Page 15 of More than a Memory
Sam pulled into Darcy’s drive and parked. As he walked her to the door, she invited him in, but he declined, promising to call her in the morning to make another date. He took her into his arms and hugged her tightly against his chest, her head resting just below his chin. Kissing the top of her head, he took in the smell of her to recall later.
“Get some sleep, Shamrock. I know I won’t.”
“Goodnight, Cowboy!” Laughing, she went into the house and closed the door behind her. Leaning her back against the door, she felt it was as if she were in a dream. There was an inexplicable sense of loss, like a part of her was now missing. Now that’s just plain crazy, she thought. Just then, the three dogs decided to get out of bed to greet her, a welcome interruption. She let them out for a potty break before heading to bed.
***
“You guys are bed hogs!”
As usual, Darcy was almost hanging off the bed as the dogs lay sprawled comfortably around her. They were already in a sound sleep, with Freddie lying on his back feet in the air and snoring.
She reviewed the entire evening, starting with Sam’s romantic gesture of red roses. She was off-the-charts attracted to him. His hard and rangy body, his strength and goodness, his calm demeaner, his sense of humor, all made her feel like a bear in the honey jar. When he had sang softly to her while leading her around the dance floor, it might possibly have been one of the most sensual things she had ever experienced. She couldn’t remember ever having felt so turned on and safe at the same time. She had let her guard down completely in that moment. She would have to be careful with this one. He seemed to have superpowers, as if he knew exactly how to speak her language, just like the song had said. Finally feeling sleepy, she turned out the light and slept the night through.
8
The next morning, as Sam went about doing his farm chores, he found himself whistling the song from the night before and remembering the feel of holding Darcy in his arms.
Gabe looked at him curiously and said, “What’s with the whistling? Did you win the lottery or something?”
Gabe worked and lived on the property in an old tenant farmhouse. Not only did he manage the farm for Sam, in addition to caring for the herd, his responsibilities included anything from fence repairs, planting, and baling hay, to being a general jack-of-all-trades. He was also Sam’s best friend. Gabe also took on horses with behavioral problems or just plain green horses to train. His reputation as a great trainer was growing, and he now had a waiting list of potential clients. He also gave a few riding lessons in natural horsemanship here and there and loved teaching. He felt it was a small way of giving back and a service to the often-misunderstood and mistreated equines. In his free time, he was in a country band and played at local bars and the occasional wedding.
“Even better. I met the girl of my dreams! I’m going to marry her, she just doesn’t know it yet,” Sam said, only half joking, and continued with his whistling.
“Do I know her?” Gabe asked.
“Nope, met her at a gathering last year and happened to run into her again at the grocery store the other day and we made a date and went out last night.”
“One date and you’re going to marry her. That’s priceless,” Gabe said, gently ribbing his boss and friend. “I didn’t peg you for the hopeless romantic type.”
“Then I guess you pegged me wrong, my friend,” Sam said, grinning. “When you know, you know.”
“Does this apply to both parties or could it be subjective?” Gabe teased.
“Well, I’d say I have my work cut out for me with this one. Darcy is gun shy and she doesn’t see herself as the marrying kind. She warned me that she wants to keep it casual,” Sam confided.
“Sam, you know you are kind of my hero and I feel a bit protective of you. My advice: take it real slow and don’t lay all of your cards out on the table. You will freak her out if you go talking about marriage after only one date.”
“I’ll take that under advisement. So, I shouldn’t get down on one knee just yet?” Sam said, laughing.
“Only if you want to see how fast she can run,” Gabe returned.
“Yeah, I already figured that part out. In all seriousness, as much as I like her, I would be wise to take it slow for my own sake. This one is special. A man could get into some serious trouble falling for a girl like Darcy.”
Finishing up with the last stall, Sam said, “I’m going to throw some hay down from the loft, then if you’d put a flake of first and second cut into each stall, we can call it a morning.”
“You got it, boss. Do you want me to bring in the horses now or leave them out to pasture until evening feed time?”
“It’s supposed to rain this afternoon and the temperatures are going to drop, so let’s bring them in,” Sam decided.
Sam had two horses of his own, Cody and Whiskey, and there were six horses that were boarded, two horses that were in training with Gabe, and Gabe’s own horse, Gil, a palomino, that he got to keep there, free of charge, as one of the perks of the job. In addition to his horses, Sam had a rooster and a few chickens for fresh eggs, a couple of barn cats, a border collie mix named Bella, and a bull terrier rescue named Mimi. Bella was a great farm dog and loved her job; Mimi not so much.
Sam could never have managed it all without Gabe. He and his sister, Casey, inherited the family farm where they grew up after their parents were killed. It had been put in a trust until Casey, the oldest, had turned eighteen. She had no interest in maintaining the farm, so when Sam reached legal age, she turned it over to him to manage. It had stayed vacant until Sam finished with vet school, then he moved right in and began the process of bringing the farm alive again. It was in his blood.
Gabe loved living in the tenant farmhouse, which Sam’s parents had kept as a rental for added income while they were still alive. Gabe had earned his bachelor’s degree in farm management from Michigan State University and had lucked out when he saw Sam’s ad in the paper. He was about to hit thirty and his dream of living on a farm and owning his own horse had come true.
Having spent every summer at his grandparents’ farm learning to ride at a very young age had instilled in Gabe a deep appreciation for and understanding of the nature of horses. He loved the farm. He loved the hard work of it, getting his hands dirty, working with horses. This was a dream job, as far as he was concerned, and he couldn’t have asked for a better boss or friend. Gabe played hard but worked harder, and he was honest and conscientious, despite his wild ways. Sam paid him very well, in addition to his rental and boarding perks, so he was making as much if not more than he might have at a bigger farm. It was a win/win for both men. They had become close friends and had a mutual admiration for one another.
“Let’s go, Bella,” Gabe said, enlisting the help of their herding dog.