Silently she prayed for it to open up and swallow her whole, while trapped by the disconcertingly blue stare of the rider she almost ran over. Samantha shut her eyes tight, willed away the sight, but when she opened them again, he was still there. For one totally indescribable minute, she experienced the vulnerability of a small animal about to be devoured by a marauding jungle beast.
Deborah nudged her forward. “Cody, I’d like you to meet Sam—”
Confusion momentarily clouded his eyes and then, “You.” She watched the rigid muscles in his jaw work overtime as he stiffened. “What the hell are you doing here, boy…” Cody broke off almost immediately. “Wait a darn minute…you’re no boy, you’re…dammit you’re a woman.” Annoyance clearly masked his severe features.
Samantha recovered her poise, tilted her chin at a proud angle, and refused to break his gaze.
“So, I guess you’ve met?” Deborah’s soft words broke the silence.
“Met? This woman almost ran me over yesterday,” Cody muttered dryly, without taking his eyes off Samantha.
The tension in the room could be cut with a knife. Everyone else ceased to exist. “An honest mistake, Mr. Bentley,” Samantha sputtered and matched his hostile glare. She took an instant dislike to the man. Her fine body hairs rose up in protective self-defense.
“That, Lady, was no mistake…just careless drivin’.”
His rudeness infuriated her right down to her toes. “Well, I don’t expect you to understand. You’re not much of a gentleman. Tell me, Mr. Bentley, do you always treat your guests with such emphatic rudeness?” she retorted in one breathless statement. He pinned her with a gaze so intense, her knees shook.
“Dammit, Cody, Samantha’s a guest.” Reece forestalled any reply by stepping between them.
Swiveling, Cody stomped out of the room, his boots clicked tersely against the tiles.
“Sorry ’bout that, darlin’.” Reece winked.
Samantha offered a light smile at his attempt at lightheartedness. Her body simmered with raw anger. Of all the nerve. She never met anyone as horrible as Cody. A brute of a man if she ever met one. Deborah’s earlier explanation suddenly made sense.
“Hey, girl, I’m sorry.” Deborah stepped forward and interrupted her mental distress.
Samantha uttered a dry laugh. “That went off well, wouldn’t you say?”
“The thing is, ’bout a month back, a ranch hand, while he exercised one of the mares, rode her out to the same crossing. A driver ignored the sign and ran the horse and rider over. The ranch hand broke an arm in the collision. The horse, however, broke one leg and injured another. Cody made the tough decision to have her put down. He loved that horse, and I guess the incident still bothers him a little.” Deborah gave her arm a gentle squeeze.
“Geez, thanks, now I feel much better.”
“Supper is ready,” Freda broke their chatter.
Samantha linked her hand in Deborah’s and they strolled into the aroma filled dining room. From the looks of it, the table creaked with delicious food from salad to buttery cob, casseroles to apple cobbler. Samantha’s appetite quietly evaded her. While her anger slowly dissipated and left in its place a grinding irritation. She’d gotten into a few squabbles yet never experienced anything as heated as the one she encountered today. Seated between Chance and Reece, she wondered whether Cody would join his family for dinner. As if her thought summoned him, he entered the dining room at that precise moment and sat down without so much as an apology.
The disaster between Cody and her took a back seat. Reece and Chance made a show of drawing her inconspicuously into the conversation. They teased her into constant giggles. The chuckles helped. Her appetite returned and she enjoyed the supper. While the conversation flowed around her, she savored the flavors of the beef casserole, a delicious new taste. Samantha found it relatively strange to see the ranch supervisor and housekeeper at the dinner table. She doubted her father possessed the domestic humbleness to invite their housekeeper to a sit down meal with his family. The coziness round the table created warmth she didn’t quite feel in her own home.
Despite the air of sublime congeniality, Cody ate his meal in silence until he looked up and said, “Please pass the potatoes, Reece.”
Samantha instinctively leaned forward and picked up the bowl. Cody’s gaze locked with hers. One brow rose and then his lips curved in the softest of smiles practically giving her whiplash as her neck jerked in surprise. Her breath hitched in her throat while briefly transfixed by a somewhat mysterious sparkle in those blue depths. God, she could drown in his eyes. Swim in them like they were azure waters of an uncivilized tropical island. Oh, my God, what am I thinking? Catch a wake up, Sam. Then he dropped his gaze. Stumped, she wasn’t sure what to make of this sudden smile. Is it his attempt at an apology? Not likely. He didn’t seem like the type of man who apologized easily.
Taking matters into his own hands again, Reece ended Cody’s silence and grasped Samantha’s attention when he said, “Cody is the real hero though with his mad dash between a birthing heifer and an injured brother.”
Cody lifted his head and cocked a brow. “You exaggerate too much, Reece. Ain’t nothin’, all in a day’s work.” Glancing down at his fork, he added, “Make sure you eat enough. You need the energy after the blood loss.”
“I ate plenty. But I sure could do with somethin’ sweet.” Reece gave Samantha a smoldering stare.
Startled, she choked on her water, set the glass down, and coughed. She squinted across the table and snagged Cody’s darkened gaze. It flickered between her and where Chance’s hand rested on the back of her seat, before returning to his plate.
Through the veil of her downcast long lashes, she feigned interest in her fingers and observed Cody. Aside from the hard curve of his mouth, he was extremely attractive, and no doubt painted a magnificent picture, when in a better mood. He wore his hair long, below the collar, and the soft chestnut color accentuated his eyes.
She was annoyed with her body for its open response to the sight of him at the animal crossing. He certainly didn’t warrant that traitorous defiance. Sexy body or not, right now he didn’t rank very high in her scale of charming men. She took the dessert plate Deborah offered and shoved aside thoughts of Cody once more.
The meal ended on a fairly light note. While she helped Deborah clear the table, Samantha pondered the best way to avoid any disastrous confrontations with Cody when Chance strode back into the dining room.
“Samantha?”
“Yes?” She glanced up as she lifted the casserole dish off the table.
Chance leaned casually against the arch entrance. “Reece and I are goin’ out to shoot some pool at Rustic Loafers. It’s our local hangout. Wanna join us?”
Of course, what better way to avoid Cody? “Sure, I’d love to.” Deborah returned to fetch more dishes and flashed Samantha a meaningful smile. “Debs, Chance has asked me to join them go shoot some pool, wanna go?”
“No, you go on and have some fun.” Deborah’s eyes twinkled merrily.
“Sure?” Sudden indecision crept up Samantha’s spine. Deborah’s keeping something from me.
“Uh-huh.” Deborah offered a quick smile and rushed out the room.
“I guess you guys have me to yourselves.”
“Oh, music to my ears, darlin’.” Chance chuckled. “Don’t get any ideas, mister.” She playfully wagged a finger. “Let me grab a jacket, and I’ll meet you outside, okay?”
“Sure thing,” he said then left the room.
Samantha wiped the rest of the table and scooted upstairs. After a swift change of clothes, she released her hair from its plait and brushed until it danced in soft curls below her waist. A quick blush, rosy lip-gloss, and a dab of her favorite perfume finished her look perfectly. She grabbed the black hat and headed for the door. As she stepped out, the toe of her boot caught awkwardly on the door ledge. Samantha tripped and fell forward. Her arms flailed in panic.
“Oof.” Strong arms gripped her waist and prevented her fall.
