by Joanna Sims
Lee turned the key and the engine didn’t turn over. “No.”
“Is it even trying to turn over?”
She tried again. “No!”
Colt shut off his engine, got out of his truck and unhooked the cables.
“It’s not the battery?” Lee asked, frustrated.
Colt wound up the jumper cables. “I’m not sure quite yet. I need to take your battery down to the auto-parts store, let them test it and see if it has a bad cell.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Lee protested, wanting him to be on his way. “Boot can do that later.”
Colt ignored her as he walked to the back of his truck, lifted the bed cover, threw the jumper cables in the back and grabbed a couple of wrenches from his toolbox. Lee squeezed out from behind the driver’s seat so she could catch up with him on his way back to the front of her Jeep.
“Did you hear me? Boot can do this. You’ve already done enough for me today.”
Colt handed her one of the wrenches. “Hold this for me, will you?”
“Did you hear me?” she asked again, taking the extended wrench.
“Yes, Lee.” He smiled at her, releasing happy butterflies loose in her stomach. “I heard you.”
That was the last they discussed his leaving the job for Boot. Lee watched while Colt worked to remove the battery, holding the wrenches when he asked. It didn’t take him much effort to free the battery from the engine.
“It shouldn’t take me too long.” Colt put her battery in the back of his truck.
“You really don’t have to do this,” she added, but knew that he was determined to play knight-in-shining-armor to her damsel-in-distress.
“I want to do it.” He had backed his truck out of the garage and braked next to her. “For you.”
Lee turned her head away from him and pretended to find something interesting in a nearby tree. His eyes were too blue—too intense—too focused on the features of her face. What was it about Colt? Why did he make her feel so jumbled up inside?
“Lee...” The way he said her name, with that extra bit of something that let her know she was a woman that had caught his eye, set off wonderful jolts of happiness in the pleasure center of her brain.
She brought her eyes back to his, knowing that she was going to risk getting caught up in their ocean blue.
Colt leaned his arm out of the window, his eyes admiring on her face. “I can see that I make you nervous.”
Defensively, her eyebrows dropped and she frowned. “I never said you did.”
“I like you. You like me,” Colt continued as if he hadn’t heard her. “That’s a good thing.”
Stunned that Colt had just put words to everything that she had been feeling building between them for weeks as if he were discussing a grocery list with her, Lee pressed her lips together and continued to frown at him wordlessly. It was so unlike her to be caught off guard to the point that she couldn’t manage to form a snappy retort.
“You go do your work and let me worry about your truck.” Colt grinned at her and wrapped his fist on the side of his truck as if he were adjourning a meeting.
Words finally found their way into her mouth.
“You worry about my truck and I’ll worry about my proposal.”
“Isn’t that what I just said?” he teased her.
She raised her eyebrows and put her hands on her hips, recovering from her earlier shock. “All I see right now is a whole lot of talking and wasting of valuable time. You should already be halfway to town by now.”
Instead of cowing him, Colt’s grin widened, signalling that he liked to banter with her. He tipped his hat to her with a wink. “As you wish, Lady Macbeth.”
* * *
Lee liked him. Colt was certain of it now. That back-and-forth exchange had confirmed it for him—for the first time since he had fallen in love at first sight with the pretty entrepreneur, a crack in the armor she had been wearing whenever he was around gave him hope that his feelings were, indeed, reciprocated.
He made the trip to the auto-parts store as quick as he could—he wanted to get back to Lee’s Jeep, get it running so he could be her hero for the day and then find a way to weasel just a bit more time with her before she sent him packing. Any time he had with Lee was time well worth spent for him.
“That should be it.” Colt secured the new battery into place, wiped his hands off on a spare towel he kept in his truck before he headed to the front door of the house. He rang the doorbell and waited for his ladylove to answer.
“Hi.” Lee opened the door in her jean shorts. Her thighs were slender and shapely, well muscled from riding horses and working at the stable. It was still a bit of a shock to see the prosthetic instead of the lower half of her leg, but it never detracted from how he felt about her. In fact, the colorful sleeves she wore over the upper part of the prosthetic—today it was a dynamic scene of the solar system—showed a fun side of her personality that she didn’t always show when she was being Lee Macbeth, owner of Strides of Strength.
“What’s the verdict?” she asked him.
“There was a bad cell in the old battery, so I got you a new one,” he told her. “Get your keys and we’ll see if she starts.”
Lee scooped up her keys from a nearby table and rejoined him on the porch. Her hair was a bit messy, which he liked. It was nice to see that she was human and wasn’t always put together perfectly. Colt also liked that her face was scrubbed clean of makeup. He could see that there were dark circles beneath her eyes and the smattering of freckles on her nose were more prominent. The more he got to know her, the more he saw the real Lee Macbeth, the more he wanted to find a way to get closer to her. Maybe he should try his brother Shane’s move with Rebecca—Shane had started things off with a kiss and figured out the dating part later.
Colt seriously contemplated his next move with Lee as they walked together to the garage. He made sure to shorten his stride so she could keep pace with him, but she always surprised him at how naturally, and quickly, she walked with her bionic leg.
