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“What really happened with Marcus? I feel like I know very little.”
BuzzBurst had accepted the gig with only a basic understanding of what happened without asking many questions.
Colton huffed, hesitating. For a moment, I thought he’d brush me off. Then, to my surprise, he spoke.
“Marcus had a habit of buying drinks for women he found pretty. Seemed harmless enough, until it wasn’t. One night, there was a bachelorette party at the bar on the ranch, and he bought them all a few rounds.”
I nodded, my stomach tightening as he continued.
“He thought that meant he was owed something. And when he didn’t get what he wanted, he used the computer to find out what room one of the women was staying in. Then, he let himself inside with the master key.”
I gasped, my hand flying to my mouth. To invade someone’s space like that, to abuse his position… The audacity. The violation.
That wasn’t the act of a man who had simply made a bad decision. Something told me he had a history.
“And?” My voice was tight, bracing. I could hear it in Colton’s tone that there was more.
“He climbed into bed with her and put his hands where they didn’t belong.”
Colton’s face darkened, his jaw tight. His fingers flexed around his bottle, knuckles white with barely contained anger.
Disgust curled in my stomach. A man like that had worked here? In a place that, from everything I’d seen, was built for people looking for change, for redemption?
“How did Marcus even get a job here?” I asked, struggling to reconcile everything I’d heard. “From what your employees say, he didn’t fit the type of person you usually hire.”
Colton shot me a sideways glance, his expression unreadable. “You said one question, Eleanor.”
“Oh, just humor me, will you?” I prodded, giving him a pointed look. “You grump.”
He exhaled slowly.
“That’s a loaded question,” he admitted after a long pause, his voice lower now, rough around the edges. “I was young. Dumb. Trusted too easily.”
His fingers tapped against the glass.
“I thought people had the best intentions,” he murmured. “But I was wrong.”
His tone told me everything I needed to know—this wasn’t a topic he wanted to dig further into. Something in his words and the weight behind them made it clear he wouldn’t have made that mistake twice if given the chance. I nodded, letting the conversation settle into a quiet understanding.
“About the other day,” I started, shifting the conversation once again.
“Jesus, Eleanor,” Colton groaned, tilting his head back against the rocking chair. “I came out here for peace, and you’re hitting me with the heavy stuff.” He took a sip of his beer, then rolled his head to look at me.
I leaned back in my own chair, meeting his gaze without flinching. Instead of scowling at his tone, I let a smile tug at my lips. There was something satisfying about the way he treated me with the same bite as everyone else. No sugarcoating, no coddling.
“Someone has to do it,” I said lightly, “and you seem like the type to avoid hard topics.”
Colton said nothing, his silence loud enough to confirm my accusation.
“Bingo,” I teased, my smile widening.
Colton rolled his eyes, his gaze landing steady on mine. “Fine. Let’s hear it.”
“I wouldn’t be completely against doing it…again.”
The moonlight painted his face in soft shadows, but it didn’t chase away the way his eyes darkened at my words. His reaction was unmistakable—a flicker of something dirty, something that sent a thrill rushing through me.
“Don’t say that if you don’t mean it, Eleanor,” he warned, his voice low and rough.
