SECOND CHANCES AT MG RANCH (8 page)

The look of passion in her eyes was tearing him up inside.
He wanted to make love to her more than any woman he had ever been attracted to before, but a horse stall was not the place and now was not the time.

She leaned forward to kiss him again, but he held her back far enough so that she could only brush her lips against his.

“This is madness, baby. We can’t make love here and I think we would both agree that now is not the time.”

“The way you make me feel is total madness,” she whispered against his lips, refusing to be in agreement with him.

This was killing him. He had to stop this now before he lost total control, so he abruptly set her off his lap and proceeded to stand.

Once again, Loren was feeling a little embarrassed, but she stood when he offered his hand and let him pull her to a standing position directly in front of him.

He pulled her close to him for one last taste of her sweet kisses and she responded by pressing her body closer to his as he moved his mouth over hers.

Using all the self-control that he had left, he pulled away and nudged her towards the stall door.
If he didn’t get her back to the house soon, he was afraid that her parents would really come looking for them.

Loren didn’t want to go, but knew that Sam would stand firm on his decision that now was not the time.
She let him lead her back to the house. As they reached the front porch, Loren stopped walking and turned to look at him.

“This is not over Mr. Sam Burton; not by a long shot.”

He just stood there staring at her because he could think of nothing to say. Satisfaction washed over Loren when the expression on his face revealed that she had rocked his world as much as he had rocked hers and it was only the beginning.

“Are you coming in?” Loren asked when he did not reply to her comment.

“No, I think I will retire early,” he said while fidgeting with her hand. “Maybe take a cold shower too.” His face was sporting a feisty grin.

Once more, he softly touched his lips to hers for one last time, and then slowly released her hand.
“Goodnight, my little Angel,” he said as he spun on his heel and disappeared into the darkness. His last words were spoken so softly, she had barely even heard them.

Amy and Josh were waiting for Loren as she came through the same door that she had burst out of earlier.
She could see the questions written all over their faces; however she was not ready to answer them just yet. Truthfully she wasn’t sure how to answer them. All of this was so new to her and not knowing herself what it all meant, she wouldn’t know how to explain it anyway.

So she ignored their probing eyes and plopped herself down in the floor where Sam had been sitting and helped herself to the remaining pizza.
The home movies had long been turned off, and replaced with an old black and white movie.

Chapter 13

Morning came early for everyone.
Amy had prepared a big breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, gravy and homemade biscuits. Sam hadn’t eaten this good in years. Just looking at it all made his mouth water in anticipation.

“Let’s pray,” Amy said.
Everyone joined hands and bowed their heads.

“Dear Lord, let us give thanks for this wonderful food…”

Sam squeezed Loren’s hand causing a feeling similar to electric shock to run up her arm.  She looked at him beneath lowered lashes, sneaking a peek at his face as she squeezed his hand in return.

He was looking at her with those probing eyes again.
She felt like maybe he was silently asking her if the events of last night had really happened or if it had just been a dream.

Neither of them had heard Amy
and Josh both say, “Amen,” in unison. Josh cleared his throat. “Hmmmm…”

Loren and Sam both quickly said
, “Amen,” trying to pretend as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

However, her parents had not missed the look shared between them. It confirmed Amy’s suspicions that they were involved somehow, but her warning look to Josh stopped him from asking them right out what was going on.

Amy knew her daughter better than anyone else and she knew that it would only push Loren further away if they forced the issue. With that thought in mind, she thought it best to at least give her until Thanksgiving before approaching the subject again.

Thanksgiving was only a few more short weeks away and that would give her plenty of time to see where things might be headed between them.
She just hoped by remaining silent, that Loren would not end up getting hurt.

She was afraid that there wouldn’t be much she could do to stop it anyway because she knew the look of a girl in love.
And it was obvious that Loren had already given her heart away by the way that her eyes lit up when Sam came into the room this morning.

After breakfast Sam said his good-byes and excused himself from the table saying that he needed to go take care of the horses.
Amy caught the quick glance that he gave Loren as he headed for the back door off the kitchen.

It felt like forever before the kitchen was cleaned and everything was put away from breakfast.
Loren was sure that her mom was dragging things out just to make it last as long as possible. She hated to see her parents go, but at the same time she was anxious for them to leave so she could be alone with Sam.

Around mid-afternoon, she was standing on the front porch waving good-bye to both of her parents until they were out of sight.
When she couldn’t see them anymore, she headed straight to the barn to find Sam.

They needed to talk about what had taken place between them the night before, so that they would both have a clearer picture of where things were headed between them.
She was hopeful that it was something more than just physical attraction. At least she knew that it was on her part. Sam had stolen her heart and last night gave her conformation of that.

She moved about in the barn looking for him, but he was nowhere in sight.
She checked the horses to see if he had gone riding. Kate was standing in her stall in a relaxed position and munching on some alfalfa hay.

She walked past Kate’s stall to Dakota’s.
He was also munching on a few flakes of hay. When he saw her, he lifted his head over the stall wall waiting for a good nose rubbing.

“Good morning, Sunshine,” she greeted him.
He rubbed his nose against her palm in response to her soft voice.

