Page 39 of Colt

“I found your wallet,” she said nervously, holding it up as she nibbled on her bottom lip.

He took it from her and looked at her with a serious expression.

“Thank you,” he said simply.

“Colt, I’m sorry—”

He held up a hand to stop her.

“No, I should apologize. I shouldn’t have reacted like that.”

“Yes, you should have. I didn’t do what I promised.” She shrugged. “I just wanted to close my eyes for a few minutes.”

“It’s alright, but you understand where I was coming from, right? If we’re going to see if this goes anywhere, we need privacy until we know for sure. Does that make sense?”

“Yes, and I agree. If other people knew, we’d never have a moment to ourselves to figure out if we have something.”

He cupped her cheek with his gloved hand. “Oh, baby, we definitely have something between us. But I want to see if there’s more.”

She smiled. “Me too. I was worried that you were so angry you wouldn’t want to try anymore.”

He grinned and shook his head. “It would take a lot more than that to make me that angry. Chelsea, I’m in the barn by six every morning and being an hour late is not acceptable. I can’t do that. I have responsibilities here.”

“I understand. Did anyone say anything?”

“Not really. Brian mentioned he sent a text but since I didn’t respond, he came looking for me. I think he had some suspicions, but he’d never say anything. I trust him. We just have to be careful for a while.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. We know now what needs to be done.” He tilted his head. “Maybe you could come to my place instead?”

“I’d like that.”

“Good. We can do that once in a while. Now, I have work to do, so go away. You’re too much of a temptation.” He quickly kissed her lips before picking up the handles of the wheelbarrow and heading into a stall.

Chelsea smiled, leaving the barn and making her way to the riding stable. She noticed several vehicles parked outside and was happy to see that business was thriving.

She opened the door, stepped inside, and walked up to the rail. She watched as Christine led a horse around with a little girl sitting confidently in the saddle with a wide grin on her face. Christine waved when she saw Chelsea and she returned the gesture with a wave of her own.

Chelsea couldn’t help but feel happy as she left the riding stable, seeing how well things were going.

As she walked back to the house, she paused to admire the snow-capped mountains in the distance and wondered how the boarding stables would fare during the winter. Would people still ride? She certainly planned to. There was something exhilarating about riding in the snow. She had always loved riding, regardless of the season.

A fond smile played on her lips as she remembered working here years ago and seeing Colt on his horse. He had such a natural way with horses, and she couldn’t help but be drawn to him. Did he still have that magnificent black stallion? She blushed at the memory of her teenage infatuation with him, desperately wanting to touch his soft hair and kiss him. Of course, she had been too embarrassed to even look at him when they were introduced by Mr. Cotton.

Making her way into the house and removing her coat, Chelsea felt excited for tonight and unless Colt kicked her out of bed, she would spend the night with him.

****

Colt held Chelsea close to him in bed as they lay together. He pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head.

“Have you ever been married?” she asked suddenly.

“No,” he answered simply.

“Why not?”

“It’s just never been something I wanted,” he admitted.

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