Sam had experience with difficult families, but Carson’s family still overwhelmed her just the same.
Carson insisted she sit in a recliner while he waited on her hand and foot. She didn’t protest much; she was still woozy. Her helmet had saved her life. When Burke had hit her with that rock, the helmet had split like an egg, but it protected her head. She had a minor concussion and a few large lumps and lots of bruises. She’d needed some stitches on her arm and her head, but mostly her cuts had been superficial, even though there had been a lot of blood.
It seemed like hours before the place cleared out until the only people left were her, Carson, and Bridget.
Sam wanted Carson to herself, but Bridget settled into a chair with a full glass of wine. A knowing look passed between her and Carson. Bridget would leave when Bridget was ready to leave. There would be no hurrying her.
Sam rubbed her eyes and smiled weakly. “Have you seen Juan? I want to thank him. Carson and I stopped by the barn. He wasn’t there.”
“He’s gone.”
“Gone?”
Bridget nodded. “He packed up whatever stuff he had at the barn into that old piece of crap of his and left.”
“Why would he do that?”
“He gave me a note to give you.” Bridget dug around in her Coach purse and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper.
My work here is done.
Take care, Juan
“How odd.” Sam frowned and passed it on to Carson. “You don’t think...”
“I don’t know what to think.” Carson’s brow wrinkled in puzzlement.
“He wasn’t undercover. He was just plain crazy.” Bridget rolled her eyes.
“Then why would he leave just like that?”
“I think he bit off more than he could chew and ran out on us. Who’s going make sure the stalls are clean tomorrow? Who’s going to...”
“Shut up, Bridget.” Carson glared at her.
“Well, how rude.”
Carson shot her one of his patented tight-ass glowers. “There was more to him than first appeared. He lost his accent when he was under pressure. He knew how to handle a gun. I think the guy might have been undercover.”
“Well, duh. He always played like he was under cover.”
“I mean for real. He was an agent of some kind.”
“An agent of strange maybe.”
“He could have been.” Sam chewed on a fingernail. “What happened to Dr. Matt and Burke?”
“They’re locked up for horse scams and murdering Brandland’s wife.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Emily Brandland knew that Burke and her husband were having an affair.” Bridget took another slow sip of her wine. At this rate she’d be here all night.
“Dr. Matt is gay?”
“Or bi.”
“Anyway, she didn’t care because she was having an affair with Hans, who is actually married to an invalid woman in a nursing home.” Bridget sat in a chair and scooted closer to Sam. Her eyes lit up at the excitement of dishing out the dirt. “They killed her because she was onto their scams. She’d threatened to report them.”
“Hans has a wife?”
“That was our reaction, too.” Carson shot her a lopsided grin.
“What kinds of scams were they operating?”
“Oh, they were very diverse, which is why the feds were always one step behind them. That, and horse fraud doesn’t get much attention.”
“So what were the scams?” Sam was getting annoyed and impatient.
Bridget paused to make sure she had their full attention. “They were selling unmanageable and unsound horses for top dollar to rich middle-aged women. Brandland would keep the horses drugged during the sale to mask the problems, and of course, they’d pass the vet check. When the horses didn’t work out, no one thought anything of it because their victims were usually horrible riders who had ruined horses in the past. Once the horse became unrideable, Burke would offer to buy it back for a portion of the price, they’d resell, and start over again. They were also selling perfectly good horses, making them appear lame or unmanageable down the road by injuring or drugging them. Some they’d buy back cheap, and resell for a huge price when the horse miraculously recovered. If the animal didn’t recover, it didn’t matter to them because they’d most likely sell another horse to that client. Brandland was also performing surgery on horses when they didn’t need it and charging clients astronomical amounts for treatments and surgeries he didn’t do.”
Sam was in shock. She’d known both men for a very long time and had the utmost respect for them as decent people and as dedicated horsemen. It appeared they were neither. “Dr. Matt has always been considered one of the best vets in the state. Why would he resort to something like this?”
