Chapter Fourteen
Colton
The house finally settles down by dinnertime, but I invite Bodie and Bellamy to stay since they’re busy playing with the kids.
Lily’s coloring Bodie’s tattoos, but I’m almost certain she grabbed the permanent markers instead of the washable ones.
Bellamy and Sam built a race track across the living room for his toy cars.
Amelia’s still tense and shaken up, so although Raven’s here, I bring her into the kitchen with me to help make baked spaghetti.
“Amelia,” I murmur, standing next to her as she sprinkles mozzarella cheese on top of the dish. But she’s staring so hard at Sam, it’s getting all over the counter. “He’s not goin’ anywhere.”
“I’m not gonna be able to relax if he’s outta my view.”
“I’ll go into town tomorrow and get some extra locks for the front door and a doorbell camera. That way it’s more secure and less likely to escape without our knowledge.”
That finally snaps her out of her trance. “You don’t gotta go through all that trouble. We shouldn’t be here that much longer.”
Her words punch me in the gut, even if they are true, but I don’t want them to go. I love having them here, having the extra commotion in the house, and sitting together for meals.
It’ll be empty, and I’ll be alone again once they’re gone.
“It’s no trouble,” I tell her, glancing down at her lips when she licks them. “I should have the extra security anyway with strangers always being nearby.”
She nods, looking back into the living room. Sam and Bellamy are having a car-crashing contest, trying to knock each other off the tracks, laughter filling the air.
“Your siblings are so good with ’em,” Amelia mutters, not taking her eyes off them.
“That’s ’cause they’re still kids at heart. The babies of the family. The only ones who didn’t have younger siblings to torture.”
I finally get a small smile out of her. “I always hoped to have more kids after Lily.”
My heart rate kicks up at the thought of seeing Amelia pregnant. “She’d make a great big sister.”
“Yeah, I think so too.” She sighs, finally shifting her gaze back to me and sitting at the breakfast bar.
“Being from a bigger family, I hoped to have one too,” I admit. “A few kids, couple dogs, maybe some chickens like Warren has on his property.”
“Chickens sound nice.” The corner of her lips tilts up. “I wanted to create my own since mine were horrible. Well, Samuel wasn’t. He was my best friend.”
I finish coating the cheese on top of the pasta, then put it in the oven. It’ll take at least half an hour, then I’ll put in the garlic bread.
“How old were you when he passed?” I ask, hoping she doesn’t get upset with me asking.
“I was sixteen. He was eighteen.”
Damn. So young.
“Can I ask what happened? You don’t gotta talk ’bout it if you don’t—”
“Drunk driver,” she blurts. “Killed him instantly.”
Fuck. “God, I’m so sorry.”
“He was on his way to pick me up from a party that my parents said I couldn’t go to, which is why I didn’t call them.
I’d been drinkin’, but I didn’t wanna stay overnight, so I begged him to come get me.
A man ran a stop sign and T-boned him before he got me.
” She stares up at the ceiling, inhaling sharply.
“I passed out waitin’ for him and didn’t find out until mornin’ when my mom called to ask where I was.
When my parents realized why he was out past midnight, they blamed me for his death.
Called me selfish, disobedient, and basically disowned me.
They were lookin’ for any reason to kick me out, so when I told them I was pregnant, that was it. ”
“They were in pain, but that’s no way to treat their own child. They weren’t the only ones who lost someone. The real blame is on the driver.”
“They didn’t care much for how I was feelin’ or the guilt that consumed me.
I know it’s my fault, and they had every right to be upset with me.
But Samuel wasn’t the only one I lost that night.
My parents, my home that no longer felt like a home, and the whole future I had planned.
It’s why I started drinkin’ tea so much.
I needed somethin’ to help regulate my nervous system so I could sleep.
I didn’t drink alcohol for years after that and now only during special occasions. ”
The night of Wilder’s wedding, she only had a couple glasses, so that makes sense.
“What happened to the drunk driver?”
“He died in the hospital a couple days later, so my parents didn’t have anyone else to point their fingers at except me. No closure beyond havin’ to bury their only son.”
“Many times, hurt people hurt people, and it’s not a reflection of you, but of them. I can’t imagine what they went through or how it feels to lose a child, but I also can’t imagine abandoning the one I had left. It’s inexcusable. You didn’t deserve that.”
