Searching for the right words, his cell phone rang in his pocket which ripped the tension right out of the moment and left him annoyed.
He dug for the phone and answered it, “Hello?”
Abigail rolled her eyes and slumped back in the seat, looking out the window.
Alma's voice crackled over his beat up flip-phone, “Colten, sorry to call.”
He paused, “That's alright, Alma, is something wrong?”
“Well, I don't have a lot of experience with these things, but I believe that horse of yours in labour.”
Colten's eyes flew open, “Is she having the foal?”
Abigail turned to him in her seat, “Honey had her foal!”
Alma continued as he listened, “No. But she's been in the barn all night and I went out to see why I hadn't seen her all evening and I'd say that baby is going be here soon.”
“I'm coming. I'll be there as fast as I can.” He hung up the phone and glanced at Abigail, “Honey's in labour.”
Abigail's eyes were bright with excitement.
“No baby yet?”
“No.” He put his foot on the break and pushed the truck into drive, “Umm... I can drive you home...”
Abigail huffed, “Colten, go!”
“Yeah, right.” He drove forward, finding his way out of the crowded rodeo grounds and back onto the highway.
“Are you going to call a vet?”
“Honey's foals are always strong.”
“So, no vet?”
“Unless it's necessary. I think she'll be okay.”
Abigail took a breathe, “Are you sure?”
He glanced to her, “I don't really have the extra money to just have a vet come out for a healthy foal.”
She nodded and looked out in front of her at the dark road, “My parent's have their vet... they could call her?”
“She'll be fine.”
Abigail nodded, “Sorry, it all just makes me nervous. We've never bred horses.”
“You're nervous about a horse?” He smiled, “What will you be like when you're in labour one day?”
She paused and looked to him and he instantly regretted his words. He kept his eyes forward and avoided eye contact with her further.
She sighed, “I hope I'll be a good mother one day.”
“I'm sure you will, Abi.” His heart broke and before he could try to make her feel better, his mouth poured open again, “Sarah's not my girlfriend. I never asked her out. She just sort of attached herself to me and... Well, I feel real bad for her kids.” He glanced at her and hoped his honesty would work but his words had been so fast and abrupt he wasn't sure if she had caught any of what he'd said.
Abigail looked to him, “Umm...”
With his eyes back on the road, he didn't let her continue, “I didn't mean to upset you.”
“I know. Don't worry about it. It was all just a dumb night anyway.”
He sped the truck up a bit, annoyed with himself and how he'd handled the situation. However, the angry side was his wolf, telling him how idiotic he'd been with his mate and potentially messing it all up.
Abigail reached to him and put her hand on his forearm, “Are you okay?”
He laid off the gas and realizing how tense he'd become from fighting his other side. That side didn't care much about his horse or that she was human.
“You're strong.” She dropped her hand along him.
He swallowed, “All the ranch work.”
She squeezed his tense muscle.
“I can take you home.” He cringed, trying not to push the truck into park and jump her right there.
Her eyes softened, “Don't you want help with Honey?” She sounded hopeful and it bothered him.
His mouth opened but nothing came out.
“Or Ella. I can help with Ella. I have nothing to do.” She offered.
He wallowed in his own self-pity and looked to her but still said nothing.
Abigail lifted the corner of her mouth in a smirk, “Colten?” His mute-ness starting to amuse her.
He grunted and looked back to the road, “It's a bit late.”
“Colten.” She breathed, “Let me help you. If I did something wrong, I'm sorry. We can forget about what I said at the trailer, it's not worth it to lose...”
He let out the most desperate breath of air.
“I'm sorry.” She breathed again at him.
He shook his head, “You have nothing to be sorry for.”
She shrugged, “I sort of ruined the whole night.”
He looked back to the road, he wouldn't go straight to that. In fact, she had helped him. Helped him realize how much of pussy he was.
“You didn't ruin anything, Abi. I'm a large idiot.” He said in annoyance.
Abigail let out a laugh and stared at him, “What?”
