Brielle left the salon and walked to her truck in a daze. One thing was for sure — she wasn’t waiting a single minute longer to find out who Colt Westbrook really was.
Chapter Thirty-Three
When Brielle saw the turnoff for the Mystic Creek Ranch, her heart lodged in her throat. His property had to border on hers. She went down the long drive, now speechless when she came up to a massive dwelling, larger than the one she’d grown up in, sitting in the center of a perfectly manicured front yard.
This wasn’t the ranch of a poor man. This didn’t even look like a ranch, if she were to judge by the house. Yes, the place was made of logs, but it certainly was no cabin. It was three stories high, with huge open windows. A wraparound front porch held rocking chairs, perfectly positioned flowerpots — at least they weren’t blue — plus a couple of small tables, and beautiful stonework framing it all in.
This mansion cost more than any rancher should be able to afford. Colt wasn’t just well-off; he was unbelievably wealthy. As she thought back to that day in her bedroom, the day she’d told him she didn’t care that he was just a ranch hand, she hung her head. How he must have laughed at her as he walked away. Talk about an easy lay. A cheap date, even.
He’d been playing her this whole time, and she’d fallen in love with him. Was this something they did out here in Montana? Did they get all excited when strangers showed up so they could trot out the game How Stupid Is the City Girl? and guffaw?
After leaving her truck, she approached his front steps and looked cautiously at the rail. No, no spider would dare to hang out here. Why did he choose to spend every night with her when he had this home to come back to? Again, because she was easy. From the front door, she didn’t hear a sound from inside the house. Then laughter drifted from somewhere out back.
Seeing a pathway, she followed it and found a gate, which opened without even a squeak. The shock of his betrayal was finally wearing off, and pure, unadulterated rage was taking hold. Why? Once she got on the other side of the gate, she saw a huge expanse of yard leading to a clear lake with a dock and a boat — and a boathouse — all waiting for the rich boy to go to and play in.
More laughter, now louder, came her way, and she followed the sound around the side of the house. Looking to her left, she found Colt on a massive deck, sitting on a chaise lounge with a cold beer in his hand, and two other men nearby.
One she recognized from the midsummer celebration — she believed his name was Jackson. The other she hadn’t seen before. Oh, but the man was about to meet her, and in the mood she was in, she was sure to leave a lasting impression.
Under normal circumstances, that Colt had company might have saved him, but not this time. No. She was beyond caring what anyone thought about her. Colt had lied to her, and he was about to discover exactly why it wasn’t wise to lie to the woman you claimed to love.
As if sensing her, Colt turned, and their eyes clashed. For a second or two, a smile lingered on his face, but then he sat up straighter. The look on her face had to be frightening.
“Brielle…”
Hearing her name coming from those deceiving lips drove her forward. She stomped up the stairs and didn’t even bother to look at Colt’s two companions. They did their best to get out of the way. Smart guys.
“Don’t you dare even say my name, you lying son of a bitch!” She didn’t even recognize her own voice.
“Brielle, I can explain.”
“I’ll just bet you can. Save it, Colt.” She looked around the back deck of his log mansion, built-in outdoor kitchen and all. “A ranch hand? Really? You must have found immense entertainment in the fact that I thought you worked for me. Did you come home and look around and laugh? Was it a fun game for you to play?”
While he struggled to speak, she cut him off. “I lived in the world of the rich and famous for a lot of years, Colt. A lot of years!” she thundered. “But I will tell you this — in all that time, I never met anyone who held a candle to you. No one who came even close. With them, I knew they were lying. I knew they weren’t truly my friends. That’s how that world works. But bravo to you, sweetheart,” she said, then raised her hands and clapped loudly. “You really fooled me, Colt. You got under my skin and burrowed down. You rammed right through every defense I’ve managed to build, and you took my heart and ran with it.” On her final words, her anger drained. Despair had taken over.
Colt stood and moved toward her. “Please, Brielle. Please let me explain.”
She held out her hands in horror and retreated. “Don’t you dare touch me, Colt. You’ve lost that right!”
“I was going to tell you.”
“I’m done, Colt. I’m done with you.” She packed up her emotions and returned to the place she’d lived for so many years. Cold comfort.
“Don’t say that, Brielle. What we have is real,” he said, and took a step closer.
“No, Colt. That’s where you’re wrong. We don’t have a single thing, because our relationship, or what I thought was a relationship, was built on lies. Just tell me this. Why? Was it really just a game?”
“It wasn’t a game. I swear it wasn’t.”
She didn’t know where his friends had gone, and she didn’t care. The entire town knew she was a fool already.
“Why, Colt?”
She didn’t know why it mattered, but she needed to close this chapter in her life, and the only way to do that was to have some sort of an answer.
“I didn’t know you, Brielle.”
“Just spit it out, Colt. I’m tired and I’m done, so just tell me.”
“Your father bought the property I wanted. I didn’t know you then. I wanted it, and I was willing to do whatever it took to get it,” he said, and she felt like a knife was slicing into her heart. “But that changed…”
She held up her hand to keep him from saying anything more.
“It’s over, Colt.”
She turned and walked away. Of course, he chased after her, of course he tried to plead with her, but Brielle didn’t hear a word he said through the buzzing in her ears. She didn’t even see anything as she climbed into her truck and started the motor, her motions on autopilot.
“Brielle, don’t leave like this,” he demanded, but she was beyond listening.