Champagne & Chaps (3 page)

“I’ll take it.” She set his glass beside hers then walked with him to the top step.

“See you tomorrow night,” he said.

She nodded, feeling both excited and a little shy. “See you.”

He touched the brim of his hat then headed down the stairs and she watched him climb into his truck. When his vehicle disappeared around a corner, she picked up the lemonade glasses then walked back into the house, wondering if she was crazy for saying yes.

“Dammit.” Sabrina tried turning the key in the ignition again but the darn thing wouldn’t start. She’d come to into Patagonia to the little general store to pick up a few things for Carly. Sabrina didn’t know what she was going to do if she couldn’t get her SUV started, much less get back to Carly’s in time to have dinner tonight with Wyatt.

Frustrated, she climbed out of her SUV and pushed her hand through her hair. The summer sun pressed down on her and a droplet of sweat trickled down the side of her face. She propped her hands on her hips and glared at her vehicle.

“Need some help?” The male voice came from behind her and she turned and faced a handsome man with dark blond hair and gray eyes. He was lean and trim and she smelled light cologne on him.

“I don’t know if you can help.” She was too frustrated to give him more than a half smile. “It won’t start. It’s under warranty, but I may have to have the thing towed to Tucson and that will take a chunk out of my summer vacation money.”

“Let me take a look.” He paused then extended his hand. “I’m Derrick Harper.”

“I’m Sabrina.” She accepted his hand. He had a firm handshake and a nice smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“What’s it doing?” He popped the hood of her vehicle and propped it up then took a look under the hood.

“Absolutely nothing.” She sighed. “I’m not even hearing a click when I turn the key.”

“Well, let’s see what I can find.”

She watched as he looked under the hood and moved a few wires around.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a five-dollar bill. “Tell you what, take this in and buy baking soda. If they don’t have the baking soda, just get a Diet Coke. I need to go get a few tools from my truck.” He handed her the bill and smiled. “And the Coke is not because I’m thirsty.”

“All right.” She took the five and turned to walk back into the general store. If he wasn’t thirsty, she wondered what he needed the Coke for.

Bells on the door jangled as she entered the store and she glanced back through the glass door to see the cowboy going to a nice black truck and rummaging in a toolbox on the back. He was a good-looking man, almost a pretty boy look to him. If she didn’t already have the hots for Wyatt Cameron, she might have been intrigued with Derrick. But for some reason, other than the fact she had a thing for Wyatt, Derrick didn’t have the same kind of appeal to her.

She turned away and headed into the store. The old woman leaning against the counter said they didn’t have baking soda but pointed her to the coolers where the drinks were. Cold air washed over her as she opened it and grabbed a can of Diet Coke.

“Something wrong with your car?” The woman asked as she rang up the soda.

Sabrina nodded. “It won’t start. Lucky for me someone stopped and asked me if he could help. At least it will be lucky if he can fix it.”

The woman peered through the glass as she rang up the Diet Coke then counted out change. “Looks like Derrick Harper.”

“Yes, that’s what he said his name is.” Sabrina took the change in one hand, the soda in her other.

The woman looked like she was going to say something else, but her lips seemed to tighten before she said, “Good luck, honey.”

“Thanks.” Sabrina smiled and pushed the door open with her hip before letting it fall back behind her.

When she returned, she found Derrick scrubbing the battery cable connection with a wire brush.

“Two things,” He took the change from her and slipped it into his front pocket. “Your battery cables are corroded and the connections are loose. I’ll take that Diet Coke now.”

“See that white?” He pointed to the battery. “That’s the corrosion. It prevents the connection and the car has no chance of turning over. Not to mention the cable was loose. Surprised this hasn’t happened before now.”

He opened the can of Diet Coke and poured some of it over the battery cable, which was coated with white. She watched as the white corrosion sizzled and began to disappear.

“Regular Coke works too, but you don’t need the sticky mess from the sugar.” He’d grabbed a thermos with his tools and he poured water from it over everything to rinse it all off.

He worked the wire brush on it a little more, then began to tighten down the bolt on the cable.

After a few moments, he said, “Why don’t you give it a try now?”

She climbed back into the vehicle and turned the key. It started at once. A huge sigh of relief went through her as Derrick came around to the driver’s side door. The underarms of his shirt were damp with perspiration from the exertion and the heat.

“Thank you so much.” She rolled down the window as he shut the door. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

He smiled. “No problem, ma’am.”

“Please call me Sabrina.” She returned his smile. “I hear enough ma’am during the school year.”

“You a teacher?” he asked.