“Oh, yeah...” He nodded, “Sarah and I started off as friends, her husband was a good friend of mine, I felt generally bad for her and the kids. Then one night we were drinking and, ” He swallowed, not really wanting to admit the next part, “Things sort of took off from there. It's lonely. I know, I sound like a pig.”
Abigail laughed, “You don't sound like a pig. You just sound like a guy that always cares too much about everyone else and did something that likely made you feel a bit happy. I understand losing Savannah would have been horrible. I don't see what you were doing with Sarah as a pig-like behaviour. You're friend Peter on the other hand.” She chuckled.
Colten sighed with relief, her words were nice on him, easing his general paranoia and proving that Abigail Redding was easy to forgive and still nurturing. Everything he needed, he was starting to see in her more and more.
She leaned forward and turned the radio up, a catchy over-played country song filled the speakers, “Oh my god, I love this song! Is that totally uncool of me?”
He glanced at her as she started to sing along and looked back to the road, smirking. He was screwed, guilty and in love with her but happy she had broke the moment the way she had.
Colten stopped the truck around the side of the barn and jumped the hitch at the back of vehicle as Abigail met him.
“I'm just going to go check Honey. I can help unload Mocha after, we can put her in the front pen.”
She followed him towards the barn and he pushed open the doors, heading inside to find Honey standing, huffing away and appearing uncomfortable.
“Oh, definitely in labour!” Abigail beamed, “This is exciting!”
He opened the stall door and stepped inside. The mare looked to be doing quite well. He wanted to give her space so he exited and closed the stall door back up, “She's got to be close to birthing now.”
“Yes.” Abigail nodded.
He looked to the blonde and stopped, she was fairly close him as she smiled.
“Let's unload Mocha.” He took leave of the closeness and walked back out towards his truck and trailer.
He was quick to unlock the back doors and walked on to untie the mare. She snorted and huffed at him and he rolled his eyes at her.
“Calm yourself, you hot mare.” Leading her off the trailer to where Abigail waited.
She swung the gate of the pen open and he unbuckled the halter, letting the horse loose.
“I'll throw her some hay.” He walked back to the barn doors.
“I really need to use the washroom.”
He paused his step, “Yep, it's just down the hall near the front door.”
“Thanks.” She nodded, heading towards the old house with soft glowing lights.
He watched her walk, the sway in her hips, her scent lingering on his senses. He leaned forward off the fencing towards her, like a magnet pulling him along.
He swallowed and turned back to the barn. The hay feeding was mindless and simple, he was far too used to it. It kept him in thought though, causing him to miss the memo of Abigail behind him.
She tapped his shoulder and he swung around.
“Alma has coffee made. She told me to tell you.”
Colten smiled, “I have a bit of a coffee addiction.”
Abigail laughed, “Oh dear, we have something else in common other than our love of four legged hay burners.”
He nodded, “Worth every penny.”
“Of course.” Abigail smiled as she walked past him, “I want her to have the baby soon!”
He followed her like a puppy as she looked in at the mare.
She tilted her head into the stall and smiled, his sights set on where he'd mark her.
One day.
Hopefully.
Likely never with his luck.
“Colten?”
He forced his eyes up from her exposed waist and hips, where is desperate eyes had fallen.
“Yeah?”
“Are you okay?” She asked.
He looked back down to her waist and swallowed, his head started to fuzz and he was overwhelmed with every single non-human part of his body.
She put her hand on his bicep but he stepped back from her, about to lose all his cool.
“Want to come in the house?” Attempting to get himself out of the situation so he could calm down.
She shrugged, “What about Honey?”
He looked in at the mare, “I'll come out and check on her every fifteen minutes, better to leave her and let her foal. I don't like to invade them, feel it stresses them out.”
Abigail smiled.
He stopped and looked to her, meeting her soft blue eyes. The way she looked at him didn't seem to help at all. He turned and left the barn again with the same desperation.
