Judge Nelson thought for several moments before saying, "She'll have to plead guilty. I won't accept a no contest plea on a major charge like this. You're giving me an idea here, though, Trevor. I'm still having trouble letting her plead when she'll only get five years. Sam, you're the one that's been harmed here and if there's something else I can stick in there that would help you, I will be happy to. What I'm thinking is we offer her the five years she wants, but in exchange for that she has to state in open court what she did."
Ms. Andrews asked, "A full confession of sorts?"
"Exactly. Sam, would that give you the closure you need, do you think?"
Sam smiled as she said, "I think that would really be helpful. I'm not sure I'd actually want to hear what she did to my dad, but I think it would put that last remaining doubt to rest."
"And that would be very helpful," Trevor added, looking at the judge. He nodded slightly, which told Trevor he understood the importance of his words.
They talked a bit more, making sure everyone was in agreement and that the prosecutor understood the deal she was to offer. Trevor and Sam left, after being assured they'd be kept up to date on the case.
Chapter 15
They returned to The Circle N the next day and tried to get things back to normal, but Trevor could tell Sam was anxious. He vowed to keep a close watch on her. When she had something on her mind she became preoccupied and that's when she could be dangerous. Her safety was the last thing on her mind then.
Two days later he came in for lunch to find her staring at the computer. "What's up, Honey?"
"Nothing. Did you hear anything yet?"
"No, not yet. Sam, Ms. Andrews will probably call you, not me, but if I do hear anything I'll let you know right away." He took her in his arms and said, "Honey, you need to relax. It could be weeks yet before we hear anything."
"Weeks?"
"You heard what they said. Her trial's not for six weeks yet and it could be delayed beyond that. She'll probably take some time to think about the offer."
"But what's there to think about? If she has a chance at five years she should jump on it."
"I think it's a good deal for her, too, but remember, if she jumps on this chance, she'll also be jumping into prison and I don't imagine she's real anxious to do that."
"Then the bitch shouldn't have killed my father."
"Samantha Louise Simmerly!" Before she even realized what she'd said, he had her turned sideways and landed five solid swats on her jean-covered butt. "You know that language will never be accepted."
She turned around to stare at him, with her hands on her hips. She opened her mouth, then saw his expression. She closed her mouth and her shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry, Trevor."
He pulled his hotheaded, but adorable little lady in against him for a hug and kiss. Still holding her to his chest, he said, "I know, Sweetie. I know how anxious you are. But why? Why is it so important to you? Do you hope she takes the plea deal so you don't have to testify, or what?"
"No. I really hope she takes the deal because I want to hear a confession. I think you're right. If I hear that, then I'll be able to rid myself of any doubt. I want so badly to believe my dad still loved me and wanted me to have the ranch, and I do believe it, mostly, but I keep hearing her denying it. I think it's important that I hear her confess it."
He held her for several minutes before they went to have lunch.
It was a full week and two more quick attitude reminders later that Sam got the phone call she'd been waiting for. Ms. Andrews called to say she'd accepted the plea deal. She wanted to have her appear in court in two days, on Friday, if they could be there then. She quickly said, "I'll have to call Trevor to be sure, but I think we can be there. I'll call him and call you right back."
Trevor was repairing a line shack when he got a call from Sam. He'd barely answered when she said, "Trevor, she's taking it, she's taking it! Can we be there on Friday for her to plead guilty?"
He was as relieved as she sounded. "Honey, we'll be there whenever they want to do it. We can go down tomorrow and be there anytime they want to do it on Friday."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you. See you at noon. I've got to call her back and tell her we'll be there." The line went dead and Trevor had to laugh. He was extremely relieved, as well. Listening to June confess Friday would not be easy, but he hoped it helped Sam put all doubts behind her once and for all.
They sat in court two days later and listened to June as she did in fact confess to everything. To Trevor's surprise, she even admitted that their chance meeting wasn't by chance at all. She had heard about the owner of this big ranch that had lost his wife. She figured if he had a big ranch he had big money. She did some snooping and found out he only had one child and she was off at college, so she figured she had to work fast while the kid was still gone. She said it quickly became quite clear real early on just how fast she'd have to work because he truly loved his daughter and was extremely proud of her. He definitely meant for her to inherit the ranch, so she knew she was going to have to somehow trick him into signing a new will.
Trevor tightened his hold on Sam, who had silent tears streaming down her face.
She said she found a young attorney, Matt Kline, that she knew was having money problems and that's who she bribed. It was up to him to make sure he was the one going to the ranch to get the will signed. She explained how he had accomplished that. He had a friend make a call pretending to be a client they had, saying he needed a contract the next day. That kept his boss busy all day, so he sent the younger Matt Kline out to get the signature. Everything else had been pretty much as they thought, with her stealing her sister's medicine to give to him. She admitted everything.
After her confession, Judge Nelson asked her how she wished to plead and she quietly said, "Guilty." The judge accepted her plea, found her guilty and sentenced her to ten years in prison, suspended five of them, but to be followed by five years probation. They put handcuffs on her and led her away.
Hers was the last case before lunch, so the courtroom was empty after she left. Trevor turned Sam's head gently to look at him and asked, "Are you okay after hearing her confession?"
