One Hundred Choices (An Aspen Cove Novel Book 12)

by Kelly Collins

  Her heart hitched. He wanted to keep her. Naked, but still keep her.

  “That sounds kind of nice, but I’ve got to earn my keep, and horses kept in stables don’t feed themselves.”

  She moved to his closet and tugged one of his plaid flannels from a hanger. She put it on and buttoned it up. Wyatt was tall, but so was she. Even so, the hem reached just above her knees.

  “It would be worth taking over your chores just to keep you here.” He tugged on his jeans and walked up behind her, nuzzling her neck.

  She opened the door and they walked out together. Wyatt pushed against her backside, nibbling the crook of her neck at the spot that brought a giggle to her lips.

  Tom exited his room and looked past her to Wyatt. “Riding her must be about as exciting as mounting a state fair pony.”

  Wyatt took a threatening step toward Tom, but she gripped his arm. “Let it go.”

  Tom brushed past them on his way to the kitchen.

  “Why do you let him talk about you like that?”

  She turned around so she could see Wyatt’s face. “Tom is a lit match. Tossing gas or dry paper on him is stupid. I’m not stupid.”

  “No, you’re not.” He kissed her forehead. “I’ll make the coffee. You start the shower. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  She shook her head. “No way. You’re not going out there. I’ve seen you in action when you get jealous. Not a pretty sight.” She slid a finger through his belt loop. “We’ll shower and then deal with the coffee if Tom hasn’t already brewed it.”

  On most occasions, showering as a couple would lead to all kinds of fun, but they had work to do, so the time was relegated to actually getting clean rather than getting dirty.

  They separated at their doors to dress.

  Five minutes later, she kissed Wyatt in front of the coffee pot and told him she needed to feed the horses, and she’d meet him at his truck in fifteen minutes.

  Scamp moved to the edge of her stall.

  “Sorry, sweetheart. I’m not riding with you today.” She stroked the horse’s muzzle. “I’m hanging out with my boyfriend.” Warmth filled her. It was the first real relationship she’d had in her adult life. The first time she felt more than a liking for a man. He was the birthday cake she never got. The present under the tree that never arrived. The man was a damn unicorn. Maybe it wasn’t never belonging somewhere that she feared. It was never belonging to someone. Now that she’d gotten a taste of what love felt like, she wasn’t willing to give it up.

  She made sure Scamp had fresh water and hay and then skipped out of the barn to find Cade talking to Wyatt. She approached warily. Had Abby said something to him? Was he warning Wyatt against her? There were a thousand thoughts that went through her mind, but when she approached and saw her brother’s smile, she let them go.

  “Hey, Trin.” He looked between her and Wyatt. “I was just telling Wyatt that he’s been loaned out to the Mosier Ranch.”

  She saw the look in Wyatt’s eyes. He was hurt that he’d been pushed away from the Big D. It wasn’t that he didn’t expect the change. With the presence of the old man he described, it was a given, but it didn’t soften the blow.

  “On loan? This is temporary?” Her heart stopped for a beat.

  “Not sure. For now, Wyatt is an employee of Mosier Ranch. I thought maybe you could help him bring his horses back and get them settled into the stable. Maybe even take him on an official tour of the property.”

  She opened her mouth, but no words came out. Instead, she nodded and walked to Wyatt’s truck. To stand there would be like rubbing salt in a wound. Wyatt was now an employee of her brother’s, so that meant he was off-limits.

  Why was life so cruel? It gave her a taste of something amazing and then snatched it away.

  When Wyatt entered the truck, he took her hand. “We’ll work it out.”

  She shook her head. “There’s nothing to work out. I made a promise, and a person is only as good as their word.”

  He put the truck in gear and headed for the Big D.

  “That’s bullshit. I just got you. I’m not ready to give you up.”

  It was a personal policy to never let a man see her cry. She turned to the window and let the tears fall silently down her cheeks.

  By the time they arrived at Lloyd’s, she’d gotten herself under control.

