9781631053566SpringsDelightBallNC (18 page)

Her mind whirled until she
finally fell into a fitful sleep.

Chapter Twelve

The next day Colt spent a good
amount of time with Railroad. He was a well-mannered gelding and had a great
appetite. He would be an asset to any horse lover. Sometimes it was hard to
turn a horse around after they’d been abused, but he rarely gave up. Placing
the horses with loving owners was important.

Keeping the ranch in good
shape for Caleb had been his goal, and it was time to set a new one. Honestly,
he’d been thinking about a family. Kids might be a good thing, and he was
hoping
Spring
might fit into his new goal. She’d been
more affectionate and less bristly lately, and he enjoyed it. He liked her
company; she was smart and a hard worker. What more could he ask for? Well, of
course, he found her sexy as hell too, and his plan was to lull her into
wanting to touch him and be with him. Just like gentling a horse.

He chuckled, and Railroad
turned his head to stare at him. “What? Can’t a guy have a happy moment?” His
smile disappeared with his revelation. Spring made him happy, surprisingly
happy, and he never thought to be happy again.

“Hey, Boss, you okay?” Shady
asked as he swaggered into the barn. “You sure look puzzled. The food goes into
the horse’s mouth, hope it helps.”

A deep laugh bubbled up, and
Colt couldn’t stop laughing. The more Shady stared at him the more he laughed.
“It’s been so long since I had such a good laugh like that. Thanks kid.”

“I don’t think you hear half
the things I say. I’m funny a good portion of the time.”

Colt put Railroad back into
his stall, patted his neck and walked out of the barn with a huge grin on his
face. Shady must be delusional, he was usually anything but funny.

Walking into the house, he
still slightly chuckled. Spring was on a ladder cleaning windows, and she
looked delicious. Life wasn’t a guarantee. Caleb’s death hammered that into
him. There wasn’t time for regrets and chances didn’t always come like this. He
knew that now.

Spring glanced over her
shoulder and grinned. In her eyes, he spotted happiness and it warmed him. In
two long strides, he was beside the ladder. She gingerly turned on the steps as
he reached his arms up to her. The way her face lit up gave him the confidence
he needed to scoop her up and hold her against him.

“What are you doing?” She
laughed as he put her down but he didn’t let go.

“I’ve had something on my mind
for a while now.” He studied her dusty pink lips.

“What would that be?” Her
voice was husky.

Leaning down, he kissed her
and as soon as his tongue touched her lips, she opened for him. Groaning, he
deepened the kiss and was thrilled when she put her arms around his neck to pull
him closer.

Spring squirmed against him
while they kissed. Her kisses were feverish as though she couldn’t get enough,
and her tongue tangoed with his in a sexily charged dance. No one had ever
kissed him with such passion.

He lifted her until she wrapped
her long legs around his waist. They stared at each other. Was he going too
fast? When she started to kiss the side of his neck, his question was answered.
He set her down on the kitchen counter and quickly took care of her shirt and
bra. Her exposed breasts were sheer perfection topped with pink nipples begging
for attention.

Standing between her legs, he
leaned down and kissed each nipple then he rolled them between his thumb and
finger. Her squeals of delight urged him on. He kissed her neck leaving a trail
all the way back to her breasts. How he wanted her with everything he was.
Before he knew it, she had his shirt opened, and her dainty hands on his hard
chest sent sparks through him.

Just as she started kissing
his chest, the door opened, and they both jumped.

“Guess this isn’t a good time
for coffee,” Bibbs said. He turned and walked out the door.

Their laughter filled the
house, and at that moment, he knew he had to have her as his wife. No one ever
made him feel the way she did.
No one.
However, the
time wasn’t right.

Spring began to button his
shirt, and she laughed at his frown. “How much do you want to bet Shady isn’t
far behind?”

Grabbing her bra and shirt, he
handed them to her. “You’re right. Those two are the nosiest cowboys I know.”

She dressed and ran her
fingers through her long red hair. “I guess I got carried away.”

He placed his finger over her
lips. “No, it was amazing, and I guess you can’t imagine how you make me feel.
No regrets or second thoughts. In fact it was the best kiss I’d ever had.”

Her eyes shimmered as she
swallowed hard. She nodded and met his gaze. He got a rare glimpse into her
heart, and it invigorated him with hope for their future. In that moment, he
wanted to grab her up and take her to bed, but he knew he wanted to handle her
with care. He now had no doubts they’d get there eventually.

* * * *

Spring touched her lips,
smiling. Just as she predicted, Shady came in for coffee. The disappointment on
his face had her and Colt laughing. They laughed even harder when Shady left
without any coffee.

Everything was different with
Colt, and she didn’t feel a moment of shame or fear kissing him. Maybe getting
involved with the man she worked for wasn’t the wisest thing, but her feelings
for him were too strong to deny any longer.

The windows wouldn’t clean
themselves, however, and once again, she climbed the ladder and took up her
cloth. Finally, she was cleaning the last window in the back part of the house.
The sun was at such an angle it was almost blinding, but she was determined to
finish. Looking out, she saw someone standing near a cluster of evergreens. She
placed her hand above her eyes to shield her eyes from the sun, but she still
couldn’t get a good look. Muscles knotting in her stomach told her it had to be
Billy, and her gut was usually right.

Quickly, she got off the
ladder and ran out the back door. To her dismay, no one was there. She
cautiously walked over to the trees and glanced around but there was no sign of
anyone. Shaking her head, she let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was
holding.

As she turned to walk back,
she spotted a cigarette butt on the ground, and she picked it up. Dread filled
her; it was Billy’s brand. How long had he been watching her?
Days?
Weeks?
She shuddered as she
hurried back to the house. Leave it to him to ruin a great day.

