Chapter 24
Noah
Being tucked up against Colton’s ass is a distraction.
For assuming I was straight not that long ago, it’s impossible now to miss the appeal in the man settled at my front.
The strong, sturdy lines of him. His scent, like leather and oranges with an undercurrent of man . The tan skin of his neck below the brim of his hat and the hair curling gently there, a hint of sweat visible that I want to wipe away with my tongue.
Colton isn’t dainty, nor gentle. And I’ve been with my fair share of women that weren’t either. But Colton is different than all of them. The way I want him is different. It’s harsher, like freshly juiced lemonade versus prepackaged mix. He’s tart, damn near irresistible.
How do I go back to anything else having tasted him?
“What’re you doing?” Colton asks, his voice hitching.
I curse myself, realizing I’d moved my hand to his abdomen, poised to—I don’t know. Slip down to his crotch, maybe. I move my hand back to his thigh, unable to resist slipping through the holes in the fabric there.
Colton makes a displeased sound, but he doesn’t make a single move to stop me, which has my lust ratcheting up a notch. This prickly man. Doesn’t he realize by now I’ll give him whatever he wants?
I groan softly as I resituate, the sound not one of pain. Not exactly.
“Are you…hard right now?” Colton asks in shock. He tries to look back at me.
“Hard not to be with you rubbing up against me,” I point out.
“I’m not… rubbing anything,” he says, scandalized. “What are you…stop that.”
“Stop what?” I ask, finding a second spot on his neck to nip.
“Stop nibbling me,” he says, squirming. “Fuck, Noah. You can’t give me a boner on top of a horse. I’m not that depraved.”
I huff a laugh, grazing my teeth over a tendon that has him moaning. “What I hear is that you like me biting you.”
“Oh, God,” he groans. “Cut it out or I’ll shove you off this horse, King. We haven’t passed a single person, so I doubt anyone will find your body.”
I huff a laugh, even as I pull back. “As you wish.”
He cranes his neck to look at my face, his set in disgruntled confusion. I nearly laugh again, his scrunched nose almost…cute.
Christ . Cute? Colton Darling?
Clearly the heat is affecting my judgement.
After taking a few breaths and getting my hard-on under control, I reach for a distraction. “So, uh, Lawson is getting divorced?”
Colton nods, not seeming surprised that I caught the news around town. “Yeah. He actually signed the paperwork earlier this week. He’ll officially be a divorced man before long.”
I hum. “How’s he doing with that?”
“Fine,” he says almost shortly. And then, gentler, “Mostly. He’ll be fine. Remi thinks he’s lonely.”
I wouldn’t doubt it. “And what do you think?”
Colton lets out a breath. “I think all he knew of the world, of the life he saw himself building, got bulldozed right before his very eyes. And now he’s having to rebuild, sweeping the rubble out of the way as he goes. Of course he’s not fine. He’s toppled and just trying his best to find even ground again.”
The waver in Colton’s voice makes me wonder if he’s talking about his brother…or possibly himself.
“At least he has you all,” I offer. “A family who supports him.”
“I… Yeah,” Colton replies, his voice quiet. “We’re here.”
Before I can climb down, Colton levers upwards, swinging his leg carefully over Clementine’s head and sliding to the ground in a single fluid move. I watch, shocked, as he jogs the couple steps to the clue box.
“This one’s a riddle,” he says, tossing a scroll up to me. I catch it and roll it open.
A beat of its own.
Life within stone.
What is it?
“That’s…concise,” Colton mumbles.
“A heart. Right? There’s a trail that leads to the hawk’s heart within the mountains.”
He nods. “And it’s the last clue. We find this, and we’re nearly done.”
“Well, let’s get moving then,” I say, my excitement returning now that we’re so near to the end.
Colton approaches the horse but stops at the last second.
My lips twitch as I understand his predicament. “What’s your plan for getting back up?”
“I’m working on it,” he says hotly. “Just…lean back.”
“Oh, hell no. You’re not swinging your leg over me.”
“Come on,” he practically whines.
“Nope,” I say, dropping to the ground. “You first.”
He huffs but sticks his foot in the stirrup. By the squeak he lets out, he’s not expecting me to grab his hips and help boost him up. I grin, following him onto Clementine’s back and settling behind the saddle.
Colton clears his throat. “Onward.”
“Let’s go.”
