Chapter Ten

“Let me make you dinner.” Colton wasn’t quite ready for this day to end, and he wanted to make sure that she was committed for longer than one night, or rather day, together. After another round in bed, they had gotten up so Gus could work on some projects for Jones Construction, and he could make some phone calls for Farm to You.

His trip to San Francisco had been pretty successful. The meeting with the investors went well, and while he was intrigued, he wanted to give his company another month or two before moving forward with that plan. Jordan had shown him the books, explaining where their money was going and additional expenses they could cut. Though at this point, they were operating on almost bare bones. Right before he left, he had asked Jordan to send him everything financial for him to review.

He hadn’t realized how much he had missed Montana until he had landed. Yes, he thought of Gus the entire time, but the second he was back in the state, he could almost feel a weight fall from his shoulders.

Gus looked up from her laptop and tilted her head. “You can cook?”

She had thrown a loose sundress on while they hung out in her living room working. As much as he loved her dressed up in jeans and her sexy tops, or in her jeans and flannel, the casual outfit she was wearing in the comfort of her home made it feel more intimate. Like he was getting to see a side of her no one else ever got to see.

“Not really, but I do make a mean omelet.” He flashed his most winning smile.

“I do like eggs,” she hedged.

“It would mean a lot to me,” he added, his voice a little gruff.

Pushing her laptop aside, Gus stood and stretched her arms up over her head, revealing the tops of her thighs. “Let me see what I’ve got.”

Thirty minutes later, they were in Gus’s kitchen, working together to make omelets.

Colton stole a glance at Gus as he beat a half-dozen eggs in a bowl. She stood at the counter, chopping veggies for the omelets he was making. The knife sliced rhythmically along the cutting boards, and she hummed softly to herself.

The place suited her. The kitchen was bright and sunny with blue-painted cabinets and a sunny-yellow tile. Colorful knickknacks and kitchen wares decorated the space, giving it a welcome, homey feel.

Looking up, she smiled at him, her dark eyes bright as though she were sharing a secret just between the two of them.

There was something blooming between them, and he didn’t want to crush it. After all these years, it felt like a second chance, and he didn’t want to see it wasted.

The trip to San Francisco had been relatively easy, and it was that trip that made him realize this was doable. He could come and go between Montana and California as he needed. And he would finally be free to explore this relationship with Gus—as long as she wanted him around.

“Chopped zucchini coming your way.” Gus passed over the board with the veggies and mushrooms. “I guess I never knew you were one for cooking.”

He smiled at her. “Breakfast only.” Which was why they were having omelets for dinner. “One day I will wow you with my pancakes.”

Gus’s mouth tightened, clearly trying to fight back laughter.

He lit the stovetop and placed a pan on the burner and poured in a heavy dash of oil. Thanks to his mom, he at least looked like he knew what he was doing. He had to remember to thank her the next time he called her.

Gus stared at him as he poured the eggs expertly in the pan.

“Damn,” he heard her breath behind him. “Is there anything sexier than a man cooking in my kitchen?”

“I hope I’m the only man cooking in your kitchen.” He turned to smile over his shoulder.

Gus opened her mouth. Closed it. Took a breath.

“What?” he asked as he turned back to the omelet.

“I just see you spoiling me rotten,” was all she said. But it was the unspoken words that trailed after that statement.

“We’ll make this work,” he said. “With all of today’s technology, long distance isn’t so long.”

“What about the ranch?” she asked.

He didn’t answer immediately. “I don’t know yet. Ty wants to keep it, but Jace and I want to sell it.”

“You still want to sell?” she asked, pushing the topic.

“I want Ty to be able to keep it, and I don’t know what that entails yet. But it will likely mean that my time in Montana doesn’t stop at one year.”

“What about Jace?”

What indeed? Because honestly, he and Ty may not be able to buy Jace out if he still wanted to sell. “Honestly, that’s something we need to work out. He was a fish out of water the first month here, but he’s really getting into it these days. Maybe…” He let the sentence trail off. It was a conversation that he and his brothers would need to have eventually.

“But you plan to stick around?” There was a flicker of hope in her voice that he wanted to encourage as much as possible.

