Colt strode into The Speckled Hen, looking around. The lights were turned down inside, the tables pushed to the sides to clear a space. There was a full zydeco band playing to one side, with couples swaying along.

The place was packed. Colt stepped past several groups of people at the bar to get a drink. Luckily Missy was off tonight, and some pale-faced guy got him his drink.

He had never felt more amongst his people as he did now, in a long sleeve blue plaid shirt and jeans. It was like the same Cajun fairy had dressed all the men with this event in mind.

He spotted Shelby, wearing some frilly pink shorts and a white shirt. But it was Rose, wearing a delicate wrap dress that was the same dark color as her eyes, that took his breath away.

She looked over at him, smiled, and motioned for him to join them.

Drawn to her like a moth to a flame, he went. Threading his way through the crowd, he walked up to them.

“Hey!” Shelby said.

“Hey,” he said, but he only had eyes for Rose.

“You look nice,” Rose said, blushing.

“Funny, I was about to say the same.” Her wrap dress was a little low cut in the front, giving him an enticing view.

“I’m drinking some kind of punch they made,” Rose said, raising her glass to the light. “For the ladies. It’s sweet, but strong.”

“Probably toxic,” he joked.

She shrugged and took a sip, looking around.

“Shelby knows all these people,” she said, nodding to the group of men surrounding her friend. “I, on the other hand, don’t know any of them.”

“Should we grab a seat, then?” he suggested over the music. “That is, unless you’d rather talk to ten former frat boys.”

Her lips curved into a smile.

“A place to sit sounds good,” she agreed.

Colt led the way to one of the tables, which had been pushed to the far corner. “Is this okay?”

“Sure.”

He pulled out a seat for her, and she blushed as she took it. “Thanks.”

He sat down next to her, willing himself not to stare at the bounty she’d laid before him when she’d chosen such a low-cut top.

“You like this dress?” she asked, catching him looking.

It would look better on my floor, he thought, unembarrassed.

“It’s stunning,” he said. “I would apologize for staring, but you don’t seem too off-put.”

She gave him a slow, seductive smile that knocked him stupid. “No, I guess I’m not.”

They were both silent for a while, listening to the fiddle playing and the singer singing in Cajun French. It was upbeat, jaunty music, more meant for dancing than listening to it.

“Are you interested in dancing?” he asked, nodding his head at the couples on the floor.

“Not yet,” she said, making a face. “I don’t know, maybe not at all.”

“All right. I assume you’ll let me know.”

She nodded thoughtfully. “I will.”

He was silent for a moment, then a thought occurred to him.

“You must be excited for the clinic to open,” he said.

She sipped her drink, looking reflective.

“I am. I’m ready for people to start bringing their pets in, and calling on me for farm visits. Plus the income will be nice,” she said, smiling. “I’ve been living off the stipend that I got from the county for settling out here, but that’ll run out eventually.”

“Ah, so your resources are finite. I was starting to wonder,” he teased.

“Yes, well. I told you, I was a hostess in college. In vet school, I worked at a veterinarian’s office. I’ve never been a trust fund baby or anything.”

He winced. “Hey, we’re trying to get along just like anybody else.”

“Wait, you’re a trust funder?” she asked, seeming shocked.

“Yep. All three of us are. My brothers, I mean.”

Her mouth twisted. “So you’re… what? Mega-rich?”

“The way my trust is set up, we get a small portion when we turn twenty-five. We get the remainder when our father dies.” He paused. “I spent a lot of the up-front payment already.”

“Ah, so you’re a hobo, just like me,” she cracked.

“Yeah. I have some investments that are about to hit big,” he said, playing with the condensation on his glass. “So I’ll have more money than either of my brothers soon.”

He leaned back in his chair, watching her. She didn’t get that gleam in her eye that gold-diggers always got when they found out. She was interested for the sake of conversation, not in the money itself.

Don’t get too excited, he reminded himself. She might not even be interested in you.

“I always wondered what growing up with a lot of money was like,” she said. “We always had enough, always had a place to sleep and plenty to eat, but… it was charity, I think.”

“Charity?”

“Yeah, from my mom’s followers. They made her whole life possible, I think.”

“Hmm. So we’re from different income brackets,” he said and shrugged. “I’ve seen worse.”

She cracked a lopsided grin.

