She crossed to the desk, peering at the screen over my other shoulder. “My goodness! All these people want our beef?”
“They sure do,” I said, scrolling through the order list. “We’ve got more demand than we can handle right now. We’ve already completely sold out of the expensive cuts.”
Evelyn beamed, looking between Cole and me. “Well, isn’t that something? Looks like we really have something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.”
I’d almost forgotten the holiday was tomorrow. Time had flown by since I returned to Hell Creek.
“I suppose we do,” Cole admitted, though he still looked uncertain.
“I’m going to head into town,” Evelyn announced, untying her apron. “Get us something special to celebrate with. A proper cake, I think.” She paused just for a moment, studying us both from the doorway, a big smile on her face. “Your daddy would be so proud of you two.”
Cole flinched at Evelyn’s words, his jaw tensing. I could see he was still uncomfortable with the idea of his father being proud of us working together, especially given what had been happening between us lately.
“I’ll be back in an hour or so,” Evelyn called, already heading for the door. “You boys behave yourselves! And don’t burn the house down!”
The front door closed with a soft click, leaving Cole and me alone in the suddenly quiet house. I could feel the tension thickening in the air between us. Ever since that night on the couch, he’d been working overtime to avoid being alone with me. And now he had no chores to occupy his time and no Evelyn to act as a shield between us.
“So,” I said, leaning back in my chair and looking up at him. “What do you think? Pretty impressive, right?”
Cole shifted his weight, eyes darting between me and the door like he was plotting an escape route. “It’s good,” he admitted reluctantly. “But we need to be careful not to overextend ourselves.”
“Always the pessimist,” I sighed, standing up. The movement brought me closer to him, close enough that I could see his pupils dilate slightly. “Can’t you just admit I was right for once?”
“I never said you were wrong,” he muttered, taking a step back. “I just said we needed to be careful.”
I followed his retreat, closing the distance between us again. “You know what your problem is, Cole? You’re afraid of success. I used to see it all the time at the marketing firm. People get so used to barely scraping by that they don’t know what to do when something actually works.”
His back hit the doorframe, trapping him. “That’s not true. Not for me.”
“No?” I challenged, stopping just inches from him. “Then why do you keep fighting me on every decision? Why can’t you just trust that I know what I’m doing?”
Cole’s chest rose and fell with quickened breaths. I could see the pulse jumping in his neck. “I’m trying,” he said, his voice lower, rougher. “This isn’t easy for me.”
“Which part?” I asked, reaching out to straighten his collar, letting my fingers brush against his neck. “The business stuff or the other thing?”
He swallowed hard, his eyes darkening. “All of it.”
I let my hand linger on his chest, feeling his heart hammering beneath my palm. “You know, we’re alone now. No ranch hands, no Evelyn. Just us.”
“Jesse,” he warned, but he didn’t push my hand away. “We talked about this.”
“No, you talked. I listened. And then I decided you were full of shit.” I moved even closer, our bodies almost touching now. “I saw you that night, Cole. Watching me on the couch.”
His face flushed dark red, eyes widening with panic. “I don’t know what you’re?—”
“Don’t,” I cut him off. “Don’t lie to me. I knew you were there the whole time.”
Cole’s breathing grew more ragged. “You... you?—”
“I what?” I said, pressing my body against his. Despite all his protestations, he didn’t pull away. “Spit it out, cowboy.”
“You knew I was there?” Cole’s voice was barely above a whisper, his eyes searching mine for confirmation. “The whole time?”
I nodded, my lips curling into a smirk. “I heard you on the stairs. You’re not as stealthy as you think.” I pressed my palm firmly against his chest, feeling his heart hammering beneath my touch. “I wanted you to watch. I wanted you to see what you do to me.”
His breath hitched, and I could see the internal war raging behind those piercing blue eyes. Desire battling with his stubborn need to deny what was happening between us.
“This isn’t right,” he muttered, but his hands moved to my hips, gripping me tightly instead of pushing me away.
