Best Friend's Ex Box Set

I tossed the junk mail in the trashcan in the kitchen with a sigh. It felt like this stroke of bad luck was never going to end after the fire. Nothing seemed to go right anymore, no matter how hard I prayed every night. After tidying up the house with a dust rag and broom, I sat down with my laptop to click through the other adoption emails. At least there were people out there still interested in adopting one of the rescues. I just didn’t know when I could arrange a good time for them to come by the Smith ranch to talk about the adoptions.

The construction crew the insurance company had contacted arrived yesterday morning to pour the new foundation for the barn. The silent auction was well on its way thanks to Tiffany and Colt’s legwork. The sanctuary would be okay. There would be a new barn, new supplies, and tack, but it didn’t erase the unease brewing inside of me.

Everyone in Green Point seemed to have a good idea of who had started the fire, but everyone was also afraid of pinning the blame on the person.

My fingers curled up into a tight fist when I thought of Bill Coates’s leering face when he had stumbled out of the Iron Stallion to confront Colt and me. No matter what the sheriff said—or what anyone else said for that matter—I knew Bill was capable of destroying anyone he deemed a nuisance. He had proven that by killing Colt’s horse in cold blood over losing a contract to Colt’s father.

I grabbed my personal laptop from the small office I kept backup files on.

“First things first,” I said. “The electric needs to be turned back on.”

“Knock, knock.”

“Shit, Colt!” I exclaimed, holding a hand over my thumping heart. “Where did you come from?”

Colt stepped inside, pushing the front door open with a frown. He took his cowboy hat off, a habit I noticed whenever he walked inside, and glanced around the living room at the lamp lights.

“I rang the doorbell, but didn’t hear anything,” he said. “What happened to the electricity? I don’t hear the usual hum.”

I reached up to play with the end of my braid nervously. “Well, I haven’t been here to monitor when the bills need to be paid.”

“So, the electricity is disconnected?”

“Yes. I was just going to—” I stopped when Colt strode through the living room to the kitchen. I heard him twist the kitchen sink on before coming back into the room with his cellphone in hand. “What are you going to do?”

“Pay the water and electricity,” Colt said, thumbing through his phone contacts. “You can’t stay out here with nothing turned on.” He paused to look at me with a heavy frown. “Why didn’t you say something about being behind bills?”

I looked down at the pile of bright pink warning letters on the coffee table when Colt’s eyes flicked to there. “Oh, right. I just didn’t think it was your problem is all. The bills have to be paid despite the fire.”

Colt sighed as he lifted his phone to his ear. “Yes, that’s true. You could’ve said something though. It would’ve made things cheaper.”

“You can’t possibly think that it’s okay to pay for my bills,” I said, aghast. “You’ve already done so much, Colt. I can’t accept you paying my bills.”

“You can’t live in the dark without heat, electricity, or running water. Anything else that I need to worry about while I’m here?”

Before I could protest further, Colt surged forward with surprising grace to grab the pile of pink disconnect notices from my lap. I tried to snatch them back, but he was stronger and quicker. He disappeared through the front door with his phone attached to his ear. The gentle rumble of Colt’s voice reached my ears as I slid off the couch, hugging myself to keep the cold autumn from seeping into my bones.

He is right, Cheyenne. You can’t live off your pride.

The compassion of the Smith children didn’t cease to amaze me. Especially when it came to Colt Smith.

A smile tugged at my lips while I watched Colt open the driver’s side door of his truck to dig around the front seat. He was going to make a woman very happy one day. The thought of another woman wrapped up in his strong arms made my stomach clench. I shook my head as Colt tapped a credit card impatiently on the steering wheel.

Just keep it friendly, Cheyenne. No men. Remember?

That was the problem though. It was getting harder to remember that with each passing day that I spent in Colt’s company. I could feel that sensation building up between us. It bubbled in the air whenever I turned to find Colt’s eyes lingering on me before turning to look at something else in the distance. It was only a matter of time before that overwhelming urge to kiss him madly finally took over.

Colt walked into the living room a few minutes later with a smile. As usual, he took off his hat to set it down on the small dining room table.

“All utility companies will be out here to turn everything back on,” he informed me, glancing out the window at the new foundation. “I see that the construction crew has been out here already.”

“They came by yesterday,” I said. “Thank you for doing that, Colt. I can’t thank you enough for everything that you have done.”

“You’re welcome.” He gave me a long and lingering look that instantly made my skin felt too tight and hot. “I suppose that means you will be getting out of my ranch here soon.”

I cleared the bulge out of my throat. “Well, technically I have to if I want to have those grants cover the sanctuary.”

“How much longer do you think you’ll be around?”