“Money.” Carson inserted before Bridget could open her big mouth again. “Brandland was deeply in debt because of his expensive new state-of-the-art vet clinic and the costs of running it. He also had a closet drug problem, as did Burke. They both lived way above their means and needed to finance their lavish lifestyles.”
* * * *
Hans watched as she loaded another box in her beat-up pickup truck, which Carson had resurrected from the dead.
“You’re leaving?” He sounded surprised.
“That was the deal.”
“It was. Then.”
“Has something changed that I’m not aware of?”
“You didn’t get a chance to show at Regionals. You would have won.”
“It’s hard to tell with horses. They do have their own minds.”
“Especially that horse.”
Sam shrugged. “A deal is a deal.”
“I’m willing to reconsider and continue to work with you. I believe I can make a silk purse from a cow ear.”
“You want me to stay?”
“I would be honored to have you as my assistant trainer.”
“I can’t stay here.” It wasn’t working for Hans that would be the problem. Nor was it that small matter of paying back her father and stepmother. It was the larger matter of being in love with Carson. She’d ended up back in his bed this past week, her personal reward for all she’d been through. Carson had been attentive and affectionate. Yet something was going on. He’d been behaving strangely since her near-death experience, making secret phone calls, disappearing for hours without explanation. Maybe he had someone else?
“Sam?”
Sam jumped at the sound of her name. “Oh, sorry, Hans.”
“This is for you.” Hans handed her a letter. Sam took it and studied it. It was opened. “You opened my mail?”
Hans shrugged. “It came in the midst of all of this chaos. I believed it might be important and time-sensitive, so I took the initiative to look after your best interests.”
Or his? Sam saw the United States Equestrian Team logo on the envelope. She held her breath, not daring to think what it could mean. With trembling hands, she ripped the envelope to get at its contents. “Oh, my. Oh, my.” She grabbed a stall door. For a moment she came close to fainting. “They’re inviting Gabbie and me to train at the Team headquarters this fall as part of their developing horse and rider program.”
Hans smiled a rare smile. “You’ve earned it. So has the horse.”
Sam’s face fell. “She’s for sale, and I’m leaving.”
“This changes things. We need to find a buyer who will be willing to keep you as the rider as long as I am the trainer. I have many connections.”
“You would do that for me?” She ignored that persistent voice warning her to leave now while her heart was semi-intact.
“Of course, and for me.”
Sam laughed, despite her feeling of dread that even Hans couldn’t pull this rabbit out of his hat. And if he could, perhaps it’d be better if he didn’t.
* * * *
Sam leaned against the stall door and watched Gabbie munch contentedly on her hay.
“Good news from the vet.” Carso
n walked up beside her.
“Yes, it was.” Sam swallowed.
“She’ll be fine. No side effects from our wild ride, and the bullet just grazed her skin.”
“She looks good.”
“You don’t sound too thrilled.”
“I’m thrilled for you.”
“For me?” Gabbie left her hay to nuzzle Carson. His old t-shirt once again had a swath of horse slobber on it.
“You’re going to get your money out of her.”
Carson was quiet for a moment. “I met with the director of the handicapped program this morning.”
“Oh, Carson. How did that go?”
His blue eyes lit up like a cloudless summer sky. “She signed a long-term lease. It’s not exactly going to make Cedrona solvent, but Mom’s working on fund-raising options.”
“That’s wonderful. So you must have sold Gabbie.” She hated asking but had to know.
“No, I didn’t.”
“Why not?”
“She’s not for sale.”
“She’s not?”
“No, she’s not. She’s an Olympic team contender. You can’t buy that kind of publicity. She’ll make a name for the new equestrian center and the competition expenses will be a tremendous write-off.”
“How did you afford the brewery?”
“I didn’t.”
“Oh, Carson. I know what that place means to you.”
“Sometimes you have to make tough choices.” He smiled at her. “My grandfather would approve of this one.”
What are you going to do with Gabbie?”
“She’s going to be a wedding present.”
“Bridget is getting married?” Sam held her stomach as it threatened to rebel. She felt ill. All her hard work and Bridget would realize the benefits. Life wasn’t fair.