“So where has Sam gotten off to this morning?” she asked.
She paused in her petting for a fraction of a minute, as if she expected him to answer.  Dakota paid her questions no mind; he was just enjoying the affection.

Loren gave
her horse a final pat on the nose and turned in the direction of the tack room. Once inside, she made a quick observation that his saddle still remained on its display rack.

Not sure of where else he could be since there was no sound coming from the work shop, she stepped back outside the tack room and pushed the door closed.
That’s when she saw the note that Sam had written on the message board hanging outside the tack room door.

“Loren,

I have gone into town to pick up a few things. Be back shortly.

Sam”

She had been in such a hurry to find him that she hadn’t even noticed that his truck was gone from its usual parking spot right outside the barn.

Loren walked
back to the house and got busy tiding up the small cabin with a little dusting here and there while waiting for Sam’s return.

A few hours had passed and Sam still had not returned.
One thing Loren was for certain of was that his definition of shortly did not match her own.

Loren pondered the idea of making a quick trip into town. Chatsworth was a small town compared to Atlanta, so surely she could make it into town and back on her own without getting lost.

Once she was inside the truck, she mustered up some much needed confidence and pulled out of the driveway in the direction of town. She was very careful to follow all the roads that Sam had taken on their first trip into town together.

About twenty-five minutes later she was pulling into a vacant parking space in front of the feed store, feeling like she had made a huge accomplishment by not getting herself lost.

She hopped out of the truck and gave a quick look around in the hopes of seeing Sam’s truck. The discovery that he wasn’t there left her with a twinge of disappointment.

Hal had heard her pull into a parking space out front and met her at the entrance door.

“Hey Loren, you just missed Sam,” he said as he draped his arm around her shoulders in a friendly manner.

“Really, he didn’t happen to pick up some treats for the horses, did he?” she asked.

“No, but we have some of the best brands in stock. Let me show you where they are.”

“Just point me in the right direction.  I might as well do some browsing while I am here,” she replied.

“Well sure thing, Cupcake! Horse treats are on aisle eight, on your left, fourth shelf down,” he instructed.

Loren had no problem finding the horse treats.
They were exactly where Hal had said they would be. And there were several brands and flavors to choose from. Once she made her selections, she browsed around to see if she could find something else of interest.

After about forty-five minutes or so, she finally made her way to the check out with some apple and carrot flavored horse
biscuits for Dakota, a black and gray saddle blanket, a black beaded bridle, and a new curry comb, along with several horse magazines.

Hal was at the front counter, taking care of another customer
when she walked up. “Thank you, Mr. Jones. Please come again.” His customer nodded in response as he exited the front door.

Hal then turned his attention back to her.
“Did you find everything that you needed?” he asked, as she put her selected items on the counter.

“And then some,” she laughed, handing him her credit card to pay for her purchases.

Chapter 14

Loren left the feed store feeling all chipper because buying horse stuff always
helped to put her in a happy mood.

Thinking that she might as well grab a few more things from the grocery store while she was in the area, she headed in that direction.

A few minutes later, she pulled into the super market parking lot; driving around looking for a good spot. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sam’s truck across the road at a little hole in the wall coffee shop. Well that explained why he had been gone for so long. He must have stopped to grab some lunch.

She pulled into a parking space that provided a good view of where he was parked and cut the engine.
Just as she was about to get out of the truck, she caught a glimpse of Sam as he was walking out of the restaurant.

On his way through the door he stopped and held the door open for someone following close behind him.
She watched as a beautiful woman emerged through the door and took his hand.

Hand in hand, they made their way to the parking lot, stopping at
a black BMW that was parked beside his truck. Loren could not believe what she was seeing. She rubbed her eyes in an effort to change the whole image unfolding before her.

Sam and the woman appeared to be very comfortable with one another’s company, as if they had known each other for a very long time.
Who was this woman and what did this mean for her? She couldn’t allow herself to become involved with a man that was already involved with someone else. It just wouldn’t be right. Someone was bound to get hurt and more than likely it would be her.

Sam had not mentioned dating anyone.
Everything that she had learned about him in the past week was reeling around in her head, and then it hit her like a rock upside the head.  This woman must be Stephanie. The same woman the store clerk had told her about just last week, who had ran off to Paris and left Sam with a broken heart.

S
o this was the woman that he had never stopped loving. Loren sized her up and down, comparing her to herself.

The woman’s hair was a rich chestnut color and hung down to the middle of her back.
It was shining like a brand new penny with the sun dancing on it the way that it was. From this distance she looked to be very delicate in stature, but not quite as tall as Sam was.

She hated to admit it, but they actually looked good together as a couple.
The difference in their features complimented each other.  Of course she had not given any thought as to how she looked with Sam. Not until now, anyway.

Loren felt as if she were going to throw up from the butterflies churning in her stomach.
She kept telling herself that this couldn’t be happening; surely she was trapped in some kind of wicked dream. For the sake of her own health, she knew that she should just leave, but instead she sat glued to her seat and continued to watch them.

