Best Friend's Ex Box Set

“You think so?” I asked.

“I know so,” she said. “But I also know you’re not convinced. As long as I’ve known you, you’ve always looked on the bad side of things and settled for being pleasantly surprised when something more than the worst-case scenario ever happened.”

“I can’t help it. It’s just how I’m wired, I guess,” I said.

“Do you trust me?” she asked.

“Oh my God! What is it with you Smiths and that question?”

“Answer it. Do you trust us? Me and Colt?”

“Of course I do. With my life and the life of my horses,” I said.

“Okay, then trust us when we say this is going to work.”

“I hope you’re right,” I said with a sigh. “People were really upset with me.”

“All I ask is that you hold on to hope,” she said.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Cheyenne

I smoothed out my dress and continued to hover around the room. Tiffany had to move the fundraiser to the restaurant at the last minute because there were far too many people showing up at the house early on. I was absolutely astounded. The winter air was steady and light, the smell of snow in the air, while everyone in the restaurant mingled with smiles on their faces. My heels clacked against the floor; my hair wouldn’t stay up in the clip I’d put it in, and Colt eventually convinced me to just leave it down.

“I told you,” he said.

“Where in the world did all these people come from?” I asked.

“Honestly? I don’t even recognize some of them. Must be from some of these neighboring counties you pestered.”

Tiffany did a fantastic job of decorating this place last minute. Beautiful silk cloths covered the tables with dancing candles, and the flames peppered the venue with sharp shadows. The silverware was shined, and the small-stemmed flowers that sat in the corners of the casual restaurant really brought the distressed wood to life.

Tiffany shook her head, “Look at all these people!”

“It looks beautiful,” I said, smiling.

“I knew the moment the line of cars started wrapping around the street that we were in trouble. So, I just grabbed everything and brought it here, and told the chef to keep everyone entertained with the food he’d already cooked. Then, it was only a matter of getting them to reroute.”

“I don’t know how you pulled any of this off,” I said.

“With patience and creativity,” she said. “And they all came out to see you.”

People approached me all night. Michael ‘accidentally’ ordered extra bags of feed, and some of the neighboring farms and sanctuaries came with excess tack they couldn’t use for one reason or another. Some people personally handed me checks, and a couple of individuals even offered their part-time services to help me around the sanctuary.

I kept telling them I had no way to pay them right now, and they kept telling me they would simply ‘find an even trade at a later date.’

Every once in a while, Colt would surface, and each time he did, I thought he looked absolutely stunning. The dark washed jeans he had on hugged his tight ass, and the plaid shirt he had tucked into his jeans pulled taut against his chest. He had hung up his hat for tonight and had slicked back his hair and pulled out his nice pair of boots. He kept walking around in the shadows with a bucket in his hand, and every time I went over to see what he was doing, someone else would grab my arm and start to talk with me.

Everyone was absolutely stunned at what Bill had done, and many even offered up their own stories of unpleasant encounters with the man. People were shocked about Rick and talked about how they never thought a nice man like him could get involved in something like that. All I did was tell them that money made people go crazy in the strangest of ways.

I knew exactly how that felt as I stood here in the middle of the restaurant and wrung my hands, nerves threatening to overwhelm me.

“You really need to settle down,” Tiffany said.

“Thank you again. For everything. This is just stunning. How’s your leg?”

“Holding up,” she said. “This boot isn’t nearly as itchy as the cast, so it’s far better.”