She nodded. “What about you? What do you do?”

“I keep busy.” He gave a shrug. “Hey, I was just going to a late lunch or early dinner now. However you look at it, I sure would like some company.”

Sabrina looked at her watch. Still plenty of time for lunch and to get back in time to get ready for her dinner with Wyatt.

“All right.” She smiled. “But, I’d like to treat you to lunch to thank you for saving me a fortune in towing fees,” she said.

“That’s great,” he said in his drawl. “But I can’t let you pay.”

“Sure you can.” She rested one hand on her steering wheel. “Deal?”

He paused a moment. “There’s a little place down the road that serves a great lunch. A place called Rutgers Café.”

“I saw it on my way to the store.” She smiled. “Meet you there.” He gave a nod and a smile and she buzzed up the window.

The cafe wasn’t more than three minutes from the store and in moments she was parked in front of it. She grabbed her purse and waited for Derrick to pull up in his truck.

He held the door open for her and she walked into the café. The delicious smells of fresh baked bread and grilled meats made her stomach rumble. A waitress seated them and gave them each a menu.

The waitress, whose nametag said
Janine,
seemed less than friendly with Derrick and Sabrina frowned.

“I didn’t know you worked here,” he said to Janine as she took their drink orders.

“Obviously, or you wouldn’t have come in.” Janine left with a sharp turn away.

Derrick looked at Sabrina. “You’re probably wondering what that was about. I guess it’s because she had a thing for me and I just wasn’t interested and didn’t ask her out. That woman must hold a grudge, and seeing me with a pretty lady like you set her off.”

Sabrina decided it would be best to avoid talking about that topic anymore. “What’s good here?”

“Pretty much everything.” He looked over his menu. “Haven’t had a bad meal here.” He glanced up in the direction Janine had gone and added, “Yet.”

When Janine returned, she brought their Cokes with a couple of straws. Sabrina ordered a Reuben and the waitress took the menu.

Janine turned to Derrick. “And what do
you
want?” The emphasis on ‘you’ and the tone of her voice made it clear she would have preferred that he had turned and walked right back out that door.

He seemed to ignore her attitude and ordered the roast beef sandwich. Janine snatched his menu and again she walked away with a stiff spine.

While they waited for their food, he mentioned the weather and she hoped that wasn’t going to be the highlight of their conversation.

“I’ve never seen you around before. Did you just move here?” he asked.

She set her cup down and shook her head. “I live in Tucson. I’m visiting a friend for the summer.”

“How was your trip down here?” he asked.

“It’s not too far from Tucson, so the drive wasn’t bad,” she said. “I actually enjoyed it. This part of the state is beautiful.”

He gave a nod. “I’d have to agree with that.”

Janine returned with their plates of food. She set Derrick’s down a little harder than necessary then left.

“It’s wonderful,” Sabrina said after she’d eaten a bite. “I love a good Reuben and this is a good Reuben.”

“This isn’t half bad,” he said although from the looks of it, his bread was stale. No doubt Janine had made his “special”.

“Thanks for lunch,” he said.

“You saved me.” She gestured with her sandwich. “I appreciate it so much.”

He shrugged. “My pleasure.”

“So you said you ranch.” She set her sandwich down and wiped her fingers with her napkin before picking up her cup of soda. “What exactly do you do?”

“Work with cattle, maintain fences. Whatever needs to be done,” he said as she sipped her soda through a straw. For some reason she felt like he was being a little evasive, but it was probably her imagination.

“My sister, Izzy, lives in Tucson,” he said. “Will you be going there at all this summer?”

With a nod she said, “Yes. My mom isn’t doing well, so I’ll probably head to Tucson maybe once a week.”

“I send packages to Izzy for her kids most weeks,” he said. “They don’t have a lot of money. Maybe you wouldn’t mind giving them to her when you’re in town?”

“Sure.” She smiled. “I’d feel like I was repaying you then.”

“That would be great.” He grinned. “I’d really appreciate it.”

“Have you lived in this part of the country all your life?” she asked.

“Sort of.” He shook his head. “Lived here, then moved to Phoenix for awhile—got tired of city life and now I’m back. Have some money from a business I had. A partner ripped me off and I’m working at getting that back. It will happen, but will take some…” He looked like he was searching for the words. “I guess you could call it persuasion. Anyway, you could say I’m fortunate to get to do what I want to do.”

“So what type of business did you have in Phoenix?” she said.

He shook his head and took another bite of his sandwich. After he chewed and then swallowed, he said, “Oh, just an import business. Imported a lot from Mexico and wholesaled it out.”

