“Yeah, it does.” Then she flopped on the end of the bed and shook her head. “I just had a real bad thought.”
“What now?”
“What if Harry tries to buy me out with that stolen money as a last resort?” Riley glanced at him and almost laughed. He came closer and sat beside her on the bed.
“Whoa…are you sure about selling out?”
“I’m sure.” She nodded.
“Where will you go…what will you do?” Sam asked, sitting beside her.
Riley felt her breath leave her at his closeness. “I-I don’t know yet. Won’t be any of your concern, you’re going to Arizona, right?”
“Y-yeah…but hey, I didn’t say I might not look you up and check on you from time to time. I mean, I’d just want to be sure you were making it alright. Of course.” Sam glanced at her.
“If I know where I’m going when you leave, I’ll tell you. If I don’t…I won’t,” she replied, turning away from him.
“That ain’t exactly fair.” He turned toward her now.
“It’s as fair as I can afford to be, Sam,” she cried.
“I’ll worry,” he said, reaching for her hand.
She nearly crumbled, but knew to keep from displaying her feelings she had to keep turning away from him.
“So, this is it?” he asked, as though waiting for the answer.
“As soon as I get my money and put the land up for sale, this is it.” She stood up and moved away to face him.
“No more contact?” he asked, his frown mirroring the picture of unhappiness.
She shrugged.
He nodded dully.
“Best get some rest then,” he declared and turned away from her.
She nodded, removed her mustache, and took off her overcoat and everything but her pants and shirt. She pulled the shirt out of the pants though and ran around in her socks.
He did the same and he watched her crawl into bed and cover up.
Hours later, in the middle of the night, a storm kicked up and lightning streaked through the room.
When she opened her eyes to the storm she saw the dream catcher hanging over her bed and she turned to look at Sam. His eyes were still on her, as though they never left her.
A clap of thunder had her running to his bedside.
“Oh, Sam…” she cried, reaching for him.
Without hesitation he took her into his arms, and cradled her there in the bed with him, as though it were a natural thing for him to do.
She snuggled against him, and realized he wore nothing but his drawers. The intimacy of his state of dress made her more aware of him as a man.
“Make it go away, Sam,” she cried as she turned so she could look up at his face.
He eyed her for a long while. “Only one way to do that…”
She stared longingly at him. “Then do it…”
He rolled over so he was leaning over her, staring into her eyes. “I know what you want, what we both want…but I can’t give it to you here, and now.”
Her eyes widened, as tears threatened. “I know…” she barely breathed.
“But kissing you is a pleasure I can’t deny either of us.” He stared into her face. “No woman’s ever kissed me like you have. With their whole heart. I envy the man that gets you, Riley…” he said lowly for her ears only.
Then at long last their lips mated, slowly, questioning, passionately. With an abandon she never expected, he cherished her, ravished her, loved her. She rolled him over so he was on bottom and her hands shyly went over his back and then back up to his nape where her fingers lingered at his thin layer of hair as Sam kept his hair very short.
“Riley…” he gasped between kisses. “Kissing you is the greatest pleasure I’ve ever known…”
“Sam…” she cried out just before his lips nipped and pulled and her mouth flowered into his.
His lips burned a trail along her jaw line, to her ear, where he laved then blew softly. Then he trailed more kisses down her neck to the opening of her shirt where she lifted herself toward him to let him know it would be alright. But he stopped.
He suddenly pulled himself up against the bedpost, and pulled her on top of him. He was no longer kissing her, just holding her. His hand rested gently at her breast over her shirt. He felt the swell of her young sweet breast as his thumb moved ever so lightly over the tip of her breast. She moved sporadically over him as his thumb continued its absent stroking.
At first she wasn’t sure he was aware that he was touching her, and she glanced up into his desire ridden eyes.
They were both panting.
His lips embedded in her hair and neck, kissing, loving, touching.
She felt his manhood spring to life and she gloried that she had caused that reaction in him. But would he act upon his feelings?
“Go to sleep Riley, go to sleep…” He sighed against her ear.
“Is that what you want?” she asked in a whisper, turning her head so she could see him once more.
“No…but it’s what’s best for now…” He sighed.
But his thumb was still stoking the fires within her. How could she sleep with his touching her like that? Nothing had prepared her for the inner core of longing that swept through her from his touches. She’d never made love, but she wasn’t afraid of Sam. And she so wanted him.
Her eyes finally closed, and she dreamed of the day that Sam might take her as his own. She cuddled against him all night long as he held her in his arms, touching, kissing, and loving her.
The next morning, she woke up in his arms, her cheek rested on his bare chest. Her eyes opened and she saw his nipple. It intrigued her. Before she realized what she was doing, she covered the nipple with her mouth and sighed. He jerked up, threw her almost off the bed and stared at her long and hard.
“Don’t do that…” he screeched.
“Why not…doesn’t it feel good?” she asked innocently.
“It feels…never mind how it feels.” He shook his head and got off the bed on the other side of her. She had spurred his anger, and immediately regretted it.
“Get dressed, you got to go see the lawyer this morning,” Sam instructed as though nothing had happened.
