Page 10 of Devastate Me

“Hey, man, I’ve been trying to call you for months.”

“I blocked your number.” The last thing he wanted was to talk to the man who had ruined his life.

“Just give me a minute, okay?” Dean begged.

Colt looked down and saw the glint of silver on Dean’s ring finger. “You married her, didn’t you?” God, this day was going to shit fast.

“Yeah, I did, but—”

Colt threw three punches before Dean could finish. The blows sent Dean sprawling on his ass.

“Fuck!” Dean gripped his face with one hand, spitting blood. “You and your fucking haymakers, Colt, Christ. I forgot how much I hated fighting with you.” He climbed to his feet and stood there, his guard lowered. “Go ahead. Hit me, man. I owe you that.”

For a second, Colt’s pulse spiked as his blood roared in his ears, but Noah’s barking interrupted his building adrenaline. He calmed. Dean wasn’t the enemy. He was a cheating asshole, nothing more.

“I’m sorry, Colt. I fucked it all up. I betrayed you. I betrayed our friendship. I know what we had is gone, but I had to find you and tell you I’m sorry. That’s all.” Dean was quiet, honest, and for the first time Colt felt the hot anger inside him begin to fade.

“I heard you’d been looking for me. How did you find me?”

“Vets talk.” Dean chuckled. “You weren’t that hard to find. I drove two hours to get here, but it was worth it.” He held his jaw. “Well, except for that part.”

Colt sighed. “So, you and Talia?”

“Married six months ago.” Dean smiled wryly. “She’s pushing me to go after promotions.”

“You always were more ambitious than me.”

“I suppose,” Dean agreed. “Anyway, I’m sorry I surprised you.”

“It’s fine ... now.” If he had seen Dean two months ago, Colt would have thrown more than one punch. But things had changed.Hehad changed. Somehow that one kiss with Ophelia had set something in motion. He wasn’t quick to change, but he was like molten lava beneath the surface, rolling, tumbling, burning, and perpetually changing inside.

“I wish things had turned out different,” said Dean.

“Yeah, but they didn’t. And maybe it’s for the best.”

Dean held out a hand to Colt, who stared at it for a long second. He thought of Ophelia and what she would want him to do, and then he placed his palm in Dean’s, giving it a shake before letting go.

“Well, I should go.” Dean nodded at him and turned to walk away.

“Take care, Dean.”

“You too, man.”

Colt gave himself a moment before he got into his truck and drove home.

It was early evening when he pulled into his driveway. Ophelia was out in her front yard, spreading mulch in the beds planted against her house. The sight of her cute butt in the air as she bent over made him smile, and he got hard thinking of all the sweet, wicked things he could to if she was bent over in front of him.

Maybe Nancy was right. Maybe he was brave enough to trust his heart to someone again. Maybe it was time.

She waved when she saw him. “Hey, Colt!” She came over, and her vibrant smile began to fade. “What happened to your hand?” She removed her gardening gloves and tossed them to the ground.

“What?” He looked down and saw the knuckles of his right hand were bruised and bloody.

“Let me see.” She took his hand and pulled it toward her. “You have a first aid kit?”

He nodded toward his place. “In the house.”

“Let’s get you cleaned up.” She grasped his wrist so as not to hurt him. God, she was sweet. He was perfectly capable of tending to himself, but he didn’t want to give her a reason to leave. He let Noah into the house first and then retrieved his first aid kit from the bathroom.

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