Chapter 13
Cheyenne
“Ah, it feels so good to be out of that hospital and stuffy apartment,” Tiffany said as she sank down into the couch cushions with a relieved sigh. “At least they give you pain pills on a steady basis there to keep you happy.”
I laughed as Colt rolled his eyes in exasperation. The both of us had picked up Tiffany from the small apartment her friend in town rented out. Compared to the Smith house, the apartment really did feel stuffy and small. The living room was bigger than the entire apartment.
“You have to rest,” Colt said. “No moving about because those bones will break again if you do it too quickly. Hear me, Tif?”
“I hear you,” Tiffany said, adjusting a blanket across her lap. Her leg, dressed in a hard cast, was propped up gently on a small pillow on the coffee table. “I can’t move around, so don’t worry about me deciding that I can go run a marathon or something. I think I’ll enjoy this moment of recovery as long as I can.”
Colt leaned in to press a kiss to Tiffany’s head. The gesture brought a smile to my face, which I immediately wiped away when Tiffany glanced at me curiously.
“I have to go,” Colt said, straightening up with his hat in hand. “I have the restaurant to get to—”
“Did Cheyenne ask about the silent auction there?” Tiffany asked.
A frown tugged at Colt’s lips. “I thought the insurance would cover what was needed. We are still talking about the silent auction?”
“It won’t cover everything,” I admitted with a shrug. “The adjuster gave me an estimate yesterday. It’s just barely enough to rebuild the barn, and well, Tiffany was insistent on taking care of this silent auction in the hospital.”
I trailed off nervously from the irritated look on Colt’s face. I knew he would be upset that Tiffany was working from her hospital room rather than resting.
“Don’t get mad at Cheyenne,” Tiffany said, reading the look on Colt’s face. “I did all of this without her knowing about it until a few days ago. People are donating to the auction. A few people are throwing in some saddles. Jacob’s offering some free exams too.”
Colt sighed as he smoothed a hand through his hair. “I guess I have to offer something too. What did we talk about, Cheyenne? A private dinner with me?”
I nodded despite how my throat burned with jealousy at the thought. The women in Green Point were mad about Colt Smith. I knew that much from the envious whispers I overheard whenever I went into town. “That’s what we talked about. I think you’ll have a lot of offers that way.”
“If you’re okay with it.”
The statement caught me off guard. I looked up at Colt in surprise as he stared at me with a guarded expression. The doorbell echoed in the living room, catching the three of us off guard. I looked out the window as Colt left to open the front door. My heart sank when I saw that it was Robert standing on the front porch with his police hat in hand. He spoke briefly with Colt before stepping inside.
“Who is it?” Tiffany asked.
“Robert,” I told her, and the both of us exchanged a long look. I braced myself on the couch next to Tiffany as Robert entered the living room with Colt right behind him.
Robert swept a gaze along Tiffany’s leg cast. “What happened, Tiffany?”
“It’s a long story,” she said stonily. “What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to talk with Cheyenne about our investigation,” Robert said. “About the fire and—”
“Did you arrest anyone?” I asked, eager for information. I didn’t want to rebuild the barn with Bill Coates driving by my property every single day. The thought made my chest clench anxiously
“We do believe that there is arson,” Robert started, shifting on his feet uneasily. “There is plenty of evidence of arson from what the fire marshal told me. However, we have no evidence of who could’ve possibly started the fire—”
“You’re kidding me, right?” I stood up to look at Robert, who shrugged his shoulders. My heart pounded with fury. “I told you what Bill Coates said to me before the fire. How is that not enough of suspicion?”
“It’s your word against his, Cheyenne. You have no solid evidence of this interaction either. I talked to Bill Coates. He lost a horse in the fire, and I know how much those horses mean to him.”
Tears filled my eyes. “If he cared so much for his horses, he wouldn’t be abusing them or neglecting them.”
“That’s not the case we are talking about here,” Robert said flippantly. “The investigation is being closed from the lack of leads. There’s nothing more that I can do, Cheyenne. I’m sorry about the barn, but it sounds like the insurance company will be able to rebuild for you.”
I opened my mouth to reply, but it was a strong and sturdy hand on my shoulder that stopped me. I looked up at Colt as he positioned himself between me and Robert.
“Thank you, Robert. If we hear anything, we will let you know right away.”
I waited until Robert’s truck was down the driveway before I whirled on Colt, who looked even more exhausted than before.
“This isn’t right,” I cried, fists clenched at my side. “I know who the arsonist is. Why doesn’t anyone else believe me?”
“We do believe you,” Tiffany said. “Trust me. A lot of people believe that it was Bill Coates who started the fire, but it’s like what Robert said. There isn’t any evidence to tie him to the crime that night.”
“He threatened that it wasn’t over though when I refused to give the stallion back.”
“That’s our point,” Colt interjected, his fingers squeezing my shoulder tightly. “If Bill did do this, then you need to be careful, Cheyenne. He won’t do anything while you’re here at my ranch, but if he got away with this the first time, then he could get away with it again.”
