A Grand Teton Sleigh Ride: Four Generations of Wyoming Ranchers Celebrate Love at Christmas (21 page)

That was a shame. Nothing more beautiful than Jackson’s Hole in the winter. Sam found himself thinking once again about driving her around in the old Covington horse-drawn sleigh. Unbidden thoughts, those.

“Might as well get to work.” She climbed down from Gracie, speaking a few soft words to the mare.

True to her word, she was relatively experienced with horses. Sam liked her soft-spoken ways with Gracie, too.

“I know I’m not the first to photograph the mountains from this angle, but this is a good place to start.” She began unpacking her camera from the saddlebags. “But I want my own pictures. Maybe I can bring out something not already captured by others.”

All photographer-talk to Sam. “Might as well,” he said. He slid from the saddle to join her.

She looked at the top of the box camera. “Can you help me with the tripod?”

Sam set to work. “That’s some sort of camera you got there.”

“Isn’t it spiffy? It’s a Rolleiflex Twin Lens Reflex. It just came out this year. Daddy got me one as soon as it was available. I can work much faster, and it’s not as heavy.” Ann talked on about her camera, explaining the new improvements.

She was passionate about her photography. It warmed Sam that she was able to do what she loved. Her camera positioned to photograph the Tetons, Ann stood back.

“Want to see?” Her eyes shimmered with contagious excitement.

“Sure.”

“Look down through the viewfinder, like this, see?” She showed him where to look then stood back, but not nearly far enough. He looked through the window of her camera and into her world and saw the mountains he’d seen every day of his life made more special because of Ann.

Far too aware of her proximity, he cleared his throat and pulled away from the camera.

“Well?” Her face was expectant.

“It looks like the mountains.”

“Is that all?” Disappointment laced her voice.

“No … well …” Unsure what to say, Sam peered through her camera again.

His mother had charged him with preparing a darkroom for her. He’d set the trunk filled with the equipment and chemicals she’d brought with her in the small closet across the hall from his room. At that moment, he’d known that she was serious about her work.

“I’m sure you’re a talented photographer,” he said, “and I can’t wait to see your photographs.”

She beamed. “Sam Covington, you have no idea what you’re in for.”

He chuckled. Sam had the strong feeling that Ann was entirely correct—he didn’t know what he was in for where she was concerned.

Warmth expanded in Ann’s chest as she watched Sam gaze through the top of her new camera.

Tom had never shown the slightest interest in Ann’s photography outside of the work she did for the magazine, at least, and then it was only to please her father. Of that, there could be no doubt.

Ann frowned. Why did she insist on comparing this man to her ex-fiancé? A breeze sent his hat flying, and he snatched it back. His brown curly hair whipped around his tanned face, accentuating his rugged clean-shaven jaw as his blue eyes pierced Ann’s gaze. She stepped up to the tripod and looked through the camera, hoping he hadn’t seen the heat infusing her cheeks.

She’d come here to make a name for herself. Maybe become a female Hank Crandall or some other famous photographer, she didn’t know. But she
did
know that she loved the crisp mountain air, the way the sun beat down on her in this valley. She knew, too, that she enjoyed Sam’s company.

“Why don’t you go and do something while I work.”

He angled his head. “What?”

She laughed. “You know, fiddle with your horse, or go down to the river. I can’t work with you standing over me like that.”

Giving her a funny look, he pressed his cowboy hat back on his head. “You’re the boss.” Then he took off toward the river.

“Wait, not in my line of sight,” she said. “Not in front of the camera. Go that way.”

He half smiled, half frowned, and led the horses to the side, mumbling to himself and making Ann smile. The man was definitely photogenic, and she’d get a few of him, too, before it was all over.

But right now, she didn’t need the distraction and focused her attention on the Tetons, hoping to compare her work to what she’d seen before, hoping to capture what hadn’t been photographed.

The images had been what she expected, but they wouldn’t be enough to impress anyone, especially her father. Ann hadn’t taken photographs of the Tetons that everyone hadn’t already seen. Though she wouldn’t trade that moment when she stood across the river looking at the massive peaks for anything, she’d have to do better if she wanted to prove herself.

Except, if she were to believe Sam’s reaction to the pictures this morning, she’d already proven herself to at least one person. She hadn’t meant for him to see them yet, when she’d grabbed the dry photographs from where they were clipped in the makeshift darkroom. Sam caught her in the hallway on his way to breakfast.

He’d taken them from her and seemed to soak in each image, quirking his brow at her when he’d seen the ones she’d taken of him. “These are wonderful.”

And then he’d looked at her long and hard, his approval filling a deep need and expanding in her chest. If only her father ever reacted to anything she’d done like that. If only Tom …

But she’d explained she needed to see some place new and fresh, some place not yet photographed. Sam understood, and they now traveled to a place he claimed no one knew about, save him. Ann still hadn’t decided what she thought about his willingness to help her in such a way, offering up his secret places.

Gracie trailed Ace into the thick forest, climbing high and aiming for the rocky face of a hill until it finally gave way to a canyon. Sam allowed Ann to stop and take as many photographs as she liked, but he urged her on to their final destination. They’d already been on the trail for a couple of hours when he reined his horse over to a small brook that tumbled over mossy rocks.

He slid from the saddle. “Let’s take a break. It won’t be too much longer, I promise.”

