Samantha's Cowboy. Marin Thomas

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СКАЧАТЬ been very complimentary. Her job at her father’s oil company often brought Sam in contact with arrogant, self-centered and opinionated businessmen. Bankers and investors considered themselves intellectually superior. Heaven forbid if they made a mistake or misjudged a situation—they’d never admit as much. But unlike most financial investors Wade had tempered his I-know-what’s-best attitude with generosity—offering to contact a drilling company and obtain estimates for a well. He’d gone out of his way to help her—maybe because he’d felt guilty his uncle had ignored one of the firm’s most wealthy clients. Although he’d given her no reason to trust him, she sensed Wade was an honorable man who would keep his word and not contact her father.

      Genuine niceness aside, Wade was handsome in a nerdy kind of way. She’d grown up around dusty cowboys and sweaty ranchers all her life and was surprised that she’d found Wade’s clean-shaven face, neatly styled hair, crisp clothes and clunky glasses attractive and…sexy. That was good and well but she had little in common with him. If she was smart she’d focus on the horse ranch and not her financial adviser.

      If Sam’s father caught wind of her plans he’d meddle in her affairs and guilt her into giving up her dream. She understood and sympathized with his overprotectiveness following her near brush with death and her long and arduous recovery. But the accident happened sixteen years ago. The time had come for both father and daughter to put the past behind them and move on.

      For years, she’d bowed to her father’s fear, allowing him to choose her path in life. No more. If her brothers, Matt and Duke, had the courage to defy their father and pursue their heart’s desire, then she could do no less.

      She wanted to make a difference and do something with purpose. She’d dreamed of opening a sanctuary ranch for years but worried she’d never overcome her fear of horses. She’d decided if her dream was to come true she needed to conquer her fears. A few months ago, behind her father’s back, she’d begun volunteering at the Tulsa SPCA equine center. Although horses terrified Sam, her previous injury hadn’t erased the memory of her love for the animals. She hoped by the time she completed renovations on the Peterson property she’d have no qualms about handling horses on her own.

      Sam admitted horses alone wouldn’t fill the void in her life. She dreamed of falling in love. Of finding a man willing to overlook her faults and put up with her memory lapses. With Duke happily married to Renée and living in Detroit and Matt heading down the aisle with Amy in a matter of days, Sam realized how alone she would be. Sure, her father pampered her when he was around, but his business travels took him away for weeks at a time.

      Juanita, their housekeeper, generously included Sam in her family activities but it wasn’t the same as having a husband of her own. One day Sam hoped to find a man who didn’t want children. As much as Sam loved children—motherhood was out of the question. Never again would she allow her handicaps to cause harm to a child.

      Her one serious relationship had ended in disaster when her absentmindedness had put Bo’s daughter, Emily, in danger. Not even the promise of inheriting the Cartwright fortune had kept Bo from believing he and Emily were safer without Sam.

      Matt had tried to heal her broken heart by setting her up on dates with his rodeo buddies. To this day, her brother wasn’t aware that one of the cowboys had used Sam’s forgetfulness to his advantage and had wiped out her checking account before riding off into the sunset.

      Although Sam was grateful for her family’s love and concern, their smothering had hindered more than helped her. The time had come to stand on her own two feet and make a play for the future she wanted—not the future others believed best for her.

      The Peterson mailbox came into view and she flipped on the blinker. As the truck bumped along the rutted road she made a mental note to add a fresh layer of gravel to her ranch improvement list. Halfway to the house Matt’s truck appeared in the rearview mirror.

      As soon as they parked their vehicles and got out, Matt motioned to the crumbling farmhouse. “What’s up with this place?”

      Flinging her arms wide Sam spun in a circle. “This is my birthday present to myself.”

      “You’ve got to be kidding.”

      “Nope.” Her smile faded at her brother’s grimace. “It’s not so bad,” she insisted, studying the home’s caved-in roof and broken windows. The outer walls leaned inward in danger of collapsing from a strong wind and the porch bowed like an old swaybacked nag. Sam’s stomach churned. Had she gotten in over her head? She hated when she second-guessed herself. “Say something,” she demanded at her brother’s silence.

      “I’m guessing Dad’s in the dark about this…present?”

      “Yes, and he’d better stay in the dark.” Matt’s eyes narrowed and she blurted, “I know what you’re thinking.”

      “No, sis, you don’t.”

      “You’re wondering if this is another one of those spur-of-the-moment decisions I’m famous for making.” The lingering side effects from the injury to her brain years ago weren’t horrible, just a nuisance—similar to a mosquito bite. One minute you were scratching, the next you forgot about the itchy bump.

      “Well, is it?” Matt demanded.

      “Not at all.” Once in a while she jumped the gun and made conclusions based on…well, nothing really. When she was nervous, she became forgetful, which often led to anxiety attacks. And lastly she tended to recall things out of order. She’d learned to compensate for her limitations by keeping lists and recording her activities. “I didn’t make this decision lightly and I weighed the pros and cons.”

      “The property is a dump. When’s the last time anyone lived here?” he asked.

      “Twenty-five years ago.”

      “How long has the place been on the market?”

      “Ten years.”

      “Give it to me straight, Sam.” Matt rubbed his brow. “Why hasn’t this land sold before now?”

      “The well’s going dry.” She raised a hand to forestall any lecture. “I’m aware that I’ll need a source of water if I intend to board horses.”

      “Horses?” Her brother’s face paled.

      Samantha squeezed his arm. “Promise you won’t tell Daddy, but I’ve been working with horses at the SPCA and I’m feeling more confident around them.” She sucked in a deep breath, grateful her brother hadn’t interrupted. “I intend to board horses that the SPCA can’t find foster homes for.”

      Matt studied her, then he brushed a strand of hair from her face and asked, “Will you have help?” He really wanted to know if there would be someone to watch over her.

      “I plan to hire a couple of hands.”

      Her answer appeared to satisfy him because he changed the subject. “Tell me you had a drilling company confirm a second water source before you signed the closing papers.”

      “Better than that,” she boasted. “I checked with Millicent, the resident water witch.” Sam had witnessed the old woman’s dousing stick wiggle and shake when they’d walked the property.

      “What do you mean resident?”

      Sam pointed beyond the barn to a shanty near СКАЧАТЬ