By early afternoon my medications were ready and Colt assisted me to my Jeep.
“You have keys to my Jeep?”
He nodded. “The spare pair your parents gave me.”
“Oh,” I replied slightly suspicious on how he’d gotten here without his truck. But that was a thought for another time as I was a little disappointed; I’d have to make another trip later to find out what was in the safety deposit box. I needed to be well first and the safety deposit key was now missing again. Chances were it got knocked out of my pocket when…A shiver raked me. When whoever was trying to help and scared the crap out of me.
“Don’t be too surprised by what you find at my place,” Colt said.
I nodded and reclined my seat. My eyes closed and I let the rhythm of the car sway me into a light slumber.
The car had stopped moving and my eyes opened. Colt exited the Jeep and was walking around to my side. He opened the door and I tilted my head in curiosity. I surely hadn’t been sleeping that long…
“Where are we?” This didn’t look like anyplace near my house. The trees were denser and Colt’s truck was nearby.
“Home,” he replied and helped me out.
“We’re in Idaho?”
“No, Montana.”
I stopped. “Why?”
“It’s my home.”
“You have a home in Montana?”
He smiled and pulled me along. “Don’t worry, you’re safe now.”
I took in my surroundings. His home was a cabin in the middle of the woods. The only sounds I heard were birds chirping.
He helped me up the stairs and held the door.
I was surprised at the beauty that lay before me as we entered the great room. Two of the three walls were covered from floor to ceiling in windows, exposing the scenery outside. The main interior wall beside the bedrooms held a massive stone fireplace. The third wall made up the kitchen. The vaulted ceiling held massive wood beams running the length of the room. The hand-carved wood flooring was stained in a dark walnut finish.
The main sitting area contained a large wool rug anchoring the furniture into a cozy sitting area. The far corner of the room was equipped with a grand piano, positioned in such a way to allow a spectacular view of the forest from any angle.
I was buzzing with curiosity as I turned to Colt. He simply shrugged, and sat me down on the couch while he dropped the medicine bottles, and my safety deposit key on the coffee table. I noticed a sandwich and a soda had been placed on it as well. Draping an arm around my shoulder, Colt tapped the plate.
“I bet you’re famished. Eat up.”
I nodded, grabbed the plate and placed it in my lap, but didn’t eat. Who’d made a sandwich and where did he find the key?
So much for hiding it from him…
“How’s your head feeling? You really scared us, you know.”
“Us?”
He tapped the plate again, and I took a small bite, watching his reaction, as he straightened his shirt, not keen on answering me just yet. I took yet another small bite, awaiting his reply. His cool gaze settled on me.
“Us, as in Callon, Daniel and myself.”
“Callon and Daniel?”
“I was concerned for you, and they came to help.”
“Who are Callon and Daniel?”
“They’re like…family.”
I pressed my hand to my forehead, which was starting to throb again. Colt hadn’t mentioned them before. In fact, he’d never mentioned anything about himself. For years he’d stuck by my side, and yet I was only just starting to realize how much he’d kept from me. How much I didn’t query.
It made me wonder about a few other things as well. I’d overheard the nurses talking about Colt being there so soon after I’d arrived.
“How did you get to the hospital so fast?” It shouldn’t have been possible, given that he was supposed to be in Idaho. And I didn’t know I was going to find trouble in Helena. Yet Colt seemed to have seen everything from the beginning. As if he’d set out a plan to follow me…
I shrugged his arm off, suddenly uncomfortable. Colt had known me for so long. It was only natural he’d pick up on my thoughts and be better at gauging what I was feeling. But to predict exactly where I’d go?
Colt looked hurt as he withdrew his arm.
“So,” he said, avoiding the question, “are you feeling better or not?”
I stared back at him with uncertainty. I felt like I hardly knew the man sitting in front of me. “I’ll answer you when you answer me.”
“Your well-being is more important at the moment.”
