Her Renegade Rancher EPB Page 4

  “I came to see if maybe the doctors had been able to save him.” Tears filled Luna’s eyes and clogged her throat. “I came to say goodbye.”

  “Yes, well, he’s gone. We, as his family, need to say our goodbyes and make arrangements for what comes next. You should go.” Aunt Bea waved Luna off, like shooing away a fly.

  They’d drawn quite a few stares from the clinic staff, patients, and visitors. They’d kept their voices low, but everyone sensed the hostility as they faced off in the corridor.

  “Colt,” Dr. Bowden called from behind the group.

  Colt stepped around everyone, pulling Luna along behind him. Embarrassed and angry, she ducked her head to hide the emotions playing out on her beautiful face. Simon had to admit, his father had great taste in women.

  “Bell, would it be possible for Luna to see Mr. Travers for just a few minutes to say goodbye?”

  “Of course. I don’t see why not.”

  “She doesn’t belong here,” Aunt Bea snapped.

  Simon shook his head and cocked up one side of his mouth. “Go ahead in, Luna. It’s fine.”

  “Simon,” Josh scoffed.

  “What is the big deal?” Simon had a feeling this wasn’t the last they’d see of Luna. She may be saying goodbye to his dad, but he had a feeling she’d be a part of their lives. The way his father spoke about not leaving everything to him and Josh made Simon wonder what his father might have left to his “good friend” Luna, and how he would get it back.

  Chapter 4

  Luna stared down at Wayne’s pale face. She’d never seen a dead person. She thought he’d look like he was sleeping. Instead, she got the sense he just wasn’t there. His spirit had gone. Whatever it was that had made him the kind, vibrant, fun-loving man she’d known had disappeared with his last breath. The ache in her chest eased, knowing he was in a better place.

  She already missed him. She’d miss their talks, visiting his ranch, the advice he doled out with a touch of humor and a gentle nudge. She had great parents, but Wayne had been like a second father to her.

  She reached out and touched his hand through the sheet that covered him from neck to toes. With a soft squeeze, she silently said her final goodbye. “Soar, my old friend.”

  Head down, she turned for the door but snapped her head up when she spotted a pair of well-worn brown cowboy boots. She met Colt’s hazel eyes, surprised to see the depth of sorrow in them.

  “You knew Wayne better than I thought.” She felt Wayne’s presence, like a soft nudge between her shoulders, pushing her toward Colt.

  “Not really. Not like you.”

  She narrowed her gaze, not liking his meaning at all.

  “Dial down the outrage, honey. I mean I didn’t share a close friendship with him like you did. I’m sorry for your loss.”

  She didn’t expect the regret that he let show was for her. And she did mean he was letting it show, because Colt Kendrick could look at you without an ounce of emotion on his face or in those hazel depths. He’d done so with her for a long time. The talk they’d shared at the diner had changed things between them, but it hadn’t really fixed anything. She didn’t know if they were back to being friends, or if he was just helping out a girl he used to know who was in a bad spot.

  He’d been sweet to ask her boss to let her out of her shift at the diner for the night after what happened. He’d gone above and beyond offering to drive her to the clinic to see if by some miracle Wayne had recovered.

  “I can’t believe he’s gone.”

  “What you said to him was nice.”

  “Something he used to say to me all the time.”

  “He told you to soar.”

  “No. He told me I could. All I had to do was make up my mind and make it happen.”

  Colt cocked his head and studied her. “Yeah, you’ve got that in you. Determination. Guts. Given half a chance and setting your mind to it, you’d get just about anything done. When are you going to start using that special education degree you earned?”

  “How did you . . . Sadie told you, right?”

  “No.”

  She eyed him skeptically. “Very few people know about that.”

  “I guess that makes me one of the lucky few.”

  So, he’d made a point to learn things about her. A flutter of hope rose up in her heart.

  “You worked hard to get it, why aren’t you teaching?”