The last clue box is nestled at the end of a trail that weaves through craggy, damp rock. The sun is blotted out here, the air wet and smelling of dirt and forest decay. The natural scents don’t bother me. Colton lets me hop down this time, my boots crunching over pieces of shale as I grab our scrolls.
Once I return to the horse, Colton and I read the final clue in tandem.
The key is at the creation.
A name given now owned by all.
The dead may rest eternal.
But the child shall never fall.
What is it?
“Oh my God,” Colton says after a minute. “It’s talking about my great-great-great-whatever grandfather, Isaiah Darling. He founded the town. He gave it his name. And his child, this town, lives on.” He huffs an incredulous laugh. “The key is at the statue. His resting place. It’s right behind the chest.”
“Holy shit,” I realize.
“Yeah, holy shit. The treasure hunt literally ends at the beginning. Let’s go.”
Colton doesn’t need to convince me. He turns Clementine around and, at a pace swifter than before, leads her down the trail. He veers off the marked path after a while, cutting through what I’m guessing is his family’s land.
“Do you think anyone’s gotten there yet?” he asks.
“No clue. Someone might’ve made it through before us.”
He nods. “Or we’re the first.”
My pulse jumps, giddiness enveloping me. It’s such a silly thing, this treasure hunt. But if we win?
“Fuck,” Colton mutters. “Can you handle a gallop?”
“I’ll need to hold on to you,” I point out.
He huffs. “Don’t pretend you won’t like it.”
I chuckle, not denying it in the least. Without another word, Colton urges Clementine into a trot. I wrap my arms around his stomach to keep steady, my thighs gripping the horse tight, and then, with a stutter step, we’re off. There’s no bracing against the movement without stirrups of my own. I let myself roll with it, the smooth, rhythmic duh-dump of hooves against dirt a metronome for our journey.
The sore ass will be worth it.
We pass through the woods for quite some time, and I’m astounded Colton made it to me so quickly earlier. He must have been moving fast coming through these woods before he got my call.
I try not to admire the man’s ease in the saddle. This life is baked in his bones, the same as me. I may not have grown up with horses of my own, but they were always a part of my life, always near and dear.
It’s why I thought, once upon a time, Colton and I might be friends. I thought we shared something. The same passion. That same lifeblood running through our veins.
But Colton and I were never friends. He made sure of that.
The bitterness rolls through me like Clementine’s hoofbeats, there one second and then gone the next. I let it go, knowing I can’t hold on to a grudge from another lifetime. It’s not fair. Not to me.
Not to him.
Finally, we break out of the trees and onto an open field. The Darlings’ ranch is bustling, even on the weekend. A few people stare as Colton and I rush past. Colton waves to a couple of the workers, but he doesn’t stop.
We’re both breathing a little heavily from the exertion of the ride as he slows in front of the horse barn. My eyes slip up to the hayloft door on instinct before I let myself focus forward again. Colton brings us to a stop, Clementine’s tail swishing and a snorting breath leaving her as I swing to the ground. Colton follows quickly, and I give our ride a good couple rubs on her neck.
Clementine sure is a sweet horse. I’ll give Colton that.
He quickly removes her gear, handing each item to me and directing me to toss them in the tack room for him to take care of later. After giving Clementine the quickest brushing in existence so she’s comfortable enough, he leaves her with plenty of water, and we rush toward his truck.
“We’ll get your bike later?” Colton asks as we jog.
I nod, certainly not wanting to take the time to do it now.
Colton unlocks the doors as we approach, and I hop into the passenger seat. “Shit,” he says, starting the truck and reversing before pulling us forward onto a dirt drive. “My pulse is going wild.”
“Yeah,” I agree, pulling out my phone to see if anyone from town has mentioned a winner yet. “What do you think is in the chest?”
“No clue,” Colton says, pulling roughly onto the road. He guns it, not caring about speed limits. “Probably not cash, right? It’s a fundraiser for the new playground. So it’s likely something donated.”
“Or multiple somethings.”
He nods. “I hope there’s whiskey.”
I snort a laugh, but I don’t disagree. Colton tasted damn good with whiskey on his tongue.
He slows once we get close to town. Pedestrians are still out, many looking as if they camped out in the park, making a day of the event as they wait for the winner to appear. I crane my neck as Colton finds the first available parking spot.
“The chest is still closed,” I say, my pulse racing.
“Holy fuck,” Colton mutters, tugging up the parking brake.
We lock eyes before bursting from the vehicle.