“I start at the Diner this Monday.” She informed him.
He wrinkled his nose at the thought of her working at the dingy place where all could stare at his mate, “That's exciting.”
Abigail laughed abruptly, “Colten, you are so poor at lying!”
His eyes snapped to her, she was very right, “Yeah, I am.”
“I'll be fine. I'm excited to have a job, not be in school.”
He pushed the screen door open and they walked into the kitchen, “Yeah... can't you work horses or something?”
She smiled, “It's just for the summer. I'm already enrolled next year of college, my parent's want me to finish the degree. It is what it is, I guess.”
Colten's heart pinged, “So, you are going back to school?” It could mean forever losing her and he was starting to see that.
She smiled, “I'd rather avoid the wasting my life lecture from my father.”
He nodded, “Probably a decent idea.”
She looked around the kitchen. It was dimly lit with the old lights but still charmingly rustic.
“This used to be your dad's house right?”
Colten slipped off his boots and sat to the kitchen table, “Yeah, they bought it before I was born. My father left it to me.” Along with Fornone, but that a whole other conversation.
“So, both your parents are gone?”
He looked to her as she sat across from him, he really hated talking about his family but he would for her, “My mother died when I was seven, my father died six years ago.”
“So, right before I moved here?”
“Yeah, I was twenty-two.” He rubbed a hand through his hair.
“It was just you and Savannah?” She tried to piece his life together.
His face saddened and now he really didn't want to talk about it further, “We stayed in the house together, but she was four years younger so I sort of just took care of her.”
Abigail took a dept breath, “You take care of a lot of people, Colten but no one takes care of you.”
He stared at her, she was right but he'd always accepted that as part of his life.
Alma walked into the kitchen, “Good evening!”
“Evening, Alma.” Colten looked up to her, “How was Ella today?”
“Oh, a little cranky actually. More teeth cutting, I'm afraid.” The older nanny walked to the counter, “No coffee, Colten?”
“Oh, right.” He went to get up but Abigail interrupted him.
“I'll get it.” She smiled and walked to Alma.
“How's Honey?”
“Umm...” Colten pulled his eyes off Abigail's tight jeans as she reached to get coffee mugs from the top shelf. Successfully completing the challenge, she poured them all a cup of coffee as Alma fetched milk.
“Shouldn't be too much longer.”
Abigail put a cup down in front of him, “I think, we'll be up all night.”
Colten glanced at her as she sat and sipped her coffee. Noticing him watching her, she smiled at him, almost like there was more to that sentence then what she was saying aloud.
Alma sat across from them and nodded, “Just worried me is all. I know how much you love the mare. I didn't mean to cut the evening short.”
“It's fine.” He assured her, “It was likely all for the better.”
Abigail giggled, “Oh, definitely!”
Alma smiled and looked between them, even the nanny seemed on to him. He cleared his throat and felt his skin heat and sweat. It was instantaneous and a nervous reaction he often dealt with.
Alma finished her coffee, “I need to finish sweeping the porch. I noticed how bad it was earlier, Colten.”
Colten smiled, “I don't know, I thought it looked pretty decent.”
Alma looked Abigail, “Men. They need us. Him in particular.”
Colten cleared his throat, knowing where Alma was going with her speech, “Just forget the porch Alma, I'll do it later on.”
The nanny laughed, “I'll be out on the porch.” She put her cup in the sink before heading back out of the kitchen.
Colten and Abigail looked to each other, sipping of his coffee, hoping his sweating would lay off.
“She seems nice.” Abigail said.
“Keyword seems.” He joked and Abigail giggled. He continued, “She is though and Ella likes her.”
Nodding, she looked down at her cup, “Is Ella quite attached?”
He sighed, “I feel bad. I'm not home all that much. I try to pay bills and then, I end up working sixteen hour days because of it. She's usually asleep by the time I get home.”
Abigail nodded, “That is too bad but I'm sure she'll still appreciate all you've done for her later in life.”
