15. Molly
Chapter 15
Molly
W aking up with Colton’s strong arms wrapped around me was like a version of heaven on earth. He ran hot, which meant even when we collapsed in bed, too exhausted to pull up the blankets, it was still like sleeping against a hard, hot, muscle-y blanket. For weeks now, I had woken up in his bed and in his arms, and it was the most magical few weeks of my life.
It was like a sexual awakening, learning something new about myself and about him each night. Pushing my erotic limits with someone I trusted to take care of me, and boy did he take care of me. And even better? Colton let me take care of him too. He wasn’t too macho to give himself over to my exploration, which ultimately meant his pleasure. “I need to get up,” I groaned and pressed a kiss in the middle of his chest.
“Go on,” he murmured, still half asleep. “Get up,” he urged, even as his arms tightened around my waist, and then one hand snaked up to grab my bare breast. His fingers pinched my nipple, and I felt it right where he meant me to, between my thighs. “Who’s stoppin’ ya?” That southern Texas accent was only stronger in his half-asleep state, and it was hotter than the midday sun.
“You’re teasing me,” I purred and arched into his touch, silently begging for more.
“You want me to stop?” The question was barely a whisper, but the heat of his breath against my neck was better than a shot of espresso. “Say the word.”
I turned in his arms and pushed at his chest, straddling his hips. “Don’t stop,” I answered and then kissed him long and slow, deeper and deeper until we were both panting and breathless as our bodies sought one another out. Hands clasped and legs tangled together, we pumped and grunted, hungry for each other until we found what we were looking for.
Bliss.
Satisfaction.
It was the perfect way to start the day, and I couldn’t stop smiling as I drove into town with Hunter in back, firing off enough questions to impress an FBI interrogator. It felt odd driving after so many weeks without it, but the drive took about twenty-five minutes, and I was busy—and smiling—the entire time.“What
are we gonna do here?” Hunter looked around with wide eyes, and I wondered when he last left the ranch.
“We’re going to do some shopping to pick up a few learning tools. I could’ve ordered them online, but I thought you might like a day out.”
“Okay!”
The town was small and didn’t have much in the way of educational tools, but I managed to find a few things that could double as toys and tools. I picked up some yarn, popsicle sticks, and poster boards for a few activities I had in mind, and some animal-themed flashcards to aid with the basics. Hunter was a precocious kid with a lot of energy, so his teachers would need to be creative to keep him engaged.
“What’s next?”
I smiled at the polite question, which was a clear sign that Hunter was over shopping. “Next, I need boots, and then we can rustle up some lunch. Sound good?”
He gave an exaggerated nod. “I’m hungry.”
“You’re always hungry,” I shot back as I took my haul to the cash register.
“You’re new,” the woman behind the cash register declared with a smile.
“I’m Hunter’s nanny. Molly,” I introduced myself.
Her gaze shot to the little boy and then to me; curiosity burned in her blue depths. “You work at the McCall Ranch.” It wasn’t a question. “Colton is just delicious, isn’t he?”
I opened my mouth to tell her, what exactly, I didn’t know, but Hunter beat me to it. “Daddy can’t be delicious. He’s not food.”
The woman realized her mistake, and her cheeks burned bright pink. “That’s true,” she agreed. “He’s not.” But her eyes sparkled with mischief as she leaned in. “He is quite the snack though, isn’t he?”
I nodded and handed over the credit card Colton insisted I use. “He is easy on the eyes; that much is true.” I shuffled us both out of the store with a quick farewell before the woman could say anything else.
Not that it mattered because it was the same at the General Store where I picked up a pair of boots so I didn’t have to wear my sneakers around the ranch. Everyone was curious about Colton and, by extension, his new nanny. The consensus was that he was a catch, but he hadn’t dated since his wife died. “Lucky girl,” the elderly woman who rang me up at the General Store declared after giving me a long, assessing look. “If I’d had those curves in my day, I would’ve snagged me a guy like Colton McCall. Good luck to ya,” she said and pinched Hunter’s cheeks.
“Why are you so lucky?” the little boy asked when we got settled at a diner half-full of men and women who looked as if they worked the land for a living.
I smiled at Hunter’s question and leaned forward as if I had a secret. “Everyone is jealous that I get to work with you every single day. Or maybe it’s because I get to see Peanut Butter.”
He smiled wide. “Peanut Butter is cool, but I’m cooler.”
