Page 73 of Colt

“So, the odds that she’s already had tea are pretty good,” Eli said with a grin.

Lorna smiled. “Okay. I’m not sure what that means, but I believe you.”

“Mom always offers tea anytime you’re feeling down.”

“I see. Well, I’m going back inside. It’s too cold out here, and those two want to build a snowman.” Lorna shook her head. “Come back when you can spend more time, Chels.”

“I will, Lorna. Go in where it’s warm.”

Lorna waved at her, blew a kiss at Eli, then entered the house. Chelsea looked at her brother to see him staring at the house.

“You have got it bad, big brother.” She smiled.

“I know. I’ll check around tomorrow, sis.”

“Thank you. I miss him, Eli.”

“I can tell. He just needs time. I’m sure leaving a place he worked at for almost thirty years is hard on him.”

“It was a stupid reason,” Chelsea growled.

Eli shook his head. “I agree with him, Chels. He was breaking the rules, so how could he expect the men to respect him?”

“But—”

“There’s no but here, Chels. Could you work with someone you had no respect for? With someone who did what you or anyone else weren’t allowed to do?”

“I get that, but why did he have to leave?”

“Because he knew he still couldn’t work with the men, and what would he do? Colt is not a man who lets someone else do all the work, so he’d want to work alongside them.”

“You’re right. I know you are, but I miss him, Eli,” her voice caught and Eli hugged her.

“If it’s meant to be, it will be.”

“I’d better go. It looks like the snow is getting heavier.”

“We’re expecting a storm tonight or haven’t you looked at the weather?”

“I haven’t. I’m only interested in finding Colt. Please call me tomorrow when you know something.”

“Alright. Be careful going home. Get some rest. You look like you could use it.”

“I’m exhausted. I’ll talk to you soon.” Chelsea hugged him and Lily, got into her car and after waving, she drove out of the driveway to head home.

****

Colt made his way down the barn’s aisle, pushing a wheelbarrow. He went into one of the stalls and cleared out the manure before moving on to the next one. As he worked, he couldn’t help but think about Chelsea and how much he missed her and he wondered how he’d live without seeing her again.

He couldn’t even answer her calls or text messages. He needed to figure out what to do. He missed her, but how could they be together when he couldn’t work at the ranch, alongside the men?

It was a tough situation, but one he had put himself into. If he had stayed away from her, none of this would have happened. To him, the only thing he could do was leave. He’d expect anyone else to do the same if they had done what he did.

As he finished cleaning another stall and pushed the wheelbarrow back out, he saw Jett entering the barn and walked toward him. To say he was surprised to see him, would be a huge understatement.

“Hey, Colt.”

“Jett, what are you doing here? Is something wrong with Chelsea?” His gut was in knots just thinking about that.

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