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“I’m afraid not,” she said. “That would have been against the rules at St. Mary’s, and the nuns were never ones to tolerate rule breaking. Though I did sneak out my junior year and go sailing with William Bratten on his father’s new catamaran. His father liked to race and had it custom made. Apparently it was very expensive. But alas, William was not the sailor his father was and he made a nice gash in the hull against some rocks.”
Colt winced. “See, you have made terrible choices on the water. Were you in sports at your fancy boarding school?”
“Of course,” Zoe said. “The point of boarding school is to become a completely well-rounded young lady of impeccable breeding and reputation. I played lacrosse, tennis—” She looked at him and arched a brow challengingly. “And golf.”
“Ahh,” he said. “I sense a day on the green coming up soon.”
“Perhaps,” she said. Then she looked at Chewy and sighed. “He’s filthy. And I have a white couch.”
“Didn’t you pay attention to your walkthrough and all the amenities the condo has to offer?”
“Not at all,” she said, watching the orange flames of the fire dance in the pit. “My Realtor sent me pictures and a video. And I bought it sight unseen based solely off the view.”
“Well, if you’d paid attention to the video you’d know you not only have private lake access, but also access to the kayaks, canoes, and four-wheelers. And because my brother doesn’t want anyone traipsing in water and sand across his very expensive floors, he installed the outdoor showers and drying tubes.”
“Then it seems I made a sound financial investment,” she said smugly. “Tell me about the O’Haras.”
“I thought we were talking about you and the bad decisions of your youth,” he said. “You wouldn’t be trying to redirect the conversation would you?”
“Are you kidding?” she asked. “I’ve told you more in the last week than I’ve told just about anyone. I’ve told you about my parents and my childhood, that I can’t cook and have no desire to, and that I’m going to kick your tail at golf.”
“And yet you don’t go too deep,” he said. “And that’s fine. For now. You’re like an onion. We’ll just peel it back a layer at a time.”
“Why would you want to?” she asked.
“Because I’m a planner,” he said, taking her hand in his.
“Listen, Colt?—”
“It’s okay,” he said. “I know you’re not there yet. I’m a patient man.”
“You’re also maddeningly insufferable. You cannot possibly be this levelheaded and even tempered all the time.”
“I’m afraid so,” he said, smiling. “I’ve been this way since I was sixteen.”
“What happened when you were sixteen?” she asked.
“I was out at the lake with Wyatt and Hank, and a group of guys started hassling Wyatt. He was only fourteen at the time and still scrawny with it. But Hank and I had filled out. I guess they thought we were outnumbered because out of nowhere this kid throws a punch at Wyatt and knocks him out cold. And that’s all it took to lose control. Things went from zero to sixty in the blink of an eye and fists started flying. Working on a ranch makes you strong, especially against a bunch of punk kids on vacation from California.
“By the time the cops showed up none of them were left standing. Hank and I were fortunate that Sheriff Cole listened to our side of the story, and he saw Wyatt still passed out cold on the ground. But they still brought us home in a squad car, and there wasn’t anything the cops could have done to us than was worse than the blistering we got from our parents.
“That whole incident is the reason Wyatt decided to be a cop,” he said. “He hated being a victim, and I think it’s why he’s so passionate about his job. He knows what it feels like, and he’ll go to the ends of the earth to hunt down those who prey on the weak.”
“So you’ve never been in a fight again?” she asked. “Or lost your temper? Why? How?”
He chuckled and said, “That’s a lot of questions. But I’ll tell you, I got scared that day. I’ve got brothers, so I knew what it was to fight. Up to a certain point. But that was different. The anger that took over me changed me and it scared me. I didn’t want to be the kind of man who could lose control like that. Because there was a part of me that liked it. I had plans for a future in medicine even then, and getting arrested for being stupid and having a temper wasn’t part of that plan. Does that answer your question?”
“Hmm,” she said and narrowed her eyes. “So now you’re cool and calculated. A planner, like you said. But let me tell you something, mister. If you’ve got me penciled in somewhere on that plan of yours it’s going to be a big mistake. Because I can promise I’m not always levelheaded and even tempered.”
“Oh, I think I’ve figured that out for myself,” he said. “I figure I need that kind of excitement added to my life. Otherwise I’ll turn into a potted plant. That’s what Mac likes to tell me, but I’m pretty sure she heard it first from Aunt Simone.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, wondering how she’d lost the upper hand. Hadn’t she just told herself in the shower that she wasn’t interested in Colt O’Hara? She couldn’t let another man take over her life again.
“And what are you going to do when I tell you I’m not part of your plan?” she asked. “That I don’t want or need a man to control my life or take the best parts of myself and crush them to dust.”
“I’d tell you again that I’m a patient man,” he said. “But I’m also a friend. I’d never try to control you. Or hurt you. And I’d hope one day, if I’m patient enough and steady enough, that you’d trust me.”
“I don’t have a lot of luck with trust,” she said. “I’ve learned the only person I can trust is myself.”
