Chapter Six

When Colton left years ago, Gus never kissed him goodbye. Maybe that was why she took so long getting over him, or why she compared every guy she dated to him. She never got the chance to say goodbye.

This was it. This was her goodbye kiss. A chance to close the door so she could move on.

Or at least that was what she told herself as she leaned up on her toes and kissed him.

She had intended it to be something quick, an impulsive move that shot through her, and she just leaned into it.

But the second his lips moved against hers, and he cupped her face against his palm, it all changed.

Suddenly it didn’t matter that he would leave and she would stay. Or that Colton broke her heart once and could do it again. Or that this was not what moving on looked like.

All that mattered was the here and now, and the way the rough callus on his thumb caressed the sensitive spot just behind her ear. And how much she wanted that.

Colton’s lips were firm against hers. The scent of his laundry soap and sandalwood surrounded her.

Her heart hammered in her chest. She pressed her hand against his chest, and she could feel the same manic pulse in his chest.

For a beat, she pulled back, but Colton’s arms tightened around her.

“Come back, sweetheart,” Colton murmured against her lips. Then he weaved his free hand into her hair, loosening her ponytail, and pulled her close again.

Just like that, her quick kiss morphed into something completely different. Something simmering, patient, seductive.

The past was nothing more than ancient history. All that mattered in this moment was that he was here and with her.

And she needed more.

With a groan, he turned and pressed her against the wall, wedging his thigh between hers so she was straddling him. Her breasts pressed against the muscles of his chest, and her arms wrapped around his shoulders like she was never going to let go.

His tongue traced the seam of her lips, and she opened for him, tangling her tongue with his.

He tasted better than she remembered, like the liquid warmth of whiskey and the spiciness of cider. All male and masculine. She pressed herself closer, rocking her hips against his. She could feel his hardness pressed against his zipper, and it only urged her on.

Desperate to feel his skin against hers, she slipped her hand under his tee and was rewarded with his hot, smooth skin against the palms of her hands.

“Colton.” His name ripped from her throat. His name filled with more emotion than she had thought possible, like she was giving away a deep secret of hers.

She froze. What on earth was she doing?

This wasn’t moving on. This wasn’t what goodbye looked like. She was supposed to be closing the door, not opening it back up.

He was leaving in less than a year. There was an end in sight, and she was acting like they could pick up right where they left off.

She pushed against his chest, freeing herself from the cage of his arms. She stepped away, suddenly missing the hot press of his body against hers.

The hem of his shirt was wrapped up around his ribs, revealing a sliver of toned abs. She wanted nothing more than to graze her fingers over those muscles. Instead she pressed her fingers to her swollen lips as she tried to gather her thoughts. Her long hair was spilling down her shoulders, and she didn’t know where her hair tie had gone.

“August.” Colton’s voice was gravelly, granting her a hint of what he would sound like in bed. She could feel herself growing wetter at the thought.

Colton moved closer and touched her chin, and with an effort that felt superhuman, she forced herself to meet his gaze. The lake-blue depths were hazy, his eyes hooded as he took her in.

“We can’t do this.” Her voice came out harsher than she had intended and sounded strangled by the end.

“I didn’t mean for it to go that far,” Colton started.

“Don’t,” she interrupted, halting whatever he was going to say next, which sounded suspiciously like an apology.

She didn’t need an apology. What she needed was a guarantee this wasn’t going to happen again. Better yet, time to gather herself, so that when she faced him again, she could be calm and collected and not want to drag him to the nearest bed.

“You know what? I need to grab something from my truck.” What she needed to grab, she didn’t know. All she knew was that whatever her feelings were for Colton, it didn’t matter. It was going to end eventually, and it was better now than later.

Rushing down the stairs, she bolted out the front door and ran smack dab into someone.

“Oh!” She stepped back, and her eyes widened as she took in the graying hair and the stocky, strong build of a man who spent decades out in the field.

Nick Arnett—the very same guy who offered to buy Jones Construction and then tried to steal their clients away when they turned him down.

