them. Sam shed his coat with a weary sigh. Walter filled a thick, white mug with the steaming drink and held it out to Sam. He took the cup and sipped it. “Man, this hits the spot.”
He sank into a chair at the table. “I searched all through your car. There weren’t any tracks in the snow, so no one else had been in it since the snow stopped. Is it possible it fell out on the ride back?”
“I guess it’s possible—my purse was unzipped. Did you look around the outside of the car?”
“I tried, but there’s too much snow yet. Hey, we know we only rode along the highway and down my lane, so it’s out there somewhere. We’ll find it when the snow melts.”
“When the snow melts! When might that be?” Cheryl snapped. She couldn’t wait for the snow to melt. The longer she stayed, the more likely it was that Sam would find out who she really was. The daughter of a felon, one of those “thieving Thatchers,” as people in the community had labeled her family. Someone who had spent time in reform school instead of prison only because of her age.
It wasn’t fair. She wasn’t that person anymore. She was the “Steel Ballerina,” the darling of New York’s young ballet set. How would her fans or the press react when they heard she had been convicted of cattle rustling and assaulting a sheriff’s deputy? At best, she’d become a laughingstock. At worst, her career would suffer. All because she’d taken this stupid side trip.
“I can’t believe my rotten luck!” She shuffled to the far side of the room, narrowly missing the cat’s tail with her crutches when she swung around. Bonkers scrambled out of her way.
“Take it easy,” Sam cautioned. “You’re making me feel like I should take cover with the cat.”
“This is serious, Sam!”
“I know, but don’t worry. We’ll find it. Have a little faith.”
“Don’t worry? I need my driver’s license, my money and my credit cards. I need to catch up with my company before they leave Kansas City. If I’m not dancing by then, I’m out of a job for the entire spring. Don’t worry? I can’t even go back to New York. I sublet my apartment until the end of June because I was going to be on this tour.”
She was tired, her foot ached like a bad tooth and all he could say was, “Don’t worry.”
“What about your sister? Can you stay with her?”
“Yesterday was my sister’s wedding, remember? She’s on her honeymoon in Hawaii. I doubt the happy couple booked an extra room for me.”
“Okay, calm down. Things will work out, you’ll see. The snow can’t last more than a few days.”
“Oh, that’s just like a man. Calm down and wait till the snow melts! I can’t believe this! Nothing has gone right since I set foot in this stupid state!” She hobbled out of the room slamming the bedroom door behind her.
Walter stared after her. “There’s something about that gal that seems familiar.”
“She has a temper like Natalie’s. That’s what makes her seem familiar. Women like her don’t have any understanding or patience for the forces of nature. They want the world to jump for them when they snap their fingers.”
“You’re wrong to judge all women using Natalie as a yardstick, Sam.”
“I know, but I can’t help it. Once burned—twice shy.” What he didn’t admit was how attracted he was to Cheryl and how it scared him. He couldn’t explain it or reason it away. In his head he knew she was a woman every bit as wrong for him as his ex-wife had been. Lord, help me to remember that.
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