They talked a little more and Sabrina paid the bill before they got up to leave. They were laughing as he walked her outside to her SUV.

“Thank you again,” she said when she was standing beside her vehicle. “You also saved me from missing out on a dinner tonight.”

He pushed up the brim of his hat. “Going with a friend?”

“I guess you could say it’s a date.” She smiled. “I’d better get home and get showered if I’m going to be ready in time.”

“I’ll let you go.” He paused. “Why don’t I give you my number? If you ever need anything, you can give me a holler. And maybe the next time you go to Tucson you won’t mind taking a package to Izzy for me.”

“Sure.” She smiled. “I have some paper.”

She climbed into her SUV and found a piece of paper and a pencil in her glove compartment and gave both to Derrick. He took them, scribbled his name and phone number on it, and handed the paper and pencil back to her. In turn she wrote her own phone number down, tore off the piece of paper and handed him the scrap.

“Here’s mine.” She put away the writing implements and tucked the phone number into her purse while he slipped the paper with her number on it into his shirt pocket.

“It was a pleasure to meet you, Sabrina,” he said when she turned back to him.

She held out her hand and he took it. “Great to meet you, too.”

He released her hand and stepped back then touched the brim of his hat. She closed the door, waved to him one last time, pulled out of the café parking lot, and headed back to Carly’s house.

Carly twirled her finger in the air, indicating that Sabrina should turn around. “You look adorable,” Carly said.

“Adorable?” Sabrina looked down at the royal blue blouse with the cowl neck and her newest pair of jeans. “I was hoping for sexy.”

“It’s definitely all that. Very hot.” Carly grinned and propped her hands on her curvy hips. “I feel like a mom about to send her daughter out to the prom. Can I take pics of you two when he gets here?”

Sabrina playfully slapped her friend on the arm. “Don’t you dare.”

“I’m so glad you decided to do this.” Carly flopped on her bed. “You deserve some fun.”

Sabrina inserted silver hoops in her earlobes as she studied her image in the mirror. The blouse was flattering and the color was one of her best. She wore the Celtic knot that Carly had given her along with her silver watch and a sapphire and diamond ring set in white gold.

“I wonder if Wyatt knows that guy you told me helped you this morning,” Carly said. “I’ve never heard of him, but then it’s impossible to know
everyone
in Sonoita and Patagonia and the San Rafael Valley.”

With a shrug, Sabrina said, “He seemed nice enough.”

“You’re not interested in him, too, are you?” Carly asked.

“Not at all.” Sabrina shook her head. “He’s just a nice guy who bailed me out of trouble and I’m very grateful to him.”

“I think I hear a truck.” Carly slipped off the bed and started toward the bedroom door. “I think your carriage has arrived.”

With a laugh, Sabrina stepped into a pair of black ankle boots. She paused as she heard Carly open the front door followed by Wyatt’s deep voice. She shivered a little at the thought of spending time with him then shook her head. She was running way ahead of herself and heading in a direction she didn’t plan to go to.

She paused for a moment and frowned. If she wasn’t planning on more than a date with Wyatt, what was she planning on?

A fun night out.
She held her hand to her belly and took a deep breath. She’d just take it from there. Rather than taking a purse, she stuffed into one pocket her cell phone. In another pocket she slipped her driver’s license, a credit card, and a twenty for emergencies.

She took a deep breath and walked out of Carly’s room, down the hall, and to the living room. Sabrina almost stopped in her tracks when she saw Wyatt. He looked so hot, so sexy, that it sent thrills through her belly just seeing him.

From head to toe he was dressed in black, down to his boots. He even held a black Stetson in his hands. A wave of dark brown hair fell over his forehead and his blue eyes were almost piercing in their intensity. His shoulders filled out his dress shirt that fit comfortably around the breadth of his chest and his Wrangler jeans were snug, fitting him perfectly.

When she reached him she was aware of the appreciation in his gaze, the smile on his lips that suggested so many things.

“You look beautiful.” The way Wyatt said it was so genuine that it made her feel like a princess about to be drawn away in a carriage to a ball just like Carly had teased her.

The proud way Carly was looking at Sabrina made her worry that her friend really was going to pull out her camera and start taking pictures.

“Ready?” Wyatt asked.

Sabrina nodded. “See you later,” she said to Carly who ushered them out the door with a smile.

She held onto the rail as she walked down the porch steps. The heels on her ankle boots were on the high side and she didn’t want to land in a heap at the bottom of the stairs. She knew he wanted to take her hand but he wasn’t pushing it.

He held the door of his truck open for her and helped her climb in. His touch sent wildfire throughout her.