“Nick, what are you doing here?” She ran both hands over her hair. Hopefully, it didn’t look like she was just making out with her client. That was the last thing her reputation needed.

The look on Nick’s face was calculated as he smiled down at her, like a shark who had just landed a meal.

“I left my phone here this morning when I came by to drop off my estimate. I came back to pick it up.”

Stunned, all she could do was stare, opened-mouthed. Then an overwhelming wave of nausea ran through her as she connected the dots.

“Gus.” Colton burst out the front door and came up short as he took in first her, then Nick. “What are you doing here?”

“Left my phone here this morning.” Nick’s smile seemed to show off every tooth in his mouth as he looked past her like she wasn’t even there. “I came by to pick it up. Have you had a chance to review the estimate?”

Jaw tense, she rounded on Colton. “How dare you? How dare you take advantage of me like that?”

Colton’s eyes were wide with shock. “I can explain.”

“Don’t bother,” she snarled at him. “Work with Wood Builders. I quit.”

“Gus, it’s not what you think,” he called as she stormed down the porch.

Actually, her mind was probably on the right path.

“Let her go,” Nick drawled. “We can take it from here.”

Colton turned to stare at the contractor who looked like he’d won a personal victory.

“I promise you my men bring little drama to the job. You won’t need to deal with anything like that with Wood Builders.” Nick pointed his thumb back at Gus.

“We don’t accept your proposal,” Colton snapped and pushed past the man. He needed to catch up with Gus before she left.

“Hey,” Nick shouted back. “I need my phone.”

He didn’t turn around; instead he kicked into a run, determined to catch Gus before she peeled out of here.

The wind was starting to pick up, and dark clouds gathered in the east, promising a future storm on the horizon.

Gus’s hair whipped around her as she swung up inside the cab of her truck.

He caught the door before she could slam it shut.

“This isn’t how it looks,” he started. His lungs ached from his sprint.

“Really?” She jumped down from the truck and jabbed him in the chest with her finger. “Then explain to me how it looks.”

Colton ducked his head, and then cursed Jace silently. “After the schedule got pushed, we decided to bring in a second contractor to get another opinion.”

Gus’s face turned a brilliant shade of red. “You didn’t trust that I was giving you an honest opinion? So you went out and hired the one firm that has been trying to undermine us for years?”

“No. We do trust you. After he left, we decided to stick with you. We felt you were better for the job.”

“Uh huh. And you didn’t think I deserved to know?” Gus shot him a skeptical look. “Judging by how Nick was acting back there, it looks like he has every intention of taking the job away from me.”

He was panicking now. He didn’t want to lose her. More than anything, he wanted to blame Jace, but truth be told, if he and Ty had kept Jace in the loop right from the beginning, they wouldn’t be in this mess. There was nowhere to lay the blame but at his own two feet. “Look, I messed up—”

“Damn right, you did,” Gus threw back at him. “You kissed me, after trying to hire someone else.”

Frustration boiled through him—exasperation that she wasn’t giving him a chance to explain and disappointment in himself for letting the situation get this far.

“We aren’t going to hire him,” he snapped. “And you kissed me.”

Wrong thing to say.

At first, she stood there, stunned, as though he had smacked her. Then her dark eyes narrowed as she threw her shoulders back, straightening to her full height.

“Last mistake I’ll ever make with you,” she hissed.

Never, in all the years he had known her, had he ever seen her this pissed.

Gus whirled around, jumped into the truck, and slammed the door shut with so much force the truck shook. “Good luck with Wood Builders,” she called out the open window. “Maybe they can stick to your precious schedule at three times the cost.”

“Gus—”

She gave him the finger and drove off.

He stood there, rooted in place after the storm of Gus’s anger. The scent of rain swelled around him as his brain tried to process just how badly he had messed up. In the distance, he could hear gravel being kicked up as Gus sped down the dirt road.

There had to be a way to fix this.

