CHAPTER 20 #2
‘No, no, no,’ Kyle said, wagging his finger at me. ‘I’ve admitted my mistakes and God knows you’ve got on a fucking high horse about them, but look here, at what you’ve been up to!’
I locked on to Cole’s eyes, begging him to stay calm.
‘Don’t fucking look at him when I’m talking to you, you slut,’ Kyle hissed, drawing gasps from the women, especially as Cole strode forward suddenly.
‘No, Cole, please,’ I begged, running to stand between them, but Cole reached Kyle first.
‘Go on, say it again, I fucking dare you,’ Cole said, barely a foot from Kyle’s face. ‘If you insult her one more time . . .’
‘And why does she matter so much to you?’ Kyle replied, stepping up to him, arrogance carving a nasty smile across his mouth.
‘Cole,’ I whispered, heart in my mouth, the horrified expressions all around us evidence of the end of the illusion.
‘It matters, asshole, because I’m not standing for it any more. You are speaking to the woman I love. And I’m gonna be spending every day for as long as she’ll let me, proving to her that not all men are selfish, hypocritical pricks like you.’
Undiluted silence rang out across the space, every single mouth popped open.
Except mine. All I could hear were his words, ringing around and around in my mind. He loved me.
Which is why I missed Kyle spinning around and marching towards me, locking on to my arm with a vice-like grip.
‘I don’t think so,’ he said, yanking my arm, his fingers gripping hard enough to bruise as he began to walk us away. ‘Lottie, enough of this fucking hillbilly trash.’
‘Ow, Kyle, you’re hurting me – stop!’ I yelled, hearing but not seeing the pounding footsteps behind me, only aware of Cole as his hand clamped over Kyle’s arm and wrenched it off me.
‘I warned you, asshole,’ Cole snarled, and as Kyle turned back, fist already raised, Cole swung his own and smacked Kyle hard, in the face.
Chaos reigned.
Jesse and Lil were with Cole in seconds as Kyle bellowed with rage.
Bailey pulled me away gently. ‘You okay, sugar?’ she asked, her words barely registering as she checked my arm. ‘He grabbed you pretty hard there.’
‘Stop them fighting, please!’ I shouted, watching as Leo pulled Kyle back as he yelled a string of obscenities. Jesse and Lil hung on to Cole, forcing him back.
‘Is this what you really want, you little bitch?’ Kyle yelled at me, a red welt growing on his cheek. ‘You know what, if he’s already had you, I don’t want to know. God knows what you’re riddled with now.’
‘Kyle, stop, you’re embarrassing yourself,’ Leo said, fighting him back until Kyle pushed him off. ‘It’s not dignified, mate. She’s moved on, just leave.’
Throwing Cole one last, hate-filled look, Kyle shrugged as though none of it mattered.
‘Good luck with her – she’s a manipulative little bitch and a fucking nobody, just like you,’ he spat. ‘I’ve had enough of this bullshit, this fucking trash town. You’re welcome to it, to her.’
Bailey hugged me tightly as he stalked off, the implications of this whole sorry episode dawning rapidly on me.
‘I’ll take it from here,’ Cole said, appearing on my left, letting me fall against him as the tears started.
‘I’m so sorry, Lottie, I just lost it,’ he said, tilting my face up to him. Aware of the others, all openly staring, I could only think to say one thing in reply.
‘It doesn’t matter,’ I whispered, holding his eyes in mine. ‘I love you too, Cole.’ I said it softly, watching as it registered, the anger and violence of the last few minutes dissipating into something else entirely. ‘You don’t have anything to prove to me. You’ve already done it.’
He held my face in his hands and slowly, leaning down, he kissed me. Gently at first and then more firmly, only breaking off when Bailey wolf-whistled.
‘Oh my God, that is the most fucking romantic thing I’ve ever seen,’ Ashley cried and as I looked over, Cole still holding me tight, she and Kendra were clutching each other, both with their hands over their mouths. ‘You guys are the cutest,’ she added.
‘Hold up, when did you both meet?’ Alix asked, bringing his phone over. ‘This is too good – were you on vacation here, Lottie?’
‘Umm . . . sort of,’ I replied, glancing at Cole for reassurance, not sure what was happening, but as long as it didn’t involve the guests running off and reporting what a disaster their trip had turned into, I didn’t care.
‘She came here to get away from that asshole, after he cheated on her,’ Cole said, pressing a kiss to my forehead, ‘and found herself a cowboy instead.’
‘Holy shit, that is one hell of a marketing strategy,’ Kendra breathed.
Suddenly overwhelmed with relief, I started laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of it all. In a moment she was laughing too, then the others joined in.
‘Seriously though, this is an amazing story,’ Ashley said, eyes alight. ‘Can we include some of it in the content? I mean, not Kyle’s temper tantrum, but the whole finding your cowboy thing? My followers will be obsessed .’
I looked up at Cole, waiting before he nodded.
Leo walked over, hands up in apology.
‘Lottie, I’m so sorry I let him barge in on the trip, I can’t believe the way he just spoke to you. Look, I’ll make sure he gets on the plane home. I never would’ve said anything if I’d known this is what he’d be like.’
‘It’s okay,’ I said, shaking my head. ‘It’s not your fault. I just didn’t want this weekend to become about him, or us . . .’ I looked up at Cole, staring at me with such intensity that my stomach filled with butterflies.
