Best Friend's Ex Box Set

Anger surged through me again. I took back my drink to gulp the rest of it down, letting the alcohol burn the back of my throat. “He always has,” I growled, waving my glass to catch Joe’s attention at the bar. “I normally don’t drink here, but I went by Bill’s ranch before—”

“What? Colt, are you an idiot?” Tiffany interjected, horrified. “That man wouldn’t hesitate to shoot you. He hates our family. What the hell were you thinking?”

Cheyenne’s tear-stained face flashed before my eyes. My heart clenched just thinking about those quiet and devastated tears streaming down her cheeks while we sifted through the blackened debris. I thought about the stallion that died in the barn, terrified by paralysis, too afraid to move. I thought of my sister crying over our horse as it struggled to breathe, with Bill Coates standing nearby, a gun propped up on his shoulder and a cold look in his eye.

And for what? Money? Contracts? The thought of it all made me sick. The day I saw Bill Coates take revenge against my family over a lost contract was the day I had decided to stay away from ranching.

“I was thinking of Cheyenne,” I said. “And of what we went through. He can’t get away with this shit forever.”

Tiffany shot me an exasperated look.

“I wish that too, and so do lots of others in town, but don’t put yourself in the position to make it easy for him. He wouldn’t hesitate, Colt.”

I shrugged my shoulders indifferently.

“Let him do it. He’d go to prison, and we all know he couldn’t handle that.”

“Colt—” She paused when Joe stopped by our table to place two whiskeys in front of us. Sipping at her own drink now, she took a contemplative look around the restaurant. “We need to help Cheyenne somehow. I was thinking that maybe a fundraiser here would do it.”

“A fundraiser?” I repeated, arching an eyebrow. “I suppose if everyone is supportive of Cheyenne’s cause. We can float the bill if we need to.”

“Yeah, but we can’t let her know that. She would never accept it. I’ll talk to Cheyenne about it,” Tiffany said. “First, we have to figure out where those horses are going to go, though.”

I immediately caught on to the pointed look Tiffany had sent my direction. I knew where this was going before she could even say it.

“I already cleaned out those stables,” I said with a partial grin. “We have the room, and Cheyenne can come by anytime she needs to.”

A huge smile spread across Tiffany’s face, the first I’d seen of late. It brought a smile to my own face to see her happy.

“She’s a good woman,” Tiffany said, cradling her drink in both hands. “She’s a great friend. I really want her to stick around, plus she is doing so much good. What about you?”

I tensed at the question. “What about me?”

“Oh, please.” Tiffany rolled her eyes. “Come on; I know you’re interested. You’ve been checking her out non-stop, and you’ve asked me about her before.”

“She just went through a barn fire,” I said. “I may be a red-blooded man, but I’m not going to take advantage of her being around our place.”

It was tempting to think about, though. It had crossed my mind that night I stayed at Cheyenne’s house, listening for her to cry from upstairs. I’d seen it in her eyes—the carnal need for comfort and distraction. My own body wanted it too. I felt myself stiffen in arousal at the thought and shifted in my chair to cool myself.

“Well, you’d be pleased to know what I overheard her saying today when she was talking to her mom on the phone.”

“What’s that?” I asked, even though I knew what Tiffany was up to.

“She said that you were like one of those cowboys you see on the front of the paperbacks in the grocery store. You know? The cheesy ones with their shirts unbuttoned. I don’t see the similarities though.”

“Very funny,” I said when she grimaced. “Are you sure that’s what she said?”

“Very sure. I was standing right next to her.”

“Oh, so you were eavesdropping,” I corrected with a laugh. “You just can’t mind your own business sometimes, can you?”

“Either way,” she said, shrugging her shoulders with a grin. “I think the two of you should get together. You know, blow off some steam. It’s obvious you both are into each other.”

My mouth went dry at the thought of blowing off steam. A lot of it.

“I don’t think she wants that,” I said hoarsely. “Cheyenne doesn’t strike me as that type of woman.”

Tiffany’s grin turned mischievous. “Not that your sex life is something I want to spend my time thinking about, but I’m telling you, she has thought about doing it with you. I know it.”