No one. Absolutely no one was going to eat Colette’s cookies but him. Marshall knew the move made him selfish, and yes, it was a tad irrational. But it was the only way to clear the fog of rage that was rising in his chest when he saw his ranch hands stuffing their faces with desserts that should only have been for him.
Maybe Colette didn’t get it yet.
To be completely honest, neither did he.
Releasing a relieved breath, Marshall walked with the tin under his arm, glancing across the fields as Lachlan led Chip, Buzz, and Ernie across the fields on horseback, well away from him. He would grab Vinny and join them shortly; he just had toreturn the tin to Colette. It was the right thing to do, now that he had eaten every last one.
Did his stomach hurt a little?
Sure.
But he had done the right thing.
Marshall had no idea who he could trust on the ranch right now. Only the people worthy of Colette’s cookies should be eating them. He didn’t dare show his face inside the main house, in case the tin raised suspicions as to his gluttonous behavior.
When he knocked on Colette’s door, she gasped as she saw the tin was empty.
“They ate them so fast! I’ll have to make more,” she said, her voice tinged with pride.
“Don’t worry about it, the guys will be more than fine with all the delicious food Betsy makes for us every day. You’ve got enough on your plate here.”
“Do you think the guys liked them at least? I left before I could ask.”
“I’m sure they did. They were grinning from ear to ear when I interrupted them,” Marshall explained. He left out the part where he chased them out of his office and ordered them back to work so that he could keep the cookies all to himself.
With a gruff wave, he went off to finish his work and move on to tasks that would help distract him from his current problem.
How had Colette unsettled him so easily?
Was he so preoccupied with his work that he ignored how lonely he was becoming? His musings only brought him to one conclusion. It was time to let loose. He’d been too focused on the ranch and the finances. Now that he had help on that front, he was going to take advantage and give himself a night off.
When his workday ended, Marshall called the only person suited to the job of distracting him and helping him with his predicament.
Evan Thomson was part of the family that owned the neighboring ranch. Lost Creek Ranch bordered the King lands. A creek ran between the two properties, and a bridge had been constructed to help the families travel between ranches. The Kings and the Thomsons had always looked out for each other and lent a helping hand when it was needed. Ranching was a tough business, but good relationships with the neighbors made it easier. The King and Thomson kids grew up playing in the creek in the summers, with other town kids from all around meeting up with them to pass the hot summer days while they were out of school. Though Marshall had grown up in the city, he had known Evan almost all his life, and they connected right away. Evan could be goofy, but he was great at helping Marshall lighten up and have fun.
He hoped Evan would pick up, given that Marshall had sent him a warning text. It was basically an emergency.
“Hey, Marshall, what’s up?” Evan asked when he picked up on the third ring.
Clearing his throat, Marshall tried to think of the best way to say what he needed.
“I think I need to get laid.”
The long silence on the other end was unsettling. “You? I thought you like…took a vow of chastity when you came to the ranch or something?”
“That’s not true,” Marshall said, trying not to sound as offended as he was. “There was Lucy for a little while there.”
“Okay, who did you have in mind? Like are we talking a specific lady here, or a rando. Some kind of exciting passing ships thing?”
Marshall rolled his eyes. Didn’t Evan get it? He needed to be distracted from a certain curvy brunette. There was no way Marshall would get into specifics like that, but maybe the passing ships thing would make sense then?
“Uh, passing ships, yeah. That sounds good. Maybe just a one-off. I don’t know. It’s been a while, and I’d like to meet a nice woman and have a good time. Surely you can help wingman me into something?”
Evan hummed. “Okay, so we want to meet someone who’s just passing through, nothing too serious. I get it.”
“No, wait. I actually hate the sound of that.” That was the opposite of what Marshall wanted, but maybe that was what he needed to get through this time of having Colette living on the ranch. Someone to occupy his thoughts instead of her. Anyone but her.
“Dude. I hate to sound serious, because you know that’s not my vibe, but you’re not making any sense.”
