Chapter 26 Colt
Chapter twenty-six
Colt
“Carter called last night, and we talked for a long time. He said Jackson’s fallen into a depression about being away from all of you,” Maddox told us.
We were seated at the kitchen table having dinner. A couple of months had passed since the incident when Ben wouldn’t wake up, and I’d finally stopped worrying every time he slept, although I wasn’t sure if Angus had.
Laura had been so busy lately, she hadn’t had time to examine Ben since then, but she promised she’d do it soon. Ben’s belly was huge, and I’d resigned myself to the fact that we had to be having twins. Angus wanted to believe it was just a really big baby.
“Poor Jackson,” David said. “He doesn’t have any omegas near him.”
David, Ben, and Trey had become very close to the omegas at the Borders’ ranch, and vice versa.
Laura felt sure it was omega bonding at work, and I was inclined to agree since Ben was now able to visit them for several hours at a time without needing me or Angus.
Jackson had met the other omegas by phone, and it had worsened his feeling of loneliness.
“What can we do to help him” Ben asked.
“Now that Carter has stopped working, he said he doesn’t see any reason not to move out here.
It would take Jackson away from his parents, but they can always visit.
They agreed it would be best for Jackson to move here,” Maddox said with a grin.
Ben and David screamed so loudly with happiness, Angus covered his ears and Ollie looked startled before bursting into tears.
“Daddy’s sorry,” David said, picking up his son. “I’m just so excited! Uncle Jackson is coming to live close to us!”
“He says he’s started trying to find a place,” Maddox said. “Not a ranch, of course, but a house.”
David clapped his hands. “This is so great!”
Squealing, Ollie copied him, clapping his hands, too.
It was so cute, we all broke into laughter.
After helping to clear the table, I went out to the barn where I was building a crib big enough for two babies. Ben and David were busy painting the extra room in our wing a light yellow to use as the nursery.
It was September and thirty-two degrees outside.
I’d shut the barn door, so, with the warmth of the animals, I was able to take off my coat to work.
In the distance, a coyote yipped and then several others took up the call until a regular cacophony echoed in the woods.
They were troublesome animals. After two had dug their way into the chicken coop last year and killed a couple of David’s beloved hens, Maddox fortified the base with cement so it wouldn’t happen again.
But they were always on the lookout for a young goat or calf.
I couldn’t help smiling when I thought of how David had given all the hens names like “Beverly” and “Maisie.” He was too funny. And he was so good for Maddox, who was grounded and happy to stay on the ranch now. I was sure that Ben had changed me and Angus for the better, too.
As I hammered another nail into the wood, my mind wandered to how my cabin sold last week.
It no longer felt odd not to live there.
These days, I couldn’t imagine not sleeping in our big bed with Angus and Ben.
Ben was in his second trimester now and no longer sick to his stomach, so the edging sessions to give him pre-cum had let up.
Instead, Ben was horny all the time. Thinking about what the three of us did that morning had me pausing with the hammer to adjust my pants.
The barn door opened with a whoosh of cold air and Maddox and Angus walked in, quickly shutting it behind them.
“Looks like that’s coming along really well,” Angus said, looking over the crib as Maddox continued down the right side of the barn checking the horses in their stalls. He eyed the size of it. “You really think we’re having twins?”
I nodded.
“I should be finished with this in a few days, and then I’ll sand it down,” I told him.
“You’ve done a good job.” Angus caressed my shoulder, and heat rose up my neck to my face.
I murmured, “Thanks,” and picked up my hammer again.
When Maddox joined us again, Angus asked him. “What do you think? Is Ben carrying twins?”
“Have you seen the size of him?” Maddox said. “It’s pretty obvious, Gramps.”
Angus sighed. “Guess I’d better get used to the idea. Before you get back to work, Colt, I want to talk to you and Maddox about something.”
Setting down my hammer, I looked up at him.
“I’ve been thinking. With Colt living here, we’ve got three full-time men working this ranch. It’s always been small, and that was fine, but now we’re building families. I was thinking it might be time to expand.”
Maddox nodded. “I can see that. What were you thinking of doing?”
“We have a lot of good calves this year. Maybe we should hang on to a few more than usual for the next few years and then get a second bull before Frito ages out.”
“So, expand the herd,” I clarified, and Angus nodded.
I looked at Maddox for his opinion.
“I guess we could do that. It will mean having to feed them, of course, and we won’t get as much money at auction. We do have some savings, but...” he left off.
“I know, it’s for emergencies. But we won’t use it unless we absolutely have to. We could cut back here and there, and with all the work David and Ben have done on the garden, we’ve sold more vegetables at the market than usual this summer,” Angus said.
“David’s been talking about making soap with the goat’s milk. If that goes well, we could sell that, too,” Maddox said.
“So, we’re in agreement?” Angus asked.
