Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 28678 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 143(@200wpm)___ 115(@250wpm)___ 96(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 28678 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 143(@200wpm)___ 115(@250wpm)___ 96(@300wpm)
Colt follows me, watching from the doorway.
I touch one of the photos, wishing that I could reach back in time and help this soldier. He looks so sad in this one, like the grief of a thousand generations is weighing on him. Was it something he saw or did overseas that put this cloud over him?
Is that why he’s so gruff and quiet now? Is he wrestling demons I can’t see? And if he is, can I help him somehow? Is there a way I could ease his pain, even if only for a moment?
He clears his throat, and I jerk my hand back. My fingertips are hot, like I’ve just touched a stove burner that’s been left on. “Let me show you to your room.”
I follow behind him and work to keep my own voice casual as I say, “Maybe we could work out a situation with room and board.”
He stops so abruptly that I nearly plow into him. Fortunately, I manage to catch myself although I’m not so sure that I would mind being plastered against his body. I’m dying to know if he’s as hard and as firm as he looks.
He turns to me, his scowl deepening. “You should only need to be here a few days for your project.”
“Right, my project.” I nod along like I didn’t forget my cover story already.
He raises his brows again, the same way he did when he opened the truck door. I think it’s his way of challenging me. “Unless you lied and there was something you wanted to tell me.”
4
SIERRA
“Unless you lied and there was something you wanted to tell me.” He waits, giving me a chance to speak.
This is it. This is my big opportunity to come clean and tell Colt exactly what’s going on. He could call Albert. He could have you back to him by nightfall.
Shaking my head, I lean around him to peer at the room. I try to ignore the spicy notes of his cologne as I do. How is it he spends his days working on his farm and he still smells so good?
The room has a full bed in it with a sheet on top and nothing else. There are no furnishings, no dresser, or bookcase. Sparse would be a compliment to the space, but I don’t need fancy. I just need a way to survive.
“I like the minimalist vibe you’re going for,” I tell him and drop my bag on the hardwood floor. I sit on the mattress and bounce on it. It’s not the most comfortable
He opens his mouth then closes it. Finally, after a long moment he says, “I’ve got shit to do on the farm.”
Just like that he stomps from the house, and I listen to the sound of the screen door banging closed. I let out a breath and glance around the bare room. There are no pictures anywhere in this house other than the few from his military days on the fridge.
It seems strange to me. If I had a place that was this pretty, I’d want to decorate it with things that were important to me and memories that mattered.
Colt didn’t leave me any instructions before he left. In fact, I’m not entirely sure why he left me alone. But now that he’s gone, I figure it can’t hurt to take a shower and clean myself up. I remember spotting a laundry room off the side of the kitchen, so I put in a load of wash before I move to the bathroom next to my temporary bedroom.
I take a long, luxurious shower. This isn’t like the crappy one back home with the showerhead that barely sputters out water and the water heater that often won’t produce anything even close to lukewarm.
The only downside is that Colt doesn’t have much more than shampoo and body wash. I smell like him by the time I finally leave, and I feel human again for the first time in days.
When I’m done, I check the bathroom but there are still no signs of anything feminine. Even if the man lives alone, you’d think there would be the occasional fling. Still, I find nothing and for some strange reason, that comforts me.
By the time that Colt finally comes back in the house, it’s early in the evening. I’ve cleaned his place from top to bottom, a process that took me a few hours. Cleaning helps calm me and keeps my anxiety from spiraling out of control. Or at least it did.
Now that Colt is back here, I’m filled with a million doubts and questions. I wish I knew more about his friendship with my dad.
They both grew up here in Courage County and they both signed up for the service together. I don’t know how they came to be Army Rangers or even the details of much of what they did. All I’ve managed to cobble together is that they served in the Middle East.