Branded as Trouble (Rough Riders #6)(48)

That’s my cue to leave.”


“Wait,” Colt said.


“No, that’s fine, I’ll leave,” Cam said.


“Wait, just a damn minute. Both of you.” He faced Cam.


“Why’d you barge in here in the first place?”


“I tracked you down to ask if you wanted to come over and watch ESPN tonight. The Broncos are playing. Kansas City.”


Colt seemed torn.


India kissed his cheek. “You sure you’re okay?”


He pulled the paper towel away. “See? It already stopped bleeding.”


“Good. Thanks for your help tonight. Now go cheer on the Broncos.”


Chapter Eleven


Dating Week Two


“Hey, India, can I talk to you for a second?”


She turned from her conversation with Bert Spotted Tail and smiled. “Sure. Almost done here.”


“No hurry.” What a lie. It took every ounce of control not to drag her away from the old coot who’d been monopolizing her time for the last twenty minutes.


If it wasn’t for that coot, you wouldn’t even know her.


Bert called out, “Heya, Colt, one of these days we’re gonna get you to participate in the circle of trust.”


“Don’t count on it.”


The circle of trust was an exercise where one person stood in the middle of a circle of people and fell back trusting someone in the circle would catch them. Colt didn’t trust anyone so blindly. So while they’d been doing this exercise for the last few months, Colt stood on the sidelines. He took some crap about it, but he didn’t care. No way was he taking some psychiatrist’s version of the Nestea plunge.


“You playin’ in the basketball game for at-risk youth tomorrow night?” Bert asked.


With this dating business, he’d forgotten. “Yeah. Thanks for the reminder.”


“No sweat. You oughta bring India. In fact, if you promise to come, I’ll save you a courtside seat, eh?”


“Sounds like you’re asking me on a date, Bert.”


A date? Like hell. Colt growled. India and Bert both gave him a strange look.


“Shee. I’m too old to be tryin’ to win the tattooed hand of a wild thing like you. But back in my heyday…I was as rough and rowdy as a mustang. Sorta like McKay.” Bert’s contemplative gaze pinged back and forth between Colt and India. “Maybe you oughta be datin’ him.”


India lifted her pierced brows at Colt.



Rather than snap, she is dating me, Colt said, “I’m tame as a trail pony these days.”


“Some of them docile lookin’ ones still gotta lot of buck left in


’em, boy. You just hafta pick the right kinda rider to let the beast loose.”


Colt couldn’t help but laugh.


“I’ll see you tomorrow night. And put on a good show, will ya?


I bet twenty bucks on your team.”


“So tell me about this charity basketball game,” India said to Bert as Colt headed to the kitchen.


He rechecked the coffee pot he’d unplugged ten minutes ago.


Although it’d been a short meeting, it seemed he waited for hours for the attendees to leave. From the moment they’d arrived.


Might’ve made him selfish, but for the first time in years, Colt hadn’t paid attention to what his fellow A.A. members discussed.