Chapter 16
Robbie was openly shocked by Aggie's looks. She was the kind of woman that made every head in the restaurant turn, when she walked in, like today. They had agreed to meet for dinner, Jake wanted them to meet Aggie in a neutral setting, without a ranch as the host for it, theirs or Aggie's. After the initial introductions, the waiter took their drink orders and Sam heard the deep melodic tone in her voice. She could just imagine that Aggie would have a beautiful singing voice too. Sam seemed to be watching a movie, instead of participating in the evening around her. She was glad that Lily had gone with Jericho to the steakhouse for dinner. Jericho had suggested that Lily meet her later and not be there for this first meeting. Sam was really grateful now, because she wanted to hear everything this woman said. Jericho wanted Sam to feel able to talk, without having to watch what she said, when he had made the offer. Sam was very glad now that Jericho was so intuitive about her feelings and caring of Lily's too.
Aggie was telling Robbie the history of their ranch, but Sam barely heard a word. She was watching Jake, as he leaned back in his chair, more comfortable than she had ever seen him. A twinkle in his eye, told Sam that he cared a great deal for this woman. She made herself sit up straight an start to pay attention. "Sam, Jake tells me you used to do quite a bit of Barrel Racing, do you still race?" Aggie asked her. Sam shook her head no, "Used to, is the right word. Too old, I hurt my back during a race and have to be careful how much stress I put on it now." Aggie leaned in closer to her, "Me too! I'm older than you, so we wouldn't have ridden in the same race class, but I bet we were at some of the same ones." Sam realized that Aggie was trying to draw her into the conversation and find a common ground that she would feel more comfortable talking about. That was ok with Sam, she admired Aggie's ability to see how people were feeling and try to ease the situation for them. She didn't happen to own the same conversational quality however, she struggled in situations like this one and wished that she could eat in the kitchen.
Jake laughed, "I remember being so jealous of Sam's riding ability. She could always out ride me, even when she was tiny." Sam looked at him, "I never knew that Jake." He nodded, "Don't worry Sis, I am quite comfortable riding for work and nothing else, these days. I love a truck!" They all laughed, knowing that he did love his truck. Sam had never seen Jake drive a car. "What about Lily, are you going to teach her to race?" Jake asked. Sam hadn't given any thought to that possibility at all, it was a dangerous sport. "No. I don't think she even knows about racing." Sam said quietly. Robbie took note of Sam's quietness, "See what it feels like to think your child might in danger?" she said softly. Sam smiled, "It's a unique feeling, I have to admit. How do you let a kid try new stuff and stay sane, Mom?" Robbie laughed, "You don't have fingernails, I'll tell you that much!"
Aggie laughed with them, but Jake was silent. That worried Sam a little, he should have at least smiled, she thought. Robbie noticed it too and she knew why Jake didn't appreciate her little joke. Jake had not participated in groups as a kid, he was too much to handle for coaches or organizations, always fighting with his team mates. Sam had joined anything she could, excelling at most of them and Robbie had always known that this was a sore spot with Jake. He looked at Sam and said, "I used to be jealous of everything. These days..I just feel content." He reached over and took Aggie's hand. She smiled at him as though they were alone in the room. "I'm glad Jake. You deserve some quiet time." Sam told him from her heart. Jake looked over at her in surprise, understanding exactly what she had meant, but didn't say anything.
As she sat there at the table with this small group of people, her family, Sam realized that she really didn't hold any animosity toward Jake. This shocked her a bit, since she had always been afraid of what he would do next. And.. she actually envied his relationship with Aggie a little, although, she didn't have the time or the inclination to find an adult relationship now. Lily would be all that she needed. The evening ended and they all said goodbye in the parking lot and Sam and Robbie headed home.
"Well, what did you think of her?" Robbie asked. "I thought she was absolutely beautiful." Sam responded. Robbie laughed, "I know. But what about..her and Jake?" Sam glanced over at her, "They seem to be in sync. She responded to his every move, quite gracefully, actually." Robbie thought about the way Sam had put it and said, "Sam, are you wishing you had a special someone?" She laughed, "No Mom, I'm really not. I am very satisfied the way things are. I still have a lot to learn about being a mom, I don't think I could handle any other relationships now."
Robbie was a little saddened by this, but she understood. Poor Sam, she had so much on her shoulders to deal with, now that Luke was gone. Robbie stared out into the darkness, thinking of Luke now, they had been in sync too, for many years, it was hard to think about never having that again.
Sam thought about Aggie and Jake as she went about her chores the next morning, the way they seemed to know each other's thoughts and were in agreement. It somehow put a new light on the subject of relationships for Sam. Jericho drove up to the corral and called her over. "I sent Matt down to the low grounds to check for a break in the fence, seems we had a few cows out last night. Danny called this morning, he got 'em back in, but didn't see where they got out." Sam grimaced at the thought of finding a hole in the fence, it was a lot of territory to cover. "Maybe I better take a horse and go with him." she said. Jericho laughed, "Sam, he is capable of doing the job on his own. You don't trust anything, do you? He has the four wheeler and can find the hole and fix it. I trust him." Sam was offended at first, until she saw that Jericho was holding back his laughter. "I do to trust people!" she said loudly. "I trust you Jericho."
Sam watched him as he walked to the house, thinking how lucky she had been to find him for the ranch. It seemed as if he had been there forever and she counted on him the same way she had counted on her father. Jericho was different though, he made her think about the things she did and the way she did them, and why. Sometimes he knew what she was thinking before she did and that made her feel uncomfortable. Her phone rang, bringing her back to the present, it was Matt and he needed help. He had found the place in the fence and it was a long break, the cows were finding it too, so he needed someone to hold the cows back while he repaired the fence. Sam got on the other four wheeler and took off down the lane that would lead her to where Matt was waiting.
When she got there he was slowly riding back and fourth keeping the cows away from the broken fence. It seemed to be a game to them, darting back and fourth, to try and find a way around Matt. Cow were the most curious creatures ever born. They loved to seek out new grass, not because they were hungry though. Simply because it was new ground to discover. Matt waved, laughing at the game he was playing. Sam noticed that he wasn't the least bit out of sorts with the situation, and that seemed strange to her. Jake would have...she stopped that thought, because it no longer applied to him. Taking her bike close to his, they moved the cows far enough away so they wouldn't be so interested in the other side of the fence, their neighbors land, until they could get it fixed. Sam worked beside Matt and they made quicker work of the repair together, than had he been alone.
When they had finished and were back at the house for lunch, Matt told Sam he had some ideas about the fencing. Jericho was interested in his thoughts and they spent the entire time, talking about how to change the fencing down there. Sam had gotten her back up, because they didn't include her in the conversation.
Not that she had to be included in everything, they just made it seem like a "man thing", which always got her feminist side stirred up. Sam worked just as hard as they did and she wanted to be included in plans or ideas. She got up and stomped down to the barn, saddling her horse in her anger. Sam always rode when she needed to work out a problem.
For some unknown reason, Sam ended up riding up to Lonely Mountain. The trail was hard going, it hadn't been traveled in some time. Sam was determined to reach the top, she had never been all the way there before. Almost getting brushed off her horse from a limb didn't even stop her, she seemed to be on a mission and pushed her horse up the steep incline, giving no thought to coming back down....
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