“Yep. I have commitments, and I don’t back out of my commitments. That dance will be decorated, and the ranch will not be forfeited.”

He added the veggies to the eggs, waited a couple of minutes, then topped them with cheese. With a flip of the spatula, he folded the omelet in half before scooping it onto a plate.

“Enjoy.” He slid the plate in front of her. “Give me a few minutes, and we can eat it in your garden. The temperature looks perfect out.”

Quickly he started on the second omelet, and a few minutes later, he understood why Gus was chosen to help decorate for the dance. Her backyard was a lush paradise with colorful mosaic planters filled with veggies, gazebos covered with ivory and fairy lights, and soft native grass under their feet.

The lingering warmth of the day and the rich, sweet smell of the plants made it feel even more intimate and cozy.

At one corner of her backyard, she had set up a small wood table with bench seating, where they sat next to each other, sipping on beer as they dug into their omelets.

Gus popped a bit of omelet in her mouth, closed her eyes, and moaned. “Oh, man, this is amazing.”

And her reaction was just as amazing. “Don’t distract me. I want to enjoy my meal before I haul you back to bed.”

One corner of her mouth quirked up, and her dark eyes were teasing. “It’s delicious. I didn’t realize you were so talented.”

“In more ways than one, if I might add.”

The atmosphere grew charged, and her dark eyes became serious. “So you can go back and forth between here and California, but I’m not going to be able to. My job requires me to be onsite. And if I’m going to expand into landscaping, then I need to be here to see that through. I see whatever is going on between us as being a lot of effort with little return.”

“That’s why I’m showing off my breakfast skills. So you see there is return beyond sex.”

“You know what I’m saying,” she said.

“Gus, I’m asking you to trust me.”

Gus eyed him warily, then looked down at her plate.

“Hey,” he leaned over and grabbed her hand, squeezing it, “I’m willing to put in the effort if you are. You want to stay in Montana and start up a landscape firm, great. I’ll figure out a way to go back and forth between the states.”

If his company survived, he already had ideas to expand it.

“Do you trust me?” he asked.

Gus swallowed and set down her fork.

The sun was setting, falling behind the rolling mountain range. The last fading rays of the sun lit up the backyard, setting a warm halo around Gus, casting glints of gold and copper in her hair.

Her dark eyes were huge, warm, and inviting as he gazed at her. His heart thrummed in his ribs, hammering a million miles per hour. The way that she was looking at him let him know just how critical this moment was. This was the crux of their problem. She didn’t quite trust him, and he didn’t blame her. But he was going to do what he could to make sure that he followed through on everything he promised.

When she didn’t answer, he started pulling his hand away, letting his fingers slide from hers.

Gus suddenly squeezed his hand tighter.

“I’ll give this a try.” The earnestness and heat in her eyes were impossible to miss as she brought the palm of his hand to her face, holding it against her cheek.

He ran the pad of his thumb over her full bottom lip and groaned as she sucked the digit into her mouth. “I’m going to do everything possible to not mess this up.”

Pushing the plate away, Gus stepped closer and kissed him full on the mouth. Then she looked up at him, her dark eyes hooded with lust. “Stay the night?”

There was no way he was saying no to that.

He had slept in. His internal clock told him before he even cracked his eyes open. The light in the room was too strong for his usual early morning start.

The bed didn’t feel quite familiar, and when he buried his face against the pillow, he inhaled Gus’s sultry vanilla scent.

Gus.

Like a flash, his night with her came rushing back. After omelets and incessant flirting in the kitchen, they had crawled into bed and gone for another couple rounds before passing out in the wee hours of the morning.

His blood started boiling, and his dick hardened at the mere memory of her body wrapped around his.

Rolling over, he swung his arm over to pull her close to him.

His hand hit sheets and nothing else.

What the—

He shot straight up in bed and looked around. “Shit.”

No Gus. The imprint of her head was still on her pillow, and her light vanilla-spiced scent still lingered on the sheets.

A hollow feeling sunk to the pit of his stomach as he ran his hand over the cool spot next to him.

Straining his ears, he tried to catch any sounds of life within her home.

Nothing.

Had she woken up next to him and regretted her decision? Maybe she didn’t want to face him this morning, and just left him period.

