The True Cowboy of Sunset Ridge (Gold Valley #14)(22)

She obeyed, but only because she was keen to see the rest of it. This felt like starting over. This felt like something new. You could hear yourself think here. She could take a full breath. She turned around and looked at the treetops down below... Well, that was why he made that drive. She could see all the way down the mountain, there were just... More mountains. A sea of green. Patchwork pine trees layered over the top of one another. It was beautiful. Truly beyond anything she had ever seen before.

“I didn’t know they made green like this,” she whispered.

“And it’s your view.”

Her view.

Hers.

“I love it.”

“Are you going to need me to chauffeur back up here tonight?”

There was something about the request that sent a shiver over her body.

“No. I’ll figure it out.”

“Glad to hear it. Can I help you carry anything?”

He didn’t wait for her answer, rather he was already getting into the back of the car pulling out boxes.

“You know, I didn’t say that I need help.”

“But you do.”

“Well, you’re very decisive, aren’t you?”

He laughed. “Yeah, you could say that.”

She sighed heavily, then ran back to the car, grabbed her suitcase and followed Colt up the steps of the porch. Their footsteps echoed hollow on the wood, and she looked around at the porch. There were some intricate carvings on the support beams. A moose. A wolf. An owl and a bear.

“These are beautiful.”

“Passes the time.”

“You...carved these?”

“I do a little bit of woodworking. I enjoy it. I’ve been adjusting to...” He cut his sentence off as if he regretted starting it.

She was curious. But she refused to press because she didn’t want him to know that she was curious. She just followed him inside. The inside was... Well, it wasn’t quite as well put together as the outside.

“I still have things to do.”

The place was furnished, just as promised, but it was... A little bit shabby. It had definitely seen better days. It was overall habitable. The living room was tiny, with a little woodstove in the corner. There was a black couch shoved against the back wall, and a small coffee table in front of it. The cabinets were wooden and so were the countertops. The fridge and stove were a very distinct avocado green. There was no microwave. No dishwasher.

“It’s pretty simple,” he said.

“I mean... Simple is what I need. It is. Look, Colt...”

“Are you about to give me a lecture?” he asked.

“Not intentionally.”

“I don’t need a lecture. You’re going to tell me that this is a very bad idea, right?”

“It is a bad idea,” she said.

But he took a step toward her, and tension infused the moment. She could remember so clearly what it had been like.

To have his mouth on hers.

It was so strange to see her mystery lover in such mundane places. Except, his existence here, where they were alone, turned this into something other than mundane. And turned it into something spectacular, whether it should be or not. Filled the moment with possibility. And she didn’t know she was going to be able to...

What? Resist?

He hasn’t asked you for anything. In fact, he’s telling you that nothing is going on. The same as you were about to tell him.

There’s nothing to resist.

That annoyed her. Because he was getting to tell her first. It annoyed her because what she really wished was that she could’ve gotten it out first. Made her case. Be the mature adult.

Instead of the needy woman she was.

“Exactly,” she said. She was all very you can’t fire me, I quit! now. “It’s not a good idea. Like I said. I was in a relationship for a very long time. I don’t want entanglement. This next stage of my life is going to be about me.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen the living you’ve been doing.”

She huffed. “How old do you think I am?”

“Twenty-five.”

“Liar.”

“Twenty-eight.”

“Thirty. Thank you for your more believable lie, though.”

“So you’ve been in a relationship since you were fifteen,” he said.

“Yes. I think the thing with us was something I needed. A one-night stand was something that I wanted to... Mark my spiritual growth with.” That wasn’t strictly true. She hadn’t planned to want him. She just had. But it sounded good. Worldly and confident and a whole host of things she didn’t actually feel like she was. “I just didn’t figure that my chosen partner would be...so in my life. I want to spend some time...alone. Figuring out who I am and what I want.”

“Totally alone?”

“Yes,” she said. “I mean, no. I’m here because my brother’s here. I’m here because I want to be part of a growing family, and I want to be close. Because he’s the most important person in my life for... Griffin is very important. So, it isn’t really about going it alone necessarily. It is about being independent, I guess. I don’t know how to do entanglements without being dependent. I know other people do it just fine. But I don’t.”

“Don’t get worked up about it,” he said. “I’m not the kind of guy who does relationships, but I do hookups. I’m not necessarily used to being this close to my hookups after, but it doesn’t bother me.”