He wasn’t going to answer, and I didn’t want him to know that I was still in pain. “Better.” It wasn’t a complete lie. I was better than sixteen hours ago, but my head still hurt.
I set the plate down on the coffee table, and Colt handed me the soda. Taking a small drink to satisfy him, I turned and faced him head-on. This time he was going to answer my questions—no more games.
As I was about to speak, two men walked into the room. Both were watching me closely. I recognized one of them. He was the one I met at the cathedral, the one I ran into, the one who’d yanked me out of my car and held me in the backseat.
My heart started to pound in apprehension as he moved closer. Colt placed his hand on mine, and I leaned into his shoulder. Uneasily, I inhaled. Colt gave the two men a quick glance and they stopped their advance.
“This is Callon, and this is Daniel.” He gestured to each.
Now I knew the mysterious stranger’s name, Callon. Daniel was the smallest of the trio. He had the same tanned skin, but his hair was jet black, and it swooped at his brows to frame his face.
“Hello, Cheyenne,” Daniel said. His dark blue eyes were soft, and his boyish face welcoming.
Callon said nothing as he walked over and sat directly in front of me on the coffee table. He exchanged a glance with Colt, and tilted his head. I blinked. Did I just miss something? There was a lot more to that gaze than met the eye. I turned toward Colt, my eyebrow raised in question. He gave me an awkward smile.
“Colt told us he was bringing you home. How are you feeling?” Callon questioned.
“Better,” I replied nervously.
He picked up the medicine bottles on the coffee table, inspecting them, before putting them back down.
“I’m confused,” I said while staring at Callon. “You were at the cathedral…”
“I like old architecture,” he replied gruffly.
I blinked.
“Are you always rough with a woman the first time you meet her?”
He raised a brow. “You needed assistance.”
“Well, wasn’t it lucky you were there to help me.” My eyes met Colt’s. “And, Colt, you arrived so fast at the hospital you must’ve been driving a jet.” My eyes narrowed. “You knew I was at the cathedral. So why were you following me?”
I pulled away from Colt’s arms, and Callon moved back to perch on the table. It was my turn to make them feel a little uncomfortable now.
Chapter 6
“What I’d really like are some answers. I’m not so dumb to think you just suddenly appeared at the right place at the right time. Yes, I had a debilitating headache, but I could’ve made it to a hotel. I appreciate the ‘rescue’, but it seems to me that this was a little more planned than you’re making out,” I said, not bothering to hide my irritation.
Colt and Daniel shifted in their seats, uncertain how to answer. Daniel began fiddling with the pillow on the couch nervously. I was directing my question at Colt, but it was Callon who answered, with some hesitancy.
“You’re right. This was a thought-out plan.”
I scowled.
“Why were you following me? Why did Colt say I’m safe now? Why wasn’t I safe before?” The questions came quickly as I tried to piece things together.
“We’re watching over you, and your safety is of great concern to us,” Callon said.
“Why?” I wanted to know.
&
nbsp; Callon glanced at Colt before he replied, his face softening.
“Gene and Alexis were murdered.”
I immediately slid back in my seat, all of my concerns flying out of my mind as I processed this horrible information. My hand touched my throat. “Murdered?” I could barely make my lips form the word.
“Yes.”
I had thought my whole life had turned upside down when my parents died, but this…this was worse. It made it even worse to know it wasn’t an accident. I loved them so much. How could someone deliberately hurt them?
Colt drew his arm around me, trying to comfort me. I looked up in confusion. “Why didn’t you tell me?” My thoughts ran wild. Was that why I would get weird feelings about being watched? The sheriff said strange things were going on at the house. Was it the murderer? Were they looking for me next? A shiver ran down my spine.
Colt’s eyes filled with sympathy. “I didn’t want to scare you. You needed to finish high school, Cheyenne. Why do you think I was around even more than before?” His fingers brushed my hair aside tenderly.
