CHAPTER FOUR
Colten spent most of his week antisocial with his bay gelding, checking up on local grazing cattle. Which took him out the front door at five in the morning, and left him off somewhere around supper time.
On the road and heading home, he forced himself to think over the approaching weekend and his date with Sarah the next day.
Adjusting his hands on the steering wheel, he fiddled with the windows, rolling them down and hitting the air conditioning off. Nervousness, anger, annoyance with himself all got the better of him as he came up on an old truck pulled over on the side of the road.
A very familiar old truck.
His foot left the gas as he slowed, staring at the broken down vehicle. The sight of her stepping out from under the hood made him hit the break. His horse in the trailer stomped in protest, neighing and causing a racquet.
He leaned forward out of his seat, “Abi.”
She smiled, “Colten.”
Shoving his truck into park, he tried to calm the instantaneous wolf melt-down happening inside himself, “Is there something wrong with your truck?”
She walked to the passenger window, beaded with sweat and dust, “Yeah, again.”
“What's wrong with it?”
She leaned into the window, “Mmm... I don't know. Everything? Daddy likely won't pay to fix it this time.”
He undid his seat belt, “I'll look at it.”
She smiled, “You don't-”
He jumped out of his truck, not hearing her protesting and grabbed an unopened bottle of water from the bench seat.
Walking around to her, he paused his step on the deserted highway, “Here.”
“Oh, I'm okay.”
He continued to hold it out, “You look hot.”
She reached over and took it, “Usually when a guy says that to a girl, they mean something totally different, but it's nice to know I'm a little gross and dirty.” Laughing as she twisted the top off.
Colten sighed, “I'll take a look at the truck for you.” He stepped up the raised hood, taking in the state of a truck that likely had more issues than him. He couldn't see much, but he tried – for her.
He sat in the driver's seat, his hand coming to ignition to try to turn it over.
“I think you need the keys, Colt.” Abigail walked to him, leaning into the door frame.
He pulled his eyes off her and took the keys, “Might help.”
She giggled.
The truck protested the start-up and then just gave up all together.
Abigail hung off the door, “It's done in.”
He glanced at her, “Well, not necessarily.”
“Daddy won't be that hopeful of it.” She sighed, “I forgot my cell phone at home, maybe I could use yours to call my parents? I'll tell them to come get me.”
Colten dug for his flip-phone and passed it to her, “I can drive you home. It's just down the road.” Yes, he was willingly putting himself in more pain but she was starting to become worth it in some off way.
She smiled at him, “Colten, this is so old school.”
“I'm old. You didn't get the memo?”
“You ain't this old!” She laughed, punching in some numbers and walking away.
Watching her, he tried to focus on something else. Back at the engine, he began to inspect everything and then, he found the problem.
“Abi!”
She showed up at the hood, beside him.
He turned to her, “You're truck is out of coolant.”
She sighed, “Oh. Yeah, it leaks.”
Smiling, he wiped his hands off on his jeans, “Let's hope it's not all seized up.”
“I'm sort of a girl when it comes to cars. I don't have a guy that can remind me to do it.” She joked.
He grunted, “You don't need a guy.”
“I don't?” She breathed.
Their eyes caught and he stumbled for words, “We can go back to town and get some-”
Abigail shook her head, “No, don't worry. Is it okay though, if I take you up on that ride?”
He fumbled and slammed the hood by accident.
“Oh!” She jumped.
“Sorry. Grease.” The excuse seemed legitimate enough as he wiped his hands on his jeans again, “What about the truck here?”
“Daddy's saying he's going to get a tow truck to get rid of it.” She reach across the seat of her vehicle, grabbing her baseball hat and sunglasses, slinging her purse over her shoulder at the same time.
“You know it's could be alright, we can probably... fix it.”
Abigail smiled at him as he spoke, his sentence dropping off, “Colten, it's okay, don't worry about it. I'll just grab the horse feed from the back.”
He stopped her from moving forward, “I'll do this.”
Her smile would not fade, “There's four bags.”
“I pound fences and flip calves on their sides, on a daily basis.” He pointed to the truck, “Boomer will keep you company.”
