A whole new agony filled me as Tiffany turned to look in the direction of the bar, spotting a friend who had called out her name, then left the table to visit. I sucked in a deep breath through clenched teeth, trying to control my body that was now coiled and ready for action.
“Damn it, Tif,” I swore, running a hand through my hair. “Why did you have to say all that? Especially when Cheyenne will be at our ranch all the time now.”
Chapter Seven
Cheyenne
“Are you sure about this?”
Tiffany sighed in exasperation as she climbed up into the passenger seat. She closed the door before giving me a long look.
“Yes,” she said. “Colt and I discussed it. In fact, he had already cleaned out the stables to make room for the horses before I even brought it up. It’s not going to be a problem.”
I was still uneasy when I put the truck into gear, slowly easing forward with the trailer behind me. While I appreciated Tiffany’s friendship and the incredibly generous gesture from the two of them, I still felt wary of the entire situation.
Guilt bubbled in my stomach. Calm down, Cheyenne. Not every single person in the world is out to hurt you.
“Thank you,” I repeated for the hundredth time since Tiffany arrived at my house with the news. “I really appreciate everything that you and Colt are doing.”
“Don’t mention it, Cheyenne. We hate Bill Coates, and well, we like you a lot.” Tiffany sent me a sly smile. “And who knows, maybe Colt is expecting some sort of benefit in return.”
“Ha-ha. Not funny, Tiffany,” I replied with a smile, even though my body had flushed hotly at the thought. A small part of me wouldn’t mind paying Colt back in other ways. “I’m sure your brother isn’t like that anyway. He seems like a gentleman to me.”
“He is, absolutely,” Tiffany agreed. “He’s never mistreated any woman, though it’s been a while since he’s been in a relationship, now that I think about it.”
“Why is that?” I asked as I glanced over at her, dumbfounded and curious now.
“Who knows?” she shrugged. “I’m sure Colt has his reasons. He’s been focused on getting his restaurant launched, and then when our parents died, you know it was…”
Tiffany’s voice failed her just as I turned onto the highway. I didn’t have to look over to see the tears in her eyes. I could hear it in her voice.
“I’m sorry that your parents died the way they did,” I said sincerely. “I can only imagine how hard that has been on the both of you. They would be proud of you for many things I would expect, but especially for your kindness.”
“Thank you,” Tiffany said, smiling now. “My mom always threatened to kick our butts if we were mean to other people. I’m sure that expectation hasn’t changed with her death.”
We shared a smile as we continued north on the highway in the direction of the Smith Ranch. My blood went hot with anger when we drove by Robert, who was parked alongside the highway, his radar gun pointed directly at us. He checked the reading before waving at the both of us with a wide smile.
“Has this place always been corrupt?” I asked in disgust, tempted to throw him the middle finger in response.
Tiffany glanced over her shoulder to make sure he was still parked alongside the road.
“Yes, from what I remember. Bill Coates hated my parents, and well, Robert is friends with Bill. You know how it goes in a small town.” She smiled grimly at me. “Colt and I grew up dealing with that shit show. We are still dealing with it.”
“What was the feud even over in the first place?”
We hit the edge of town, and instead of driving down Main Street, Tiffany directed me to a side street to avoid traffic.
“It’s all over a contract that Bill Coates lost to my father,” she explained quietly. “It was a lot of money—a huge corporation. Losing it nearly put Coates into bankruptcy. We knew it was war when one of our horses wandered onto his property through a broken fence, and he just shot it.”
“He didn’t get in trouble for that?” I asked, horrified at the thought, though not entirely surprised.
Tiffany shook her fair head. “Nope, he didn’t. He told Robert that he didn’t know whose horse it was, but Colt saw him smiling when we found our horse laying there suffering, all but dead. He knew who the horse belonged to all along.”
“That’s horrible,” I said. “I don’t understand how or why he takes things out on animals. They did nothing to him.”
“Trying to figure him out is a lost cause. My dad spent years trying to do it,” Tiffany replied with a sigh. “We’re almost there. Take this next right.”
The Smith Ranch sat on over two hundred acres of land. There were three barns supporting the needs of various animals, and everything about the property was well-maintained. The fences were sturdy and new. The la