She locked the back door and
ran to the front, locking it too. Oh God, ruin her day? Billy could do much
more than that and to the people she’d come to care about. She grabbed a knife,
and the phone, shaking so hard she had to redial three times before she got
Colt’s voice mail. He often turned off his phone when he was working with the
rescue horses to avoid startling them with sudden noises. Damn, she didn’t have
Bibbs’ or Shady’s numbers either.

With her back against the
wall, she glanced outside, back at the evergreens. Was that cigarette smoke she
saw? Maybe her eyes were playing tricks. The few deep breaths she hoped would
calm her failed, and she finally called the police.

“911, how can I help you?”

“Yes, yes I need someone out
here right away!”

“Do you need an ambulance?”

“No, there’s someone on the
property.”

“The caller ID says Carlston.
Is that correct?”

“Yes, please hurry.”

“Ma’am I’m connecting you to
the Carlston Police right now.”

“Sheriff’s office,” a female
voice answered.

“I need the sheriff to come
out to Colt O’Malley’s ranch.”

“What’s the problem?” The
woman sounded like she was popping gum.

“The man, Billy, Billy Street
is on the property.”

“Ain’t you the one that hit
her ma? Never mind, I’ll radio the sheriff and have him stop by.”

“Stop by? I need him here now.
You don’t—” The woman had hung up.

Didn’t they have to respond to
each call? Spring put the knife back on the counter and rummaged through a
drawer until she found the switchblade she was looking for. She’d come across
it cleaning.

A sound against the side of
the house scared her. Dropping to the floor, she crawled to the window she’d
been looking out of before, but she didn’t see anyone. If Billy could get to
her, he’d surely kill her. Why had she let her guard down?

Oh God, Colt was at the barn
working with the horses. There was no way she could allow Billy to hurt him. It
took every ounce of her courage, but she stood and with the phone in one hand
and the switchblade in the other, managed to get the door open and ran into the
barn. Why did the door have to lock from the outside?

It took a moment for her eyes
to adjust to the dim lighting in the barn. Her heart sank when she didn’t see
Colt. Slowly she walked the length of the barn, and she noticed Railroad wasn’t
in his stall. Colt must be out in the corral. She ran to the back door and
rushed through it, spotting them. He was talking to the horse, oblivious to the
danger.

Railroad snorted, and Colt
turned, giving her a smile but he must have realized something was wrong
because he let go of Railroad’s halter and jumped the fence to get to her.
“What happened?” He gently took the knife out of her hand.

“I saw Billy; at least I think
it was him. No, I know it was him.”

“Where?
Did
he hurt you?”

“No, I’m fine. He was standing
by the trees out back watching me, and when I went out there all I found was a
cigarette butt, the kind he smokes.”

“What? You went out there?”

She nodded. “I wasn’t thinking
I guess. I went back into the house, locked the door and looked again, and I
know I saw smoke. I tried to call you, and I called the sheriff’s office. Then
I thought about you being out here alone and…”

Colt pulled her close. “You’re
shaking. Let’s get you back into the house.”

Nodding, she allowed Colt to
lead her. Terror filled her; afraid that somehow Billy was there. “What if he’s
in here?”

Colt locked the door and
searched the house quickly and quietly. Then he called Bibbs giving him a heads
up. “He’s not here, honey. You shouldn’t have taken a chance warning me.” He
grabbed her hand and pulled her into an embrace. “I’m
sorry,
I shouldn’t have let security get so lax.”

In the circle of his arms, she
felt safe, and her heartbeat slowed to a normal rhythm. “I wasn’t thinking
either when I went outside to see who was out there.”

“Are you sure it was Billy?”

“Who else would it be?
Something hit the side of the house; I couldn’t see what it was.”

Colt stroked her back. “The
sheriff is on his way?”

“I doubt it. Are Bibbs and
Shady on their way back? You told them to be careful right?” “Take a deep
breath. You heard me on the phone with Bibbs. They’ll be careful.” Colt guided
her to the couch and sat next to her. “Why don’t you think the sheriff is
coming?”

“The woman who answered the
phone asked if I was the one who hit Peggy Jo. She did say she’d radio the
sheriff, but she hung up on me. Colt, Billy is dangerous, but I won’t allow him
to hurt the people I love. If I go, he goes.”

“Love?”
His
chocolate eyes widened as he stared at her.

“Well, yeah, I think of you,
Bibbs and Shady as family.” She glanced down at her clasped hands hoping he was
buying her explanation. The love part just popped out of her mouth, and she
wished she could take it back.

Colt nodded. “I’m going to
call the sheriff’s office. Diane is right, he’s gone too far.”

Without him beside her,
a coldness
shrouded her. What did Billy want? If he wanted
to talk, he could come to the front door instead of stalking her. Shivering,
she wrapped her arms around her middle. Why wouldn’t he just let her go? He
must be mad she left him but to travel all this way from Texas was crazy.

“Shady and Bibbs just got
back. They are heading to the house now. The sheriff will drop by when he can,
talk about an arrogant piece of garbage.” He walked to the door, opened it and
nodded to his two cowhands.

“I think he drives a silver
sedan,” Shady said as he took off his hat. “I noticed it parked near the south
watering hole. I was just about to ride toward it when I spotted a cow stuck in
mud with her calf bawling next to her. I got her to safety and boy, was her
calf happy. When I went back to where the car was parked it was gone.”

“Does he have a silver car?”
Colt asked as all three men turned and stared at
Spring
.

“We couldn’t afford a car. My
tips barely covered the rent, and he only worked sporadically. He thought he
was too good to work at a restaurant or store despite that he never did
graduate from high school and refused to get his GED. Choices he made led to
unemployment, and I think he liked it that way. Maybe he stole the car.”