Chapter 12 Colt
Colt
Violet was silent as I helped her out of the truck and up the porch steps. With every passing second, I could feel the weight growing heavier on her shoulders. She’d physically shrunk into herself, and I just wanted to get her inside so I could wrap her up in my arms.
“I’ll just head up to the guest room,” she whispered, looking over at the bag in my hand. “I’ll take that with me.”
I cringed. “Uh, you can’t.”
“I can’t go upstairs?”
“No, I mean you can definitely do that.” My free hand came up to rub the back of my neck. “It’s just…I turned the guest bedroom into a home office.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “Okay. Well, I could manage something in the room we were going to use as a nursery. Do you still have that air mattress your parents gave us for Christmas that one year? The one that folds out onto its own frame?”
“No.”
Her eyes closed for a second before she opened them again, looking towards the couch. Oh hell no.
“Okay. I’ll just stay—”
I closed the distance between us in two strides, my hand pressing against the small of her back as I directed her towards the stairs.
“You’re sleeping in my bed tonight.”
“I don’t think…”
Before she could continue arguing, I shook my head. “I’ll take the couch; it’s better this way. I’m by the door if someone is watching you and knows that you're here. If they try anything, the second story gives you better protection.”
Her face blanched. Fuck, I shouldn’t have said that.
“You think they could come here?”
“Well, if they know your real name, and they could find your parents’ place, it’s safe to say—”
The phone in my pocket vibrated.
“Oh my God.” Vi gasped. “Is that my dad?”
I scooped the phone out, immediately smiling at the picture of Violet with her dad that popped up. Nodding, I passed it to her.
“Dad?” Her hand went first to her chest, then reached out for me. These moments of connection between us, they should feel cold and awkward. But one day spent sporadically together, and it just felt right again to hold her.
Jessie was right. My heart was already stitching back together.
I couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation, but from the relief written all over Vi’s face, I could tell Pete was okay.
“Yes. Okay. No, I’m safe. I’m fine.” She sighed, her eyes finding mine. “Please don’t worry. I’m…I’m going to stay with Colt for now.”
Thank you, God.
I mouthed good girl to her and tried not to chuckle at the smile that pulled up the side of her mouth.
“Yes. I promise, Dad. I will. Please don’t put your phone on silent until we know more about what’s going on. Okay? I love you, too. Bye.”
Her hand dropped away from her face, and her eyes closed.
I stepped closer, and held my breath as she dropped her head against my shoulder.
My hands hovered awkwardly above her back for only a moment before I rested them against her.
It took a couple of breaths for her, but eventually, she melted into my embrace.
“Vi?” I questioned.
“I’m good. He’s okay.” Her face nuzzled into my shirt. “He was sleeping, and his phone was on silent. Whoever this is…whoever sent that message, they didn’t do anything to my dad.”
She pulled back, and my jaw clenched, wishing more than anything that she would just let me hold her again.
“I’m glad he’s okay. But what happened tonight at the cabin isn’t. I know you just said you were staying with me—”
Vi shook her head. “I only said that so he wouldn’t worry. He wanted me to call you the first time I told him about what was happening in New York.” She huffed. “Like, you’d just ride up there on your white horse and keep me safe.”
“I would have.”
“I’m okay. I don’t need to invade every part of your life.”
“No.”
“Sorry?”
“No. You are staying here. With me. There is no invading, Vi, because you never left. Besides, who the hell else is going to look out for you?”
Her mouth dropped open before it returned to a thin line.
I took two steps back, running my hands through my hair. I could feel the edges of my control fading. Violet stood tall, but her hands moved to her belly and rubbed small, slow circles on her side. I watched her eyes crinkle, but she was fighting whatever was going on inside her mind.
“What you told me in my office was scary. Really scary. It fucking killed me to let you go back on your own tonight. And then you call me, scared and crying. That email they sent you is beyond terrifying, Vi. Saying no one else has a right to you because you belong to them. That is a wild escalation from something that already made me want to vomit. We found out someone was in your place, for fuck’s sake, and there’s no doubt in my mind it’s this bastard!
No, Violet. Just no. I’ve tried my hardest to stay out of it, but wherever the fuck the father of your baby is, I hope he knows he’s a piece of shit for leaving you vulnerable like this.
