Chapter Four

As Colt strode toward his office, he stopped when he heard Brian calling out his name.

“Hey, Brian, what’s up?”

“Am I going to get into trouble for telling you she asked me about the riding stable?”

“Hell, Brian. I have no idea. I doubt it, but she said it was up to you.”

“I’m not interested but I’m afraid to tell her.”

Colt smirked. “No need to be afraid to tell her. It’s your decision.” He shrugged. “It could mean more money for you.”

“I don’t care about the money. I’d rather just stay where I am.”

“That’s fine with me. I’d rather not lose you but make sure you let her know as soon as you can.”

“I will. Thanks, Colt.”

He nodded, entered his office, closed the door, and sat behind his desk. He leaned back in the chair, clasped his hands across his stomach, and closed his eyes, but quickly opened them when Chelsea appeared behind his eyelids.

“Shit,” he muttered as he ran his hand down his face.

He just needed to stay the hell away from her. Colt groaned as he thought about how hard that would be since they worked together, and they had to communicate with each other.

Pushing the chair back, he stood, strode around the desk, and entered the barn then walked out the back and headed home. It was his day off and he usually never came to the barns, but when Brian called him and told him about Chelsea asking him to run the riding stable, Colt saw red. Brian was his best worker and he’d be damned if he’d let him go without a fight. He’d been so angry when he left the house to confront her, then he saw her and had to get away from her or he’d take her to bed.

“You know better,” he chastised himself, as he climbed into his truck and drove home.

****

Colt swore as he felt sweat rolling down his chest. He leaned the pitchfork against the wall, lifted his hat off, hung it on a nail, then removed his T-shirt, and tossed it onto the stall gate.

He picked up the pitchfork, stabbed at the straw, then dumped it onto the floor. Once he finished with that, he pushed the wheelbarrow out of the stall, picked up the rake, and spread the straw around the stall.

“I can help out here, Colt.”

He glanced at the gate to see Joey there.

“Hey, Joey. How about working on the ones on the other side of the barn? Brian and Jett are in the middle barn.”

“Okay.”

Colt shook his head. He was surprised at how well Joey worked. He’d been quiet at first, but once he got to know everyone, his personality came out a little more. He’d come a long way in a couple of weeks, and Colt was proud of him. A while later, he found him sitting on a hay bale.

“Joey?”

“I’m just taking a break,” Joey said as he quickly got to his feet, but Colt waved him down.

“That’s fine. Do you have water or Gatorade?”

Joey held a bottle of water up. “I go through a lot of these a day here.”

“You have to, or you’ll get dehydrated.” Colt sat beside him on the haybale. “So, how’s it going here?”

“I like it.” Joey grinned. “I didn’t at first, but I like working with the horses.”

“Good. Are you getting along with the men?”

“Yeah, they’re great. Everyone is. Chelsea is so nice to me.”

Oh, boy. Sounded like he had a crush on Chelsea. Colt could see how a sixteen-year-old boy would fall for her. Hell, he was forty-three and close to falling himself.

“She’s a good boss.”

“And beautiful. She has the prettiest blue eyes.” Joey sighed and Colt bit his lip to keep from smiling. He’d never embarrass Joey about having a crush on her.

“How are things with your dad?”

Joey shrugged. “Other than him grounding me for the rest of my life, it’s the same.”

“So, tell me why you took the horses.”

“It was stupid. I didn’t know I’d get into so much trouble. I planned to put them back. I even went back and cut the fence again, but I was too afraid I’d get caught.”

“You did get caught.”

“Yep.” He shook his head and laughed. “I hated Eli with a passion.”

Colt laughed. “He was just doing his job.”

“I know that now, but to be honest, he scared the hell out of me. He’s like you.”

“I scare you?”

“No, I meant because you’re built the same. Tall and muscular. I told him when he came to arrest me that I wasn’t going.” Joey shook his head and grinned. “He told me we could do it the easy way or the hard way but if I thought I could take him, to go ahead and try.”

Colt chuckled. “Sounds like Eli.”

“Do you know him?”

“Yes, I’ve known him about ten years. He’s one hell of a livestock agent and an even better man.”

“I know that now. I used to have a habit of rolling my eyes, and man, I did it one too many times at him. He looked me in the eye and said, ‘roll your eyes at me one more time.’ I knew not to.” Joey laughed.

“Well, it’s good you can laugh about it now.”

