Rising Assets

  “Winter wheat, barley, and Camelina.” The oil seed crop was used in biofuel, and it had been Colt’s recommendation she plant it last year. “The money will come in, and I’m not worried.” Right.

  He rubbed his chin, settling back in the seat. “How about a loan?” In the moonlight, the interesting multicolors of his hair still shone, even though the mass no longer touched his shoulders. It seemed like the finest genes from both his Native American and Irish ancestry had combined into hair color women paid a fortune for.

  “I don’t want a loan.” She studied his angled profile. Hard and sharp, his even features showed a rugged toughness he’d lacked as a cute teenager. Now he was all man.

  A pang hit her that someday he’d settle down. Finally become one woman’s man. Lucky wench. The man planned his entire life down to exactness. His future wife was probably some PTA president with as many college degrees as he had.

  Melanie hadn’t had time for college, and she liked her boots muddy. Dirty boots didn’t belong at PTA meetings.

  His muscled shoulders rolled, and he kept his gaze focused out the window. “Working three jobs is too hard and too stressful.” Colt stopped the truck in front of the porch she’d painted the week before.

  Thank goodness something looked fresh.

  Distant or close by, he’d always been overprotective, and she could take care of herself. Time was short, and she needed money, not protection. “Stop worrying.” She slid from the truck. “Thanks for the ride home. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Slamming the door shut, she loped up the steps and unlocked the front door.

  The engine cut behind her. A door slammed, and heavy boot steps echoed behind her. “I can’t help but worry. You’re going to work yourself to death.”

  There was no alternative. God, she needed to get out of the skimpy clothes. She hurried inside, kicked out of the heels, and dropped her purse on the sofa table.

  “Why do I get the feeling you’re not telling me everything?” He remained on the porch.

  Sighing, she allowed her shoulders to drop as she turned to face him. The man had excellent instincts. “I’m not telling you everything.”

  Colton stilled. “Excuse me?” he asked softly.

  She swallowed. The tone of voice was something new. “Some parts of my life are private.”

  He blinked. “No they’re not. If you’re in trouble, Hawk and I are here. The three of us.”

  Exactly. This was a problem the three of them couldn’t solve. It’s not like she’d ask either one of them to impregnate her. “I know, but I’m on my own with this one.”

  “There is no on your own, damn it. It’s not how we work.” Colton vibrated with a very rare display of temper.

  Irritation crawled up her throat. “Listen, Colt. I know you’re used to meddling family members and the security that comes with that, but back off. I’m alone, and I need to figure this out by myself.” It was a low blow, considering he’d always felt badly about her lack of family and his abundance of it, but she had to get him off the topic of money and her need for it.

  “You’re kidding me. I can’t believe you said that.” His chin lowered.

  She’d known him her entire life and had seen him truly angry twice. Maybe three times. The man had an incredibly long fuse, but if it blew, everyone scattered.

  As he stood in the doorway, blue eyes blazing, there was no question as to his fury.

  She lifted her chin and casually moved toward the nearest chair, suddenly feeling vulnerable in the tight outfit that revealed way too much. “I don’t need your help.”

  “Sit down.” The order held bite and rumbled in a deep tone she’d never heard. Yeah, she may have poked a slumbering bear. Her butt hit the cushion even before her mind clicked into gear. Instant anger swelled through her at how quickly her body had followed his order. She shot to her feet.

  “Too late.” Long strides propelled him so close she could feel his heat. “Stick with your instincts and not with that stubborn mind.”

  She turned slightly to outmaneuver him. “I don’t take orders from you, Colton Freeze.”

  He mimicked her motion and stepped into her space. “If you’re not smart enough to take care of yourself, you damn well do take orders from me.”

  Anger and a well-earned note for self-preservation battled for dominance inside her. She took a step back. “Get out of my house.”

  He mirrored her step. “No.” Crimson angled across his high cheekbones, enhancing the dangerous hollows beneath them. As a kid, he had been adorable. As a teenager, handsome. As a fully grown, tough, battle-scarred man, he was all predatory male.

