Amanda tossed her phone on the bed, then went over to the courtesy phone beside the bed. She pressed zero and tried not to let the rage stroke she was suppressing shoot her into another dimension.
“You’ve reached the front desk at Big Rock Ranch. This is Christie. How may I help you today?”
“Hi, Christie. This is Amanda McQueen in suite twenty-four.”
“Hello, Ms. McQueen. Are you enjoying your stay?”
“I am. Thank you. Christie, what’s the process if I want to get a massage?”
“Mr. Pleasant already booked a package for you this afternoon. Whenever you’re ready you can head down to the spa. Or we can have Sven come to your room.”
“Oh. Okay then. Um, I’ll come down to the spa. I’ll be there in ten minutes?”
“Wonderful. I will let them know you are on your way.”
Amanda hung up the phone shocked at how easy that was. Everything’s easy when you’re rich and you literally own the place, a voice in the back of her head reminded her. Not that that was a problem. Sam was a Pleasant. And the Pleasants owned this ranch and right now, she wasn’t mad at it at all. Amanda took a second to google massage etiquette because she’d never gotten a real professional massage before, then after she chugged a bottle of the fancy water provided in her room, she moseyed down to the spa to meet Sven. This weekend wasn’t going to last forever and she was determined to enjoy every minute of it.
Chapter 15
Sam checked himself in the mirror for the twentieth time. His beard scruff could have used a professional’s touch, but he was glad to step away from the clean-cut look he’d been sporting for over a year. He turned around as his brother stepped out of his bedroom. Zach may have resigned himself to the fact that his fiancée wanted to go to a complete dump to celebrate Valentine’s Day, but that didn’t mean he was going to dress like it. Fresh dark wash designer jeans, crisp shirt and tie, tailored blazer. His cowboy boots clopped against the hardwood floors as he made his way across the room. He slipped his tan Stetson onto his head, then stepped behind Sam to check himself in the entryway mirror.
“I look a’ight?” Sam asked as he moved out of Zach’s way. His brother looked him up and down smiling.
“Full bolo, huh?”
Sam looked down and adjusted the silver crest engraved with a wide horseshoe and the BRR of the ranch logo. He shrugged. “Eh, why not.”
“You look good. And don’t worry. She’s into you. I saw the way she was looking at you today. Just treat her right.”
“That’s the plan. Is this all you have planned? Hot night at Claim Jumpers?”
“Is this all you have planned?” Zach chuckled.
“She just told me she was interested last night. This is your fiancée, my guy.”
“My fiancée has been back and forth between LA, New York, and Paris for the greater part of the last two years, so if she wants to go to Claim Jumpers on Valentine’s Day, we’re going to Claim Jumpers on Valentine’s Day.”
“And then?” Sam knew his brother. Ever since he and Evie had gotten together he’d gone out of his way to make every moment of their relationship special. There was no way a trip to Evie’s favorite bar was the end of his plans. Zach turned his head and nodded toward his kitchen island. There was an expertly wrapped gift and a bouquet of roses.
“What is it?” Sam asked.
“Tiffany necklace she’s been eyeing for a while. Last time I was in the city with her we walked by and she mentioned she’d wanted it for a long time, but she’d been too responsible with her money.”
“But now you got money to burn, huh?” Sam laughed.
“You know I’m flush with cash,” Zach replied before his expression sobered a bit. He turned back to the mirror so he could give himself one final look. “She didn’t have to give me a second chance and she definitely didn’t have to agree to marry me. Whatever Buck wants, she gets.”
“I get it, I get it. You’re in love,” Sam chuckled.
“You damn straight! We’re spending the night at the Yangs’ bed-and-breakfast.” Their family friends ran a small produce farm a few miles down the road and offered quaint one-room cabins surrounding their farmhouse, enough to accommodate a half dozen guests. Sam had never spent the night there, but he’d known the Yangs forever and had stopped by on the way home from many a rodeo for donuts and cider. It would be a nice, local place to reconnect away from the ranch and Pleasant Lane. Thoughts of his own sleeping arrangements had him contemplating how Amanda wanted things to go between them after they left the bar.
“You really think Miss Leona is spending a night in with the girls?” he asked.
“Why? What do you know? And if it’s some real juicy shit, please don’t tell Jesse.”
“Yeah, I’m not crazy. She mentioned last weekend that she was seeing someone. She said Jesse scared off the previous guy. You know Mig and them are her ride-or-dies. They’ll cover for her.”
“Well, good for her.” Zach turned around and sighed. “We gotta talk to him.”
“Yeah.”
“Like, I get it. I don’t want to think about our elderly grandmother mugging down either, but she’s only getting older and Granddad’s been gone for a long time. If she wants a boyfriend, he needs to get out of the way and let the woman live her life. She deserves to be happy.”
“Yeah, she does. Even if she just wants to date around for kicks. Jesse doesn’t have a say. How’s Monday night?”
“Yeah. Let’s sit him down.”
“Okay. I’m gonna go get Amanda. We’ll meet you over there.”
“Sounds good.”
Sam grabbed his coat and his white Stetson off Zach’s coatrack by the door and headed out to his car with Zach close behind him. Zach crossed the cul-de-sac and went to grab Evie from Miss Leona’s.
