I chuckled, though my stomach was uneasy at the suggestion. “Because that man is probably sitting on his front porch, holding a shotgun, just waiting for my truck to pull up. You know I ain’t lying, either.” Rhett only nodded in agreement. “You know how he is with Mad, and now that this shit is all out in the open, I know he’s gunning for me.”
Did I think Colt would actually shoot me? Hell, no, the man wasn’t insane, but he’d sure as shit do his best to put me in my place when it came to Maddison and my intentions. But those intentions were as pure as they could get. I loved the girl, and not just because we’d been around one another practically our whole lives. When I said I loved her, I meant I loved her.
“Then call your mom and have her call him.”
“I’m a grown-ass man, not some teenaged scared-as-shit fool.”
“Coulda fooled me.” Rhett laughed the words, and it took a hell of a lot not to knock him upside his head for being a smartass. But he was driving my truck and causing a wreck wouldn’t get us there any faster. So instead, to prove him wrong, I dialed Colt’s number.
I did, however, do this with a racing heart and sweaty-as-fuck palms.
I ignored the way Rhett glanced over at me from the side. Then, when he turned down the radio so he didn’t miss a thing, I flipped him off.
With each ring, I could feel the tension in me growing, and when I heard Colt’s voice, I felt like I was ten again and being scolded for breaking a window out in the old shed behind the house.
“I’ve been waiting for this call.” I couldn’t quite weigh out if his tone was angry or not.
“I figured as much.” I knew it was coming, whether I went looking for it or he came to me. This was something that could not be avoided. The man was not one to sit back and let things slide.
“You on your way here?”
“I’m actually on my way back from McRae.” He was quiet, but only for about thirty seconds, before he spoke again.
“Oh, yeah,” it was most definitely not humor lacing his words, “the disappearing act that led you to a bar in the middle of some random town.”
It was my turn to be silent.
“I heard all about it.” That didn’t surprise me one bit, not with the women in our family.
“I’m sure you did.”
“I heard about a few other things, too.” I did my best to take in a deep breath and hide the fact. I didn’t need him or Rhett knowing how nervous I was with the tone in Colt’s voice.
I wasn’t a small man by any means, and I could stand on my own without a doubt. I was trained too, but I wasn’t too proud to admit that Colt intimidated me a little. Not just by his size, the man was stacked like a brick shithouse, but by his fierce outlook on everything he was ever faced with. He feared nothing; I swore it.
“There was some talk about a certain visit to a bathroom.” Fuck. “Followed by things that you and I need to discuss.”
I wanted to tell him that those things were between Mad and me, but I knew better. Nothing in this family was private. I also respected Colt enough to understand where he was coming from. Maddison, though she may not be blood, was in fact his daughter. Hurting her in anyway, intentional or not, meant I had some explaining to do to him as well. Followed, I was sure, by a lecture, a few threats, and then a settled calm.
For her, I would face it all and more. She was worth it.
“I’ll be over within the hour.”
“And I’ll be right here waiting on the front porch.” I smiled because I had been right, as suspected. In no way was that smile due to me looking forward to what was in store.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Maddison
I stretched my arms above my head and arched my back. Looking to my left, I was surprised to see the clock reading just after ten a.m.
It had been a long time since I had slept in like that.
Climbing out of bed, I stepped into the hallway and found the house quiet. No television playing video games or even the news. There were no sounds of my mother moving around in the kitchen; there was only silence.
After stopping off in the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth, I walked closer to the living room, pausing when I heard my father near the front door. He was talking to someone. I assumed it was my brother until I got closer.
“I love ya, son, I do, but you have to know that when it comes to that girl, nothing’s gonna keep me from standing by her side.” I inched a little closer, leaning in to hear things more clearly.
“I wouldn’t expect it any other way.”
My heart rate shot up to the point that it felt like it might beat right out of my chest. It was Mike.
“But you should also know that I would never intentionally hurt Maddison. I never expected to feel the way I feel about her. We’ve never even considered being more than family. Granted, I’ve always had this connection to her, I think because she knows a little more of where I’m coming from in regard to my biological parents than the others. She, Rhett, and I have always since the beginning had that bond, but it has grown into something deeper.”
My father remained silent, and I could envision him staring at Mike with the intimidating stare of his that made him scrabble in