Tiffany looked up at me imploringly. “Listen to what Colt is saying. You aren’t going to help your case if you are running around accusing Bill of the fire. It’s just going to make him more furious.”
Even though I didn’t want to admit it, they both had a good point. I had done enough to get underneath the man’s skin, and if he was capable of setting a barn on fire, then he was capable of other things. I could see the concern in Colt’s eyes as he looked down at me.
“I’ll be fine,” I said. “You’re right. I need to back off.”
“Just for now,” Colt said, sighing. “I’m in your corner, Cheyenne. I hate the man, but I know that his own head is starting to wage wars on him. He’s been showing up to the Iron Stallion every single night drunk.”
“Saying what?” I asked.
Colt made it a point to avoid my question by searching his pocket for his truck keys. “Just his usual bullshit. I have to get going to the restaurant. The two of you take it easy. Especially you, Tif.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Tiffany said. She waved a hand airily. “It’s not like I can really move around here, Colt. Stop fretting over me.”
“And you try to relax a bit,” Colt said, fixing me with a long look. “Try not to let your head get all riled up while I’m gone. I don’t know if I can run after you into another fire.”
I sat down on the couch next to Tiffany. Neither one of us said a word until we heard Colt’s truck drive down the road before Tiffany turned to look at me with a frown.
“Is there something going on between the two of you that I need to know about?”
“No,” I said, avoiding her gaze by adjusting the blanket about her legs. “Nothing is going on between us. Why do you ask?”
“Because Colt is looking at you in a weird way.”
“He is not. That’s how he looks at me all the time.”
“Nope.” Tiffany shook her head. “He doesn’t look at anyone the way he looks at you. That makes me believe that neither one of you are being honest with me or with yourselves.”
“Don’t push it, Tif. I can break bones easily.”
“Fine. I won’t push it.” Tiffany gave me a long and hard glance. “Do you understand what Colt and I are trying to say to you about the fire? There’s no doubt in our heads that he had something to do with it, but running around the way you have been is going to put you right back in his line of revenge. We won’t be able to protect you when you go back to your own ranch.”
“I know. I understand what you’re saying.” I wrapped my arms around Tiffany’s strong shoulders. “Thank you for being such a good friend. The both of you. I really appreciate it.”
“Of course. You’re a good person, Cheyenne. We really like having you around. I think Colt likes it more than me, though.”
I rolled my eyes at the sly comment. Rising from the couch, I double checked that Tiffany had everything she needed before venturing outside to get the horses fresh water and some oats. Two weeks was how long it’d take to get the barn rebuilt and painted from what the insurance adjuster told me. They had a construction crew they called upon in cases like barn fires.
And while I felt happy about going back to my own personal space, I felt a tinge of fear building in me. I didn’t know who to trust besides for a handful of people. After Tiffany and Colt’s valid points, I knew that I needed to keep an eye peeled over my shoulder at all times once I stepped off the Smith property. They provided shelter and protection. Even the horses loved it here, but I had accepted the insurance check to rebuild the barn. I had no other choice besides going back to my place.
It’d be a good thing too, Cheyenne, to get away from Colt.
Everyone was picking up something between us. My own family was. Tiffany sensed it too. I imagined the rest of Green Point had the same assumptions too. Distance. That was what I needed.
I finished the rest of my morning chores before hanging up a few brushes in the barn in the tack room. After checking that there was plenty of hay and water in the stalls, I started in the direction of the barn door when something brushed against my shoulder. I brushed off the pieces of wood from my shoulder with a frown.
“What in the—”
A loud crash filled the barn. The air was ripped out of my lungs when a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around me followed by a heavy weight throwing me to the ground. Stunned by the sudden weight, I felt a pair of hands run down the back of my head to check for any bumps.
“You okay, Cheyenne?” Rick asked worriedly.
He helped me sit up from his crouched position next to me. I numbly took in the large wooden beam on the ground where I had been standing. Blood pounding in my temples, I looked back over at Rick as he gazed the wooden beam with a frown.
“I’m fine,” I said, voice distant with shock. “What happened?”
“The beam is rotted out,” Rick explained as he got to his feet. He kicked a dark and wet part of the beam. “I meant to have that replaced after the last rainstorm. Colt asked me to do it, and I completely forgot until now.”
“Thank goodness you were here,” I breathed out and got to my feet as well. “I would’ve been smashed beneath of it.”
“Don’t tell Colt,” Rick said, and his face contorted into a grimace. “If he knew that it almost killed you, I would either lose my job here, or I’d never hear the end of it.”
I ran a hand through my hair to control my frazzled nerves. “Don’t worry. Accidents happen, so I won’t tell him.”
Rick nodded before I turned to exit the barn, heart pounding the entire time. Accidents happened all the time. I knew that just as well as anyone else did, but this didn’t feel like an accident either. Nothing felt like a genuine accident anymore.