Pushing to the edge of the bed he threw his legs over it.

No, the Gus he knew would kick him out if she didn’t want anything more to do with him.

Grabbing his jeans from the floor, he pulled them on followed by his shirt.

“Gus?”

Silence.

Padding barefoot into the kitchen, he checked to see if she was enjoying a cup of coffee or having breakfast.

Nope, not in the kitchen.

Had he really messed up this relationship that quickly? Not even twenty-four hours into it?

Running his hands over his face he went into the bathroom and found a note stuck to the mirror.

Didn’t want to wake you. Needed to meet up with my dad to talk strategy for a project. I’ll see you at the ranch later today.

The relief that rushed through him was almost palpable. He hadn’t messed up yet.

He helped himself to a banana and a cup of coffee, left a cute note on her pillow, and then got into his truck to head home.

Before heading into the kitchen to catch up with his brothers, he stopped and fed the horses. Leaning against the post, he watched the small herd of young Quarter Horses amble up to breakfast and start feasting. If he was going to stick around, maybe it would be worth taking the time to saddle break them as well. Heck, if he was entertaining the idea of sticking around long-term, he could look into starting a breeding and training program.

Whistling to himself, he parked his truck and headed into the ranch house to find Ty in the kitchen. The scent of coffee and fried potatoes and eggs hung heavy in the air. A plate with eggs had been pushed aside and Ty was scowling at his phone.

His brother looked up as the door slammed shut behind him.

Ty dropped his head back before straightening. “Where the hell have you been?”

His brother sounded frustrated and relieved all at once.

“I sent you a text I’d be out yesterday—” Colton started.

Ty’s hand slammed against the table. “And you never returned home. I woke up this morning and thought for sure you had left again and didn’t tell us. I spent all morning trying to call you.”

Oh shit. His phone had died at some point during the night, and he hadn’t bothered to charge it. He figured he would be home soon enough.

“It died.” He pulled his phone from his back pocket and showed Ty the black screen.

“I don’t give a damn if it died,” Ty exploded. “You should have charged it and called. I spent the past two hours trying to figure out what to tell the lawyer if he showed up.” He leveled a dark gaze at Colton. “I thought I was going to lose this ranch because of you.”

“Hey, hey.” Colton held up his hands. “I’m still here. I was just out.”

“You better have been having the time of your life for scaring the shit out of me so bad.” Ty began to pace the kitchen.

Jace chose that minute to walk into the kitchen with Hailey in tow, who had returned from Houston two days ago.

“Morning, bro,” Jace said, his face assessing. “How was last night? Spend it with someone interesting?”

“It was good. Fine. Nothing eventful.” Colton scratched at the back of his head. It wasn’t that he wanted to hide Gus. He just didn’t know if Gus wanted anyone else to know.

“Nothing eventful, huh?” Jace repeated. “Not from the rumor I heard at the grocery store yesterday. The cashier mentioned that you and Gus looked pretty cozy.”

Colton stared at his brother and shook his head. He didn’t know which was more impressive—that Jace was already considered a part of the Garnet Valley community, or that the small-town rumor mill was as effective as it was ten years ago.

Ty’s head snapped around. “For the love of everything sacred, please tell me you didn’t hook up with Gus.”

“Hmph.” Colton went to the coffeepot and pulled out the glass carafe. “Anyone mind if I polish this off?”

He didn’t wait for an answer. Grabbing a mug from the cupboard above, he poured himself a cup.

“You’re not answering,” Ty said, the scowl on his face so deep that if Colton hadn’t been raised by Beau, he would have been cautious.

“I’m going to take his silence as a ‘yes,’” Jace added helpfully.

“Is Gus coming back?” Ty asked pointedly. Both Jace and Hailey turned and looked at him. Jace’s brows lowered, but Hailey had a soft smile on her face.

“Of course she’s coming back. We hung out.” And did a little bit more than hanging out. “I didn’t fire her.”

“I think it’s sweet,” Hailey said. Jace wrapped an arm around her as she reached up to kiss her husband’s cheek.

They looked so comfortable and natural with each other. A thread of yearning wove through him. That was what he wanted for him and Gus.

