Chapter Fifteen
C olton leaned against the banister of the wraparound porch, staring into the backyard of the main house. Once the sun started to set and the temperatures cooled down, the party moved from the house to the opened space.
His eyes tracked until he found Seneca dancing in the middle of the recently laid portable dance floor with Brooklyn and Aja grooving right beside her.
He could see her wide smile all the way from his perch on the porch.
Watching her laugh and move with her friends wiped the agony of laying that damn dance floor—while everyone else was enjoying themselves inside and lounging in the cool central air—away.
“She’s looking more like herself, isn’t she?”
Colton tore his vision away from Seneca to find her mother standing next to him. He’d been so busy taking in the sight of her, he hadn’t noticed the older woman standing next to him until she’d actually spoken.
“I’m not exactly certain I know whatcha mean, Ms. Deena.”
She lifted a chastising brow and he was suddenly reminded of the many times his own mother had made a similar gesture. Apparently, all mothers must somehow possess a bullshit detector.
“Young man, with the exception of when you and your friends came out here to put down that there dance floor, you haven’t taken your eyes off Seneca. You know exactly what I mean.”
Colton couldn’t stifle the chuckle that started low and small in his throat but quickly grew until his shoulders were shaking.
“You care about my baby.” It was a statement.
She wasn’t asking him, simply stating fact.
“I like that. The year she went through her trial, the seven she spent inside, and the one she’s used to work on rebuilding, they’ve each taken a little bit of that bright, happy soul I had the pleasure of raising.
I guess I can credit that to your relationship with her. ”
He shook his head, trying to remind himself he was a grown man instead of the young kid Ms. Deena’s practiced brown gaze made him feel.
“I wouldn’t necessarily classify what Seneca and I have as a relationship. I care a lot about her. But we’ve both got things we’re trying to get past for this thing to work.”
She squinted, her gaze tracking across his face, presumably searching for the lie. Colton didn’t blame her. She was a mother who’d seen her only child suffer for a lot of years. Her protective streak was understandable.
“That girl has sacrificed a lot for me. More than I’ll ever be able to repay her for. So, whatever’s going on between the two of you, however you label it. Don’t give her cause to lose that smile of hers.”
Oh, so we’re having that talk.
He gave her a respectful nod. “Ms. Deena, I can’t promise I won’t hurt Seneca. I’m human, and a man, and I do dumb stuff all the time.”
She laughed, breaking some of the tension that had crept its way into their conversation.
“I know Seneca means a lot to me. I know I want to be more than a friend to her. I wake up every day hoping today is the day that she allows me to claim a more permanent role in her life. But we’re both people with complicated pasts and sometimes, no matter how we try, they get in the way.”
A warm smile graced her deep brown skin, and he relaxed a little. It had been a long time since he had to stand under a parent’s scrutiny.
“You’re honest,” she responded. “I like that and so will my daughter. The only other thing you need is patience and consistency. Those are the two things that will win her over. After her no-count ex turning her in to the cops for a reward, she’s doubted her judgment ever since.
If she’d never confided in him, there was no way she would’ve been caught.
But a fifty-thousand-dollar reward was too much to pass up for that snake. ”
Something in his expression must have triggered her suspicion, because the warmth in her eyes fell away and was replaced by an almost visible frost that chilled him even in the Texas heat.
“Don’t stop being honest now, young man. Say what’s on your mind.”
He swallowed and took a deep breath. He was certain he was about to negate any good will between them, but she was right—he couldn’t lie.
“Not to minimize how much of a snake her ex was for selling her out, but there was another way Seneca could’ve avoided being caught.” He looked up in the sky silently asking for grace. “She could’ve never committed the crime she was convicted of in the first place.”
He braced himself for the fire and vitriol he knew he deserved.
But when Ms. Deena lifted her eyes to his and he saw a genuine smile on her lips, he was confused.
What did it all mean? Was it a warning from every other mother he knew that he was about to get his ass handed to him, or was she just being polite?
Was this just another version of the Bless your heart dismissal Southerners offered when they were telling you what an ass you were being?
“Colton, if I didn’t know how much you worked to make this night a success for my daughter, I’d probably have a different attitude.
