Samantha and the Cowboy (10 page)

Sam shoved her bedroll into the supply wagon. Fighting the turbulent waters of the river had left her battered and bruised. Fighting Matt had left her unaccountably sad.

She enjoyed riding with the herd, felt a sense of accomplishment far greater than any she'd felt as she'd worked the farm. It shouldn't matter to Matt or Jake that she was a girl. As long as she could do the tasks assigned to her, it shouldn't matter at all that she was female. It certainly didn't make one bit of difference to the cows.

She had to find a way to convince Matt not to reveal her secret. He needed to give her the opportunity to finish this drive.

Turning, she jumped back, startled. Matt stood there, both his horse and hers in tow.

“Got your horse ready,” he said as he handed her the reins.

“I can saddle my own horse,” she spat in a low voice as she jerked them from his grasp.

“I know. It's just that I was saddling mine so I thought I'd go ahead and saddle yours.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Matt, you can't treat me
differently just because you know I'm a girl.”

“I don't intend to, but neither am I going to treat you like you're a boy!” he hissed in a low voice.

“You're making me mad, you know that?”

She mounted her horse, and with a gentle kick to the animal's sides, urged Cinnamon toward the herd. She yanked her bandanna up over her nose. Today she'd be grateful that she was riding drag and wouldn't have an opportunity to talk with Matt.

The cattle were starting their slow plodding north. They usually grazed as they went in the morning and would begin to move a little more quickly as the day wore on.

Out of the corner of her eye, Sam caught sight of Matt drawing his horse up beside hers. She didn't want to notice the breadth of his shoulders or the strength in his hands.

“There's no reason you have to keep riding beside me,” she told him. “I've been at this six weeks now. I'm comfortable with it. Tell Jake to move you on up to point.”

Beneath the brim of his hat, his blue eyes widened. “Are you crazy? You're my responsibility.”

“I can watch the back end of cattle without your help,” she insisted.

“Until Jake orders me to ride point, I'm riding beside you.”

She watched his bandanna riffle with his breath as he spoke. Days on a drive were usually long and arduous. She had a feeling they were going to get much worse.

Suddenly Matt sat up straighter in the saddle, his gaze focused on the far horizon.

“What is it?” Sam asked.

“Looks like smoke.”

She glanced around. “What's out here to burn? Thought you said there were no towns.”

“There's grass. Without it, we might as well turn around and head home, because the cattle would have nothing to eat. You stay here.”

She chafed at his order, but obeyed. She watched as he galloped toward the smoke rising in the east. She saw other trail hands riding after him. Then she spotted the supply wagon headed in that direction.

Jeb and Jed joined her. “What's going on?” they asked as one.

“Matt thinks it's a prairie fire,” she explained.

“Sure looks like it, with that black smoke billowing,” Jed said. Or was it Jeb? She never knew.

“Thank goodness the wind is blowing away from us. If the cattle caught the scent, they'd start stampeding. You and Jed hightail it out there to help 'em put it out,” Jeb said. “I've got the most experience with a herd. I can keep these little doggies in line.”

She thought about pointing out that Matt had ordered her to stay put, but Matt wasn't her keeper. He thought he was but she knew differently. She could handle herself out here. Besides, he might not have realized how bad the fire was when he issued that order.

Giving Jeb a quick nod, she kicked her horse's flanks and followed Jed, who hadn't taken time trying to decide whether or not fighting the fire was what needed to be done.

By the time they arrived at the supply wagon, Cookie was already soaking gunny sacks in the barrel of rainwater and passing them off to the men. From what Sam could tell as she dismounted, it looked as though about three-fourths of the men were here. She could see Matt pounding at the flames on one side of the fire.

“It's a small one, fellas,” Cookie told them as he passed each man a drenched sack. “Let's keep it that way. Beat it out from the sides and work your way to the middle.”

With unexpected excitement, Sam grabbed the sack that Cookie extended toward her. No one was questioning her right to be here. Matt might have doubts regarding her abilities, but none of the other trail hands did.

