Chapter 10
Colt
Me: What are you doing?
Hallie. Just got home from work.
Me: You get the cake ready for the wedding?
Hallie: Yes. Being delivered tomorrow.
Me: Feel like some company?
Hallie: What do you have in mind?
Me: Maisie isn’t feeling so good, so I set up camp in the barn with her just to keep an eye out. Twin births are tricky, so I want to make sure the vet doesn’t need to come out tonight.
Hallie: You want me to sit in the barn with you?
Me: Yep.
Hallie: I’ll be there soon.
Hell yeah.
I’ve left the door to Maisie’s stall open so she can come and go freely, but so far, all she wants to do is sit.
I’ll give it another two hours, and then I’m calling the doc back like she suggested.
Maisie doesn’t seem to be in distress. Her ears aren’t pinned.
Her tail isn’t swishing abnormally. All good signs.
Sweeping a stall, the smell of hay thick. Hallie walks in, her face radiant despite the concern on her features. She’s in a pair of yoga pants, an oversized sweatshirt, and cowboy boots. Her strawberry hair twisted up on her head. Not a stitch of makeup, yet she could not be more beautiful.
What are you doing here, asshat?
Fuck if I know, I answer myself, which is true. This is uncharted territory. I haven’t wanted to spend a lot of time with a woman in recent years. It just didn’t suit my lifestyle.
But now that I’m home, I realize how lonely the road could be. When you’re mixed up in it, you go in the zone and you love it. You love the thrill of the crowd, the thrill of the sport, and chasing glory. But trailers and hotels don’t speak or say “home,” and that can wear on a man.
More and more, I find that I’m exactly where I need to be: back in Stone Ridge at Sawyer Farms, living in Grandpa’s house and making it my own.
“How’s Maisie?”
“Seems all right.”
From within the stall, she knickers, so we head over.
“Will she let me pet her?”
I raise my hands in the air. “Did you bring a treat?”
“I should have.” Hallie’s laugh is infectious.
“I got you.”
I reach into the canister on the wall opposite Maisie’s pen and hand one over.
I spread a blanket on the soft hay next to the horse, where we both sit. Hallie extends an open palm, and Maisie takes the treat right away. Then she nuzzles Hallie’s hand in a show of affection. Horses have an uncanny ability to read people, and she knows Hallie’s as good as they come.
Maisie’s eyes half-close with all the love she’s getting. “Such a pretty thing. Aren’t you a sweet girl?”
She nickers with content before turning her attention back to the hay. All signs are good. Ears forward, tail relaxed, breathing steady.
“How long have you been out here?” Hallie asks, looking around the barn. It’s as clean as it’s ever been since I had nothing to do but be with the new mama.
“Couple hours. Want to give her at least another two or three before I’m convinced she’s out of the woods.”
“What are we watching for?”
I settle onto the blanket, patting the seat next to me. I explain that with twins, she could go into labor early, so I’m looking for signs that she’s in early labor. We sit for half an hour, sharing stories about our respective jobs.
I share Maisie’s official name, Doc’s Amazing Grace.
She shares that her first sale at The Kindly Crumb was a pecan pie tartlet made from her grandmother’s recipe. She gets this soft look on her face when she tells me about it, how her hands were shaking and how the customer ordered two dozen more for her book club.
“I’d love to try it sometime.”
Her cheeks blush, her eyes brightening. “I’ll put one in Maisie’s next batch of cookies.” She looks over at the mare, who’s fallen asleep. “So, what’s her registered name?”
“Doc’s Amazing Grace. Her sire was out of the Doc Bar line—legendary heading horses. Gramps loved that hymn, said she moved like grace itself.” I watch Maisie shift her weight to get comfortable. “But she’s been Maisie since she was a week old.”
When Hallie shows me a burn scar on her wrist, I chuckle and show her one of my permanent rope burns in almost the same spot.
Quiet settles in, with only Maisie’s breathing and the occasional creak of wood breaking the silence. Hallie leans her head against my shoulder, and for a moment, everything feels right.
“About the kiss yesterday,” she says, taking my hand in hers, “I don’t regret it, Colt.”
The way she bites her lip, her eyes pained, unsettles me. “I don’t regret it either.”
Her hand squeezes mine. “I don’t have any expectations of you, Colt. I know you just got back. You have a lot on your mind. You have a lot on your plate. And this whole auction thing has made everyone a little crazy.”
I smirk. “You think?” Maybe it’s a dick move, but I don’t address the kiss ‘cause what can I say? I’m not ready to make promises I can’t keep.
