Whooping and hollering brought Sam running to the corral with her imagination playing overtime. Either someone was being stampeded by bulls or there was a hick convention going on in her front yard. Hitting the railings at full speed she clambered to the top to recognize the black hair and black Stetson atop the head of one of the most attractive men she'd ever seen. The new owner and director of the Three Ponies Ranch rode the bucking horse with the grace of a dancer. Samantha Forster stared at her childhood friend Jake Ely with admiration. A small smile curved her lips as she admired his treatment of the grulla stallion. Strong and commanding, yet gentle and caring, his hands were light on the reins and his voice was so soft Sam couldn't hear what he was saying. She could only see his lips moving and she was positive he was comforting the high-spirited horse. The horse kicked up his hind hooves and flopped in an animalistic manner. Sam knew the horse was trying his hardest to get Jake off his back, she also knew it was at this point that most men couldn't hold on any longer and most preferred to let themselves fall off rather than be rolled on or something of the same nature. That was why when his father shouted for him to jump off and he didn't, Sam grew worried. Jake held on with a persistence characteristic of him, but everyone around the corral was becoming distressed. Several of his brothers as well as many of the cowboys of River Bend Ranch, including Wyatt, were yelling at Jake to jump. Sam couldn't shout, she couldn't speak. Her heart was in her throat and she couldn't breath. The horse did a quick jump and buck; it was so violent and forceful, no one could have stayed on the stallion. Jake flew off and rolled a couple of feet. Jumping to his feet and snatching his Stetson, he grabbed the rails of the corral and launched himself over in a swift bound before the horse could trample him. Everyone ran over to him calling to see if he was ok. Jake was grinning ruggedly and pulling his Stetson on as Sam ran up to him. When all of the spectators saw this, they all let out a sigh of relief.

"You alright?" Luke Ely wasn't much for talking.

"Oh man, that was awesome!" Obviously his brothers.

Quinn looked at Sam who was standing beside him, slightly pale and shaken.

"He was so showing off for you." He was grinning from ear to ear.

Sam gawked at him.

"He didn't even know I was there!"

"Yeah he did. Didn't you see him look at you as soon as you came up?" His smile was ever-widening.

"No." She didn't believe him for a second. Why would Jake try to show off for her? Jake wasn't that kind of guy. He didn't need any one's approval. Apparently Quinn figured he had to prove it to her.

"Jake!" He called, "Jake! Get over here."

Jake meandered over to them all the while receiving pats on the back from his other brothers.

"So Sam, what did you think? Nice horse?" He was so smug. Wait a minute, was he showing off for her? No way…

Quinn interrupted.

"Yeah, she doesn't believe me when I said you were showing off for her."

Their brothers started laughing hysterically while the adults rolled their eyes and grumbled about childish immaturity. Sam expected Jake to blush and stammer. He surprised her by raising an eyebrow and smirking conceitedly as if he knew how handsome he was standing there leaning against a post. Apparently being the owner of his a ranch had boosted his self-esteem and made him come out of his shell. His next words shocked her even more.

"What? You weren't impressed by that? What do I have to do to get your attention, sweetheart?"

It was so completely un-Jake that it shocked her speechless and left her standing with her mouth open. His brothers guffawed loudly and slapped him on the back. Even the adults were smiling happily.

"I…I…I don't…know?" Sam's embarrassment was clear as her face turned scarlet red.

"Well, make up your mind, honey, and get back to me when you do." With a wink at her, he and the rest of his brothers started towards the house. The parents were trying to hold back their laughter as they followed the Ely boys leaving Sam standing alone. Her anger heated up. How dare he embarrass her like that! What had come over him? Where was that shy boy? She clenched her fists and growled at him with clenched teeth.

"You can jump off a cliff." It was said quietly, but everyone heard it and turned around to stare at the angry young woman. Jake spun around, obviously shocked by her response.

"Ouch." He still looked too cocky.

"And drown for all I care!" This parting shot was fired as Sam tilted her chin up and sparks shot from her angry blue eyes. The crowd was starting to look around at one another, each wondering what Jake would do and how Sam would react. Jake started taking slow, but rather large steps back towards her. Darn those long legs of his! Sam thought as he approached her too soon for her liking. He was also so tall Sam had to tilt her head back to look up at him. He was smirking down at her with an unreadable expression in his gorgeous brown eyes. Angered by his overconfidence, Sam felt herself about to snap at him again when he suddenly pinched her lips between his thumb and forefinger. He chuckled at her shock and lowered his voice although it didn't really matter, everyone could still hear them.

"Sam, you are exceptionally cute when you are mad, but you really need to work on your insults a little more. But, since you were so mean, I'm going to do this." And with that he let go of her lips and moved his hands to cup her face. Quickly, yet gently he lowered his face to hers and before she could react his lips were on hers. Audible gasps could be heard from the spectators around them as well as incredulous laughing, most probably his brothers. But none of this registered in Sam's mind as the world shrunk to just her and Jake. At first, her anger caused her to struggle…for about two seconds and then she started wondering why she was fighting such a fantastic feeling. And forgetting about her family and his who were standing around them, most with open mouths, she slipped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. Neither one noticed as the Grace cleared her throat. In fact, nobody noticed. So she did it again, louder. This time a few heads swung in her direction. Sam and Jake stayed locked at the lips.

"Perhaps we should…" She motioned towards the house, obviously implying that they should Sam and Jake some privacy. The adults nodded, even Wyatt agreed.

"What and miss the show?" Maxine slapped the back of Quinn's head and grabbed his arm, dragging him with her and leaving Sam and Jake alone in the yard. Neither one noticed however until they pulled away, gasping for air. Breathing heavily, Jake leaned his forehead against Sam's and grinned cheekily.

"What are you smiling about?" She just couldn't keep the smile out of her voice.

"You still mad at me?" He chuckled when she just raised an eyebrow and smiled, knowing he was off the hook.

"How did you get so arrogant?" Her tone was playful as she rubbed her nose against his.

"Ohhh…when I figured out I owned a house."

Confusion knitted Sam's brows together.

"What?"

He raised his eyebrows playfully.

"We own a house."

Her heart stopped for a second. What was he saying?

"Marry me?"

Her grin said it all, but he wanted to her answer so he waited patiently.

"Only if you never scare me like that again."

"I promise." He leaned forward to kiss her again.

"We should go in now. They'll be wandering what happened to us and I'm not sure what Dad is going to say seeing us kissing like that." Sam would have grimaced at the thought of her dad's reaction, but she was too happy.

"Hmmm," he grumbled good naturedly, "do we have to?"

"Of course, stop complaining. We should go tell them the good news."

Feigning ignorance, Jake perched a thoughtful look on his face, "Good news? What good news?" Sam looked at him lovingly.

"I'm going to be Mrs. Samantha Ely."