To ensure that Matt didn't interfere, however, she went to the side opposite from where he stood. The thick smoke was billowing up; sparks danced wildly in the haze. She heard the crackle of the fire as it devoured the dry prairie
grasses and the thud of the gunny sacks slapped at the ground, beating down the writhing, twisting flames.

She took her cue from the men around her, periodically dashing to the wagon to dip her sack quickly into the water before rushing back to the fire with her dripping burden. Her arms began to ache as she pounded the earth with the sack. The soot and ash stung her eyes and coated her clothes.

But still she beat at the flames over and over and over, refusing to be defeated, wondering briefly if this fearful exhilaration was what soldiers experienced as they marched into war.

To know that she was needed, to know that she was making a difference. Matt was going to destroy all she'd worked incredibly hard to attain.

And when he did, whatever affection she might have harbored for him would die. And she'd despise him for as long as she drew breath.

 

“Make sure all the sparks are dead!” Matt yelled as he pounded the final flames into submission. He knew too well how quickly a single spark could re-ignite a dying fire.

This prairie fire hadn't been the worst he'd ever seen. He figured it had burned for only a mile or so. He was extremely grateful that it was upwind of the cattle and hadn't caused them to start stampeding.

What had started the fire could have been anyone's guess. A careless cowboy driving a herd ahead of theirs might have dropped an unlit match. All it took was a bird pecking at it to create a spark. A spark that had erupted into a prairie fire. He'd known of it happening before.

He gazed at the blackened earth that was still smoldering. Thin wisps of smoke continued to curl upward. Add the burdensome task of killing the fire to his double watch last night and his rescuing Sam in the river yesterday…and he was nearly tuckered out. And the sun wasn't even directly overhead yet.

“Good work!” Jake shouted as he rode around the darkened perimeter, inspecting for sparks.

Men barely spoke as they trudged toward the wagon and the waiting horses. Above their bandannas, their faces were covered with soot. Some were barely recognizable. He smiled at the sight of Sam. She looked like a raccoon.

Sam!

What in thunderation was she doing here?

“Hey, Sam!” he yelled.

She stopped walking. His heart had been pumping madly as he'd fought to put out the fire. He knew the dangers of a prairie fire. Out of control, it could destroy all in its path, including the herd. And if the cattle were spared, but the grass burned…they'd have nothing for the steers to eat. The animals would have perished, and all their
weeks of laborious work would have been for nothing.

Yet during the entire battle of man against nature, as Matt had worked to put out the fire, he hadn't shaken. Not like he was trembling now. Just the thought of the dangers she'd exposed herself to had his knees growing weak.

“I ordered you to stay with the herd!” he snapped, when he got close enough to see the green in her eyes.

“I was needed here!” she retorted.

“I told you to keep the heck away!” He came to an abrupt halt. He didn't know whether to throttle her for disobeying an order or hug her because she'd managed not to get hurt.

“I figured you didn't realize how bad the fire was,” she said.

“I knew exactly how bad it was. That's why I didn't want you over here.”

“What's going on?” Jake asked, as he brought his horse to a halt beside them. A cowboy never walked when he could ride.

Matt pointed his shaking finger at Sam. “She…sheeeeez…I—I told Sam to stay with the herd.” Dang it! He'd almost said, “
She
was supposed to stay with the herd.”

“Sam was right to come over here. We needed as many men as possible to get this fire put out. We couldn't risk it burning out of control or getting close enough to spook the cattle.”

“But Sam's not a man!” he yelled and saw the dread pop into Sam's widening eyes. “He…he's a boy.”

“There are no boys on this drive. Sam did a heck of a fine job,” Jake said.

Matt thought Sam was going to bust the buttons on her shirt as she puffed out her chest with pride. Those buttons popping off would surely cause problems. “But he disobeyed an order.”

“You've been to war, Matt. You know sometimes the man giving the orders doesn't always give the best orders,” Jake said.

