Chapter 7
Cole
CONSTIPATION ISSUES
“Practice makes perfect, bud,” I tell my nephew as I throw the baseball back to him. Gentler this time, before Wyatt loses his shit on me for playing too rough with Danny.
“I’ve been practicing a lot, Uncle Cole.”
His cheeks are flushed bright red, his smile goofy from the missing teeth.
He’s easily one of my favorite people. And sometimes he does things that remind me so much of someone he’ll never know that it almost knocks the air out of me. Makes me start to believe in shit like reincarnation or something.
“I can tell. You been practicing with your dad?”
He nods vigorously, sending the ball he just threw at me a little off course. I run to chase it, barely snagging it before it hits the ground.
“Yeah. Dad always plays with me. Even when he’s tired. I think he really likes playing catch.”
Considering the only thing that stood between Wyatt and the major leagues was a career-ending tear in his shoulder, I’d say him enjoying a game of catch with his son is a fair assumption.
But I also know he didn’t pick up a baseball again until Danny started showing interest, which tells me it’s probably less about the game and more about his son.
We toss the ball back and forth for a bit longer until my mom calls us inside for dinner.
These days it’s not always easy for all of us to find time to get together for a meal, but with Wyatt visiting from Seattle, we made it work.
Inside, my mom and Wela are at the stove, bickering over the rice. Wela insists it needs more tomato. My mom insists it’s already perfect.
“Perfect?” Wela scoffs, waving the wooden spoon like a weapon. “Hija, this is not perfect. This is how you make rice when you’re in a hurry.”
“We are in a hurry,” my mom shoots back. “Everyone’s already here.”
Blake squeezes past me to peek into the pot. “It smells good.”
Wela softens instantly, patting his cheek. “Of course it smells good. Your Wela made it.”
My mom rolls her eyes but she’s smiling. Honestly, the rice could be burnt to a crisp and no one here would complain. We know better than to insult food in front of our grandmother. Food is her love language.
Nora and Levi are already seated at the table, sitting beside my dad, who’s in deep conversation with Wyatt.
A twinge of envy settles between my ribs.
Dad and I get along fine, but I can’t remember the last time we had a conversation that wasn’t about work.
He stepped down as CEO a couple of years ago, but he’s still heavily involved in the business and has plenty of opinions about our very different management styles.
In a lot of ways, he’s stuck in the past—fixated on outdated methods—while I’m the one pushing for change and technology.
I’ve made the winery more sustainable, cleaner, more environmentally conscious.
I see progress.
He sees me dismantling everything he spent his life building.
And I’m pretty sure part of him resents me for it.
I’m also pretty sure another part of him regrets putting me in charge at all. The whole family knows things were supposed to turn out differently. Instead, we’re all just doing the best we can with what’s left of us.
“Blake!” Mom calls out. “Stop eating the barbacoa straight out of the pot. I did not raise you to have such bad manners.”
Blake shrugs, shooting her a boyish grin that instantly dissolves her irritation.
There’s a reason we Benton boys have the reputation we do. Charm. Or manipulation. Depending on who you ask.
“Sit down,” Mom says, pointing her spoon at him. “All of you. Food’s ready.”
Chairs scrape against the floor as everyone shifts around the table. The dining room feels smaller than it used to, though maybe that’s just because we’re all bigger now.
Wyatt pulls Danny to sit in the chair beside him while Nora slides the bowl of rice toward Levi. Blake reaches for Wela’s homemade corn tortillas before they’ve even fully hit the table.
“Jesus, Blake,” Nora mutters. “You’re like a stray dog.”
“A handsome dog,” he corrects, already stuffing barbacoa into a tortilla.
Wela smacks the back of his head with surprising precision.
“Ay, no seas tonto. Wait until everyone is served.”
Blake winces, rubbing the spot but wisely keeps his mouth shut.
Most people have sweet grandmothers. We have one who worked her way up from picking in the fields to building a beauty salon empire with locations all over the state.
After decades in the business, she eventually sold it to a corporation and retired.
