I pressed a soft kiss to the back of her knuckles, savoring the taste of her skin. It didn’t escape my notice that she didn’t pull away. Her fingers squeezed tightly instead.

Chapter Nine

Cheyenne

“Come on, just a little more, please?”

I looked away, cupping a hand over my mouth to smother my laughter at the irritated glare that Colt sent Tiffany.

“You can’t have anymore,” he said, impatiently. “If you have more, you’ll never wake up again.”

Tiffany shot him a dirty look as she flourished a hand at her leg. Braces and splints held it still and together until surgery tomorrow morning. It was hard to look at it without grimacing.

“You’re shitting me, right? Try having your leg broken and living with it.”

Colt didn’t bat an eyelash as he scrolled through his phone. “I won’t have that problem because I don’t get the brilliant idea to climb bookshelves that aren’t attached to the wall.”

“Are you mocking me?”

“No,” Colt replied, speaking steadily without sparing her a glance. “I just know you’ve already had enough morphine to knock out five horses.”

“Who told you that?” Tiffany asked, glowering up at him. “Why are you even here? The ranch needs you. We can’t both be gone. You need to balance the books and all that.”

Colt looked up from his phone, exasperated. “I know that. We’re just here to check up on you before we head back to Green Point.”

Tiffany flopped back against her pillow with an aggravated huff.

“You know what your problem is? You need to get laid,” she mumbled, eyes rolling back when the machine next to her pumped another dose in. “I know that Cheyenne will gladly help in that department. Cheyenne!”

My cheeks were burning as Colt looked down at Tiffany with a mixture of embarrassment and amusement.

She reached out a hand to me, as she looked up at me pleadingly. “Please, please help him. He won’t be such an ass afterward, I’m sure of it. Do it for all of us.”

I couldn’t bring myself to look at Colt as he sighed loudly. My heart pounded as Tiffany let go of my hand then, finally letting the painkillers take hold.

“You believe that? She can’t handle anything,” Colt said. “Don’t take any of it personally when she’s intoxicated, or apparently, high on morphine.”

“Duly noted,” I replied with a nervous laugh. “I suppose we should head back to the ranch, huh? They said she’ll have surgery tomorrow, right?”

“To put a pin in, yes. Or a rod maybe, I’m not sure. Anyway, she’ll be medicated all night to keep her comfortable.”

I watched as Colt leaned over the hospital bed to brush some of Tiffany’s fair hair. He pressed a tender kiss to her forehead, and it warmed my heart to see the affection in his eyes. It also brought back the memory of Colt’s soft lips pressed up against the back of my knuckles and the way he had held my hand the entire time we walked through the hospital parking lot. Tiffany had even made a good-natured jest at seeing our locked hands before I remembered to let go.

Carrying my sweater in my arms, I waited for Colt to talk with the doctors before we left the hospital in companionable silence. I didn’t question it either when Colt held out his hand for my truck keys before hopping behind the steering wheel. We drove back to the ranch in silence.

I chewed on the pad of my thumb nervously as we pulled up to the house. Rick’s truck was already gone, and the horses appeared to be fed and brushed. We were utterly alone, and my heart raced at the thought of spending the night with Colt without the comfort of Tiffany around to interrupt my fantasies.

The evening air was chillier than usual when I walked up to the house with Colt following silently behind. I rubbed at my arms as I glanced up at the darkening sky. Autumn was just around the corner. I could feel it in the air.

“I need to get some wood split,” Colt said. “There’s a fireplace we can light tonight if you want.”

“That sounds great. I can go scare up some dinner, too.”

He smiled at the offer before continuing along to the other side of the house. I dug through the fridge to find a chicken, freshly plucked, and smiled as I pulled it out. A roasted chicken on a cold night sounded good. I spent the next hour preparing for food while listening to the sound of an ax splitting wood outside.

It didn’t matter that we were alone for the first time. Colt was a gentleman. He wouldn’t make a move or take advantage of the time alone. Not with his sister in the hospital with a broken leg.

Still, a part of me wished that he would. I placed the rolls into the oven next to the chicken, the skin golden and crispy now. Too long. It had been too long since I had done anything like this with the opposite sex.

Tags: Claire Adams Romance
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