  “There aren’t a lot of opportunities for full-time positions out here. I do some part-time work at a place in Bozeman on the weekends with children and teens with autism.”

  “How’s your brother doing?”

  “Since Tanner has Asperger’s, he’s living mostly on his own in an apartment two doors down from my parents. They still spend most of their day with him. They’re trying to give him his independence and find him a job.”

  Colt nodded. “He likes repetition, right?”

  “Yes. He can work, so long as he does the same thing all the time. OCD is a major part of his life and mind-set. Routine and structure allow him to have some freedom and independence from my parents, but finding him a job that suits his needs and skill set isn’t easy.”

  “Is he any good with animals?”

  “He loves them. My parents got him a dog when he was young. When everything else in the outside world became too much, that dog calmed him. We lost Burt a couple months back.”

  “You might think of getting him a job at a shelter feeding and grooming the animals. Maybe on a ranch if he’s any good with horses. Even one of the places that has goats and makes those specialty cheeses.”

  “That’s a great idea. I hadn’t thought about that. I suggested a busboy at a restaurant, but too many people. Lots of noise with everyone talking and music playing. He’d be overwhelmed.”

  “If I think of anything else, I’ll let you know when you buy me that beer.”

  That promising statement ignited a warm ache in her heart. Lord knows, she was grateful to have Colt here with her. “I could use a drink right now.”

  “Ready to go?”

  She turned back and stared down at Wayne’s placid face. Even now he looked like a good man. Just like the one standing behind her, distracting her with talk of her family. Something familiar for her to focus on besides her grief.

  “Thank you. I appreciate you bringing me here, using your pull with the doctor to get me in to see him, and sticking around when you could have gone home a long time ago.”

  “First, there’s no other place I need to be. The doc’s a friend of the family, so it wasn’t that hard to ask her a favor. If I’d stuck around the last time you and I had a crazy night, I might have gotten the real story of what happened and saved myself a hell of a lot of time avoiding you.”

  He held out his hand, indicating they should head back out and let Wayne’s family come in to say their goodbyes. Luna wondered if all they wanted to do was pick Wayne’s pockets for every bit of cash they could get their hands on. They really were something.

  Luna walked out ahead of Colt. He stepped up beside her and laid his fingertips lightly on her lower back to guide her past Wayne’s family, the tension so thick it nearly stopped her in her tracks. Colt’s steady pressure on her back helped her ignore the stares and walk out with her head up.

  Let them think whatever they wanted to think. She knew the truth. Friends like Wayne didn’t come along often in one’s life. She’d been blessed to know him.

  Colt walked her to his truck and opened the door.

  She sucked in a startled breath and grabbed the dark brown Stetson off the seat. “I forgot to take this in and give it to his sons.”

  “Keep it. They don’t care about his hat. They want his ranch.”

  “But . . .”

  “If they ask for it, give it back. Otherwise, keep it as a reminder of the man who meant something special to you.”

  “You don’t think they’ll want it?”

  “I doubt they’ll give a single thought about the man’
s hat when they’re busy counting his money.”

  She frowned, climbed into the truck, and set the hat on her lap. He stared at her for a moment, pressed his lips together, thought better about speaking his mind, and closed the door, leaving her wondering what he might have said. He climbed behind the wheel, started the truck, and drove them out of the parking lot and down the road.

  Luna lost herself in the stars and the quiet inside the truck cab. Colt drove with his left elbow propped on the window frame, his thumb hooked under his chin, his fingers pressed to his lips. He stared straight ahead down the dark road out of town.

  “You missed the turnoff for my street.”

  Colt hit the brakes, jarring the truck before he let off the pedal and coasted to a stop. Luckily, no one followed behind them.

  “Sorry. Autopilot.”

  Okay, so he wasn’t in a hurry to get rid of her. That was good, right? Maybe. “You’re tired. Ready to get home. I understand.”

  Colt managed the three-point turn and headed back toward the outskirts of town, where she had a tiny shoebox apartment above Mrs. Carroll’s single-car garage. He took the turn for her street and deftly backed into the driveway in front of Mrs. Carroll’s beloved rattletrap Buick.

