Colton stalked out of his bedroom, through the kitchen and out past the pool. Landscape lights lit the way through the flower garden and into the wooded area where the guest cottage sat nestled in dark shadows. He pounded on the door and rested his hands on his hips.
Kate opened almost immediately. He ran a quick glance over her fully clothed body. “Where’s Blake?”
“Shhh. He’s on the phone. What are you doing here?”
“Visiting. Hey.” Colton gave Blake a head nod and bored him with two mean topaz eyes before turning to Kate. “You were really pounding back the beers tonight. You sober?”
“Two and a half beers on an empty stomach is hardly pounding them back. Blake fed me and now I’m fine. Be nice. I’m warning you, Colton.”
Blake hung up the phone and wagged his head. “You’ve got it bad, dude. You need me to hang around, Kate?”
“Kate’s fine.” Colton took a stance that was anything but friendly.
“Go, Blake. Tomorrow’s a hectic day for you. Colton will be leaving with you.” She held the door open and waited for them to file past. “Have a good tour.”
“Definitely.”
“How long you on the road?” Colton asked as they disappeared into the dark with his hand clasped over Blake’s shoulder.
Kate closed and locked her door, then peeked out to see the two men talking by the pool. She blew out a breath and went to the refrigerator for a cold bottle of water. By the time she got back to the front window, they were gone. She uncapped the bottle and took a long drink. Light rapping at the door made her wonder if Blake had returned to check on her.
Nope. Colton. “Are you proud of yourself?”
“Yes. I am.” His eyes blazed as he entered her living room. “You got another one of those?”
“Refrigerator.” Her gaze fell to his bare feet, up over his navy sweats that had seen better days, to a Bullets tee. “What did you say to Blake?”
“We kissed and made up. Didn’t want him going on tour with bad vibes between us.”
“You didn’t have trouble sending Trey back to California with bad vibes.”
“Trey’s an asshole. Blake’s a good guy, which makes him all the more threatening.”
“Threatening?” Kate laughed out loud while Colton emptied half his bottle of water. “Why’s that?”
“Because he might have kissed you. Or worse.”
“That’s a bad thing?”
“It is to me. I’m the guy who loves you.”
“Good night, Colton.”
“Good idea, but let’s talk first.” He headed down her short hall and quickly located her bedroom as Kate sputtered behind him.
“You want to talk in the bedroom?”
“I like talking in the bedroom. It gets better results than the kitchen table.” He settled into a large overstuffed chair near Kate’s bed. “Did you have fun on your date?”
“We did.”
“That’s it. We did?”
“Are you jealous?” Kate asked and pulled off her boots to sit cross-legged in the middle of her bed. “Because given my celebrity status you need to understand men come on to me. My days are filled with men hanging on my every word.” She raised an eyebrow. His earlier agitation gone, he appeared...content. “You know. Like those star-struck girlies in the bar tonight. I’m surprised you’re not busy with one up in your room. Or is that why you’re dressed ready for bed?”
“I love you, Kate.” Colton sat forward on the chair and dropped his head a moment before he looked her in the eye. He had that serious demeanor she had observed before. The one she figured was reserved for the ballpark when bases were loaded with two outs. He took a breath and said softly, “I may not be saying it pretty or romantic, but I want to be a part of your life. Forever.”
There was the sincerity she longed to hear in his voice. She climbed from the bed to straddle him on the chair. It was uncomfortable in her jeans but she didn’t care. After talking to Blake for hours about the complications of loving a man like Colton, and the endless meaningless attention they garnered from women that Blake understood on a personal level, she was ready to bare her own heart.
She cupped his face with her cool fingers. “I love you, too. The fire was nothing compared to your walking out the door.”
“I was insensitive.”
“I know. What can I touch?” Her gaze darted to his shoulder. Light from the bedside lamp lit in his eyes like burnished jewels.
She closed her eyes when he ran his thumb across her lips and stroked her throat. “Have at anything below the waist.”
Kissing his thumb at her lips, she settled closer when he cupped her hips to bring her forward. Her parted legs strained against the constraints of her jeans as their lips came together. Slow kisses meant to savor built into deep sensual need and sent waves of desire into her every limb. The hard imprint of his desire pressed through the soft fabric of his sweats against the apex of her parted legs.
Colton slid his hands over the silk on her arms and tugged the hem from her jeans. The snaps popped open one by one. She helped him make quick removal of her shirt and bra and his T-shirt. The new scar was a deep scarlet but bruising minimal.
He took a moment to drink in the sight of her small, perfect breasts. “God, I’ve missed you, Kate.” The stroke of his hands over her skin sent new shivers of desire.
“You’ve no idea how good that sounds. Feels.”
Her fingers curled into the back of the soft chair as she pushed up to allow him an attempt at getting her jeans off. Impossible. They stuck over the curves of her hips, yet neither moved from the chair too caught up in the moment. Every sensation was recorded. The seductive slide of his tongue against hers. His hands warm upon her skin. Her breasts. His caress to her curves with a soft growl when he broke the kiss. “Uh, Kate, we’re about to have unprotected sex if we don’t back it down a notch.”