Pivoting on his heel, he headed back to the ranch house. Thankfully, the other contractor was gone, and hopefully that was the last they saw of him. Even if Gus quit, they would hire anyone but him.

Ty met him at the top of the porch, a concern etched in his face.

Jace was in the kitchen when he pushed through the front door. His expression was tense, and he looked worried. “That didn’t sound good.”

The man was on the other side of the counter, like he needed a barrier between them so Colton didn’t do anything rash.

“It’s not.” He pulled the keys for the worn blue rig off the hook by the front door and grabbed his phone.

Jace gripped the edge of the counter with both hands. “I’ll talk with her. Clarify the situation.”

Colton scrubbed his hand down his face. His phone buzzed in his hands, and he looked down to see who was calling.

Jordan. It has been almost a week since he last heard from him. Colton stared at the name before silencing the call. Gus was more important right now.

“No, I’ll handle it. She’s livid right now, but I need to be the one to fix it.” His eyes landed on the worn hat on the counter.

He grabbed it and pulled it on low over his head. “Before I go, I want to make one thing clear. Unless Gus refuses to come back, we aren’t hiring anyone else. If the schedule extends, it extends. You won’t be out of the loop.”

Jace held up both hands. “That’s fair. I spoke with Hailey about it, and she’s also fine with the schedule extending. She wants to explore the area more. Apparently, she likes it.”

That was…interesting. Colton exchanged looks with Ty, who seemed just as surprised. The last couple of weeks they had been pretty busy with repairing fence, working the cows, checking water reserves, feeding stock, and irrigating the fields. Jace had even taken on the role of managing their bills and accounting. Maybe the work was starting to grow on Jace.

“I’ve got to go fix this,” Colton muttered, heading out the door.

“Get flowers,” Jace yelled behind him. “It worked when I needed Hailey to forgive me.”

“Right, flowers.”

“Don’t get flowers,” Ty called. “Gus hates cut flowers.”

Colton shook his head as he headed down the porch. He couldn’t win.

He could hear the horses moving restlessly in the pen next to the barn, and the cows were lowing on the other side of the road.

He had dropped his rental car off weeks ago and was now reliant on the ranch vehicles to get from point A to point B. He headed toward the ancient blue pickup.

Colton started the old rusted beater, the engine taking its sweet time to turn over. The air was starting to chill as the wind pushed the storm closer.

He pointed the truck toward the highway.

Somehow, he needed to figure out a way to make Gus stay.

It was raining by the time Gus got home. Her white-painted swing that her grandfather had hung from the porch decades ago swayed in the wind, and the branches of the trees banking either side of her home bowed in the wind.

Once in, she shook out her hair and yanked her jacket off like she could shake off the events of today.

If she never saw Colton again, it would be too soon.

And to think that she kissed him.

What she wanted to do more than anything was to head out to her backyard and work in the garden or continue her work on the new planters she was making, but there was no way she could do that now with the storm brewing.

She was going to be trapped indoors tonight, with no one but herself, her thoughts, and bitter acceptance that Colton was going to give her project away to her rival.

She needed Steph here. Someone to talk to and sympathize with her. Grabbing her phone, she shot a text over to her friend.

It was going to be a while before Steph could show up. Gus paced the room, biting her thumbnail, before forcing herself to sit down at the little desk she used for her home office.

Opening up her inbox, her heart leapt when she noticed a new email from a landscape architect she had emailed two days ago. Quickly she clicked it open and scanned through the short paragraph.

'Thanks for considering me for your project team. Unfortunately, we have already teamed up with…'

Her shoulders dropped.

Could this day get any worse?

At the meeting for the park renovation, she had met four architects. Three were experienced, with years of working in Montana. One was new to Montana and had only been licensed a couple of years.

To date, all three experienced architects had rejected her offer to team up, opting to go with more known companies.

She ran her thumb down the last business card before placing it back on the desk and closing her email. She’d have to rethink her strategy. Now she had all the time in the world to focus on the project thanks to Colton.

