I blink and smile at my dad.
“Yeah, Dad, just thinking about the garage Christmas gifts.” Hopefully he believes me.
His eyes me for a second, before nodding and looking down at his paper.
“Are you seeing anyone, Colt? It has been a long time since you went on a date,” Mom chimes in.
I can hear the hope in her voice that I will find someone to settle down with. With all six of her sons being single, my mom tries her best to get us hooked up with someone she hopes we will fall in love with.
My mom is a hopeless romantic, but my dad is a man who thinks it will happen when it happens and we can’t force love.
Huxley thought he found love once, and look how that turned out for him, but that is his story to tell. Ridley is different; he was called to the hospital one night to find that a woman had left her newborn baby, just hours old, and said that my brother was the father. We did a paternity test and in fact, Ty was Rid’s. The mother was found a few weeks later, sucking on a cocktail in Cancun, saying that she had never had a child, and refused the baby outright. To make things all above board, we had her sign papers that said that she would never come for Ty, or Rid’s money.
That was twelve years ago, and we have not seen or heard from her since.
“Mom, you know that if I were seeing anyone, half the town would have told you by now. Look at how quickly you all knew that Cormack was on a date, three towns over.”
We laugh but damn, the people of Silverpine are a bunch of gossips, but there is nowhere else I would rather live. We protect our own out here.
“Well, he should not have gone so far away; we did not know that girl he was on a date with.” My mom huffs, making me laugh.
She is very protective of her sons, and has proven that over the years with her actions and words.
“Woman, when are you going to stop interfering in their lives? Let them be; it will happen when it is supposed to happen.” He winks at me. “And if it were to happen to one of our sons this Christmas, what a Christmas miracle that would be.”
I groan into my mug, and my mom’s eyes light up like a Christmas tree. Her smile is wide and bright and fuck me, I would love to make her happy and tell her that I have met my one, but right now, I am not sure that will happen.
I go into the city of Portland, Oregon for my hookups, preferring to keep my sex life private.
My mom makes me stay for some food. She likes to feed us, saying that since we all live alone, we do not eat enough, even though she made damn sure that each of us knew how to cook meals so we could survive.
Family for the Woods crew is top priority. Anyone we get with will know that family is a big part of our lives. You don’t just get one of us; you get the whole messy, loving, fiercely loyal pack.
We show up for birthdays, promotions, heartaches, and just for the hell of it. If you cross the threshold, you’re expected to take a seat at our table, ready or not.
Sure, Silverpine has its share of gossips and busybodies—half the town probably knows your business before you do. Anyone who wants to be with a Woods knows they’re signing on for Sunday dinners, impromptu barbecues, and the sort of warmth that fills a house and spills out onto the lawn—oh, and a nosymother who likes to interfere in our lives, so be prepared for that.
My parents do not discriminate against anyone who wants to live their lives the way they want to. Fuck, they loved me when I told them I was gay, not once showing any nasty shit like some have over the years.
Family isn’t just important—it’s everything.
Two
RIVER
Christmas music plays through the speakers that are placed around Flawless, my salon.
My girls and I sing along, and some of my clients even join in. We are in the full Christmas spirit today— hell, for all this month— since Christmas is just weeks away.
I freaking love Christmas.
Everything about it makes my heart happy and full.
I made this life for myself when I moved to Silverpine with a friend over ten years ago. He made me see that the folks of Silverpine did not care what my sexual orientation was, as long as I was kind and respectful to people.
“River, darling, you have outdone yourself. This is why my friends and I will only come to you to get our hair done,” Miss Gladys says, touching her newly cut and colored hair.
I fan my face, smiling at her in the mirror.