“I’ve condoms,” she said breathless.
“I’m afraid to ask why.”
He helped untangle her from his lap and the chair as she considered what he was wearing. No pockets. No condom. No problem. She opened the nightstand next to her bed. “Take your pick. There’s all kinds and sizes. I guess the cottage served as a Love Shack before Lindsay and I made the place respectable. I left the condoms but hid the sex toys.”
“We’ll have to dig them out sometime.” He gave her a lopsided grin and made a low whistle. He ran a finger over the boxes and made a selection along with quick disposal of his clothes. “God bless men with guitars and tour buses.”
“A-men.” She threw back the covers and beckoned to him. His eyes were hungry with desire but he stilled.
“Does that mean you and Blake used the drawer?”
“Please. Blake didn’t get past first base. Seems ballplayers are my thing.” That earned her one of his outrageously sexy smiles.
“Where were we?”
Making love to Colton was even better than their first time. Words were now wrapped around their physical expression to love one another. Limp with contentment, she marveled at the good fortune to find the right man in her bed. He kissed her belly and teased her navel with his tongue before curling her into his body. They lay together a long time in quiet contentment.
“I’ll be staying the night,” he whispered against her temple.
“Only if you don’t sneak out at dawn.”
“I swear, Kate. I’ll never leave you again.”
****
That afternoon, they lazed around on lounge chairs beside Trace’s pool. The band had taken off in the tour bus after lunch.
“Let’s swim.” Colton pushed up from the chair where he’d been half asleep.
“No. I’m too warm and cozy.” Kate pulled a sheet towel tight around her chin. “Oooohhh!” she squealed with the awkward lift that favored his good arm. “Stop lifting me. You’ll hurt your shoulder.”
“Okay.” Water splashed wet droplets on the stone when he tossed her into the pool. The towel flo
ated then sank to the bottom. Kate treaded water, trying to get her bearings when Colton joined her and took hold of her to bring her close.
“What should we tell Lindsay?”
“What do you mean?”
“About us.”
“About us what?”
“Getting married.”
Kate stilled. “You didn’t ask me to marry you.”
“Sure I did. I said I wanted you in my life forever. That sounds like a marriage proposal to me.”
“Honestly, Colton. It’s no wonder you’ve not married yet. You don’t know how to ask.” Not that she minded. Fate had saved him for her.
“I’ll tell you what. A situation has come up in Chicago.”
“You’re leaving.”
“The Piranha called. The Bullets want to talk about my contract.”
“I thought your contract expired at the end of the season.”
“It did. The Bullets want me at the negotiation table this week. As much as I want to stay, I have to go back to Chicago.”
Kate found it hard to hide her disappointment. It seemed every time she and Colton found their way into each other’s arms life’s demands tore them apart.
“For how long?”
“A week. Maybe less. I’ll tell you what. How about you meet me at Cutter Mountain Outlook on October first? That gives us two weeks. Can you be there?”
“Can’t you come here?”
“Come on, Kate. Wasn’t it you who said I needed to improve my presentation? Cutter Outlook is where we first met. I’ll give you fair warning. You’d better understand what type of relationship you want with me or don’t show up.”
“What time?”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Colton looked at his watch while standing near the low wall at Cutter Mountain Outlook. It was definitely October first, and Kate was definitely late.
He placed a booted foot on the wall to gaze out over the valley, alive with fall color. Red, yellow, and gold melded with hints of green. Where fog hung low, it appeared black. What had his mother told him about the view? Oh, right. “Only God painted with such expertise and perfect palette,” she had told him, while trying to explain her decision to retire to the area.
The beauty of Bear Creek and the surrounding mountains wasn’t her only excuse. The other attraction was a budding relationship with Judge Lowell. Both he and Mason were able to agree this was a healthy direction for their mother and offered their support.
He took in a deep breath of fresh mountain air. When had the quiet sounds of nature brought so much appeal? He glanced at his watch for the tenth time. Kate’s absence sent pulse throbbing in his neck.
Five ten. No Kate.
Five fifteen. Still no Kate.
Why did he suggest she not show up if she didn’t have an answer? About to open his cell phone, he recognized the purr of Kate’s Lexus whirring its way up the steep incline of Cutter Mountain.
When the car crested the mountain, he about lost control of his emotions; she had scared the hell out of him. He moved to the center of the road and waved his dad’s battered cowboy hat over his head.
****
“Well howdy, cowboy,” Kate whispered the same words from the first time she laid eyes on him. Her heart was in her throat relieved he was there. He looked good. Boots, new jeans, and crisp white shirt open at the neck. She half expected to see Bessie, but the truck Colton bought while in Knoxville sat off to the side of the road.
She rolled to a stop and lowered her window as he sauntered near to lean his forearms on the ledge. Colton tipped the hat back on his head. “You came.”
“Of course, I came.”
“You’re late.”
“I was afraid you wouldn’t be here.”
