Wyatt (12 page)

“I don’t think that’s the case, Liv. He just needs to calm
down. I’ve worked for him since he started this ranch and I’ve never seen him
this angry. I’m sure it surprised him too.” He rubbed her back. “It’ll be all
right. Ben’s been a pain in the ass since he was hired. Wyatt only hired him
because Ben’s older brother works here. He only felt obliged because Kirk
asked.”

Olivia smiled half-heartedly through her tears and they
walked out of the barn together. She walked slowly toward the house while Lucky
headed toward the other barn. She entered through the back door and hesitated,
wondering where Wyatt was. Walking through the living room, and not finding him
there, she headed for the bedroom and poked her head inside. She found him
sitting on the bed. He sat there bent over with his forearms on his knees. He was
clenching and unclenching his fists. She could see his jaw tightening, while a
muscle twitched in his cheek.

“Wyatt…” She stopped when he glanced at her.

“I’m sorry, Olivia. I should’ve never let him near you.”

She gasped. “Good grief. Wyatt, it wasn’t your fault.”

Wyatt laughed without humor. “It was. I asked him to go tell
you where I was. I saw you heading toward the barn and I thought you were
looking for me.” He stood up quickly. “I knew there was something about him I
didn’t trust. I wanted to kill him, Olivia. I have never felt such rage in my
entire life.” He clenched his jaw. “If the men hadn’t pulled me off him…”

Olivia moved to stand in front of him. She put her hands
over his fists. “You’d have come to your senses…”

Wyatt glared at her. “No. I wouldn’t have. I would have
killed him.” He moved away from her. “I don’t like feeling like that.” He
stared at her. “I can’t control myself around you.”

“What…what are you saying?” She blinked back tears.

“I don’t know…” He took a deep breath. “I’m just so pissed
right now. I could put my fist through a wall.”

Olivia slowly moved to stand near him. She touched his
shoulder. He jerked but didn’t move away from her. She stood on her toes and
kissed his cheek.

“I know a great way you can relieve that stress,” she
whispered in his ear, and then took the lobe between her teeth.

Wyatt pulled her into his arms and she wrapped her arms
around his waist, resting her head against his chest.

“I’m sorry I walked away. I should have stayed with you…you
needed me.”

“I need you to make his touch go away. Please, Wyatt.” She
choked back tears and looked up at him. He pulled her against him, picked her
up, and laid her on the bed. He shed his clothes, stretching out beside her,
and after removing her clothes, he gathered her into his arms and proceeded to
make them both forget.

The next day, Olivia walked outside and headed toward the
barn. She turned and saw Wyatt sauntering toward her from the arena with a
smile on his face. She returned his smile and waited for him to reach her. When
he did, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

“You smell like a horse,” she told him. He laughed and
pulled her against him again.

“You like my horse.” He nuzzled her neck.

“Is that a euphemism?”

Wyatt laughed. “No. Get your mind out of the gutter.”

“Oh, please. You like my mind in the gutter.”

He reached for her hand. “Come here, I want to show you
something.”

“I’ve seen it,” she teased.

“Jesus. Just come on.” He led her to the barn and inside. “I
want you to meet my new girlfriend.”

Olivia stopped in her tracks. “You keep her in the barn? At
least I get to go in the house.”

Wyatt just pulled her along behind him until they reached a
stall, and then he nodded toward it. She looked at him wondering what he was up
to but then glanced inside. There, a beautiful brown and white horse stood.

She gasped. “Oh! She’s so beautiful.”

“I thought so. I bought her last month when I was in Butte.
She just arrived this morning. If you’d have gotten your ass out of bed
earlier, you would have seen her already.”

“Excuse me, but some
cowboy
had me up half the night,” she muttered.

“I didn’t hear any complaints.”

“And you never will.” Olivia moved closer to the stall.
“What’s her name?”

“She doesn’t have one yet.”

“Coco.”

“Coco?”
Wyatt groaned. “Where do you
come up with these names?”

“She has chocolate markings. I could’ve said chocolate.”

Wyatt laughed. “Thank God you didn’t. Come on, I need a
shower.”

“What does that have to do with me? I want to stay here with
Coco. I can’t believe I just said that.”

