Free Samantha and the Cowboy by Lorraine Heath

imagined that months out here without talking to someone would be lonely. “He lost his arm at Shiloh. If it weren’t for that, he’d be working on this drive, not me. He just didn’t think he could handle the job.”
    He furrowed his brow. “Might take some effort, a little trial and error, but I think he could do it.”
    She smiled, grateful to hear her own thoughts repeated. “That’s what I tried to tell him, but he was too stubborn to give it any thought.”
    â€œIt wouldn’t work at all if he didn’t have the desire to do it,” Matt said.
    â€œI feel the same way.” She felt a blossoming in her heart toward him, knowing that the friendship he wanted to avoid was slowly developing. She already missed Mary Margaret—but then again, Matt wasn’t anything like Mary Margaret.
    â€œDid you ever get wounded?” she asked.
    She could sense his hesitation to reveal a weakness before he nodded briskly.
    â€œAt Gettysburg. Took a bullet in my hip. I limp a little when I get tired.”
    â€œYou must have been scared,” she repeated softly.
    â€œRight down to my boot heels.” Suddenly he scowled as though just realizing what he’d admitted. “Go to sleep, kid.”
    He rolled over, presenting her with his broad back. She curled her fingers to stop herself from reaching out to touch him.
    Something inside her was unfurling, an emotion she’d never known before. She enjoyed talking to Matt. Simply looking at him brought her pleasure. She liked having him near.
    What was happening to her?
    She’d told her mother that none of the hands would figure out she was girl. What she hadn’t realized was how desperately she’d want Matt to know she wasn’t a boy.
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    â€œTime.”
    Matt awoke, even though the voice had been low and calming. Jake insisted that no one in camp touch or shake someone who was asleep. Most of them had been through the war and automatically reached for their guns when they heard loud noises. Some were even in the habit of shooting before they were fully awake.
    With the haze of sleep starting to clear, Matt could see Squirrel grinning at him, revealing the two large protruding front teeth that had earned him his nickname.
    â€œYour watch is coming up,” Squirrel told him.
    Nodding and yawning, Matt leaned toward Sam untilhe was close enough not to startle the boy. He considered leaving him to sleep. They’d done too much jawing before they’d gone to sleep. He’d revealed more than he’d intended. How did the kid manage to work his way through Matt’s defenses?
    He was young, no doubt about that. Yet there was a maturity to him that seemed at odds with his youth. Matt couldn’t quite figure it out. The kid noticed things that most cowboys ignored. He seemed to look at the world—and people—more deeply. Trying to see inside them.
    No one else had seemed to notice that Matt preferred to be on the fringe of the group.
    If he were smart, he would leave the kid behind. But he didn’t want another confrontation with Jake. And that meant taking the boy with him. “Sam?” he whispered.
    Sam opened his eyes, looking clearly disoriented.
    â€œIt’s time for us to take our turn guarding the herd,” Matt explained.
    Grimacing, Sam sat up, drawing the bulky coat around him. It grew cooler at night, and Matt had his own jacket to wear. But he wouldn’t wear it as tightly as the kid did. He liked room to maneuver.
    â€œShake out your boots before you put them on,” Matt ordered as he lifted his own boot, turned it upside down, and pounded the bottom and sides.
    â€œWhy?” Sam asked, as he opened his mouth in a big, wide yawn.
    â€œScorpions, snakes, centipedes…they like to crawl into a warm boot for the night.”
    The kid’s eyes grew as round as his mouth. “What?”
    Matt couldn’t hold back a slight grin.