Dancing With A Cowboy

Dancing With a Cowboy

Sandi K. Whipple

Also by Sandi K. Whipple:

Loving Adonis

and

Twisted Engagement

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2014 Sandi K. Whipple

All rights reserved.

Cover Design By:

EBOOKINDIECOVERS.COM

Melody Simmons

No part of this work may be reproduced in any fashion without express, written consent from the copyright holder.

This is a work of fiction. All names, business names, locations including latitudes and longitudes, and any events portrayed herein are fictitious and/or the product of the author’s imagination. As well, all characters are fictitious and are not based on any real persons living or dead.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Arizona State Bar Association

Arizona Bureau of Land Management ~ Lawrence Harper

Gayle & Dennis Hanna ~ North Dakota

For my niece, Jannette Whipple. After losing touch for twenty-five years, the joy and happiness the reconnection has given me is irreplaceable. Thank you for serving your country for so many years in the United States Army, and thank you for coming home safely from Afghanistan.

I love you, Jannette, and this is for you.

CHAPTER ONE

The elevator stopped on the thirty-seventh floor. Her briefcase felt heavier than it actually was, probably because she’d had little sleep the night before.

Preparing for closing arguments in court took time and required lots of notes.

As a partner in her father's law firm, Lucille Baumgardner, felt it necessary to work twice as hard and twice as many hours as most at the firm.

After all, just because her father was the senior partner, well, she sure didn't want anyone thinking that granted her any special privileges.

As she entered her office, Lucy's secretary, Alice, quietly informed her that Mr. Baumgardner wanted to see her the moment she arrived.

Lucy placed her briefcase on her desk, opened it, grabbed a specific file, and headed to her father's office.

As she approached Gerald Baumgardner's office, his secretary, Arlene, gave her a small wave and said, Go right in, he's waiting for you.

After tapping on the door twice, Lucy entered her father's office and said, Good morning. I understand you wanted to see me.

Gerald Baumgardner looked up, smiled, and said, Good morning yourself. How was your weekend? Not waiting for his daughter’s response, he added, You've got a big day today. I hope you're prepared.

Then he held up a large manila envelope and added, You win this case, and you win a great two week vacation, compliments of the firm.

Lucy just rolled her eyes. For the hundredth time, I don't want and I don't need a vacation. Even if I did, I have enough money of my own to pay for it.

Now it was her father speaking, not the senior partner of the law firm. Are you going to just stand there and argue with me about this vacation stuff again, or are you going to sit down and relax?

Lucy pulled one of the leather chairs closer to her father's desk and sat down. She told herself this vacation argument was starting to get really old. It wasn't one she was in the mood to go over again.

Holding it in the air, Lucy said, I brought the file for the Hanson case. You know, that corporate thing. I thought that’s what you wanted to see me about.

With a smirk on his face and shaking his head, Gerald Baumgardner told his daughter, Of course I wanted to see you about the Hanson case. But I also wanted to talk to you about the hours you're keeping at the office.

Lucy tried to keep her composure in check, but it wasn't easy. So, you've had your Dick Tracy spies keeping track of my every movement again?

Gerald Baumgardner loved his only child more than words could say. He was proud of her accomplishments and never failed to brag about her and her successes whenever he had the chance.

He knew Lucy thought she became a junior partner in the firm simply because she was his daughter, when in truth, she earned the partnership through several years of hard work, exceptional hours, and successful performances as an attorney.

Lucy hadn't taken a vacation in over three years. For at least two years that Gerald knew of, she’d been in the office until 8:00 or 9:00 most nights and, on many occasions, she was in the office for five or six hours on Saturdays.

How many hours she spent on work that she took home with her, well, there really wasn't any way to tell.

Her workload wasn’t double that of the other attorneys at the firm, but it was close. Whether she felt the need to continually prove herself, or whether she just liked it that way, Gerald didn’t really care. He only cared that it had to stop before she stopped.

As senior partner, and father, Gerald Baumgardner knew his daughter and junior partner would rather cut her own throat than lose a case in court.

That fact gave him the hammer for what he was about to do.

I started to tell you, Lucy, if you win the Hanson case today, arrangements have been made for you to take a two week I'll say hiatus instead of vacation.

Knowing she was about to protest, Gerald put his hand up in the air and said, Don't say anything, just let me finish. If you lose in court today, then you can do whatever you please.

Lucy’s composure took a flying leap out the window! She stood up, put both hands on her father's desk, leaned over and said in almost a growl, Damn you, Dad, that's blackmail!

Gerald smiled, leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms, and said, You know, I think you're right. I think it is.

Now Lucy was pacing. She raised her voice and said, I don't know why you think you can force me to go away. If I don't want to go, I won't go, period.

Gerald knew the time had come to pull rank. He sat straight up, pulled his chair up, and rested his elbows on the desk.

In a calm but firm voice he said, "I may not be able to force you to take a vacation, but as senior partner of this law firm, I am in a position to make sure you have no access to any files in this office. And if necessary, I'll make sure you have no access to the office."

Lucy checked her watch, and headed to the door. As she reached for the door handle, she said, We can continue this same old argument later. I have to be in court. Wish me luck.

The moment Lucy was gone, Gerald buzzed his secretary. He was laughing when he asked her to bring him a phone book.

Leaving the Philadelphia courthouse, Lucy was happy with herself. Not only was it a beautiful, warm, early August day, but she’d just won her client a lot of money.

She grabbed her cell phone to call her office with the good news and to let Alice know she was on her way back.

Now, all she had to do was to schmooze over her dad! She usually ended up getting her own way where he was concerned, even in cases where he was her boss instead of her father.

Stepping out of the elevator, Lucy began fumbling in her purse for the highlighter she always carried on her last day in court. After winning a case, she’d always give a highlighter to her dad, and tell him winning her case was the highlight of her day.