  “You hook up the trailer, and I’ll get the horses ready.”

  He leaned over, but she exited the truck before he could touch her. To feel his touch on her skin would only make her want him more. At least she had the memories of last night.

  Wyatt backed the trailer close to the stables.

  Lloyd walked down from the main house. He handed a check to Wyatt.

  To Trinity, it was eerily reminiscent of her last day on Wallaby Ranch.

  “Wyatt, you’ve been an amazing help. With Jimmy coming on board and Cade needing another hand, I thought it best to share you.”

  She tugged Rex toward the trailer. Listening to Lloyd made her angry. He treated Wyatt like he had little value.

  “Thank you, sir. Working on the Big D has been a pleasure.”

  The word loan was inaccurate. He wasn’t being loaned to anyone. He was being given to Cade. He had two choices: he could settle in at Cade’s ranch or find someplace else.

  She got Rex secure and went to get Red. He saw the trailer and rose up on his hind legs.

  Wyatt ran over to help, but she held up a hand.

  “I’ve got him. He’s scared. You get the tack.”

  She moved the horse away from the trailer and talked softly to him. “Hey, boy. I know you’re scared. You’ve done this before. We’re all in for a change.” She remembered an old hand at McKinley ranch used to say that change was a challenge and an opportunity, not a threat. This change threatened everything.

  Her phone beeped with an incoming message which startled Red again. She tied him to the fencepost to give him a chance to calm down.

  When she looked at her phone, she laughed. “You’re right. I was wrong. When can you get back to Texas? Angel’s horse needs you.”

  She glanced up to the sky. “Is this a damn test?”

  “Is what a test?”

  “Just got a text from my old boss asking me to come back.” She untied Red and led him to the trailer. This time she cooed to him until he was inside and secure.

  Wyatt leaned on the side of the trailer, waiting for her. “You’re not going, are you?”

  She rubbed her hand over her face. “It would make it easier on everyone.”

  He moved toward her and pulled her close. Their noses touched as he spoke. “Please don’t go. I’ll work it out with your brother. I’ll find another job. Hell, I’ll wait tables at the Brewhouse if it means I can be with you.”

  She laughed. “You’d probably be better at it.”

  He kissed her gently. “Don’t leave. We’ve only just begun.”

  She leaned into him and breathed in his scent. The lavender of his fabric softener was supposed to be calming, but Wyatt did nothing to slow her heart rate. His was the scent that made it race when he kissed her. He was the everything she needed but couldn’t have.

  She looked at the darkening sky. “We should go if you want to ride the fence.”

  He smirked. “I’d rather ride something else.”

  She let out a sigh of resignation. “Me too, but those days are over.”

  He shook his head. “We had one day, and it wasn’t enough. We can work around it.”

  She raised her hands in surrender. “Cade’s rules, not mine.”

  “He changed the rules after the players were already in play. He’s going to have to change his position.”

  She closed the trailer and climbed into the truck.

  When Wyatt took his place behind the steering wheel, she turned to look at him.

  “This isn’t a game, Wyatt.”

  He leaned over and cupped the back of her head, pulling her in. When his lips touch
ed hers, he said, “This is a war I intend to win.”

  The horses were easy to unload. Red was as docile as a goldfish when she backed him out and led him into the stables. There weren’t a lot of stalls like they had at Lloyd’s but enough to house eight horses. With the addition of Rex and Red, there were now five. At least she’d have stuff to do daily.

  She chose the stall next to her brother’s horses. It was childish, but she didn’t want Wyatt’s animals close to Tom’s.

  She felt sorry for his mare. Willow didn’t get to choose her owner, but if she had, Trinity was certain it wouldn’t have been him.

  She saddled Red while Wyatt saddled Rex. Tom arrived at the same time. He removed his horse’s equipment and shoved her into the stall before he made for the door.

  “Wait a minute. You need to brush her down and feed and water her.” She’d noticed the small sores on Willow’s back. Sores that only came with laziness and neglect. She’d even applied salve to them in hopes that she could get the irritation to go away. The problem was Tom, and he wasn’t going anywhere.

