Read Count This Cowboy In for Free Online Page A

could count on them totally."
    He looked at her with respect.  "Sam, the fact you know that tells me a lot.  You said you lived on a ranch in the past, you said in Texas.  Could you tell me when, or what happened, why you moved off the ranch, when it's obvious how much you like living on a ranch?"
    Sam looked at him and took a deep breath.  It was hard to even think about, let alone talk about, but it couldn 't have been easy for Trevor to tell her about his past.  She was debating if she could trust him.  Finally, she looked at him, as if seeing him would somehow settle the debate.  Oddly enough, it did.  His expression was so patient and kind and she remembered what he'd just confided to her.  He deserved to know at least part of her story.  She'd always heard if she could just talk about the problem, it would help.  Well, she was about to put that theory to the test.  She took another deep breath and started.

     

Chapter 3
     
    "My story.  Trevor, I want to be honest with you."
    " I want that, as well, Sam.  Honesty is very important to me."
    Th at statement, like a couple others he'd made, caught her off guard.  She decided to tuck it away in her mind for later.  She'd think about it tonight. "I'm not sure how much of this I can talk about because there's parts of it that hurt too much yet."
    She was surprised when he reached over and gently took her hand in his . "I'm sorry, Sam.  I didn't mean to bring up something that painful.  If you're not ready to talk to me yet, I understand."
    " Thank you," she said sincerely.  "But it might help to talk about a little bit of it anyway and you do deserve to know something about me.  After all, you're giving me a job and letting me live on your ranch and I appreciate that."
    " That's a two way street, Sam.  You're helping me out a great deal."
    " I'm glad."  She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I used to live on a ranch with my mom and dad, too.  There was just me, no brothers or sisters.  I loved them a great deal and they may have spoiled me just a tad bit.  Especially my dad."
    He continued rubbing her hand .  Trying to lighten her stress a bit, he chuckled and said, "So you were a spoiled brat, huh?"
    " Hey, I wasn't a brat."  When he looked at her with his eyebrows raised in a questioning fashion, she sheepishly admitted, "Well, okay, maybe a tiny bit of a brat."
    " Good for you.  There's the honesty I like to see."  He winked at her and said, "Okay, go on, now that we've established that.  I'll bet you were a cute little brat when you were little."
    " Oh, you," she said, punching his arm. He was making this a lot easier than she thought it would be.  He had somehow put her at ease.  "I loved everything about living on a ranch, especially the horses."  She paused, staring at nothing in particular, before adding, "But then I went off to college.  While I was there my mom died."
    She felt his hand tighten around her hand, which for some reason felt very comforting to her.  That gave her the strength to continue, "That summer my dad and I became even closer, which I didn't think was possible, but we did.  Then I went to school again in the fall and he met a lady and got married.  Not long afterward he died."
    Trevor rubbed her back gently.  "Sam, I'm sorry.  That had to be hard for you."
    Nodding her head, she said, "It was.  It was awful."  Gathering strength, she quickly finished, "When I graduated I got a job in Houston, but my heart wasn't really in it and I did terrible.  I got fired.  I finally realized the place I've always felt the most comfortable is on a ranch, so here I am."
    Trevor knew there was a lot she was leaving out, but he could also see how hard this much had been for her.  Maybe in time she 'd fill in some of the blanks, but until then he wasn't going to push her.  He simply said, "Sam, thank you for telling me that.  If you're from Texas, that means you don't have any close friends nearby yet.  I'm