Best Friend's Ex Box Set

“Well, let me know what the verdict is. I’ll help you with what I can help with.”

“Thanks.”

A smile tugged at her lips, but I couldn’t bring it in me to tell her the truth of why I asked. Guilt filled me for believing Bill Coates. It wasn’t possible for Cheyenne to even hurt a damn fly. How could anyone expect her to burn down a barn with her own horses in it?

I bid her goodnight before climbing up the stairs with heavy limbs. Maybe I was being blinded by Cheyenne, but I didn’t mind it entirely. She was a good woman, a good person that softened the edges around me. It occurred to me then that I was dreading the moment that Cheyenne collected her insurance check to rebuild. We would be separated again by our own lives, and that didn’t settle well with me.

Chapter Thirteen

Cheyenne

“Ah, it feels so good to be out of that hospital and stuffy apartment,” Tiffany said as she sank down into the couch cushions with a relieved sigh. “At least they give you pain pills on a steady basis there to keep you happy.”

I laughed as Colt rolled his eyes in exasperation. The both of us had picked up Tiffany from the small apartment her friend in town rented out. Compared to the Smith house, the apartment really did feel stuffy and small. The living room was bigger than the entire apartment.

“You have to rest,” Colt said. “No moving about because those bones will break again if you do it too quickly. Hear me, Tif?”

“I hear you,” Tiffany said, adjusting a blanket across her lap. Her leg, dressed in a hard cast, was propped up gently on a small pillow on the coffee table. “I can’t move around, so don’t worry about me deciding that I can go run a marathon or something. I think I’ll enjoy this moment of recovery as long as I can.”

Colt leaned in to press a kiss to Tiffany’s head. The gesture brought a smile to my face, which I immediately wiped away when Tiffany glanced at me curiously.

“I have to go,” Colt said, straightening up with his hat in hand. “I have the restaurant to get to—”

“Did Cheyenne ask about the silent auction there?” Tiffany asked.

A frown tugged at Colt’s lips. “I thought the insurance would cover what was needed. We are still talking about the silent auction?”

“It won’t cover everything,” I admitted with a shrug. “The adjuster gave me an estimate yesterday. It’s just barely enough to rebuild the barn, and well, Tiffany was insistent on taking care of this silent auction in the hospital.”

I trailed off nervously from the irritated look on Colt’s face. I knew he would be upset that Tiffany was working from her hospital room rather than resting.

“Don’t get mad at Cheyenne,” Tiffany said, reading the look on Colt’s face. “I did all of this without her knowing about it until a few days ago. People are donating to the auction. A few people are throwing in some saddles. Jacob’s offering some free exams too.”

Colt sighed as he smoothed a hand through his hair. “I guess I have to offer something too. What did we talk about, Cheyenne? A private dinner with me?”

I nodded despite how my throat burned with jealousy at the thought. The women in Green Point were mad about Colt Smith. I knew that much from the envious whispers I overheard whenever I went into town. “That’s what we talked about. I think you’ll have a lot of offers that way.”

“If you’re okay with it.”

The statement caught me off guard. I looked up at Colt in surprise as he stared at me with a guarded expression. The doorbell echoed in the living room, catching the three of us off guard. I looked out the window as Colt left to open the front door. My heart sank when I saw that it was Robert standing on the front porch with his police hat in hand. He spoke briefly with Colt before stepping inside.

“Who is it?” Tiffany asked.

“Robert,” I told her, and the both of us exchanged a long look. I braced myself on the couch next to Tiffany as Robert entered the living room with Colt right behind him.

Robert swept a gaze along Tiffany’s leg cast. “What happened, Tiffany?”

“It’s a long story,” she said stonily. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to talk with Cheyenne about our investigation,” Robert said. ?

?About the fire and—”

“Did you arrest anyone?” I asked, eager for information. I didn’t want to rebuild the barn with Bill Coates driving by my property every single day. The thought made my chest clench anxiously

“We do believe that there is arson,” Robert started, shifting on his feet uneasily. “There is plenty of evidence of arson from what the fire marshal told me. However, we have no evidence of who could’ve possibly started the fire—”

“You’re kidding me, right?” I stood up to look at Robert, who shrugged his shoulders. My heart pounded with fury. “I told you what Bill Coates said to me before the fire. How is that not enough of suspicion?”