Chapter 33 Colton
Colton
Uncle Ted drove like Ms. Daisy. They’d discharged Colton because he could leave. He didn’t need to be babied like a delicate flower.
In his head, he took a step back. He wasn’t mad at his uncle; it was Zach who made him salty. He didn’t expect Zach to pick him up in person, he didn’t know how to drive yet—which was something they needed to fix fast. But he could’ve come to the hospital and ridden home with Colton.
“He’s taking care of some personal stuff with his lawyer,” Uncle Ted had said when Colton asked. Like that couldn’t wait a couple of hours?
And there he went, getting his nose out of joint for no reason. That boy had sat by his bed so much he’d lost weight he couldn’t afford to lose. Nanette and Maddie fussed at him all the time to eat and get some sleep, but for the first five days he’d done little of either.
And weren’t they a pair? Nanette had finally found a genuine friend. Unlike Momma, Nanette took care of everyone. Having Maddie around seemed to lift his auntie’s spirits. Hell, they’d even moved her into the little bunkhouse he’d lived in when life with Momma had gotten to be too much.
Still, Zach could’ve made an effort to be there when Colton got sprung.
“You’re gonna wear that frown ‘til you die if you don’t lose it fast.” Ted said. “I told you, he had to meet with his attorney. You know how lawyers are; time is money.”
He was right, but it didn’t help. The person he wanted to see was Zach. And that was shitty of him, especially after all his family had done for him. “I’m not fretting about that,” he said.
Ted shot him a look, calling bullshit.
“Okay, fine. I am. He said he’d be there.” And didn’t that sound like he was a three-year-old who didn’t get enough ice cream. Or a love-struck fool. “Don’t mind me, Uncle Ted. I’m just feeling sorry for myself, is all.”
“I’m going to let it slide, but once you’re cleared for duty, no more coddling. You hear?”
Colton chuckled. Uncle Ted didn’t coddle. He might brush something off or even ignore it, but he didn’t do coddling. “Ten-four, Sheriff.”
They rumbled down the last bit of road toward his pretty little house. He didn’t want to see the damage. “Why aren’t we going to Momma’s?”
“I've got some people coming over to fix the damage at your house. You need to okay stuff.”
Shit. He didn’t have the money for repairs. Getting done what he had tapped him out.
There were a pair of trucks outside his house, but they weren’t contractors. They had soil and plants. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“Hush up and listen. Your fella did a lot to make this homecoming special.”
Zach did what? “You gonna talk in English?”
“Nope. Said enough.”
He turned into the driveway, and it almost didn’t look like his house. The windows were fixed, and they had curtains hanging in most of them. Someone marked out the yard, and the men in the trucks were moving and shifting dirt and plants. Fuck-a-doodle, he even had a welcome mat.
He had almost cleared the front of the cruiser when the door opened and Zach burst out, grinning ear-to-ear. Thundering down the steps, he stopped just short of a hug. He leaned in and gave Colton a peck on the lips.
“Welcome home.” He grabbed Colton’s good arm and led him into the house.
Colton jammed to a stop so suddenly, his uncle bumped into him. He let out a grunt.
“Sorry, boy. Should’ve figured you wouldn’t make it far,” Ted said with more amusement in his voice than Colton appreciated.
The inside had rugs, furniture, lamps, and even pictures on the wall. It was like something out of one of those designer magazines.
“Honey, what did you do?”
“Surprise?” Zach crept back like he’d done something wrong. “Do you like it?”
Like it? His brain was still trying to figure out what all of “it” was. “You did this?” He pointed. “All of this?”
“If you hate it, I’ll have it hauled out.”
Zach looked terrified. Like he’d done something so bad Colton would never speak to him again. “Hate it? Are you crazy? It’s… it’s….”
“It’s too good for you, Scrap.” Greg came from around the corner followed by Nanette, Momma, Maddie, Grandma and Grandpa and a couple others he couldn’t see. “I tried to tell him to just throw some thrift store shit in here and be done, but he wanted to make it special.”
If he’d had his Taser, he’d have stunned that snarky son of a bitch. “I’m about to kill you, Greg.”
A bark preceded Barley tearing across the house. Zach got in front of Colton and let the dog jump on him first. “We’ll need to work on his greetings,” Zach said.
The word Colton heard was “we”. As in him and Zach. “How’d you do all this?”
“Mr. Lee sent me my first check. Uncle Ted helped me open a bank account, but seeing as I didn’t have a credit card, Grandpa took us all shopping, put it on his card, and I gave him a check.”
“Racked up a ton of reward points.” Grandpa smiled at Zach. “Thanks to you, Betty and I are gonna have enough to take that cruise.”