Fury burned beneath my chest, but I kept my expression guarded. He’d withheld this information from me; what else had he decided to hide from me? The weight of his question swirled in my head. “I thought it was because you wanted to be around me,” I said faintly, as the realization sunk in. “I thought it was because you were my best friend.”
I inhaled a shaky breath. The emotional roller coaster I’d been riding for months was rising again. It took a few moments to regain my thoughts. I didn’t move as Colt’s arm tightened, and I watched my fingers begin twisting the ring on my index finger. “Why were they murdered?”
“They were protecting a secret,” Callon replied. He squared his jaw and looked me in the eye. “You.”
I shook my head. This couldn’t be true. “Me? A secret? I don’t understand.” I looked up, wide-eyed.
“You won’t understand yet, but you’re very special. When the time is right, we’ll explain. You need to trust us.”
“Trust you?” I turned to Colt. His cool eyes seemed unsure. “How can I trust someone who’s been deceiving me?” His face softened, and I looked away. How could I have spent so much time with him and not suspected he had an ulterior motive? As much as I wanted to give these three men the cold shoulder, I couldn’t. They held all the answers. The trio sat silently as they awaited my next question. “Do you know who murdered them?” I was assuming they would know, since they said I was the secret. Colt and Callon exchanged uncomfortable glances, and finally Colt nodded. I studied their silent communication. What was up with them?
“A very dangerous man.” Callon’s jaw was rigid. He shifted in his seat, crossing his arms, and it was clear he wouldn’t tell me more.
“So, let me get this straight.” I closed my eyes briefly and shifted forward in my seat, away from Colt’s embrace. My fingers massaged both of my temples. “Colt and my parents have been protecting me because I’m a secret. A secret you say I won’t understand right now, but in time you’ll tell me.” I paused, thinking again. “My parents were murdered by a very dangerous man because of this secret, me. You’ve been helping Colt protect me, but I was never told. I’ve been kept in the dark.” My temper flared. “And you expect me to trust you?”
“Yes.” Callon’s voice was cold, irritated that I hadn’t accepted his order without question.
“How long?” My eyes narrowed as I lifted my head towards Callon, my hands falling to my side in tight fists.
“How long what?”
Was he doing this just to aggravate me? “How long have you been watching me?”
“A while.”
What a pathetic, unclear answer! Figures. “More than two years?” Colt had been with me for that long, and only now did I see why he never talked about his parents. He had to be older than he’d let on. He didn’t live with his parents, and my parents never brought up the topic. They had to have known.
“Yes,” Callon confirmed.
I continued, a mixture of anger and anxiety rising. “Did you know my parents?”
“Yes.” Callon’s reply was so devoid of emotion it bothered me. I was just a job…
“You were working with them?”
“Yes.”
I turned and looked at Colt again, desperately trying to maintain my composure. “So over the last two years, you’ve been around protecting me. My parents invited you along on trips and dinners so you could be close.” These were the facts. My lips began to tremble, as anger boiled in my chest. “I shared secrets and feelings with you that no one else knew, and for what? So you could pretend to know me? Figure things out about me for your job? Deceive and lie to me? You screwed with my feelings, made me confused…just for the fun of it?!”
Something inside me gave way, and the tears began to stream down my cheeks. All these months he’d played with my heart, with every touch, every word. “How could you!”
Colt extended his arm to touch my shoulder. I knew he was trying to comfort me. After all, that’s what he was good at; that’s what he’d been doing for the last two years. Making sure I was safe and had a shoulder to cry on. I should’ve seen it sooner, all those long walks in the woods, going to movies, just hanging out together. He was pretending to be my friend. My best friend. I pulled away and rose from the couch.
“Cheyenne.” Colt reached for my hand, but I stepped out of reach.
I didn’t want to hear anything more. Not now. I was wounded; a piece of my heart suddenly torn apart. I was just a job for him. The friendship, the feelings I had for him, all a lie. He wasn’t who I thought he was. It was just too complicated to process now.
Sniffling and wiping the tears from my cheeks, I stopped just inside the hallway. I didn’t turn around. “Callon, am I allowed to leave?”
