Chapter 14
Colter
I wasn’t planning on coming home before the sun set.
My plan was to work well into the evening and then pretend that Kayla had gone to bed by the time I got home.
I wasn’t going to look at the line of parked trucks, where she typically parked her death trap of a car.
I wasn’t going to peek into her room to see if she was home.
I was going to go to bed, hungry and grumpy, and pray that by the time I was back tomorrow afternoon, she would be too.
Denial is the best medicine.
Unfortunately, apparently, my brother can only handle so much constructive criticism. Seriously, I wasn’t being that mean. I just told him to get his head out of his ass and stop acting like an idiot. Maybe in a little more colorful language, but the message is the same.
He kicked me out of the field. Told me I was done for the day. I don’t know who he thinks he is, this is my ranch as much as it’s his.
The second I step into the house, I know something’s wrong. It’s too quiet. There’s no music. No clanging pots and pans. No sizzling food.
I don’t like it.
Actually, I really fucking hate it.
Pulling out my phone, I make a decision fueled purely by rage and longing.
Colt
We’re going out.
Be here in 30.
Finn
Where?
Jake
Fuck yeah!
The restaurant is busy when I get there.
I know Jake and Finn are already here, sitting at a table in the corner.
I also know they have a perfect view of Kayla and Tanner because Jake sent a photo of the two lovebirds sharing escargot—that pretentious prick.
Taking a deep breath, I take a moment to steady myself.
This might be the stupidest thing I’ll ever do, but it feels right, so I’m going for it.
I pause just inside the door, eyes scanning the room until they land on Jake and Finn, both waving like idiots from a booth in the corner. Finn has the subtlety of a bear on roller skates, and Jake’s already raising his glass in what I assume is mock celebration.
I don’t look at Kayla.
I don’t need to.
I already know where she is. I feel her presence like a pulled muscle—tight and impossible to ignore.
“Look who finally grew a pair,” Jake smirks as I slide into the booth across from them.
“This was a mistake,” I mutter, already regretting the buzz in my chest, the anxious twitch in my leg.
Finn looks between the two of us, taking a sip of his beer. “I still don’t know what’s going on here.”
“Colter’s finally making a move.”
“No shit?” Jake’s best friend from high school, who’s become a friend of mine over time as well, smiles smugly. “I knew you wouldn’t be a monk forever.”
“I’m not a monk,” I grind out, narrowing my eyes on the younger guy. “And I’m not making a move.”
“Really? You just want to sit here and sulk?” He elbows me, ribbing me on. I don’t respond. My eyes betray me and flicker toward her.
She’s laughing, but it’s not her real laugh. It’s too polite, and she’s smiling like it’s something she practiced in the mirror.
Her dress is a deep green, and it makes her look like a springtime punch to the chest. Tanner’s leaned in, saying something that earns another forced smile.
She looks beautiful.
She looks unhappy.
That should make me feel better, but it doesn’t.
“Never liked that guy,” Jake tsks, shaking his head.
I glare. “Since when?” I’m pretty sure the two of them partied together quite a few times in high school.
“Since I saw him wear salmon-colored pants on the news once. Anyone who wears salmon colored clothing can’t be trusted. They all insist it’s not pink, which is just a blatant lie.”
Finn coughs, covering a laugh. “So if you’re not making your move, why are we here?” I look back at Kayla instinctively, watching as Tanner places his hand on top of hers. I don’t even bother with answering Finn.
I push away from the table with a chilling resolve. The pints of beer jangle on the table, liquid spilling over the rims of the glasses. “Alrighty then,” Finn mumbles, reaching out to balance his glass.
“Atta boy,” Jake mutters under his breath.
My heart pounds as I make my way around the tables.
I’ve faced down a bull, ridden a bucking bronc, hiked Devil’s Peak in the dark, but nothing has gotten my heart pumping quite like this.
I shove my hands in the pockets of my jeans, just so that I have something to do with them that’s not pummeling Tanner Reese’s perfect face.
