“Colt, are you okay?”
He frowned. His mother’s voice was high and her words so fast they tumbled into one another. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m working at the park. Areyouokay?”
“I’m fine.”
Not true. She sounded as far from fine as you could get.
“When will you be home?”
He checked his watch. “I’m not sure. Probably late, based on the progress I’m making.” Or lack thereof.
“You need to eat, Colt.”
“I’ll order food. Unless you need me home for some reason?”
There was a small pause before his mother responded. “No. That’s okay. But you’ll let me know if anything’s wrong, won’t you?”
“What would be wrong?”
“Nothing.” That came far too quickly. “Stay safe, honey.”
She hung up, and Colt frowned at his cell. What the hell was that?
He was just shoving his phone into his pocket when footsteps sounded. He turned as Noah stepped out of the trees, closely followed by his cousins, Jesse and Becket.
A smile spread across Colt’s face as he stepped off the deck. “Hey. I didn’t see you guys get here.”
“We came from the other side.” Jesse pulled him into a hug. “It’s good to see you, buddy.”
“You too.” He turned to Becket and took his outstretched hand. “It’s been a while.”
Becket chuckled. “You’re not wrong. Finally got out, I see.”
“I did. Decided I needed a new challenge.” Or a couple of new challenges, if he included his marriage.
“I was just showing them around,” Noah said.
Becket whistled. “You got a lot of work on your hands.”
“Fortunately, I’m not afraid of getting my hands dirty.”
Jesse shoved his hands into his pockets. “Heard you’re staying with your mom?”
“It’s just short term. I heardyouguys are partnered up now.”
Becket’s smile widened. “Sky finally realized I’m not the neighbor from hell.”
Jesse scoffed. “Not sure about that. But yeah, I’m with Aspen. We’re happy.”
“That’s good.” It really was. They were great guys who deserved to be happy.
They spent the next twenty minutes catching up on things before Jesse and Becket headed back to their cars through the forest.
Colt turned back to the deck, but he could feel Noah’s eyes on him.
“What’s going on?” Noah finally asked.
Was it that obvious? “What makes you think something’s going on?”
