Page 3 of Cowboy Stole My Heart
Chapter 2
SAMpulled up outside the Ford ranch house and turned off his ignition. He rubbed his chin, the stubble prickly, and he wished he’d gone home first and made the trip out the next day. It’d been a long day and the flight from California had been delayed by an hour.
He stretched when he got out, pushing his door shut and taking a look around. The house was as impressive as he’d imagined it would be, with garages to both sides and a huge oak door that he was making his way towards. The house was big, even by Texas ranch standards, and from the looks of the trees and hedges surrounding the entrance and leading around to a big garden, the Fords had full-time help.
He raised his fist to knock, imagining living in a place as impressive, as he rapped on the solid timber. His house wasn’t exactly modest, but he doubted anything in the state rivaled Walter Ford’s home.
“You must be Sam.”
He lowered his hand and turned. A pretty blonde was standing a few paces away, her hair up in a high ponytailand dressed in riding attire. The tight breeches fit her like a glove, and her dusty black riding boots told him she’d probably already been out riding for the day. She was girl-next-door gorgeous and then some. Her blue-green eyes were warm as she stared at him.
“That’s me. I’m looking for Walter,” he said.
“I’m Mia,” she said, stepping forward and holding out a hand. “Walter’s my father.”
Sam nodded. So this was probably the little girl he remembered from years ago, except she was all grown up now; she’d obviously graduated from borrowing ponies and had horses of her own. He hadn’t expected her to be so cute, not to mention the fact that she actually looked like she’d been getting her hands dirty instead of relying on grooms.
“Your father left a message for me. He made it sound kind of urgent that I come out and take a look at a stallion, as well as working some of the other horses you have here.”
Mia’s smile was friendly, hand raised to shield her eyes from the sun as she watched him. He noticed that her eyes matched the color of the bluest ocean, her smile reaching all the way to make them sparkle. She was as pretty as a college cheerleader, but with a maturity in her gaze that told him she probably wouldn’t appreciate the comparison.
“My father thinks everything he wants requires urgent attention. He doesn’t like waiting,” she explained dryly. “I’d really appreciate your help with the stallion, but I’m not so sure I need help with the rest.”
He nodded. “So he’s not here to meet with me?”
“He’s about as interested in horses as he is in…” she smiled and held out an envelope to him that had his name scrawled across the top. “I can’t even think of anything tocompare it to. He tolerates them because I love them, but he’d prefer to get rid of any animal that isn’t at the top of their game and start over. He’s more interested in what he calls themoney makers, so in his eyes only top grade ranch horses are required here.”
Sam took the envelope and slid his thumb beneath, gliding it open, curious about Mia and what she had to say. “And you? What do you think?” Walter Ford was serious-kind-of-money wealthy, and Sam knew that men like him had to be ruthless to be so successful. It didn’t surprise him that the old man wasn’t the sentimental type, but his daughter was obviously cut from a different cloth.
“I think that all animals’ lives matter, and I sure as hell don’t think you give up on a horse just because they’re not behaving perfectly after humans have ruined them. But then what would I know, huh?”
Sam smiled, guessing he’d have disliked her old man anyway, if he’d been there to meet him. He’d straddled two worlds all his life; one as a poor kid trying to look after his sister and protect her against their dad, and the other as the best friend of super-wealthy Nate King, which meant he’d been surrounded by his friend’s wealth since he was little. It had opened his eyes and given him perspective, but he never felt comfortable in the world of the rich and famous. He preferred to keep his boots firmly fixed on the ground, no matter how much money he happened to be earning.
He glanced at the letter and realized it was a formal retainer offer.Two grand a day for however long he needed to be at the ranch, but an expected one month minimum duration.His eyebrows lifted at the generous sum. It was probably open for negotiation, too, but he wasn’t motivated by money on this job. He’d make his decision once he’d seen the animal that needed his help.
Sam glanced at Mia. She was standing still, expectantly, probably waiting for him to say something. He smiled as he gazed past her for a moment at the big, dominating oak trees that flanked the long drive in to the property, wondering if he should have just driven straight back out the way he’d come. He looked back at her.
“He thinks I’ll need a month here,” Sam said, clearing his throat. “What do you think?”
She shrugged. “I think he doesn’t know a thing about how long you’ll be needed. I’m the one in charge of my horses, and we can discuss your plan once you’ve seen what you need to do. Follow me.”
Sam did follow her, but he wasn’t about to blindly let her tell him what he was doing, or who was in charge. He wasn’t used to taking orders when it came to his work, and he wasn’t about to start saying “yes, ma’am”to her, either. She was hard to read; was she happy he was here to help or not?
“I think we need to establish some ground rules here,” Sam said, walking alongside her and noticing how golden the skin on her arms was, as if she spent most of her life outside under the sun. She was pretty in an expensive kind of way, her hair the perfect shade of blonde, her skin flawless and her riding attire impeccable. He doubted she was the horsewoman she liked to think she was. No doubt her father had indulged her, and she didn’t do anything other than look pretty and cash in her trust fund checks, but he’d wait and see before making a judgment call. “If I take on this job, and that’s a bigif, then I have to be the one in charge of the horses and what work they need. We work my way or no way, otherwise there’s no point in me being here. I don’t take orders and I don’t get told what to do.”
She stopped walking, one hand on her hip as she stared at him. “Sam, my father might have made the call to you, but these aremyhorses. He wouldn’t even know one of their names, and I spend every day of my life working with them. If you can’t work with me, then you can’t work here.” He guessed she wasn’t one to mince her words. “I’m a big fan of your work, but I need us to be on the same page.”
He ran his fingers through his hair, desperate for a shower and ready to walk straight back to his car and get the hell away. Why had he decided to call by anyway? He didn’t need the work, and he definitely didn’t need to take shit from a woman trying to throw her weight around and tell him how to do his job. It was the one thing he was good at, and he wasn’t about to start taking orders.
“How about we take a look at what you’ve got here, and then we talk, okay?” he suggested, not about to argue with little miss princess and see her get all worked up. He could take a look, politely leave, then leave a message declining Ford’s offer. Who the hell did she think she was? “If the stallion’s a problem, and it seems like he is, then you probably aren’t handling him right. But if you want someone like me to work with him, then you need to step back and not interfere with the process.”
Mia looked defiant, hand on her hip still. She might be petite but she was tall—even in her flat riding boots she made a strong impression standing there, chin raised as she stared at him, aqua eyes not missing anything. She might be annoying the hell out of him, but she looked damn gorgeous doing it.
“I was looking forward to working with you, but it sounds like you’re not used to having anyone else in your team.”
“I don’t work in a team. I never have,” he replied with a shrug, pushing his fingers through his hair. “I have a method that works, and I don’t change it.”
She made a noise that sounded like a snort and he tried not to laugh. “You’re kidding me, right?”
