Marie Ferrarella - Colton Cowboy Standoff

She avoided his eyes as she told him, “I didn’t exactly rehearse any of this beforehand.”

“That’s obvious,” he commented. And then he took pity on her. Embarrassing Bailey didn’t make him feel any better about what had gone down between them. “And no, there’s no girlfriend or mistress or significant other to worry about.”

“No one?” Bailey asked, wanting to be absolutely sure he was being honest.

He caught the note of suspicion in her voice. “Why? Would you feel better if there was?” Wyatt asked, interpreting her question to mean she was worried once she got what she had come for, he might try to make her stay.

But he had no such intentions. He was neither a masochist nor a slow learner. Being unceremoniously dumped once was more than enough for him. He had no desire to suffer through that again. His heart didn’t need to be cut out of his chest a second time.

“No,” Bailey quickly denied. “I just wanted to make sure that I wouldn’t accidentally mess up your relationship.”

His eyes met hers. “Once was enough,” he told her in a cold voice.

Bailey had no idea how to respond to that. At the time, she hadn’t thought she mattered all that much to him. She quite honestly didn’t even think he’d notice she was gone immediately because he was so fixated on building up the ranch to the exclusion of everything else. Other than representing another pair of hands he could call on, she could have been anyone.

For a moment she debated apologizing, telling him she was sorry. But she really wasn’t sorry. Because if she hadn’t left, she would have never become a veterinarian, never become her own person.

For now, she decided it was best just to leave the subject alone.

“I’ll be back later,” she repeated as she started to leave again. Pausing, she added, “And thank you for hearing me out.”

“I haven’t said yes yet,” he reminded her, following her to the front door.

“I know. One step at a time.”

Opening the door, she walked out just as a tall, lean, muscular cowboy was coming up the walk. Their eyes met for a split second, and then Bailey lowered hers and hurried off to where she had parked her car.

Foxworth Colton’s mouth dropped open as the woman registered belatedly in his brain. Like a cartoon character, Wyatt’s cousin/adopted brother turned around and watched the woman he had almost walked into quickly get into her car and drive away.

Still stunned, Fox turned back to look quizzically at Wyatt.

Harrison Colton, Fox’s father, had died following a deadly accident where he’d unintentionally driven his car off the road. Fox’s mother, Dana, who’d been in the passenger seat, had lingered long enough to ask her sister, Mara, to care for her children. Wyatt’s parents had both agreed to take in Fox and Sloane.

Because they were close and always had been, when Wyatt had inherited the Crooked C from his grandmother, he’d set aside forty acres on the southern part of his property and offered it to Fox so that his cousin was able to breed his horses. In return Fox worked closely with Wyatt and could always be called upon to help out when Wyatt needed him.

No one had been happier for Wyatt than Fox when Wyatt had gotten married. Fox had also been there for him when Bailey had suddenly taken off for parts unknown. Fox had been the one to slowly ease Wyatt away from trying to drown his pain in alcohol when that process threatened to get the better of him.

Fox’s patience and efforts had paid off. Wyatt had finally gotten back to his old self, albeit more closed off emotionally than he’d been previously.

But that could all change again with Bailey coming back, Fox thought.

Maybe he was mistaken. Maybe that only looked like Bailey. After all, why would she suddenly come back after all this time?

“Hey,” Fox said, doing his best to sound cheerful, “that wasn’t—?”

“Bailey?” Wyatt supplied. Turning on his heel, he walked away from the front door. His voice was flat as he answered, “Yes, it was.”

Bordering on shocked disbelief, Fox walked into the house right behind Wyatt. He glanced over his shoulder one last time even though the car and the woman were gone. “You’re kidding.”

“Not something I’d kid about,” Wyatt assured the younger man.

Fox closed the door behind him and went straight to the coffee maker on the kitchen counter. He needed a hit of coffee, the stronger the better.

“What’s she doing here?” Taking a mug from the counter, he filled it to the brim with inky-black coffee. “Did she suddenly come to her senses?” he asked even though he doubted that was why Bailey had suddenly turned up.

“I don’t think that’s why she’s here.”

Fox looked at the man above the rim of steaming black liquid. “Then why is she here?” He burned his tongue and swallowed a curse. Blowing on the liquid, he waited a second before taking another sip, slowly this time.

“She came to ask if I’d make a baby with her.”

Fox had just taken another sip of coffee. He started choking and almost spit the liquid out in a spray. He managed to swallow it at the last moment.

He set the mug down on the kitchen counter, and his eyes were watery as he stared at his cousin. “I thought you just said that she asked you—”

“She did,” Wyatt said quietly.

Forgetting about the coffee, Fox focused his attention on Wyatt. He didn’t want to see the man he thought of as a brother getting hurt again. “When did all this happen?”

Wyatt nodded at the closed front door. “Just now.”

That didn’t seem possible, Fox thought. “She didn’t give you any warning?”

Wyatt shook his head as he walked back into the living room. “Nope.”

Fox was right behind him. “You’re telling me that Bailey didn’t call you first to see how you felt about this?”

Feeling suddenly drained, Wyatt sank onto the sofa. The same sofa he had just been sitting on with Bailey beside him. It almost seemed like a crazy dream now.

“That’s what I’m telling you.”

Fox was trying to get this all straight in his head. “And you haven’t heard from her in the last six years, right?”

Wyatt’s eyes shifted, slowly looking toward his brother. “Not a word.”

Fox emitted a low whistle. “Hell, Wyatt, what are you going to do?”

Wyatt laughed even though the situation was far from funny. “Damned if I know.”

Fox’s mind was racing now. “She’s not staying in town, is she?”

The corners of Wyatt’s mouth rose in an ironic smile. “As a matter of fact, she isn’t.”

Fox looked at his cousin suspiciously. “I don’t like the way you phrased that.” And then it hit him. “Wait—she’s not staying here, is she? Please tell me she’s not staying here.”

“I could,” Wyatt answered, “except that I made it a point never to lie to you.”

Astonishment nudged its way into Fox’s soul. “She’s going to be staying here,” he concluded incredulously. He stared at Wyatt, unable to believe what the other man was telling him. Maybe there was some mistake. “You’re actually considering doing what she asked?”

“Well, I—”

Wyatt got no further than that before Fox barked, “Wyatt, are you out of your mind? This woman did a tap dance on your heart, disappearing on you without even having the decency to tell you why to your face, and now she’s popped up out of nowhere, asking you to sleep with her—”

Maybe it was nerves that made Wyatt laugh at the way Fox was phrasing his narrative. “Actually, sleeping isn’t exactly a factor here—”

Fox wasn’t in the mood to see the humor in this. “You know damn well what I mean. Maybe you don’t remember what you were like after she left because most of the time you were too anesthetized with whiskey to know your own name. But I remember the whole thing. Clearly,” he emphasized. “She practically destroyed you—and I’m not going to let her get a chance to do it a second time,” Fox informed him angrily.