Chapter 15
Cheyenne
It felt strange coming back to my place after spending the past few weeks at the Smith ranch. It was quiet. Eerily quiet without the usual sounds of horses in the distance, or even the chatter of nature in the evergreen pines beyond the property line. A chill went up my spine while I walked up the dirt pathway to the front porch. I didn’t care what anyone else said about Bill Coates. He had something to do with the charred remains of my barn on the ground. He was the reason why my safe place no longer felt safe.
The cold autumn air nipped at the back of my neck when I opened the front door, pushing aside the pile of mail that the mailman had shoved through the slot.
Rifling through the envelopes, I separated the junk mail from the important pieces of mail that included bills and anything that dealt with the sanctuary. A few adoptions requests had come through the mail—a small flicker of hope in the darkness. Other than that, bills were late and unpaid. The electricity company had sent a disconnect notice last week, which explained why the lights didn’t click on when I reached for them and why there was no hum of the kitchen fridge.
I tossed the junk mail in the trashcan in the kitchen with a sigh. It felt like this stroke of bad luck was never going to end after the fire. Nothing seemed to go right anymore, no matter how hard I prayed every night. After tidying up the house with a dust rag and broom, I sat down with my laptop to click through the other adoption emails. At least there were people out there still interested in adopting one of the rescues. I just didn’t know when I could arrange a good time for them to come by the Smith ranch to talk about the adoptions.
The construction crew the insurance company had contacted arrived yesterday morning to pour the new foundation for the barn. The silent auction was well on its way thanks to Tiffany and Colt’s legwork. The sanctuary would be okay. There would be a new barn, new supplies, and tack, but it didn’t erase the unease brewing inside of me.
Everyone in Green Point seemed to have a good idea of who had started the fire, but everyone was also afraid of pinning the blame on the person.
My fingers curled up into a tight fist when I thought of Bill Coates’s leering face when he had stumbled out of the Iron Stallion to confront Colt and me. No matter what the sheriff said—or what anyone else said for that matter—I knew Bill was capable of destroying anyone he deemed a nuisance. He had proven that by killing Colt’s horse in cold blood over losing a contract to Colt’s father.
I grabbed my personal laptop from the small office I kept backup files on.
“First things first,” I said. “The electric needs to be turned back on.”
“Knock, knock.”
“Shit, Colt!” I exclaimed, holding a hand over my thumping heart. “Where did you come from?”
Colt stepped inside, pushing the front door open with a frown. He took his cowboy hat off, a habit I noticed whenever he walked inside, and glanced around the living room at the lamp lights.
“I rang the doorbell, but didn’t hear anything,” he said. “What happened to the electricity? I don’t hear the usual hum.”
I reached up to play with the end of my braid nervously. “Well, I haven’t been here to monitor when the bills need to be paid.”
“So, the electricity is disconnected?”
“Yes. I was just going to—” I stopped when Colt strode through the living room to the kitchen. I heard him twist the kitchen sink on before coming back into the room with his cellphone in hand. “What are you going to do?”
“Pay the water and electricity,” Colt said, thumbing through his phone contacts. “You can’t stay out here with nothing turned on.” He paused to look at me with a heavy frown. “Why didn’t you say something about being behind bills?”
I looked down at the pile of bright pink warning letters on the coffee table when Colt’s eyes flicked to there. “Oh, right. I just didn’t think it was your problem is all. The bills have to be paid despite the fire.”
Colt sighed as he lifted his phone to his ear. “Yes, that’s true. You could’ve said something though. It would’ve made things cheaper.”
“You can’t possibly think that it’s okay to pay for my bills,” I said, aghast. “You’ve already done so much, Colt. I can’t accept you paying my bills.”
“You can’t live in the dark without heat, electricity, or running water. Anything else that I need to worry about while I’m here?”
Before I could protest further, Colt surged forward with surprising grace to grab the pile of pink disconnect notices from my lap. I tried to snatch them back, but he was stronger and quicker. He disappeared through the front door with his phone attached to his ear. The gentle rumble of Colt’s voice reached my ears as I slid off the couch, hugging myself to keep the cold autumn from seeping into my bones.
He is right, Cheyenne. You can’t live off your pride.
The compassion of the Smith children didn’t cease to amaze me. Especially when it came to Colt Smith.
A smile tugged at my lips while I watched Colt open the driver’s side door of his truck to dig around the front seat. He was going to make a woman very happy one day. The thought of another woman wrapped up in his strong arms made my stomach clench. I shook my head as Colt tapped a credit card impatiently on the steering wheel.
Just keep it friendly, Cheyenne. No men. Remember?