She gave in, walking over to where he wanted her while he loaded her grain bags into the bed of his chevy.
Jumping inside his truck, he flipped over the engine, “So, home?”
“Please.” She nodded, “Sorry for any inconvenience.”
“It's not an inconvenience, can't you tell, I wasn't very busy.”
Abigail giggled, “I don't know, maybe you were going somewhere.”
He laughed, “Home. I was going home, Abi.”
“Well, Ella is very important.”
He hesitated and took his hat off, putting it in the back on the top of Boomer as the dog groaned at him.
Abigail glanced back at the dog, “How old is he now?”
“Old.” Colten thought, “Twelve, this summer.”
“Awe.” She leaned over the seat, brushing Colten's arm as she reached to pat the top of Boomer's head, “You and your animal's, Colt.”
“What are you saying?” He smiled.
She sat back in her seat, “You just really love them.”
He shrugged, “I like animals.”
Smiling at him, he had to force himself to look back at the road.
“So, I guess that kills the rodeo this weekend for me.” She breathed a heavy sigh.
“Why's that?”
“No truck to haul the trailer. My parent's are refusing to have anything to do with racing. They want me to sell Fiesta after what happened to her the other day.”
“What?” He broke, not liking her abrupt sadness, “Well, you shouldn't do that. She's a good horse.”
“She is, yeah. but my parent's figure I can get more for her as she's only ten right now.”
“Too bad.” He had a deep need to tell her to fight for the horse – or better yet, keep the horse at his house, barrel race. The rest of what he had been thinking spewed out of his mouth, “I can take you to the rodeo this weekend.”
Abigail paused, “Really?”
Colten shrugged, “Sure. Why not?”
“That's mighty nice of you, Colten.”
Why was he voluntarily agreeing to take Abigail Redding to the rodeo, he did not know, other than the obvious.
He glanced at her, “It's no problem.”
“I'll take Mocha and give Fiesta more time off.”
Colten nodded.
She looked to him, “Were you going to the rodeo?”
“The dance, yeah.”
“Oh right, with your girlfriend?” Abigail's voice softened.
He choked on the lump in his throat, “She's not my girlfriend.”
Abigail took in a sharp breath and looked away, “What is she then?”
“A friend.” He clarified, “One that needed my help. Her husband died a few years ago and it's been hard on her and her kids.”
“Oh.” She paused, “That's horrible.”
If Sarah and him had one thing in common, it was death.
“It was an accident. Unexpectedly happened. Her kids and her, it's been hard on them.”
“Were you close with her husband?”
He took his eyes off the road, “I knew him well, yeah.”
Abigail sighed, “That's too bad.”
“It is, but that's all it started as.” He knew that sounded off.
“She seems to like you.”
He didn't like hearing her withdrawn voice, “I was trying to help.” At least that's what he had been telling himself.
“Oh.” She nodded, looking away.
He cleared his throat and changed the subject, “Those cookies were good.”
She perked up to her normal bubbly-self, “You liked them?”
He smiled, “They are good on the porch.”
She let out a soft giggle, “I know, right?”
He nodded and looked back to the dusty, straight road.
“If you ate them all, I can make you more.” She offered, “In exchange for driving me to the rodeo Saturday.”
“Cookies for driving?”
“Is that a yes?” She smiled, her eyes squinting as he looked over to her.
He saw his life about to start up with a lot more drama and it had everything to do with Abigail,
“Sure.”
“Boy, your easy to please.” She joked.
He laughed, “Well, I am a man.”
“No, you're Colten. Other boys aren’t like you.”
His smile faded, she was correct, he wasn't like other boys – he turned into a big wolf in his off time.
“I just mean,” She stumbled, “you're generally pretty easy to please. More than the boys I met in college.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“Yes, of course!” She put her hand on his shoulder and shook him.
His whole upper body tensed as he felt the familiar burning and instinct towards her erupt.
She dropped her hand, trailing her fingertips along his arm before putting it back in her lap.
Wether or not the action had been meant to get his attention could be up for debate, his other side quickly blew things out of proportion though. Every single part of his body screamed at him.
She however, was oblivious to everything he felt in that moment.
