Chapter Thirteen
COLTON
The next morning, I went straight to my grandparents’ home for a late breakfast. I appreciated that everyone had time this Saturday, even though I was exhausted. Zoey and I hadn't slept at all.
I was the first to arrive at their house in the Dorchester neighborhood.
They’d lived here since I was a kid. This place was practically home for me.
I’d spent many hours on this porch. The green facade and white window trims had been refurbished three years ago, so the house was in good condition.
I made it my mission to anticipate any necessary restorations to take the load off my grandparents’ shoulders.
"Darling, want coffee? You look like you need a little pick-me-up," Grandmother said as she welcomed me inside the house.
"Jeannie, don't pounce on the boy, for goodness' sake. He just walked through the door," my grandfather added.
I nodded. “Coffee would be good.”
I looked around with a critical eye. It was a habit.
First, I scrutinized my grandfather. He seemed healthy enough.
My grandmother was her usual energetic self.
One thing that bugged me and my brothers was that she refused to have any help managing the household.
We convinced her to employ a cleaning company back when Grandfather was recuperating, but once he was fit, she insisted they had everything under control.
It was beyond me why they didn't want to make things easy, but it was their call to make, not mine.
I went to the kitchen, making myself a coffee. Grandmother was hunched over a platter with toast, bacon, and eggs. From now on our get-togethers needed to be for breakfast; it seemed far easier for her to prepare rather than the feast she always cooked if we met for lunch or dinner.
"Grandfather, what are you up to lately? We haven't seen you in a few weeks. Is your fishing partner—what’s his name—Darren still coming every week?"
My grandfather put down the newspaper he'd picked up from the living room. "No, he's got the flu. It won't go away, so he hasn't been coming lately."
"So what have you been doing when we go out with Grandmother?" I asked.
Fuck me. Did Grandmother mention this and I totally blanked out? I was trying to listen to my family, be more engaged, and not just think about work lately.
Grandmother gave me a meaningful look, and I decided I was going to talk with my brothers about this.
We'd been worried about Grandmother all this time because Grandfather always seemed to find someone to visit him and keep him occupied. Besides, he'd been housebound while getting his health back in order, but now we could take him out fishing or even to lunch. Grandfather needed our attention, too, but he’d never come out and say it. I was surprised, though, that Grandmother hadn’t mentioned it.
When he walked back out with his newspaper to the living room, I immediately approached her.
"Don't start," she warned.
"I just wanted to ask why you didn't mention that he was lonely."
"Because the old stubborn mule absolutely forbade me to."
"And since when do you do anything except what you want?"
She looked at me out of the corner of her eye, shaking her head. "He's my husband. I will always stand beside him. I only fight you youngsters." She was so sincere that I couldn't help but burst out laughing. "What's so funny?"
"That you admit all of this so openly."
"I never hide my intentions. Anyway, now that you came to that conclusion, I think he'd enjoy it if you boys came by to see him now and again."
"I was just thinking we should do that."
"You're all such good boys. Maddox did take him out last week, and he seemed to enjoy that.”
I stilled at my half brother’s name. “Grandfather told them?”
"No, they just caught on faster. I think Maddox wanted to tell Spencer at their weekly tennis match, but I don't think they discussed it."
Talking about my half brothers wasn’t my favorite thing to do.
I knew I was being stubborn and hardheaded, and my reticence was causing friction in the family.
My brothers were all on much better terms with them than I was.
But I was determined to make an effort for my grandparents' sake and my brothers’ too.
"Oh, I think a few more arrived."
She was right—there was a lot of commotion at the front door.
When I looked out to the entrance, I saw Jake and Natalie were here along with Spencer, Penny, and Ben.
My nephew was growing up fast. Some days I still couldn't wrap my head around the fact that my brother had become a father so unexpectedly.
But he'd grown with the responsibility and adjusted remarkably quickly.
He was an excellent father, and I respected him for that.
“Dude, you look like crap,” Spencer said. “Were you holed up in your lab all night?”
"No, I wasn't at work," I replied.
Jake straightened up. He was about to whisper something to Natalie, but now they both had their eyes trained on me.
Spencer cocked a brow. Penny was looking at him questioningly. Even Ben stopped making baby sounds and was staring up at me. I felt like I was under a magnifying glass.
"So, what happened? Did you have an emergency or something?" Jake asked.
"No," Spencer replied. "He spent the night with someone."
I looked at my brother with fascination. "How can you tell?"
"I couldn't place that shit-eating grin before, but now I can. Good for you."
I quickly looked around the room. "But don't tell that to Grandmother."
"Don't tell me what?" Grandmother said, stepping into the living room with two plates full of toast and eggs and bacon.
"Never mind," I replied.
Someone was laughing behind me. Jake or Spencer. My money was on Spencer.
"Come on, let's all bring in the plates," I said.
