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“You left us seven years ago.”
What the hell does that mean? She can close me out, but I’ll pry my way back into her heart or die trying.
Carly Jo is so damn cute, thinking I’ll give up my pursuit of her heart so easily. I laugh at the fact. She obviously doesn’t remember I’m Colton frickin’ Weston. I get what I want, when I want it, and how I want it. I don’t take no for an answer. But the little show she put on rejecting me was real cute. Sure, it broke my heart, and I damn near came home and drank myself into oblivion, but I resisted temptation.
I woke up this morning with renewed positivity. After getting dressed for work, I grab my thermos of coffee then climb into my Silverado and head to the mines.
The dawn sky is breaking, welcoming the sun as the moon dips below the horizon. I pull into my parkin’ space and see that Carly Jo is already in the office. Eager little lady, as usual. I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t resist seeing her beautiful smile this morning.
I walk into her office and take a seat, propping my feet up on her desk. Yeah, I like to get comfortable; I may be here a while. She releases a loud huff of annoyance at my presence, and I can’t help but chuckle. At the sound of my humor, she cocks her right eyebrow with that screw off look.
“Superintendent Weston, what do you want?” she asks, trying not to make eye contact.
“You, darlin’.” She pauses in her work and removes her glasses from her face as she pinches the bridge of her nose. The first sign of defeat. This is gonna be easier than I suspected. I walk around her desk and lift her chin with my finger, so she has to make eye contact with me.
“Why are you fightin’ so hard against this? You deserve to hear the truth, and I’m the only person who can give you that. Please, Carly Jo?” I stare deep into her mesmerizing hazel eyes, searching for any sign that she is relenting.
Just as I see the mist build, she breaks free and shoves away from her desk to stand. She paces back and forth, rubbing her temples, then tears fall freely down her soft cheeks. That sight alone stills my heart. I can’t stand to see her hurt for one more minute. Within two strides I’m by her side, wrapping her up in my arms. I expect her to reject me, but she holds on to me and allows her cries to break free. I hold her tight against my chest as I run my fingers down the length of her hair. God, it rips my heart out to see her hurt like this. Stupid bastard, why did you have to break the only woman to ever truly love you?
She pulls away from my embrace and reaches for a Kleenex, turning her back on me. She dries her face as she takes her place at her desk. I sit across from her, and it feels like an eternity passes before the silence is finally broken. Carly Jo locks eyes with mine.
“Colton, I’m so sorry that I had that little mental breakdown. As you can imagine, I’m under a lot of stress with everything changing in my life. I appreciate that you feel the need to explain whatever burdens you’re carrying over our past relationship, but I assure you, there is no need to it dig up. I was a bit of a bitch to you yesterday, and I apologize.” She wrings her hands in distress. “It’s just a lot to take in, seeing you, touching you again after all these years. To be honest, I hate the thought of being your boss, but I know that you’re a valuable asset to Simon Energy, or my daddy would have never wasted his time on you. You’re the superintendent of Simon One, Colton. We have to work side by side. So please, let’s keep our relationship as professional as possible.”
I’ll be damned if that’s gonna happen. A wide grin spreads across my face as I choose my rebuttal. “You don’t need to go through all of this alone. I want to be with you and only you. But before we can be together again, there are so many buried secrets that I need to dig up, so you can understand what happened to us. None of it will be easy to hear, but you deserve to know the truth. You deserve a fair chance at our love. And I promise you, I will not give up on us. I will push and push until you let me in. You know I’m a stubborn bastard, so you might as well give up the fight.”
I stand and leave her office, not even giving her the chance to argue with me. She knows where I stand, and she knows to expect nothing less than a full-on battle with me, until I win her heart.
Chapter 8
Carly
My perfect life has been spun into a whirlwind of emotion over this last month. I had no intentions of moving back to Williamstown permanently. The coal mines was Daddy’s baby, and I need to carry on his work for him. I owe that to him. But hell, having to face Colton Weston every damn day of my life … not sure I can do that.
