The True Cowboy of Sunset Ridge (Gold Valley #14)(14)

“This is my sister-in-law,” she said. “Sammy.”

“The lady of the manor,” Sammy said, winking broadly.

Iris decided she liked her right away.

She opened her mouth to say something, when a dark figure came through the door behind Iris’s sister-in-law and Iris. And Mallory’s stomach dropped down to her feet. Yet again.

“Oh,” Iris said, grabbing hold of the man’s arm.

Her man’s arm.

“This is my cousin. Colt.”

HELL AND DAMNATION. The woman that had been haunting his dreams was standing right in front of them. Right in front of him. That was... Well hell. That was unexpected. Putting it mildly.

“Hi,” Colt said, forcing a smile to cross his lips. He didn’t smile much these days. He didn’t do much of anything these days. In fact, the only significant thing he’d done in the last three months was standing in front of him.

“Colt,” she said.

She looked like she’d been slapped with a fish. So, he knew that she was just as surprised as he was. And anyway, he couldn’t think of any other explanation for it. Except pure, dumb, small-town luck.

If you could call it that.

He wasn’t in any kind of space to be tangling with a complication. Not in hell. Not right now. Especially right now.

This was why he liked a transient hookup. He didn’t deal with morning-afters.

And judging by the beet-red color of the woman’s face, neither did she.

“Colt,” she said. “This is Mallory.”

“Nice to meet you,” he said.

“Yeah,” she returned. “Nice to meet you.”

“Griffin’s sister,” Iris said, patting him on the forearm.

Oh great.

So, Griffin’s sister had come through town, and he’d banged her. Well. There were worse things.

Maybe.

He hadn’t been himself that night. Charm came easy to him, as did easy sex that pleased both him and his partner. At least, it had. He didn’t think it was the stretch of celibacy that had changed him, though.

There had been something deep and raw between them, and it had all seemed fine because he wasn’t supposed to see her again. He didn’t want anyone to see how he was. Not right now. Didn’t want any kind of the toxicity that existed inside of him to spill over onto the other people in his life.

God knew, his family had been through enough.

He was just sorting it all through on his own, as best he could. And his night with a stranger should’ve been just that. One night. With a stranger. But then this woman was here...

This woman.

He’d been something else with her.

The intensity unleashed in that motel room...

It had been an exorcism.

He didn’t say anything, because his cousin was handily filling the silence, and when Iris wasn’t talking, Sammy was. They went into the house, and Colt stood back in the living room, his eyes on Mallory.

Mallory.

It was the strangest thing. Because he’d seen her once six months ago.

Before everything had gone to hell. He’d wanted her then. He’d never experienced anything like that. Seeing a woman and knowing. Knowing that things between them would be explosive.

Yeah.

He’d wanted that.

He’d wanted her.

He’d told himself that it was one of those chance encounters that didn’t mean anything. The little bit of attraction between himself and a woman he would never see again didn’t really matter. That he didn’t need to build it up and did nothing. But then, she’d been there.

Then, at one of the lowest points in his life, she’d come back. And she wasn’t with that tool anymore. She was by herself. And now... Well hell.

He felt it still. Even after having her. And that was an entirely new sensation. He loved women. But one of the things that he’d always liked about them was the mystery. There was something kind of magical about sex with strangers. That you could go from not knowing each other to having each other naked in just a few seconds. That you could experience physical intimacy while keeping your emotions entirely separate. He’d always liked it. And he liked that rush.

Of uncovering a woman for the first time.

Seeing what color her nipples were.

How her breasts were out of her bra, if she wore one at all.

Did they sag just slightly or were they perky—either through nature or silicone. Frankly, he was into all of it. He liked wide hips he could grip and narrow, athletic builds. He liked women.

But, half of what he liked was that mystery.

That game. Unwrapping the gift.

He didn’t like knowing what was already in the present. That wasn’t really his jam. And the mystery of Mallory should be well solved.

He’d had that woman from every angle. Had tasted every inch of her. But still, looking at her now sent a rush of fire through his blood. He didn’t get what it was about her. He really didn’t. She was lovely. That sort of classic reddish curly hair, and pale freckled skin. She didn’t particularly look like her brother.

Which really was a good thing.

“So,” his cousin Ryder said, addressing Mallory. “What brings you to Gold Valley?”

“I needed a change of scenery. And Griffin is here. And... Well, I found out that the midwife is retiring. I had the chance to buy a clinic in town. A birthing center. That’s what I do. I’m a midwife.”