We talk about Brooke and how Gentry is playing it cool despite his feelings for her. Seems a little to familiar.
“I don’t get it. He’s been into her forever. He knows she only bid on Nate because Liz and I were caught up in our weird battle for control. It had nothing to do with she feels about him.”
“Gentry’s not stupid. Somewhere in that knucklehead of his, he knows. But he’s tired. I think seeing my sister bid on someone that wasn’t him made him question if she’ll ever be into him.”
“She most definitely is.”
I laugh. “Yeah. She needs to figure her shit out, that’s for damn sure. But I’m not getting involved. I love them both.”
“You’re a good guy, Colt.”
My eyes heat as I take in the way her ample chest heaves as she strokes Maisie’s mane absently. Whatever’s going on with my horse passes because she finally stands, heading out of the pen and into the pasture.
I send a quick text to the vet and look at the most beautiful woman in Stone Ridge. “Thank you for coming. Maisie’s all right. Vet’s going to check her out tomorrow when he’s here for his regular visit.”
“You’re welcome.”
Her response is soft as her eyes dart between my mouth and my eyes.
“I want to kiss you so bad it fucking hurts.”
“Okay. Then what are you waiting for, cowboy?”
My hand slides behind her neck, and I pull her toward me.
The world disappears as our mouths collide, hungry and desperate, my heart hammering against my ribs like it’s trying to escape.
The gentle pressure of her lips transforms into something wild and untamed, my hands trembling slightly as they find her waist, anchoring us both.
Each second stretches into eternity as our tongues dance, her soft moans sending pulsing heat down my spine.
Finally, I pull back, not wanting things to get out of control. Running my hand through my hair, I decide a distraction is best.
“You ever play mahjong?”
“Like, on my phone?”
“Nah, with tiles on a board.”
“I can’t say that I have.”
“Interested?”
“You are surprising, Colt Sawyer.”
“Back at you, Hallie Emory.”
Two games in the barn and one glass of wine later, we’re now on the back patio that overlooks one of my pastures. Tiki torches are lit. The outdoor heater is on. Maisie’s in the pasture where I can keep an eye on her.
“So what’s the deal with you and Liz?”
I put the lid back on the box. Hallie’s face is a mix of confusion and irritation.
“I don’t know. When I opened The Kindly Crumb, it’s like she thought I was competing with her.
She started bad-mouthing the bakery and refused to do business with me.
” The cool night air catches a wisp of hair as she pulls her jacket close.
“Liz and I have learned to coexist as business partners, but this whole bachelor auction has brought out the mean-streak she’s kept hidden these last few years. ”
I lean back in my chair, dragging a hand down my jaw. “Don’t let Liz fool you. Underneath that tough exterior is a soft heart.”
She snorts.
“It’s true. Kinda like a scared dog. When spooked, she’ll swing without looking.”
“So my opening the bakery scared her somehow?”
“Maybe that or something else.”
“That doesn’t excuse her trying to ruin my business before I even got off the ground.”
“No, it does not.” I watch Hallie, fighting the urge to pull her into my arms, the pasture stretching quiet and dark behind her.
She shifts in her seat, the heater humming beside us, warm against the cool night air. “So what’s y’all’s story?”
Maisie nickers from far off. “We don’t have one. I think she’s into Nate Dawson.”
Hallie smirks, visibly relaxing. “That’s what I was thinking, too. She looked ready to throw down Brooke at the auction after winning Nate’s date.”
Chuckling, I stand, reaching for the curvy beauty’s hand. I look down into watchful blue eyes, her lashes full, her skin peaches and cream, a dusting of freckles over the bridge of her nose.
“You do something to me, Cupcake. Something I didn’t see coming.”
What I don’t say is that I want to throw her against this table, tug down her black leggings like they don’t belong, and kiss her naked body from head to toe.
I get hard just thinking about it—the way she might taste, her full round breasts, taut nipples in my mouth.
I would slide my tongue down to her belly as she wraps her legs around me, my hands kneading her gorgeous tits while I claim her.
The gravel crunches under our boots as I walk her to her car, the night cool and still around us, and I swear the quiet feels fuller somehow.
The moonlight catches on her freckles as I open the door, and it takes everything in me not to pull her back and kiss her again, harder this time.
Instead, I step back and wave as she drives off.
One thing is certain. I need to get my head on right before I take things any further with her. Because I don’t think I can do casual with Hallie Emory.
There’s no fucking way.