“What time do you want me to get you Saturday?”
She thought, “Would nine work?”
He nodded, “Sure thing.” And now he had to explain it or not explain it to Sarah. He pulled his truck into the luxurious ranch property, stopping by big red barn, he glanced over to the picturesque five thousand square foot log home. His life just did not compare to hers.
She undid her seat belt, “Thanks, Colten.”
“I'll help you unload.” He undid his seat belt and jumped out.
She got to the back of the truck first and dropped the tail gate, leaning over and reaching for a bag of feed. He got to it quicker, swinging it out of the bed and onto his shoulder.
She scooted away, “Oh, you're good at that.”
He smiled and grab another, showing off.
She reached in, taking one over her shoulder, “Like this?”
He laughed.
“What?” She smiled, her eyes dancing over his amusement.
“Want them in the feed room?” He asked.
“Please.” She nodded, walking next to him into the barn.
Stepping into the sweet smelling room, he dropped them, rolling his shoulders to loosen the radiating burning that was coursing through him.
“I'll grab the last one.” He walked out as Charlie showed up in the barn isle.
Colten stopped, “Afternoon, Mr. Redding.”
“Thanks for bringing Abigail back, Colten.” He said in his slow but gruff voice.
Colten nodded, then glanced over his shoulder as Abigail walked up beside him.
She looked to her father, “Daddy, don't junk it, please.”
Charlie rolled his eyes, “We'll get you one of those sedans like your mother's.”
She sighed, “How am I suppose-”
Her father pointed at her, “Stop with the horses.”
Colten shifted, “I'll go grab the other bag of grain.” He walked out of the barn quick and could still hear the conversation going on behind him. Even outside, he could hone in on it, just as Abigail resulted to begging her father to fix the truck.
He grabbed the last feed bag and decided to get out of there, her pain had become hard to hear. He walked back into the barn as Abigail crossed her arms.
“Daddy, I'll pay for it!”
Charlie laughed at his daughter, “You don't even have a job, Abi, stop being silly.”
She huffed, “Well, I just went for an interview at the Diner in town and they said I can start next week.”
Colten paused in the door of the feed room and listened as the job information peaked his interest.
Abigail shuffled in the isle, “I'll pay you back the tow fee, Daddy.”
Charlie laughed again at her, “Abi, the truck is junk. No more discussion.” He walked away from her and that was when he heard her start towards the feed room.
Colten walked inside and threw the bag of grain down. He looked up as she stopped in the door frame, “You got a job at the Diner?”
Abigail rested a hand on her hip as she leaned into the frame, “Yeah. It's a few days during the week, they needed someone. I wanted something to do.”
Colten grunted, “There's a lot of truckers at that stop.”
She smiled at him, “It's a truck-stop, so yeah, Silvertun's finest.”
He dusted his hands off on his jeans, “Yeah, just watch the guys in there.”
She moved out of his way and into the barn isle, “Thanks again, Colten.”
He grabbed out his truck keys from his pocket, “See you Saturday.”
She walked out beside him, “Have a good night.”
“You too.” He nodded and walked back to his truck, a lot more confused than the day he'd met her five years earlier.
His gelding threw a impatient temper in the trailer and he banged his hand to the sidewall as he walked past. The horse snorted and stomped, making Colten laugh as he got back in his truck and left the property.
Driving back down the road, he thought of Abigail's truck and how it probably just needed a bit of work and how he could probably do the work. It made him drive past his turn off twenty minutes and pull up in front of a tow truck as the driver cranked the old truck onto the back of it's loader.
“Hey.”
The man looked up as Colten approached, sweat pouring over his sun dried skin, “Afternoon there.”
Colten nodded and pulled out his wallet, looking over the last bit of cash he had left in it, “I'll give you two hundred bucks to drive this thing down the road to my house.”
“It's going to the scrap yard.” The man said in a strained voice as he fought a chain.
“I'll save you the trip.” Colten stuffed and took out the cash.
Sighing, he gave him a nod, “Alright.”
Colten passed him the money, “Follow me. It's five miles down the road.” He walked back to his truck, ignoring what he'd just done for a girl that wasn't even his girlfriend.