Tanner spots me first, smiling jovially like we’re best friends. “Colt! Hey, man! What are you doing here?”
“Tanner.” I don’t answer his question, and maybe that makes me an asshole. Any other day, I like Tanner, but today I want nothing more than to toss him in a garbage can.
“It’s good to see you, man.” Like the idiot he is, he doesn’t read the room. He doesn’t notice his date tense or her eyes narrow. He doesn’t notice the spark in her eyes, the one she gets when she’s ready to snap.
It makes me want to make things worse. I want to see that spark explode.
I grab a chair from the empty table beside them, tucking it in right beside Kayla. There’s not really any room for two chairs here, but that’s the whole point, isn’t it?
Tanner offers a half-smile, confused by the turn of events. “You joining us?”
“Nope.” I fold my arms over my chest, tensing. “Just wanted to see the guy who thought he was man enough to take her out.”
“Colt,” Kayla hisses, turning sharply to glare at me. Fine by me, as long as her eyes aren’t on Tanner.
“Come on, Man,” Tanner chuckles nervously. “You know me.”
“I’m not your man,” I grind out, jaw clenching. Tanner’s jaw ticks as it finally sinks in. We’re not on the same team tonight.
“How do you two know each other anyway?” Tanner asks. He thinks he can belittle our relationship, reminding me that he’s the one on a date with her. Sucks for him that after this date, she’ll be coming home to me.
“Kayla didn’t tell you?” I lean forward conspiratorially. I guess the small town gossip hasn’t made its way around to him. What a shame, now I’ll have to ruin his whole night. “We live together.”
“Okay,” Kayla snaps, standing abruptly and tossing her napkin on the table. “I need a minute. Colt, outside. Now.”
I try not to smile too smugly as I follow her out of the restaurant. I might be about to have my ass handed to me, but it’s going to be the best ass whooping I’ve ever had.
The second we’re in the parking lot, she rounds on me. “What the hell was that?”
I shrug. “A bad decision. I’m full of them lately.”
“You don’t get to crash my date because you suddenly feel territorial!”
“I don’t feel territorial.”
“Oh, really?”
“Sure. No point feeling territorial when I know you’re coming home to me.”
“Am I? Cause I can just as easily book a room at the motel.” Her hair flies behind her in the breeze, and she looks powerful. Ironic, since I hold all of the power in this moment. Well, Jake does, but he’s using it in my favor.
“Try it. I dare you.” Carol won’t be renting a room to her anytime soon. Not while I’m in the picture.
I step closer to her, making sure she feels me in her space, making sure she feels what I feel when she’s in my space.
“You’ve avoided me all week. You’ve treated me like I’m nothing,” she huffs, switching the subject up on me. That’s fine. I’m following just fine.
“Because if I let myself treat you like you’re everything, I won’t be able to stop.
” She blinks up at me, so close I can literally feel her chest stutter.
“You scare the shit out of me, Kayla. I want you in my house. I want you in my life. When I came home to an empty kitchen, I felt the loss. I don’t like that feeling. ”
“That’s not my fault,” she mutters, circling her arms around her waist.
“I’m no good for you, Kayla.” The honest truth slips past my defenses, the words out in the open, leaving me exposed.
“You don’t know what’s best for me. You don’t know me.”
“That’s not true.” I know her. I know she only swears when she’s really mad.
I know she cares more for those kids than she does for herself.
I know she cooks the best damn food I’ve ever eaten.
I know she wears the color red when she’s feeling a little extra volatile, like a warning to those in her life.
I might not know her past, but I know who she is now, and that’s all that matters for right now.
She steps away from me, and instantly I feel cold. “You want to get to know me, you know where to find me.” She takes another step. “But I’m not going to wait around for you to figure out if you want me or not, Colter.”
Then she turns and walks back to the man who’s trying to get to know her, leaving me under the flickering restaurant sign, fists clenched, eyes stormy, and living in my own worst nightmare.