Thirteen

 

 

 

 

 

Colt wasn’t sure how to respond to Naomi’s declaration. It wasn’t up to him to make her feel alive, which is why he’d gotten out of there fast. Confrontations he could handle. A warning shot across the bow from a woman like Naomi shook him to the core. He’d never intended to get this involved. He’d done a good thing. Why couldn’t she leave it at that? Why did she have to get attached? He should’ve seen this coming.

He was about to swing into the bumpy lane leading to the cabin, when he glanced to his right, only to see Scott sitting in the passenger seat.

Colt did his best to keep his eyes on the road, but he couldn’t very well ignore the dead guy next to him. “Go away. Go very far away. You’re bad luck.”

Scott rolled with laughter. “What’s this I see? The calm and collected Colt Del Rio freaking out? I’ve never seen this before. Interesting,” Scott muttered. “Let me enjoy this a little longer.”

“Kiss my ass,” Colt snarled. “I didn’t sign up for this.”

“For what? A woman who’s decided she cares about you? Some dilemma. Lots of men crave this kind of thing. You? The mighty Colt Del Rio runs from it.”

Colt had reached his boiling point. He shifted in his seat with a long arm stretched out to punch Scott and met nothing but air.

Scott found it hilariously funny. “Whew! There for a minute I was scared.”

Colt hit the brakes and the old truck skidded in the dirt to a stop. “Come on, Phillips, let’s step outside and finish this man to man.”

Scott roared with laughter again. “You really are upset by this. The man who’s so cool under pressure that he has ice running through his veins is now terrified about having a relationship, a real one this time, not the kind you’re used to. Could it be you’ve got a little thing for her?”

Colt gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. He closed his eyes to try and calm down. “This really is none of your business.”

“No? You’re scared of falling for her. That’s it, isn’t it? Or maybe you’ve already taken that plunge straight off the cliff and have no idea what to do about it? Imagine Colt Del Rio, who’s never afraid of anything, takes the fall.”

“What if I have? I’m not gonna follow through with it. I’m a New Mexico guy. I’m only here to make a few bucks and then I’m headed right back to…”

Scott didn’t let him finish. “De La Cruz? Why? What’s that town ever done for you except saddle you with a long list of bad memories?”

Try as he might, Colt couldn’t dispute that point. He sat there without saying a word until Scott broke the silence.

“I’m giving you a hard time because I want you to be happy. For the first time in your miserable life I want you to be able to stay in one place…and thrive. Make friends. Feel the joy of the holidays for once in your stupid life. Be around people who care about you. Look at me. I’m dead. I’ll never hug my little girl again. I’ll never be with the only woman I ever loved. You want to end up like me, Colt? Walking around town where no one even notices me unless I make a pest out of myself?”

Colt cut his eyes to Scott’s. “It’s hard to believe that you’re really here, talking to me like this, and I’m not nuts.”

“You’re not nuts,” Scott said. “Falling for Naomi wouldn’t be the end of the world, would it?”

“No. I guess not.”

“Then stop acting like an ass.”

“I just made sure the woman had her dream kitchen, didn’t I? How’s that an ass?”

“I believe she said it was the best early Christmas gift she’d ever gotten. That’s some praise, Colt Del Rio. Why’d you do it anyway?”

“She was sick. We were about to complete the project.”

“In three weeks.”

“She lost her family in a horrific fire. She survived. Who knows? Maybe that’s what happened to my parents. Maybe they died somehow and couldn’t keep me.”

“Didn’t you ever check?”

“Are you kidding? Back then, the state didn’t keep records on the reservation like they do now. I was just one more Apache they hoped starved to death. But I hung on…and survived.”

“You did. Just like Naomi.”

Those words carried him home. As soon as he stepped out of the truck, he was surrounded by dogs. Deke and Merlin greeted him as though he’d been gone for a year. He leaned down and began to ruffle their ears, gathering them close. “Hey guys, you been out wandering around on your own where you aren’t supposed to be?”

Merlin licked his hand.

Not to be outdone, Deke gave him a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

“Yeah, that tells me you guys got into some trouble. Come on, let’s see what damage you did to the house. I’ll try not to leave you alone for so long again. How’s that sound?”

From a distance, Scott watched Colt disappear into the cabin with the dogs until he glanced up at the sky. Because of the impending storm, there were no visible stars. “Help me out here. The man’s never had a real family Christmas. Not ever. If there’s one more miracle to be had, I need it for Colt. The man deserves some happiness, right? Help me fix his jaded heart before it’s too late. That’s all I’m asking.”

The wind suddenly snapped and howled. Fat drops of rain began to fall.

“I’ll take that as a positive sign you’re listening,” Scott muttered and disappeared into the blanket of rain.

 

 

As Naomi cozied up in her own bed for the first time in a week, she found it funny that she’d managed to scare off a big, tough guy like Colt with just one line. She wasn’t sure why she’d felt so emboldened. But it was out there now, so let him turn tail if he wanted to.

She had a feeling she knew why he’d had that dazed look in his eyes after they’d made love. The man wasn’t used to the idea of having anyone in his life who cared. She knew something about that. Her parents had given her a childhood filled with love and normalcy that had died the same night as everything else. But for too brief a time she’d known what it was like to love and be loved by parents. Colt had never known that, even a little bit.

Maybe that’s why she’d taken the first step. But lying on her back in the hospital had given her time to reflect on all the things she hadn’t done yet. She wasn’t happy with the tally.

Inspiration hit, though, as soon as she got home and discovered the house she’d longed for had been put back together in seven short days, a remarkable feat.

She’d taken Colt’s generosity as a sign.

If she could get him to see he already had the makings of a family right in front of him, she could certainly build on that moving forward.

She thought of Drea. The two had already shared a lot of secrets, like sisters. But while traumatic events from their childhoods might connect them, Naomi was beginning to think those awful things might no longer define them. And if that was true for them, then it also applied to Colt.

She only had to think back to her time with her aunt and uncle to imagine the void and emptiness he’d lived with all his life. No wonder he’d joined the Army, where he never had to confront his feelings about much of anything.

But that was the past. To get him to leave it behind and focus on the future would be her goal. It might be the only worthy gift she could give him that would mean anything at all.