Chapter 22
Colt
I needed to be up early because the Iron Stallion was re-opening today. After all the work that had to be done on the plumbing, I was finally able to get my restaurant going again. I could dodge some financial bullets, get the books back on track, and get some semblance of normalcy restored around here.
Well, as normal as we could get it.
I wanted to check on everything, just to make sure nothing was out of place. The last thing I needed was to open the restaurant for business then spring a leak elsewhere. It had been closed longer than I’d anticipated and much longer than I wanted. And with everything happening around here and suspicion flying in ways I couldn’t imagine, I didn’t put it past someone to sabotage the opening of the restaurant.
Especially since people knew we were helping out Cheyenne.
I grabbed myself some coffee from the kitchen and figured I could grab breakfast in town. While the Iron Stallion was growing in numbers because of its great reputation, there was a diner on the other side of the area that had a great breakfast. The reason I specialized in the food I did with the Iron Stallion is because that diner was good at doing everything else. I knew the only way I’d ever make any money with it was to make the menu drastically different.
I chugged my coffee before I looked out towards the barn. Part of me was always on the lookout for any sign of these pranksters, or even Bill himself. Raking my fingers through my hair, I poured one last cup of coffee and then decided to head on out.
When I got to my truck, I noticed that Cheyenne’s tire was flat.
“Damn it.” She was gonna be pissed, and I knew it. I strode back inside just as she was stumbling down the stairs in search of coffee before she tended to her horses. She looked exhausted and had every right to be, and I hated the fact that I was about to throw more on her plate. Especially since it might exacerbate her financial issues.
“Morning, Cheyenne.”
“Hi, Colt,” she said with a smile. It lit up something inside of me, and I instinctively reached out for her. I grabbed her arm and pulled her in for a hug, and when she sunk into me, memories from a few nights ago came flooding back. The way her hair tickled my skin and the way her nails raked across my back. Her lips had set my skin on fire while her legs wound tightly around me, and I had to physically steady my breathing to keep myself under control.
“Sleep well?” she said into my chest.
“Not too bad.”
“Something’s wrong,” she said. “What is it?”
She pulled back and looked up at me, and I knew she could see right through my facade. Panic rose in her face, her eyes suddenly lit up, and all at once she bombarded me with questions.
“Is it the horses? What’s happened with the barn? Was someone else here? Colt, talk to me.”
“No, no, whoa, slow down. The horses and the barns are all fine. You’ve got a flat tire, though.”
“Oh my God, you scared me. It’s no big—wait, completely flat or just low?”
“Completely flat,” I said.
“Hold on, let me get my robe or something.”
I watched her trip her way back up the steps, and I decided to make her a cup of coffee. She had such a caring soul when it came to those horses, but she wasn’t going to be happy about this tire. She felt relieved now, until she got out there and realized she didn’t have a spare or something like that, and even if she did, she’d still have to shell out money for a new spare whenever she could.
And something in the back of my mind kept nagging at me.
“Colt?” she called out, “I’m gonna go outside and take a look.”
“Have some coffee first.”
I held out the cup, and she reached for it, sighing with relief. When she took the cup from my hands, our fingers touched, and electricity shot deep into my bones. Never had a woman entranced me as much as this, and I knew I’d reached a point where I’d never be able to go back.
“Mmm, this is wonderful. Thank you,” she said with a smile.
“I saw you trippin’ up those steps earlier. Didn’t want you busting your nose on the driveway.”
“Hey now, no one is completely graceful in the mornings,” she said.
“Speak for yourself; I’m like a ninja.”
“Says the guy who ran into the wall and woke up half the block.”
“You heard that?” I asked.
“You cussed out the wall at four in the morning. Yes, I heard you.”
I stood there and enjoyed another cup of coffee with her, then we went to take a look at her truck. This delay would mean I would have to forego breakfast in order to get everything checked out at the restaurant before we reopened tonight, but if it meant Cheyenne would be safe while I was gone, then so be it.
She groaned as soon as we stepped out onto the porch and saw the tire. She picked up her pace and rushed over for a closer look.
“I can’t believe this. I just put a whole new set of tires on this truck! I’ve barely even used them yet.”
“Do you have a spare?” I asked.
“Yeah. I’ll put it on after chores, I guess.”
“I can do it for you real quick.”
