16. Colton
Chapter 16
Colton
“I t wasn’t just a flat,” I informed Wyatt, who leaned against the closed door of my office with his arms folded across his chest. “Someone slashed the tires. All four of ’em.” Just thinking about it now still pissed me off.
“I’m guessing it wasn’t a one-off?”
I shook my head and relayed the story about her ex-boyfriend. “The guy hasn’t accepted that it’s over between them.” Part of me was grateful that his actions had sent Molly into my world, but the other, saner part of me was angry on her behalf and wanted to shred him limb from limb. “She’s scared, but she’s putting on a brave face.”
“And it’s over between them? Really and truly over?” His eyes studied my face carefully, in search of any hint that I didn’t believe her.
He wouldn’t find it because I took Molly at her word that they were over. “It’s over,” I confirmed. “He wasn’t a nice guy. He accused her of all kinds of things she didn’t do, based on nothing more than her body and his insecurities.”
Wyatt’s brows shot up in shock.
“I’m sure,” I confirmed. “I’m damn sure he was wrong.” I wasn’t about to get into the details of the state of Molly’s sexual experience, and luckily Wyatt didn’t push the issue.
Wyatt’s brows shot even higher as he pulled his lips into his mouth as if to literally bite back whatever he’d been about to say. “So he’s one of those,” he growled, waiting for me to say more. “Is she sure she didn’t tell him where she was going?”
“She seemed positive that he had no clue where she was. She didn’t tell her cousin because she was sure her cousin might let it slip just to get rid of him.” I believed her. Without a doubt, I believed Molly, but part of me thought she was being na?ve to think there was no way for him to find out where she had been for the past two months. Almost two months, I corrected mentally. “I believe her, but I think someone that insecure and controlling would find a way.”
“Exactly,” Wyatt nodded. “He isn’t giving up on a woman like her that easily, which means we need to be on alert and extra cautious just in case.” He shook his head and pushed away from the wall, taking the lopsided metal chair on the other side of my desk. “What do you want to do?”
I let out a heavy sigh and scrubbed a hand over my face. My options were terrible and worse than terrible. “Not much we can do without any kind of confirmation, other than keep a close eye on her and Hunter and maybe put someone on overnight video surveillance.” The ranch had a series of video surveillance cameras in key areas, but since there was very little trouble, the footage just went to the server and sat there for six months before it was recorded over.
“Yeah, I can handle that,” Wyatt nodded. “In the meantime, we have actual business to discuss.”
“Is something wrong?” I’d been too preoccupied with other things to notice if there was anything wrong with the business, which was incredibly unlike me.
“No, the opposite, actually. A small company from Louisiana wants to use us as the sole source of sheep’s milk for their gourmet cheese line. It’s small, a boutique company, so there won’t be a problem accommodating their needs, but we’d be putting all of our sheep’s milk eggs into one basket, so to speak.” He grinned at his wordplay and waited for my response.
It was a good offer, if the money was right, and it would take the pressure off me to always find people interested in our products. “Think we could get a stamp on their label, something like made from McCall Ranch sheep’s milk ?”
“Won’t hurt to ask,” Wyatt said with a smile. “You know, it’s frightening how good you are at this stuff without even trying.”
I smiled. “I guess it’s a gift.” I liked to think my dad was proud of me, but I knew better because he often let me know that not all change was good change. But he cashed the checks and gave Mom the retirement she deserved, which was more of a win than anything he could say to me. “I’ll do some research before getting back to them.”
Wyatt opened his mouth to respond, but his belly spoke first, letting out a loud roar that would scare a forest full of grizzlies. “Guess that’s my cue for dinner,” he laughed and looked down at his phone screen. “Let’s hope the guys didn’t eat all of the food. If so, I’ll be knocking on your door soon enough.”
“You’re always welcome,” I told him as I closed my laptop and took it with me. Maybe I’d get some work done sometime after dinner and before taking Molly to bed because I would be taking her to bed tonight. Tomorrow night.
Every night for the foreseeable future.
That thought stopped me dead in my tracks. The main house was lit up in the distance, but I stood there and turned over that last thought with a frown. Did I want Molly for the long haul? My mind screamed ‘yes,’ but I wasn’t sure for too many reasons to count.
She worked for me.
Hunter loved her, which meant I couldn’t be careless with her.
She was a lot younger than I was, which presented its own set of problems.
She was still tangled up with her ex. Kind of. Sort of.
Maybe.
I shook off my thoughts and finished the walk home in slow, deliberate steps. I stepped inside the mudroom and kicked off my boots, the same as I did any other day. Only when I stepped into the kitchen was it quiet. Too quiet. It smelled delicious as hell, like someone had a Texas feast without me, and I rushed through the kitchen and up to my room for a shower so I could eat without the distraction of my own damn odor.