“No.” His tone was softer, as if to apologize for his gruffness before.
“So I’m being held against my will?”
“It’s for your own safety,” he said but that didn’t make me feel better.
“I see.”
Daniel suddenly appeared at my side with my bag in hand. It was if he knew I was looking for an escape. We continued down the hallway to a bedroom. He departed leaving my bag near the door while I stood in the far corner, staring out into the forest through the open windows, my thoughts pooling together. I’d been hospitalized, followed, tricked and lied to, and now I was with people I didn’t know, who were curbing my liberties. Since when had Colt or Callon become my dad? How had this spiraled downhill so quickly?
Dusk arrived, and with it a chill in the air, which made me shiver. I wrapped my arms around my chest, but I couldn’t ease the pain of my aching heart. Another loss in my life. Colt was the one who pulled me through my parents’ death. I’d thought losing my parents was the worst pain imaginable, but losing Colt—my strength, my friend—I was hurting more than I thought possible. Who could pull me through the loss of my best friend?
I didn’t bother to close the bedroom door; I didn’t think it mattered at this point. I was being watched; I wasn’t allowed to leave. A door wouldn’t stop them. I was a bird in a cage, wings clipped.
Heavy footsteps stopped at the doorway. I continued to stare out the window. They continued until they were directly behind; it was Colt. His breath touched my head; the heat from his body warmed my back. More tears spilled, and I gritted my teeth to stifle my sobs. He was hesitating. We stood like this for what seemed forever before he finally broke the silence.
“Cheyenne, I’m so sorry.” His voice was soft, gentle, sincere. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I want you to know it’s not like that for me. It never has been. Each and every moment I’ve spent with you has been a blessing, and with each passing moment I’ve loved you more and more.”
He loves me? I inhaled a shaky breath. I didn’t want to hear this now. Not when my heart was being pulled in all directions.
“I’m not with you because it’s my job; I’m with you because I couldn’
t live with myself if anything ever happened to you. When you told me you were leaving town, I wanted to tell you to stay. I didn’t want to let you out of my sight. When Gene and Alexis died, you came to me to find comfort.” His hands hovered at my sides, not touching me, but longing to.
“I’ve wanted to give you so much more than just comfort. I’ve wanted to give you my love, my heart, my soul. I’ve been waiting to tell you this; I wanted to tell you this in the kitchen the night before you left. Please forgive me. I never meant to hurt you this way.”
I kept quiet, mulling over his confession. So I hadn’t been wrong that night in the kitchen. That protective look in his eyes, those emotions he pushed back…he loved me! What was I supposed to think? Was this just another act, an attempt to pull me back into his world?
I stood immobile for a long time. Just a half step back and I would be pressed up against him, just a half a step and his tender embrace would provide the security I wanted—needed.
I wouldn’t let myself do it. I drove back all emotion and continued to stare out the window. Now I was grateful for the breeze. It cooled my flushed skin.
Colt was still standing behind me, waiting. Slowly I turned, keeping my gaze locked on the floor as I walked past. His arm stretched out to grasp me, but didn’t.
It was dark outside as I crawled onto the bed and sank into the mattress. I curled up into a ball on my side and closed my eyes. The bed sagged as Colt sat down. I knew he wouldn’t leave me. He didn’t touch me; didn’t say a single word. He just sat there, my protector. My lids grew heavy, and my head began to ache again. Exhaustion overcame me, and I quickly fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
My lids fluttered open. It was still dark. A big yawn escaped me, and I stretched. I had slept fairly well, but was still groggy. I glanced around the room. Dawn was just beginning to break. Shades of red and orange kissed the wooden floor. Twisting, I winced. My right arm was achy.
I carefully righted myself, only to hear Colt’s deep breathing. He had slept next to me on top of the comforter. I turned to see his face, which was hidden in the shadows. It was peaceful.
Cheyenne (A Timeless Series Novel) Page 6