“I think it’s ridiculous,” Ty muttered. “For the sake of this ranch, don’t you dare screw anything up with her.”

“I wasn’t planning on it,” he said simply.

He was on a call when Gus showed up. She had on Levi’s rolled up to the top of her boots. Her button-down was thrown over a tank, and her blond hair was braided. The crazy urge to pull her to him and undo that braid, strand by strand, made his fingers itch.

Not quite meeting his eyes, Gus motioned toward the roof, and he took that as a hint to get the ladder.

Bluetooth in ear, he helped set up, and by the time his meeting ended, they both were on the roof, replacing shingles. The early morning sun already felt warm on his back, and it would probably be another hour or so when the temperatures would be too hot to keep working up here.

Gus had brought a little radio up with them, and the sound of classic rock helped keep their movements energized.

He could sense Gus next to him, his body even more aware of her now that they had spent a night together. Gus, however, felt a little distant. It was the way she wasn’t quite looking at him, or the way that she focused entirely on repairing the roof, like replacing shingles required her entire concentration.

“Everything okay?” he asked as he stuck the Bluetooth in his pocket.

Now her eyes met his. He wanted to bring up last night, but her unreadable expression held him back.

It stung that she was pushing him away, not that he blamed her. He couldn’t help but feel that this was just a taste of the frustration Gus had experienced when he left. He didn’t know how to prove to her, again, that he was serious.

Turning back to the shingles, he started hammering with a vigor that made the muscles of his arm ache. Three shingles later, he had a new plan.

He wasn’t going to avoid the topic. Avoidance was what his father did, and he was going to be better than that.

“Do you want to talk about last night?” he blurted. The words hung heavier than mist in the mountain valley fog.

Gus stopped hammering and turned to look up at him.

He felt exposed. Vulnerable. A state he avoided for years because he had convinced himself that someone who was worth his father’s time and attention would never put himself in that place. All he wanted to do was turn around and run, but he forced himself to stay rooted in his spot.

She took in a lungful of air, her breasts rising as her ribs expanded. “I don’t know what to say.”

The upbeat song ended on the radio, and the one that followed was much slower. The notes weaved in the air and sparked the already charged air.

“Talk to me, Gus.” He shifted closer to her. “Sit with me.”

Up on the roof, there was a gorgeous view of Paradise Valley before them—rich, and fertile, and green. An eagle soared in the sky, wings stretched out, as though reveling in his freedom. Their land felt vast and endless as he looked out past their tiny herd of cows and horses, past their farmland and out at the snow-capped mountain range.

Gus set the hammer aside and moved to sit next to him, careful to keep a safe distance between them. Her dark eyes were a bit too large in her face, and her lips pressed together until they were white.

He shifted closer, and when she didn’t move, he brushed his shoulder against hers.

“I’m scared.” Her words were soft. A quiet confession.

His heart tugged for her. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he pulled her close, and brushed the loose wisps of hair from her face.

“I didn’t mean to scare you.” He breathed in her scent, drinking it in, wondering how he got this far in life without her.

“I woke up next to you this morning, and it was…amazing.” She was beginning to soften into him. “Then I panicked. I didn’t know what to expect, or what you expected. If this was one night, or maybe more, and I just panicked. So I went to work.”

Not that he blamed her. Gus had been through so much losing her mom, sticking it out with her dad, watching him leave. It couldn’t have been easy, but here she was, back in his arms, and he wasn’t going to mess this up again.

Her body pressed against his now, her curves molding against his muscles and providing enough friction to make his body even more aware of her.

He took a breath and let it out. “Gus, I want to give this an honest to god chance. Do I know what this will look like in the future? No. But I do know that I want to make whatever this is between us work. I can’t do this if you aren’t willing to put in a hundred percent as well. I’m leaving it for you to decide.”

Biting her lip, she turned to him. “I know I’ve been the one waffling. And you’ve shown time and again you mean this. You want this.” She let out a shaky breath, and Colton realized he was holding his.

Never in his life did he want something more. This was it. What he wanted.

“And I know that if I commit to this, I am going to have to trust you.” She placed a hand on his thigh and squeeze.

Then she looked at the valley around them, as though trying to take in this moment.

