Chapter Twenty
I let the hot water scald my back, reveling in how good the steam felt.
My mind was still wandering back to Colton’s lips, his hands on my face, his room-filling laugh.
I had never felt so good in my entire life, even with the bruise that was growing by the second, and the long scrape on my stomach.
As I splashed water in my face, I thought about Colton wiping it with the rag. I smiled to myself.
After Dean had caught us kissing, Colton had stepped out of my way. He said he needed to get some chores done before the rodeo tonight.
“Take all the time you need,” he said, kissing my cheek quickly.
I wanted him back. I wanted him to keep kissing me. I didn’t want him ever to stop touching me.
But reality must persist, and we both had a job to be done.
I took a semi-long shower, thinking about my nightly baths in Chicago, and stepped out.
Using another homemade rag, I wiped the steam off the mirror.
A girl I hadn’t seen in years stared back at me.
I saw the spray of freckles her dad had given her, the ones that were always hidden under a pound of makeup.
She had messy blonde hair, slicked straight from the water.
But the most surprising part was the huge grin plastered on her face.
I hadn’t seen myself that happy in a very long time.
I couldn’t wait to tell Martha.
Knock knock
“Hey, Ally?”
I cracked the door open without thinking and suddenly stood face-to-face with Colton.
He seemed as surprised as I was that I had opened the door.
His face was bright red. He glanced down at the towel that covered me and shot his eyes back up to my face.
“Uh, sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. I just wanted to let you know that we’re gonna head to the arena in about an hour. If that works for you.”
I tightened the towel around me, feeling embarrassed that I had opened the door in the first place. “Um, yes! That sounds great. Thank you.”
He was still in his dirty white shirt, although now it was so wet with his sweat that I could practically see through it.
I forced myself not to look at the abs that seemed to stare at me. “You probably want to shower and get ready,” I said, running a hand through my sopping wet hair. “Give me just a few minutes, and I’ll be out of your way.”
He held up his hands and took a step back. “No rush.”
With talk of going to the arena, Corporate Allegra was starting to creep back in. I cleared my throat and straightened my posture. “Listen, Colton. I’m really sorry I…kissed you. That was-”
Colton looked almost stern. “If you say ‘unprofessional,’ I’m gonna be upset.” He warned.
I opened and closed my mouth.
“And for the record, I kissed you, Ally, and I don’t regret it for a second.” He was leaning down now, whispering an inch away from my face. “In fact, I’d like to do it again, if that’s all right with you.”
He was such a gentleman. I nodded, my eyes already locked on his lips. He put his thumb under my chin, pulling my jaw up. I kissed him first this time, proving to him that I wanted this just as much, if not more than he did.
“Colton, I swear if you leave one more pair of socks in my kitch-Oh!”
Colton pulled away and faced his mother. “Hi Mamma.”
Jo was standing in the hall, a look of complete shock on her face. “Ya know what, just pretend I’m not here!” She turned on one heel and disappeared before either of us could respond.
Colton was as red as a cherry. He put his hand behind his neck and laughed awkwardly. “I told you this house was a madhouse.”
My face was hot, and I chuckled nervously. “I’ll be out in a few minutes,” I promised.
“Okay, no rush,” Colton said again, still blushing.
I shut the door.
~~~
It was amazing to watch the boys work in perfect harmony as they loaded the horses. They each had a specific job, working around each other.
I stood back, out of the way, to let them work. My arms were folded over my tight blue dress, keeping my hands from hanging awkwardly at my sides. I had found a thin white cardigan to cover the nasty bruise that infected my shoulder.
“You look lovely.”
I gasped. I swear I had more jump scares in this house than in my entire life. I smiled at Jo, trying not to picture her face standing outside the bathroom. “Hi, Jo. Thank you, so do you.”
She was wearing her own version of the black jersey with the “Nash” name and number. She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me close. “Sorry, sweets! Didn’t mean to scare ya!”
I hugged her back. “I guess I was just lost in my own thoughts.”
She sighed into my hair. “I’m just glad you’re okay. I can’t tell you how grateful I am for you right now.”
I felt shy, unable to form a coherent response. She released me, and it was time to confront the elephant in the room. “Jo, I would like to apologize for-”
She held up her hand, stopping me. “Allegra, we are so grateful you’re here. It’s been such a treat to have you stay with us.” She took a breath, contentedly. “You’re good for my boy.”