She was about to head to her bedroom when the sound of truck tires on gravel stopped her.

Peeking outside the window, she spotted the last man she wanted to see parking his truck outside her place.

And he was wearing a cowboy hat.

Damn him. He was trying to soften her up.

Well, it wasn’t going to work this time. She wasn’t in the mood. There were only so many rejections she could handle in a day.

The storm was growing quickly. The wind outside was howling, and the little herb garden she had set up along her white-painted porch railing was bowing against the force of it. Hopefully, this storm only brought rain, though every Montanan knew that snow could come at any time of the year.

Tipping her head back, she pulled her damp hair up into a tight bun and tied it into place, before pulling her jacket back on.

Colton was almost to her porch. She wasn’t ready to talk to him, but judging by the stubborn set of his jaw, he wasn’t going to leave until they talked.

Bracing herself, she stepped out onto her porch and faced him.

The temperature had dropped since she arrived home. She shivered against the cold and wrapped her arms around herself.

“We need to talk,” Colton said, his voice firm.

Her chest tightened with fresh anger at the reminder of his betrayal. “I think we’ve said all that needs to be said.”

She looked at the little herb garden. The pots were set up so they were supported on either side of the porch railing. She wanted to protect them. Her garden stood no chance if there was a snowstorm, but at least she could protect her herbs. At the moment, it felt like the most important thing she had to do.

“We haven’t.” Colton leaned against the porch railing, arms crossed, his blue eyes as stormy as the clouds above intent on her. “I’m sorry about what happened this afternoon.”

Her stomach churned, but she refused to look away from him. Refused to back down. “Sorry you lied, or sorry you were caught?”

Without giving him a chance to answer, she moved to her little herb garden and pulled two pots out of the eight from the porch railing.

“Sorry that I kept it from you. I was trying to do what was right.”

“Oh, and doing what’s right is kicking me off the project? Gee, thanks.” She stepped off the porch and headed around to her backyard to place her herbs in the little covered shed. Colton followed, with two pots as well.

“No, I was trying to do right by Jace, and then by you, and all I did was mess it up. I don’t want you off the project. You’re doing a damn good job on it. I’m just trying to not lose the ranch.”

She whirled on him. “And you think I would make you lose the ranch?”

“No,” Colton said bluntly. “But if Jace leaves, we forfeit the whole property. I’m trying to do everything I can to keep it. To get it up and running.”

That took the wind out of her sails. “Oh.”

She hadn’t realized that the ranch was at stake. While she knew the brothers had to stay out there a year, she hadn’t realized that they could actually lose the ranch if one of them left.

“It had nothing to do with you,” Colton continued. He tilted his head, his voice cautious. “Jace felt left out of the loop because Ty and I weren’t communicating with him. He wanted a second estimate, and so we got it for him. Ty and I have no intention of giving the job to Wood Builders. And, honestly, after hearing what they had to say, neither does Jace.”

“You want to keep the ranch?” She moved to the shed, unlatched the door, and placed the herbs carefully inside. Colton offered the two pots he was holding to her, and she took them, careful not to touch his hands.

“No, but Ty does. And I want him to be able to keep it if it’s possible. I’m trying to make amends with him, just like I’m trying to make amends with you.”

She started back to her porch, the rain pelting against her face. Colton followed, neither of them speaking until they were back at the porch.

“So why didn’t you tell me?” Gus had to raise her voice to be heard over the wind.

Colton pulled his hands out of his pockets, holding them palms up. “I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“Why not?” she demanded. “Didn’t think I could handle it?”

“No, because I didn’t want you to think I was second-guessing your work. I knew that Ty and I would say no to the second contractor. At the very least, you would have stayed on with a two-to-one vote. You were by far the better choice. The other guy was a lot to handle, and his bid was too expensive. Jace does the books, and he agreed with us in the end. It’ll just be Jones Construction going forward.”

Gus wrapped her arms around her waist.