“That’s the truth. It was because of him though that I got to work here to pay my fine. I didn’t have a lot of choices. It was either cleaning up trash on the roads, juvenile detention, or this.” He shrugged, then looked at Colt. “I love it here.”

“Good. I’m glad to hear that. You have a job here every summer, if you want it.”

“Really? Isn’t that up to Chelsea?”

“I’m the manager. I do the hiring and firing unless she has to fire someone. Did that make sense?”

“Yeah, I get it. I’d love to come back.”

“As I said, every summer, if you want it.”

“Are you married, Colt?”

“Nope. I never have been.”

“Why not?”

Colt shrugged. “I never wanted to get married.”

“I’m not sure about that.”

“You’re only sixteen. You have a lot of time.”

“How old are you, Colt?”

“Forty-three.”

“You’re the same age as my dad,” Joey said in a surprised voice.

“Well, hell, thanks for that.”

Joey laughed. “I just meant; he seems so much older than you.”

“I’m still not sure how to take that.” Colt chuckled.

“He seems a lot older than you in years. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah. Do you have a girlfriend?”

“Candy Miller,” Joey said with a grin. “Any advice about women?”

Colt shook his head, stood, and placed his hand on Joey’s shoulder.

“Son, there is no advice a man could give you about women. We have no clue how their minds work. The best thing I can tell you is stay off their shit list, but you won’t be able to.” He grinned. “They’re hard to understand, but I don’t think any man would have them any other way. Have a good rest of the day. I’ll be in the office.”

“Yes, sir.”

Colt strode toward his office when he heard Brian call out to him.

“Hey, boss.”

“Brian. What are you guys doing now?”

“I’m going to ride the fence and Jett is in the Cotton barn, painting. Chelsea wanted to have it painted, so Jett said he’d do it. Steve and Bobby are baling hay and stacking it in the loft.”

“Okay. Joey’s mucking the stalls on that side,” Colt said, nodding toward the stalls on the other side of the aisle as they walked toward the office.

A few days later, Colt stood beside Brian in the barn, talking about chores to be handed out when he heard Brian groan, and looked at him.

“What’s she doing out here?” Brian said, nodding toward the door where Chelsea had just entered.

Colt’s eyes shifted in her direction before turning back to face Brian. “Hell, who knows? She’s probably here to bust my balls for some reason.” A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth and Brian chuckled in response. “Go ahead and do your chores, Brian. I’ll see what she wants.”

“Yes, sir.” Brian left the barn by the back doors.

But as Chelsea approached, Colt could see that something was wrong. Her eyes were red and puffy, and it was clear she had been crying.

“Is everything all right?” Colt asked, his brow furrowing with concern.

“No,” Chelsea replied with a shake of her head. “Mr. Cotton passed away this morning.”

“What?” Colt was sure he’d misheard her.

“Yes,” Chelsea confirmed, her voice wavering with emotion. “I’m so sorry, Colt. I hated telling you.”

The news hit Colt like a punch to the gut. He felt like the air had been knocked out of him as he processed the news. He removed his hat, ran a hand through his hair, then replaced the hat.

“I can’t believe this,” he muttered, in shock. “That man was like a father to me.”

Chelsea reached out and touched his arm comfortingly. He looked at her for a moment before turning away, unable to hold back tears any longer. He strode to his office, closed the door behind him, and collapsed into his chair behind the desk.

He stared down at his hands, clasped together on top of the desk, and tried to make sense of the flood of memories that came rushing in. Walt Cotton had taken him in when no one else would have. He knew Colt was running away from something or someone when he first arrived, but he didn’t ask too many questions. Eventually, Colt opened up and told him about the troubled life he had left behind.

And now, Walt was gone. Colt couldn’t believe it. He had loved that man and the pain of his loss was almost overwhelming. He fought to hold back tears, but they managed to escape and slide down his cheek.

The door opened and Chelsea quietly entered the room, her own tears now falling freely down her face. She sat in a chair across from Colt’s desk and looked at him with sympathy and sadness.

“I’m so sorry, Colt,” she said softly.

He tried to swallow the lump in his throat, but no words would come. The ache in his chest felt unbearable. He knew that eventually the pain would lessen, but for now he just wanted to curl up and mourn the loss of someone so dear to him.

“You know,” he finally spoke up, his voice thick with emotion, “I really missed him after they moved away. But I always thought I would keep in touch with him.” He paused, his voice breaking. “I got an email from Tricia just two days ago. She said everyone was doing... great.” Tears started to stream down his face again. “He turned eighty-one last week.”