But being the relentless hard worker she’s always been, she’s never exactly gone easy on her kids or grandkids.
Even now, in her late seventies, she’s still incredibly sharp, quick-witted, and a feisty little thing.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t mildly terrified of her. We all are.
“So how long are you in town for, Wye?” Nora asks.
Wyatt wipes the corner of his mouth with a napkin before answering.
“A week or so. Danny starts school soon, so we can’t stay too long.
Coach Wegner said he wanted to meet with me about something, so I figured I’d make a trip out of it.
Gives Danny a chance to see everyone before the school year starts. ”
Wyatt and Bri—Danny’s mom—moved to Seattle when Danny was just a baby so she could go to school.
By the time she finished, they’d already built a life there—jobs, friends, Danny settled in.
Even after they split up, Wyatt stayed so Danny wouldn’t be completely uprooted.
It sucks not having him close by, but it’s not something I’d ever give him shit for.
He did the right thing. I just wish I got to see him more than every few months.
Nora nods, wiggling her brows at Danny like she has plans for him. “Did Bri come too?”
“Yeah,” Wyatt says. “She’s visiting her parents. We’ll just shuffle this kid,” he adds, ruffling Danny’s floppy brown hair, “back and forth while we’re here.”
Dinner continues on, with Blake only getting scolded a few more times, Levi mostly on his phone “working,” and the rest of us giving our rapt attention to Danny as he tells us about everything and nothing.
“Two scoops of vanilla with extra sprinkles, please,” Danny tells the worker behind the counter at Sagebrush Diner.
I whip my head at him, eyes bulging extra wide for dramatic effect. “Two scoops? You think I’m made of money?”
The kid has the audacity to laugh. “Yeah. More than me.”
Well, he’s not wrong. Pretty quick for a nine-year-old.
After dinner, I was feeling generous, so Danny and I snuck off for some ice cream, giving Wyatt a needed break.
We get settled at a corner table, Danny with his vanilla, me with chocolate.
“So you got a girlfriend?” Danny asks, licking his spoon.
What is it with everyone and their obsession with relationships? Can’t a guy just be?
“Not right now.”
He squints at me for a moment. “Dad says it’s because you have constipation issues.”
I choke on my ice cream, coughing while laughing. After I’ve pulled myself together, I correct him. “Commitment. The word is commitment.”
He sounds out the word slowly, testing it out.
“What about you, do you have a girlfriend?”
He shakes his head. “Not yet, but I’m working on it.”
I chuckle under my breath. He’s exactly like Wye was at that age, heart eyes for every girl in his class, trailing after his crushes like a lost puppy.
I didn’t really notice girls until I was older, and by then I was mostly interested in one thing.
I’ve never been much of a romantic. I’m probably too jaded for that kind of stuff.
While Danny focuses on his ice cream, getting sprinkles all over the table, my gaze drifts to the windows that look out onto Main Street, where a familiar fall of dark hair catches my attention as someone passes by.
A second later the bell over the door jingles.
Three women step inside, wrapped in a conversation that has their laughter booming loud enough to draw looks from the few customers scattered throughout the diner.
It’s the Ledger sisters: Elyse on one side, Layla on the other, Ariana sandwiched between them. Layla’s blonde ponytail bounces as she talks animatedly, hands flying around like they add value to whatever story she’s telling.
Ariana nods along, but I can tell she’s not really listening. And that’s confirmed when her gaze sweeps across the diner, eyes pausing when they land on me.
Her attention flicks to Danny, then back to me.
She stills before her mouth lifts into a small smile like she’s trying not to laugh.
“Hey,” she calls out, walking over. “Did you kidnap this poor child?”
Danny giggles, his face flushing bright. He probably thinks she’s pretty, which I can’t really fault him for. I’m well aware of how pretty she is. Probably a little too aware.
“That’s my uncle,” he says.
She lets out an exaggerated sigh of relief, pressing a palm to her chest. “Oh, good. I was worried there for a second.”
She winks at him so he knows she’s joking, and the kid’s blush spreads from his cheeks to the rest of him.
