Page 36 of Curvy Nanny for the Cowboy

“Molly,” he began, but I shook my head and pushed forward with what I had to say.

“No, I need to say this. I’m sorry for making you worry about Hunter like that, truly. But I thought you knew me well enough to know that I wouldn’t leave the ranch without letting you know. I was wrong,” I said softly, ignoring the ache in my chest. “But still, there was no reason for you to speak to me the way you did. I know I’m just an employee, but I’m a person, and I deserve respect.”

His hazel eyes were more brown and gold than green as they studied me carefully, his expression blank save for the way his jaw continued to clench. “You’re right; you deserve better than the way I spoke to you, and I am so damn sorry, Molly. It was just, shit,” he bit out harshly and pushed his plate away. “It’s not an excuse, but I was just so worried, and I reacted badly.”

“Okay. Glad we cleared that up.” I stood on shaky legs, ignoring my racing heart. Ignoring the urge to sit back down and fight for us, but what would be the point? Just like Travis, he didn’t really know me either.

“Sit down, Molly.” His voice was deep and commanding, a thread of something dark in his tone.

I froze and paid no attention to the twinge of arousal that ricocheted through my body at his commanding tone. Now was not the time to get turned on, even though that was a common occurrence in his presence. “We both have said what we needed to say.”

“No,” he growled. “We haven’t. Sit. Down. Please,” he added in a softer tone that seemed to have a tether to my legs because they bent easily, and once again I was sitting across from him, pretending my heart wasn’t breaking. “You’re wrong,” he said eventually, breaking the tense silence in the kitchen.

I blinked, feeling as if I’d entered the room in the middle of a conversation. “Wrong about what?” I rested my hands in my lap and tried to look as calm as I could, reluctant to show any hint of the riot of emotions that swirled in my chest and my gut, my head. My heart.

“I do know you better than that.”

I shook my head. “You don’t, and it’s fine. I mean, it’snotfine, but it is what it is. I work here, and there’s no reason you should know me any better than any other employee.” It was my own damn fault for thinking sharing a bed meant something more than some temporary, convenient fun.

“Molly,” he growled and smacked one palm on the kitchen table. “I do know you, dammit! I know that you love my son, I know that you nibble your bottom lip when you’re unsure of yourself. I know that you’re stronger than you give yourself credit for. I know that you are the best fucking thing to happen to me and Hunter in a long damn time.”

The objection perched on the tip of my tongue died a quick and painful death. My shoulders fell because I really and truly wanted to believe his words, more than anything. But facts didn’t lie. “If that was true, then you wouldn’t have assumed the worst.”

“I do know you.” His nostrils flared, and he leaned forward until the top half of his body spread over the table. “But you’re right about one thing, I did assume the worst, but not about you.Foryou.” Colton leaned back and covered his face with both hands, letting them slide slowly down his face as if he could just wipe away his anger. “You think I want to tell you this? Because I don’t, Molly. I don’t ever want to be the man to put the look on your face I know I’m going to see in a minute.”

I frowned. “You’re firing me.” It made sense, and I was only shocked that it hadn’t occurred to me until that moment that that’s what he would do.

“What? God, no.” He stood and stalked around the table until he was right beside me, in the chair usually occupied by Hunter. He gathered my hands in his and settled his hazel gaze on my face. “Buck dropped off your car today.”

I nodded. “He said that he would, and I already paid for the new tires.” I frowned, trying to figure out what my car had to do with anything. “If you saw Buck, then you knew I didn’t have a car to leave the ranch.” I pushed away from him, suddenly angry as I realized what he was doing. “You didn’t have to manufacture a reason to get rid of me, Colton.”

His brows dipped into a dark scowl, and he gripped my wrists tighter when I tried to pull away from him, to put some distance between us. “I would never do that, but it is nice to know what you think of me.” His smile lacked all traces of humor and joy.

“You’re being very vague, and you yelled at me earlier, as if you think that I would ever do anything to harm Hunter. It’s not that I think badly of you; the exact opposite, in fact. But I know that sometimes sex is just sex.”

“Molly,” he interrupted and loosened his grip on my wrists.

“No, it’s fine. I misread things, and that’s on me.”

“I’m not firing you, Molly.”

I nodded. “You don’t have to, not technically, since I’m not actually hired yet.”

Colton dropped my wrists like they’d burned him, pushing out of the chair so he towered over me. He tossed a small black rectangle with a blinking red light on the table in front of me. “I’m not firing you, Molly. I asked Buck to give your car a checkup to make sure everything was in order, and he found this under the car.”

I frowned at the black box. “What is it?”

“A tracker. Someone put a goddamn tracker on your car, Molly. That’s why I was so frantically looking for you and Hunter. That’s why I reacted badly; it was relief.” He sat down again and cupped the sides of my face before pressing his forehead to mine. “I was so fucking relieved to see you and Hunter safe and asleep there by the lake, and all the fear and anger rose to the surface. I’m sorry.” His lips touched mine in a whisper-soft kiss that sent another bolt of fire through my body.

My body shook against his, but it wasn’t arousal, well no more than the usual level I felt around Colton. No, this was something different, colder and more worrisome. It was shock, and it was fear. And just underneath that, it was shame and guilt. I knew exactly who would do such a thing, who had done it, and I had naively believed he wouldn’t do this.

“Are you sure?”

Colton nodded. “Shocked Buck too; that’s why he drove the car out here himself.”

My hands shook as I turned over my phone and unlocked the screen. “I’m so sorry, Colton. I wish that this hadn’t touched you or this place.” I apologized profusely as I swiped and scrolled until I unblocked Travis’ number. “I’m so sorry,” the words flew from my mouth in a whisper at what appeared on the screen. Travis had called me hundreds of times starting the day I left Houston for the McCall Ranch. There were close to one thousand text messages filled with threats and apologies and promises he would never, had never, kept.

Colton took the phone from my hand and glared down at all the missed calls and messages. “This from your ex?”

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