Damn was she ever in trouble. She watched him as he rounded the truck to the driver’s side and hoped she wasn’t making a mistake.

The drive from Patagonia to the steakhouse in Sonoita was only about fifteen minutes. As he drove, he asked her what her favorite movies were and he didn’t seem surprised when she named a few chick flick romances that were dear to her heart and a couple of comedies that she thought were fun to watch.

He, on the other hand, loved adventure movies. “We don’t get to town much to take in a movie at the theater,” he said, “so we usually catch them on satellite or DVD.”

“I suppose that is a little more convenient considering how far out of town you are,” she said. “I haven’t been to the theater much myself these days even though I live in Tucson. I’ve been watching them at home, too.”

He looked over at her. “What’s keeping you inside?”

She shrugged. “Just a lot going on.”

He nodded, but didn’t ask her anything more about it. She had the feeling he knew there was something she wasn’t telling him, but wasn’t pressing her.

The restaurant was full of western ambiance from the open rafters to the antique western décor that included wagon wheel chandeliers. The hostess seated them and handed them each a menu.

Sabrina looked around. “This place is great. I love it.”

“Sad, but ten years ago it burned to the ground and they rebuilt it,” Wyatt said “They did a pretty good job of capturing the original charm it had.”

“They did,” Sabrina said. “It looks a lot older than just having been rebuilt a relatively short time ago.”

Live country western music came through a doorway not too far from the front. “There’s a bar through there with a dance floor,” Wyatt said. “Maybe you’d like to dance after dinner?”

“That sounds like fun,” she said with a smile.

She realized she wasn’t as nervous with Wyatt as she thought she was going to be. He had an easy way about him that made her feel comfortable. She liked the way he smiled and the teasing light in his eyes.

The waitress stopped by their table and smiled at Wyatt.

“Hi, Wendy,” he said to the waitress who was probably in her sixties.

“So a different girl again.” Wendy had a teasing glint in her eyes. “Third this week?”

“You know that’s not true, Wendy.” The corner of Wyatt’s mouth turned up in an amused smile. “You’re just jealous. Trying to end something before it starts.”

Wendy slanted her attention to Sabrina. “You must be special if he’s here with you. I tell him all the time he’s too particular.”

She turned back to Wyatt. “Looks like you found a pretty one there.”

Heat rose in Sabrina’s cheeks as Wendy talked.

“You’re working your tip down to a little loose change there,” Wyatt said, but there was a note of laughter in his voice.

The waitress grinned and took their drink orders. Sabrina was up for a margarita and Wyatt told her he’d take whatever was on tap.

When they were alone again, Wyatt asked, “How is your mom?”

“I talked with her this morning. She has good days and bad days,” Sabrina said and then gave a soft smile. “Today was one of her better ones.”

The waitress arrived with her gigantic margarita on the rocks and his beer pint. She took their orders—Sabrina had gone for the filet mignon with sweet potato fries and sautéed vegetables. Wyatt picked out the porterhouse with a baked potato and cowboy beans. They both chose bleu cheese dressing for their house salads.

After Sabrina took a sip of her margarita, she asked Wyatt, “What do your brothers and sister do?”

“My brothers all ranch now. My twin brother, Wayne, was Special Forces in the Army until he had a knee injury while serving in Afghanistan. But he’s been back a couple of years and took up ranching.”

Wyatt relaxed in his seat. “When our parents passed on they divided the property into five and left us each a piece. We’ve since done our own land development and purchasing, and Cameron lands have extended even farther out than they had before.” He spoke of it without a hint of arrogance or overt pride in his tone. Just easy conversation.

“You mentioned Wayne the other night,” Sabrina said. “I didn’t realize he’s your twin.”

Wyatt nodded. “He’s one hell of a good guy.”

“If he’s anything like you, I’m sure he is.” The margarita glass chilled her fingers as she ran them over it. “What about your sister?”

He smiled, a look of fondness in his expression. “Danica went away to college for a couple of years but she’s back, finishing up with a few online classes. Right now she lives in our family home with our oldest brother, Zane, and his new wife.”

“I can tell you’re proud of Danica,” Sabrina said. “Is she the youngest?”

He nodded. “She’s our baby sister, but don’t ever let her hear that I called her that.” Wyatt grinned. “We may have spoiled her but she grew up to be a fine woman.”

Their house salads were served as they talked.

While she took another drink of her margarita, he asked her, “What about your sisters? What do they do?”