Elyse and Layla finally notice where Ariana’s wandered off to and follow her over.
“Ari,” Elyse starts, eyes narrowed on me. “We don’t converse with the enemy.”
Her faux anger quickly dissolves into a laugh before she nods a greeting at me. Then her attention shifts to Danny. “Hey, Danny.”
“Hi!” he says, sitting up a little straighter.
Layla smiles at him too. “Your mom and dad in town with you?”
Danny nods proudly. “We came to visit.”
The town lore says our families don’t get along. Maybe that used to be true—things were definitely more contentious once—but these days it’s little more than a competitive game between us. It keeps things interesting, but that’s about the extent of our opposition.
“So what are the infamous Ledger sisters up to this evening? Coven meeting?”
Elyse throws me a flat smile. “How’d you know? Could you feel the pins we were poking into your voodoo doll?”
Ariana laughs, playfully rolling her eyes. “Don’t let that make you feel special. We have voodoo dolls for every man in town.”
Layla perks up slightly, her attention ping-ponging between me and Ariana, and I’m reminded of the conversation I overheard the other day—the one that made me drop an entire case of wine bottles because I briefly lost my grip on reality.
That’ll happen when you find out the coffee shop owner next door is exactly as innocent as she seems.
Doesn’t have sex. Doesn’t masturbate. Has never orgasmed.
My brain still can’t wrap itself around that.
It doesn’t seem right that someone as beautiful as Ariana has never been touched, not even by herself.
And while it’s absolutely none of my business, I can’t help wondering why.
I see the way men who come into the shop drool over her.
The way that douchebag poet looked at her like his next meal.
There’s no way she doesn’t notice. Right?
Or maybe she’s just waiting for the right guy, which would make sense considering the stacks of historical romance novels littered around Novel. Regardless of her reasoning, it doesn’t stop my mind from going places it probably shouldn’t.
Like forbidden fruit, the temptation only makes me want it more, even knowing there would be consequences.
Which is all sorts of fucked up.
“I would never make the mistake of thinking you find me special, doll.” I give her my best charming smile and her face scrunches like she’s disgusted.
I’ve never encountered someone so immune to my charms. Makes things kind of fun if I’m being honest.
Fun and fucking dangerous.
“Elyse is picking up food for Dominic since he’s swamped with some case, so we decided to tag along,” Ariana explains before flicking her gaze to Layla, exchanging a silent conversation.
I’m curious to know what that was about, but I’m smart enough not to ask. Twins and their secrets.
Across the table Danny scrapes the last of his melted ice cream with his spoon, completely ignoring the adults as he concentrates on his bowl. When he finally looks up, there’s a rogue sprinkle stuck to his cheek.
“Ready to go, bud?” I ask. “Your dad’s going to worry if we stay out too late.”
Danny nods and slides out of his chair at the same time I stand.
At the counter, Elyse’s name gets called. She grabs the takeout bag and lifts it in a small wave toward us.
“See you around, Benton. Bye, Danny.”
Danny waves back happily.
Layla trails behind Elyse, helping her carry out some of the order.
For a brief second, Ariana lingers behind.
Danny wipes the table with a stack of napkins, intensely focused on the task, which leaves Ariana and me standing there a little longer than either of us probably should.
“Ariana.” I smile.
“Cole.” Her brows lift like she’s waiting to see what nonsense comes out of my mouth next.
“Always a pleasure.”
I drag out the word pleasure just enough to see if she notices.
She notices, and an adorable crease forms across her forehead.
My hand reaches for Danny’s, his sticky little fingers sliding into mine. As we turn to leave, I glance back and give her a quick wink.
Her mouth drops open.
For half a second she looks like she might actually scream at me.
I chuckle to myself all the way back to the truck.
After I get Danny settled in the back seat and strapped into his booster, he clears his throat to get my attention. When I look up, his eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror.
“I don’t think that girl likes you, Uncle Cole.”
I start the engine.
“No, bud.” I pull out of the parking spot. “She definitely doesn’t.”