Page 15 of Too Old for Love

“It’s our family’s home,” said Rett. “All of these cottages belong to members of our team and their families. The security here is tighter than the White House. No one gets onto this property without us knowing about it.”

“Wh-where will you be?” she asked looking up at Mike. He touched her cheek, giving her a soft kiss.

“With your permission, I’ll be in the guest room across from your room.” She gave a nearly imperceptible nod as they walked inside the beautiful cottage.

“What about Colt?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” frowned Rett.

“If he gave me that document intentionally, they’ll find out. What about him? He’s not going to be okay.”

“Do you have his phone number?” asked Mike.

“No. I can try to call someone from the office, maybe someone I trust,” she said shaking her head.

“Do you trust anyone?” asked Mike.

“At this point? No,” she laughed, fighting back hysteria.

“We’ll find out where he lives and check on him for you. You said he worked at a club downtown. What’s the name of it?”

“The Naked Saddle,” she said shyly. “I asked him if he wanted help finding a new job but he said he makes a lot of money there.”

“I’m sure he does,” nodded Mike. “We had a young firefighter who took shifts there. He made five times what we make at firefighters. He quit the department, bought a four-bedroom house and seems happy.”

“He said that Abigail and Samantha paid him and Jordan extra to spend two hours in a private room. He also confided in me that he was abused by his stepmother starting at eleven.”

“Damn,” muttered Mike. “We’ll try to find him.”

“You guys get some rest,” said Hex. “We’ll handle the rest. Join us for breakfast in the morning and we’ll walk through this.”

As they entered the cottage, Mike immediately walked down the hallway turning on lights. He came back into the kitchen and put the tea kettle on, taking out two cups and placing tea bags in side.

“You’ve been here before?” she asked.

“Oh,” he chuckled. “A few times. Mostly to deliver furniture that I made for the team. That coffee table is one of mine.”

She casually walked around the sofa and touched the wood grain of the massive coffee table. It looked like an old steamer trunk, but all wood with iron hinges.

“Mike, this is beautiful,” she whispered. “You could sell this and make a fortune.”

“I do sell them, to friends,” he smiled. “The family that owns this land, also owns a construction company that builds homes, businesses, all kinds of things. I do a lot of their custom woodwork.”

“It’s just beautiful,” she said sitting back against the sofa.

“Penny for your thoughts,” he asked, handing her the tea cup.

“I just don’t understand what’s happening. I mean, one minute I’m working on a project that I was stressed about and the next I’m fired, almost killed by an elevator, and now I’m being chased for a piece of paper I don’t understand.”

“It is a lot to take in,” he said leaning back on the sofa beside her. “But you don’t have to take it in alone. I’m here for you. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Mike,” she whispered. “What are we doing? What are you doing?”

“Trying to convince you that our age difference means nothing.”

“I’ve lived with the idea that I was too old to fall in love again. I don’t think I loved my ex at all toward the end. We were comfortable and we were friends, but we didn’t love one another. What if it’s me? What if I’m not capable of loving someone?”

He turned to her, gripping her face in his hands, kissing her gently, sweetly.