Page 16 of Colt

“No good could come of this,” she scolded herself with a shake of her head. “Just good sex, no doubt.”

With a heavy sigh, she refocused on unpacking and hoped that Colt Monroe would stay off her mind for the rest of the day.

Later, while taking a break, she opened a magazine about horses, and read an article on running a riding stable. She sat up. Could she add that to the ranch? She wondered if Colt would help with that. It would bring in more business. Not that they needed it, but some people loved to ride but didn’t own horses.

Chelsea could buy some gentle horses and offer riding lessons along with letting experienced riders use the riding trails.

“Sometimes, Chelsea, my girl, you have wonderful ideas.” She laughed as she made her way to the kitchen, then out the door to head for the barn.

When she entered the barn, she came to a halt. It was packed with people getting their horses ready for a ride. She couldn’t blame them; it was a beautiful day. In fact, if she didn’t have more unpacking to do, she’d go on a ride herself.

She blew out a sigh. It looked like she’d have to speak with Colt later, but she was excited at the prospect of adding the riding stable, along with lessons.

After dinner, she worked on a few more boxes, and noticed it was getting darker outside. She glanced at the clock to see it was after eight. She walked to the door, peered out to see the lights off in the barns. Everyone must be gone.

Colt had his own home on the property. A cabin Mr. Cotton had built for him once he became manager. The manager before him lived in his own home, but since Colt had lived in the bunkhouse and didn’t have a place, Mr. Cotton built him one.

She picked up her keys, opened the door, ran down the steps, hopped into her vehicle, and drove to his house. She hoped she wasn’t disturbing him, but she was anxious about talking with him about the riding stable.

Chelsea pulled up to the log home, and stepped out. She glanced around but didn’t see anyone, though a light was on inside. Closing the door, she walked up the steps, across the porch, knocked, and waited. And waited.

When he finally opened the door, she had to bite her lip to keep her jaw from dropping. He stood in front of her, wearing only sweatpants, and she was sure there was nothing underneath them but the man himself.

“Chelsea? Is everything okay?”

“Um, yes. I wanted to talk to you about something. I meant to do it earlier, but we were so busy...”

“Come on in.” He held the door open wider, raising an eyebrow at her hesitation.

She took a deep breath and stepped into his home, glancing around nervously.

“It’s nice,” she said.

“Thanks. Have a seat. Can I get you anything to drink?”

“No, thank you. So, what do you think about adding a riding stable?”

“You mean letting people ride our horses?”

“Yes, since a lot of people love to ride, but don’t have their own horse, and we could also give riding lessons.”

“Why are you asking me? It’s your place, do whatever you want.” He shrugged.

“Would you—”

“No.”

“But you don’t even know what I was going to ask.”

“If you’re suggesting I add teaching people to ride to my already long list of tasks, forget it. I have enough to do as it is. Do it yourself.”

Chelsea gasped. “Would you talk back like this to Mr. Cotton?”

“No, because he wouldn’t try to put more pressure on me like you’re doing right now.”

She stepped closer to him. “I could fire you.”

“Then do it. Let’s see how far that gets you.”

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