“Guess again.”
“I haven’t a clue. Who?” Her throat tightened, and she found it hard to speak. He couldn’t mean...
“My wife.” He moved toward her until they were toe to toe. He pulled a small box from his pocket. “This wasn’t exactly how I planned to do this, but somehow it seems appropriate for you and me.”
Sam opened her mouth then shut it. She didn’t dare voice what she was thinking.
“I love you, Sam. Do you realize that?”
“I hoped that you did, but I didn’t know for sure.”
“Well, I do.”
“If you’re giving me a wedding present, there has to be a wedding.”
“And a groom?”
“Any volunteers for that job?”
“It’ll be tough, but I think I know a man for the job.”
“Do you know him well?”
“The real question is do you know him well enough to spend the rest of your life with him?”
“Oh, yes, I do. He’s the nicest, sweetest man on earth. For a tight ass, that is.” She put her hands on his chest. “I love you, Carson.”
“I love you, too, baby. You aren’t just marrying me for my horse, are you?”
“Well, that’s a tough one. She’s a pretty attractive incentive.” Gabbie pricked her ears, knowing they were talking about her.
Carson took the ring from the box and slipped it on her finger. Sam wiped tears from her eyes. “It’s not very big, but I didn’t think you’d want anything large.”
“It’s perfect. I love it.” And she really did. “So what’s your plan for our future, Carson?”
He laughed. “For once, I haven’t worked out all the details. Hans is staying on. We’re living in the ranch house. Dad’s retiring next year and wants me to take over Reynolds Corporation. I’ve got some ideas that I think will put us back on top. We’ll pay off your father as soon as we can. Gabbie and you are going to train with the Team. Other than that, who the hell knows?”
Sam wrapped her arms around his neck. “We know. We’ll make it with our own combination of organization and chaos.”
Carson pulled her close and kissed her until their gift horse stuck her big head between them and demanded attention.
~ THE END ~
COMPLETE BOOKLIST
The following Jami Davenport titles are available in digital and many are available as trade paperbacks.
Evergreen Nights Series
Save the Last Dance
Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed?
The Gift Horse
Madrona Sunset
Game On in Seattle
Skating on Thin Ice (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)
Crashing the Net (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)
Love at First Snow (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)
Melting Ice (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)
Blindsided (Seattle Steelheads Football)
Hearts on Ice (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)
Bodychecking (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)
Bottom of the Ninth (Seattle Skookums Baseball)
Game Changer (Seattle Steelheads Football)
Goaltending (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)—May 2017
Men of Tyee
Sacked in Seattle—August 2017
Seattle Lumberjacks Football Series
Fourth and Goal
Forward Passes
Down by Contact
Backfield in Motion
Time of Possession
Roughing the Passer
Standalone Books
Christmas Break
Daring to Win (Carly Phillips’ Dare to Love Kindle World)
Game for You (Bella Andre’s Game for Love Kindle World)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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USA Today bestselling author Jami Davenport writes sexy contemporary and sports romances, including her two new indie endeavors: the Game On in Seattle Series and the Madrona Island Series. Jami's new releases consistently rank in the top fifty on the sports romance and sports genre lists on Amazon, and she has hit the Amazon top hundred authors list in both contemporary romance and genre fiction multiple times. Jami ranked Number Seven on Kobo's Top Ten Most Completed Authors, an honor bestowed on the year's "most engaging" authors based on an average page completion rate by their readers.
Jami lives on a small farm near Puget Sound with her Green Beret-turned-plumber husband, a Newfoundland cross with a tennis ball fetish, a prince disguised as an orange tabby cat, and an opinionated Hanoverian mare.
Jami works in IT for her day job and is a former high school business teacher. She's a lifetime Seahawks and Mariners fan, is waiting for the day professional hockey comes to Seattle, and still misses her SuperSonics. An avid boater, Jami has spent countless hours in the San Juan Islands, a common setting in her books. In her opinion, it's the most beautiful place on earth.
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