Colton laughed, because that was pure Grandpa. Always hunting for an angle. He was about to speak when he realized Zach had called them ‘Uncle Ted’ and ‘Grandpa.’ “You let him call you, Grandpa?”
“Zach wouldn’t call him Jerry or me Betty,” Grandma said. “That was the best compromise we could come up with.”
“Jeb had many faults, but he taught his kin to be respectful,” Maddie said, giving Zach a side hug.
“Anything you hate, let me know and we’ll take back,” Zach said. “Momma, Aunt Nanette, and Grandma did most of the picking. I didn’t know what you’d hate.”
“Don’t listen to him,” Momma said. “He’s got very good taste. We had to tone it down some because we knew you wouldn’t appreciate it.”
He made a sour face, which was hard given how much he couldn’t stop grinning. “Thanks.”
She winked and gave him a light hug. “It's about time you’re here to enjoy your house, Colt.”
“Why don’t we all get lunch ready and let Zach show him the rest of the house,” Nanette said.
Zach grabbed his hand and led them up the stairs. Last time he’d been on them, there’d been shots fired. He paused at the wall, but damn he couldn’t see any sign of damage. “Honey, you must have spent way too much on all this.”
“Can we talk about that later?” Zach asked. “Please?”
Zach said please like he’d done something wrong. “I’m not mad. I swear. But you didn’t need to do this.”
Zach spun on the landing and faced Colton. “You told me not to run. Did you mean it?”
More than he’d meant anything he’d ever said. “Every damn word.”
“I’ve never had much of anything, Colton.
No home, no furniture, no bed, no family, and no one to love me.
If I’m staying, I want it all. I already got someone to love, so I wanted us to have a home with some of the stuff I never had.
I swear, if you hate anything, we’ll get rid of it, but I wanted you to know what you’ll be coming home to every night. ”
Colton swallowed, and pinched his eyes shut to hold in the tears. That was what he’d missed. Zach was setting up a home. Their home. “Honey….” He couldn’t hold it together. “Goddamn, I love you so hard.”
“And I love you. You let me into your life, and this is nothing compared to that.” Zach kissed him lightly on the lips. “Come on, I want to show you something.”
He led them to the master bedroom. A king bed with a tall headboard was in the middle of the long wall. It rested on an even larger rug, with nightstands on either side. A matching dresser with a goddamn mirror took up part of the side wall, and there were two chairs and a bed for Barley.
“How’d you do all this?”
“Have you met your family?” He laughed. “They can shop. Thank God, Maddie was there. She was ruthless when it came to dickering with the people. And with Grandpa grumbling in the background, no one wanted to cross her too much.”
Colton laughed, and his sides ached a little, but it was the good kind. “Can I say how much I love you calling them the same as I do?”
“Honestly? It’s hard. I’m doing it so I’ll get used to it, but….” Zach shrugged.
There was a hesitation that Colton wanted to root out before it could fester. “But what? They’re fine with it.”
“You’ve grown up with all this family loving you. All I had was Grandpa, and by the time it was just us, he’d lost so much, he couldn’t bring himself to truly love me. I’m not sure I’ll do it right.”
He put his hand on Zach’s cheek and rubbed his thumb over the blond stubble he could barely see. “It isn’t hard at all. You’re a good man with a big heart. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing, and it will all be fine.”
“I’m trying, and they make it easy.” Zach smiled. “All of them love you so much, and just want you to be happy, so they accepted me.”
They didn’t accept Zach just because Colton liked him. His family saw how special he was too. “I want a hug so badly, but you gotta be careful. Not that I’m dainty or nothing, but I want to get better soon. I’ve got plans for us.”
“I picked a bed with those plans in mind.”
Memories of their only night together flashed through Colton’s mind. “Yeah?”
“Sturdiest one I could find,” Zach said with a wicked grin. “Can’t have it collapsing on us when you’re fucking me into the mattress.”
Damn, his little angel certainly wasn’t innocent. Not that he ever pretended he was, it was just his looks. “Are you trying to kill me? If you keep talking like that, I’m not going to wait until I’m better to show you just how much use we’re going to get outta that thing.”
“Sorry, cowboy.” He waved a finger in front of Colton’s face. “Until the doc says it’s okay, my ass is off limits. But don’t worry, I’ve got plenty of other ways we can take care of each other.”
He pulled Zach in and hugged gently. Kissing the top of Zach’s head, he breathed deep. “Sounds like you've got this all worked out.”
“No, just the “us” part. I figure the rest we’ll make up as we go.”
His heart was so full, he wanted to cry. He’d told Zach not to run, and Zach didn’t just stay, he made a home for them. “You sure got that right.”