When he pulled me deep into a kiss last night, I could feel that magnetic pull I felt when we were just teenagers. Then when he held me tight, just a while ago when I broke down; the comfort of being in his arms again was undeniable. But I have to fight these feelings. I have to keep my walls built up around my heart to protect me from anymore damage.
I need a sounding board, someone who’s willing to listen to my bitching and will help me put everything into perspective. So I call Savannah and ask her to join me for lunch. She has a lot more experience with men than I do.
I get to The Village Diner before Savannah, so I get a table and order a glass of sweet tea. I take a look around the restaurant, and memories of my teen years flood to the forefront of my mind. Suddenly, I remember Friday night lights, movie date nights with Colton, and evenings out with our friends. Just as I’m being whisked away in my memory, a roaring engine rumbles into the diner parking lot. I look out the window just as the bike stops and the engine is shut off. He immediately has my attention.
Rugged jeans hug his thick thighs, making me wonder how well they hug other areas of his body. A white t-shirt is stretched tight across his hard, tanned chest and shoulders, showing a tattoo on his right arm that looks like it goes over the shoulder to his back. He has on a black hat turned backward, but I can tell he has dark hair just long enough to run my fingers through and grab on to. Oh, I’d totally pull his hair. What the hell? Where did that come from!? He has a thick five o’clock shadow. Removing his aviator glasses, icy blue eyes peer back at me. His eyes are fierce, but there’s a softness in his baby blues that he tries to hide.
As he sits on his motorcycle, I can’t take my eyes off him. I wonder what it would be like to ride behind him, my arms wrapped securely around his waist and my thighs tightly against his. He is the perfect image of a badass biker. He smirks, and heat rushes to my cheeks, suddenly embarrassed. I quickly grab the menu to divert my attention.
Shaking my head, I roll my eyes. I return my attention to the menu just as the bell over the door dings. It takes every ounce of strength in me not to look in his direction.He sits a few tables away and smiles wide at me. Oh my God, he has a panty-melting smile.
Savannah finally makes her appearance, better late than never. I stand and embrace her in a warm hug. It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve seen her, but I’m glad we live close enough that I can call on her when I’m in desperate need of advice, like today.
We sit and make small talk as we look over the menu, deciding what we want to eat. I’m dead set on the fried chicken dinner, complete with mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans and a homemade biscuit. My mouth waters just thinking of it, or maybe it’s the sexy man a few tables away. The waitress takes our order then returns shortly after with plates of piping hot comfort food.
Savannah and I finish our meal while she catches me up on the fun times as Momma to six-year-old twin terrors. I try to keep my gaze set on her, but his mesmerizing blue eyes are holding me captive. Just as I break our stare, he stands from his table and walks to the counter. The waitress is just as stunned by his glorifying beauty as any woman with a pulse should be. Without one last glance he leaves the diner. Straddling his bike, he graces me with one last divine smile, then roars the bike to life with a throttling rumble. Savannah sees that I’m affected by mister badass and giggles to herself.
“What’s so funny, Savannah Marie?”
“You!! My God, I’m surprised you didn’t pop an eye out of socket as hard as you were glaring at that man!” She cackles loudly. I roll my eyes in annoyance. Damn, can’t even look at an attractive man.
“Okay, calm down, toots! What’s got your panties all bunched up? I was just kiddin’. I could tell you were upset when we talked on the phone, so tell me what’s botherin’ ya,” Savannah pleads. Taking a deep breath, I pick up my menu and choose my dessert, trying to put off this vent session. There’s so damn much going on with me, I really don’t know where to begin, and I’m scared once I start, I won’t stop. Calling the waitress over, we order dessert.
“This is all a big change for me: Daddy passing, moving back home, and taking over the business.” Savannah nods, willing me to continue. “I can handle it. What’s really bothering me is Colton Weston. I had no clue that he still worked at Simon Energy. Even that, I can deal with. But he’s the damn superintendent now. His office is down the hall from mine, and I have to interact with him every day. The bastard is relentless. He came over last night, unannounced. He says there’s some things we need to discuss, and he wants us to work through it all and get back together, but I—” just then Savannah spews tea from her mouth, surely in shock.