  One she was smart enough to back away from, even as her nipples sprang to attention from his intense gaze. Oh, this couldn’t happen. Down nipples. Down. Several steps later, her butt hit the wall.

  A second later, they stood toe to toe. His palms flattened against the cedar logs, caging her. “We’re about to come to an understanding here, Melanie Murphy Alana Jacoby. Got it?”

  Heated air filled her lungs with delicious tingles. She breathed out slowly, trying to control herself.

  He’d been her best friend for decades. She knew how to appease him, how to make him laugh. The right words were there and would smooth everything over. For two seconds, she considered saying them. But she was past that. He’d come into her home, he’d ordered her around, and now he wanted things his way.

  Not a chance.

  So she said the one thing guaranteed to push him over the edge. “Fuck you, Colt—”

  His mouth was on hers before she finished saying his name. Heat and power slammed from the kiss, and her mind swam.

  Fire lashed through her so quickly her knees weakened. Her nipples scraped his chest, and lava consumed her. Her eyes fluttered shut, and she fell into the storm created by a man much more dangerous than she’d known.

  She kissed him back, her body alive, her mind shutting down.

  There was nothing but the whirlwind of impossible need cascading around them, through her, into her, beyond her.

  The kiss was hard, angry, and more passionate than she could’ve dreamed.

  Many times they’d come close to kissing, but one of them had always backed away. With a grin, or a joke, they’d escaped ever taking the chance. The one thing Melanie knew for sure was if Colton ever kissed her, if he ever showed her that side of him, there’d be no turning back. Ever.

  As he released her mouth to pin her with a dark gaze, there was no question he knew it, too.

  Determination filtered through his eyes, and his jaw firmed. Something new and intriguing fluttered alive in her abdomen. Satisfaction lifted his lips as her eyes widened.

  Holy crap. Colton Freeze didn’t want to turn back.

  Chapter Three

  After a damn restless night, Colt kicked the post into place, his stomach empty, wind slapping his cheeks and scattering snow across his boots. “The weather is supposed to warm up in March. Where’s the damn sun?”

  Hawk rubbed a well-worn glove across his forehead. “It’s only five in the morning. Give the day a chance.”

  “Whatever,” Colton muttered.

  His brothers glanced up from tying off twine around a fence post.

  “What’s eating you?” Quinn asked. As the sheriff in town, Quinn often stepped in before anybody threw a punch. Well, unless it was Quinn aiming the fist.

  “Nothin’.” Colton shook his head. One sleepless night didn’t mean a damn thing.

  His oldest brother, Jake, leaned into the back of a battered truck to grab a thermos. “What’s up, Colt? Is your detailed plan for this week off track?” Jake shared a look of amusement with Quinn.

  “I don’t plan everything,” Colton said.

  “Do too,” his brothers muttered right back.

  “Whatever. I’m just chomping at the bit to get into the office later.” Not true—not true at all. His mind still spun from the disastrous kiss the previous night. What the hell had he been thinking? Kissing M
elanie was not in any plan.

  Even worse, his body didn’t regret it nearly as much as his mind. In fact, his body wanted to march right back to Melanie’s and finish what they’d started.

  His body could shut the hell up. “How’s Sophie?” he asked Jake.

  “Great.” Jake grinned like he always did when talking about his spunky wife. “She’s starting to show, and having some fun shopping for maternity clothes.”

  “I think this time you’re having a girl,” Quinn said, reaching for another fence post.

  “Either would be great, but I do think it’s another boy,” Jake countered. “Just a gut feeling.”

  “Twins,” Colton said with a grin. It was nice seeing both of his older brothers married and happy, although he had no intention of joining them anytime soon. Jake had married an artist and already had a baby boy, and Quinn had married an art gallery owner, and their wives had become instant friends.

  Hawk scratched his head. “What is she, about five months along?”

  “About that,” Jake said. “This pregnancy was a complete surprise considering Nathan is only a year old. We could find out the sex but decided it’d be fun to wait and see. My daughter is hoping for a girl this time.”