“I didn’t know him as well as you did,” Chelsea said quietly, “but he was always kind.”

Colt shook his head in disbelief. “That man didn’t have a mean bone in his body. From the moment I arrived here, he treated me with nothing but kindness. He saw the good in people and never judged anyone. I loved him.”

“I know you did, and you have to know that he loved you too.”

“I do.” Colt sighed. “Could you leave me alone for a while, Chelsea?”

She stood. “Of course, I can. Take all the time you need.”

“If you could let me know about the arrangements, I’d appreciate it. I’d like time off to go to the funeral.”

“I’d like to go too. We could go together if you want. He’s being buried in the Clifton Cemetery. Tricia said he wanted to be buried at home.”

“I know he did. We can go together.”

Chelsea nodded and left the office. Colt wondered how he’d get through the funeral of a man he idolized but he knew he wasn’t the only one who would find it difficult. He wondered how Tricia was doing and shook his head. They’d been together for over sixty-five years. Walt told him the minute he saw Tricia when he was only sixteen, he knew she was the one and they’d been together ever since.

Colt sighed, pushed the chair back, stood, and walked out the door. He ran into Chelsea and quickly grabbed her arms to keep her from falling.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t see you.”

“It’s okay,” she said as she stared into his eyes, then he stepped back.

“Did you need something?”

“I wanted to tell you that if you want to go home—”

“No. I’d rather work. If I go home, I’ll just sit around and think about him.”

“I understand. Again, I’m so sorry for your loss, Colt.”

“Thank you. I need to tell the men.” He ran his hand down his face. “I’m not looking forward to it.”

“Do you want me to tell them?”

“No. I think it would be better coming from me.”

“Oh, alright. I just thought I could take that burden off you.”

“It’s fine.” He moved around her and strode down the barn’s aisle.

****

Chelsea watched his long strides as he walked out the doors at the end of the barn. She knew he was hurting, and wished she could take away his pain, but she also knew he wouldn’t let her.

She sighed as she strode across the yard, up the steps, and entered the house. She pulled a chair out from under the table, sat down, folded her arms on the table, and placed her head on them as she sobbed over the loss of such a wonderful man.

Standing at the gravesite a few days later, Chelsea held Colt’s hand as they listened to the reverend read from the Bible. There wasn’t a dry eye in the crowd. She glanced around to see so many people here for Walt. He was loved by so many.

Looking at Colt, her heart broke when a tear rolled down his face. Once the service was done, she and Colt hugged Tricia then left to go home. Colt told Chelsea he didn’t want to go to the townhall after the service, so she drove them back to the ranch. He never spoke a word the entire way. She reached over to touch his hand, and grasped it tightly in his, but stayed silent.

A week later, Chelsea entered the barn to look for Colt. She wanted to make sure he was alright. She knew he was still hurting.

She saw Brian walking toward her. He touched the brim of his hat as he approached her.

“Ma’am.”

“We’ve talked about this, Brian. Please call me Chelsea.”

“Alright, Chelsea. Did you need some help?”

“Do you know where Colt is?”

Brian smirked as he pointed to the hayloft above. “Up there.”

Chelsea glanced up then back at him.

“Is he working up there?” She couldn’t understand what would need to be done up there.

“No. He goes up there when he wants to be alone and think.”

“I see. Well, thank you.” She walked around him and headed for the ladder.

“Ma’am, I’m not sure that’s a good idea. He likes to be left alone.”

“It will just take me a minute.”

“Alright.” Brian left the barn.

She walked to the ladder, stared up at the hayloft, took a deep breath, and climbed up. When she reached the top, she glanced around and saw him lying on a bale of hay with one knee bent, and his hat covering his face.

“Colt?”

He removed his hat, sat up, and looked at her.

“Is something wrong?” he asked her.

“No.” She walked to a bale beside him and sat down. “I wanted to see how you were doing.”

“I’m fine.”

Chelsea shook her head. “No, you’re not. You had a tough time at the funeral.”

Colt swallowed hard and looked away from her, then shook his head.

“I loved him like a father. A father I never had.”

She touched his arm. “Tell me.”