We passed Grandfather, who brought a few mugs full of coffee. Jake, Spencer, and I took plates from the kitchen cabinet.
"Dude, that's not going to work, so you better fess up to Grandmother," Jake said.
"She'll forget all about it by the time we go back to the living room," I said confidently.
Spencer whistled. "Keep telling yourself that, dude. You'll have peace of mind for like ninety more seconds."
He was right. As soon as we stepped back into the living room, Grandmother asked, "Colton, what exactly are you hiding from me?"
I sometimes forgot that Grandmother liked to know everyone's business. She'd been meddling more than usual the past few years, but I'd ignored it. I'd been thinking about work every waking second, including when I was with my family.
"Grandmother, any chance I can convince you to drop it?" I said as we all sat around the table.
"Hmm, I'm considering it."
"I can't believe it." Spencer's eyes bulged.
"I’ve considered it. If you want to keep it from me, it means it’s something I really want to know."
"Where does that logic come from?" I asked, fully aware that she actually did have a point.
"Experience."
I realized that if I didn't explain, she would think exactly what I didn't want her to—that I'd spent the night in the lab. I knew how much she'd worried about me during that time, and I didn't want her to go through it again.
“My brothers were making fun of me because I didn't sleep last night. I was entertained." And that was about as much information as I was willing to give. No way in hell would I own up to spending the night with a woman. Yes, I was a grown-ass man, but this was my grandmother. I had boundaries.
"Good for you," Grandmother said. "Nice to see you took my advice."
I stared at her.
"Wait, what? What advice? What did I miss?" Spencer asked.
Penny chuckled. "You’re such a gossip.”
"It's a family trait I've learned to accept," Spencer replied.
"Wait, Grandmother is playing matchmaker again, and we didn't know about it?" Jake asked.
I'd expected Spencer to join in the harassment, but not Jake.
The doorbell rang.
Grandfather said, "I'll answer that." Then he looked straight at me. "Colton, son, I'm sorry, but you're going to take one for the team today."
"What team?" I asked, bewildered.
He went out to answer the door. By the sounds of it, Gabe had arrived with Cade and Meredith. The three of them came into the living room at the same time as Grandfather.
"Sorry we're late. Waking up early is not my thing," Cade said. He sat down, looked around the table, and asked, "So what's new?"
"Let me recap for everyone who's just arrived.
Colton had a sleepless night, and no, he was not stuck at work.
My money's on the fact that he was with someone, and Grandmother was just about to tell us that she's been continuing her matchmaking efforts with Colton, unbeknownst to all of us," Spencer said.
"Oh, thank God," Gabe said. "I was worried when you all were so quiet. I thought you might be planning something for me."
"I can multitask," Grandmother replied, looking straight at him.
My brother swallowed hard. "Yeah, I walked right into that." But then he looked at me with interest.
Cade had a shit-eating grin. It was a knowing expression. He and Grandmother exchanged a glance.
"It's that consultant who just started in your office, isn't it?" he asked, and there was a round of gasps at the table.
"Wow," Gabe said. "Damn, that escalated quickly."
"Boys," Grandmother chastised, "can you be a little more respectful?"
I laughed. "They're just learning from the master, Grandmother."
She pressed her lips together. "Look, I just made a comment. That's all."
"No, come on. Admit what you did," Cade told her. "It was the same thing you did with me and Meredith, right? You planted the idea in his head."
"You boys all have free will, but when I have a feeling about something, I don't like to keep it to myself. My feelings turn out to be accurate from time to time," she added with a wink.
Grandfather sighed. "Boys, I want you to know that I never have anything to do with whatever your grandmother is saying, okay?"
Grandmother glanced at him. "Way to have my back, Abe."
"You know I usually do. I just don't condone all of this. Although," he said, "it did work out for you three." He looked at the couples.
“Exactly,” Grandmother exclaimed.
Just another Saturday in the Whitley family. We never talked about the weather or mundane things like that. We went straight to the personal stuff.
"So, Grandmother is onto something, right?" Spencer asked.
“Look, I'm not sure what all of you are used to—” I began.
"That's because you zoned out for like two years," Spencer said, “but go on.”
"But I’m not going to share any details with anyone," I informed them.
"You don’t have to share anything," Grandmother said.
I stared at her. "Now you're taking my side?"
"Honey, when I start a project, all I want is to give you a push. You have to work things out for yourself"—she glanced at Spencer—"without anyone giving him a hard time."
My grandmother operated in mysterious ways, but thankfully the conversation moved away from me.
But the truth was that Zoey was at the center of my mind.
Even though we'd been up the whole night talking, I wasn't nearly done with all the questions I had for her.
I had a burning desire to know every detail about her life, about her.
We hadn't spoken about the future or the office situation because, honestly, that went against everything I stood for.
I had to fight every instinct, but there was no going back now.
Zoey was mine.