EIGHTEEN
COLT
“Hey man, where do you need me?” I ask Maddie when I find him standing under the shade of a tree with Jamie and Tyler. They’ve clearly just started on a break, all of them covered in sweat from the July sun and dust.
“Gave you the day off, if I recall,” Maddie says as he wipes the sweat from his forehead with the bottom of his shirt.
I nod. “Yeah, but Blair’s napping, so I figured I could help out for a few hours if you needed extra hands.”
Maddox’s chin jerks toward a group of ranch hands still working on the fence.
“Got hands,” he says. I’ve got the strangest feeling he doesn’t want me around. Even less than usual, I mean.
Before I can ask about it, Jamie asks about Blair. “She settled in alright then?”
“Yeah, after Mama wore her out with her chattering,” I joke with a grin. “She seems to sleep a lot.”
Maddie snorts. “She’s pregnant, Colt. Should’ve seen how much Mama slept when she was pregnant with you and Bailey.”
“Yeah.” It’s the only thing I can think of to say, trying and failing to hold back a dopey grin at the reminder of Blair carrying my baby .
“Jesus Christ, I’m going in for lunch,” Maddox says, dropping the post hole diggers he’d been leaning against. They clip the edge of Tyler’s boot, but he makes no move to right them as he storms off toward the Big House.
“Wish he’d take the stick out of his ass,” I grumble as Tyler props the tool against the tree instead.
Jamie calls out for the hands to come up for an early lunch too.
No point in all of them working away under the hot sun when the goddamn ranch boss isn’t even out here.
One of them immediately lights a cigarette, and I shove my hands in my pockets and turn my head so I don’t ask to bum one.
Quitting hasn’t been as hard as I thought it’d be, but it sucks nonetheless.
“He will, give him time,” Jamie says diplomatically. “He’s still worked up over Austin leaving.”
“I tried to tell him that would happen.”
“Wouldn’t recommend you reminding him of that,” Tyler warns.
I wave him away. I’m not a fucking idiot and I won’t pick fights just to pick them anymore.
“Did I do something specific to piss him off, you think?” I ask Jamie.
“Nah, not really. He got cagey earlier when Tate and Tyler were being cute, too. It’s relationship shit he doesn’t want to be around for, I think.”
Tyler rolls his eyes. “Tate and I weren’t being cute.”
I make a show of rolling mine as well. “I wasn’t even here to see it and I know you were. When are you gonna man up and lock that down, by the way?”
“Are you seriously asking him when he’s going to bag our sister?”
“I mean, sure,” I say with a shrug. It’s all semantics anyway.
I’ve never seen two people more fit for one another in my life.
“Not like… the exact date or time or anything. I feel like that’d be weird to know.
But a general idea of when I should expect to get fitted for a tux for their wedding or something. ”
Tyler huffs. “Cricket chooses all of that. I’m just biding my time until she does.”
“Boring.”
Jamie grabs the post hole diggers and starts toward the house, obviously far too mature to be a part of this conversation. Tyler and I follow.
“I’d think you’d be a fan of me respecting your sister’s timeline.”
“I mean, I guess, but the Tate and Tyler Show’s getting a bit old without any new drama.”
Tyler claps me on the shoulder. “Good thing we’ve got a spin-off now then, huh? The Colt and Blair Show.”
We’re a bit too rambunctious when we go through the squeaky kitchen door, apparently, because Mama’s shushing us immediately. Maddox, Jamie, and all of the ranch hands are sitting at the table in complete silence. “What in the hell?”
“You boys are always coming in here all loud and rowdy! There are people in this house who are resting and don’t need all this commotion waking them up!” she hems and haws, placing two more plates at the table for Tyler and me.
I tuck away a smile before I get swatted with her dish rag again. “Sorry, Mama,” I tell her.
Tyler isn’t as smart. “Sorry, Mama Whittaker.”
He gets the dish rag. “It’s June or Mama, son. I don’t know how many times I’ve gotta tell you that!”
“Shh!” I scold her. “There’s people resting.”
Maddox snorts as I get the dish rag as well.
Despite Mama’s best efforts, Blair’s nap is short. She texts me as I’m finishing up my sandwich that she’s awake, and I laugh at her shyness.
Colt
Come downstairs. I’m in the kitchen.
Mama spots her before I do, drying her hands on the bottom of her apron as she grins toward the bottom of the stairs. I turn to look behind me and see Blair’s green eyes go wide at the men staring back at her.