Matt jerked his gaze to Jake's. Jake tilted his head slightly. “Leave the boy be, Matt. He did what was best for the outfit. You gotta respect that.” He grinned at Sam. “You're turning out to be quite a surprise.”

Matt thought Jake had no idea how close he was to speaking the absolute truth.

As Jake sent his horse into a canter, Matt glanced tentatively back at Sam. She'd pulled her bandanna down so it hung loosely around her neck, and she was beaming with satisfaction at the praise Jake had bestowed upon her.

She should have looked ridiculous with half her face blackened and that giddy-looking smile…instead, he thought she looked beautiful.

And he finally figured out that he didn't want to throttle her and he didn't want to hug her. He wanted to kiss her.

 

Sam allowed the tranquillity of the vast midnight sky to ease into her soul. These moments when she rode night guard were some of her favorite. The cattle's lowing was as much a lullaby as the songs she sang to them.

Sitting on the ground, they didn't stir up dust. Not even when they occasionally awkwardly got to their feet, turned, and worked their way back to the ground.

The prairie at night was breathtaking. After trailing the cattle mile after monotonous mile during the day, she anticipated her two-hour night watch. Even Matt's foul mood as he rode beside her couldn't dampen her spirits.

She had certainly proven her worth today. Maybe Jake wouldn't mind so much when he discovered the truth about her. For a harrowing minute this afternoon, she'd thought that Matt had almost given away the fact that she was a girl. He'd certainly done some quick tripping over his tongue. She'd never seen him so furious, not even by the river yesterday.

Riding along beside her, he was still moping. He hadn't spoken a single word to her since Jake had praised her, and they had all rejoined the herd.

Matt had taken his meal away from the campfire, causing the others to look at him in an odd way. They were probably trying to figure out why he was so riled. Squirrel had said that Sam disobeying an order couldn't
be what was setting him off. The others had started speculating, wondering if he had a burr in his britches or a blister on his foot.

She thought she'd go crazy if he kept up this silent treatment. It was such a peaceful night, a good time for mending fences.

“I love herding cattle at night,” she said quietly. “I find it calming.”

Silence. Heavy, palpable. Thick enough to slice with a butter knife.

“I reckon we're really lucky that the cattle didn't stampede this morning.”

Nothing from him. Not even a turn of his head.

“Have you gone deaf?” she snapped.

The only thing worse than being yelled at was being ignored.

“How long do you plan to stay angry?” she asked.

“Forever.”

The pain cut into her like a rusty bayonet. She didn't want to admit how much she'd come to like him, to care about him.

In her heart, she knew that his attempt to guard her was the reason he'd ordered her to stay away from the fire. It wasn't that he'd thought her incapable; it was that he'd worried she'd get hurt.

“If I'd confessed that I was a girl when we were behind
the general store, you never would have put in a good word for me with Jake. I needed this chance, Matt, I needed to be able to bring some hope to my family that the bad times were behind us.”

Within the night shadows, she saw him turn his head toward her. Hope spiraled in her that he was truly listening, that he would come to understand why she'd done all she had.

She could feel his gaze boring into her. Licking her lips, she swallowed hard. “If you tell Jake the truth about me, he's gonna send me packing. I don't care about me, but I do care about my family doing without, my mother worrying about the debt mounting at the general store. I know you hate me for deceiving you. But please don't take your hatred for me out on my family. Please don't tell Jake that I'm a girl.”

Leaning over in the saddle, he reached out and cupped the back of her head. Then his mouth swooped down to cover hers, hard, desperate, hot. Incredibly hot. Like the flames they'd battled this afternoon.

Warmth sluiced through her body like hot maple syrup being poured over flapjacks.

Breathing heavily, he pulled back. “
That's
the reason you can't stay. I can't stop thinking about you, wanting to hold you, desperate to kiss you.”

With her lips swollen and still tingling, she stared at
him. He wanted to kiss her?

“From the moment we saddled up today, I've thought only about you. I haven't thought about the cattle. And that's too dangerous. If the other men start doing the same thing, someone is going to get hurt. Or worse, killed.”