“No, you can’t. You’ve got to get to work,” she said.
“Cheyenne, I’m not leaving you here with a flat tire. Where’s your spare?”
“Colt, seriously, it’s fine.
I walked around her and looked at her truck. Thankfully, the spare was in place underneath. I set to work getting it down, then looking for the jack. Cheyenne was walking around the truck and checking the other tires while I dug around in the cab behind the seats to find the jack.
As I got to working on the tire, I saw the exact issue I was afraid of the moment I got it off the ground.
“You know I’ve liked you since the moment I saw you, right?” I asked.
“The other tires look—what?”
“Yeah. First time I ever saw you. You were buzzing around like a busy little hornet, and it seemed to me like you stayed that way on purpose. But that didn’t deter me. Most men don’t like a busy woman, but I do. I think it’s the character trait of a strong woman.”
“Yeah, well. It’s pretty much what you gotta be when you’re on your own,” she said.
“He really did a number on you, didn’t he?”
“Who?” she asked.
“Whatever guy came before me.”
“There isn’t a guy that came before you because there isn’t an us,” she said in a huff.
I started taking the lug nuts off, then slid the tire off the axel. I couldn’t really read the look on her face; it was focused, somewhat sad, and intentionally trained off into the distance.
“You know I’m not him, right?” I asked.
“I know,” she said softly. “I’m just, very determined. I want to get these horses healed up and with families who will care about them. Like Mike, for example.”
“Mike will take great care of that horse. He treats his animals with respect,” I said.
“So the horse sanctuary hasn’t really left time for a personal life, that’s all.”
“In that case, I can only imagine how hard it’s been for you to rely on someone to help you with everything while you get everything rebuilt.”
“Honestly? I was hesitant at first, but now I’m kind of glad I have one now.”
“One what?” I asked with a grunt, confused now.
“A personal life.”
I looked over at her, and her eyes were fully trained on me. A little smirk played on those lips I wanted to kiss goodbye, and something underneath my skin began to tingle. I trained my attention back on the tire, then waved her over to look.
“So, you’ve got a massive gash here,” I said.
“That thing is pretty big,” she said as she fingered it. “What in the world could I have driven over that would’ve made something like that?”
“That’s the problem. This incision looks to be pretty clean. If a rock or a stray piece of glass or metal did this, it would be jagged, and maybe even gaping or still lodged inside. But this is really clean, like it’s been sliced.”
“You think someone slashed my tire,” she said.
“I’m just telling you what it looks like. I’ve changed a lot of tires, Cheyenne. With everything else going on, it honestly wouldn’t surprise me.”
“I don’t know. Well, I guess I’ll take my tires getting slashed over a barn burning down any day. But the attacks we’ve been having have been pretty personal and against the animals. This is just a tire,” she said.
“I’m just telling you what I think it looks like. I’ll get this spare on for you, and then I gotta get into work.”
“Ah, yes. The grand reopening. You ready for it?”
“I want to check things over first. Make sure every single thing in the whole place is in order. I’ll feel better once I know I’m not gonna spring a leak in the roof or have no refrigeration or something,” I said.
I got her tire back on before I cleaned myself up and put her jack and lug wrench back where they belonged. Ready to leave, I turned around and took Cheyenne into my arms.
“Colt!” she exclaimed breathlessly.
“I’m really glad you’ve got a personal life, too,” I said with a grin.
Crushing my lips to hers, the world seemed to stop. Her hands found their way into my hair before she wrapped them around my shoulders, and my hands seemed to fit perfectly right in the dip of her back. She pressed deeply into my body while my tongue begged for entrance. When she granted it to me, a dark moan of longing burst forth from my throat. She tasted like morning sunshine and sweetened coffee, and there was a little voice in the back of my head chanting that I could get used to this.
And I realized that the little voice was right.
“Listen, there’s a gun in the house if you need it, and Rick will be here soon.”
“I’ll be fine,” she said with a smile.
“Cheyenne. You need to take this seriously. This town’s in an uproar right now. I need you to be safe. Promise me you’ll not take any chances, and you’ll use that gun if you need it.”
She looked into my eyes and searched them for a time before she lightly nodded her head. I cupped her cheek and placed one last kiss on her forehead, then reluctantly, I let her go.
“Be careful, Cheyenne.”
“Have a good opening tonight,” she said.