Page 8 of A Montana Fake Marriage (Sagebrush Ranch Sweethearts #1)

CHAPTER SEVEN

It was the middle of summer before Sammie seemed to be comfortable enough to work on the ranch without Caleb by her side. Bo had been more than willing to set aside work for her so he could free up some of the other cowboys at work.

The ranch had only continued to grow and expand since Caleb had remembered it as a kid. It was more than impressive, and with each passing week, Caleb knew he’d made the right decision to go into the family business.

Each morning, when Sammie and Caleb got up, they’d eat breakfast together then head over to the barn. Sammie would get a list of things to accomplish to keep her busy, and Caleb would leave her to get his own work done.

The routine became a comfort for him. He knew that Sammie was safe and feeling better after her father’s ridiculous remarks, and he was doing what he loved.

On a particularly hot summer afternoon, Caleb had gotten done with his work early. Sammie was busy spraying down a few of the stalls that needed a deep clean. He’d found her clad in rubber boots and a pair of coveralls, her hair pulled into a bun beneath a cowboy hat.

It gave him pause to see her this way. Sammie—Sarah Ann Michaels, as her father knew her—had been raised with a silver spoon in her mouth. She’d never had a job. She’d never had to worry where her next meal would be coming from.

She looked nothing like the girl he’d met in college several years ago.

Water splashed against the side of the barn, and she jumped back when it hit just right to ricochet toward her. A squeal escaped from her lips, and Caleb laughed, causing her to spin around to stare at him.

She stopped spraying, but the nozzle was still in her hand.

Her look of utter surprise turned into wicked intent, and she pointed the hose at him. “You might not want to laugh at the person with the hose.”

There was only enough time to widen his eyes before she released the trigger and sprayed him in the chest. The water stopped again.

Caleb gaped at her then down at his sodden shirt. Peals of laughter erupted, and she buckled over as they consumed her. He grabbed at his shirt with a hand. “You… didn’t.”

She continued to laugh. “I warned you not to laugh.”

His mouth still hung open. “Yeah, after I did it.”

By this point, she was gasping for air. He’d never seen her laugh this hard.

A devilish smile touched his lips, and he set his sights on the hose in her hands. She was so distracted that she didn’t see him coming. He lunged for the hose, but his fingertips only brushed it before she squealed with surprise and had it locked on him.

Caleb jumped back with both hands upright. “Sammie…” he drawled, “you don’t want to do that.”

“Don’t I?” Gone was the laughter, replaced with that gleaming smile once more. She brought her other hand around, and she held the nozzle with both of them. Her head tilted to the side, eyes flashing with pure and utter joy.

There was no chance for him to get away from this unscathed—his shirt was evidence of that. His only hope was to drag her down with him. Caleb rolled his shoulders and let out a dark chuckle. “No, you don’t.” With that, he lunged forward.

Sammie released the trigger, and the water shot at him, hitting his shirt, his face, his pants. It went wild in the stall, coating all the walls.

In the middle of all the spraying and screaming, Caleb had managed to get behind her then turn the hose on the both of them.

He didn’t know why it had happened exactly, but both of them stilled.

His arms were still around her, but she’d tilted her face to look up at him, and in that moment all he could see was her bright, beautiful eyes beneath those long lashes.

Her face was inches from his own. Warm breath fanned his cheek.

They stood there, the hose forgotten. Their bodies were pressed together, chests heaving from the exertion of their fun.

His gaze dipped to her mouth, and he inched closer.

They’d been married for a couple months, and recently, he’d been having dreams that resulted in a moment just like this one.

Caleb nearly whispered her name, but a loud banging sound from farther into the barn startled them both.

Sammie darted from his hold and cleared her throat. “I still have one more stall to do,” she murmured, dropping her eyes briefly before lifting them again. She gestured with the hose and released a quiet chuckle. “I…” She cleared her throat. “I don’t want to get fired.”

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, realizing the colossal mistake he’d nearly made.

There was a definitive line, and he’d nearly crossed it.

Caleb shoved his hands into his pockets, a feat that was nearly impossible with how wet his clothes had become.

