Clara’s mouth opened and closed. “Well…um…you know…family’s important.”
He stepped closer to her. “Clara…has something happened between Indie and my mother that I don’t know about?”
Her eyes widened. “I…uh—”
“Colt!”
He looked up to see Waldo weaving toward them, his eyes glazed and a wide smile on his face, a beer in his grip.
Jesus. “I think you’ve probably had enough, man.”
“It’s my birthday. It’s myjobto drink a lot today!” A frown cut into his brows. “Sober me doesn’t care about other people’s business, but drunk me is nosy. Who’s the old dude at the bar, talking to your wife?”
Colt straightened, his body stiffening. “What are you talking about?”
“There’s some old dude with a creepy scar on his chin—”
Colt shot into the crowd, not waiting to hear Waldo finish his sentence.
His father was here, at the bar…and he was with Indie. He spotted them just as Indie stepped away from the bar.
Immediately, his father stepped in front of her, almost causing her to collide with his chest.
Colt saw red.
Two more strides and he grabbed the asshole by the back of his shirt and swung him around, shoving him back against the bar.
“What the fuck are you doing here and why are you near my wife?” Colt yelled.
Gasps sounded around him, the shuffle of people moving away.
Gordon’s smirk could only be described as evil. “Hey, son. I was just having a chat with your lady.”
Colt’s fists tightened. Every part of him wanted to hit the guy. Ram his fist so hard into Gordon’s face that he went down and didn’t get back up.
“Come on, Colt. It was just a conversation. I wanted to ask if you were here.”
The fuck he was. “You’re trying to tell me you were just going to ask aboutmeand leave her alone?”
“I’m nottryingto tell you. Iamtelling you. I wanna talk to you.”
A hand touched his arm. “Colt, step back. He’s not worth it.”
Noah. His voice was calm but firm.
Colt got in his dad’s face. “We have nothing to talk about. The only reason I’m not planting my fist into your face right now is because that would make me just like you—a damn coward who preys on people weaker than me.”
There was a small narrowing of Gordon’s eyes. “Colt—”
“Obviously, you’re still as stupid as you were twenty-six years ago, because you didn’t heed my warning.” His fingers tightened around his father’s shirt. “Leave now. There is no scenario where you come out unscathed if you stay.”
“Step outside with me, and I’ll tell you what’ll make me leave.”
Colt could have laughed. He wanted money. “You’re not getting a fucking cent. Get out. Before I make you.” Then he shoved his father’s chest and stepped back. Without another glance his dad’s way, he took Indie’s hand and stomped through the crowd.
He wasn’t sure how he’d expected Indie to react. But she matched him step for step.
When they reached his Audi, he helped her in before sliding behind the wheel. He felt Indie’s gaze on him the entire drive home. She didn’t ask if he was okay. She didn’t ask a single question. Instead, she just set her hand on his thigh, and that helped him regain a fraction of the sanity he’d lost in that bar.