  Luna’s apartment stood empty and dark behind it. Another lonely night in her box and short one friend to look forward to seeing next week.

  Colt’s warm fingers touched her cheek. “Hey, where’d you go?”

  She jumped and turned her gaze from the side mirror to Colt’s hazel eyes. The automatic porch light from Mrs. Carroll’s place highlighted the gold mist and brown flecks amidst the spattering of green in his eyes.

  “Sorry. I guess I’m tired, too, though I shouldn’t be. I usually work much later than this.”

  “It’s been an unusual night. You lost your friend. It’s understandable you’re not yourself. I should have taken you back to the diner to get your Jeep.”

  “A good long walk tomorrow will do me good.”

  “It’s across town. I’ll come get you, or maybe Sadie can drive you over when she goes to work.”

  “It’s no big deal, Colt. I got it.”

  Colt relented, pinching back one side of his mouth in a lopsided frown. He opened his door and slipped out.

  “Hey, you don’t have to walk me to the door.”

  He eyed her. “Yes, I do. My granddad would tan my hide if I didn’t.” He shut the door and rounded the hood to come to her side.

  She’d forgotten about the manners. How something as simple as opening a door for her or saying please and thank you made her belly flutter like this. He’d done those things when she’d seen him out with friends or other women. Not going there. She erased the image from her mind. Billy teased about him trying to score points with women, but Colt didn’t need to score points like that. Not with his sun-kissed good looks, sculpted muscles, and tall, lean frame. The gorgeous face and bod were something to behold, but the man knew how to have fun and make you laugh. Under all that was a guy who understood that simple kindnesses went a hell of a lot further in some people’s minds than others.

  Which is why the kiss they’d shared bothered him so much. He thought he’d crossed a line. She thought she’d overstepped, giving in to her need—the same need that resonated beneath her grief and exhaustion even now.

  Colt opened her door and held out his hand to help her down. She took it but didn’t move, except to turn and face him.

  “Are you done avoiding me?”

  “I’m sorry. You’re sorry. At this point, I don’t even know for what.” He squeezed her hand, and tingles shot up her arm.

  “Maybe because we both wanted that kiss and didn’t know what to do when it felt like something more than we intended?”

  Nothing. Not a single glimpse in his eyes or on his face that he felt that way.

  “Or maybe that was all on my part,” Luna added. “Billy is happily married. That’s got to ease your mind.”

  “To Cheryl. They got together about ten minutes after your fight with him at the bar.”

  “Just goes to show that if he really cared about me, he wouldn’t have met and married her so fast.”

  “I heard it was love at first sight.” Colt rolled his eyes.

  She could care less what Billy did and who he did it with. “So, not a romantic.”

  “I’m all for romance, but love isn’t a lightning bolt kind of thing.”

  “I’m not sure Rory and Sadie would agree with you.”

  The muscle in Colt’s square jaw flexed. He pulled her from the truck. She reached back at the last second and grabbed the hat off the seat. Colt stole it from her grasp and dropped it on her head.

  “It suits you.”

  “Hardly. It’s more your style.” More rocker chick than cowgirl, she took the hat from her head, shook out her shaggy hair and bangs, and followed Colt to the stairs leading up to her apartment.

  “Those bangs drive me crazy.”

  The odd admission made her smirk. “Why?”

  “The black makes your eyes even bluer. The contrast drives me to distraction, but the way you sweep your finger along your brow to draw the hair back always gets to me.”

  She stared at his back as he walked up the stairs.

  “Come on, Luna. You’re almost home.”

  She shook herself out of her thoughts and staring at Colt’s fine ass, snug in his Levi’s, and hustled up the stairs behind him. He waited on the landing and held out his hand for the keys she dug out of her purse.

  “You should leave the light on up here for when you come home late.”

  “I would if it worked.”

  “What’s wrong with it?”