“Here goes nothing.” Lee put the key in the ignition.
“Don’t be pessimistic,” Colt told her. “It’s not in your nature to be pessimistic.”
The Jeep immediately started and Colt watched her face through the windshield. There was a genuine smile just for him.
“You fixed it!” Lee exclaimed as she turned off the engine and stepped out of the truck. “I was worried that I was going to have get it towed and go to the dealership and get a rental car. I kept on thinking, please, not this week.”
Colt had noticed that Lee always held herself away from him—she never touched him, even in passing. But today, that touch barrier was crossed and she put her hand on his arm and gave it a little happy shake. “Thank you. I mean it, Colt. This is one huge thing I don’t have to worry about now.”
“I’m glad I could help.” He looked down at her beaming face and thought to capitalize on the moment. She was happy and her guard that she usually had up against him was temporarily down. But something made him hesitate. The garage wasn’t private. His first kiss with Lee—and there would be a first kiss shared between them—deserved to be done in private.
Lee withdrew her hand from his arm, a confused expression flashing across her sweet face. She turned away, putting some distance between them.
“You’ll have to give me a receipt so I can reimburse you,” she threw over her shoulder.
Colt followed behind her, watching her ponytail swing like a jaunty pendulum, watching the swing of her shapely hips in her cutoff shorts. Lee always seemed to be running away from him like a nervous rabbit when in every other aspect of her life she sat at the head of the table—commanding, in control and in charge.
At the bottom of the porch steps, Colt pulled his wallet out of his back pocket, tugged the receipt out of one of the compar
tments and handed it to her.
“I’ll write you a check.” She plucked the receipt out of his hand.
“Don’t worry about it.” He wanted the battery to be a gift—a small token.
“No.” Lee shook her head. “I’ll write you a check.”
“Whatever works for you, works for me,” he said.
For a moment, Lee seemed to have a debate in her own mind before she asked, “Do you want to come inside while I grab my checkbook? I could get you something to drink.”
He nodded. “I’d appreciate it.” Colt followed her up the steps and through the front door. He wasn’t going to pass up any opportunity to spend some one-on-one time with Lee.
“Sweetened or unsweetened?” She stood in front of the oversized refrigerator.
“Sweet.” Colt looked around the kitchen, noting all of the differences—structurally and aesthetically—since he had last stood in this space when he was a teenager.
“Ice or no ice?” she asked, taking a glass out of one of the cabinets.
“No ice,” he said, running his hand over the large butcher-block island. “The only thing I remember being the same is that door leading out to the backyard.”
Lee poured tea into a glass with ice for her and a glass without ice for him.
“I wanted an open concept without ruining the charm of the house.” She put the pitcher of tea back into the refrigerator.
The kitchen had been a small square, cut off from the living and dining rooms. Back in the day, the cabinets and countertops had been a mustard yellow reminiscent of The Brady Bunch house and the walls had been covered in rooster wallpaper. Lee had removed several walls, opening the kitchen up to the rest of the house.
“I kind of miss the roosters.” He smiled as she handed him his glass.
Lee pulled opened a drawer, pulled out a rooster coaster and slid it toward him. “A nod to the past.”
Even though she was smiling at him, there was stiffness in her shoulders and her arms that let him know she wasn’t altogether comfortable with him in her house.
Wanting to put her at ease, he shifted the conversation to her passion. He held out his glass to her. “Here’s to a successful summer.”
“Yes.” She touched her glass to his. “A successful summer.”
She took a couple of sips of the beverage, then put her glass on the butcher-block countertop.
“I’ll be right back.” She turned her body slightly to the side to slip past him.
“Lee.” This was his moment. If he didn’t take it, the summer might sweep them both away without another presenting itself.
She paused next to him and looked up into his face.
Colt took off his hat, leaned his head down and let his lips hover above hers. He wanted to give her a chance to duck away from him, avoid the kiss, but she didn’t. She stood as still as a statue, her breath suspended as he pressed his lips to hers. It was a short kiss, but he felt a promise of how right things could be between them in the softness, the sweetness of her lips. Colt’s eyes locked with Lee’s as he straightened and put his hat back on.
Her eyes wide with surprise, wordlessly, Lee swayed slightly until she was leaning back against the kitchen island. It was the first time a woman had reacted to his kisses in this way and he wasn’t exactly sure how to read it. She hadn’t slapped him or thrown him out of the house on his ear—so that was a positive. But she hadn’t leaned into the kiss and asked for more either, which was what he had typically experienced before.
“You kissed me,” she finally said.
“I did kiss you, Lee.” He adjusted his hat on his head with his eyes steady on her face. “I’ve wanted to kiss you ever since the first moment I laid eyes on you.”
Chapter Seven
This was exactly the reason why she had been avoiding Colt—this exact reason. Lee had felt the unmistakable physical chemistry between them. She was experienced enough to know when a man was attracted to her. But what hadn’t happened to her in over a decade was the feeling in her own body that she was attracted to someone in return. Perhaps it had been mental, but that part of her body had been shut down since she lost her husband. She hadn’t wanted to kiss or hold or touch or make love to any man since Michael. Until now.