Sam swiped at the tears coming from her eyes and said, "Yes. Thank you for suggesting the judge makes her do that, Trevor. I somehow feel freer now."
"You are free now, Honey. You're free to love your father again, completely. He loved you and was tricked, plain and simple. And now your stepmother is going to pay for it."
Sam smiled for the first time. "Yeah, he did love me, for real, didn't he? And he did want me to have the ranch."
Trevor hugged her tight. "He most definitely did. And I think he's very proud of you right now for not letting her get away with it."
They had lunch, then Trevor asked, "Sam, how about showing me this ranch you grew up on now?"
She smiled and said, "I'd love to. I really want to drive by and see it again."
Trevor was elated to hear that. Sam had gotten the assurance of her father's love that she needed. He helped her in their SUV, got in behind the wheel and asked, "Which way?"
She talked excitedly the whole way there, telling him story after story. He could see the enthusiasm in her now that had been missing. When they got to the ranch Trevor pulled into a lane off to the other side of the road so they could look at it. She was showing him things that had changed and things that looked different. She pointed out the little building she and her dad built for her as a playhouse when she was little. But she confessed she didn't use it much as a playhouse, but pretended it was her barn, on her own ranch.
Trevor laughed as he said, "You were a little cowgirl even back then, weren't you?"
They were so engrossed in their conversation that neither of them noticed the pickup pull in behind them. When the man knocked on Trevor's window they both jumped. Trevor rolled down his window and the man asked, "Can I help you? Are you looking for someone?"
Trevor said, "I'm
sorry, sir, we aren't here to cause any harm. I'm Trevor Nottingham and this is Samantha Simmerly. We just came from ––"
"Simmerly?"
Trevor answered, "Yes, sir."
"As in Hank Simmerly?"
"That was my dad," Sam announced proudly.
"Is what I've been reading in the papers true, that that lady he married slipped him some drugs and he didn't know what he was doing when he gave her the ranch?"
Trevor quickly answered, "Yes, it is. We just came from court, where she confessed it all."
The man looked at Sam and said, "I'm real sorry about your dad, miss. I have heard a lot about him since we bought this place and it's been nothing but good."
"Thank you," Sam told him, beaming. "He was a good man."
"I probably don't have any business asking this, but are you going to be trying to get the ranch back, if she had no business selling it?"
Sam quickly assured him, "No. No, you bought it fair and square. If you ever decide to sell it I wouldn't mind having a chance at buying it back, but no, it's your ranch now. I just came by to look at it one more time."
Trevor added, "She has a lot of memories here. She came to visit those memories one last time."
The man held out his hand and said, "I'm sorry. I'm John Appleby. My wife and I bought this ranch from the lady that I guess was your stepmother. I'm sure you've got memories of this ranch that my wife and I would love to hear. Why don't you come up and tell us about some of them?"
"Seriously? You wouldn't mind if I look a little closer one last time?"
"I'm sure you can fill me in on why some things are the way they are. Come on in."
Trevor told him, "Thank you. We'll follow you."
They spent the rest of the afternoon and evening visiting with John and Jean Appleby. Jean wouldn't hear of them not staying for supper with them. They were both learning a lot about their ranch, which was helpful. Once June inherited the ranch the hands all left, so there was no one to show them the inside workings. Sam was providing helpful information for them, while recalling many fond memories.
Sam felt good as they went back to their motel that evening. "Trevor, I feel a lot better after meeting John and Jean. They truly love the ranch, don't they?"
"They sure seem to."
"I'm glad the ranch has some good owners again. They're keeping it up, too. It looks good."
"I noticed that, too."
When they got back they had a message from Karen Andrews, asking if they could stop by her office in the morning before they left to go home. She had something for them.
Trevor locked Sam's motel room door and tucked her into bed that night. He would have loved to crawl into her bed with her, but he was determined to do this right, even if it killed him. And looking down at her, he was afraid it might. Sam was a special lady, though and she deserved to be treated special. So as hard as it was, he gave her one last kiss and went to his adjoining room for the night.
After breakfast the next morning they stopped in to see Ms. Andrews. "I have something for you, Sam. Since she was found guilty, her assets that have been frozen are now yours. The amount of restitution she was ordered to pay back will be reduced by this much, but she'll still owe a substantial amount. I have an accounting here for you and a certified check for the cash she still had in her accounts. I also have the deed to her condo, which you can keep as a vacation home, or sell. We're still searching to see if she has other accounts and we'll let you know if we find anything. It will be turned over to you, as well, if we find any."
Trevor asked, "Why are you still looking; do you expect to find something else?"
"Frankly, yes, we're hoping we do. Once you account for the cash on hand and the condo and the vehicle, there's almost four million dollars missing."
Sam and Trevor looked at each other, both shocked. Trevor asked, "There's four million unaccounted for?"
"Almost that much, yes. I know she did some traveling, but I can't think she spent that much traveling, so we're still hoping to find some somewhere. If we find any we'll let you know. Her condo has been appraised at $975,000, just so you have an idea of its value. If you decide to sell it you'll probably want to get another appraisal, but that gives you something to go on. Here's your certified check for almost six million dollars."