  “Don’t know. I put in a new bulb the last time it went out, but I think something broke, because it doesn’t work anymore.”

  “How long ago was that?”

  “Spring before last.”

  His mouth dipped into another dark frown. “Why don’t you ask your landlord to fix it?”

  “I have. Many times. But she’s older and not inclined to make improvements.”

  “This is a safety issue, not an improvement.”

  “I’m young. I can see in the dark. Or so she tells me all the time.”

  Colt swore under his breath and pushed her door open. He reached in and flipped the switch, turning on the light in her living space.

  “Holy wow!”

  Luna laughed. “Holy wow. Really?”

  “I don’t know what else to say. This place is . . . not what I expected.”

  “It’s the size of a closet, but it’s home.”

  “No. It’s like something out of a magazine.”

  Luna stood next to him in the doorway and stared in at her tiny place. The distressed whitewashed boards that she’d salvaged from her parents’ old, run-down barn days before they sold the place to get the money to care for her brother covered the drywall the last tenant used as a punching bag, poking multiple holes in every wall. Her locker-size bathroom sat tucked in the corner at the left side, her collection of silver framed mirrors covering the door in all kinds of sizes and shapes. Her tiny kitchen sat beside it, with Formica countertops she’d resurfaced in a soft sand color, thanks to a kit from the hardware store. A short floating counter separated the kitchen from the rest of the living space, where she had her futon/bed, golden oak coffee table, TV stand, and an overstuffed tan chair. A gorgeous and bright turquoise rug anchored the living space and covered most of the scarred wood floor. She couldn’t do anything about the ugly white/gold marbled linoleum in the kitchen and bathroom, but the rest of the place was clean and bright, just the way she liked it.

  “That photograph above the sofa is gorgeous.”

  “Thanks. I took that last year. Cost a fortune to get it enlarged like that, but I love the scale of it on the wall. Makes it seem like a huge picture window.”

  “I bet when it’s snowing outside you look at that mountain covered in green grass and trees and wish for spring.�
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  “I’ve tried to make this whole place feel like spring.”

  “Right down to the wildflowers in the vase on the coffee table.”

  “If you pick them yourself, they don’t cost anything.”

  “Is that a picture of you and Wayne?” Colt cocked his head to the mantel shelf she’d hung below the front window with pictures of her family and friends in eclectic silver and black frames.

  In the photo, she sat on Wayne’s lap, her arms wrapped around his neck, his arms wrapped around her middle, lips pressed to her cheek as she smiled, facing the camera. Even now, she smiled softly despite her eyes glassing over, fondly remembering that special day. “My birthday last year. He came to the restaurant and brought me that pretty cake.” The candle flames burned bright amidst the pretty pink roses decorating the top. “Raspberry filled vanilla cake with white chocolate frosting.”

  “What did he buy you for your birthday?”

  She tilted her head and eyed him, wondering if he believed the rumors, if just a little bit. “A box of my favorite milk-chocolate-covered almond butter toffee from this specialty candy maker. You can’t get it here. You have to order it.”

  “Nice. Thoughtful.”

  That’s it. Nothing more.

  “I like your place. You’ve taken living small to a whole new level. I like the boots on the shelf over the TV.”

  “A girl’s gotta have her shoes.” The rest were in the oversize wardrobe next to the window, along with her clothes.

  “You might be the only girl I’ve ever met with this few possessions.”

  “I have what I need.”

  She finally stepped into her home and turned to Colt. “Coming in?”

  “No. Dropping you off. Will you be okay here by yourself tonight?”

  She thought of the long night they’d had and all that happened, which brought the sadness she tried to keep tucked away floating to the surface again. “I’ll be okay. You were amazing tonight, jumping in to help me.”

  “I wish it turned out better.”

  She dropped the hat and her purse on the table beside the door where she kept her keys and mail. She propped her shoulder against the opposite side of the door frame, facing Colt on the other side. “I appreciate the effort and you sticking around to look after me.”