“I can’t apologize for it,” Colt added with his eyes glued to her face.
“I didn’t ask for an apology.” There was an unfamiliar catch in her voice. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest that she heard it like a loud drumbeat in her ears.
Her brain seemed to be frozen in time, her mind reliving that short, sweet, unassuming kiss. How should she react to this moment in her life? She knew how she should react. She should escort Colt out of the house and on Monday morning find a new placement for him. And yet, that wasn’t what her heart wanted.
With her eyes locked with Colt’s, Lee pushed away from the counter, reached up to put her hands on his handsome face and pressed her lips to his. She felt him inhale in surprise and a split second later, he wrapped his strong arms around her waist and deepened the kiss.
Don’t do this, Lee.
This was the phrase that pounded in her brain, but the wonderful sensation of Colt’s lips on her, his large hands splayed across her back, drowned out the sensible words. Still holding onto her body with one arm, Colt guided her back a step, reached behind her and pushed some papers out of his way, and then easily lifted her up and set her down on the island. He stepped between her legs, which allowed her to naturally wrap her legs around his hips.
“This isn’t smart.” Lee took his cowboy hat off his head and tossed it in the direction of the living room.
“Yes, it is.” Colt pressed his lips to her neck and breathed in deeply with a sigh. “This is the smartest damn thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
“How can you say that?” Lee dug her fingers into his long hair and bit her lip hard to stop herself from moaning as he sucked on her earlobe.
Colt lifted up his head so he could give her a half smile. “Do we have to talk about this now?”
She missed his lips on her skin. She needed to feel the warmth of his body close to hers. “I don’t know why you’re talking at all.”
Colt laughed, seeming emboldened by her words. And why wouldn’t he be? That was exactly the signal she had sent him. Give me more!
Colt made quick work of stripping off her T-shirt, tossing it in the direction of his hat. The cool air hit her skin and it almost—almost—made her stop. But then his strong lips and warm breath replaced that cold air when he dropped a trail of kisses from her neck down to the small swell of her breast. Her nipple was hard and straining against the silky material of her bra. Her hands back in his hair, her eyes closed, her body tight with anticipation at the thought of him taking that nipple into his mouth. It had been such a long time—oh, how she needed to have this man’s mouth on her skin.
“Oh.” Lee’s head dropped back. “Oh.”
Colt had moved the thin material of her bra out of his way and had taken her breast into his hot mouth. There was nothing like that sensation, that wonderful tugging and suckling on her breast. So many jolts of excitement raced through her body. Her breath was shallow and the idea of stopping what they had started didn’t seem possible. Her body was shouting at her—screaming at her—for relief. Let Colt relieve that ache. Just let him. She needed it so badly. She needed him so badly.
Colt’s hands gripped her hips and he pulled her closer to his body. His lips were on her breast, then her neck and her ear and then on her lips. He kissed her breath away and all she could do was hold on and enjoy everything he was giving to her.
“I love you, Lee,” she heard him murmur into her ear.
The merry-go-round went into slow motion as she absorbed his words. Her hands stopped moving in his hair and she felt her body stiffen.
He felt her pull away from hi
m and he pulled away from her. Colt pushed his hair back out of his eyes, his chest rising and falling, his eyes shining bright blue with love for her. This wasn’t a passing fling this man wanted—he wanted much more from her than that.
“You don’t know what you’re saying.” It took her a moment to find enough breath to speak.
“I know exactly what I’m saying,” Colt said seriously. “I love you. And you love me.”
Those words hit her like a bucket of freezing water in the face. She had only loved Michael. Only Michael. She had always believed that to love another man would be a betrayal of the husband she had lost.
“No, I don’t.” Lee shook her head, wishing she wanted to rewind time and erase the last moments of her life. But the memory of being in Colt’s arms was too precious—too sweet. She didn’t want to forget it.
Colt crossed to her, took her face in his hands. “Yes, you do.”
Yes, she did.
Her lips met his—it was a mutual kiss. She didn’t want to love him. But she did. She loved Colt Brand.
“Hold on to me,” he ordered, slipping his hands beneath her bottom.
She did his bidding, and wrapped her arms around his neck so he could scoop her up.
“Is the master bedroom in the same place?” he asked, carrying her through the living room.
She nodded. She was simply too busy nibbling on his warm salty neck to say yes.
Colt was carrying her to her bedroom and they were going to make love. All of the flashing warning signs going off in her brain were ignored for the unrelenting need building between her thighs. She had repressed that part of her for so long that now that the floodgate had been opened, there was no going back. She was a woman—he was a man—and they were going to fulfill the promise of the natural attraction that was between them.
Lee was licking Colt’s earlobe when he had the inconsideration to ask an important question. “Do you have something for us to use?”
“You mean a condom?” She lifted her head.
He turned sideways so he wouldn’t bump her legs on the doorjamb as they entered her bedroom.