Colten sighed and glanced to the clock on the wall, “I'll go check Honey. You can watch TV in the front room or, just let me know when you want to go home.”
“I'd really like to stay and see the baby but I understand either way.”
He paused, “I'm going to be honest here, Abi, I don't think your parent's would be all that happy if I kept you out this late.”
Abigail smiled, “Colten, I told you, I'm nineteen. I can do what I want.”
“They employ me.”
“Okay, take me home.” Her voice a swift chime of annoyance. She stood and took her cup to the sink, “If it's what, you want to do.”
He dropped his chin and stared at her through the dim light, then walked towards her, “I don't mean to sound rude.”
She cocked an eyebrow, “You're afraid of making people upset and I get it.”
He sighed and looked away from her, “I-”
Alma walked into the kitchen breaking the moment, “Colten, I'm sorry, I need to leave. My mother's in the hospital, they just called me. They doubt she'll pull through this time.”
“Oh.” He stammered, “Sure, of course.”
“Thank you. Nice to meet you, Abigail. Have a good night.” She bustled off and it left him drained of speech.
Abigail looked to him, “Is Alma going to be alright?”
Colten got himself together and out of his thoughts, “Yeah, it's been sort of a long time coming actually.” He felt the burning creeping him, forced alone with Abigail.
“Ah.” She fell silent again.
He stared at her and she'd yet to really look at him but he took the silent time to study her and he wanted her.
“If you'd like me to go home, I'll call my father.”
His eyes snapped to her, “I don't want you to go anywhere. Abigail, I'm being a royal idiot right now.”
She blinked, “What?”
He put his hand to his flat hair, “Abigail, I said all the wrong things earlier tonight. Okay, I was... trying to break up with Sarah but then I couldn't do it, cause I'm a mute idiot!”
“Why were you trying to break up with Sarah?” She breathed, stunned to be having the conversation with him.
He looked away, “Because,” his eyes came back to her, “I... Well, I think you're an amazing woman and I want everything to do with you and only you.”
Abigail's eyes widened and a smile smile crept her mouth as she her bottom lip to stop it.
His skin burned and he fought the wolf-side telling him to take her.
“Colten,” She breathed his name, “You like me?”
He looked away, processing what he was saying to her, “I think, I more than like you, Abi.”
She took in a sharp breath and walked towards him, “What's that mean?”
He swallowed and met her eyes, his mute-idiocy hit him again but as she put her hand to his stubbled cheek, he broke.
Licking his bottom lip, he dropped his mouth to hers and very slowly, advanced himself into a kiss.
She let out a tiny moan and bit into his lips, pressing herself tight against him. Hungry and rushed, her mouth opened and her taste satisfied.
After five years of dreaming, lusting and holding himself back from taking the young girl he felt instant relief by just kissing her.
He titled his head, so the kiss could deepen. His hands came to her waist and ran along her shirt to her lower back, pulling her in.
She shivered, filling his wolf senses with a drug like effect.
He growled and sunk his mouth deeper on her, dipping his tongue against hers to taste.
She was very compliant, submissive, willing.
He drew back and looked down at her as she opened her eyes, blinking several times before adjusting her eyes on him.
She smiled, her cheeks red with hormones.
He kissed her cheek, his mouth falling to her ear, biting at her earlobe, “Abigail.”
Her palms gripped his shirt from behind and her eyes shut again as she purred.
He buried his face in her lovely blonde hair and enjoyed his mate for the first time in his life.
“Are you going to check Honey?” Her voice broke over the wolf-side of him.
He opened his eyes and drew back, dropping his chin, “The mare?”
Abigail laughed, “Colten!”
He tried to shake the one-mindedness, “I'll be right back.”
She nodded, waiting for him to walk away.
He hesitated.
“Colten?” She smirked.
He stepped towards her and kissed her once more, wrapping his arm around her waist and pushing her against the countertops.
She let out a laugh between their lips, “Colten, go check the horse.”
