A Haunted Twist of Fate by Stacey Coverstone

to be that easy. Backing
up, she folded her arms over her chest to send him a message.
    With a hangdog expression covering his smooth face,
he moved forward and caressed her hair with the palm of his hand. “I’m coming
on too strong, huh?”
    “You think?” Her eyebrow lifted and she backed up
again.
    He flashed a toothy grin. “I’m sorry, Shay. What I
meant was maybe you shouldn’t be alone tonight, with what just happened.”
    “I think you meant exactly what you said.”
    Smiling, he admitted, “I got carried away. It’s been
quite awhile since I—”
    “Please. Spare me the details.” She threw her hand
into the air, uninterested in hearing about his love life. “I really enjoyed
our time together tonight, but we barely know each other. I like you, but this
is moving too fast for me. Besides, as you can see, I’m living in a saloon full
of ghosts. That’s taking precedence right now.”
    His gaze dropped to the floor for a moment. “I know.
I’m not looking to be involved in a permanent relationship, but I’m not going
to say I regret kissing you.”
    She was glad to hear that, about the kissing part. She
hadn’t regretted it either. But what did he mean by not being interested in a
relationship? That he’d only wanted to sleep with her tonight? No strings
attached? She wasn’t like that. A one-night stand years ago had been one too
many.  Two disastrous relationships after that were exactly why she couldn’t
let this go farther. Colt was nice, but Gary and Tom had seemed nice, too. Both
of them had fooled her into thinking they loved her when all they’d cared about
had been her father’s money. She wouldn’t open her heart to that kind of
betrayal again.
    Colt stepped back.  “On second thought, I withdraw
the invitation to stay at my place tonight.”
    She tilted her head. That had been a quick change of
mind. Probably because she hadn’t jumped at the chance to hop into bed with
him.  Nevertheless, she chuckled and felt her body relax. “Is that so?”
    He smiled a lopsided smile. “Yeah. I do have a guest
room you could stay in, but the first time you spend the night with me, it’s
going to be your idea. And you won’t be sleeping in the extra
room. You’ll be in my bed with me all night.”
    Shay stared at him for what seemed like an eternity.
What a cocky son of a gun he was. The look behind those green eyes was one of
confidence and pure determination. He was obviously a guy who knew what he
wanted and had the patience to wait for it. He came on strong, but his honesty
was refreshing. A burning sensation spread through her torso, and her heart
picked up its pace. Without thinking, she lifted the Stetson off his head and
plowed her hand through his hair. “You’ve got yourself a deal, cowboy.”
    Colt took the hat from her hand and set it back on
his head.  Then he put his hands on her hips and gave her one more peck on the
lips. He turned and strutted to the front door.  “I think we’d better call it a
night, darlin’ before I do something I will regret. I’m going home to take a cold shower.”
    The joke was the perfect ending to the evening. She
laughed and gently pushed him out the door; confused, because she was relieved
the pressure to make love was off, but also sorry to see him go.
    “I did have a good time tonight, Colt. Thank you.”
    He tipped his hat. “As did I.”
    “Ghosts and all?”
    He hesitated before answering, “Ghosts and all. I’ll
see you again soon.”
    “All right.”
    “Promise you’ll call if those . . . well, if you get
scared. Anytime, day or night. I’ll come runnin’ if you need me.”
    She liked that and had no doubt he meant it. “I
promise.”
    “Night.”
    “Good night.”
    After sauntering to his truck, he opened the door
and stood on the running board staring back at her. She was thinking about how
he’d called her darlin’. No one had ever called her that before. His intense gaze
pulled her from her ruminations.