Chapter Twelve
Shoulders aching from her camera strap and lugging equipment bags, Holly made the turn onto her street.
Her stomach had a funny little knot in it, the same one that had wedged itself there when she’d caught her breath after her first session and checked her phone to find texts from her mama, Barb, Lorraine and even Tick — but radio silence from Colt.
Somehow, even after waking in his arms, kissing him goodbye over vague plans to work dinner out later, the lack of communication made her nervous.
“Stop worrying so much, Holly Noelle.” She flicked her bangs away from her eyes. The day had been long, she was hungry, and being tired made her irrational.
She’d stop at Grace’s, go home and love on Polo, clean up and call him. They’d figure out dinner and—
Why was his truck at Andy and Grace’s?
“Okay, now you’re being ridiculous,” she scolded herself, slowing to turn into the drive behind Grace’s Tahoe. “The man has friends. He needs to get out, too.”
He could have texted her Hey, hanging out at Andy’s, but they could hash that out another time. She hadn’t texted him either as she’d dashed from Radium Springs to the Riverquarium to make her second appointment.
Slipping from behind the wheel, she grabbed Grace’s clothing purchases from the backseat and walked to the side door under the carport.
A light breeze, holding a hint of the cold front coming through, played with her bangs, flipping them across her brow.
Male voices and childish shouts carried over the white privacy fence.
A familiar deep laugh made her smile. She loved that sound, and oh, he didn’t laugh enough.
The door with its tall window swung open as she reached the single step, and Grace greeted her with a wide smile, brown hair loose around her shoulders, hazel eyes warm with welcome. “Hey! I thought that was you pulling up. Come on in.”
“Brought your stuff.” Holly shook the hangers so the plastic garment bag rattled.
Grace’s already bright smile hit megawatt level. “I am so excited. Grab a cup and pour yourself some tea or Coke while I put these in the bedroom.”
Red Solo cups waited on the counter with a couple of two-liter sodas, sharing space with bags of chips and buns, yellow plastic dollar-store bags discarded on the counter.
Holly grabbed a cup and filled it with ice and water, her gaze drawn to the big fenced backyard.
A massive bag of charcoal slumped next to Andy’s grill, and a serious game of basketball was underway on the concrete pad next to his metal shed, Andy and Colt playing with Raley, DJ and Blake.
Making a show of guarding DJ, Colt brushed his ruffled hair off his forehead and threw his arms up, grinning as DJ made a basket worthy of David back when they’d all been kids.
He laughed and fist bumped DJ, taking the ball out to the grass sideline.
Sheer joy lit his entire face, transforming him. Her heart clenched.
She knew him, but when was the last time she’d seen that man?
Maybe never, because the last time she’d seen that look on his face, he’d still been a boy, on the cusp of manhood.
They’d all been at the lake, wakeboarding with Mr. D’s boat.
He’d had the redhead from ABAC with him, and he’d smiled at her like that, dropped an arm about her shoulders and tucked her into him for a kiss on the dock.
A tinge of sunburn atop his tan, he’d laughed with Tick over falling and getting water up his nose.
Lord, that had been so long ago, an eternity without joy. The idea broke her heart.
Warm hands landed on her shoulders, squeezing. “That is one of my favorite things, them playing like that.”
Holly turned her head, the serious set of Grace’s eyes telling her she meant Andy and Colt, not the boys. She shifted her gaze back to the yard, his joy an irresistible draw. “He’s relaxed. Happy.”
“Hmm. It doesn’t happen often.” Grace dropped her hands and took a step back. “I’m glad you’re here.”
Dragging her attention from the athletic ease of his long body and that gorgeous grin, she slanted a quizzical look at Grace.
“Maybe if you’re here, he’ll stay for supper. Getting him to do that can be a struggle sometimes.” Grace’s smile faded to that serious expression again. “And I’ve been wanting to talk to you.”
The small knot, which had loosened while she watched him, folded up again.
Grace grimaced. “I’m about to get all outside my lane and he would kill me for this, but I love him, Holly, and I cannot watch him get hurt again.”
A spurt of anger flowed over the knot. “I’m not out to hurt him.”
“I know that.” Grace waved the idea away. “But I want the best for him, especially after Tyler, and I don’t know if this is just casual with y’all or what, especially since you and Tick—”
Holly sighed, a rough, irritable sound. That again? “Tick and I have always been friends. That’s all.”
