“You okay?” Noah asked, lifting the beer to his mouth.
“No. And I won’t be until my father gets the hell out of Amber Ridge.”
“Hey, this is supposed to be a night off from all that. You’ve been exhausting yourself, pulling twelve-hour days at the park. You need a break.”
“He could be a threat to my motherandmy wife. Hell, he could be a threat to you, as my friend and business partner.”
“I can take care of myself. And your mother has security, and Indie is making sure she doesn’t go anywhere alone. So far, there hasn’t been any trouble.”
“I still think he was at her shoot last week.” He drank more of his beer. “Distract me. How are you doing, being back?”
There was a flicker of a frown across Noah’s brow. “Good.”
Colt studied him. His voice. His features. Was there something he wasn’t sharing? “You sure?”
“Of course. I’ve got my own place that Holden’s helping me fix up. I finally emptied the last box of shit. Life’s good.” He swung the beer back. “You and Indie still making progress on your relationship?”
Was he changing the subject because he didn’t want to talk about himself? “I brought her coffee this morning. She kept the kitchen island between us the entire time, like she was scared I’d touch her.”
“She just needs time. She went through a pretty rough patch. She wants things to be different this time.”
“And they will be. I’ll make sure of it.” He knew he couldn’t promise that she’d never go through the same thing again, when it came to pregnancy. But he was committed to doing everything in his power to make sure she was safe and happy, not just today or tomorrow, but forever. “You know she’s having money problems?”
“She tell you that?”
“No. I figured it out.”
“I know she hasn’t been booking a lot of shoots, but I assumed she was still doing okay. But now that I think about it, shehasbeen cutting costs. And what the hell’s with that car?”
“You mean that piece of shit she’s driving around?”
Noah’s jaw clenched. “I don’t like it either.”
“She has money.Ourmoney. But—”
“She won’t touch it. I’m not surprised. She sees it as yours.”
“It’s both of ours. I wish she’d use it.”
“I agree with you. I—” Noah stopped, looking at something behind Colt. “Is that Randy and his crew?”
Colt turned, spotting Randy and his guys standing around the pool table.
When Randy met their gazes, his mouth cracked into a wide grin, and he waved them over.
“Guess we’re joining them,” Noah said with a chuckle.
They wove through the crowd to the pool table.
“Hey, we didn’t know you guys were coming here tonight,” Colt said, as he shook Randy’s hand.
“It’s Waldo’s birthday.”
Waldo, a young guy in his early twenties, waved his hands. “Hey! It’s my birthday!”
Randy shook his head. “He’s had a few to drink.”
“True.” Waldo grinned, joining them. “But doesn’t mean I’ll show up to work hungover tomorrow. Cross my heart.”