“Yeah, well…” She shrugs, averting her gaze. “Not sure if I can face ’em after this.”
“What happened with Sam also ain’t your fault. You know that, right? Mishaps happen.”
“One that could’ve led to another lifetime of consequences,” she says. “He could’ve gotten hurt, drowned, lost, or kidnapped. I’m lucky a nice couple found him and not the stalker who’s after him. Wilder and Maddox still haven’t found him, so who’s to say he’s not in the area?”
Her mind’s spiraling, and although I understand her concern, I can’t let her go down that road again.
Leaning over the counter, I grab her hand and thread my fingers through hers. “They’re gonna find him. And if he is somehow here, he’ll have to go through me and every single one of my siblings before he gets near you or the kids. Remy, too.”
Her lips twitch at the mention of the dog. He hasn’t left the kids’ sides since we got back.
“Maybe seein’ my father one last time will help me close the chapter on my past and distract me from what’s goin’ on right now. My parents live in a gated community, so it’s private and secure, at least.”
“Might be a good idea,” I agree. “And who knows, maybe they’ve changed.”
“Pfft.” She blows out a distressed breath. “From the way my mother spoke this mornin’, I’m not holdin’ out hope that she’s suddenly become pleasant.”
“Do you still want me to go with you?”
“Do you still wanna go with me?”
“Of course, whatever you need.”
She nods. “Okay. Yeah, maybe. I need to sleep on it.”
“Take as much time as you need. I’ll be brushin’ up on my husbandly duties in the meantime.” I smirk, hoping it makes her laugh, and it does.
“If that’s the route we’re takin’, then you need to know a lot more ’bout me and vice versa.”
“Great, let’s play twenty questions since we’ve got time.” I lean my elbows on the counter, relaxing my body across from hers. “You start.”
“First girlfriend’s name.”
“Like, first girl I dated or first serious relationship?”
Her shoulders slump. “Whichever you consider your first girlfriend.”
“Okay, then.” I scratch my jawline, thinking. “Her name was Emmy Johnston, and we were in fourth grade. That only lasted a few days until I pushed her down the slide and she broke her arm.”
Amelia’s eyes widen. “Oh God. You were a terror as a child, weren’t you?”
“I mean…” I shrug because I can’t even deny it. “But then there was Sabrina, my sixth-grade girlfriend, but she moved away over the summer, and we never broke up. So technically, we’ve been together for like twenty years.”
“Wow…who knew you were a long-term relationship guy. She should know you cheated on her last year, though.”
“Nah, I think she’d be okay with it since she has like five kids. I’m almost positive none of them are mine.”
“You’d better hope not or you have eighteen years of child support to back pay.”
“Damn, you’re right.” I grin at her playfulness. “Okay, now you. Who was your first boyfriend?”
“Damien Archer.”
I snort. “Sounds like a villain’s name in a superhero movie.”
“Pretty close. We met when I was thirteen at an all-girls summer camp.”
“How did you—” It hits me a moment later. “He was a counselor?”
“A junior counselor, so he was sixteen.” Her cheeks flush.
“And then at the end of the six weeks—’cause god forbid my parents spend time with me durin’ my break—he told me he was movin’ to Washington, so we had to break up.
I was devastated, as any hormonal teen girl would be, but then I saw him at school a few weeks later and realized how easily boys could lie.
He pretended he didn’t know who I was and ignored me for the next two years. ”
“He acted like he never met you?” I taunt, rubbing over my chin. “Hm…that kinda sounds familiar.”
“I dunno what you’re talkin’ ’bout.”
“Right, I’m sure. A complete coincidence.”
“Yep, so anyway…after him, I met Sam’s dad, Leland, when I was seventeen. After my parents kicked me out, I moved in with him, and we got married. I was only twenty, and he was twenty-eight. Then he got arrested, I had Sam and then filed for divorce.”
“Ah, so you like ’em older,” I quip at the realization. “That’s why you left the mornin’ after. I’m too young for you.”
She rolls her eyes. “That’s not true. You’re a year older.”
My head falls back with laughter, feeling so at ease around her. Even just talking like this, nothing physical, I’m so comfortable being in her presence, and I never want to be without it.
We continue going back and forth asking questions and cracking jokes. Once dinner is ready, the seven of us eat at the table and make light conversation. It’s nice after the emotional day we’ve had.