He forced a smile. “I doubt you’d get fired.

” When she gave him a questioning look, as if to ask him why she’d be spared, he shrugged.

“You’re family, Sammie. Here, we look out for each other.

” With that, he turned on his heel and hurried away before he really did something stupid.

The next couple of days were strained between them.

The near kiss hung in the air, hovered, and refused to dissipate.

Neither one of them seemed inclined to talk about it.

Caleb certainly wasn’t ready to bring it up.

He had quickly realized his attraction to his best friend wasn’t going away any time soon.

Karma.

That’s what this was.

He’d pushed Sammie to be dishonest. For all he knew, they’d broken a few laws with their conspiring. Caleb’s feelings for Sammie was the universe laughing at him—putting him in an impossible situation.

While seated at the desk in his room, he stared blankly at the papers he had scattered about. The feed formula was so close. Only a few more tweaks, and he’d be able to submit it for a patent. The problem was, he couldn’t stay focused.

He’d almost kissed her!

Caleb groaned and shoved both hands into his hair. They had about seven and a half months to go before they’d get that divorce.

At this rate, he didn’t think he’d be able to survive it.

The door to the bedroom opened then shut quietly. Every single one of his senses tensed when she entered. He could smell her perfume from here. It drifted toward him, wrapped around him, clung to him.

Slowly, he lifted his head and glanced toward her. She smiled tentatively at him as she tugged the elastic from the bottom of her braid. Her face was smudged with dirt, but she looked absolutely radiant. Even covered in grime, he couldn’t stop looking at her.

She took a few steps toward him and nodded to the paperwork on the desk. “The feed recipe?”

He nodded, holding his breath as she perched on the armrest of the chair where he sat. Her arm came around his shoulders.

“How’s it going?”

He blinked.

She laughed quietly. “I mean… I have no idea what it is you’re doing exactly, but I can listen.”

His heart throbbed with the offer. Caleb would be the first to admit he was a complete nerd when it came to this sort of stuff.

A girl like Sammie would have never given him a second look when he was in high school—maybe not even now.

He turned his head up to look at her. There was no hint of attraction in her eyes, just the usual Sammie he’d gotten to know.

This Sammie was his friend. She wasn’t seated close to him just so she could touch him.

She was offering him an olive branch—a connection.

He’d missed it over the last couple of days when things had been so strained that she could barely be in the same room as him without looking incredibly uncomfortable.

Caleb leaned back in his chair, rocking it slightly, but she remained in her seat. “It’s just about done. There’re only a couple things I want to add to it.”

She tilted her head. “Oh?”

He nodded then leaned forward and picked up a piece of paper that had notes and percentages scribbled on it.

“The feed is made up of mostly these ingredients here, see?” He pointed to the list. “Corn and hay. But we have to add other things like limestone, vitamins, and minerals. Then I need to calculate how much feed they should be getting based on their weight and what they will be used for.”

Her eyes remained focused on the paper. “I didn’t realize it was so much work to come up with something like this.” Sammie glanced at him. “And you’re trying to fine-tune it based on the cattle we have here.”

Caleb nodded. “I want Sagebrush to be known for having the best cattle. Then I want to move on to developing feed for the other animals.”

One side of her mouth quirked upward. “You’ve always been an overachiever.”

His heart expanded with the compliment.

“But I always knew that.” Her smile deepened. “What with your scholarship and everything.”

He nodded. And without that scholarship, he would have never been as successful with the money he’d gained through his options trading.

He’d been fortunate—far more fortunate than Sammie had been as of late.

It just went on to prove himself right. Things could go sideways quicker than people realized.

His grandfather had needed to move in with their family, and they’d already been on the lower end of the national average when it came to income.

Then Sammie lost access to the money her mother had set aside for her.

Caleb had the distinct feeling that something would happen to him.

His finances were off to a good start, but he wasn’t about to stop planning for his future—and the future of his family.

“You okay?” Sammie whispered.

He jolted, realizing she was still seated beside him. “Yeah,” he said firmly. “I’m great.”

She pointed to the papers again. “Congrats on being almost done.”

Caleb grinned at that. “Thanks, Sammie.”

