Freedom Ranch

Chapter 38

Colt flipped through the TV channels as he waited for breakfast to be delivered. Dakota was scheduled for surgery soon, and might be in the operating room already. He needed a distraction while he waited for news that it was a success. Sensing her nervousness earlier, he took on the role of being optimistic for both of them. Just as he was getting absorbed in the historical documentary, there was a sudden knock on the door.

"Come in."

He looked at the door, expecting to see a dietician aide walking in with a tray. Instead, it was the last person he wanted to see. Regina, looking much older than he had remembered, came waltzing in. Her dark hair flew with her strut. The contrast between her tanned skin and long pink fingernails was impossible to miss. He wasn't surprised to see that her tan was deeper than usual, suggesting a recent trip to the beach. She was everything Dakota wasn't which was clear from her pencil skirt outfit to the heavy makeup.

"Oh, thank goodness you are okay!" she exclaimed as she ran by his bedside.

"What are you doing here?!"

"Why do you think? They called me to say you were hurt. They stopped taking my phone calls last night, and I was thinking something horrible happened to you."

"They stopped updating you when I told them we are divorced."

"Who else would they call, though?"

"My fiancée."

Regina's face fell. The thick eyeliner around her eyes wrinkled as she blinked in disbelief.

"You can't be serious."

"I am."

"To who?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Oh, to that little tramp you were calling and texting all the time?"

"I'm going to ignore that last comment but ask for you to skip to the part of how you found her number?"

Regina's mouth grew tight, making the wrinkled deepen on her face as she did.

"That's what I thought. Now, if you would be so kind for once in your life and leave," said Colt, looking back at the documentary she had interrupted.

Regina put her hands to her hips, clearly not sure what to say next. She looked around the room until her eyes fell on the whiteboard where the emergency contact was written.

"Dakota? That's your fiancée?"

Colt kept a straight face. He ignored her and kept his eyes glued to the TV screen.

"I saw that girl on the news. She was kidnapped. Is that why you are here? Because you had to rescue her? She's a little young, don't you think?"

"If she looks that young, she must be doing something right," he shot back.

"I remember on the news she was in her twenties. Don't you think you need to consider what she sees in you compared to a man her age? She is up to no good."

Colt let out a chuckle before replying, "Men her age? You mean the boys her age? If you think she's after my money, you must not be in the loop. I have none. Don't you remember you cleaned me out during the divorce? Oh, that's right you spent it all like you do every man that comes your way. You must have a new man around based on those pretty nails and beach tan."

Just as he expected, Regina was ready to fly off the handle.

"I came here concerned about you," she spat.

"You came here because you couldn't control me and wanted to know every update, even though it's none of your damn business. I hope your man keeps you and your kid happy. As long as the money keeps flowing, I'm sure he will."