“I knew these horses would grow on you.”

“I’m still not riding one.” She shuddered at the thought.
“They’re so big.”

“You don’t have a problem being on Cochise.”

“Yes, but you’re holding me and I know you won’t let me
fall.”

Wyatt stopped and stared at her. “No. I won’t let you fall.”

She wasn’t sure if he was still talking about the horse or
not.

“All right,” she whispered and followed him inside the
house.

Later, Olivia dressed while Wyatt lay on the bed watching
her. She smiled at him.

“I wish I didn’t have to go yet but it’s getting late and I
still need to finish going through the reservations.” She put her knee on the
bed, leaned down, and kissed him. Wyatt pulled her down on top of him to deepen
the kiss.

“You could wait until tomorrow to do that,” he said against
her lips.

“I’m never going to get caught up as it is. By tomorrow,
there’ll be a lot more.” She kissed him again. “We’ll get together again on
Saturday. You can wait till then, can’t you, cowboy?”

“That’s three days away.”

“You already did without me for almost a week.” She narrowed
her eyes at him.

“I was pissed then. I’m not now. Come back here.” He put his
hand out toward her.

“I’m leaving, cowboy. I’ll see you in a few days.” She ran
from the room, and outside where she got into her car, and quickly headed out
toward the B and B before she changed her mind.

The sun glowed red as it slowly sunk behind the mountaintop,
coloring the sky with pink, and yellow. It was hard to believe winter would be
coming again. More snow would soon blanket the little town. Olivia smiled as
she pulled into the driveway of the B and B and saw the parking area full. She
walked inside and smiled as Evelyn handed her a plate of hot food.

“I saw you coming up the drive.” Evelyn grinned as she wiped
her hands on a dishtowel.

Olivia laughed. “I thought for a minute you were a mind
reader.”

Evelyn burst out laughing. “If I was, I’d be able to know
what Stan’s thinking.” She frowned. “Then again, maybe that’s not such a good
idea.”

Olivia laughed. “I don’t think it takes much to read a man’s
mind. It would simply have the letters s-e-x in big red flashing letters.”

Evelyn almost doubled over with laughter. Olivia joined in.
She loved being in Montana, which surprised her almost as much as being in love
with a cowboy.

* * * *

In less than two weeks, the B and B would close. Most of the
rooms were already vacant, and only a few of the staff remained but tonight
Olivia was alone at the front counter when a woman walked in. Olivia smiled at
her. She looked familiar but Olivia couldn’t place her.

“Hello. Welcome to the Clifton Bed and Breakfast…how can I
help you this evening?”

The woman was beautiful with dark brown hair that touched
her shoulders. She looked to be in her mid-forties, although Olivia really
couldn’t tell since the woman was wearing sunglasses. Sunglasses, of all
things…it was dark outside. Olivia mentally shrugged. It was none of her
business.

“I have a reservation. The name’s Sharon Winters.” The woman
smiled at her.

“Great.” Olivia handed her a card to fill out. “Just fill
this card out and I’ll show you to your room.”

She watched as the woman filled out the card. A strange
feeling came over her. What was it about this woman that had her on edge?
Olivia took the card, picked up the key to the room, and walked around the
counter to pick up the woman’s luggage. She had two bags. Why did she only have
two bags if she was staying almost two weeks? Again, it was none of her
business.

Olivia led the way up the stairs with the woman following
behind her. A weird shiver ran through her, like the kind when someone claimed
somebody had stepped on his non-existent grave. She stopped at the room the
woman was staying in and used the key to open the door. She motioned for the
woman to precede her.

Olivia set the luggage down and explained about meal times
and activities, even though the woman should be familiar with everything since
she’d registered online. When she was finished, she turned to go.

“I hope you enjoy your stay with us, Ms. Winters.” She
clasped the doorknob to pull the door closed behind her when the woman spoke.

“Oh, I’m sure I will…Olivia.”

Olivia spun around. “How did you…”

Her heart nearly stopped when the woman removed her
sunglasses and Olivia found herself gazing into eyes the exact same color as
her own.

