The Rancher's First Love

“What...”

She shot him a look and shook her head. Right. No talking.

He saw what had drawn her attention. A pregnant hound dog, skin and bones but about to whelp any day. The dog whimpered, then crawled out from under the truck. Sam sat back on her heels and the dog nuzzled into her lap, all big brown eyes and long ears.

“What are you going to do with her?”

Sam held the hound’s soulful face in her hands. “Take her home.”

“Duke and Jake will love that.”

“Duke and Jake don’t have a say in the matter. I’m not going to ask their opinion on every decision I make.”

“Or any decision,” he muttered, heading for his truck.

“You’re leaving?” she called out, sounding like she honestly didn’t want him to go.

He shook his head. “No, I’m getting you a lead rope for your new pet.”

When he returned with the rope she was standing, the underfed and overly pregnant dog standing next to her. He shook his head and handed her the rope.

“What?” She made a loop and put the rope around the dog’s neck.

“I’m just thinking that you’re asking for trouble.”

“She’s beautiful.” Sam brushed a hand down the dog’s head. “Maybe part bloodhound?”

Beautiful. He had to agree. Standing there in shorts, a T-shirt and with her hair pulled back, Sam was beautiful. He let himself get tangled up in everything he’d felt years ago. But those memories would get him nowhere. He pushed his hat back and refocused his attention on the dog.

“From the looks of that face and those ears, I’d say yes,” he agreed, reaching to let the dog sniff his hand.

“Who would dump a pretty girl like her?”

“Someone tired of puppies would be my guess.”

“Then they should have gotten her fixed.”

“I agree. I’m just giving you my opinion on why she’s been left on the side of the road.”

“Yes, because she’s going to have puppies.” Her expression changed from angry to something close to sad, then she walked away, the dog next to her. He watched them go, wondering what that look meant and fearing deep down that he didn’t know the whole story.

“Maybe she just got lost?”

Back at her truck, Sam opened the door and coaxed the dog inside. “That’s a possibility.”

“We can ask around. Someone might be missing her.”

“Yes, I’ll do that. I’ll put a poster up at Duke’s and at the grocery store.”

Inside the truck the dog had settled on the seat, happy to be inside. Sam fidgeted, her bottom lip caught between her teeth.

Ten years. They had become different people. They no longer knew each other. If he was honest, he’d admit they’d probably never known each other. They’d been kids. They’d both liked horses, rodeos and sitting down by the creek on a summer day.

It hadn’t been a relationship, his mom had informed him. It had been a summer romance.

The warm night air reminded him that it was summer once again. With that thought in mind, he had to head home, because now was the wrong time for him to get distracted.

“Thanks for...” she started at the same time he said, “I should go.”

“Goodbye, Rem. I’m glad we talked.”

“Yeah, me, too.”

She walked away from him and he watched her go. After she’d driven away, he sat on the tailgate of his truck for a while, thinking about that summer, about being seventeen and really believing he knew everything about life.

He hadn’t had a clue. He still didn’t have a clue. But he knew that Samantha Martin was in his past. That’s where she belonged. And that’s where a wise man would leave her.

He was smart, but he’d never been too wise.

Chapter Three (#ulink_4c08ec94-e65d-5f7f-af4e-322dc9dd0c5c)

Samantha woke up early the next morning. She loved waking up on the ranch, to the quiet broken only by country sounds. Dogs, a cow in the distance, a tractor working in a nearby field. Carrying her cup of coffee, she walked out to the barn.

After she’d gotten home last night, she’d put the pregnant dog in a stall with a bowl of leftover stew and a bucket of water. As she headed across the yard she could hear the animal whining.

“What’s going on, pretty girl?” She leaned across the top of the stall and peeked in. “Oh, I see.”

The dog yelped and turned to clean her new puppies. There were four already, still damp and squirmy. The mamma dog hovered over them, nervous about having company.

“Hey, what’s up?” A loud, chipper voice burst into the moment.

Lilly. Sam turned to greet her niece, Duke’s daughter. The surprise, as Sam liked to call her. Duke hadn’t known about his daughter until just last year. Sam loved the bubbly, energetic twelve-year-old. She secretly hoped the girl would keep Duke on his toes.

Sam held up a finger, and then pointed to the stall. “Shhh.”

Lilly silently tiptoed forward, her eyes going big when she looked inside and saw the dog. And now, five puppies.

“We should give her some privacy,” Sam said. “Let’s have breakfast.”

As soon as the two of them walked out of the barn, Lilly’s carefully contained energy uncorked. “Where did you get her? What’s her name? And did you know my mom is going to adopt a baby?”

Sam blinked a few times. Okay, this was news. And probably not the way Duke or Oregon wanted it announced.

“I’m not sure what to say, Lilly.” Sam cleared her throat. “You know, your parents might not want everyone to know.”

“Mom said I could tell you.”

“Oh, well that’s good. I didn’t know and I’m excited for them.”