Page 63 of Colt

“Colt,” she called after him.

He turned to face her with an expectant look on his face.

“I think someone is having sex in the shed in the middle barn,” Chelsea whispered to Colt.

“You just think they are? Did you check?”

Chelsea rolled her eyes. “No, I’m not going to barge in on two people having sex.”

Colt’s lips quirked up in a smirk. “So, you want me to do it then?”

“Well, you’re a man,” Chelsea stated matter-of-factly.

“Great observation,” Colt replied sarcastically.

“Look, I don’t know what your problem is, but please just check it out for me.”

He set down the wheelbarrow and took off his gloves, narrowing his eyes at her. “You don’t know what my problem is?”

“No, I don’t,” Chelsea shot back.

“I hate it when I have to do someone’s job. This should have been done hours ago, but your new employee thought it was fine to let it go. I do not need the extra work,” Colt retorted before storming off toward the middle barn.

Chelsea followed closely behind, watching as he reached the door to the shed and pulled it open. The sound of a woman’s scream filled the air.

“Put your clothes on and get back to work. We’ll discuss this later,” Colt yelled.

Without hesitation, Chelsea marched over to them, her voice shaking with anger. “You’re both fired. Gather your things and leave this ranch immediately. And don’t ever come back.”

She turned to face Colt, who was now staring at her with his hands on his hips. His expression showed that he was furious.

“What’s wrong?” she asked defensively.

“What’s wrong?” he repeated. “What do you think is wrong, Chelsea? You went against my authority… again. Am I or am I not the manager here?”

“Well, yes.”

“Yes, so I make the decisions when it comes to my employees—”

She took a step forward. “I am the owner of this ranch.”

“Yes, but I run it. I have always made the decisions ever since I became manager. Walt trusted me.”

“I know he did, and I trust you too, but they deserved to be fired. They were having sex on company time.”

“And so did I,” Colt murmured, causing Chelsea to gasp in shock.

Colt shook his head, walked around her, and out of the barn.

Chelsea took a deep breath. Oh, God! He was right. She ran after him and reached him before he entered the other barn.

“Colt,” she said, making him stop and face her. “What happened with us wasn’t planned.”

“Which time?” He smirked.

“Uh, in the loft. That just happened. Our emotions took over.”

“And who’s to say theirs didn’t? That’s why I was going to give them another chance. The heat of the moment can affect anyone. Just because you own the ranch, doesn’t change the fact that it happened. You can’t fire people on a first offense, unless it’s for something like stealing or hurting an animal.” He tightened his jaw. “And I make the damn decisions. Not you. If you wanted to fire them, then you should have been the one to open the door and catch them. You got me because you couldn’t do it, so it was up to me how to handle the situation.” He stepped closer to her. “I will not have you changing my decisions, Chelsea.”

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