Chapter 29
“Come on, beautiful,” Colt urged, refusing to let go of Elaine’s hand. That same something that had propelled him across the parking lot to her roared within him still.
He scanned left and right as he took her to his truck.
His mind raced, because he already had one woman waiting for him in the vehicle.
Yes, he liked Sariah a whole lot, but holding Elaine’s hand—even as distressed as she was and as messed up as this situation was—Colt’s feelings foamed in his blood, telling him that there was something different between how he liked Sariah and how he liked Elaine.
He knew with every step he took that he would have to break up with Sariah and do his darnedest to go out with Elaine. She most likely wouldn’t be ready for a new relationship right away, not after what had just happened, but Colt would rather be alone than with the wrong woman.
She planted her feet and said, “Wait.”
Colt turned back to her, his arm getting stretched out between them. “He threw my keys,” Elaine said. “And my purse.” She looked toward the grassy area that separated the parking lot from the road. “It has my phone in it.”
“I’ll find it, baby doll,” he said. “But I need you to get in the truck first.” She blinked at him, and he took a step closer to her, his other hand easily sliding up her arm, along her shoulder, and coming to rest on her upper back.
“Honey, I’ve got my girlfriend in the car, okay?
She’ll sit with you while I find your things. ”
“What if he hasn’t left yet?” Elaine asked, searching his face. “What if he hurts you?”
Colt’s jaw hardened, and he had no idea how she could be thinking of him in this moment. “We’ll have Sariah call the police,” he said, though Colt certainly didn’t want to involve them if he didn’t have to.
“My brother is a police officer,” Elaine said, a fresh wave of tears flowing out of her eyes.
Colt wanted nothing more than to wipe them away and kiss everything better.
His heart twisted, and his chest collapsed, shrinking when he realized how stupid he’d been.
If he’d asked Elaine out months ago when he’d wanted to, she wouldn’t have even been with Brandt tonight at all.
“Then you can give Sariah his number,” Colt said calmly, making his voice slow and steady. “And she’ll call him. It’s gonna be all right, okay?”
She nodded and got moving again. Sariah, to her eternal credit, got out of the truck and came around the front. “I’ll take her, Colt.”
“I guess he threw her keys and purse,” he said. “I’m gonna go try to find them.”
“It’s got an orange case,” Elaine said through her tears. “My phone, I mean. My purse is…red. I think I brought my red purse tonight.”
Sariah extended her arm, and Elaine flew into her embrace, as if she were her mother. Colt hated seeing her broken like this, because he’d only ever known Elaine Walker to be stalwart and strong. She’d intimidated him, in fact, and turned his mind to mush.
Except for tonight, thankfully, he thought.
Sariah nodded at him and then continued the last few steps to the back seat with Elaine, where she let her load first and then climbed into the truck behind her.
Colt exhaled and turned back toward Elaine’s SUV.
Of course it was the nicest one money could buy, as Elaine was classy and sophisticated and the Walkers had money coming out their ears.
He knew he should be concerned about other things, but he really wanted to take Sariah home first, and then go to Elaine’s so he could spend as long as he needed with her, help her get into bed, and hold her until she fell asleep, whispering that no matter what, he’d be there.
Because he wanted to be.
That was the relationship he wanted with Elaine, and his heart ached as he stepped onto the grass, because he’d have to hurt Sariah in order to have Elaine.
Colt switched on the flashlight on his phone and found Elaine’s bag quickly, the bright red leather reflecting the light.
Her keys took him another minute, but with everything back together, Colt returned to the parking lot.
Elaine’s worry over Brandt coming back streamed through him, and while Baker’s was a busy place, Colt didn’t want to get into a confrontation in front of the whole town.
Thankfully, he didn’t see Brandt Lyman anywhere, and he hurried back to his truck and vaulted into the driver’s seat. “I got them,” he said, passing the bag to Sariah.
Elaine wasn’t fully sobbing anymore, but she still sniffled and her voice hardly sounded like her own as she said, “Thank you. I’m sure I can drive myself home.”
“Nope,” Colt said, because he had two younger sisters, and he wouldn’t want them to be left alone to drive themselves home after the ordeal he’d just witnessed.
“Let me drop Sariah off,” he said. “She only lives a couple blocks from here, and then I’ll get you home and you can call Conrad or Austin or your momma.” He looked at Elaine in the rearview mirror, relieved when she nodded.
She pressed her lips together and looked away. Colt took that as his cue to put the truck in reverse and see this night through to the end. No one spoke on the drive to Sariah’s, and it really did only take about four minutes.
“You’ll be okay here?” he asked Elaine.
“You don’t need to walk me up, Colt,” Sariah said. “Stay with her. I’m fine.”
“You sure?” He twisted to look further at the pretty brunette he’d been dating for the past couple of months.
She nodded and gave him a tiny, timid smile. “Really.”
He nodded too, a quiet discontentment moving through him. “I’ll call you, okay?”
“Yeah,” she said. “Call me later.” She leaned over and hugged Elaine. “You’re going to be okay, sweetie, okay?”
Elaine nodded, though tears started streaming down her face anew. She hugged Sariah back as she said, “Thank you so much. I’m so sorry to ruin your date.”
“Oh, it’s fine. Me and Colt go out all the time.” She flashed him a smile, and then turned the gesture on Elaine.