Sam's mouth dropped open. Ms. Andrews was concerned. "Sam, were you expecting more?"
"No. No, I wasn't really expecting anything. I mean, I guess I knew I'd get something, but I was so worried about her giving a confession that I never even thought of the money." She looked down at the check, then over at Trevor, who was smiling at her.
Trevor thanked her again for all her help and they left.
On the drive home they talked about what had happened. Sam said, "I just wish Clay could have been here in court to see how it ended. He did all the work, it's a shame he couldn't be here."
"I agree," Trevor said, "although I doubt he's complaining too much, working in Hawaii for a month."
"Yeah, probably not," Sam agreed, laughing. "We'll fill him in on everything he missed."
They stopped for supper on the way home at a restaurant Trevor knew Sam would like. Just as he thought, she loved it. It was a good place for her to relax after the day she'd had. When the band started a slow song, Trevor stood and reached for her hand. "I love you, Sam. May I have this dance?"
They spent the next hour dancing, enjoying the music and relaxing after a rough day.
They made it home late that night and he walked her back to the guesthouse and told her good night.
She got up the next morning, Sunday, to fix breakfast for Trevor, Grant and Consuela. Together the two of them filled Grant and Consuela in on their trip, down to the wonderful time they had meeting and getting to know John and Jean Appleby. Trevor told them she got part of her money back, but no amounts were mentioned.
Consuela was glad this ordeal was over for Sam and that she and Trevor seemed so happy. She told the couple, "I'm going to spend the day with my friend today. Do you have plans?"
Trevor told her, "Yes, we do."
Sam looked over at him. "We do?"
"Yes, we do. I'm taking you out for a nice supper tonight. I think we should celebrate tonight. That's behind us now and we can move forward with our lives."
"Oooh, I like the sound of that." She looked at Consuela and Grant and said, "Yes, we have plans tonight. And I'm really excited."
They shared a friendly laugh. Grant said, "You two have a good time tonight. You can tell us all about it tomorrow at lunch."
"Will do," Sam said.
"Well, parts of it anyway," Trevor said, raising his eyebrows and looking at Sam seductively.
Consuela said, "Oh, my. Mr. Trevor, you behave yourself, or I'll take my wooden spoon to your backside again."
Sam laughed as she asked, "Again?"
Consuela said, "Yes, again. When Mr. Trevor was growing up he felt my wooden spoon on his backside more than once."
Looking at Trevor, Sam said, "Oh, I'd pay to see that."
Grant added, "And you can afford to now, too."
They all laughed. They kept up the friendly chatter as they cleaned up the kitchen together.
Sam was so relieved her ordeal was over that she'd been wound tight all day. Trevor took her riding that afternoon, hoping that would settle her down a bit. They sat down by a pond and he pulled her back up against his chest. They talked about how nice it was to be back home on the ranch.
She was squirming the entire time they were sitting there. Finally Trevor asked, "Sam, do you have ants in your pants? You haven't been still for two minutes since we got here."
"Sorry," Sam offered, "but I can't help it. I've got all this energy that's pent up inside of me." She saw a tree not far from them and said, "Look, a perfect climbing tree!" She jumped up and ran to the tree, with Trevor in hot pursuit.
She grabbed onto the first limb and pulled herself up, just as Trevor got there and, with his hands around her
waist, set her back on the ground. "Sam, behave yourself."
"But I've been climbing trees since I was little."
"I don't want you climbing trees when you're this wound up. You've got too much energy in that little body of yours, I agree, but there are safer ways of spending that energy than climbing trees. We can jog around the pond if you want to work some of that energy off, or we'll take a walk, but I don't want you climbing trees until you calm down a bit."
"You worry too much," she said as she tried climbing back up into the tree again.
He pulled her back down again and gave her butt a good whack as he set her on the ground. "Sam, behave yourself. If I have to tell you again you'll be nursing a sore butt on your ride back to the barn."
"Spoil sport," she muttered. "Can we go down by the pond at least?"
"We can go down there." He had his hand on her back and was leading her down toward the water, when she took off running. She was back up to the second limb again before he got there. This time when he pulled her down he didn't set her on the ground. Instead, he carried her to a fallen log and sat down, laying her over his lap.
Sam knew what he was planning and used a good deal of her energy to prevent it. Trevor watched her wriggle and squirm and let her go for a full minute before reaching underneath her to unfasten her jeans. He pulled them down, then her panties and watched her squirm again. This time he let her struggle for over a minute. She was not only using up her excess energy, but giving him a wonderful show in the process. She had a beautiful bottom, but as much as he'd be happy just watching it squirm for another ten minutes, he had a point to make.
"Sam, I warned you what would happen if you tried climbing that tree again right now. When you're so full of energy you take too many chances. And up in a tree is not a good place to be taking chances. This is one of those times you definitely need someone to look out for you."
"I would have been fine," she argued.
Six good swats later he said, "Maybe, but your safety is not something I'm willing to take chances with. You knew what would happen if you attempted that again, but you just can't help yourself sometimes, can you?"
Count This Cowboy In Page 20