  “Seems to me that’s your job.” He walked off and left them in the stable.

  With a growl, Trinity handed Wyatt the reins and told him she’d be a few minutes.

  She brushed the salt off Willow’s coat before she fed and watered her. It seemed as if every female Tom came into contact with, whether horse or human, suffered.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Wyatt waited outside the stables while Three took care of Willow. They were a good team in a bad spot. He considered taking her away. Neither were happy with their current situation. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to work for Cade. He liked the man, but he didn’t like Tom. Tom might be good with cattle, but he was awful with everything else.

  He’d have to talk to her about it. He didn’t know where they’d go, but anywhere together was better than being here without her.

  She walked out looking like an angry ruler with her back straight and stiff, and her forehead lined with concern.

  “That horse deserves better. Poor thing has so many hotspots from neglect. I’m surprised she allows him to climb on her back.”

  “You ready to go?” He handed her Red’s reins and waited for her to mount him. He was a big horse, but Three was limber and strong and swung herself on his back with ease. “Show me the property.”

  “I’m sure you’ve already seen most of it. You live here.”

  He chuckled. “I have, but I haven’t seen it with you, and that makes the experience different. Ever notice that you can view things differently if you’re looking at them through a different lens? Show me this ranch through your eyes.”

  “Let’s ride the fence. It’ll take hours, which will keep me away from Tom and save his life.” She shook the reins and led the way.

  They rode in silence for the first hour. There was nothing awkward about the quiet—it was comfortable with Three—but he wanted to know more about her.

  “If you could be anywhere, where would you go?” he asked.

  She slowed down so he could catch up and ride alongside her.

  “My perfect place isn’t a place but a feeling. I had it once at the Mercers’ ranch. I was part of a larger family. Not necessarily a family by blood but by something stronger and deeper. We were a family by choice. It seemed that once we left Colorado, my choices were made by others.” She frowned and shook her head. “That’s not really true. I make the choice to stay silent and suck it up. I do that because if I really let loose … that storm my brother describes me as would destroy everything in its path. Right now, I’m a leaf in my own wind.”

  He reached over and took her hand. “I love your wind. Let it blow, baby; you can’t keep suppressing your rage. It tears you up inside.”

  She dropped his hand and laughed. “Better to tear me up than everyone around me.” She turned where the fence angled right. “Didn’t you help put this fence up?”

  He nodded. “Some of it. Lloyd jumped the gun and delivered a bunch of cattle before your brother was ready. That got him into hot water with Abby.” He turned to look at the cabin that was just a dot on the landscape. “She blamed his cows for knocking over her hives and then accidentally started a fire to the section of land between her place and the bunkhouse. Lloyd felt bad and volunteered Baz and me and himself to put up the fence between the properties.”

  “Geez, you’d think, as his sister, I’d hear about these things.”

  “Your brother is an island. Or he was until he met Abby. I’d say give him some time to adjust to her. People in relationships tend to be more open. Like us. You should be more open with me about the things that hurt you.”

  She stopped the horse and looked his way. “Don’t you get it? We can’t be together any longer.”

  “Then we’ll leave because I’m not living without you now that I’ve got you.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “You’ve got me? I’m not a possession.”

  “Come on, Trinity, you know what I mean. We’re together. Let me put it this way. You have me, and I don’t want to belong or be with anyone else. If that means we leave the ranch and find another way, then that’s okay too.”

  “No, it’s not. You told me you wanted to be a foreman of a ranch. Let me tell you … this is your best chance.” She swung out her hand as if revealing a prize.

  “I’m low man again. If anyone is in charge, it’s Tom.”

  “Tom is an idiot. He’s really great at disguising his stupidity. Fabulous at being a chameleon, so he blends in, but you and I both know he’s an asshat. Eventually, he’ll show himself. My brother may be blind, but he isn’t stupid. Tom may fool him for a while but not long-term. You’ll get your chance, and you’ll be fabulous.” She gave Red a kick and bolted forward.