But no one who would fly a strange woman out to see her daughter, who can’t leave the state because of her parole, would go through all that trouble if he didn’t really care about her.
The only conclusion I can come to is you’re talking foolishness because of lack of knowledge. ”
She tilted her head and looked up at him with questioning eyes. “Do you know why Seneca went to prison?”
“For hacking into a medical database.”
She folded her arms across her chest. “That’s what she went to prison for.” She laid a gentle hand on his forearm and gave it a friendly squeeze. “That’s not why.”
He could tell by her relaxed affect that she wasn’t upset with him, but damn if he understood her meaning.
“Maybe one day, she’ll trust you with the why. If she does, that’s when you’ll know if she really sees a future with you.”
“So, you’re not going to enlighten me?”
She shook her head. “Nope. That’s definitely something you should hear from her. But know the moment that she does, she’s offering you something no one but a precious few have been granted for nearly a decade.”
“What’s that?”
She smiled, cupping both his cheeks with her hands and patting them warmly. “Her trust.”
He pushed off of the railing and fidgeted slightly. Before he could process why Ms. Deena’s words made his muscles twitch, Seneca and Aja’s aunt Jo were walking toward them.
“Hey, baby girl.” Deena’s eyes sparkled in the evening, brighter than any of the outdoor lights illuminating the area. “Did you have a good time tonight?”
“Yessum,” Seneca answered before turning her gaze to him and sharing the bubbly brightness that seemed to be encapsulating her, cascading onto everything and everyone near her. “You ready for me to take you back to my cabin?”
“Oh, no.” Ms. Deena admonished with a wave of her hand. “I’m staying with Jo tonight. We haven’t caught up in a while. Not to mention…” She pointed at Colton. “You don’t want your mama underfoot when you’ve got a handsome man like this hanging around.”
Colton watched as a mauve blush deepened across Seneca’s cheeks and forehead, and ached to chase it with both his fingers and lips.
“Yessum,” Seneca answered as she dropped her head slightly, giving him a sideways glimpse of the embarrassed grin on her mouth.
“If you’re ready to leave now,” Colton spoke up, trying to take some of the spotlight off of Seneca, “I can drive you ladies to Aunt Jo’s cabin.”
“That’s all right,” Aunt Jo intervened. “With all this good food and drink we just had, walking a bit will do us some good. Y’all young ’uns go ’head and enjoy the rest of your night.”
Aunt Jo turned toward the porch stairs, ready to descend. “Come on, Deena.”
Ms. Deena smiled, turning her face to the side and pointing at her cheek. “Gon’ and give Ms. Deena some sugar before I retire for the evening.”
Colton chuckled, tickled by Ms. Deena’s antics.
Everything about her bright and loud personality was so reminiscent of Seneca’s that he found everything about this wiser, more experienced version of her so inviting.
He leaned down and kissed her cheek as she’d requested then watched with a smile as she grabbed Seneca up in a hearty hug, rocking her back and forth.
“Mama loves you, little girl. I’ll see you in the morning. ”
He watched the two older women disappear down the path that led to their cabin. He placed his arm around Seneca’s waist, pulling her closer to him. “Your mom is wonderful. I really do like her.”
She turned around to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck and standing on her toes to gift him a brief kiss. “Thank you for bringing her to me. I knew I missed her. But seeing her in the flesh today brought home just how much.”
He pulled her closer to him, loving the feel of her pressed against him. “I’m glad you enjoyed her being here. I just wanted you to have everything you wanted for your birthday.”
She lifted her brow, a single corner of her mouth raising into a sinister grin. “Having Mama here is great,” she whispered. “But that’s not the only gift I want from you.”
The sexy undertone of her voice was like gasoline to a lit match. He looked out into the backyard and saw that more guests were waving and taking their leave after Ms. Deena and Aunt Jo’s departure.
“Speak your mind, woman. What else do you want?”
“You.”
He grabbed her chin between his thumb and forefinger, staring intently into her liquid brown gaze. “You don’t ever have to ask for that. I’m yours any time, any way you want me.”
“You may live to regret saying that.”
He swiped his thumb over her bottom lip, loving the plush feel of it against his flesh. “I can promise you”—he looked down at her, his gaze devouring her plump tits and the wide flare of her killer hips—“that will never happen.”
*