“You hurt me,” she said softly. So softly, she didn’t know if the words got carried away on the wind before they could reach his ears. “You could have trusted me to understand. Instead you broke my trust in you.”

“I know,” he said. He moved cautiously toward her. “I’ll fix it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But I will. Please understand I trust you. I am committed to fixing this ranch up, and I know you are the right fit for this project.”

“You say you’re committed to this ranch, and that I’ll stay on the project, but how am I supposed to know that? Barely anyone in town knows you’re here. And now you’re sneaking competitors in behind my back?” Her voice escalated with each accusation. “You’re doing the same thing you did a decade ago—you hide everything that is going on with you, pretend like everything is fine as you hide away, and then next thing we know, you’re running from whatever the problem is. And it doesn’t matter who gets hurt when you disappear. I’m worried that you are going around pretending everything is fine.”

Her throat closed tight, and the words that stopped short in her lungs came with the threat of tears. She swallowed them back.

“I can’t deal with the yo-yo of having a project then not having a project and then having it on my plate again. I’ve got a lot on my hands. I’m trying to show my dad that I can take over Jones Construction without having him worry, I’m trying to expand the business into landscaping, and honestly, the last thing I need is drama like this.”

Colton stepped closer, his face serious. He took off his hat, revealing dark, rumpled hair.

“Can I convince you to come back to the ranch?” There was a hint of desperation to his voice that she hadn’t heard earlier.

She pressed her back against the wall of her house.

Honestly, if she didn’t win the park project, the Rocking H renovation would help keep her busy until she found another opportunity to break into landscaping.

“I’ll keep working on the ranch, but that’s it,” she huffed.

By the way his brows lowered, she knew he heard the underlying message. There was to be no more between them.

“Gus, I didn’t mean to mess this up. Is there anything I can do to prove I’m serious about you?” He motioned between them. “There’s something between us, and there’s no denying it.”

That almost had her caving. She straightened her shoulders and lifted her head. “I won’t deny that there’s something there, cowboy. But you’re only here for eleven more months. There’s no point in starting anything when we both know you’re leaving. I’m dating. I’m moving on.”

Colton sighed and looked down. “I don’t blame you.” And when he looked at her again, she was hit with the power of emotion that filled his blue eyes.

Yearning.

For her.

A little green Subaru pulled into her driveway. Steph parked her car and got out, a bag and a bottle of wine in one hand.

Gus had completely forgotten. She and Steph were supposed to go over ideas for the dance decorating tonight.

“Gus! I’m so excited to plan for the dance.” Steph was talking before she even hit the porch. “Your message said that you had a bad day, so I grabbed a bottle of your favorite wine as well. The kangaroo one.” Steph headed up the steps, and her dark eyes caught Colton’s. “Oh, look, it’s the source of the bad news.”

“I’m trying to clear that up,” Colton said in a low tone.

Gus could feel her face heat as Steph looked between them. “Am I interrupting?”

“No, Colton was just leaving.” She turned and gave him her sweetest smile. Colton did not look happy.

“This isn’t the end of this conversation,” Colton vowed. “I want to see you. As friends if that’s what it takes. We have a history, and I don’t want to lose that with you.”

Gus would have laughed at her friend’s comically wide eyes, but she felt so breathless because of Colton. “If you want to spend time with me, go out, on your own or with your brothers.”

A vertical line formed between his eyes. “Go out?”

“Yep. Go out. See people. Catch up with them. Prove to me that you aren’t wasting your year hiding at the ranch. Actually integrate into the community, with the people here.”

The line deepened. “What does that have to do with you and me? I don’t need to see people in Garnet Valley to spend time with you.”

“I don’t want to feel like I’m some side piece keeping you from being lonely while you hide out at the ranch. You want to spend time together, then you can start by hanging out with me in public and not secreted away at your ranch.”

It was time to get Colton out of here. Steph wasn’t bothering to disguise her interest as she stared at the two of them, and Gus knew that her friend was going to have a million questions when they got inside.

