Rough, Raw, and Ready (Rough Riders #5)(82)

“Thanks for keepin’ me company. I’m goin’ to bed.”


Colt merely stared at her and crossed his arms over his chest. The sleeve of his T-shirt lifted, revealing a brightly colored tattoo on his biceps.

“When’d you get that?” She pointed at the tat.

He glanced down. “Last year.”


“What is it?”


“One of the four horseman of the apocalypse.”


“Can I see it?”


“Sure.” Colt rolled his sleeve to the top of his shoulder.

“Whoa. That’s gorgeous. India did that?”


“Yeah. She’s good, ain’t she?”


Chassie squinted at the flames that swirled around the horse’s hooves. “Yep, although it don’t seem like something you’d pick, cuz.”


“It ain’t.” Colt grimaced. “This is what you get when you leave the choice in the hands of a smartass tattoo artist. Indy thought it’d be hilarious tattooin’ a horse on me when my name is Colt. That woman is seriously warped from havin’ so many holes pierced in her head.” His gruff attitude belied his oddly affectionate tone.

“I’d love to have her design one for me one day when I can afford it. But you can be damn sure I ain’t gonna let her tattoo a car chassis on me.”


Dammit. She was such a sucker. “Fine. After you answer a question for me.”


“Anything.”


“Did you honestly believe I’d be that gullible? Just take the check and skip to the bank not questioning my sudden good fortune?”


“Ah, actually, yeah, I had hoped that’d be the case.”


A growl-like snarl escaped and she sidestepped him.

“But I expected you’d at least hear me out and not be as stubborn as your daddy.”


Chassie whirled, tired, angry, frustrated and ready to pop him one square in the mouth.

Colt grinned at her. “Knew that one’d get your back up, Sassy Chassie.”


Her old nickname brought a smile. “Funny, Colt the Dolt.”


“Now that that’s out of the way, will you at least listen to me?”


She sighed. “I suppose.”


“First off. What I said wasn’t a complete lie. At one time Dag did send me money. I don’t recall how much. Coupla hundred bucks probably. Anyway, when I heard how badly you wanted Gus’s place, but couldn’t swing the down payment, I thought this was the least I could do to help you out.”


“Why do you want to help me?”


“I could give you a bullshit answer and say because you’re family. But the truth is, Dag and Uncle Harland died leavin’ you holdin’ an empty bag with no means to refill it and that don’t seem fair.”


“Your family’s always had more money than us, Colt,” she said tactfully. “I don’t begrudge you for it like my dad did.”


“You should. At least my ma squirreled away the money Granddad West left us.”


“What money?”


Colt’s face was troubled. “Granddad West left each grandkid ten thousand bucks.”


Chassie’s mouth dropped open. “You’re joking.”


“No. Ma deposited ours in the bank and wouldn’t let us have it until we turned twenty-one. I told Dag when I got mine. So Dag asked Uncle Harland about his, and…”


Ugly, thick pause.

“Dad spent it all, didn’t he?”


Colt nodded. “I’m sorry. Dag found out Uncle Harland blew every bit. My understandin’ was that was the last straw between them. Dag didn’t so much care about his inheritance, but yours was a different story.”


She felt ill.

“See you were doomed to fail before you got outta the gate, Chass. It ain’t your fault,” Colt said hotly. “I don’t want you to fail, ’cause I know all about failure.”


“Colt—”


“I’ve felt like a failure most my adult life. Cord is the oldest and a natural born rancher. Colby is the rodeo star. Cam is the hero.” Colt squeezed his eyes shut briefly.

“Cam is even more a hero now. Carter is the smart college boy. And Keely is the long-awaited girl. Which leaves me as the f*ck-up, the ne’er do well middle child, the charmer, the womanizer, the drunken fool. I lived up to that bad reputation because it was all I had. All I ever saw myself as.

“My brothers’ve done noble things while I’ve done nothin’ worth mentionin’ and done plenty of things I’m ashamed of. Here’s a chance to make things right for someone besides myself.” His vivid blue eyes were beseeching. “This is something I wanna do, something that’ll let me feel as if I’m lookin’ after you like Dag might’ve wanted me to.

I’m payin’ off my debt to the past by helpin’ you to secure the future you’ve always deserved, Chass, is that so wrong?”


“By givin’ me your hard earned money?”


“How else are you gonna buy Gus’s land and increase the size of your operation?”