Page 130 of Call Back

Colt cameby to see us around noon. He poked his head in the door and glanced at my mother, then at me in the recliner.

I pushed off my blanket and got to my feet.

“How’s she doing?” he asked as he approached me.

“The same,” I whispered. “She’s been sleeping since last night. She rouses when the nurses poke her too much, but other than that she sleeps.”

“She’s a fighter.”

Even when she said she wasn’t.

“Want to get some lunch?”

“I’m not really hungry, but I could use some fresh air.”

We headed to the ground floor and took a walk outside. When I wrapped my arms around my body to hold off the slight chill, Colt wrapped an arm around my back and pulled me closer.

“Do you want to skip tonight?” he asked quietly. “I can handle . . . things.”

I looked up at him. “Do you have a plan to get out of handing over the gold?”

Something shifted in his eyes. “Whatever it takes to keep you safe.”

For the first time since yesterday, I had reservations about trusting Colt. I stopped walking. “So you are handing over the gold?”

He didn’t answer.

“I need to know what you’re planning.”

“It’s not set in stone, Maggie. It’s a fluid plan.”

“Which is bullshit speak for either you don’t know or you’re not going to tell me.”

“There are a lot of factors to consider.”

How could I be so stupid? “You’re giving it to them.” I stated it as fact.

“Who?”

“Whoever you answer to.” When he didn’t say anything, I took a step backward. “You are so full of shit. You’re not coming up with a plan. You’re following orders.” God, how could I have been so stupid? “I’m your orders. Get Magnolia to trust you so she’ll go along with anything you say. Good job, Colt. The harder-to-get the girl, the bigger the feather in your cap.”

He stared at me in disbelief. “You think my intentions toward you are disingenuous? After yesterday?”

I wrapped my arms around myself. “I think you like me, sure, but I think you like yourself more than everyone put together.”

Pain flashed in his eyes before a sneer chased it away. “You said you liked that about us, Magnolia. That we were so alike.”

“I was like that when I came back to Franklin, but I’m changing. I thought you were changing too. My mistake.”

He put his hands on his hips and gave me a look of disgust. “Just like a woman to want to change a man.”

I dropped my arms. “I didn’t try to change you, Colt, and you know it. You were changing all on your own.”

“I’ve been getting soft,” he said, losing his anger. “And soft is dangerous.”

I was handling this so badly, letting my stupid feelings and pride get in the way. Someone from Colt’s past had a hold on him, and instead of helping him, I was ripping him apart. I moved closer and put my hands on his chest. “We can do this together.”

“We have been doing it together.”