That was the problem though. It was getting harder to remember that with each passing day that I spent in Colt’s company. I could feel that sensation building up between us. It bubbled in the air whenever I turned to find Colt’s eyes lingering on me before turning to look at something else in the distance. It was only a matter of time before that overwhelming urge to kiss him madly finally took over.
Colt walked into the living room a few minutes later with a smile. As usual, he took off his hat to set it down on the small dining room table.
“All utility companies will be out here to turn everything back on,” he informed me, glancing out the window at the new foundation. “I see that the construction crew has been out here already.”
“They came by yesterday,” I said. “Thank you for doing that, Colt. I can’t thank you enough for everything that you have done.”
“You’re welcome.” He gave me a long and lingering look that instantly made my skin felt too tight and hot. “I suppose that means you will be getting out of my ranch here soon.”
I cleared the bulge out of my throat. “Well, technically I have to if I want to have those grants cover the sanctuary.”
“How much longer do you think you’ll be around?”
“A week or so maybe,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. “I have no idea yet how long it will take, but I will let you know.”
A sudden thought hit me then. It was late afternoon, and every day that I spent at the Smith ranch, Colt had devoted himself to the Iron Stallion. The only times I ever saw him were in the mornings or in passing.
“What are you doing here?” I asked curiously. “I thought the Iron Stallion was open tonight.”
Colt’s face visibly darkened at that. “It is supposed to be open tonight, but there is a problem with the plumbing. Don’t ask me what happened either.” He read the confused frown on my face. “Everything was fine a few months ago. Now, nothing works. The pipes are backed up, and my usual plumber is unable to come out for the next few weeks.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. There isn’t enough work around Green Point for one plumber to be that busy.”
“No shit,” Colt said, sighing. “I’m starting to think this is something else, but I don’t want to think that an old friend is turning on me.”
An icy wave crashed over me.
“Is this friend of yours good friends with Bill Coates?”
Colt’s lips thinned into a straight line. His eyes focused on something in the distance that I couldn’t see through the dining room window. Sunlight danced across the sharp features of Colt’s scruffy cheeks. It took all my strength to not reach out and drag my fingertips along the stubble on his jaw.
“He was a long time ago until Bill Coates refused to pay him for some plumbing work that he had done at the Coates ranch,” Colt said. “It doesn’t matter though. This plumbing problem is well beyond my skills. The Iron Stallion will be closed for the next few weeks. Unless I can reach a good plumber from another city.” He put a hand to his forehead like he had a headache. He looked stressed.
I laid a tentative hand on Colt’s upper arm. Strong muscles flexed beneath the fabric of his shirt. Colt’s eyes glanced down at my hand resting there before he let out a long pent-up breath.
“I’m sorry that things aren’t working out for you this week,” I said. “I know how it feels to have everything go against you all of a sudden.”
“You would know that.” His lips curved up into a smile. “I’m starting to think you are bad luck. Maybe it’s a good idea for you to come back here. I’ll keep those horses safe.”
He chuckled when I swatted him on the arm. “Very funny. What are you going to do with your few weeks off then?”
“Work at the ranch. I can help you out here too.”
“That’s what the construction crew is for,” I said.
The idea of having Colt around my house all the time made my heart race with nerves. We were treading on thin ice at this point. We were about plunge into the dark waters of lust, and judging from the look that Colt sent in my direction, he knew it too. He knew it well.
“You need the help around here,” Colt replied, leaning up against the window frame. “I can’t sit idle for the next few weeks. I already cut checks for my employees, so I need to do something to keep my head off the financial hit.”
“And you paid all my bills today? Colt—”
A strong and calloused finger pressed up against my lips. Rooted to the spot, I stared hopelessly up at Colt who smiled down at me. I could smell fresh autumn air on his clothes along with some sort of earthy spice. My heart galloped furiously in my ribcage.
“You really don’t make things easy, do you?”
I shrugged my shoulders because I didn’t know what else to say. The hair on the back of my neck stood on edge as Colt leaned in, closing the distance between us. I could see the orange and pink skylight reflecting in Colt’s eyes.
Warm breath puffed against my tinging lips. I parted them instinctively, but the sound of someone knocking on the front door startled us both.
“Electric company,” a male voice called out. “Anyone home?”
I took a hasty step back from Colt, who glanced over his shoulder in thinly veiled annoyance at the front door.
“Coming,” I called out. “Give me a few seconds.”
Colt’s eyes threatened to burn holes right through my back while I scuttled out of the dining room as quickly as possible. Danger. That was all I could think when I opened the front door to let the electric company in—thankful for another person to distract myself from what had nearly happened.