“What would you like for lunch, sweetheart?” Mama asks her.
I hold my arm out for her and try very hard not to look like a lovesick fool as she sidles closer to me. We might not be together, but she’s my girl and I want every man in this room to be well aware of it.
“If you’re done eating, grab your water bottles and head back out to the corral.
We’ll be out there in a few minutes,” Maddox tells the ranch hands.
I’m not sure if he does it to lessen the attention on Blair or prevent me from making a fool of myself with the whole territorial bullshit, but I appreciate it regardless.
“That’s okay. I can make something,” Blair insists as she takes the seat beside me that Eric just left.
“Nonsense. I’ve already fed all of these men. I might as well make one more plate.”
Blair’s eyes dart around the table, clearly anxious. I slide my hand beneath the table to settle it on her knee, giving it a squeeze.
“I’ll get her something to eat in a bit, Mama. She just woke up, she’s probably not hungry yet.”
Mama looks like she wants to argue, but her desire to make Blair comfortable here must outweigh her concern about Blair possibly starving to death.
She nods and busies herself at the stove again, prepping for dinner so she can have her afternoon clear to watch the soap operas she’s been watching since she was a teenager.
“Blair, this is Maddox, Jameson, and Tyler.”
Maddie nods, but doesn’t stop eating.
“Jamie,” Jameson corrects, putting his hand forward for her to shake with a giant grin on his maw. “I’d like to personally extend my gratitude for managing to lock Colton down for us.”
“Oh, we’re not?—”
Tyler snorts, well-versed in the way this family completely disregards relationship statuses. “Good luck convincing anyone in this house of that. I’m Tyler, the next-door neighbor.”
“Close friend of the family,” Maddox corrects.
“Practically another brother,” Jamie adds.
“The love of Tate’s life,” I tell Blair, who blinks at the overwhelming influx of information.
“Literally just Tyler, but okay,” Tyler argues. “See what I mean?”
There’s another commotion as the screen door squeaks open again, Tate and Bailey trailing in. I take the opportunity to lean over toward Blair.
“You okay? I know it’s a lot.”
Blair looks around to see if anyone’s listening and people most definitely are, but they at least have the manners to pretend they aren’t.
“Yeah. I’m never going to remember everyone’s names though.”
Jamie snorts, and I glare at him when it causes Blair to blush and cage up.
“Don’t worry about it. Just call everyone ‘Whittaker.’ We’ll all answer to it. Even Tyler.”
He nods, mouth full. Tate plops down in the chair next to him and steals a Cheeto off his plate. The pile is suspiciously full, like he hasn’t had a single one yet.
“Someone took all the Cheetos,” Tate gripes. He switches plates with her when she picks up her sandwich, taking her chips instead.
“Thank you, Ty,” she whispers, leaning her head on his shoulder in a half hug. He rests his against hers for a second as well. Blair’s eyes cut over toward mine, and she has to press her lips together to hold back a laugh when I give her the told you so look.
“Bailey,” my twin sister introduces herself as she takes a seat on Tate’s other side.
Blair smiles at her. I get the feeling Bailey’s the sibling she was most looking forward to meeting. Perhaps she thinks Bailey will be easier because she’s my twin.
“Colt’s told me so much about you.”
But Bailey just nods. “I’d love to say the same, but…”
“Bails,” I admonish.
“What? We literally just found out about this a few weeks ago.”
“Still, you don’t have to be?—”
“It’s fine, I get it,” Blair says, her hand covering mine on her knee.
“It’s not fine.” Anger curls in my stomach, something that’s rarely ever been directed at my twin. Not as dark and dangerous-feeling as it was the night of the bonfire, but I’m still angrier than I’ve been in weeks as I glare at her.
The kitchen’s gone silent again, used to my outbursts, but not toward Bailey. The tension always drives me insane, like it’s pushing me further, begging me to make it worth it.
“Colton,” Maddie warns, voice low, but I ignore him.
Blair turns toward me and grips my arm.
“Colt,” she says quietly, and I try my best to ignore her too, but when her other hand grabs my chin and redirects my attention away from Bailey, all I can see is the concern in her pretty green eyes. “It’s fine. I’m fine.”
I stare at her for a moment, trying to find any inkling of hurt in her eyes, but there doesn’t seem to be any. I sigh and nod. For the first time in a long time, my anger didn’t build and build and build until it broke me. It simply retreated—slowly, like the tide, but retreating nonetheless.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Jameson says.