“Come by for my birthday on Wednesday evening. It’s drinks and appetizers down at the Last Saloon,” Steph said.

Gus slowly pivoted around to stare at her friend. “Seriously? There’s no way he wants to go.” She tried to keep the snap out of her voice. After all, it was Steph’s party. She could invite whoever she wanted.

Colton shot her a long look. “I’ll think about it. I’m swamped with work for my company. I’ve got a number of virtual meetings scheduled, phone check-ins to follow up with, and four proposals to get out. All the time I’m working on the ranch is creating a backlog of work for Farm to You. I’ve got a full week of catching up to get it back on track. See you on Monday?” The gravel in his voice caused her belly to heat and her body to sway slightly, ever so barely, toward him.

She sighed and pushed her hair back. She wasn’t fully over her anger at Colton, though she understood why he did what he did. “I’ll be there,” she said. Then because she couldn’t help herself, “Try to resist giving away my job in the meantime.”

Colton shook his head at her, his gaze meaningful before he turned and gave a brief wave to Steph. “See you around.”

He pulled his hat on and headed out to the truck, appearing oblivious to the rain that was growing heavier. His worn Wrangler jeans showed off his strong butt and long legs in a way those designer jeans never did.

“I think you can pick up your jaw now,” Steph whispered, bringing her back to the here and now. “Do I even dare ask what’s up with Colton for real this time?”

Once inside, Steph kicked off her short cowgirl boots and set the bag with notebooks, markers, and planning supplies on the counter and the bottle of wine next to it.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Gus said. She kicked off her tennies without untying them. She needed just a bit of breathing room from the events of today.

Steph rolled her eyes. “Please. Don’t forget I’ve known you your whole life. I know when something is up, and something is indeed up.”

Placing her hands on her hips, Steph stood there, stubbornly refusing to budge.

“I, um, I kissed him,” Gus caved and threw it all out there.

“You kissed him?” Steph’s jaw dropped and her eyebrows shot to the roof.

“I know. And he still kisses like sin.” She shook her head. “I was doing so good. I was moving on with my life, dating, taking over a company—and then Colton comes back. And it was one thing when it was urban Colton. But I’m out on the ranch almost every day, watching him turn back into the cowboy I once fell in love with. The one that tries to do right by everyone, and…I kissed him.” Next thing she knew, she was spilling the whole story. She just had to tell someone, and there was no way she was telling her dad.

Steph hugged her close. “I don’t know if I should be happy for you or remind you he’s leaving.”

“No, I know he’s leaving. I told Colton the kiss was a one-time thing.” And she was determined to stick with it. “This was just a step back. I know I have to move on.” Gus started pulling supplies out of the bag. “You know, I don’t feel like sitting around tonight. I’m just going to dwell on the fact that I can’t get my love life under control. Want to go out after we start planning?”

Her friend drummed her fingers against the counter. “I think they’re having trivia night at the community hall. Kind of perfect for a rainy evening. Want to go?”

“Oh, I love trivia!” Their town frequently put an event on—game night, trivia night, a dance—about every other week. Trivia night was one of Gus’s favorites. She dumped the planning supplies out on her kitchen table and began to arrange them. “Can you drive? I want to catch up on random current events. I refuse to let my dad beat me again.”

Her friend sat down and grabbed a marker. Steph quickly began to write ideas down in random order on the paper.

Gus followed suit, though her brainstorming style was more linear. Pulling some paper closer, she began to lay out a grid to start dumping her thoughts into buckets.

“You know,” Steph said after a moment, pushing her dark hair over her shoulder, “maybe it’s not that you aren’t moving on from Colton. Maybe there’s just something still there. You could cut the tension between you two with a butter knife.”

“That still gets me nowhere. I’m not moving to California.”

“Well, let’s see if he shows up for my party,” Steph continued, circling the ideas she liked. “You’ve drawn your line in the sand. If he does, then he’s serious about you. If he doesn’t—” Steph shrugged. “You have your answer, and it’s time to move on.”