Chapter Nine
Still grinning from Maggie’s unexpected invitation, Colton pulled his truck into the driveway of the ranch. He had lived here his whole life and couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. Less than ten minutes outside of town, the property had over fifty acres that included a small creek and a few riding trails. Pure heaven.
Stepping out of the truck, he shut the door and headed toward the house. He could already smell the coffee, eggs, and bacon. The morning chores would be done and everyone was sitting down to breakfast. That was the way it worked on a ranch. Chores first, food second.
Inside, he hung his jacket up on the coat rack and made his way to the kitchen. Sure enough, everyone was sitting around the large, wooden table chowing down. Standing at the coffee pot refilling a cup, his brother glanced up when he entered the room.
“Hey, Colt. How was the cabin?”
“Great.” Work on a ranch never ended, but he and Dade made sure to take a few days here and there to recharge their batteries while the other stayed behind to keep an eye on things. “Anything happen while I was gone?”
“Molly’s nose is leaking snot like a drippy faucet. I think she had a cold,” grumbled Juan Ortiz, their ranch foreman and right hand man of three years.
“I called Doc Billings. He said he’d come by later today.”
Billings was the only vet in a fifty-mile radius. In horse and cow country, that made him a very busy man.
“We should move her to the empty paddock in back. If she’s sick, we don’t want the others catching it.”
Dade nodded. “Already done. You eat yet?”
He shook his head. His brother motioned for him to sit, already fixing up a plate for him. Only two years older, Dade had always taken his role as big brother very seriously.
Juan and the other hands finished their meals and headed back out to tend to the horses.
“So, anything interesting happen this weekend?”
A plate piled high with eggs, bacon, and toast was set in front of him. He glanced up to see a knowing gleam in his brother’s eyes. Though Dade had darker hair than him, their eyes were the same, clear blue. That blue was now staring a hole in Colton.
Shoveling a forkful of eggs into his mouth, he shook his head and stayed silent.
“I hear you dropped Maggie Evans off at her place this morning.”
What the hell? “Who told you that?”
“Carl when he dropped off the feed delivery.”
Nosy, small town busybodies. He wasn’t all that surprised; nothing in Peak Town stayed secret for long. He was surprised at how fast it had gotten out, though. It had only been twenty minutes ago that he dropped her off.
“Yeah. So?”
The elder Denning crossed his arms, waiting. His brother had that intimidating stare down to a tee. Too bad it didn’t work on him.
“Spill it, Colt.”
“Fine, but it’s not really that big a deal.”
He told his brother about finding Maggie passed out in the snow. Glossing over the methods he used to keep her warm, he gave a brief summary of their time together. Making food, playing cards, watching a movie. He explained about the flat, which was why she had been out in the storm in the first place.
“Which reminds me,” he said, taking a sip of his coffee. “I need to call to Pete and have him go up to get her car.”
“What the hell was she thinking going out in that storm?”
He shrugged, pushing his empty plate away. “She’s not used to them. Thought she could make it back to her grandmother’s cabin, I guess.”
Dade huffed. “It’s a good thing you found her.”
He nodded in agreement. It still scared the shit out of him remembering how lifeless she had looked when he first found her. He never wanted to see her that way again.
Standing, he grabbed his plate and mug and took them to the sink. “I’m going over to her place tonight for dinner.”
His brother was silent, but out of the corner of his eye he could see broad shoulders tense up.
“What?”
Dade rubbed a hand over his jaw, taking his time before speaking. His brother was never one to rush, analytical to the point of annoying. While Colton was always go-go-go, Dade took his time to examine things from every possible angle. They balanced each other out, which made for a great business partnership, just didn’t always translate well to sibling harmony.
“You sure you know what you’re doing?”
“What does that mean?”
“Maggie’s a special girl.”
He knew that. They’d been close friends as children, closer than her and his annoying older brother.
He gripped the counter behind him tightly. “What are you getting at, Dade?”
“Maggie’s always had a crush on you. Some childhood hero worship thing. Don’t start anything unless you’re serious about it. She’s not the kind of girl you screw around with.”
Since when did he screw around with people? Sure, he was a bit of a flirt, but that was just being fun and friendly. Something his brother knew little about. He’d overheard more than one female accuse Dade of being cold and distant. His brother preferred the term “stoic.” Colton called him a stick in the mud. Not to his face, of course.
“What’s going on with me and Maggie is between us.”
“I just don’t want her hurt.”
He knew his brother was just speaking out of concern. He saw Maggie as a little sister, always had. Until recently, Colton did, too. Now his feelings toward Maggie were…confusing.
“I’m not going to hurt her.”
His big brother sighed. “You may not mean to, but if you go into this and you’re not as serious as she is, things could get ugly.”
The problem was, he had no idea how serious she was…or he was for that matter. They hadn’t talked about anything. For all he knew, this was just a sociable dinner from one friend to thank another.
Just because he wanted it to be more didn’t mean it would be.
“It’s just dinner. She’s thanking me for helping her out this weekend. One friend to another.”
Identical blue eyes studied him.
“But you want it to be more?”
Damn, his sibling could read him like a book. He remained silent. Letting Mr. Busybody come to his own conclusions. Truthfully, Colton had no idea what he wanted at the moment. He just knew he enjoyed being with Maggie and felt something for her, something more than the friendship they shared in their childhood. Was he feeling something serious? Something long term? He had no idea, but he at least wanted the chance to find out.
“Just be careful,” Dade finally said. “There’s no turning back once you head down this road. I don’t want either of you hurt.”
“Ya big ol’ softie.” He punched his brother in the shoulder.
Dade shoved him back. With the conversation over, for the moment, he grabbed his hat from the rack by the kitchen door and headed out to check on Molly.
Right now, he had work to do. There would be plenty of time to think about what he wanted from Maggie later.