I sprinted toward my truck before my brain caught up with my legs.
My heart hammered against my ribs as I yanked open the back door to scan every goddamn inch.
Seats—clear. Floor—empty. Headrest pockets—nothing. Not a single trace of the three little hurricanes who usually destroyed this vehicle daily.
No trace of the three children I was desperate to hide.
Relief hit so hard my knees almost buckled and I gripped the door frame, trying to steady my breathing.
"Jesus, firecracker. You look like you're searching for a bomb."
Kameron's laugh made me spin around. He stood right behind me and I forced my traitorous mind not to stare at the way his work shirt stretched across his chest.
"I wasn't snooping," he said, but his grin suggested otherwise. "Though I gotta ask—you really still driving this tetanus trap? Thing looks like it'll die if you sneeze too hard."
"It runs fine."
"It wheezes." He walked around the truck, shaking his head at every dent and rust spot. "I'll find you something that won't break down in the middle of calving season. Maybe that new Ford they've got at the dealership in—"
I slammed the back door harder than necessary, needing the sharp sound to cut through the tension. "I don't need your charity."
Kameron stepped closer instead of backing off. His eyes looked at me with such intensity that warmth spread treacherously in my lower abdomen.
"It's not charity. Your work matters around here. You're the best vet for thirty miles, and if your truck dies while you're trying to save someone's prize mare, that's a problem for everyone. You deserve a reliable vehicle."
He stepped even closer, close enough that I could see the faint scar above his left eyebrow, the one he'd gotten breaking horses at seventeen.
"Just let me take care of you. Like I should have six years ago."
My breath caught, but his phone rang before I could respond. He glanced at the screen, cursing under his breath, and stepped away to answer it.
I didn't wait to hear the conversation and turned away from my truck, ready to escape while I had the chance.
"Ivory." Colt's voice cut across the yard. He stood near the cottage porch, arms crossed over his broad chest. “We need to talk. In the office. Now."
"I have rounds to make." I gestured vaguely toward the pastures. "And I promised Stella I'd—"
"It wasn't a request."
The command in his voice sent an unwanted shiver down my spine. This wasn't the calm and controlled Colt from yesterday's meeting. This was something else entirely.
I followed him inside, hyperaware of everything—the way he moved with predatory grace, how his shoulders filled the doorway. The way he smelled like soap and hay and something uniquely Colt that made my skin feel too tight.
The office felt smaller with him in it. When he closed the door and positioned himself between me and escape, my heart rate tripled.
"I've been asking around." His voice was deceptively calm, but I could see the tension in his shoulders. "Getting to know the staff, reconnecting with the town. Learning what's changed since I left."
"That's thorough of you," I said, crossing my arms at my chest.
He moved closer, and I had to fight not to step back. Standing my ground meant breathing him in, and it still did something to me.
"Mrs. Patterson mentioned something interesting." Another step closer. "Almost everyone seems to know you have children. Three of them. Triplets."
The words stole my breath. My skin felt electric, every nerve ending aware of his proximity, but I kept my face neutral, my hands steady at my sides.
"My personal life isn't—"
"Who's their father?"
The question came out rough, almost pained. His hands flexed at his sides—that tell that meant he was fighting for control. The muscle in his jaw jumped, and I found myself staring at his mouth, suddenly realizing I still know how they felt.
So Kameron really already knew about them too.
That's why he's been dancing around, playing with me and watching my reaction. Jerk.
I stayed silent, yet couldn’t help but shallow breathing and my gaze tracking over his face, feeling my flushed cheeks.
"Are you married?" Each word seemed torn from him. He moved closer still, and now I was trapped between him and the desk. "Divorced? Was it someone from town? Someone I might know?"
Each question tightened the noose around my throat.
I forced myself to breathe. Forced myself to meet his eyes without flinching. "You lost the right to those answers the day you left."
Something cracked in his composure and the dam broke. Colt moved so close that I had to tilt my head back to meet his eyes, that I could feel his breath on my face as his voice dropped low.
"I left because I wanted you, Ivory. Back then, in high school. Do you know what kind of hell that was? Watching you every day, burning for you and hating myself for it?"
His confession made heat flood through me.
The raw honesty in his voice, the way his whole body seemed to vibrate with restraint—it was intoxicating.
"You were younger than me. Sixteen when I started working here. Ryan's little sister. And I knew—" He stopped, jaw tight. "I knew you were in love with Kam. Every time he walked into a room, your whole face changed… So I kept my distance. Told myself it was the right thing to do."
The air between us grew thick and I could barely breathe.
"That night at the harvest festival, I thought maybe I'd finally have my chance. That maybe you saw me the way I'd always seen you."
His eyes burned into mine.
"And then I woke up and realized I'd shared you.” His hands gripped the desk on either side of me, caging me without touching. “That whatever we had, Kameron had it too."
"So you just left?"
"I couldn't stay.” He leaned in, and I gasped as his breath ghosted across my neck. Still not touching, but so close I could feel the electricity between us. “Couldn't watch you choose him. Couldn't—"
He stopped again, swallowing hard as if forcing himself to push forward.
"Just tell me," he whispered, and I felt the words against my skin like a caress. "Tell me who got what should have been mine. Who got to see you pregnant with his children. Who got to hold you while you slept."
"Nothing was yours," I managed, though my voice shook and I hated how my body screamed for contact.
"Liar." He pulled back just enough to look at me, and the raw hunger in his eyes made me grip the desk for support. "One night with you ruined me for anyone else. Do you know how many times I've replayed it?”
His gaze dropped to my mouth, watching as I unconsciously licked my lips.
The tension between us was unbearable. Every cell in my body wanted to close the distance, to taste him again, to let him prove every promise his eyes were making.
But I can’t let it happen. Not after all these years. Not after they left me.
My old complicated feelings don't matter.
My traitorous body’s reaction which still remembers them doesn't matter.
I need to stay away from them.
"How old are they?" Colt went still. His eyes narrowed, calculating something behind that controlled mask. "Your triplets. When were they born?"
I didn't answer. Couldn't answer as something snapped inside me.
I shoved him at chest and stepped forward until we were nearly chest to chest. My voice came out cold and sharp as a blade.
"You don't get to disappear for six years without a single word and then come back asking questions about my life. My children are mine. They have nothing to do with you or Kameron or anyone else.”
The lie tasted bitter on my tongue, but I kept going.
"You both meant nothing to me. One stupid, drunken night that I've spent years regretting. So whatever you're calculating in that head of yours, stop. Stop right now."
I held his gaze without flinching.
"There is only business between us. Nothing else. Nothing else can ever be. Do you understand me?"
Colt watched me for a long moment. Something dangerous flickered behind his eyes.
He didn't argue. Didn't defend himself. Didn't try to press harder. Just tilted his head slightly, a ghost of a smile playing at the corner of his mouth. "We'll see about that."