His heart burned watching the two of them. People bonded over experiences like this, and how would he ever be able to break up with Sariah and go out with Elaine now?
He gripped the steering wheel tight as Sariah got out and made her way up her front sidewalk and into the house. Only when the front door closed safely behind her did Colt pull out his phone.
Lock up tight, okay? he said. I don’t think anything bad will happen, but I have no way of knowing if he followed me here or not.
Everything’s locked, she promised him, and that gave Colt enough relief to back out of the driveway and point the truck down the road.
“You’re going to need to tell me where you live, sweetheart,” he said, trying to make his voice as nonthreatening as possible.
“Oh, right,” Elaine said, and she directed him to her house, a cute little blue bungalow in a nice neighborhood. Colt wasn’t surprised by the look of it, and he killed the engine and dropped to the ground before swiftly pulling open her door.
“I’m fine, Colt,” she said.
“No, you’re not,” he said, though he really wished she was. He took her hand, glad when she didn’t pull away, and walked her up to her door. “I’m going to come in and make sure you get settled for the night.”
Elaine nodded, sniffled, and then walked into her house without using a key.
“I want you to lock up, sweetheart,” he said. “For the next several days, okay?” He’d seen a camera out front too, and that offered some measure of comfort.
She looked at him with alarm in those pretty eyes. “You really think I need to?”
A flashback of what Colt had witnessed—Brandt pressing his whole weight against her, holding her hands while she flailed beneath him and told him to stop….
He blinked, wishing God could take that sight from him. “Yes,” he said firmly. “You’ve got cameras here. What about at your women’s center?”
He reached to twist the lock into place on the front door. “He didn’t seem super happy about whatever was going on, and he said it wasn’t over.”
“I have cameras at the women’s center too,” Elaine said. She moved into her kitchen and plucked a paper towel from the roll, then proceeded to dab at the corners of her eyes. “I broke up with him, and no, he didn’t take it well.”
Colt nodded and set her purse on a side table just inside the door, where it seemed like it would go. “He seemed drunk.”
“He was,” Elaine said.
“Does he normally drink?” Colt asked.
“No.” Elaine ran her hands up and down her arms as if cold, and Colt walked over to her and drew her into his chest.
“Your shirt’s a little ripped, sweetheart,” he murmured. “Do you want to get changed and get in bed?”
She nodded, and Colt led her down the hall.
Though he’d never been here before, it wasn’t that hard to find the master bedroom in these older homes around Three Rivers.
Sure enough, it sat at the end, and this place had been fully remodeled.
Colt noticed the expanded closet and the master en suite, which a lot of older homes didn’t have.
He wasn’t surprised to see them at Elaine’s, because even if she’d bought this house in its original condition, she had the money to fix it up.
“I’ll just wait right here, ma’am,” he said, and he backed out of the bedroom and closed the door.
“Don’t leave,” she called, and warmth moved through his chest.
“I’ll be right here.” He heard her opening drawers in the bedroom, and it took her about twenty minutes to come back out.
She wore light heather gray from head to toe, in a matching pants and top set that flowed loosely around her curves.
Her hair was damp along the edges, and she’d removed all makeup from her face.
“Thank you, Colt,” she said. “I showered, and I didn’t mean you had to wait right here.”
“It’s totally fine,” he said back, glad he’d found a way to talk to her without sounding like a fool.
“Did you want me to call someone?” he asked as he followed her down the hall to the living room. “Your momma or Conrad?”
Elaine seemed to think about it for a moment, and then she shook her head. “No. I don’t want to worry them.”
“But you’re going to tell them, right?” Colt asked.
Elaine shrugged and moved through the kitchen, did nothing, and went into her living area. She curled into the end of the couch and pulled a blanket over her lap. Colt hastened to fix it for her, pulling it up further, so she could really nestle down into it and feel warm and safe.
“It’s not your fault,” he said. “I heard you tell him no at least three times.”
She looked over to him. “Did you?”
“Yes,” he said. “Anyone in that parking lot would’ve heard. You were very clear.”
Elaine nodded and reached up and wiped the corner of her right eye. “I know this is stupid, but…could you just stay here with me?”
Surprise bolted through Colt, and he immediately thought of the multitude of responsibilities he had at home.
He asked so much of his mother, who watched Jonas for him at any time and with a huge smile on her face.
He promised his son they’d sit together at church tomorrow, and he wasn’t sure how to satisfy his need to be a good dad with his desire to have Elaine Walker in his life.
“I’m so stupid,” she said. “Of course, you can’t stay. You’ve got to get home to Jonas.”
“I can stay,” Colt said, making the decision on the spot. “My mother will understand, and I can have Myrah or Birdie help with Jonas tomorrow.”
Elaine looked at him with those big, soulful eyes. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.” He shrugged out of his leather jacket and sank onto the other end of the couch. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
Her eyes filled with tears again, and she nodded. “Thank you, Colt.” She moved then, sliding across the couch so quickly that Colt barely had time to lift his arm and put it around her shoulders as she sagged into his side.
He pulled the blanket over her lap again, then his, and just like that, his pulse fired through him, once again telling him that he had to explore things with Elaine further. Sure, she was gently weeping again, and he really wished he could erase the past hour from her life.
But since he couldn’t, Colt simply stroked one hand over her hair and pressed a kiss to her temple. “Try to go to sleep, baby doll,” he whispered. “I’ll be right here when you wake up.”