He threw his head back and laughed. "Yes, yes it could have been. Just one of Mother Nature's little surprises."
Ellie adjusted her seat in the saddle and took a better grip on the reins. "And that cat gave zero shits that it almost killed me."
She rode on ahead as he sat there and watched. He was going to have his hands full with this one. He just couldn't decide if he would ever know the real her, or if she was just acting another part in her own life.
Chapter Ten: Finding Peace
Ellie Dampier
Ellie looked up into a grove of trees as they came around a bend. The snow was thicker here, and Diva was being more careful as she picked her way through the drifts. The cabin sat facing them, and Ellie caught her breath. It was everything that Colton had told her - primitive, rustic, and free from frills - and he had been correct. But it was also charming in a very plain sense, solid, and it looked incredibly safe. An outhouse sat off to the side, and she could see the roof of the barn behind the cabin.
"This looks incredible."
He snorted. "Well, that's good, because we don't have time to get back before dark. Here in the wintertime, the sun goes down quickly."
They stabled the horses and put oats in the feeding trough. Once inside the cabin, everything was dark and dreary, and Ellie had her first qualm that maybe this wasn't going to be so much fun roughing it. She rubbed her arms against the chill in the air. "Well, on a positive note, I can't see my breath inside."
Colton chuckled. "Maybe not, but it's still cold as hell in here."
"That's an oxymoron if I've ever heard one."
He grabbed a log and some lighter wood. "Give me a minute, and we'll take the edge off this freezing ass cold."
With skilled ease, there was soon a fire burning brightly in the fireplace, and the room took on a glow that wasn't unpleasant at all. The chill disappeared quickly, and some of her concerns dissipated. She wandered around the small cabin and took in the tiny kitchen where Colton was putting their supplies away.
"We'll have plenty of food. We always keep the cabin stocked with nonperishables anyhow, and with what Mama gave us, we'll be fine." He pulled a small curtain aside to show cases of bottled water stored in makeshift cupboards. "And if you don't like to drink it slightly chilled, we can put a case out in the snow and have it ice cold."
"That would be good. I like it cold." She watched as he carried a case and sat it outside the door. "What do we do around here after dark?"
He straightened and closed the door behind him. He didn't say anything, but his eyes burned into her. His gaze was intense, and she felt her libido spark, which surprised her. After her fiascos with men, she never expected to feel desire. He finally moved away.
"We sleep after dark. Or there's a stack of books if you want to read. We can play cards or Monopoly. I think the game is still here somewhere. But all in all, it's early mornings when the sun comes up, and early nights when the sun sets. There's not a whole lot of excitement up here."
Oh, but I'll bet there could be.She mentally kicked herself for her thoughts. Getting involved was not in the playbook. All she wanted was a little time for the stalker to get bored and move on.
They decided that she would take the small bedroom that contained a full-size bed, and Colton would sleep on the couch, which was extra-long. She figured they did that on purpose because of his height. He had talked about his brothers, and she figured they were as tall as he was.
She fell asleep shortly after they had a quick dinner of tuna fish and crackers, which surprised her by being delicious. Afterwards, she tried to read a romance novel by firelight, but her attention kept drifting to the handsome cowboy sitting across from her. He was slumped back on the couch with his arm resting over his eyes.
"Do you want me to go to bed so you can rest?"
He sat up and stared at her. "Nope."
"You look tired."
"Bored, more than anything. I'm used to working or sleeping, with a little eating thrown in there."
She suddenly felt bad. "Am I being a real imposition on you? I never even thought about that."
He laughed. "You're fine. The only thing that changed for me is not going to Wyoming with my brothers to a horse sale. Which, by the way, if you had been another ten minutes making the reservation, you would have missed me altogether."
She studied him to see if he was horribly disappointed. He didn't appear to be. "Horses for the ranch?"
"Yep," he answered. "Every few years we swap out the trail riders. Your Diva is due to retire next year, so we need to start training her replacement."
"What will happen to her?" Horrors like dog food or euthanasia ran through her mind.
"She'll live out her life in the north pasture and the barn." Almost as if reading her thoughts, Ellie appreciated Colton's gentle response. "We don't abandon or mistreat the animals that have worked for us."
