Page 41 of Choosing the Montana Cowboy

Chapter Thirteen

Sam came walkingup to the back of the lodge later that afternoon, not feeling one bit guilty about his time out with Natalie. Or about sex down by the river. Whether a natural reaction from him finally breaking his dry spell or some invisible magnetism between them, Sam couldn’t seem to get enough of the woman. Just now, he’d been tempted to drive her back to his place for a pre-dinner quickie instead of straight to the lodge. Unfortunately, the fish needed cleaning and it was starting to get late.

But, more importantly, he didn’t want Natalie to get the idea that he only wanted one thing from her. No, he couldn’t imagine a time when he would turn down naked time with Natalie, but he craved more than just physical intimacy with her. He craved her smile, her touch, her laughter, her companionship. And, yeah, that scared him a little. But, dammit, they both seemed like they were overdue for some fun, and if he could meet her needs the way she met his, well, who was he to tip the apple cart?

Sam followed her up the back steps—so he could watch his pretty lady’s cute little ass as she walked ahead of him—and spied a piece of grass sticking out the back of her ponytail. He hurried to pluck it from her hair before she pulled the backdoor wide. They were two steps inside when Gran tore into the room like a late summer storm.

“It’s high time you two got back.”

He recoiled, the fish basket sloshing in his hands. “I told you we were going on a ride today, Gran.”

She shook her head. “That’s not what I’m talking about. We’ve been trying to call you for more than an hour, I was starting to worry something had happened.”

“I didn’t hear my phone.” He stepped from the mudroom and reached to pull the phone from his back pocket. It wasn’t there. Had he left it in the truck? Hell, had it even made it back to the truck after their fishing trip? “Damn, I sure hope I didn’t lose it when we were paddling back to shore.”

Or had it possibly fallen out of his pocket during certainotherextracurricular activities?

“Hang on,” Natalie said. “I’ll run out to the truck and see if it’s there.”

She was gone before he had a chance to decline her offer. Sam turned to his grandmother who, now that he looked more closely, looked mad enough to spit nails. “What happened?”

“Stubby is what happened.Again.Your father’s prized bull went on another rampage and tore out a section of fencing on the west side of the feed lots. He took off with a dozen or so cows on his heels. That damn steer is more trouble than he’s worth, and the man that needs to understand that isn’t in the country. Plus, you were gone, Norah and Madison are still gone, and your grandfather isn’t able to help much.”

Sam cursed. “Sorry, Gran, I really didn’t hear my phone. Hell, it might be at the bottom of the Marietta River.”

“Well, the boys are out there working to mend the fence as best they can for tonight to keep the other cows contained, but someone’s gotta get goin’ to retrieve those escapees.”

“If we can’t find my phone, I’ll take a two-way radio with me and start looking for Stubby and the others.” Sam gave her a quick hug. “Sorry to make you worry. Can you throw these fish on ice for me? We’ll have to cook them up tomorrow.”

She nodded. “And I’ll call Norah with an update—she and the girls were heading back early to help.”

Sam hated that Stubby was spoiling both he and his daughter’s fun, but that damned bull wasn’t the brightest. If this kept up, he might end up in the freezer next to today’s fishing catch. Hell, if Sam didn’t find him before nightfall, old Stubby might end up as someone—or something—else’s dinner.

Frowning, Sam hurried back out the door and found Natalie walking toward him, his phone held high.

“Found it! Was on the back seat.” She grinned, devious and delicious. “And we weren’t even back there.”

Laughing, he pulled her in for a kiss, bystanders be damned. “You’re my hero. Also, I’m afraid our fish fry has been postponed.”

Natalie stepped back and looked around, her cheeks pink. “Duty calls?” she asked.

“Yep. We’ve got a bull that’s been madder than a wet hen since the day we brought him home. Strong, too. He tore through half a mile of barbed wire last week that I’d just gotten fixed. Now he’s broken out of another area, and we’ve got another dozen or so cows on the loose.”

He ran a hand through his hair, trying to think things through. Sam hated to cut their day together short, but the clock was ticking for his missing cows. If night fell and they were away from the greater herd on the Yellowstone side of the ranch, there were far worse animals out there looking for a fresh meal.

“Go,” she said. “I’ll help Sunnie get our fish on ice.”

No pouting, no frown of disappointment, just a supportive woman giving her man room to do what needed to be done. It’d been a hot minute since he experienced that. He gave her hand a squeeze.

“Thanks for understanding. And for being brave today.”

“Thanks for being a great teacher.” She winked. “Just don’t expect me to be that brave every day.”

He laughed. “Fair enough.”

With a wink of his own, he jogged toward his truck. Damn, he really did hate to go. But they had tomorrow and a fish fry to look forward to. And maybe even a ride with Madison on the property to try to spot some black-footed ferrets. They’d probably need to take the ATVs instead of old Marshmallow and Estelle, though; he didn’t want to push Natalie too hard, too fast.

Because the more she was around, the more he was starting to want to push her.

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