Page 30 of Colt

“Nice to meet you, Colt,” Christine replied with a smile.

“She’ll be joining us as our new riding instructor,” Chelsea explained, snapping Colt back to attention.

“I see. Well, welcome aboard. We hope you enjoy your time here,” Colt said sincerely.

“Oh, I’m sure I will,” Christine responded with a hint of flirtation in her voice as she continued to gaze at him.

Colt held her gaze until Chelsea cleared her throat, causing him to shift his focus back to her. A faint frown creased her forehead and he wondered what could possibly be bothering her.

“Actually, I wanted to let you know that I’ll be taking Joey with me to check the fence. Just wanted to give you a heads up in case you needed him and couldn’t find him,” he said to Chelsea.

“I’m sure he thought he’d be off today since it’s fall break, but I appreciate you letting me know,” Chelsea nodded gratefully.

“Yes, ma’am,” Colt replied dutifully before turning back to Christine. “It was nice meeting you.”

“The pleasure was all mine,” Christine said flirtatiously, flashing him another charming grin that made him chuckle.

He cast a final glance at Chelsea, noting the slight downturn of her lips, before making his way out of the barn. The warm sun greeted him as he stepped outside, but there was a chill in the air. Christine was a beautiful woman, but in his opinion, she couldn’t hold a candle to Chelsea.

Riding along the fence, he stole a glance back at Joey. The poor guy looked like he was about to have a heart attack on top of that horse.

“Just relax, Joey,” Colt called out. “He can feel your tension, and it makes him tense too.”

“Okay...” Joey’s voice shook with fear. “I’ve never ridden a horse before.”

“Don’t worry; it’s easy. Just try to relax your muscles. They’ll thank you for it later.”

After they finished their rounds, Colt led Joey back to the barn where he taught him how to cool down the horse. Looking at his watch, he realized it was almost two.

“You can head home if you want, Joey. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

“Thanks, Colt. See ya!” With that, Joey quickly ran off to his car and drove away.

“Colt?”

He turned around to see Chelsea walking toward him. Great, what could she possibly want now?

“Yeah?”

“How is Joey doing? Is he working out, okay?”

“He’s doing great so far. Seems like he really enjoys being here.”

“That’s good to hear. Oh, and I think Christine will work out just fine as well.” She stared at him expectantly.

“Well, that’s good to know. Did you check her references though?”

“Of course, I did. I do know how to run a business.” Her tone was defensive.

He raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. “What other businesses have you run?”

“I own a coffee shop in town.”

“I had no idea.”

“How would you? We barely speak unless we’re having sex, and not much talking goes on.”

“Well, start learning how to have actual conversations because the sex isn’t happening again,” he retorted harshly.

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