“Okay.” She swallowed her pride and the hurt he inflicted then went to the mirror to fix her clothes and comb her hair with the comb provided by the hotel.
After she turned her back, Sam got dressed.
An hour later, after they had eaten a big breakfast, they went to the lawyer’s office.
She introduced Sam and they sat in front of the big desk to await their fate.
“So you’re Ethan Morgan then, her cousin?” the lawyer asked as he went through the paper work once more.
“Yes. I arrived just yesterday, in fact.”
“I see, I thought you would be coming here with her.” The lawyer looked puzzled and glanced at Sam questioningly.
“She didn’t meet me at the stage. I don’t know what happened to her, but she left me with instructions at the hotel desk, to come here, get all the paperwork and return to her ranch as soon as possible. So here I am. What am I to do?”
“Just sign a few papers, and all will be taken care of.”
“Fine, she did mention she wanted to sell the ranch, and that she wanted you to handle that, of course?” Riley said.
“No, she made no mention at all of selling, but that can be arranged too.”
Riley smiled. “Good, you see, she’ll be going back east with me, I think.”
“I see. Well, just sign here, here and here and I’ll take care of the rest,” the lawyer instructed.
“Wonderful. I’m glad this isn’t going to take much time.” Riley sighed.
“No, no time at all. I’ll give you the box key for the safe and you can withdraw your money and be on your way. I hear tell you are a doctor and I’m sure you are anxious to get back.”
“That’s correct.” Riley tried to keep her voice low and formal.
Riley signed the papers
and handed them back to the lawyer. “I appreciate you handling this for her. She trusts you to handle the sale arrangements for her.”
“Fine, fine. I’ll take care of it all. Is there a minimum bid for the ranch?”
“Yes, $250,000 for the ranch itself and an equal amount for the stock and assets on the ranch. That’s the least she’ll consider.”
“Fine, I’ll have the proper papers drawn, put it up for sale and send her the details later, then. I would like to thank you both for putting so much trust in me.” The lawyer smiled.
“You have an impeccable reputation, sir,” Riley said and stood.
“Thank you. Well, that concludes all I need then.”
Sam and Riley excused themselves and left.
***
As they went back to their room, Riley twirled around the room. “It’s nearly over now…”
“Yeah, I guess it is.” Sam didn’t sound as happy but she ignored that.
“So…what now?” Riley asked.
“Now.” He looked at her thoroughly. “We get on our horses and ride like hell. We get that money and then you can rest,” Sam explained.
“Oh yeah, I guess you are right.” She smiled at him. “We need to get out there while Harry is here, right?”
“I’ll go get some riding clothes for you and be back with a little food before we take off,” Sam said, going to the window and stretching.
She ran up to his back and grabbed him around the middle. She laid her head on his back and drew breath. “Oh Sam, we did it, didn’t we? Do you have any idea how much I love you?”
He half-turned to look at her. “What did you say?” His face mirrored all his emotions at once.
She faced him squarely and smiled. “I said I love you. I have since the day I met you. Surely you knew it…”
He pulled away. “That’s a very serious thing to say to someone, Riley.”
“I know, and I know you probably don’t appreciate it, but it’s the truth and I’d have burst if I couldn’t say it to you at least once.” Riley smiled.
He turned away again, unable to cope with her revelation.
She squeezed his shoulders and smiled against him and when he turned to look at her, his emotions seemed to swamp him.
“Just once, don’t say anything, just let me bask in it for a few minutes. Let me enjoy being in love for a few precious minutes, it’s probably all I’ll ever have. It’s the most wonderful feeling I’ve ever had about another person, and you can’t imagine the wonder of being able to say it aloud. Just saying it makes me so happy. Even though you don’t feel the same…” She sighed with a smile.
“Riley!” he exclaimed and, after staring deep into her eyes, he pulled her into his arms for a kiss that curled her toes and melted her heart. “This isn’t right, it’s not going to work, but for just a few minutes,” he repeated as his lips covered hers in a promise.
His lips explored every inch of her face. His hands pulled her close, his thumbs seeking the peak of her breast through the cotton of her shirt as he wrapped his arms around her. She sighed, whimpered, and clutched him. Those feelings his thumbs evoked made her squirm. She’d never dealt with pure raw desire before.
He picked her up in his arms and carried her to the bed, his hooded, guarded glance never leaving her. He laid her gently against the sheets. He stared down at her for a long while, and she reached to pull him down to her.
“I want you to love me, if only this one time, so I remember it and cherish it. I love you. Please…”
Sam pulled away and stared into her eyes. “You don’t have any idea what you are saying…” He raised himself over her on one knee.
“Yes I do. I’ve thought of it for a long time now. Dreamed of it. I love you and want to be one with you.”
“No…this is as far as it goes.” Sam got off the bed and still stared down at her.
Tears she hadn’t shed clouded her vision. Hurt beyond belief, she stared back at him.
He shook his head and turned away. “I wouldn’t do that to you…”
“Do what…love me?” She raised her voice first then sat up.
“I won’t make love to you and leave you…I’m not an animal. And I won’t take the chance of getting you pregnant, Riley,” he insisted, grabbing his head.
