him, excitement in her eyes. “This job I’m applying for? It would let me work remote and be more creative. I’d be helping with marketing strategies for future sites that are under consideration.”
“Remote—as in, you could work from anywhere?”
“Yep!”
She had mentioned the remote option before, but he hadn’t connected the dots of possibilities. Maybe this was less about the jobs Marietta had to offer and more about the emotional support. Because he and his family had plenty, and, surely, she could make friends out here soon enough.
“Well, from home, anyway,” she added. “The main Terakion office is in Indianapolis, which is only an hour and a half or so from where I live, and I think they have in-person meetings once a month. Or maybe it was once a quarter.”
Sam rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb, thinking. “Maybe you could remote in for those too, as needed.”
“Maybe.” She shrugged. “But I mean, unless the roads are icy, there’s really no reason I couldn’t make that drive.”
“Unless you lived farther away,” he offered. “Like… out of state.”
She turned to him, brows tugged together, confused.
At his grin, she smirked. “What are you suggesting, Mr. Miles?”
Damn, did she have to say that in such a sexy voice? He shifted in his seat, trying to relieve the sudden crowding going on in his jeans. “I’m just saying, you seem to love the views out west. And, as you can see, there’s plenty of room for you out here.”
Natalie’s soft laughter filled the cab. “You make picking up and moving halfway across the country sound so easy.”
“Eh, that’s what moving companies are for,” he said with a shrug. “But we do have a few ranch hands who could probably be convinced to make the trip. They like doing odd jobs now and then.”
“Oh yes, I’m sure they’d love doing that drive. Twice.” She laughed. “But thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”
She’d keep it in mind? A spark of hope ignited in his chest. “Could you see yourself living out here? I mean, I know you love looking at cornfields, and it’s tough to compete with that.”
More laughter. “Hmm, Big Sky versus cornfields. That would be a hard choice to make.”
That spark grew. All he needed to do was keep talking about how much better life could be here than where she was. Surely, he could keep the list growing.
Sam pulled to a stop, having spied a section of fencerow that looked like it needed a little post-Stubby-rampage TLC, and climbed from the truck.
Natalie did the same, insisting she wanted to help.
Sam had no intention of letting her help—the last thing he needed was her getting cut and needing a tetanus shot as he was trying to convince her this was the place to be.
But he did talk her through the proper technique for repairing barbed wire and made sure to add in it was something not to be attempted by a rookie without an experienced hand at the ready.
“Why does it feel sometimes like everything out here is trying to kill you?” she asked.
Sam’s smile fell. “What?”
“I mean, you’ve got bears and mountain lions and barbed wire and crazy bulls… It just all seems so much more dangerous than kittens and cornfields.”
“For the record, we have those, too.” He put his tools away and pulled her to him. “Plus, we have brave cowboys ready to put their lives on the line to protect their families and friends.”
“There is that.”
He cupped her cheek, his heart wanting him to say more, but his brain knew better.
Too soon—it was too soon to say out loud the things he was feeling.
But dammit, this woman had brought him back to life, and he’d forever be grateful for that.
Instead, he pressed a tender kiss to her lips, then tipped his head toward the truck.
“How ’bout we get back in the AC and continue with this discussion on why Montana is better than Indiana could ever be?”
“Discussion?” A mischievous smirk dawned on her face. “More like a debate. And you’re on.”
That was how they spent the rest of the afternoon—mending and debating.
Sam tried to keep a mental score of which state seemed to be winning through Natalie’s eyes, and by dinnertime he felt like Montana had taken the lead.
But it would take more than pristine views to win her over; a decision like this would need to come from the heart.
So, Sam invited her back to his place after the meal, where he and Natalie sat on the porch swing watching the sunset while Madison was inside working on an essay she had due this week.
And while they rocked, he held her close, pressing kisses to her crown, wishing he had the courage to tell her how much he needed her to stay.
But fear held his tongue. Rather than waste their time together worrying, he chose to savor the moment.
There was still plenty of time to have this conversation, and it was one he did not want to rush.
*