“I was afraid you wouldn’t show. Pull over behind me.”
Kate was grateful for his helping hand when she slipped from behind the wheel of her car on rubbery legs. She smoothed the flirty skirt that fluttered around the tops of her boots in the same vibrant hues as the fall leaves. The pale-yellow top was a new addition to her wardrobe.
“You look great,” he said.
“You look pretty great yourself.” He smelled as fresh as mountain air. She gulped back her emotions and tried not to second guess what was going to happen as he led her to the view over the valley.
“I would have worn a suit but I wanted to do this.” Lowering himself on one knee in the gravel, he gripped her hands. “Kathryn Crockett. Would you honor me by being my wife?”
She fell to her knees barely aware of the gravel biting into her skin. “Yes. Loving you is everything, Colton. It is.”
“So do I get to kiss you now?”
“You get to kiss me anytime, anywhere, but could we stand up, please? My knees are killing me.”
He smiled and helped her up. Bracketing her waist with his hands, he lifted her onto the wall and kissed her hard. He pulled back. “Don’t move a muscle.” He dug into his pocket and pulled out a ring. The center diamond was a huge square cut with baguettes on either side. The diamonds dazzled with brilliance in the sun.
He slid it onto her finger. “You said my presentation stunk so I’m trying to impress you here.”
“I’m impressed. You’re presentation is more than perfect.”
“I even got your dad’s blessing.”
Her eyes glittered with tears as she cupped his face with shaky hands. “Thank you.” His clean-shaven face glowed as she placed her lips against his.
The distant sound of a truck made them part. Chains rattled as Bobby’s Orange Crush Tow truck crested the mountain with his mother, Claire, inside. They were followed by her parents with Lindsay, Marian Gray, Judge Lowell, and Mason. Kate put her hands over her mouth in disbelief. “You’ve thought of everything.”
“You almost blew a private proposal by being late,” he told her with a raised eyebrow.
****
Mason popped the cork on a champagne bottle and poured bubbly splashes into plastic glasses. He even put a couple of drops into a glass for Lindsay, who beamed with importance.
Mason lifted his glass. “To Kate and Colton. May God bless you and keep you in his care with a long and happy life. One as beautiful as this place where you met.”
“Hear, hear.” Colton looped arms with Kate to drink their champagne. He placed a kiss on her lips that made her blush in front of the spectators. “You can bet my mother wrote that,” he whispered in her ear.
“All the more special.”
Cameras flashed to record the event that would start a new photo album, after which the group drove into town for an engagement dinner at Beulah’s. They passed the turn off for Route X, where Kate’s inn once stood. “I guess this means I’ll be moving to Chicago.”
“My house is up for sale. The Bullets didn’t renew my contract, Kate. I’m a free agent. We can settle in Nashville, but I’d like you to reconsider building a second home on the site of the inn. It would be a great family gathering place where our kids could run their legs off.”
His quick glance made her heart swell with desire to feel new life growing inside a swollen belly. Life Colton would give them. She envisioned a collage of their future. Rocking chairs lining a new front porch. Lemonade served on a hot evening. Tinkerbelle. “You’re going to want a horse, aren’t you?”
“Does that mean we’ll rebuild?”
“I think so.”
“You sure you’re ready to take up life with a broken down ballplayer? One who doesn’t know what his next career move might be or where it will land him?”
“Absolutely. As long as we land there together.”
He cut the engine of the truck in Beulah’s parking lot and gathered Kate into his arms. Soft kisses were shared before Mason, parking Kate’s Lexus, banged on the window. “Get a room.” His brother laughed as he headed for Beulah’s.
“That boy needs his own wife,” she warned Colton.
“Good luck. I think Mason is a confirmed bachelor. You up to o
ne more attempt at my being romantic?”
“I’m not sure you can top the proposal.”
He reached under the seat and pulled out a small fireproof box. “Look inside.”
“Oh, Colton.” She rested her hand on top the box and took a deep breath. Inside she found small scraps of paper with charred edges: the note from when he gave her the guitar; the half-torn five thousand dollar check paid for her services; the tactless note with bold green writing from the morning he left before dawn. “I’d forgotten I gave these to Bobby. Why’d you save them?”
“I’m not sure. They survived the fire and that seemed important. They represent how we began.
“I’m blown away.”
“Good. Put it in a song. We’ll need the money if I don’t land on my feet. Let’s eat.”
Kate laughed and wove her fingers into Colton’s. Peace settled deep in her soul. She and Colton would have a very long and happy life together.
She had lost so much in her short life and gained threefold. “I love you, Colton.”
“I love you more.”
He squeezed her hand as they entered Beulah’s to a standing ovation.
A word about the author...
Barbara Weitz lives in a quiet suburb of Chicago with her husband and a German shepherd, who stands in for her three grown sons in the mischief department.
A career executive secretary most of her life, she’s also held a variety of mundane and unusual employment opportunities. This, coupled with a passion for animals, music, and poetry, has helped shape the fictional characters she writes about.
Barbara can be reached at
www.barbaraweitz.com
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