9. Colt
9
colt
It had been three days since Nova had fallen off the roof. Three days of dealing with her, catering to her and helping her with Sol. While I would probably do anything for Sol, Nova was a whole other story. I was in a shitty mood, not even fixing a bike made me lose this bitterness that was consuming me and it didn’t help that the weather matched my mood.
Sleep had been evading me since she had been here, and as I looked over at the clock it was already two in the morning. I groaned silently, feeling tired, but my brain was going a mile a minute. Sliding out of the bed slowly, I left Atlas and Theo cuddling. They looked so damn cute together I almost went back to bed.
When I couldn’t sleep, I usually walked around the house or if it was later, I would get started on my day early, but two am was too early to do anything. I slipped on my sweats, walking out of the room quietly. I headed to the kitchen, but as I passed the girl’s room, I had an itch to check on them.
Just a quick look and that was it, just to make sure they were ok. I tried to rationalize that it was to make sure that they were sleeping comfortably, but a tiny part of me had started to worry about Nova. She had been reserved and quiet the last few days, a complete one-eighty from the sassy woman she had been a few days ago.
The door was ajar and as I pushed it slowly it creaked a little. Sol laid in the middle of the bed laid out like a starfish. I smiled until I realized Nova wasn’t in the bed with her. The bathroom was right behind me, but it was also empty. Just as I was about to go looking for her, a soft cry caught my attention.
I froze, hearing a sniffle and another soft cry. As quietly as I could, I peeked into the living room to see Nova facing away from me holding her hands to her face, softly crying. Something touched my hand, almost making me scream when I saw Sol. She grabbed my hand, pulling me away towards their room.
“She doesn’t like to be seen crying,” she whispered, after I knelt down. “Mommy worries about a lot of things.”
“Why do you say that?” My chest constricted as I realized Sol and I saw everything.
“All my friends have dads, and I think they help mommies not be so sad,” she said, and I saw so much of myself in Sol even if she was much more mature than I was at her age. “Please, be nice to my mommy.”
“You know not everyone grows up with a dad. I didn’t,” I said, hoping she realized she wasn’t the only one without a dad. I ignored the comment about being nice to her mom, because of course she would call me out.
Sol hugged me before going back to bed. Damn little girl was too smart for her own good. I heard Nova sigh as I debated if I wanted to go check on her, but her daughter saw right through me. I knew I was mean to her, but there was just something about Nova that… honestly, I had disliked her for so long that I didn’t even know why I was so mad with her all the time anymore.
Sable ran through the field barking at any stray cattle we had as I rounded them up to keep them moving forward. Theo and I liked to move them a few times a week to have them rotating in a certain spot before we made a big move to another part of the ranch. That usually involved having a few more people help us if we could find them.
It usually happened when Atlas was in town or Theo’s brother could help us. We occasionally had some people going through town looking for work as they traveled. We needed another cowboy, but this job was demanding and not many people enjoyed the solidarity, which is why we kept the herd pretty small. It helped that Theo enjoyed working with animals instead of people.
Once we got the cattle settled, we usually rode around the perimeter to make sure we didn't leave anyone behind like a heifer and her calf. I waved at Theo as I rode to him, a small smile was on his lips as he looked around.
“The herd is looking good, better than last year,” I said, bringing my horse to stand next to him.
“I think it's the best one we've had in a while.” He took off his cowboy hat, and wiped sweat off his brow with his hand. “Our calves are doing great this year.”
“We’ve had a successful rate of pregnancy this year too,” I said, looking for a few of the calves.
“Yeah, that doctor from Monroe was the way to go.” He nodded.
“Do you need me for anything else? Since the rain has let up, I was going to go to the girl’s house and check on the roof,” I said, feeling my face heat up.
He raised a brow.
“Do you want to go do it?” I clipped, knowing he would say no.
“Wasn't Marv supposed to fix it?
“So she says. I was going to call him to see what was going on, but if I can repair it, it might be better to get it done sooner,” I said, rubbing my neck.
He scrutinized me. Yes, I knew it was unlike me to want to help her, but something about Sol last night made me rethink my attitude.
“Ok, I think I can do everything else.” He smirked at me. “You know she really isn’t that bad. Nova does what she can for Sol, and she works hard to do that.”
It was my turn to just nod.
“I’ll see you later,” I said, before he decided to push the issue more. I should have just lied and said I had a motorcycle to work on, but lying to him always felt wrong even if it was a white lie.