Shortly after they had reached the BMW, he turned towards the woman, which blocked Loren’s view of his face and that was probably a good thing, because if he knew she were watching them, he would probably be spitting mad.
She had learned enough about Sam in the past few days to know that he did not like people meddling in his personal affairs.

The woman wrapped her arms around Sam’s waist and lifted her face up to his and their lips met in an intimate kiss.
She could not tell from her secret perch that Sam had not initiated the kiss.

Blinding tears were now streaming down her face as she watched Sam open the driver door of the BMW; allowing the woman to get in and closing it behind her once she was settled.

He threw up his hand in a gesture of good-bye, then walked around the back of her car and hopped into his own truck. The woman in the BMW drove away as Sam started the ignition.

Loren thought she saw him glance her way and ducked down low into the cab of her truck, in fear that he would see her as he waited for the intersection to clear before pulling into the flow of traffic.

She remained ducked low, feeling the cool leather seat pressed against her cheek. She gave him time to get out of sight before regaining her sitting position behind the wheel.

It felt like time stood still as she sat in her truck gripping the steering wheel.  First the sting of hurt flowed over her and then it quickly turned to anger.  Did the man not have any morals about him?  And who did he think he was toying with her feelings like that.  She
had acted like his puppet, allowing him to string her along.

Losing all interest in grocery shopping, she started up the engine and headed back in the direction of home, driving slowly, to give Sam time to make it back before she did.
That was assuming that he was headed home.

H
alf an hour later, she was pulling into the drive of the ranch and saw his truck parked in its usual place outside the front of the barn. Knowing that it was silly, the fact that he had returned home made her feel a little better.

Getting out of her truck, she could hear the grinding of the saw in the wood shop.
She started in the direction of the noise; she wanted to question him about the woman that she had seen him with today and she wanted to give him a piece of her mind.

But just before she reached the door to the wood shop, she changed her mind, afraid of what he might say.
Even though she had a good idea of what it would be, she wasn’t sure that she was ready to hear it.

More than likely he would tell her that last night had meant nothing to him and that he had just gotten caught up in the moment.
Loren was definitely not in the mood to hear such news, so she turned to march back to the safety of the house.

Before she made it
out of the barn, Sam called out to her, “Loren, is that you?”

She froze in her tracks, her heart beating wildly within the cavities of her chest.  She wasn’t ready to face him yet.  What should she do? 
Think, think…. 
It was no use; her mind was a total blank.

Sam came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her tiny waist.  She could feel his breath on her neck as he let her scent flow through his nostrils.

All she could think, was this man had some nerve.  He had just spent the afternoon having lunch with some beautiful woman and now here he was trying to be all lovey-dovey with her.

“Where has my little angel been?” he asked.

She finally replied when she found her voice. “I got bored while waiting for you so I took a little trip into town to the feed store.”

“Oh, I must have just missed you then.  Did Hal tell you that I had been there?”

Sam turned her to face him so that he could see her beautiful face.  “Yes, he did.”

“Did you go anywhere else?” he asked.

“What is this, twenty questions?”  She let out a little laugh trying to hide her true feelings.

“No, I was just wondering.  It seemed like you were gone for a long time, is all.
Of course any time at all without you, is too long.”  He was smiling at her as if he were really being sincere.

“Well then, if there are no more questions, I think I will go on back up to the house.  I bought some magazines that I would like to take a look at.”

Loren was willing to use almost any excuse to escape from Sam’s warm embrace.  She didn’t need to be this close to him; her feelings were too raw at the moment and she was on the brink of not being able to control them.

Before she could protest, he planted a warm kiss on her soft lips.  He was still holding her so close that she could smell his cologne.

“I was thinking that you could help me with some of the cedar logs that I have out back.  I need to bring a few into the work shop to make a baby cradle for Hal and Missy.  It would really help me out,” he added when he started to pick up on her resistance.

How could she tell him no?  After all, it was for Hal and Missy’s unborn child, she told herself.  “Okay, I am not sure that I will really be that much help, but I will try,” she answered.

Sam released his hold on her waist, but let his hand slide down to grasp hers, as they walked to the back of the barn where the cedar logs where stored.

It was all Loren could do no
t to jerk her hand away from his hold.  She should probably just tell him what was on her mind, but she wasn’t prepared for the confrontation.  She needed time to think about what she wanted to say and how she wanted to say it.

“All I need you to do is wrap that chain around the log like this.”  He let go of her hand to demonstrate what he wanted her to do.
“I will then lift up the bucket on the tractor to pick the log up and move it to the workshop.”

“Easy as pie,” she muttered.

“Here, you will need these.”  He thrust some work gloves into her hands.  “Be careful not to touch those poison ivy vines wrapped around the log.”

Loren wrapped the first chain around the log with success.  However the remaining two logs they moved proved to be a little more challenging for her.  Sam had to get off the tractor
more than once to show her again how to wrap the chain so that it would hold.

His irritation was starting to show
.  Loren guessed that he was wishing that he had not asked for her help after all.  Maybe he would think twice before asking again. A sassy-grin etched across her face.

Thank goodness they were finally finished.  She pulled the gloves off and pitched them back to Sam.  Her work here was done.