“Don’t be fooled by my face,” he said. “I’m getting restless sitting here at the ranch. I made it a point a long time ago that I wouldn’t just sit here ever.”

“What’s so wrong with being here?” I asked, curling my legs up underneath of me. “It’s beautiful here. There’s tons of land. I bet you don’t have to worry about money here.”

“Not really. The ranch will do well even after I’m dead. That’s for sure.” Colt’s eyes slipped closed. “I don’t know. I just feel trapped here is all. I wanted to do other things with my life, but my father didn’t want me to go somewhere else. He needed someone here to look over the ranch when he couldn’t do it anymore. I just thought it was unfair at the time that I couldn’t do anything else with my life.”

“You still feel that way,” I said quietly. “You can always let Tiffany do the ranch. She doesn’t want to leave Green Point from what I’ve gathered.”

A chuckle escaped Colt’s lips. He opened his eyes to look at me with a half-grin tugging at his lips. That familiar warmth washed over me again.

“You trying to get rid of me, Cheyenne?” he asked. “After everything that I’ve done for you…”

“Very funny,” I said, rolling my eyes at the antics. “I wouldn’t be in Green Point if it weren’t for you. So be proud of that.”

That grin turned mischievous. Colt leaned over the mountain of the couch pillows to wink roguishly at me.

“I’m happy to take all the credit for that,” he murmured. The smell of whiskey ghosted my lips. Calloused fingertips ghosted my jawline. “I don’t want you to leave. Ever.”

My heart pounded furiously against my ribcage at his close proximity. “I have to, Colt. I have to go back eventually.”

“You can stay here.”

“You’ve had a lot to drink,” I said, reaching up to grab his hand from the side of my cheek. It took all my strength not to bury my face into the warmth of his palm. “Maybe you should go up and take a nap.”

“Not that much. I’m just being honest about how I feel is all.”

Run, Cheyenne. Warning.

“Don’t do this, Colt,” I whispered, shaking my head at him. “You know that we can’t be more than friends.”

His eyes narrowed at me. “Says who?”

“No one. I’m just saying that—”

“That’s my point. You’re the only one who’s trying to tell me that it can’t happen. I think you want to be with me.”

I tried to turn my head away, but strong fingers grabbed ahold of my chin. Our eyes clashed against one another’s. Desire swam in the cobalt blue of Colt’s eyes, almost like a violent thunderstorm brewing in the distance.

“I don’t know what the last guy did to you,” he said, “but I can tell you that I’m not going to be like that. You know who I am.”

Tears filled my eyes. A tumult of emotions crashed over me while my fingers circled around Colt’s strong wrist.

“Please. Don’t make this harder on me than it already is.”

“You’re making it hard on yourself. You are driving me crazy.”

My lips tingled when Colt leaned in even closer. Our noses brushed, and I parted my lips again because this was what I wanted. Deep down, I wanted this more than anything in the world at the moment.

“Who left the barn doors open?”

The question startled the both of us. I jerked back to see Rick standing in the kitchen, drenched with rain. He swept a gaze over to Colt, who let go of my face immediately.

“It shouldn’t be open,” he said. “You closed the barn doors right, Cheyenne?”

I rose to my feet as fear clawed up my throat. “Of course I did. I double checked the locks and everything before coming up here.”

“The doors are wide open,” Rick said. “I don’t know if any of the horses got out or—”

Colt let out a string of curse words as he ran a hand through his hair. I made my way to the living room windows that overlooked the sprawling pastures. My heart sank at the sight of three horses huddled together against the rain in visible distress. I hurried over to the mudroom to slip on a pair of boots and a rain jacket. I knew that the barn doors were locked. I’ve double checked everything since the black widow incident.

Tags: Claire Adams Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net