For not protecting what’s his. He’s a fool for letting you go. ”
I watched the tears sparkle in her eyes, but she didn’t say anything else to me. Violet simply turned and walked up the stairs, and I followed right after her.
Down the hallway I’d walked for years on my own. Past the closed door of my office. Past the closed door of the room I never went in anymore.
And then I was back in our bedroom, with her. For the first time in nine years, Violet was standing in our room with me. I forced my mind to focus on her, and not the thousands of memories pushing on the carefully constructed walls in my mind.
“Vi?”
She turned, sinking down onto the edge of the bed as one tear slipped past her lashes and ran down her face.
“It’s still the same in here.”
I ran my hand over my face. “Yeah. It didn't make much sense to change it around. I knew it was how you liked it.”
Violet stared at me, unblinking. As if I had just stunned her with my admission that I was still living like she was coming back to me. Hadn’t I made that clear when she left? Hadn’t I told her I’d always be here for her, no matter what?
“I’m tired, Colt. I don’t want to do this right now. I just…” She shook her head. “I just want to take a warm bath, and let the water stop these painful Braxton Hicks contractions. I’m tired and I want to try to get some sleep.”
My heart stumbled in my chest. It only took two steps for me to close the distance between us.
In the next breath, I was on my knees in front of her, hand held out over her bump.
“They aren’t supposed to be painful.” Shit.
What was it that I read in that fucking baby book?
Braxton Hicks could feel tight, like they were squeezing the baby, but they shouldn’t be painful.
Painful contractions were more likely to be real contractions.
“What?” she snapped.
“Braxton Hicks aren’t supposed to be painful.
” My hand slid to the other side of her belly, trying to feel the tightening through her shirt.
“At least that’s what the book said. How long have you been feeling them?
Is there a pattern to how fast they are coming?
You’ve been having back pain. I don’t even know how far along you are, and you could be in—”
Vi’s hand rested on top of mine. “Slow down. I’m not having real contractions. My due date is still weeks away. I just need to take a bath. That always helps them calm down.”
“How often does this happen?” I asked, storming towards the bathroom to start filling up the tub.
“All the damn time,” Vi laughed from over my shoulder, and I felt the pressure in my chest loosen just a bit. “This one just likes to rile me up. Takes after his dad.”
My eyes flew to hers, and all the color I could see in the darkness of the night drained right out of her beautiful face.
“We’ve fucking danced around it enough, Vi. Who is the baby’s father? Is this shit that’s going on…is it possible it’s him? Is it possible he’s the person stalking you?”
“No.” Her tone was fierce. And final.
But that wasn’t enough for me. “No, what? No, he’s not the person? No, you aren’t telling me? Because you mentioned him, and now you look like you’re about to pass out.”
She was annoyingly silent as I moved around the bathroom, grabbing a new set of towels and placing them next to the tub.
My jaw ticked as I watched her walk in from the bedroom, waiting for her to say something, anything, to make me feel better about this unknown asshole.
But her lips were apparently sealed shut.
Just as I was ready to turn the water off, Violet groaned, bending forward against the sink as her hand circled her belly.
“Christ. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Her hand swatted mine away as I reached for her elbow. “His butt is pressing weird on my side.”
My eyes fell to her stomach, where, even in the pale moon light, I could see her belly was comically lopsided.
“That’s wild.”
“Yeah, he’s a regular gymnast already.”
I swallowed down my reply and stepped back, letting her stretch her back as she stood back up.
“I’ll just…I’ll grab your bag and bring it up for you.” She nodded, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to leave. “Vi? I’m going to stay in the room until you’re done. Just… in case you need help, okay?”
“Okay. Thank you.”
It only took me a minute to grab her bag and bring it up to her.
She was sitting on the edge of the tub, waiting for it to fill up as I set everything on the closed toilet seat lid.
I wasn’t sure if I grabbed her something that would be really comfortable when I took what little laundry she had in the dryer, so I made sure to include a pair of my sweatpants and a worn-in shirt for her to use if she wanted.
And I was a fucking bastard for sitting on the edge of the bed with my heart beating like a racehorse, waiting to see if she came out wearing them.