I tied up my horse, gave him some love and an apple before I walked to the house. It was quiet as I shut the front door, and took off my boots, relieved Nova wasn’t in the living room. I had left early this morning to avoid her, and luck seemed to be on my side.
After getting a glass of water, I went down the hall to grab my phone. I needed to call Marv and see what was going on with her roof. Just as I passed the door, Nova exited the bathroom running into me, in just a motherfucking towel.
“Jesus Christ!” she squeaked, stepping back.
My arm shot out, catching her before she fell. Her eyes were wide as she stared at me. Her eyes trailed down my body to where I was holding her.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, seeing a drop of water slide down the curve of her neck to her chest down her ample breasts.
“Ok,” she said, pushing me back. I reluctantly stepped back except her damn towel caught on my utility knife, pulling it free of her body.
“Oh, shit.”
“No!” she yelled, trying to pull it back, flinching because she used her hurt shoulder.
Shit,” I murmured, trying to get the towel off as I glanced at Nova and her golden skin that was marred with bruises and a set of tits that made my mouth water.
“Colt!” she hissed. “Oh my god, fuck this.”
She pushed me to the side walking into the bedroom, giving me a great view of her ass. I bit back a groan as the door shut in my face.
“Sorry,” I said again, feeling like I needed to do something.
Before I did something stupid—like barge into her room and kiss the shit out of her—I left her towel on the door, headed to my room to grab my phone, keys and get the fuck out of here.
Images of her body plagued me as I got into my car, revving my engine and taking off. I adjusted my cock as it stayed hard the entire drive to her house. Fuck, I didn’t even bring tools, but there was no way I was going back. I was avoiding her at all costs now because I wouldn’t be able to look at her without imagining fucking her against a wall.
Dammit, this was the last thing I needed.
I parked my car, got out and climbed onto the roof immediately. Taking the tarp off was tricky, but once it was off I saw where the repair was needed. Whoever had patched this up before had done an awful job, used too many nails and not using the correct pattern for the shingles.
Dammit, did Nova do this?
It did look like some rookie did it and it wouldn’t surprise me if Nova thought she could do it herself. That woman thought she was the only person for any job. I sighed, walking around the roof seeing two other patches that looked badly done. At this point, she needed to get a new roof. I made notes on my phone on what I would need for the repair before getting off. I called Marv as I got into my car to see what had happened.
“This is Marv!” he yelled.
I flinched. “Hey Marv, it's Colt.”
“Hey, Colt, what can I do for you? Need a new roof at that cabin? I got time this week,” he said quickly.
“Actually, I don't think we do, but I was wanting to ask about Nova’s roof.”
“Who?” he asked.
“Nova Diaz,” I said confused.
“I don’t know who that is,” he said.
“She owns the cabin that is close to our ranch?—”
“Oh yeah, what about her?” he interrupted me.
“I was wondering if you were going to have time to come out and repair it, she said she has been asking you for weeks.”
He was silent for a second. Something about this felt weird.
“Well, when she gives me a deposit, I was going to head out there,” he grumbled. “She took forever to pay me last time and I wasn't going to go out there and wait months to get paid.”
“Huh, she said she gave you a deposit,” I said.
“Well, she probably forgot that she didn’t, hey, look I got to go.” He hung up on me.
I rolled my eyes my intuition was telling me something was wrong about the conversation with Marv, but maybe she had forgotten. I headed into town, spending too much time at the hardware store, debating if I should just install a new roof for her. All these patches were just Band-aids just making things more expensive for her. I ended up grabbing enough supplies to fix a portion of the roof that was needed. The forecast said we would get rain tomorrow and I think I could get it done in time.
While I was in town, I grabbed something for dinner and then talked to Bill at the shop wondering if he had anything for me. A bike was supposed to come in a few days, an old roadster, and I couldn’t wait until I could work on it. Bikes were my favorite thing to work on. It helped that word was getting out that I was a good mechanic.
I drove back to the ranch to grab my tools so I could get started and be done by tonight. Hauling everything up onto the roof was the hardest part so I put my tool belt on. I noticed Nova’s car wasn’t in front. Had it been here when I was here this morning?
My arousal and shame must have made me miss her car, but where the hell would it be? As I laid out my supplies, I tried to remember if we had taken it to the house. After removing all of the bad shingles, I decided to shoot a text to Theo to ask about her car.
As I put my phone back into my pocket, I heard a car coming down the road and Nova was in it. She was on the phone oblivious to my car.
What the fuck was she doing? She shouldn’t be driving.