“Well, just as long as you don’t think I’m after your money.”

“That would imply that you were after me,” he said.

She blushed. “I’m not sure what I’m after.”

“Let me know when you figure that out,” he said. “In the meantime, I’m off to get another drink. Can I refresh yours, since we’ve established I’m financially well-off?”

“Sure,” she said with a laugh.

He got up and made for the bar. It was so crowded that it took him several minutes to get their drinks. When he headed back to the table, the band was just finishing up, preparing to cede the stage to another.

Colt wound his way through the crowd, frowning when he got close to their table. A man was standing there, grinning at Rose. He reached out and put his hand on her arm, which she shook off like a burning brand.

“I just wanted to say hi,” the man was saying as Colt got close.

From here, Colt could make out Jared Chalke’s features. His expression pulled into a frown.

“And I told you that I never want to see you again!” she hissed. Her arms were crossed in an attempt to block him from seeing her cleavage.

Weird.

“Everything all right?” Colt asked, swooping in and setting the drinks down.

“Sure,” he said. “Nice to see you again. Colt, is it?”

“I think you need to leave Rose alone,” Colt said, getting straight to the point, his words underlined with steel.

“We’re old friends,” Jared said. “Right, Rose?”

She glared at him with what seemed like all the bitterness in the world. She seemed about five seconds away from spitting on his boots. Colt didn’t understand why she was so angry, but he knew the feeling well enough.

He reached out and put an arm around Rose, steering her away. She was shaking with her fury.

“I’ll see you soon, Rose!” Jared called.

Don’t deck him. Don’t do it, he reminded himself.

He pushed Rose toward the door. Shelby popped up, appearing next to Rose.

“Hey, sorry, I was talking to…” she started, then stopped. “What’s wrong?”

“We have to go,” Rose blurted, pushing past her friend.

“Sorry,” Colt said, shrugging.

They finally made it to the door, Shelby falling to the wayside. He had to let go of Rose for them to make it through the door. Colt stepped outside after Rose, unsure what was happening.

Rose looked both ways, then quickly crossed the road. After watching her for a second, Colt was left to follow her across the street.

“Hey—”

“Just… not now,” she said, slowing down once they made it to her driveway. They walked to her front porch before he spoke again.

She fixed her gaze on some point on the horizon, swallowing.

“I’m just asking you to look at me,” he said, at a loss.

Rose brought her eyes up slowly, tears shining in them. His heart wrenched, seeing that.

“Do you want me to go back and beat the shit out of him?” he asked earnestly.

She wiped away a tear, looking up at him.

“You would, wouldn’t you?” she said softly.

“I would if you asked.”

He realized that, at that moment, he was willing to do anything she asked. It was a frightening moment of reality.

He thought she would speak again, but instead she raised up on her tiptoes and kissed him. He was surprised, but he accepted her kiss.

Her kiss was soft, but insistent. He returned it gently, making himself stay still. She grew bolder, her hand delving into his hair, her lips parting.

He explored her with tender touches of his tongue, making her grip his hair more tightly. She wanted control, desperately; he gave her exactly what she needed.

She bit his lower lip, surprising him. He groaned, struggling not to take control. She froze for a moment, then kissed him a final time on the lips.

She stepped back, disentangling herself.

“I—” she said, shaking her head. “Thank you. I know it’s… hard for you.”

A thousand frustrated responses came to mind, but he tamped them down. He reached out slowly and took her hand in his. “It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not.”

The slight breathlessness in her tone made him want to pull her closer, kiss her again. But he didn’t want to cross any invisible lines with her. Not tonight.

“I’ll tell you when it’s not,” he promised, squeezing her fingers and then dropping her hand. “Go ahead inside, hmm? I want to make sure you get all the way into your house.”

Glancing behind herself at the house, which was only a few inches away, she smiled.

“Okay.”

Colt backed up respectfully. She bit her lip and nodded at him. He watched her shyly unlock her door, disappearing inside.

He saw the curtains next to her door move. He waved goodnight and walked to his truck, mind full of questions.

Questions about who Jared Chalke was, and what he had done to Rose. Because the more that Colt knew her, the more he had the feeling that Jared had done something very, very bad.

Tightening his grip on the steering wheel, Colt pulled his truck out. Thinking all the while how fantastic it would feel to bury his fist in Jared’s face…