“You can stay with me,” Bodie tells Raven when she asks if there’s an extra room. “I can take the couch.”
“That’s not necessary,” she says, waving him off. “I’ll get a room at the motel in town.”
“I’m not sure it’s safe for you to be alone,” Amelia tells her. “We still don’t know who this guy is. He could be anywhere and use you as bait to get to Sam.”
Assuming this guy knows who her friends are, none of them are safe until he’s caught.
“I have a self-defense keychain with pepper spray, a taser, and knuckledusters. After what happened, I don’t go anywhere without them.”
I assume she’s referring to the incident with her ex-husband, but I don’t want to bring it up if she doesn’t want to talk about it.
“And it’s only for one night. I gotta get back to Bailey and relieve Mattie of babysittin’ duty. Pretty certain she’s ready to get her tubes tied after the last time she babysat overnight for me.”
“There won’t be any vacancy during the peak summer season. The resort’s fully booked, so that usually means all the motels in town and the surroundin’ towns are too,” I explain.
“You can sleep in my bed with me,” Amelia offers. “It’s big enough for two.”
Raven glances between her and me, then shakes her head. “Nah, that’s fine. I’ll crash at Bodie’s.”
“I have a bed big enough for two, too.” He winks. “We can make a pillow wall, if it makes ya feel better.”
I chuckle at his quick save. “Do you even have more than two pillows?”
His crooked grin tells me everything I need to know.
“I wouldn’t worry too much, Raven. He sleeps on dinosaur sheets, so he’s not much of a threat,” Bellamy taunts.
“That you bought me!” Bodie defends.
Amelia snickers, and I wonder if she and Samuel had a similar relationship.
“As a joke, but we both know they’re your favorite set.”
Bodie kicks her under the table. “Maybe worry less ’bout what’s on my bed and more ’bout who you let in yours.”
Amelia’s eyes widen, and I try not to laugh since this is a normal occurrence between them, always bickering like an old married couple.
Bellamy leaves after dessert, then Raven follows Bodie to his place, not too far from mine. He bought some of our parents’ land and built a barndominium on it. It’s quiet and private, like mine, but still close enough to the ranch and our family.
“The kids want you to read them a bedtime story,” Amelia says after they’ve been bathed and tucked in. “At this rate, when we go home, you’re gonna have to video call them each night and have a stock of children’s books so you can still read to ’em.”
“Wouldn’t bother me.” I smile sincerely. “I’ll make sure I don’t make any plans after seven for the next ten years so I never miss a call.”
“Why do I have a feelin’ you’re not jokin’ ’bout that?”
I lean against the doorway of the bedroom, and her gaze lingers down to my piercings. While she was with them, I changed and got ready for bed, so I wasn’t in her way when she needed to come in.
“’Cause I’m not.” I shrug. “You gave me joint custody, remember? Plus, I take my role as fake husband and stepdad very seriously.”
She crosses her arms, looking uneasy. “I haven’t agreed to this fake marriage scam yet. Still not convinced they’ll buy it.”
“Oh, I am.” I hold out my hand and count with my fingers. “I know ’bout your first period, first boyfriend, first husband, first car, first speedin’ ticket—of many, I might add—and the way you moan my name when you orgasm. What else are they gonna expect me to know?”
“Jesus, Colt!” She pushes against my bare chest, and I laugh at her attempt to shove me. “They’ll never believe a guy like you settled for me. So you’re gonna have to be more flawed or somethin’.”
“Settled?” I straighten my spine, the amusement in my tone long gone. “You can’t truly think that’d be the case, do you?”
She doesn’t move or speak.
“Amelia,” I say, demanding her attention. “You’re the one out of my league.”
“Not even close, and if you think that’s true, then I found your first flaw.”
“And what’s that?” I challenge, stepping closer.
“Delusional.”
“The only thing I’m delusional ’bout is hopin’ I can move on from you once you’re gone, ’cause in case you haven’t noticed, I’m crazy ’bout you. Have been since the moment we met—the first time.”
We stare into each other’s eyes, and I can see the wheels spinning in her head. She’s either trying to let me down easy or find the courage to admit she feels something too.
Before she can decide, a small voice comes from the hallway, breaking us apart.
“Mommy? Are you comin’ back?”
“Yes, baby. We are right now.” She lifts Lily and walks toward their room.
When she glances at me over her shoulder and tilts her head, I follow.