  Little Leila was from Jake’s first marriage, which had left him a widower. It was wonderful seeing both Jake and Leila happy with Sophie in their lives now.

  Leila would be a great big sister no matter what. At eight years old, the sweetheart was more fun than imaginable. “Tell her to be ready after dinner for our movie night,” Colton said. He liked to take his niece to the movies every time a new Disney came out.

  “She already picked out her outfit.” Jake grinned. “She won’t tell me what you two have planned for the St. Patrick’s Day float.”

  Colt reached for a hammer. The family always entered a float in the Mineral Lake St. Paddy’s Day parade, and this year, he and Leila had volunteered to create the design. “Let’s just say it involves vampires and werewolves that don’t sparkle.”

  “Sounds good.” Quinn stretched his back. “Let us know when we need to show up and pound nails.”

  “It’s a plan.” Jake cut a look toward Hawk, his gaze intense.

  Colton nodded imperceptibly.

  “All right.” Jake threw a hammer that clanked in the back of the truck. “Quinn and I will head over to the northern pasture and check on the fences before going into town. I have an early meeting with some clients.” As a lawyer, Jake often had early meetings.

  Quinn slowly gazed at Colton and then Hawk. “Good idea. See you two later.” Sliding into the front of the Ford, he waited for Jake to jump into the passenger seat.

  As the brothers drove down the bumpy field, Hawk turned toward Colton. “That was subtle.”

  “Huh?” Colton asked, stretching his neck.

  “I figured all three of you would discuss my options with me.” Hawk wiped grime off his forehead.

  Colton shrugged. “We didn’t want to gang up on you.” But they would if they had to. Hawk was family, and when family needed help, you jumped in. “I can call them back if you wish.”

  “No thanks,” Hawk said. “Get the prompting over with.”

  “When do you need to decide on re-upping?” Colton asked.

  Hawk sighed, his green eyes narrowing. “A month. I leave on another mission any day, and then I have a month to decide.”

  “Want to talk about the mission?” Colt asked quietly.

  “Can’t.” Hawk kicked a post into better alignment.

  Figured. Colt’s gut ached whenever he thought about Hawk’s time as a sniper in the service, but he understood they couldn’t talk about it. “I need another partner in my business, and I want it to be you.”

  “You don’t need another partner, and I doubt you have a partner to start with.” Hawk grabbed the post with both hands and twisted the base deeper into the earth.

  “I want you and Mel as partners. It’d be more fun, and you have capital.” Colton reached for more twine.

  “You’re richer than dirt and don’t need my capital.”

  “Come on. You’ve given your time, and you’ve done a lot of good. It’s eating you alive, and that won’t work. We always talked about owning a series of fighting gyms, and now is the time.” Colt set his jaw. He’d enjoyed MMA fighting while in college and wanted to bring fighting and different martial arts classes to gyms throughout Montana.

  “Don’t you think you’ll be busy with running Lodge-Freeze Enterprises?” Hawk asked.

  “Sure, but I want this business for the three of us.” He’d never planned on only working as the CEO for the family companies, and even as young kids, he, Hawk, and Mel had planned to work together. Of course, as teenagers, he and Hawk had thoughts of owning a Hooters-type bar until Melanie had vetoed the idea.

  As adults, they had different priorities than just fun. Colt’s current one included getting his oldest friend home in one piece. “You look tired.” Obsessed. Dangerous. Haunted.

  “I’m fine.” Hawk rolled his shoulders and glanced down the row of repaired fences that protected cattle and didn’t delineate any division between their ranch lands. Since his mother had died, they’d worked the ranches as one. “One more mission—something I need to take care of, and I’m out. I promise.”

  Colt paused. “The mission sounds personal.”

  “Missions are always somewhat personal.” Hawk’s face lost expression in a way that pissed Colton off.

  He hid his irritation. “So, about our partnership?”

  “You’re the financial genius.” Hawk finally smiled. “What’s the plan, anyway?”

  “I thought we’d start with a gym in Mineral Lake and one in Billings…and expand from those locations. Teach martial arts, some fitness classes, and self-defense. Should be fun, and it’s not like we lack training.” Colt finished with the last tie-down. “What do you think?”

