“Come on, Wyatt Earp.” Where had that come from? From the handsome man with black hair who was also very smart and who had found her when she was all alone at her country cabin. “You can sleep on the way to Triple C-South.”
Charley found the leash and collars she’d used for Bingo in the foyer closet. She grabbed Bingo’s dog bed and her purse. After fastening the smallest collar around Wyatt’s neck and clipping the leash to it, she gently led him to the porch. She noted happily that he was able to walk on all four paws. Locking her front door, she let the puppy relieve himself in the yard and then placed the dog bed and puppy in the passenger’s seat of her car. The only stop she made was at the grocery store to get a bag of puppy food. Then they were back on the road.
She prayed her cell phone would be at her log cabin. That way she wouldn’t have to go to Triple C Ranch-West. She wouldn’t have to talk to anyone or explain why she left the party without Sully. Then again, they probably knew why. The Coopers thought well of Sully. She recalled Chloe rolling her eyes at the sight of Trish, but surely they were happy for Sully and Trish. They’d evidently been a couple before Charley stumbled onto the scene. But how recently?
She’d been over and over this in her head. Without Sully’s input, she was lost.
As Charley passed Triple C-West, she cringed at how naïve she’d been in thinking Sully was available. Thinking Sully liked her. Thinking she loved Sully. Charley clenched her teeth andfought back the fresh tears. She absolutely loved Sully, and her heart was shattered.
Upon reaching her log cabin, Charley let Wyatt out of the car. He pounced around and smelled the flowers, the grass, and the pine trees. Charley searched the parking area where she’d opened her car door the previous night but failed to find her phone. Since she’d not lost her phone when opening her car door, the only other place it could be was Triple C Ranch-West. She had no choice but to drive back there and talk to the Brevards.
“Come on, Wyatt Earp.”
Charley smiled through her heartache as the little dog scampered to her. She loaded the puppy up in her car and backtracked toward Pikes Peak. Turning right into the driveway of Triple C Ranch-West, she drove toward the front porch and stopped near the hitching posts often used for the horses from all the Triple C Ranches. With a pat to Wyatt’s head, she left him in her Mini Cooper for the moment and walked toward the steps to the porch. There! Next to the steps, on the ground, she saw her phone! Kept out of the rain by the porch roof, she grabbed it up and saw that Sully had called her twice. She listened to his message asking her to call him. Charley noticed Chloe had called her, too, as she started back to her car.
“Charley?” came Chloe’s voice before Charley could listen to her message.
“Oh, hi, Chloe,” Charley said to her cousin, twisting around to face her. Standing on the porch, Chloe wore her long black hair in a ponytail and a soft smile on her pretty face. Charley explained, “I lost my phone last night and came back out to the country to find it.” With a wave, she held her phone up in the air and said, “It was on the ground beside the steps. I didn’t want to bother you, so I was going to leave.”
“I didn’t know you lost it, but I’m glad you found it. I tried to call you this morning.” Chloe walked down the steps and said with obvious compassion, “Without your phone, you probably haven’t heard the news about Sully.”
“Yes, actually, I have heard the news,” Charley said. She would no longer be naïve or the last to know. “Trish told me that she and Sully are going to have a baby. He’s thrilled.”
“What?” Chloe grimaced and shook her head. “I highly doubt that. Sully and Trish were never a steady couple and haven’t dated for months as far as I know.”
Charley’s heart beat a bit faster. “Really?”
“Really,” Chloe said firmly. “Sully’s not the kind of guy who would lead you on while being involved with another woman, Charley.”
Charley paused and then asked, “What did you mean, referring to news about Sully?”
“He and Trish were in a car accident last night.”
Charley wasn’t sure how much more anguish she could take. “Are they okay?”
“No idea if they’re alive or dead. Derek has a call in to Owen.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“Oh, no,” Charley whispered in stunned shock. Her arms hung limply at her sides, and her legs felt like jelly. With great effort, she managed a few steps toward her cousin. “Chloe, please let me know as soon as you hear from Sully’s dad,” Charley said. She hadn’t known Sully long but couldn’t imagine the world without him in it. “Please.”
“Charley, why don’t you come in? Let’s talk,” Chloe said, stepped closer, and hugged her. “If I can help you in any way, you know I will.”
“Well—” Charley desperately wanted to do so and hugged Chloe back, but felt she owed her cousin some information first. “I have a little puppy with me. I found him on my porch in the Springs this morning. He had cut his paw and was starving.”
“Bring him in. Derek and Cooper went to the stables after lunch, but the twins are watching a movie. Austin and Abilene will love seeing your puppy. Would you like lunch?”
“Oh, no thank you. I’m not hungry.”
Chloe looked at her with a knowing expression of concern. “We’ll have sweet tea and a snack.”
“Okay,” Charley said, needing her cousin more than nourishment. “I’d really like that.”
“Our cat, Scarlett, and Spike, our German shepherd, who you met at the party last night, are friendly to other animals. Spike’s with Derek and Cooper now, and Scarlett’s catnapping.”
“Okay,” Charley said. “I’ll get the puppy.”
Charley fetched Wyatt from the car, and attached his leash, the puppy scampered to the porch steps. He had a little trouble getting up them, so Charley picked him up and carried him into the house. Fluffy, black Scarlett, sunning herself in a window, woke but was indifferent. The twins, however, were ecstatic and offered to play with Wyatt immediately. Charley followed Chloe to the pretty kitchen and slid onto the bench seat at the breakfast nook table. Chloe poured two glasses of iced tea and set them on the table. With pumpkin bread and two plates in hand, she sat down on the bench seat across from Charley.