Then she pulled away, and their little moment was gone. He didn’t know if this was her way of bridging the gap he’d put between them, or if she was craving that connection as much as he was. It didn’t matter. He was grateful for it, anyway.

“Something smells good,” Caleb murmured, pulling his hat from his head as he entered the kitchen. Barbeque. His stomach growled, and Sammie shot him an amused look.

She stood beside his mother at the stove. They were working on dinner. But it was a great deal more food than would feed their family of five—well, six.

He moved toward the island and plucked a potato chip from a large bowl. A satisfying crunch, and then he reached for another one, but Sammie swatted him away. He chuckled and darted around her to grab another. After he swallowed, he motioned to the spread. “What’s going on?”

“Eli and Jennifer wanted to do a spur of the moment barbeque with the whole extended family. I told them I had some extra time to make the main dish, and everyone will bring a couple sides.”

Caleb’s brows lifted. “Everyone? As in, everyone?”

His mother laughed. “Yes, everyone. We’re all going to meet over where you two got married. There will be dancing and food. And all your cousins will be there. So, wash up. Dinner is in thirty minutes.”

Sammie grinned at him and shooed him away.

His mother wasn’t kidding when she’d said everyone was there. A total of twenty-eight adults were crowded around several folding tables and chairs. Kids darted this way and that, all of them the grandchildren of Eli and Jennifer.

Several times, Caleb caught Sammie looking his way. She’d gone off to visit with his cousins. Hallie and Katrina were laughing and joking around with her like they’d been friends for ages.

To see the way Eli had brought his extended family together like this was amazing. Caleb couldn’t help but sit back in awe of it all. One day, he could see his own children darting around this ranch with the others.

The thought gave him pause.

Not even three months ago, he’d told himself he wasn’t ready to start a family. He wasn’t ready to be a dad.

His gaze drifted to Sammie, finding her crouched down and talking to one of Jack’s kids. The boy wasn’t more than four years old. He couldn’t hear what she was saying to him or what he said to her. But Sammie laughed, and the boy handed her a dandelion before running off.

It wasn’t the first time he’d seen her interact with children, but this time, it hit him differently. She was good with kids and she’d probably make a wonderful mother.

Sammie glanced at him at that moment, but her gaze didn’t linger. She was pulled away by something Katrina had said.

Caleb sighed and listened with half an ear to the conversation between his father and his uncle. “There’s an auction coming up.”

“Anything good?”

A grunt.

Someone nudged Caleb, and he turned to find his mother. She nodded toward Sammie. “Go ask her to dance.”

Caleb snorted. “Yeah, right.”

She nudged him again with more force. “You’re newlyweds. This is the time of love and romance—it’s the time you spend together without the distraction of children.”

He huffed. “No one else is dancing.”

“Maybe they would if you did.” She tilted her head, those eyes drilling into him like only a mother could.

Caleb groaned, and she smiled. He handed her his Solo cup. “Fine. But if anyone cracks a joke, you make sure they join us.”

“Deal,” she countered.

He strode over to Sammie, and without giving her a chance to finish whatever it was she was saying to his cousin, he grasped her hand and tugged her.

“Caleb!” she laughed. “What are you doing?”

He slipped his hand around her waist and pulled her close.

Sammie gasped but didn’t pull away. Her eyes met his, flashing with something—fear? Warning? She’d kept her distance since that water fight they’d had. Maybe she didn’t want him to be this close to her.

Well, they didn’t really have a choice.

He leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. “My mom thought you’d want to dance.”

“She… did?” Confusion laced her tone.

“Newlyweds,” he ground out. “We’re supposed to be romantic, remember?”

“Oh.” The single syllable almost sounded disappointed, flat. And why wouldn’t she be? Their current situation must weigh on her at times. Why would she want to continue to be trapped just so she could gain access to what should have been hers in the first place?

“Yeah.” He fought the instinct to give in to the feelings that immediately started swirling within him. Her soft form felt so good in his arms. She smelled absolutely divine.

This was what he wanted.

Her. He wanted her.

In this moment, he could admit that he wished it was real.