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He chews his bottom lip. “Did she come to you mid-May asking about the job?”
“Mmm.”
“Well, that was my first move. I told her to approach you. It’s October now, Dash. It’s not like I’ve been making rash decisions.”
“Mmm.”
I remember that conversation in May. Molly brought me a whole business plan. She probably thought I ignored it, not getting back to her, but I didn’t. It’s a good plan. It just wasn’t one I was prepared to give her control over. And more than that, I knew the apartment was one of the perks, and so, much as she sparked my attention, I didn’t follow through.
I need to be alone. I need my space.
Starlight Ranch has a few residences besides the hotel. Big Sky is the main house where Colt lives, our mom has a granny flat attached. Bird’s Eye is the house my dad built for us kids to share or use as and when.
I used to live in Bird’s Eye. Then, my sister, Jolie, moved back to the Canyon, and rightfully so, into one of the four bedrooms at the property equally owned by us siblings. For years, I lived there alone. My other brother, Logan, has always made the big bucks playing hockey and has his own castle. Colt took Big Sky to have space for him and his daughter.
When Jolie moved back home and in with me, I couldn’t deal with her being there. She doesn’t annoy me, but she wanted to know why I do what I do, and even after all these years, I don’t want to talk about it. So I planted myself in the apartment intended for a stable manager, telling a hurt Jolie, who was excited to beroomies(her word, not mine), I should have done it a long time ago to look after the horses better.
Colt’s still in lecture mode. “I’ve been watching the stable hands for a while, and Molly has potential. I told her to make her intentions known to you in the summer. She wants the job. She wants to stay here long-term in Starlight Canyon. She has passion for this. She really does. It’s a passion I know you’ll identify with.”
I dig my thumbs into my eye sockets. “All right, let me get this straight. I didn’t respond to Molly, and she went over my head to you.” It’s a statement, not a question, since the woman in the yellow towel is evidence enough.
“She did. I hope you can respect her for that. She has tenacity.”
I lean back against the leather couch, stare at the ceiling, and press my fingertips together.
“Hey.” Colt massages me with his voice.
I’m too tight for him to make a difference.
“She’s going to be great. Did you even read her business plan? She worked hard on it. She’s not just some city girl who always wanted a pony. She’s serious. She has three, nearly four years’ experience already. And we need that around here. She’s someone you can work with or I wouldn’t have done this. There aren’t many personality types I would pair up with yours, believe you me.”
I don’t argue there aren’t many matches for me because zero is the actual number. Andnot manyis a solid educated guess.
I swipe my hand down my face and lean over, elbows on knees and head hung. There’s no use arguing with Colt. He’s not messing with me. He’s never been that kind of big brother. Not like Logan who loves a practical joke or two. Colt has had to be responsible from a young age when my dad died and much as I constantly resist, he’s considering the family, and just as importantly, the horses. I’ll never say it out loud, but my schedule is wearing on me, and the nightmares I used to have once in a while are growing thicker because of my exhaustion.
I already came to terms with Molly having the job before I even entered his office, but I still can’t stomach her living with me. I consider if I can last a winter in the Canyon in a tent. “Just tell me we can build another apartment over the second barn.”
I glance up, and there’s that empathy again in Colt’s brown eyes, but also, they don’t answer how I want them to.
I shake my head and pull my lips into a tight line. “Colt, you have to get the plan redrawn. I’m not a demanding person. You know that. I keep my head down, roll up my sleeves, and get shit done without moaning. But I need to live alone.”
“That’s going to tack on some time to the build.” His mind immediately starts calculating the cost.
I know I’m asking a lot. Colt might run the conglomerate, but when it comes to the bottom line for the horse side of things, I’ve got it on lock. We aren’t making much money on the resort business yet. Not really. I know that.
Shifting from a working ranch to this luxury resort with a spa and a restaurant epic enough to woo a Michelin-star chef to the Canyon was a huge investment. It’s one where we have yet to rise much beyond a flatline of profit. This play for more horses will help get us off zero for the first time since opening the gates.
Me asking for the barn to take longer and cost more money doesn’t make business sense. But my instincts insist on it. “How long, Colt? I’ll let this Molly thing go and give her a fair chance, but that other apartment needs doing.”
I hate asking him for this. Colt is busy as hell. He’s already managing a new house build on the private land for Sam, his wife’s, family. He has a special needs daughter with lots of hobbies… I silently promise myself to take Eve out to a rodeo and give him and Sam a date night if he agrees to this.
Colt doesn’t deny me, but he does let out an exasperated sigh. “We’ve already broken ground, so I think we can still get this done in a couple months.”
Two months.
I take my hat off the leather cushion and put it on my head. “Thank you.” Pressing my knuckles into the sofa, I push up, ready to get home for some food, reading, and hopefully, some sleep.
When I get back to the apartment, Molly is gone. But her sweet scent still lingers just as much as the sexy image of those droplets of water on her shoulders and her long brown locks, wet and clinging to her chest.