  Hawk straightened his back and looked toward the snow-covered mountains to the north. He rubbed his chin. Finally, he turned toward Colton, dark eyes somber. “After this month, I’m in.”

  Relief whipped through Colton so quickly he turned away to throw tools in the back of the remaining truck to hide his expression.

  “So how about now you tell me what’s bugging you?” Hawk loped toward the vehicle.

  “I kissed Melanie last night.” Colt had never kept a secret from Hawk, and he had no intention of starting now.

  Hawk halted and swiveled around. “Holy shit.”

  That pretty much summed it up.

  “Did she kiss you back?” Hawk shoved his hat further up his head.

  Colton paused. Hell yeah, she’d kissed him back. With fire, with tongue, she’d pretty much blown his world. “Yes.”

  Hawk rubbed his chin. “Well, it was either that or punch you in the face. What does this mean?”

  Heat roared through Colt’s chest. “Nothing. It means nothing. The kiss was a temporary moment of craziness. I hadn’t seen her in too long, she wore that dress, and I was, ah, pissed.” Right? That was it.

  “Um, okay.” Hawk stepped into the passenger’s side of the truck and waited for Colton to get in. “But why? You guys are great together.”

  “The three of us are good together.” Colton slid into his seat and ignited the engine. Where one went, the other two showed up. The security of their friendship had made for a good childhood for them all, and they couldn’t leave Hawk out. He’d lost everybody but them.

  “I’m not into threesomes.”

  Colton snorted. “Did you just make a joke?” His buddy had been way too serious for much too long.

  “I’m funny,” Hawk said.

  Hawk was many things, but funny wasn’t one of them. Laconic. Serious. Deadly.

  Colton nodded, steering the truck around potholes. “You are hilarious.”

  “Thanks.” Hawk wiped dirt off his forehead. “The three of us are great friends, but you and Mel have always had something…separate. Something
just for you.”

  Colton jerked his head. Had they abandoned Hawk?

  Hawk cut him a look. “It’s a good thing, and I never felt left out.”

  Was he telling the truth? The friendship with Mel and Colt had been all Hawk could hold on to for so many years. Hawk had never known his father, and he’d lost his mother as a teenager. Colton would never exclude him. “Mel and I are good friends.” No male-female stuff. Well, until last night. “We know everything about each other. No intrigue, no surprises, nothing to take us further.” Plus, he wasn’t ready for forever, and he’d just hurt her.

  Then he’d have to kick his own ass.

  “Hmmm.” Hawk pressed a button on the radio. “We all didn’t hang out as much as teenagers. Ever wonder why?”

  “We were busy with sports and dating. But we still hung out a lot.”

  Hawk shrugged. “Maybe you two didn’t want to watch each other date other people.”

  That was just silly. “Whatever.”

  “Aren’t you tired of bubble-heads?” Hawk asked.

  Colt skirted a sprawling hole and headed for the nearest ranch road. “Bubble-heads? Shawna was an anthropologist with a doctorate.”

  “Yeah, but she was dumb.” Hawk shrugged and then winced as the soundtrack for Grease belted out. “Perhaps book smart, but the woman couldn’t hold a conversation to save her life.”

  Colt thought back to the voluptuous blonde. “We didn’t talk a lot.”

  Hawk snorted. “Exactly.”

  Like Hawk talked very much. This conversation included more words than Hawk usually used in a week. Colton shoved a rough hand through his hair as the music continued. “Apparently Melanie was in the truck. Why does she still like those soundtracks, anyway?”

  Hawk shrugged. “I don’t know. But Grease was the first movie the three of us watched together. Remember? We snuck the VCR tape from her grandpop’s movie stash right after she moved here.”

  That was right. Mel had only been four, a chubby little girl with sad eyes. Her parents had died in a small plane crash, and her grandpop had instantly brought her home to raise.

  Colton had taken one look at her and decided they were going to be friends for life. The idea that she still loved the music because of him and Hawk was a sweet one. “I remember.”