“Whatever guy came before me.”
“There isn’t a guy that came before you because there isn’t an us,” she said in a huff.
I started taking the lug nuts off, then slid the tire off the axel. I couldn’t really read the look on her face; it was focused, somewhat sad, and intentionally trained off into the distance.
“You know I’m not him, right?” I asked.
“I know,” she said softly. “I’m just, very determined. I want to get these horses healed up and with families who will care about them. Like Mike, for example.”
“Mike will take great care of that horse. He treats his animals with respect,” I said.
“So the horse sanctuary hasn’t really left time for a personal life, that’s all.”
“In that case, I can only imagine how hard it’s been for you to rely on someone to help you with everything while you get everything rebuilt.”
“Honestly? I was hesitant at first, but now I’m kind of glad I have one now.”
“One what?” I asked with a grunt, confused now.
“A personal life.”
I looked over at her, and her eyes were fully trained on me. A little smirk played on those lips I wanted to kiss goodbye, and something underneath my skin began to tingle. I trained my attention back on the tire, then waved her over to look.
“So, you’ve got a massive gash here,” I said.
“That thing is pretty big,” she said as she fingered it. “What in the world could I have driven over that would’ve made something like that?”
“That’s the problem. This incision looks to be pretty clean. If a rock or a stray piece of glass or metal did this, it would be jagged, and maybe even gaping or still lodged inside. But this is really clean, like it’s been sliced.”
“You think someone slashed my tire,” she said.
“I’m just telling you what it looks like. I’ve changed a lot of tires, Cheyenne. With everything else going on, it honestly wouldn’t surprise me.”
“I don’t know. Well, I guess I’ll take my tires getting slashed over a barn burning down any day. But the attacks we’ve been having have been pretty personal and against the animals. This is just a tire,” she said.
“I’m just telling you what I think it looks like. I’ll get this spare on for you, and then I gotta get into work.”
“Ah, yes. The grand reopening. You ready for it?”
“I want to check things over first. Make sure every single thing in the whole place is in order. I’ll feel better once I know I’m not gonna spring a leak in the roof or have no refrigeration or something,” I said.
I got her tire back on before I cleaned myself up and put her jack and lug wrench back where they belonged. Ready to leave, I turned around and took Cheyenne into my arms.
“Colt!” she exclaimed breathlessly.
“I’m really glad you’ve got a personal life, too,” I said with a grin.
Crushing my lips to hers, the world seemed to stop. Her hands found their way into my hair before she wrapped them around my shoulders, and my hands seemed to fit perfectly right in the dip of her back. She pressed deeply into my body while my tongue begged for entrance. When she granted it to me, a dark moan of longing burst forth from my throat. She tasted like morning sunshine and sweetened coffee, and there was a little voice in the back of my head chanting that I could get used to this.
And I realized that the little voice was right.
“Listen, there’s a gun in the house if you need it, and Rick will be here soon.”
“I’ll be fine,” she said with a smile.
“Cheyenne. You need to take this seriously. This town’s in an uproar right now. I need you to be safe. Promise me you’ll not take any chances, and you’ll use that gun if you need it.”
She looked into my eyes and searched them for a time before she lightly nodded her head. I cupped her cheek and placed one last kiss on her forehead, then reluctantly, I let her go.