Best Friend's Ex Box Set

“I am going to head into the hospital to check on Tiffany,” Colt said. “She should be back tomorrow to recoup here from the surgery.” He took a sip of his coffee. “I’ll have to drive her to therapy every other day.”

“She doesn’t need to worry about helping me either,” I said. “I can manage the horses on my own, so she can take the time to rest.”

“She really loves working with you and the horses. I’m sure she’ll be watching enviously from the living room window.”

Colt chuckled as he grabbed a spatula to chop the egg batter. The smell of cooked eggs filled the kitchen as he worked around the stove. I cradled my coffee mug close while I studied the muscles in his back. He was so strong that it was hard not to wonder how those muscles felt beneath warm and tanned skin.

Back to reality, Cheyenne.

Scooping a portion of scrambled eggs on the plate, Colt set it in front of me with a smile before loading up his own plate. He folded his long body onto the bar stool next to mine before digging in without hesitation.

“I have to be at the restaurant today too,” Colt said through a mouthful of eggs. “I’ll be there all day and night, so if you need anything, make sure to talk to Rick. He should be here within the next hour.”

I took a bite of eggs. “Thank you. I should be fine. You’ve done enough with letting me stay here until the insurance adjuster comes out.”

“Have you contacted them about the fire yet?”

“They said that they would send someone out this week to look at the damage and give an estimate on how much it would cost to get the barn rebuilt along with the supplies.”

Exhaustion filled me at the thought of how much work there was to do. I had no idea how Tiffany and Colt managed to balance their life at the Smith ranch with their other jobs. It time-consuming and stressful enough to focus on my own ranch.

“I hope that you can get everything back,” Colt said, but his eyes were doubtful. “Take what you need from here, seriously. I can take the hit.”

“I’m sure that it’ll be enough. My grants cover a lot of the supply costs.”

“Any new adoption requests?”

“None so far,” I replied gloomily. “I think word got out about the fire. I had to disable the website temporarily.”

Colt took a long drink of coffee. “And no word from the sheriff about what they think started the fire?”

“It’s not a question of what to me,” I said, darkly. “It’s a question of who. I have no doubts in my head who started the fire. There were gas cans next to my barn that I never keep there.”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Cole started, turning to face me with a frown. He took another drink of coffee. “Try to hear me out on this, but I’ve heard that Bill Coates is upset about the fire because he lost his horse.”

“He abused the horse, so he can’t fake empathy all of a sudden. What’s your point?”

“I think the fire wasn’t started by him,” he said. “I think he may have possibly suggested it to someone, but I don’t think he would’ve poured gas on your barn with his horse inside.”

I shook my head at him in disbelief. “Cole, this man abused his horse. The other animals too, according to Jacob. I don’t have any doubts in my head that this was something that he had a part in.”

“That’s my point. He had a part in it, but he wasn’t the one that started it. Think about it for a moment.”

“I don’t understand what you’re getting at,” I replied, frowning. “He told me that things weren’t over when I refused to give him back his horse.”

“Look, I’m not saying Bill Coates is the best man in the world. Nobody is denying that the man has a tendency to be a prick about everything, but that horse made him money. And money is a huge deal to Coates.”

“I’m sure it is a big deal to him. I just can’t shake it, Colt. I saw that look in Bill’s eyes that day. He was angry.”

“I know that he was angry, but nothing like this has ever happened here at Green Point. Not to the extent of property damage, Cheyenne. Bill doesn’t like attention, and starting a fire in the middle of the night with your horse locked inside the barn is a sure-fire way of drawing attention to yourself. Now I don’t know why he was out there the night of the fire, but I can assure you, it wasn’t because he started it.”

“I called PETA on him,” I pointed out, irritation starting to bubble in me. “That’s enough to piss someone like him off.”

Colt sighed in exasperation. “I’m not getting my point across. All I’m saying is that you need to think about the possibility of it being a freak accident is all.” He rose from the table to deposit his plate and coffee mug in the kitchen sink. “I have to get going before I lose too much of the morning. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call. Rick will be here throughout the day too if you need help.”

“I’ll be fine,” I said. “Thank you. Let Tiffany know that I’ll be here when

she comes back.”