I closed my eyes, letting myself freeze the moment. She treated me like her own daughter, and she had only known me for a few weeks.
My own mother couldn’t care less if I lived or died.
I blinked back tears. “Thank you, Jo.”
Dennis caught up with his wife, throwing his arm over her shoulder. “Did you already thank our hero for me?”
Jo leaned into his touch. “I did!”
“You know, after I retired from the rodeo, I was a pick-up man for about fifteen years, just as a hobby. From what I heard about today, you have quite the career in it, too,” he winked.
I adjusted my bag, not sure what else to do with my hands. “Ellie is being nice, but it was not as graceful as she made it sound.” I chuckled.
“I would’ve paid good money to see it!” He exclaimed.
I was not good at being the subject of conversation, so I quickly switched to the task at hand. “So Dennis, I wanted to make sure you were okay with the script I had prepared for the announcer tonight. Do you have a second to go over that?”
“I’ll let you two kids work,” Jo said, kissing her husband’s cheek.
I unlocked my iPad and handed it to Dennis.
He held it at arm’s length, squinting to read. “Sorry, old man eyes,” he muttered. He took his time reading it a few times. “This is perfect. You wrote this?” He looked up at me, and I noticed tears clinging to his eyelashes.
“Yes, and I have about fifteen minutes before I need to get it submitted, so if you want to change anything, now’s the time.”
“Allegra, this is beautiful. Thank you.” Dennis handed it back to me, shaking his head. “I could have a month to write that and wouldn’t come up with anythin’ better.”
I clicked submit, not sure if my feedback could get any better. “I appreciate that, sir,” I said, sliding the iPad back into my bag.
“Allegra, I appreciate how highly you think of my family.” He gave me his classic huge Dennis smile, ignoring the tears spilling down his cheeks. “Well, we’d better get loaded up. These boys are raring to go.”
My heart was full. It was a big job to try to put this family into words, and Dennis’ reaction had made me feel like I was taking a step in the right direction.
I followed him to the trailers, where the boys were starting to climb into the trucks.
Colton smiled and waved when I caught his eye.
He looked incredible. He was wearing a gray pearl snap button-up that made his eyes look even brighter. His hair was combed under his tan cowboy hat. He had shaved again, making his jaw sharp. “Ready to go?”
I nodded. “How are you feeling? Do you get nervous before a show?”
Colton shrugged. “More like butterflies. I don’t think there’s anythin’ that makes me more excited than a show.” He tugged on my dress, pulling me closer. “You look beautiful, by the way,” he whispered before softly kissing me.
“Thank you,” I whispered back. “I really love this shirt.”
He looked down at it. “This old thing? Why, thank you.”
“I especially love the price tag,” I laughed, tugging at it. “Really ties the whole outfit together.”
His face turned red, and he yanked it off. “Get your butt in the truck,” he said, grinning from ear to ear.
I climbed into his beat-up red truck, letting him help me in and close the door behind me. I leaned back, inhaling the scent of an old farm truck.
Gosh, I had missed this life.
Colton climbed in, popping a piece of peppermint gum. “Do you have a lot of work to do tonight? I’m not gonna lie to you, Ally, I don’t even know for sure what you do.” He laughed. “I mean, okay, I know that your company is workin’ to make Agri-Corp grow and reach more people, but why the rodeo?”
I smiled at his honesty. I know so many things could be cleared up and so many relationships strengthened if people admitted when they didn’t know something. With Colton, admitting when he didn’t know the answer or asking a question came easily. It was a humility I admired endlessly.
“That’s a really good question,” I complimented, not wanting him to feel stupid.
“Thompson, Mickey, and your dad have done a fantastic job at making Agri-Corp thrive in each of their small towns. They hired my company because they want it to be more than a small-town dealership, though. They want it to be nationwide. Unfortunately, none of them wanted to travel, which is fair because they spend the entire season traveling. So, my boss, Mr. Sterling, came up with the incredible idea to market around the rodeo. I don’t know how much your dad has told you, but with them being the main sponsor and with their displays right outside the gate, Agri-Corp has opened up five new branches across the nation, and their sales have skyrocketed!
” I realized my voice had been rising with each sentence until I was practically screaming.
“Gosh, sorry, that was a bit of a ramble.”
Colton was beaming at me. “Man, you’re pretty good at your job, huh?”
I tucked my hair back behind my ear. “No, my company-”