If I left, Colt would shatter.
And I’m not sure he’d come back from that.
The man standing in front of me now—the man he’s fought to become—he could disappear. The pain, the guilt, the spiral, I’ve seen what that path looks like for rock stars. I’ve seen how quickly the stage lights turn dark. If Colt gave in to that life again, it would consume him.
And a world without Colter Slade?
That’s not a world I can survive in either.
Leaving him wouldn’t just break us.
It would destroy us both.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
DEE
Two Days Later
Colt’s been making an effort these last two days. He has been checking in, holding me more, lingering longer when he kisses me like he’s afraid I’ll vanish if he lets go.
It helps. A little.
Macy’s stayed away, thankfully.
But that ends tomorrow.
She’s coming over to talk through the next steps, and Colt has decided to get tested to see if he’s a match for Caleb. It makes sense—if he really is Caleb’s father, the odds are higher he’ll be a match for the transplant.
He didn’t ask me.
And he didn’t need to.
Still, I hope he understands the toll that can take. Living with one kidney, that’s not a small thing. It’s a permanent change. But I get it. If the roles were reversed, if it were my child, I’d hand mine over in a second, too.
I just wish I knew what that kind of love felt like.
I wish I didn’t know what it felt like to never have that connection with someone who shares a piece of you.
In some ways, I’m glad Colt gets to feel it.
“Hux is coming over in a minute. That okay?” Colt’s voice is low as he wraps around me from behind, nuzzling into my neck. His arms are solid, warm, and safe.
I cover his hands with mine and nod. “Yeah, that’s fine.”
He kisses my cheek and pulls away as the doorbell rings. “Perfect timing,” he says with a smirk. “That’ll be him now.”
I shake my head faintly as he heads for the front door.
Colt returns a moment later, Hux trailing behind him. My stomach knots. I don’t have the emotional stamina for one of Hux’s sideways comments today. So I slip over to the kitchen table and sink into a chair while the brothers move to the refrigerator. Colt grabs two bottles of water.
Hux arches a brow. “Water?”
“I’m on a health kick,” Colt says casually, handing over a bottle. “That’s part of what I want to talk to you about.”
Hux narrows his eyes. “Should I be worried? What’s going on?”
“You should probably sit for this,” Colt says.