“Look.” Grace spun away to pick up her own cup, loose off-white cardigan flaring out with the movement.
With her navy leggings and gray cami, she looked like the amazing ballet dancer she’d been when they were teenagers, although she’d had a baby only a couple of months ago.
“I love you, too, and I’m crazy about the idea of you two together, but I need to know you’re serious about him and will take care of him. ”
And that was Gracie, assertive and protective as always. Holly couldn’t dredge up any irritation with her for inserting herself into Holly and Colt’s private life.
“I mean it, Holly. He already breaks my heart, and I can’t stand to watch him get slapped down again.”
“We’re both in this with an eye to a serious relationship, Grace. I have strong feelings for him.” Holly lifted both shoulders in a helpless shrug and buried her warm blush in a sip of icy water. “I don’t know what else to say to reassure you.”
“Strong feelings.” An arm braced over her midriff, Grace leaned on the cabinet. Brows twisted into a frown, she lifted her cup with her other hand in a circle. “What does that even mean?”
“It means . . .” Right now, she wanted to scream.
She hadn’t been defining her emotions, even to herself, had simply been taking each day with him, trying to make deliberate steps forward because he was like Polo when she didn’t want to go for a walk.
She had to keep him moving the same way she did her dog.
Plus, she needed to keep her heart moving forward, away from Scott. She did have serious feelings for him.
She just didn’t know what to call them.
“I have always loved him as one of my friends–”
Grace’s derisive snort exploded in the room. Holly glared.
“And I really like him. I respect him and–”
“Holly.” Grace’s voice cooled, as chilly as the plastic against Holly’s palm. “Don’t you play with him and don’t you dare break his heart.”
Well. Holly bristled, fingers clenched around her cup. Gracie meant out of her lane for real. “I am not playing with him.”
Lips pursed, Grace appeared unmoved by Holly’s open resentment. “I don’t care if I offend you.”
“Obviously.” She needed to keep this light before she lost her religion and let her inner Mona out. Besides, she liked Gracie — and didn’t she want Colt to have people who loved him and advocated for him?
Being seen as a threat to him bothered her, though.
Grace didn’t give, although the set of her mouth relaxed a little. “Listen, I’m like this whenever he goes out with someone new, on pins and needles. I can talk to you, though, and that’s a good thing. I know you want what’s best for him—”
“Well, thank you for that.” She folded her own arms, pretty sure her features froze into the expression Mona used with irate customers.
“Andy and I feel awful about that night.” Pain glinted in Grace’s big hazel eyes. “He wasn’t even supposed to be there, had told Andy he was staying over in Tifton. If Andy hadn’t thrown that party, if we hadn’t been in his bedroom . . .”
“Gracie,” Holly whispered. Lord, how many of them carried something awful from that one night?
“It wasn’t like she was invited. She came with someone, and we didn’t even know she was there until afterward.” Tears filled Grace’s eyes, and she blinked rapidly, staring at the ceiling. “He hasn’t ever been the same, and that’s hard, you know?”
“I do.” Her voice emerged as a pained whisper, hurting her throat.
She got it because she loved Tick like Grace loved Colt, and he’d never been quite the same after that weekend, the entwined losses of Colt and Will and his trust in Allison lessening him in some way.
She hadn’t seen him start to come back to himself, really, until he’d gone to Texas and Caitlin reentered his life.
And Colt’s life, the way he limited himself, punished himself. Witnessing that and wanting more for him . . . yes, that was hard.
She wanted to be that more for him. That was hard, too, because their forward progress was so excruciatingly slow, and she couldn’t fully guarantee where they would end up. She wanted to love him widely and expansively and deeply, as he deserved to be loved.
The back door burst open, emitting a rowdy flow of sweaty little boys, followed by Andy and Colt, their rich laughter hanging in the air.
That sound wrapped around Holly, warming her as much as his carefree grin and the relaxed line of his long form in jeans and a long sleeved T-shirt, his feet shoved in a familiar pair of leather flip flops.
Her chest panged with that wonderful laugh, easy and warm. Oh, she wanted so much . . .
“Holly.” He stopped short, his stance stiffening, and her heart dropped, that knot growing to a solid lump in her belly. He was surprised to see her, but he wasn’t happy to see her. Lord, that hurt.
Dredging up a smile, she brushed her bangs to the side. “Hey.”