“Without a doubt.” I smiled again, amazed by his confidence. This was a kid who knew he was loved, and that was a beautiful thing. “Ready to order?”
“Can I have a burger?” He flashed a charming smile that pulled a laugh from me.
“With peas or a vegetable of your choice, yes. We split the fries.” Negotiating with toddlers required the same mental toughness as a boardroom.
“Potatoes are vegetables,” he answered cheekily.
“Yes, but deep-fried vegetables have to be eaten with a non-fried vegetable. Those are the rules.”
His shoulders fell and he mumbled, “Corn, then.”
I laughed and turned to the approaching waitress, a middle-aged woman with pouty red lips and bright red hair. I placed the order, and she rushed off as two groups entered the diner.
“Do you like it on the ranch, Molly?”
The question caught me off guard, and I had a feeling he was asking for a deeper reason. “I love it, actually. All the wide-open spaces, and I really like the goats, especially the kids. And I really love working with a smart kid like you.”
His smile beamed. “Are you gonna stay forever? Because I want you to stay forever. I love you, Molly.”
Good Lord, but this kid knew how to grab at my heart and clench it in his little fists. I blinked back tears and reached across the table to grab his small hand. “I love you too, Hunter. A whole lot.” I felt bad that I couldn’t give him any guarantees about staying because the truth was I just couldn’t. Technically, there were about twelve days left on my probationary period, and I had no idea what Colton was thinking about my long-term employment or even about us. He could just decide to let me go because it was highly unprofessional to sleep with him, or because he could sense I was getting too attached, and this would be the easiest way out for him.
I decided to call Toni soon to get her advice. She was busy with her own life and a baby on the way, but she would make time to impart some wisdom. I hoped.
“I’m full,” Hunter declared after he ate half of his burger and all of his corn, plus more fries than a boy his size should’ve been able to put away. “So full.”
I laughed. “Another good thing about vegetables: they’re very filling. If you get too big, Peanut Butter might not be able to carry you.”
The sound of his laughter never failed to put a smile on my face. “Molly,” he whined.
“I know, but someone had to say it.” I paid the bill, left a tip for our friendly waitress, and somehow we both managed to walk out on our own two feet. “That was the best barbecue chicken and bacon sandwich I ever had.” Usually, a meal like that would trigger the guilt and worry about my body, but between wandering the ranch with Hunter and burning sex calories all night with Colton, I just felt good. And satisfied.
And happy.
Really happy for the first time in a long time. Not just happy, but happy and free. I wasn’t worried that I would have to fight off Colton’s advances or that he would be mad if I wasn’t in the mood, and that lack of fear was freeing. I felt lighter and happier, and I refused to think about the huge space in my heart that now belonged to Colton. He hadn’t said anything about making this— us —more than what we are: sex buddies, and I wasn’t ready to ask.
I was content—for now—to just be happy and riding a sex high.
“What happened to the tires?”
Hunter’s question brought my focus back to the present, and I followed his finger to my car. “Weird,” I mumbled to myself and knelt down at the sight of my passenger side tires. Both were flat, and I only had one spare tire. “Come on, Hunter.” I took his hand and rushed back into the diner. “Excuse me, is there a mechanic in town?”
Our waitress smiled. “Yeah, Buck’s shop is a few blocks west of here, but he’s up in Austin. His daughter-in-law just had twins, so he’ll be back in about a week.”
Dammit. “Okay, thank you.” I didn’t want to call the ranch and pull one of the guys from their work, but Google said the next mechanic was fifty miles away, so I sucked it up and called Wyatt.
“How are we gonna get home?”
“Wyatt is going to send someone to pick us up,” I answered with a smile and a light tone to ease the worried frown on Hunter’s face. “Let’s put these packages in the car while we wait.” I walked around to the driver’s side to pop the trunk and froze. My eyes were wide, and there was a hitch in my gut that told me this was wrong. Just plain wrong.
“What’s wrong, Molly?”
“Nothing,” I said a little too brightly because I didn’t want to worry him, but I was worried. This was too coincidental to be anything but deliberate.
That was exactly what Colton said when he arrived in his oversized pickup truck and got Hunter settled inside. “You have two flats?”
I shook my head. “Turns out I have four.”
His brows furrowed, and he bent in front of each tire, examining them closely with a growing frown. “This isn’t just bad timing.”
I shrugged. “Maybe my tire pressure was lower than I thought before I made the drive to the ranch.” It was a slim possibility but unlikely since my dad had made sure I knew the basics of auto maintenance, which included checking tire pressure before any long trip.
