Cutter Mountain Rendezvous by Barbara Weitz Page A

Colton, you aren’t being nice and helpful. You’re confusing the hell out of me.”
    “Swear,” he warned with that same dark topaz eye and moved the eggs onto a plate before grabbing a bottle of Tabasco sauce. Several healthy shakes of red heat splotched over the top of the eggs.
    “You want toast?” She swiped away a tear. When he didn’t answer, she realized he was in a snit that trumped her emotions over the guitar. She lowered two slices of homemade bread into the toaster. His eggs were devoured as the toast popped. She buttered it and set it next to him with a jar of quince jam her mother made from trees in her backyard.
    “Sit,” he told her and gave her a hard stare before getting up from his chair to rinse his plate and stick it in the dishwasher. “I mean it, Kate. Sit the hell down. I’ve something to say.”
    As she sat, he grabbed her coffee cup off the counter and set it in front of her. “Why are you shaking?”
    “You’re acting like my ex.”
    “This is between you and me. Kate and Colton. Leave whatever baggage you’re bringing to our conversation at the door. It’s a new day.”
    Boy, there is an understatement. Kate settled down when she realized Colton handled his anger far different than Trey. She wondered if the deep, imbedded fear would ever leave.
    He spread jelly across his toast and took a bite, keeping her in his sight while he chewed. “My life’s complicated. More so than yours. I’m here to recover from an injury that may have ended my career. That carpenter who came to your place. He’s a retired catcher from the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was my mentor when I was a snot-nosed kid out of college. Germaine’s a friend my brother called to come out here and help you because he does carpentry now that he’s retired.”
    “The Airstream made me suspicious. Do you know what an Airstream costs?”
    “A bundle. Whatever. He charged you a fair price. You paid him and you’ve a helluva good job in return. That wasn’t charity. It was me making a phone call to my brother to find a local carpenter to help you out so you could get this inn up and running.”
    “Thank you.” Kate sipped her coffee and saw her appreciation caused a stutter in his brain.
    He puffed out a breath and regained his thoughts. “Germaine showed me my arm’s okay if I’m smart and don’t push it. That’s what I intend to do. I mean to stay on a couple more weeks then return to the Bullets and workout with my trainer. Then I’ll see what happens.”
    Millions of questions sat on the tip of Kate’s tongue. Who was the woman that took him to Knoxville? The rockers, the guitar, and his meddling by getting her dad involved in the construction pile thief. The scene at the barn that he mentioned then dropped. What about the feelings she couldn’t help attach to him? What did she do with those? She turned to him and held a long, questioning gaze and every bone in her body melted in need. She wanted to drag him upstairs and make love all day.
    Colton leaned his arms on the table. “I’m a friend, Kate. Nothing more,” he said as if seeing desire in her eyes. She lowered her eyes in hopes the heat that rushed to her face didn’t show. “I’ve screwed up with women, and I’ve no intention of screwing up with you. We’re friends,” he repeated as if she didn’t understand the hurtful words the first time.
    “And the barn’s safe,” he continued. “Do you really think I would take Lindsay inside a dangerous structure? I like that kid. I wanted her to see the horse stalls and the tack room. You should take a look as well. There’s furniture in there you might want to refinish for your inn.”
    The lump in Kate’s throat made it impossible for her to speak. She wrapped her hands around her coffee cup and stared into its inky depth. “I don’t pick up strangers because my daughter was involved in a carjacking when she was five.” She stuttered in a breath. “We never used sitters much. Trey