“Aren’t you going to say hello to your mother, Olivia?”
Sharon Winters smiled at her but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“My mother died in a car accident seven years ago. I don’t
know who you are.” Olivia turned to leave the room.

“As much as you obviously hate it and want to deny it, I
am
your mother.”

Olivia spun around again, and glared at her. “Why are you
here?”

Sharon laughed.
“To see my daughter, of
course.”

Olivia grabbed the doorknob, stepped into the hallway but
before closing the door, she glanced back. “Enjoy your stay Missus…what was it?
Oh, yes.
Winters.
Mrs. Winters, the staff will be in
tomorrow to take care of your needs. Goodnight.”

She closed the door softly when in reality she wanted to
slam it so hard that it came off the hinges. Taking a deep breath, Olivia
fisted her hands, walked down the stairs, and went straight to her apartment.
She sat on the sofa and refused to allow herself to cry. Why was that woman
here? What did she want? How had she found her? She lay down and cried herself
to sleep.

* * * *

The next morning, Olivia was trying to concentrate on the
books when her cell phone rang. She answered without looking at the caller ID.

“Liv?”
Becca’s voice came over the
connection.

“Oh, hi Becs,” Olivia said absently.

“Okay, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, why?”
Olivia asked.

“You didn’t even check your caller ID and you always do. You
live by that thing. Did something happen between you and Wyatt again?”

Olivia tried to answer her but it came out as a choked sob.

“I’m on my way,” Becca told her and hung up.

Olivia put the phone down and burst into tears. She’d barely
slept last night trying to keep the tears at bay, and now she couldn’t stop
them.

A few minutes later, Becca walked straight into her
apartment without knocking. Olivia went to her and cried on her shoulder. Becca
wrapped her arms around her. They moved to the couch and sat down.

“Liv?
What is it? I thought you and
Wyatt were doing great,” Becca whispered. Olivia shook her head in an attempt
to tell her it wasn’t about Wyatt but couldn’t get the words out. “What did he
do?”

Olivia knew Becca was getting angry but no words would come
out to explain. When her cell phone rang, Becca picked it up, looked at the
name on the screen, and answered it.

“Wyatt Stone, what did you do to Olivia?” Becca yelled into
the phone. Olivia shook her head again as she listened to Becca’s end of the
conversation. “She’s very upset about something. I assume you two had a fight
or something. I can’t get anything out of her.”

Olivia reached for a tissue and blew her nose. When she
reached for the phone, Becca held it away from her.

“Okay. See you in a few minutes.” Becca hung up and looked
at her. “Wyatt’s on his way.”

Olivia sighed and shook her head again, swallowed and
cleared her throat. “It’s not Wyatt. I’ll tell you both once he gets here.
You’re not going to believe it.”

When Wyatt came through the door, Olivia stood and wanted to
throw herself into his arms so when he didn’t stop until he was in front of
her, she threw her arms around him. He took a seat on the sofa with her on his
lap hugging her to him.

“What’s going on, darlin’?” he asked her, caressing her hair
with his large hand.

“My mother…no, that’s not right. The woman who gave birth to
me is here.”

Becca leaped up. “Here?
In Clifton?”

Olivia snorted. “Here…at the B and B.”

“What?” Becca yelled.

“Why?” Wyatt asked.

“I have no idea. She said she was here to see her daughter
which is a crock since she hasn’t wanted to see me in twenty-eight years.”

“How did she know where to find you?” Becca asked.

“I have no clue but she showed up last night. She had a
reservation. Sharon Winters is what she’s going by now. I remember being told
her name was Charlotte, but certainly not Winters.” She began to giggle for no
reason and couldn’t seem to stop. She knew she was getting hysterical.

“Liv, sweetie.
Calm down.” Becca
squatted down in front of her. Olivia stared at her through more tears. “I want
to talk to her.” She stood and started out the door of the apartment.

Olivia jumped off Wyatt’s lap. “No, Becs.”

But she was talking to air, Becca was already gone heading
to the front desk. She ran after her and heard Becca talking to someone as she
came around the corner. Surely, it wouldn’t be that easy for Becca. Olivia came
to a stop when she saw Sharon standing at the desk with Becca on the other side
glaring at her.