Friday finally rolled around. Sam left the offices at noon to do some last minute shopping with Carla and Maggie. If she was feeling more than a little relieved that she hadn't had to field anymore visitors asking about the possible merger, and if she was secretly looking forward to getting away from it all for a short time, well, she wasn't telling anybody.

Nora and Chelsea had been shipped down to Florida on the company's jet, excited for their two weeks of Disney World bliss. Cameron sent one of his best drivers to cart the two around. The story Sam told, was that she was sending a driver so they wouldn't have to worry about taxis or hotel transportation. Of course, Nora and Chelsea were over the moon about such a wonderful vacation, and if Nora sensed some undercurrent to Sam's reasoning, she wasn't letting on about it.

"Aunt Sam, you have to try these on!" Maggie exclaimed, excitedly walking towards her. In her hands, she held a pair of cowboy boots that may or may not have caught Sam’s eye earlier. She would admit nothing.

Sam guessed the boys on the ranch wouldn’t think too highly of a girl in pink boots, even if she did love the color and the tiny crystal embellishments randomly spaced throughout the threading.

"Mags.” She groaned. "You're killing me. Why don't we just hang a big, neon sign around my neck that screams “city slicker”? That'd be just as effective as these....” She took them from Maggie to study them. "Pink, snakeskin boots. Especially when I’m already flying in on my own plane!"

Maggie crinkled her nose. "The Montgomery's have their own plane too. They're like, totally loaded. Like you and mom are. So, I don’t think they’ll care that you like, have your own plane and stuff. They even have a helicopter for the ranch.” She added enthusiastically.

Sam chuckled when she saw Carla cringe out of the corner of her eye. Carla never talked about or flaunted the money she and Cameron made. She was the mom who did her best to make sure her children remained humble, despite their affluent upbringing. They did their own grocery shopping most of the time, bought the majority of their clothes at local department stores instead of the high-end boutiques most women in their tax bracket frequented, and had dinner at the family table almost every night.

Sam raised an eyebrow. She was absolutely positive a group of ranchers did not have as much money as she did, but she wasn't going to say so to Maggie.

"They might have money, Miss Fashionista, but I’m sure none of the other women are going to be performing those dirty ranching jobs in pink boots."

Maggie and Carla looked at each other, then burst out laughing.

“You have no idea.” Carla rolled her eyes. “Stone, the oldest brother, is a chick magnate like nothing I’ve ever seen. You should see what repeat vacationing desperate housewives wear when he’s around. They all want a piece of him!”

Carla smiled with a faraway look in her eyes. “All the brothers are super-hot. Something about being corn fed and home grown maybe.” Then she glanced sharply at Sam. “Don’t you dare tell Cameron I said that! He gets possessive enough as it is, when we go every summer. Feels the need to keep his stamp on me. Not that I mind a single bit, and not that any of those guys would be interested anyway. They’re all gentlemen. The kind that wouldn’t even think about laying a hand on a married woman.”

Well, that’s a relief, Sam thought. The last thing she wanted was to be stuck someplace with a group of men who couldn’t keep it in their pants.

“That’s not to say that you won’t get your fair share of interest.” Carla continued with an evil gleam in her eye and Sam’s relief flew right out the window.

“You’re gorgeous and single.” Carla winked. “You’ll get your fair share of flirtations, I guarantee you that. Since they’re all so gentlemanly, however” She continued. “They might flirt with you, but anything that happens will be totally up to you.”

Carla winked at Sam again.

Sam just stared at her, shaking her head with a sigh.

“Carla, you’re terrible. First, you’re having this discussion in front of a very impressionable young woman.” Sam nodded towards Maggie. “Second, no. Just no. I don’t do relationships, and even if I did, I wouldn’t get involved with brothers.”

Then she turned to Maggie, with as much seriousness as she could gather while trying to hide a smile. “Don’t listen to your mother. Flings just end in heartbreak and brothers get jealous. There’s no need to put yourself through that.”

Then Maggie was the one rolling her eyes and sighing. “Aunt Sam, I know! I’m not a baby. I know all about boys. Daddy told me. And,” She added with as much sass as an eleven year-old could muster. “You don’t even do vacations. So how could you have a vacation relationship?”

“What have you been teaching my sweet Mags?” Sam stared aghast at Carla. “And why do I get the feeling you two have been conspiring against me?”

Sam ruffled Maggie’s hair and smiled down at her. “It doesn’t matter so much, Mags. I’m glad your dad talks to you about boys, and I’m glad you listen. Your dad’s one of the good ones.”

She paused to clear her throat at the unexpected rush of emotion accompanying the thought of having a good dad. She didn’t know what that would be like. Hers had been a monster.