“Yeah, and maybe the tires slashed themselves in an act of rebellion,” he growled, glaring at me with his arms folded over his chest.
“Slashed?” The knot in my stomach grew and twisted until I felt like my delicious chicken and bacon sandwich might make a reappearance. All the color drained from my face, and I turned away from Colton as guilt pulsed through me. It couldn’t be, could it?
Colton wrapped a quick arm around me and guided me towards his truck, helping me inside before he closed the door.
I watched him carefully as he moved gracefully around the car, checking each tire and snapping a photo with his phone before he placed a call. He was so big and strong; every move was purposeful, nothing wasted. His brows furrowed as he barked into the phone and then turned to me. His gaze softened for a moment, and my heart stuttered and slowed before it started galloping wildly in my chest.
No, this isn’t love. It can’t be; he’s my boss.
I ignored that hint of panic that zipped through me at that thought and focused on something else. Anything else. Like my slashed tires. I couldn’t hide what I was thinking from Colton. He deserved to know the truth, and when he asked if I knew who would do this, I was honest. “I have an ex, and we’ve been broken up for a long time, but he’s volatile and not taking ‘we’re over’ for an answer.” I turned away and watched the scenery flash by as he sped back to the ranch.
“What’s a long time?”
“Six months or so, but he doesn’t know where I am. And since I’ve been here, I had to block his number because he was texting me too much, and it was becoming worrisome.” That was an understatement, but Colton had a lot on his plate already—enough that I didn’t want him to worry about me on top of all that.
His face formed into a dark frown, and a pit formed in my chest. He was going to decide that I was too much trouble and let me go. “Do you want him back?”
I barked out a bitter laugh. “No. Not at all. I want nothing to do with him ever again.” I thought about the way he used to make me feel about my curves. Some days he made me feel beautiful, but most days I felt dirty and ashamed. “Ever again,” I repeated softly.
“Did he put his hands on you?” Colton’s hands tightened on the steering wheel, and I knew what he was thinking.
“No, he wasn’t quite that angry. He basically weaponized my body against me. He was angry that I wouldn’t, you know, with him, but then he would accuse me of being with all of his friends because there was no way a body like that was going to waste. When that didn’t work, he tried to convince me that I was lucky he wanted me like that since I was so big.”
“You’re perfect,” he growled.
“I’m not, but thank you.”
“I wasn’t doing anything with his friends or anyone else,” I said, that old defensiveness rising up like a bad habit.
“I know,” he growled. “I know that, Molly. I’m not accusing you of anything; I’m just asking what I need to know to keep you safe.”
I sighed and laid a hand on his thigh. “This is why I didn’t tell you, Colt. I don’t want you wasting a minute thinking about this. You have Hunter and the whole ranch to worry about. You don’t need to add me to your list of obligations.”
“It’s not an obligation if I’m doing it because I want to.” I tried to pull my hand from his thigh. Just because Hunter was quiet didn’t mean he wasn’t listening and watching. But Colton was faster; his heavy hand dropped on top of mine and weaved our fingers together.
“I’m supposed to be making your life easier.”
“Life ain’t easy, Molly. Anybody who thinks that isn’t doing it right.”
There he went, saying words that hit me right in my romance center. “Colton, he doesn’t know where I am, even if he wanted to make trouble. It was probably just some kids hazing a newcomer.” I didn’t even believe it, and I wanted to. Desperately.
He let out a huff of laughter. “Kids don’t play like that around here.”
“Maybe it was the same person who did the…goats.” The goats. Shit. Could both of those be attributed to Travis? But how would he know where I was?
“Goats?” Hunter piped up, loud and clear at the mention of goats, and he bounced in his seat. “Can we go play with the goats, Molly? Please?”
“Sure thing, kiddo.” As soon as we arrived at the ranch, Wyatt was there with something that needed Colton’s attention, so I took advantage of his distraction and put away the bags before Hunter and I went to the goat pens. They were a guaranteed way to relax because the goats loved people and were incredibly affectionate, especially the kids who loved to cuddle while they received back and belly rubs.
Slowly, the tension eased from my body, but my mind continued to race with thoughts of Travis. Even if he could track me down, would he slash my tires? Maybe. But would he hurt the goats? I couldn’t say for sure, which was pretty much an answer in the affirmative. “Damn,” I whispered, and just like that, all the tension returned.