‘Oh it’s all about you two,’ Alix said, grinning. ‘C’mon, let’s get some shots by the lake before the sun goes down. This place is stunning – look at how gorgeous the water is!’
The surface of the lake was still, a mirror reflecting the burnt coral sky, while the mountains watched over us from a distance.
Cole and I walked, hand in hand, down to the shore. The stillness was beautiful, utter calm after everything that’d just happened.
‘So what are the chances of getting you skinny dipping in there with me, huh?’ Cole asked, smiling at my reaction as he straightened and flexed his right hand, the beginnings of a bruise beginning to bloom across his knuckles.
‘I’m more of a hot springs kind of girl,’ I said, then as I considered his face, his smile at the sheer magnitude of what had just happened, I added, ‘But give me some time to get used to it and maybe I’ll change my mind.’
‘How long have I got?’ he asked, his fingers squeezing mine.
I reached up to his mouth and brushed my lips against his.
‘Always.’
A month down the line, I’d already relented with the lake. Three times.
Not only that, but the lake was central to the plans for the position of the new cabin, something Cole had surprised me with just a week earlier, with Lil’s very hearty blessing. Living just down the hall from a couple that into each other was . . . a lot.
It’d be entirely mine, my own little piece of my family’s ranch, and Cole was building it with Jesse’s help as a gift.
The extra work was a challenge to squeeze in alongside all the extra bookings since the social media content had blown up, but now that we’d hired someone to manage the admin and bookings, as well as another two cowboys to help with the horses, the path was clear.
Ashley had been as good as her word and her influencer friend, Kinza, had already visited just two weeks after the others had left. The competition to win a stay at the Diamond Back blew up on social, alongside everything Ashley, Kendra, Alix and Leo had posted.
So much so that I’d been added to the payroll as marketing and guest experiences manager to deal with the trickle, then the flood of bookings that had followed.
It was a fraction of what I’d earnt in London, but enough for all I needed.
In fact, I’d never imagined I could ever have so much; I wanted for absolutely nothing.
I’d even managed to force Lil into taking some time off and going on her first holiday in four years, giving her time to see her mum in Colorado and then visit London for the first time ever.
There were still two weeks left on my lease, and given I’d rented it fully furnished, it made for perfect free accommodation.
Hestia had already cleared out and sent over what little remained of my things after I’d asked her to just donate my whole wardrobe to local charity shops.
The old Lottie had officially gone, morphed into this new version of myself, permanently dressed in Wranglers and my now truly worn-in tan boots.
And as well as my clothes, I’d never felt as comfortable in my own skin, especially when it was up against Cole’s.
Leaning on the corral fence, I was watching him and Jesse marking out the new fence line for the road down to the cabin when a small cloud of dust on the drive up announced the final part of my plans. The last seal of approval needed to make all this official.
Bailey’s truck rounded the corner by the barn, coming to an abrupt stop.
‘Lottie, where the hell did you find her?’ Bailey asked, jumping down from the driver’s side and adjusting her hat, grinning. There was a pretty pink tinge to her cheeks, as though she’d spent just a little too long in the sun.
I grinned back, waiting as the passenger door opened and a maelstrom of red hair and black clothes sprinted across the drive to me.
‘Lottieeee! OHMYFUCKINGGOD !’ Hestia yelled, slamming into me with a force that almost knocked us into the dirt.
‘This place is incredible and Bailey is just fucking GREAT and holy shit . . .’ She stopped, looking up, hand raised to shield her eyes against the sun.
Cole and Jesse walked towards us, Jesse’s shirt undone under the intensity of the late June weather. ‘Is that . . .?’
‘Yeah,’ I replied, laughing, waiting for them to reach us.
Cole’s expression was warm and amused, his eyes flicking between me and Hestia.
Jesse’s eyes were wide, taking in everything about my friend, from the multitude of tattoos to the way the sun caught her hair, like spun flames. ‘Cole, Jesse, this is Hestia.’
They both tipped their hats to her, smiling as she shook her head.
‘Well fuck me, Lots – I know you said they were hot but . . . holy hell. What the fuck are they putting in the water here?’
I tried not to laugh, failing miserably at Jesse’s surprised expression.
‘It’s good to meet you,’ Cole said, extending a hand, now his turn to be surprised at Hestia’s firm return handshake. ‘I’ve heard a lot about you.’
‘Well, annoyingly, Lottie has been very coy about you,’ she replied, narrowing her eyes at me. ‘But from what I do know, it sounds like I’m going to know you for a very long time to come, so I’m looking forward to finding out more.’
Cole ducked his head and smiled, moving over and reaching out to pull me to him, his lips instantly on my forehead.
‘But you,’ she began, stepping up to Jesse, hands resting on her hips, ‘you, I know almost nothing about.’
His lips curved as he looked over her, his expression just as brazen as hers.
‘Happy to change that, ma’am.’
She raised her eyebrows at me.
‘I should’ve come to visit weeks ago,’ she said, smiling up at Jesse, then back at Bailey, leaning on her truck and watching the whole thing. ‘Now, c’mon and show me around, cowboy.’
She looped her arm through his and together, they started walking up the drive as if they were old friends.
‘I’ll take you into town later, get you a hat,’ I called after them, not willing to move out of Cole’s arms just yet.
Hestia just looked back over her shoulder at me, smiling. Without a word, she reached over to Jesse’s hat and transferred it to her head, peering over at him as he stared at her, mouth half open, smile forming.
‘No need.’