He dropped his mouth from her, “Yeah.” He walked to his worn out boots and slipped them on before he walked to the backdoor. But he couldn't help but turn back around and look at her one last time.
Her smirk held, “Colt.”
He groaned and left the kitchen, walking as quick as he could across to the barn. He put his hands to his face and mangled his fingers over his forehead.
In the barn, he walked to the stall to see the horse already birthing the foal, “Oh, damn!” He ran back to the house, “Abi!” Bursting in the back door but the kitchen was empty. His eyes moved to the hallway as her hormones took his senses and he followed them down the hall.
Tripping up the stairs, his ability to balance failed him. In the midst, he tried to be quiet but his heart raced and he had little cares, other than falling at her feet as result of his incapacity to deal with his wolf need.
“Abi?” He looked around, sniffing the air and not being too conspicuous with it.
“Here.” Her soft voice broke the silence.
He twisted around to where she stood in the doorway of his bedroom. Sultry and goddess looking, his brow perked at the adjusted fit of her shirt to expose more of herself. He moved towards her, almost tripping twice. She met him in the middle though, kissing him.
His hands wrapped around her lean thighs and lifted her off the ground around his waist. Trying to speak in between the kissing, “Horse...” But the thought he quickly forgot.
She grabbed fistfuls of his hair, she kissed him, not hearing the start of his sentence.
He put her down in the middle of his room, closing the bedroom door. When he turned back, she had stripped her shirt.
“Jeez.” He breathed, looking over the beauty that stood in front of him. All lean muscle, tight abdomen and perfect lines, his mouth watered, now sure he had died and heaven was being overly generous.
She bit her bottom lip and held back her budding smirk.
He walked up to her, ducking his mouth to her ear and nuzzling her. Savouring her was first priority.
Her eyes fluttered shut from his kissing, “Mmm.”
Then it was done, any of his self control had vanished, lying her to the bed as she gripped his shirt, causing him to sink down around her.
She smiled but it broke, almost like she'd been hit with the reality brick, “Wait, how's Honey?”
His eyes flashed open, adjusting himself above her, “Oh, she's having the foal.”
Abigail tried to sit up, “Oh my gosh! Colten!”
He ripped himself off his beautiful mate and walked across his room.
“You forgot?” She stumbled and grabbed her shirt from the ground.
He put his hands on his hips and let her dress, “Yes.” He winced.
“Colten.”
He sighed, watching her, “You're just so pretty.”
Abigail laughed and pushed him from the room. His wolf didn't care about the mare giving birth and that the foal would almost pay for the rest of his truck.
He let her walk him down the stairs and they hurried into the hall. Abigail found her boots and slipped them on as he waited for her at the back door.
“I can't believe you got that distracted!” She teased him as they marched across the crusty lawn.
He cringed at her comment, ducking inside the barn.
Abigail was first at the stall and she looked in, “Oh my gosh, she had the baby!”
Colten came to her side and stared at the baby and his mare. He smiled, taking a deep breath.
Abigail stared, bright eyed, “I've never seen a foal just born!”
He watched the excited blonde as she ogled over the baby from the stall door.
“Is everything okay with the baby?” Abigail turned to him.
Honey had foaled enough babies for him to know if there was anything wrong and no, there certainty wasn't.
He nodded his his head, “Yeah, looks great.”
She looked back to the baby then back up to him as he stared down at her, a giggle escaping her lips, “What?”
He gripped the stall door with his right hand, his fingers digging to the wood but that was all the hormonal angst in him fading.
Her smirk faded and she leaned into the stall door, “The baby is beautiful.”
He glanced at his foal and nodded.
She slipped down to the ground, “My heart is pounding.”
Following her in sitting, he came down beside her, “Too much excitement.”
She smiled, “Colten, you're funny.”
Her smile drew him in and he kissed her cheek, his lips felt her hot blush from his mouth on her. Whoever said human's were oblivious, were out to lunch.
She leaned into him and met his mouth, kissing him and he put that night down as the best one of his life.