The scene, the peace of being up on the roof with her alone, the scent of Gus and asphalt shingles burned in his brain forever.

Gus turned back to him, her face serious, but her eyes bright with hope. “I want this too.”

Gus felt like she was clinging to a cliff, trying to get a good toehold on the situation.

She was going to give them a chance.

Colton dipped his head and kissed her temple. Soft and tender. A move to make someone feel cherished. Loved.

Her body melted into his, even as she tried to push the L-word to the back of her head. It was far too early for her feelings to go down that path.

His lips moved lower, down her jaw and right to that sensitive point just below her ear. She clung to his shoulders, ready to surrender to him.

Colton shifted until he was able to pull her close, wrapping his hand tightly around her ribs. The intoxicating feeling of him against her body, the way his touch seemed to make her forget all reality except for the two of them right there in the moment—their own little slice of heaven right on the roof. The wind began to pick up, the breeze a cool contrast to the warm shingles against the seat of her jeans and the heat of Colton’s mouth against her skin.

Colton unzipped her coveralls and peeled the top back to reveal her collarbone and shoulder.

Pressing his face against the bared skin, he murmured something she couldn’t quite hear. Her breath caught and she strained to catch the faded words.

“What?” she asked softly.

He straightened but didn’t release her. His eyes hazy, that lusty look that was driving her wild. “You’re mine.”

And that was how she wanted it, in more ways than one. She knew she was treading in dangerous territory. But she was so tired of playing it safe and keeping him at a distance. For once, she wanted to commit.

She placed her hand on his heart.

“Bunkhouse?” Colton asked, trapping her hand against his chest with one of his own. The beat of his heart was fast and hard against the palm of her hand.

Her panties were damp, and her entire body felt like liquid heat. The paint was still open in the trays, and the brushes were likely going to get ruined. She wasn’t thinking with her right mind, and at the moment, she didn’t want to.

She kissed him full and hard, pouring every inch of herself into it. “Take me, cowboy.”

It felt impossibly long as Colton worked his way down the ladder and then held it in place for her. She tried to make her quivering hands steady as she scrambled down the rungs and into the comfort of Colton’s arms.

They sprinted to his bunkhouse, not even bothering to look if any of Colton’s brothers were around. Once inside, Colton didn’t even wait until the bedroom before peeling clothes off her, leaving a trail to his bedroom.

Their gestures were frantic, desperate, wanting to claim each other as quickly as possible. She didn’t even hesitate to undo the buttons of his jeans, pulling both them and his underwear down at the same time to reveal his massive erection.

She barely had time to look around the tiny room. The only things she saw were the closet, a bed with a green comforter, and an open window, bringing in the sweet scent of Montana air. Before she knew it, Colton pushed her back on the bed.

Automatically she spread her legs, giving him access as he mounted her, easing her back farther on the bed, his mouth moving against her as though desperate for more. Like he needed to claim her now.

Then, in a haze of passion, he drove into her, taking her fully to the hilt.

She cried out as Colton began to move inside her. He leaned over to kiss her, as his palm shifted down and cupped her breast.

His strokes were not smooth and graceful like last night. Today they were ragged, demanding, as though he wanted every raw inch of her and nothing else.

And she gave it as she moaned beneath him, her hips bucking as they rose higher. She could feel her orgasm building, her body begging for release. Colton reached between them to rub at her clit.

She gasped his name as the stars exploded in front of her eyes, and as though from a distance, she could hear Colton gasp her name as he followed closely behind.

Afterward, Colton pulled her close, kissing her along her jaw and neck as her warm, soft body languished in bed, satiated by their lovemaking.

He murmured sweet nothings as he continued to stroke and taste her body, before pulling her against him and holding her in place.

She could stay here forever, listening to his voice, and feeling his arms around her. Running her finger along his side, she reveled in the feel of him next to her, the connection of the two of them together. Her heart pulsed, full and hard, beating a tempo she had never felt before.

A soft, almost inaudible gasp escaped her.

She looked up at him as a realization hit. She was committing to this relationship. More than anything she wanted to trust him. Because at this moment, there wasn’t a doubt in her mind—she was falling for him.