Colton: Rodeo Cowboy

Leah tossed the rag she’d used to wash the floor into a pail by the door. “I think we’re ready to move in now. I’ll unload the boxes from the truck if you don’t mind staying with the kids.”

“Actually, I think I should take them back to my place. Davey’s rubbing his eyes and there’s no place to put him down for his nap.”

She gave her mom a hug. “That would be perfect, thanks. We’ll have to transfer their booster seats into your car.”

“I can do that. You just keep on with what you’re doing.”

Prue made a game of it, telling Jill and Davey it was time to board the train back to grandma’s house. “Choo! Choo!” Davey called, as she buckled him into the backseat. Leah waved until they’d driven out of sight, a smile on her face. It was at moments like this that she knew she’d done the right thing in moving back to Roundup. Her mother was an awesome grandma.

And now she was free to get her work done.

Leah opened the tailgate to her truck, then reached for the closest box. Within an hour she had unloaded everything—even the kids’ beds and bureaus, which weren’t very heavy. Only the furniture in her mother’s basement remained. But that would have to wait until tomorrow. The fellow she’d hired to help her didn’t work on Sundays.

She was closing the tailgate when a black Dodge Ram pulled up across the street. She brushed her hands against her jeans and shook her head as Colt stepped out of the driver’s seat.

“You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Just wondering if I could give you a hand?”

Gone was the sexy, flirty voice he’d used on her at the bar. Today he looked serious. Maybe even a little sheepish. He was in jeans and a clean work shirt. No red chambray today, thank goodness. He held his hat in his hands, his stance that of a little boy feeling guilty about something.

As he damn well should.

She wanted to tell him to go to hell. But after last night, he owed her. Besides, she had some business to discuss with Colt. Something she should have brought up yesterday if she hadn’t been having too much fun.

“That depends on how much time you’ve got.”

“As much as you need.”

Oh, she highly doubted that was true.

“There’s a bed, a sofa and a table-and-chair set back in Mom’s basement and I can’t move them myself….”

“I’d be glad to help. Let’s take my truck. It’s bigger.”

For the first time she noticed his vehicle. It was a newer model, with all the extras. “Sweet. Can I drive?”

She could have sworn his face grew paler. But he handed her the keys with only the slightest of hesitations, then opened the driver’s side door for her. When she was settled, he loped around the truck and slid into the seat next to her.

She was aware of his eyes on her as she made the necessary adjustments to the seat and the mirrors. Only when she was done did he ask, “So…how’s the head this morning?”

When she grimaced, he chuckled. “Thought so.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You had a few too many. That’s all.”

She groaned. “Was it that obvious?”

He reached for her hair and gave a little tug. Just a playful gesture…so why did her heart do a little flip?

“Let’s just say you were a little unsteady on your feet. Also, let’s face it—if you hadn’t had a few beers, no way would you have let me kiss you.”

She turned her eyes briefly from the road to check his expression. Really? Was that the way he wanted to play this? Well, fine with her. “So true,” she said coolly. “But even single mothers need to have a little fun now and then.”

“I suppose that’s true,” he said, his voice suddenly tight.

“I wouldn’t want our foolishness last night to affect our friendship, Colt.”

“Foolishness?”

“Good,” she said, ignoring the question in his voice. “Glad we see it the same way.” She turned the corner to her mother’s block, then pulled up into the driveway. “Here we are. Hope you’re ready to work.”

* * *

LEAH HAD BRUSHED OFF their evening together as “foolishness.” Colt knew he should feel glad. He was off the hook and back in the sea—free and unencumbered, as always.

Maybe the gladness would come later, when the good news had a chance to sink in.

For now, he was satisfied to put his muscles to good use. The move didn’t take long. At one point Prue Stockton stepped out on the porch to watch for a few moments. Then she gave him a polite nod and went back inside with the kids.

As for Jill and Davey, he didn’t see any sign of them at all. Which he was grateful for. He had no experience with kids and had no idea what to do or say around them.

Within two hours all the work was done. Leah’s new house was okay, Colt thought. Kind of small, especially the kids’ bedroom. They’d barely managed to fit in the two beds, and had been forced to stuff the bureau into the small closet.

That stench coming from the basement wasn’t good, either. But Leah told him she was planning to talk to her landlord about tearing out the old carpet and painting the walls. Maybe he’d offer to help.

That was the sort of thing a friend would do, after all.

Friend. His mind grated over the word every time he thought of it in conjunction with Leah. Because she was just as attractive to him now as she’d been last night at the Open Range.

Get over it, he told himself. She’d offered him an olive branch this morning and he should be damn grateful she’d given him that much.

They were in the living room now. Leah had her hands on the slim curves of her hips. “Hmm. I’m thinking the sofa would look better on that wall.” She pointed to the one opposite the window. “What do you think?”

He had a mother and a sister, so knew better than to offer an opinion. “Whatever you say.” Obediently, he picked up one end of the sofa and maneuvered it into place.

Leah smiled. “That is better, thanks.” She glanced around the room, then sighed. “I think we’re finally done.”

He had to get her out of there before she thought up another redecorating idea. “I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry. Want to grab a late lunch at the Number 1? Sierra serves a mean roast beef special on Sundays.”

Leah considered the offer. “Let me phone my mother first and see how the kids are doing.”

He waited while she pulled her cell phone from her pocket. Like him, she had an iPhone, only instead of a horse she used a picture of her two kids for her wallpaper. After a brief conversation she gave him the nod. “Mom said we should go ahead. They had their lunch an hour ago. But where is the Number 1—is it new? I don’t remember a café by that name. A coal mine, yes, but not a café.”

Colt waited while she locked up her new home, then led her to the passenger side of his truck. His day was looking up now that he’d convinced her to have lunch with him and he was happy to bring her up to speed on some of the happenings she’d missed when she lived in Calgary.

“Sierra Byrne owns and runs the Number 1. She named the café in honor of her grandfather, a miner who drowned when the Number 1 was flooded back in… I don’t know when exactly. A long time ago. It’s been open about four years.”