“Where do I start?” Sabrina tapped her finger with her chin. “Jessica is a real estate broker who’s managing to do quite well in spite of the economy. Elise is a VP at a marketing firm, and Shannon owns a travel agency. I’m the youngest and you know what I do.”

“How did you get into teaching English as a second language?” he asked in between bites of his salad.

“I always had an aptitude for languages from the time I was a young age.” She fingered one of her hoop earrings. “A lot of our neighbors spoke Spanish and I picked it up as if I’d grown up with it in my own household.”

He looked genuinely interested in everything she said. “Where does the Italian come in?”

“Like Spanish it’s a romance language,” she said as she speared a grape tomato, “and I always loved the sounds and inflections of Italian. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to Italy twice.”

“How did that come about?”

“My sister’s travel agency.” Sabrina lowered her hand from her earring. “She had a couple of great deals come up and she knew how much I wanted to go.”

“Do you plan to travel to any other countries?” he asked.

“Someday.” She smiled. “On a teacher’s salary that isn’t always possible.”

Their salad plates were cleared as their food arrived and the waitress warned them that the plates were hot and told them to enjoy their meal. She told them she’d be bringing by another beer and margarita without Wyatt or Sabrina putting in the order.

“I think I’m really going to enjoy this,” Sabrina said as she started to cut into her filet mignon and the knife slid through it almost like butter. Juices shimmered onto the plate and her mouth watered.

“This is amazing,” she said after her first bite.

“Glad you like it.” Wyatt cut into his own steak. “This is one of the best steakhouses in the southwest and it happens to be in little old Sonoita.”

She swallowed another bite of the filet and sighed with pleasure. “I will have to agree with that statement.”

A server stopped by with the beer and margarita and Sabrina took a healthy drink. She was feeling relaxed and slightly tipsy.

“What’s your favorite food?” he asked.

“Right now this is it,” she said and he smiled. “I tend to lean toward Italian and Mexican foods, but love a good steak, too. What about you?”

“Steak and potatoes man.” He gestured toward his plate with his fork. “And a little veggies thrown in for good measure.”

Sabrina didn’t think she’d ever enjoyed herself with a man more than she did with Wyatt. She’d expected to be nervous and a little edgy, but she felt none of that.

As their dinner wound down, though, her belly did flip a little at the thought of being alone with him again once they left the restaurant.

Wyatt couldn’t keep his eyes off of Sabrina. She was so sexy and beautiful. There was something a little sad about her that she tried to hide, but he didn’t press her. There would be time to get to know everything about her. He intended to get to know her real well.

“How was your day?” he asked when they were finished with dinner and now sharing a small apple pie with French vanilla ice cream for dessert.

“Not bad.” Then she shook her head. “Well, it wouldn’t have been as good this morning if a man hadn’t saved me.”

Wyatt frowned. “What happened?”

“When I was leaving the general store in Patagonia, my SUV wouldn’t start,” she said “It’s under warranty and I thought I might have to have it towed back to Tucson. But a guy asked me if I needed help and he discovered that one of the battery cables was loose and there was some corrosion that he cleaned up. I took him to lunch to thank him.”

Wyatt nodded. “What’s his name?”

She wrinkled her nose and looked like she was trying to recall it. “Derrick… Derrick Harper.”

A wave of heat hit Wyatt and he ground his teeth before saying. “Sabrina, you need to stay away from that man.”

A look of surprise crossed her face. “Why? He was really nice and helpful.”

I’ll be he was,
Wyatt thought to himself. “Trust me,” he said aloud. “You don’t want to get involved with him in any way. He is not good people and not a guy who anyone likes for very long. There are all kinds of stories about him. Even if only a few are right, it shows what kind of man he is. Let’s just say you should avoid him.”

She just looked at him like she was trying to figure something out and the moment felt awkward for the first time that night. Maybe she thought he was jealous. The best thing he could do was hope that she listened to him and stayed away from Harper.

He had to turn things back around in their conversation. “How’s your visit going with Carly?”

She smiled. “So far it’s been relaxing. Carly is the perfect vacation mate. Fun but let’s me have downtime which I desperately need.”

“School a bit much this semester?”

“Something like that.” There was that touch of sadness again and she took another drink of her margarita, as if to keep from having to talk anymore about it.

Wyatt reached out and put his hand over hers. “I’ve had a great time tonight.” He squeezed her fingers. “Thank you for agreeing to go out with me.”

“It was most definitely my pleasure.” Her smile was brilliant. “I have had a terrific time talking with you and getting to know more about you.”

He moved his hand from hers. “Let’s dance.”

She glanced in the direction of the bar then back to Wyatt. “All right.”