It had been a long day, and by the time I was clean and dressed and ready for dinner, it was close to ten o’clock. Molly was there, and she was a welcome sight, even with the wary expression on her face. “Smells incredible in here. What is it?”
“Barbecue,” she confirmed with a small smile. “The sandwich I had for lunch was so good, and what happened afterward kind of ruined it, and I wanted to rectify that.” She shrugged like it was no big deal when the truth was it was a damn big deal. The scene was so domestic that it should have scared me, but it didn’t. Instead, I was intrigued. I realized that this, Molly, was what I’d been missing the past few years.
She stared at me and rose from the table, grabbing two beers from the fridge and sliding one in front of me. “Eat. You’ve had a long day.”
I did as I was told because I was so damn hungry I could chew the wood off the kitchen table. The chicken and the ribs were beyond delicious, and I ate until my hunger was completely satisfied before I felt the weight of her green gaze on me. “What’s on your mind, Molly?” The woman had a horrible poker face. Every damn thing she was feeling was always splashed across her face for any interested party to read.
She swallowed and took a pull from her beer, her gaze flickering around the kitchen without settling on me, a move that had me officially worried. “I’ve been thinking,” she began hesitantly.
I finished the last bite of chicken and potato salad, leaving nothing but the small bowl of baked beans in front of me. My gaze connected with hers, and I nodded. “What have you been thinking about, Molly?”
She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I think that maybe I should leave the ranch. I mean,” she rushed on, “if it is Travis, then all the trouble around here, to your animals and the ranch, will stop. Every living creature on this land will be safe.”
As much as I appreciated her looking out for my business—hell, my life’s work—she wasn’t thinking clearly. “And what about you, Molly? Will you be safe?”
“I’ll be fine,” she offered too quickly. “I’m not what’s important right now; Hunter is.”
“Bullshit. I mean, he’s my son and I love him, but he’s not all that matters, Molly. You fuckin’ matter.”
“I’m not saying I don’t.” She shrugged her shoulders as a hint of a smile touched her lips. “But if this is Travis, then he’ll know right away that he can use Hunter against me, and I can’t—I won’t let that happen.” Her fierceness was admirable, but it was just plain stupid.
“I can’t let you put yourself in harm’s way to protect me or my business. Or my kid.” The fact that she was willing to do just that meant something to me, and once I convinced her to stay, I would think about exactly what that was.
“Colt, be reasonable. My probationary period is just about over, and no one will give it a second thought if you decide to let me go.” She swallowed again and looked away, a move that told me everything I needed to know.
“Is that what you want, Molly? You want to leave the ranch? Hunter? Me?”
She opened her mouth and then snapped it shut before looking away again. “Of course I don’t want to go,” she grumbled. “I love it here. But I’m trying to do the right thing, Colt. It’s hard, but I’d do it. For you guys.”
“More like the easy thing,” I shot back. It wasn’t fair, and it was guaranteed to piss her off, but in that moment, I didn’t give a damn. “Is there something else that I don’t know, that you’re not telling me?” Had she gotten what she wanted out of her time on the ranch? She’d gotten rid of her virginity so she could go back to the asshole who didn’t deserve her?
“No, there isn’t. But I’ve been thinking about this all day, Colton, and what if it is Travis? If it is, then that means he knows where I am, and it’s only a matter of time before he does something else, something worse. And if it is him, then I don’t know him at all, and I can’t say what he would do or how far he would go.” She looked away again and swiped a tear across her cheek.
“Look at me, Molly.” I waited with as much patience as I could muster until her gaze met mine. “There are systems in place to make sure you and Hunter are safe. I have security all around the ranch, and all you have to do is be safe and cautious when you’re out.”
“I don’t know, Colton.” She shook her head and nibbled her bottom lip.
“Do you want to stay, Molly? Because that’s the only damn thing that matters. If you want to stay, I promise to keep you safe. If you don’t, I’ll make sure you get to where you’re going safely.”
She shook her head and opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. “I don’t want to go, but wouldn’t it be best for everyone?”
“Not me. I want you here, and so does Hunter. And I think if you think about it, you don’t want to leave either, Molly.”
“Of course I don’t! But I would never, ever forgive myself if something happened to you or Hunter, or anyone else on this ranch.”
“Stay,” I growled. “If you’re here, then there are a bunch of people looking out for you and me and Hunter and all the rest of us. If you go, the only thing that changes is that you’re out there on your own.” Our gazes locked in a standoff. She was determined to think about everyone but herself, yet she was all I thought about.
“Are you sure?”
“I am. Do you want to go?”
“No,” she sighed. “But that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to stay.”
I smiled. “Doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea either. Will you stay anyway?”
Her eyes flicked side to side as she thought about what she would do, and eventually, her green gaze settled on mine. “Yeah, Colt. I’ll stay.”
Her words made me unreasonably happy.