I walked to the edge of the roof, standing there until she noticed me, except she noticed my car first. She put her hand on the steering wheel for a minute before exiting the car, looking around for me.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I snapped, not patient enough for her to find me.
The vulnerability on her face morphed into anger.
“You aren’t supposed to be driving,” I growled, getting upset the longer I thought about her driving. “You should be at home resting, getting better, not fucking driving around town.”
She glared at me, pursing her lips together.
“I had errands to run,” she clipped, slamming her door shut, flinching.
“The doctor said no driving.” I turned away to climb down the roof.
“Well, this was something that couldn’t wait.” she yelled.
I rounded the house to see her trying to get in.
“All you had to do was ask.” I grabbed the keys from her, opening the door.
“Ask you? Yeah, that would go over well,” she snapped.
“I would have said yes or even Theo?—”
“You have work, I didn't want to disturb your work day.” She grabbed the keys from me.
“And it couldn’t wait till we finished work? How about you ask before you assume?” I growled.
“Like you?!” she snarled. “You know what, whatever, Colt.”
“It’s not whatever, Nova, you could have gotten into an accident, hurting yourself and someone else,” I said, trying to reign in my anger.
She clenched her jaw as she looked down.
“It was important, I needed to go?—”
“As important as paying a damn deposit to get your roof fixed?” I said as her gaze locked with mine.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I called Marv and he said he’s been waiting for a deposit to come and fix the roof,” I said, crossing my arms in front of my chest.
“What?” She looked confused. “What are you talking about?”
“I called Marv, and he told me he still hadn’t received a deposit which is why he hadn’t come out. This is a serious issue, and you can’t wait till the last minute to take care of this. The leak is right over Sol’s room.”
“Oh, is that what he said?” she scoffed, going into the cabin.
I followed her, thinking she was trying to get out of the argument that my irrational anger needed to finish.
“Are you talking about this deposit?” she slapped the receipt on my chest. “I paid him months ago.”
I grabbed the receipt that had Marv’s roofing company logo on it with a deposit of one thousand dollars that was date stamped almost two months ago.
What the fuck?
“He said?—”
“I’m sure he also said that I turned down a date from him around that time too, and not that I have proof, but this asshole has been stringing me along since then,” she snapped. “Did he also mention he repaired the roof last year? I’m already having problems and I can’t just go somewhere else because he is holding my fucking thousand dollars hostage.”
I looked up at her, speechless. This motherfucker lied to me.
“Get the fuck out of my house, Colt. Take your roofing shit and go fuck yourself,” she said, pointing at the door.
“Nova.” I said her name, hoping something else would follow, but my brain was blank.
“Fuck you, Colt,” she clipped. “Just leave and leave me and my daughter alone.”
I scowled, opening my mouth to say something when she continued.
“Save us from your judgmental ways and go back to the ranch.” Her lip quivered slightly. “I don’t need you, Theo or Atlas.”
Guilt hit me when she said their names.
“Nova, look, you shouldn’t be driving?—”
“Nope, I don’t give a shit what you have to say, leave!” she yelled, flinching, looking away from me.
“Nova, you need to be resting?—
“I left to go see my loan officer asking for help with the house payment because I won’t be able to pay this month's mortgage,” she said, as a tear slid down her cheek. “I had to go because he said he wouldn’t have another opportunity to see me, and I’m terrified of getting this house taken from us. So, excuse me if I saw this as an emergency.”
Shame wasn’t an emotion I had dealt with often, but today, Nova had given me a heavy dose of it.
“So, excuse me for trying to survive and excuse me for trying to take care of my daughter,” she said softly. “And before you say I should ask for help, I don’t want it. Every time I have asked for help, nothing good comes from it. Especially Sol’s father. I’m the only one who I can depend on, and it will continue to be that way because of men like my ex, you and Marv. Men who think they are owed everything. So go fuck yourself, Colt, I don’t want or need your goddamn help.”
She walked past me, and I pulled her back around her waist. The sound was loud before the sting from her slap registered.
“No,” she whispered, another tear falling down her cheek.
She walked out of the cabin and I watched her leave. Shame and guilt simmered in my gut. My chest ached as I thought about what I had said to her and how she had compared me to Sol’s father, which sounded like he had abandoned them. I had really fucked up. I don’t know why I had gotten so mad, but a new sense of purpose hit me. I would finish her roof and talk to Marv. Then possibly apologize before she did something irrational like leave us before she was fully healed.