  The conversation was finished, for now. He galloped behind her. Watching her hair blow in the wind and the joy flowing from her body when she rode told him she needed to be right where she was. She belonged on that horse at this ranch. Despite the gray cloud cover and the prickling of the storm’s energy in the air, she was like sunshine.

  The first crack of lightning and boom of thunder startled Red. He reared up, and Wyatt’s heart halted, thinking Three was about to take a tumble, but she calmed him with her voice and her demeanor. She always appeared unflappable, but inside she had to be trembling.

  Next came the rain. It wasn’t a problem beyond discomfort.

  “Which is closer, the shelter or the cabin?” he asked.

  She looked ahead of her and then behind her. “I’d say the shelter.” She gave Red a tap with her boot and pushed forward into the storm. As the shelter came into view, tiny hail rained down on them.

  “When we get there, don’t unsaddle him. Let the saddle protect him and let him run,” he yelled.

  The hailstones grew from pea size to dimes, and their hits stung his skin.

  Three reached the shelter before him. She dismounted and slapped Red’s hind end to get him moving for cover. There wasn’t much available, but in his experience, animals were pretty self-sufficient. At least they were self-preserving.

  He caught up and did the same, then tugged Three into the shelter. It wasn’t anything special. Just a box with a cot, a table, and a few days of supplies.

  “You helped deliver this too?”

  “I did, but I couldn’t remember where it was on the land.” He pulled a towel from a nearby box and tossed it to her.

  When she was finished getting what water she could off her body, she handed it back.

  “That was chivalrous. Now you have a wet towel to dry off with.”

  He winked. “I’ll survive. Besides …” He glanced at the cot. “I thought maybe you could warm me up.” He toweled off and hung the wet terry cloth from a nail on the wall. He flopped onto the cot and patted the space beside him. “You know … they say if a person has hypothermia, they should get skin to skin with another person.”

  She tried to keep a straight face, but the muscles at th
e corner of her lips won when they lifted.

  “You’re not hypothermic.” She took the space beside him and leaned against the wall.

  The ping ping ding of hail hitting the roof filled the tiny box with noise. She shivered and moved closer.

  “No, but we can make sure neither of us get there. It’s important to take precautions.”

  “Always the boy scout. What’s their motto?”

  He raised three fingers and said, “Be prepared.”

  Her shoulders shook with her laughter. “You really were a Scout?”

  He scoffed. “Scouting rocked at first. In fact, it’s where I learned to ride a horse. Got a merit badge for horsemanship. I quit because there wasn’t a cowboy badge.” He chuckled. “My mom had her sights set on me being an architect or a lawyer or something like that. She never thought joining Boy Scouts of America would make me a cowboy.”

  The hail grew heavier, hitting the room like bullets discharged from a gun.

  “Why is it they say there’s a chance of a storm every day? Can’t they get it right? You’d think with all the technology they’d see something like this coming.”

  He shrugged. “Saying there’s a chance protects them.”

  “You think the horses are okay?”

  “They’ve survived storms for thousands of years. I’m sure they’ll live through this one.”

  She shivered. “It is cold.”

  He couldn’t argue there. They were wet, and the shelter was probably covered in a few inches of hail.

  “Let me warm you.”

  He started with the buttons of her shirt. When he peeled the wet fabric from her skin, he moved to her boots and jeans.

  She joined in the undressing and quickly divested him of his shirt and pants. Within minutes they were naked.

  “I’m only doing this because I don’t want you to get hypothermia.”

  He gloved up, rose above her, and pressed into her body. “Exactly. Thanks for your care and concern.”

  “I do care,” she said on a groan.

  He moved in and out of her with long leisurely strokes. He loved the way her eyes rolled back when he hit the right spot. Loved how her eyelashes fluttered against her cheeks. Loved the sounds she made without thought. When she moaned, it was like getting every good thing he’d ever asked for.