Ann had never spent so much time in the saddle and was already feeling the effects. She climbed from her horse as well, aware that Sam watched her. “If you say so.”

“How are you doing?”

She smiled, hoping to hide that she was already weary. “I’m good, thank you. I’m more than good, in fact. I’m enjoying the beauty. Thank you, Sam, for doing this.”

“Just doing the job you hired me to do.”

Well, that was true. She felt silly. “Are you sure you want to share wherever it is we’re going with the world?”

Sam whipped his hat off his head. “I can tell it means a lot to you. You want your photographs to be the best. But I’m curious. Why is that so important to you? That is, if you don’t mind my asking.”

Ann found a boulder to rest on while Sam drank his water. “The sheriff told me something about you that first day on the drive out. That you were trying to make your own way. Maybe you and I have that in common, Sam Covington.”

Sam stared at a point beyond her but didn’t reply. When he replaced his hat, beneath the brim, his eyes locked with hers. The quickest of moments, his look made her heart jump.

“Ready?” he asked.

“As I’ll ever be,” she said.

But Ann wished he’d responded to what she’d said. Maybe he hadn’t been prepared for her to turn the conversation to him so avoided the discussion entirely.

A half hour later the trail opened up and Sam rode next to her, the horses climbing over rocky terrain. Somewhere in the distance, water roared.

“I don’t want to be just another ranch hand for the rest of my life,” he said, “working for my father and my brother, who’ll inherit the ranch. And …”

“And?”

“I had a girl once. Why would she want to marry me?”

Oh, Sam …
Ann instinctively knew he wouldn’t appreciate pity, but she wasn’t sure what to say, so she said nothing. She’d give him the space he needed, now that he finally opened up. Let him talk.

“I shouldn’t have said anything.” He rode up ahead of her.

“No, wait.” She urged Gracie forward and next to Ace. “Look, you don’t have to share anything personal, if you don’t want to. But we’re spending long hours together, and I’d like to know more about you.”

He tugged on the reins, bringing Ace to a stop. “Here it is.”

Ann didn’t need to be told—the waterfall filled her vision and ears. “It’s … so … beautiful.”

Her focus drawn to the scenery before her, she wasn’t sure when she’d dismounted, but Sam was already helping to unpack her camera. “I can’t believe that you’ve brought me to a place that no one else has seen. How is that even possible?”

He grinned. “Maybe I’m not the only one, but there’s not a lot of traffic in and out of here, as you can tell. The game hunters follow the game trails, and the mountain climbers, well, they have their path. This … this is all mine, as far as I know. The valley isn’t all that populated. Those of us who live here, and grew up here, well, we know places.”

“I haven’t seen a photograph of this waterfall before.” For the first time since she’d arrived in the valley, a real hope infused her that she might actually accomplish what she’d set out to do. All that thanks to this man. “I can’t help but be thankful that you’re the one to guide me and not Mr. Frankston.”

Sam held her gaze for only a second, his mouth pressed in a grim line, and she wasn’t sure why. Had he changed his mind about her photographing this place?

Regret burned in her chest. “Are you sure you don’t want to keep this place to yourself?” What was she doing? Why was she giving him a chance to back out? She wanted to show the world, even if he didn’t.

“Can’t see as it hurts to take pictures. Nobody knows how to get here except me. Now you, and I doubt you could find your way back.”

“No, but maybe others could.”

“No matter.” He looked at her long and hard, something dancing behind his eyes. “Besides, I like seeing how happy it makes you.”

Ann wasn’t sure of what to make of the wrangler’s comment, or how it affected her breathing. But she couldn’t remember the last time anyone had cared whether or not she was happy.

T
wo weeks of trekking through the valley, mountains, and gorges on horseback had gone by much too quickly. He’d even taken the pretty photographer on a four-day packing trip through Garnet Canyon. His mother had come along, too—her old-fashioned ways wanting to protect Ann’s reputation.

He’d witness the happiness his parents shared, even when they were mad at each other. But he hadn’t thought that would ever be possible for him—and he was crazy because it
wasn’t
possible for him. Ann … she was heading home at the end of the month—before the first snow, she kept saying, as if anyone could know exactly when that would come. Ann was nothing more than Sam’s client, and he’d best remember that.

He took off his hat and scratched his head as he watched Ann climbing over the rocks to get near the stream as it trickled over boulders and finally spilled down the hundred-foot drop. Snow came at any time in the higher elevations, and they were prepared for that. But the way the clouds hung low and dark today told Sam that Ann needed to hurry and take her photographs.

Enthralled with the beauty of nature, she hadn’t bothered getting her camera out yet. Though he hated to admit it, Sam was enthralled with Ann. Watching her brought on a smile, and also not a little concern.

“Be careful, will you?” he called, wishing he could pull the words back because Ann jerked up and almost stumbled.

“I’m fine. Why don’t you join me?”

Her words held the teasing tone she’d used more often lately. As if they were becoming more than wilderness guide and client. Like they were friends now. Yes, that was it. He and Ann were friends. His heart couldn’t help but wish for something more. Would she write him once she was back in Manhattan?

Enough dreaming about a future that could never happen. Sam should have learned that lesson already when he’d fallen in love with Rebecca. But with no future or hope of his own, other than life as a cowpoke on his father’s ranch, he had nothing to offer her when a wealthy man from back East came to Jackson and wooed her away from him. That’s why he couldn’t stand to see the dudes in all their gaudy attire.