Maddox seemed unsure. “We might need more help next year.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, but if we’re doing well, we’ll hire someone.”
“Fine by me,” I said.
After a moment, Maddox said, “Yeah, me, too.”
Angus and Maddox headed back out to finish checking that the animals were properly sheltered from the cold.
An hour later, judging it to be after eleven, I put away my tools and went back to the house. A quarter moon hung in the vast night sky full of stars. The coyotes started up again, farther away this time, and a couple of foxes started geckering in the nearby woods.
Inside, the house was toasty warm. I heard Angus and Maddox come in through the mudroom, followed the sound of their boots hitting the floor.
Leaving my relatively clean shoes by the front door, I headed to the kitchen to grab a glass of water, which I took with me to our bedroom.
Ben was in bed reading, one hand holding the book and the other resting on his pregnant belly.
Approximately a dozen pillows of all sizes surrounded him.
“You still up?” I asked, walking over for a kiss.
He nodded. Our lips met, warm and tender. When he pulled away, he said, “I wanted to wait for you and Angus.”
I nodded. “I’m going to clean up. Make some room for me in there.” I winked at him, then went into the bathroom to shower.
By the time I returned, Ben had made a pile of the pillows beside the bed and moved to the middle. As long as he had me and Angus on each side of him, he didn’t need the pillows. I snuggled up to him.
“Mm, you smell good,” Ben said. “Like soap and sawdust.”
“If I still smell like sawdust, I didn’t do a very good job showering,” I said into his neck. “I must’ve been too eager to crawl in bed with you.”
Angus walked in, eyed us cozied up together, and said, “Don’t move. I won’t be long.”
When he joined us ten minutes later, Ben let out a squeal.
“Your feet are like ice, Angus!”
“Warm ’em up for me.” Angus pushed his feet underneath Ben’s legs, making him squirm.
“Nooo!” Ben rolled on top of me to get away.
“Wait!” I said so urgently that both Ben and Angus froze. “I feel the baby moving!” Ben sat up, his ass on my crotch, which was a little distracting, but not distracting enough to make me forget what I’d just experienced.
Placing my hands on his rounded belly, I stilled. “There!” I laughed. “I felt it again!”
“Let me feel,” Angus said, scooting closer and putting a hand on Ben’s belly. Nothing happened for a few moments, and then I felt the roll underneath my palm.
“Did you feel that?” I asked Angus excitedly.
“Yes! Yes, I did! Can you feel it, Ben?”
“Yeah. Finally, you felt it, too,” Ben said, a happy smile on his face. “It always stops when you try.”
Lifting Ben off me, Angus hugged him tightly. “You’ve made me a happy man, Ben. Don’t ever doubt it.”
Ben suddenly looked like he was going to burst into tears, so Angus and I pulled him down between us and snuggled into him.
“You’ve made me a happy man, too,” I whispered into the darkness.
***
I was deep into a dream about a panther attacking our best hog and me going after it with a pitchfork when I was abruptly awakened by someone shaking my shoulder.
“Colt, wake up!”
“Ben?” I murmured. “Bad dream?”
“Something’s wrong at Trey’s house. We need to go!” Ben turned and started shaking Angus awake.
“Huh?” I said, trying to wake up. How would Ben know something was wrong at Trey’s house? I looked at the clock. Not quite midnight—we hadn’t been asleep for long.
On the other side of Ben, Angus stirred.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, voice hoarse with sleep.
“Something’s wrong at Trey and Bert’s house, Angus. We have to go,” Ben said urgently.
Raising himself onto his elbows to look at our mate, Angus said, “Ben, you’re dreaming.”
“No, something’s wrong! We have to go over there.”
Ben climbed out of bed, picking up his jeans from the chair and pulling them on.
Sitting up, Angus rubbed his hands over his face. “Benny. Did you dream about Trey?”
“We have to go over there, Angus. I’m telling you, I wasn’t dreaming. I woke up knowing something was wrong!”
He was so agitated, I didn’t see what we could do except for to humor him.
“I can take him by there, Angus. Show him everything’s all right, and then we’ll come right back.” I got up and began pulling on my clothes.
“Angus has to come, too. And Maddox. We’ll need them,” Ben said, pulling his shirt over his head.
Grudgingly, Angus rolled out of bed and looked for his clothes.
We were silent in the old truck as we drove to Bert’s house. When we’d woken up Maddox, he’d been confused and doubtful, but he’d come with us without too many questions. David wanted to go, too, but he didn’t want to drag Ollie out in the cold September night.
We piled into my car, shivering, and I immediately turned up the heat in the truck.. Bertram and Trey lived several miles down the main road and off a long, winding country lane. Clouds covered the moon and the night was very dark, so I drove carefully.
When we rounded the first bend in the lane, Ben shouted, “Look!”
In the distance, a faint, red glow lit the sky over the tree line.
“Fuck,” Angus cursed.