A few people look over as we sprint toward the chest, no stopping us now. I don’t know if Colton is feeling as wild and reckless as me, but I laugh at the wonder of it. How something as simple as a grown-up version of a childish game can make me feel so…weightless.
Or maybe it’s simply this man at my side.
“Is that…” Colton says, his words cutting out.
I look over in time to see Jackson and Ashley sprinting toward the chest from our right. It seems impossible that they’d have the clues necessary to collect the prize, but there’s no mistaking their goal.
Colton growls. “Go,” he calls to me, veering off toward the duo. “Get the key.”
I don’t stop moving, even as Jackson shouts. The next second, Colton is tackling him to the ground, the two spinning over the grass as Ashley stops to bark out a laugh.
I accept the distraction for what it is and rush to the statue, my breathing loud, my pulse heavy. I start high up, figuring the key has to be hidden somewhere we couldn’t see it before. There’s some cheering from the crowd when they realize what’s going on, and then Colton yells, “He’s coming!”
I look over just in time to see Ashley running my way. Colton is still on the ground, his hands around Jackson’s ankle. I hasten my search, stilling when my fingers roll over something far less smooth than stone. Plucking the key from the top of Isaiah Darling’s cowboy hat, I drop to the ground.
Ashley curses, but he doesn’t try to take it from me. Which is good because I honestly don’t know how far I’d be willing to go to keep it. As is, my hands shake as I walk the couple steps to the chest. I fit the key into the lock, the two melding together seamlessly, and then I find Colton’s gaze.
He nods, still holding his brother back, his eyes sparkling and so very blue.
With a twist, I open the chest.
Folks cheer in earnest now, and a foghorn blasts for a second time today, nearly deafening me. I shake off the echoing in my ears and look inside the chest to find…
“What the fuck?” I mumble.
Colton pants heavily as he catches up to me, dropping to his knees on the grass. “What…what is that?” he asks, sounding just as confused as I am. “Fake money?”
I reach into the chest, which is indeed filled with paper cut uniformly to look like fake bills.
“They’re Darling coupons!” Mr. Yadav declares, coming up behind us. “You can cash them in for goods and services all over town.”
I pick one up, examining the words on it. “Free oil change at Ratchet’s,” I read aloud.
“That’s right,” the board member says. “There’s nearly two grand worth of prizes in there. Congratulations! I take it you two will be splitting the spoils?”
“We will,” I answer, not for a second considering denying that Colton and I were working together. Colton doesn’t even look relieved, like he hadn’t considered I might betray him, either.
It warms me more than I want to admit.
“I’ll just need to see your clues to verify,” Mr. Yadav says.
I pull all the papers I collected out of my pockets as Colton does the same. As the board member goes through them, Colton pulls another coupon out of the chest.
“A free visit to the petting farm at… Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he mutters. “At the Darling Ranch. This one’s yours.”
I accept the coupon with a chuckle as Jackson reaches us, grass stains on his jeans.
“Look,” Colton says to his older brother, tone victorious. “See all my prizes? Not yours, but mine. Aren’t they pretty?”
“You’re an ass,” Jackson says mildly.
“How’d you guys even finish the treasure hunt?” I ask. “We didn’t pass you on the trails.”
“We were wondering the same thing,” Ashley says. “Were there clues at Hawk Hollow? Because we followed the final five at Eagle Back.”
“There were,” Mr. Yadav says, returning. “The trail diverged with two possible conclusions. Clever, right? You gentlemen are all set. Your clues have been confirmed, which means the chest is all yours. Let us know if you need any help wheeling it out of here.”
“It’s…incredibly light,” Colton says, testing the weight of it. “But thank you.”
I snort.
“Well, I guess now I know why you never called to meet back up when your trail ran cold,” Jackson says, raising an eyebrow. “Your trail didn’t run cold.”
“Hey, you didn’t call either,” Colton points out. “You were planning on finishing without me.”
“Uh, guys?” Ashley cuts in. “Maybe let’s not play the blame game when we’re all guilty of the same thing?”
“Point,” Colton says, sighing. “Anyone wanna grab some food? I’m fucking starved.”
We all agree, and Colton and I field some congratulations from the townsfolk before closing up our chest and locking it in his truck.
The four of us head down the sidewalk to get dinner. And all the while I can’t stop wondering why, when it mattered most, Colton helped me win the treasure hunt instead of his own brother.