48. Colt
48
***Colt***
B anging on the front door woke me up from the shitty nap I was taking. I growled and stood up but Noah beat me to the door. I watched him yank it open and then shrink backwards.
“Ms. Daisy. Ms. Karlene.”
I climbed over the couch and was headed towards the back door but Karlene cleared her throat from somewhere very close behind me and I froze. Fuck. Brooke’s mom and aunt were the last two people I wanted to face.
“Sit down, Colt.” Daisy’s voice was hard as she walked around the couch and pointed at it. “We’re going to have a little discussion.”
Logan made the mistake of coming down the stairs before looking to see who’d come in. He swore as soon as he saw who it was.
“All of you are going to sit on this boring couch and listen to me. Right now.” Daisy made a face at the couch. “Honestly, does color offend you boys?”
I found myself sitting with Logan and Noah on the couch like we were children again, being called into the principal’s office. For a moment, I remembered I was a grown man and tried to stand up but Karlene pulled a stick from god only knew where and hit me over the shoulder with it.
“Sit down, Colt.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “Or give me an excuse to hit you again.”
“I have been patient. I’ve waited on you three idiots to realize just how big of idiots you are but I just walked out of my house to find my daughter cuddling a dog that’s as big as she is. Do you know where that giant ass dog is going to be sleeping? My house. He’ll be chewing up my sex toys and waking me up with his barking. I’ve had a dog before. I know how it goes. So, you three need to wake up and fix this.”
Karlene put her hands on her hips and paced. “None of you deserve her. I don’t know why fate thinks you do. If I had it my way, you’d all be stranded on a deserted island for a few years, while you learned some manners. But Brooke loves you. I should curse you for hurting her. She told us what happened. Do you know how angry it makes me that she tried to tell you about losing her baby and you wouldn’t listen?”
“God, I could kick all of your asses. Of all the stupid, mean things you could’ve done to her, that was the worst.” Daisy shook her head, her disgust clear. “Are you all so stupid that you really believed she was cheating on you? People can fake messages, jackasses. Brooke isn’t a cheater. She gave herself to you three and she meant it. This has gone on for long enough now. You need to come to your senses and do some serious groveling.”
I needed to just shut my mouth but I couldn’t. “It isn’t that easy. She hid something huge from us. If she could do that, she could’ve cheated.”
Karlene hit me with her stick again. “Listen to me, you little shit. She didn’t tell you about the baby because she lost it. She was coming home to start a family with you idiots but the baby died. She couldn’t put you through what she was going through. She was heartbroken and all alone and she chose to spare the three of you from the pain. She was also eighteen and still a child. Still a baby herself, mourning her own baby and the life she wanted, but mature enough to want to save you idiots.”
“You could’ve gone after her at any time.” Daisy’s voice had gone quiet. “You never asked me where she was. Not once. You could’ve put your pride aside and found her. You chose not to. So while you’re sitting here, blaming my baby for all the bad shit in your lives, you remember that. You could’ve brought her home if you’d made a single effort to.”
Logan cleared his throat. “Is she… Is she okay?”
Karlene glared at him. “No, she’s not okay. She’s heartbroken. But she’s stronger. She didn’t run when you wanted her to. She’s not going anywhere.”
Noah lowered his head. “Sin misses her.”
“Sin is a smart girl. Unlike her father.” Daisy huffed out a deep breath. “Fix it. If I have to come back here, you’re not going to like me.”
Karlene scowled. “The only reason you’re not getting cursed is because I know you’re supposed to end up with my niece and I don’t want it blowing back on her.”
They were gone as quickly as they came and then we were all alone with the aftermath. The air in the house was tense and none of us were willing to break the silence. It stretched on until Logan got up and went back upstairs. Noah left next, going to the kitchen. I stayed on the couch, wondering if I’d been wrong.
The rest of the night, none of us spoke to each other. It wasn’t until the next morning in the kitchen that I couldn’t stand it anymore. The knot growing in my stomach was just getting bigger and bigger.
“Did we fuck up?”
Noah swore and slammed the milk down. “If we got it this wrong, we don’t deserve her.”
“You think we did? You think we fucked up this bad?” I dragged my hands down my face. “Logan?”
“I know we did.” He sank onto one of the stools and rested his elbows on the counter. “I should’ve known better. I should’ve trusted her. She said she loves us.”
“She lost our baby all on her own.” Noah sank down next to him. “They were right. We could’ve gone after her. We were upset and we didn’t. We let ten years pass.”
“Not again.” I grabbed my keys. “Come on. We can work out the details later. We need to go get her.”