It became a ritual several years ago after she’d won her first court case. She was proud that his drawer was filled with so many highlighters, and the thought of their ritual made her chuckle.

Lucy said hello to her secretary and reached for her office door. Her intent was to drop off her purse and briefcase, then give Dad the highlighter.

But that was only her intent. Her office door was locked.

Turning to Alice, she said, Can you unlock this so I don’t have to dig out my key?

The secretary looked at Lucy and said, I can’t. I don’t have a key for it.

Lucy made a face and rolled her eyes. Of course you have a key for it, Alice. Please unlock it.

When Alice just sat staring at her, Lucy set her briefcase down and dug through her purse for her own key. It didn’t fit the lock.

Lucy turned to her secretary and said, What the hell’s going on, Alice?

Alice shrugged her shoulders and said, I was told to tell you Mr. Baumgardner wanted to see you as soon as you got back from court.

Fuming, with the highlighter in one hand and the useless key in the other, Lucy said, Oh yeah, well let him know I’m on my way!

Walking past Arlene, and without knocking, Lucy entered the senior partner’s office. Once the door closed behind her, it became her dad's office.

Her father sat behind his huge mahogany desk and smiled at her. Congratulations, Luce. I heard you won another one. And I see you’ve got my highlighter.

Lucy threw the highlighter on his desk and said, I don’t know what you think you’re doing, Dad, but you better explain what’s going on. How come my key won’t open my office door?

Leaning back in his chair, Gerald looked at his daughter and could see she was about to explode.

Quite simply, Luce, I had the lock changed. All your open case files have been dispersed, and I’m sure by now your briefcase has disappeared, too.

Lucy nearly fell into the leather chair in front of his desk.

Her father was fighting to keep a straight face. He’d never seen Lucy speechless before. It was damned near comical.

He told her, I wasn’t kidding this morning Lucille. You’re going to kill yourself or get sick or something because you’re working too hard. You’ve got to learn how to relax, Luce. How to kick back. Basically, you need to learn how to not give a damn sometimes.

He tossed her the manila envelope he’d showed her earlier that morning. Tickets, itinerary, and stuff for this vacation are in that envelope.

You leave tomorrow. In two weeks when you get back, we’ll go over your new files and cases and you can go back to killing yourself. But for now, you’re on leave, you’re AWOL, you’re MIA, whatever.

Lucy was still speechless. She realized he wasn’t kidding this time. He’d threatened her with something like this on many occasions, and they’d argued about it numerous times.

But for him to actually follow through like this, well… what would she do now?

Dad, you aren’t really going to make me…

Interrupting her, Gerald said, Yes Luce, I am.

Lucy slowly opened the envelope and pulled out a brochure for ‘Echo Heaven Ranch & Spa in the Arizona Mogollon Rim.

On the top it read; Retreat, and it said, Get away From It All. A place where one can take a vacation from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Peace and quiet, solitude, diverse scenery, nearest airport 120 miles. She barely saw the rest of it, but she did see the words all inclusive.

Reaching into the envelope, she pulled out the itinerary and ticket folder. She dropped the brochure, manila envelope, and the rest of the contents on the floor.

Looking up, she said, Well, I suppose if I have no choice, I could force myself to deal with two weeks of pedicures, massages, spas, mud baths, and glasses of wine by the swimming pool.

Lucy got up from her chair, headed for the door, and spoke to her father with her back to him. But I’ll never forgive you for this. I mean, for the way you did it, Dad.

Before she could close the door behind her, she heard him say, Yes, you will.

Lucy thought packing would be easy. Arizona was warm: that meant shorts and capris. Spas and pools required bathing suits.

Throw in a few tank tops and some sandals and be done with it. But which bathing suits? And which sandals?

Her five-foot-seven, size eight frame, looked great in all her bathing suits. But her long brown hair and hazel eyes looked better with lighter colors.

Lucy sat on the end of her bed and started laughing at herself. She was a twenty-nine-year-old attorney, for Christ’s sake. She made decisions all day long. And here she sat, finding it difficult to choose a bathing suit for a vacation.

Then she realized it wasn’t funny at all. The reason she hadn’t packed a bathing suit in so long was that she hadn’t been anywhere in so long.

Her mind drifted back to when she started high school and the many talks she shared with her dad. She’d sit on the end of her bed, and he’d sit backwards on her desk chair, resting his chin on his arms.

He always had the answers, even when there weren’t really any questions.

That ritual started just after her mother died. Her father was worried and concerned about her finishing her teen years without a mother. He’d made it his mission in life to be both parents to her.

He never missed a sporting event and was always her biggest cheering section. He took her on his trips out of town, hiring a tutor so she wouldn’t get behind in school.

He was even the most embarrassing father in the world when he gave the third degree and worse to every boy she knew.

He cried when she graduated from high school and college, and again when she announced she wanted to be a lawyer.

Then when she passed the bar exam on the first shot, as her congratulations gift, he made a down payment on her condo.

And in all those years, there wasn’t anyone else in their private little clique. Just Lucy and Dad. He never even had a girlfriend. At least Lucy never met one or saw him with one.

Lucy knew he’d put his personal life on hold for her happiness. She loved him for his sacrifices, but loved him even more because he’d made sure she knew she was loved.

Putting aside the fact she was biased, Lucy knew her dad was a good looking man. He carried his fifty-nine-year-old, six-foot tall, muscular frame with grace. His salt-and-pepper hair, though more salt lately, and blue eyes were his best assets.

He acted differently in public when his secretary, Arlene, was around. Lucy liked her and thought they’d make a great couple. There were a few times over the last few years when she thought there might even be something there.

Bringing herself back to the present, she thought, but damn him for locking her out of her own office.

Oh