He huffed. “My mother never wanted kids, so when she got pregnant, my father had to have someone watch her constantly until an abortion was no longer possible. He didn’t trust her to not have one. Once I was born, she never took care of me. Either my dad or a babysitter did. All my mother wanted to do was get high. She was into some heavy drugs and my father had enough and left her, taking me with him. I was happy to go. I was ten, I think. Anyway, a car hit us head-on, killing him instantly. I wasn’t hurt since I was in the backseat, but when they returned me to my mother, she told them she didn’t want me, so child protective services came to get me, she didn’t even fight for me.”

“I’m so sorry. I can’t comprehend that.”

“I’m fine now. But when you’re a little kid, you can’t understand what’s going on. Anyway, I went to a foster home. Being ten, not many people were interested in adopting me. I hated the people I lived with, so I ran away. Of course, they found me, took me back, but I ran away again. Every chance I got; I ran away. I went from one foster home after another until I was seventeen. I’d had enough and this time, I left the state.”

“Montana?”

“Idaho. I decided to head for Canada. I had big dreams for when I got there, but I ended up here. I thought the driveway was a road, and I’d be able to find a place to sleep for the night. It was daylight yet, so I walked up the road and came to a beautiful farmhouse.” He shook his head. “I stood there staring at it in awe when I heard this booming voice coming from the porch, saying, are you going to stand there and stare at the house or come up and sit on the porch with us? I saw Mr. and Mrs. Cotton sitting on the swing. I turned around to leave and Tricia asked me if I was hungry. Needless to say, I was starving. I said I was, and she fed me. I’ve been here ever since. I loved them both. They treated me how a child should be treated. They knew I was underage and a runaway, but somehow, Mr. Cotton let the authorities know where I was, and I was staying with them. He had enough pull to make it happen.” Colt shrugged. “I’ll miss him every day.”

Chelsea put her arm around his shoulders and leaned her head against his arm. She didn’t say anything, just sat with him. After a few minutes, she sat up, and looked at him. He turned to look at her and their eyes met and held. She saw him look at her lips, then back into her eyes. She leaned forward and kissed his lips, making him inhale sharply. She didn’t give him time to say anything as she cupped his lightly whiskered cheeks in her hands and pressed her lips to his again.

She gasped when he lifted her and pulled her across his lap. She straddled him, and moved against him as she kissed him. She raked her nails down his chest to the bottom of his T-shirt and lifted it over his head, dropping it to the floor, then she unbuckled his belt, unsnapped his jeans, and lowered the zipper. She moved her hand inside of his jeans to wrap her fingers around his cock, and it grew in her hand, making him groan.

Colt lifted her T-shirt over her head, dropped it, unclasped her bra, and placed his mouth over her nipple and sucked it into his mouth. She raked her fingers through his thick hair. She slid from his lap, stood, kicked off her boots, removed her jeans and panties and stood naked in front of him. As he stared into her eyes, he pushed his jeans down past his knees. He reached out and pulled her onto his lap again with his cock standing up between them. He moaned when she wrapped her fingers around him again.

“Get a condom,” he muttered as he handed her his wallet.

She took the wallet from him, removed a condom, and tossed the wallet onto a haybale, then she ripped open the packet, removed the condom, and rolled it down over his engorged cock. She straddled him, then lowered herself onto him.

****

Her fingers dug into Colt’s shoulders, urging him on while her mouth sought his in a desperate kiss. He growled and nipped at her lower lip, as he pumped into her. She was so damn hot and tight, squeezing him like a fist as she rode him harder. He held onto her while he stood, turned and placed her on her back on the haybale.

His hips met hers in a rhythm, driving deep inside her with each thrust. Every time they connected, they both groaned loudly; the sound echoing through the barn. His hands gripped her hips hard, leaving red marks on her skin that would later remind her of this for days to come.

Her nails dug into his back as he took her even harder. She thrust her hips against him, urging him on. He took her lips in a hard kiss as he felt her muscles clenching around his cock, and she screamed into his mouth.

Colt drove into her and when she came again, he joined her, groaning against her lips as he came hard. He took deep breaths as he lifted his head and put his face against her neck. Her fingers sifted through the ends of his damp hair.

Colt got up, found their clothes and handed hers to her, then quickly dressed. He stared at her still lying there.

“Why the hell can’t I stay away from you?” He walked to the opening in the floor and climbed down the ladder without looking at her again. “What the fuck is wrong with you? Start thinking with the head on your shoulders when she’s around,” he muttered.

He knew this time came from their emotions, but decided it was best to stay the hell away from her as much as he could. He knew they could never have any type of relationship, other than boss and employee.