“Then why leave me at all? Why can’t we be together, Sam?” she asked innocently. “You may not be able to say the words, but you sure act like you love me.”
He turned on her now and came to stand just before her. “Don’t you think I feel anything when I kiss you, touch you? I want to rip the clothes from you, and kiss every inch of you. I want to make you mine and give you babies. But I won’t do that to you. I won’t subject you to that kind of life.”
“By your refusal you subject me to much worse.” She let the words he spoke sink in for a long moment, then she looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “Well…then Sam Tanner, get out of here and don’t come back,” she wailed.
“What?”
“You heard me, get out of here. It’s torture being with you and knowing you won’t commit to me, even though I know you love me. You’re too proud to say it. But I know you love me. I’ve known for a while. But I don’t think you know how much yet. So go on, get out of here, now.”
“You’re serious?” He frowned at her now.
“Very. Get out!” she shouted. She threw a pillow at him. He dodged.
“Okay…but I’m not coming back no matter how many storms…”
“Fine…go on, get out.”
He stared at her for a long moment, then putting his hat on his head he nodded. “Goodbye, Riley.”
“Goodbye…” she whispered as he left and the tears came.
Chapter Fifteen
Riley had cried until no more tears would come. She held the pillow that held Sam’s head all night long. But it was over and she had to face it, come what may. Sam was gone! She’d run him off with her declarations of love. Why hadn’t she kept quiet?
The answer was simple; she had to let him know how she felt. Well, she did it, and ran him off for good. But for one minute she absorbed his words, he wanted to kiss her everywhere, make her his…
The next day, she realized the dream catcher was still hanging above her bed. She took it off the wall and put it in her small bag of belongings that she had purchased.
Remaining a man would benefit her now, so she stayed in her clothes, paid her bill and left.
When she went to get the money, she pulled it out of the safe and wrapped it in plain paper that the bank furnished her. There were no problems getting her money and she sighed with relief as she left the bank. She went to the livery stable and bought a horse and looked around for Midnight; he wasn’t there. Why would he be? Sam was long gone by now.
Sam was gone for good this time.
No one to love, no one to kiss, no one to companion, and no one to protect her from the storms. She was at last alone again and she hated it.
She went to the general store and bought coffee, jerky and then she spotted it on the shelf and tears came to her eyes. Peaches. Canned peaches. She bought two cans and stuffed them in a valise she had bought too.
But she stopped dead in her tracks when she heard a whining she thought she recognized. It was Nodog standing in an alley as she crossed the boardwalk.
“Nodog, is that you?” she questioned as she walked closer.
The dog whined and came near. She reached out her hand and realized it wasn’t Nodog, but a stray that favored his coloring. He licked her hand.
“Aw…what happened to you?”
She looked about to see if anyone was around, or claiming the dog.
“Don’t you fret, we’ll ride together,” she insisted.
And the dog followed.
“I’ll have to give you a name…how about…Friend. Yeah, I like that.”
The dog wagged his tail and followed along behind her and her horse.
The hollow of her heart ached for Sam like a feste
ring sore that wouldn’t heal, but she had to forget him. He wouldn’t commit to her and that was that. She wouldn’t be his whore, for one thing he wouldn’t let her, for another she wouldn’t let herself.
She wanted more than that with Sam. She wanted a life, a husband, and children. He couldn’t commit to that, so they had to separate, she kept telling herself. She couldn’t go on with him any longer, loving him like she did and not being able to consummate that love. A marriage between them would never be recognized and maybe Sam didn’t want to take her and marry her. That made sense, but she loved him, for God’s sake.
The rain had cleared the air and she rode for a long time without stopping. Friend followed along happily.
Food seemed unimportant to her, but she could tell Friend hadn’t eaten in a while. She would need to find some food. She spotted a rabbit and dismounting long enough to grab a large rock, she aimed and threw a rock at it. It tumbled over head first and she went to retrieve it. It wasn’t dead and she had to bang it’s head against the rock. Tears rushed down her cheek. “Sorry little fella…” Killer! After skinning it, she began cooking it over an open fire as she settled in for the night. Sam had taught her so much about self-survival that she wasn’t afraid any longer. Of course, having Friend by her side made her more confident too.
“What kind of dog are you, anyway?” she asked as she handed Friend a leg and thigh.
“You look sort of like Nodog, only your eyes aren’t as wild. I guess I’ll have to teach you a lot of things too. Definitely no wolf in you now that I get a good look at you.”
She camped by a creek the first night. The next morning, she made coffee and went on. Friend was trotting right alongside of her.
She passed a few people along the way, but she didn’t stop to talk to them or get involved with them. She had been much too involved with Sam. She wouldn’t make that mistake again. Not getting hurt meant not getting involved again.
By the third night, she was only a mile or two from her ranch. She made a camp and decided to go try to dig up the money that very night. She made Friend stay close at her heels and taught him to be quiet. He was easy to teach. There was no reason to wait and she needed to be out of the area by the time Harry came back. She wondered how long it would be before someone kicked him out of there.
Ask No Tomorrows Page 17
