“Yeah, sure, take a seat,” Colton mumbled, taking a sip from his steaming coffee.
“Thanks,” Henry smiled at Hank while he sat down at the small table with the blue and white plaid tablecloth.
As the silence settled around the three of them, Henry couldn’t help but look at Colton as he began scarfing down his food as if he hadn’t eaten in several days. The muscles of Colton’s left bicep contracted and relaxed as he raised his fork towards his mouth almost inhaling the scrambled eggs. Colton had changed out of the gray Henley and was now wearing a navy-blue t-shirt which offered Henry a nice look of his bulging arms and his broad chest. Both arms were covered in black and grey tattoos all the way to his wrists. A lizard skirting across what appeared to be desert sand caught Henry’s attention. Heat spread throughout his body like an out-of-control forest fire and an unexplainable and inappropriate urge to lick Colton’s tattooed skin grew in his chest. Shifting in his chair, Henry cleared his throat.
“So, Hank. It must be nice being around family again,” he tried as a conversation starter to get his mind off the hot specimen of a man sitting next to him. It would be rather awkward, Henry reminded himself, if he was sporting a boner when Tilly arrived with his food.
“Sure is nice,” Hank replied with his mouth full of bacon. “Haven’t seen Colton since he was just a scrawny kid with busted up knees and a runny nose,” he laughed.
Colton almost snorted out his eggs at his uncle’s comment and Henry tried to hide his smile as he replied.
“Yes, well he certainly isn’t scrawny anymore, is he?” As soon as he’d spoken the words, he bit down on his lower lip.Jesus, Henry! Get a hold of yourself.He felt Colton’s stare burning into him but tried to keep eye contact with Hank.
“It’ll be nice to have Colton at the shop seein’ as my back isn’t exactly what it used to be,” the older man continued without commenting on Henry’s choice of words. “Walter always was kinda a magician with his hands, so if Colton here is anything like his father, he’ll be a great help.”
Just kill me now, Henry thought to himself as he imagined Colton’s skillful fingers trail across his skin, his large hand wrapped around Henry’s hard length.Just strike me dead right now on the spot.He looked frantically at Colton who’d gone back to scarfing down his food without looking at his uncle.
Like a savior from heaven, Tilly appeared at their table with a plate of steaming hot food and Henry thanked the higher being who’d apparently taken mercy on him and interrupted the awkward conversation at the table. Or at least he felt that the conversation had been awkward. He wasn’t sure about Colton. It was difficult to get a vibe from the other man as to whether he was uncomfortable or not.
Before Henry could start on his meal, Hank announced that he needed to head off to the shop as he wanted to have a look at the rental car before any other customers arrived. The older man explained that he’d already spoken to the rental company, and that they’d pick up the SUV the following day. After grabbing a twenty from his wallet and dropping it in the middle of the table, Hank quickly waved at Tilly and headed off, leaving Colton and Henry alone.
Still avoiding any kind of eye contact, Colton continued to demolish his breakfast while Henry side eyed him. He felt an inexplicable need to talk to the other man. He couldn’t explain why, but in a way, Henry had a feeling that if one were to scratch just slightly at Colton’s rough exterior, he’d crumble immediately. Something urged him to create a connection with Colton.Start with something safe, he thought to himself.Something mundane and neutral.
“So, how many years did you end up being in the military?” From his early days in the clinic, he knew that talking about someone’s profession was often a safe topic.
“Twenty-one.” Colton replied without looking away from his plate.
Well then. Not exactly a conversation starter but Henry had no intention of letting the other man off so easily.
“Where were you stationed then?”
“Last place was Fort Hood. Texas. Before that it was Fort Campbell…” Colton trailed off while he gave Henry a quick glance.
Henry couldn’t help but giving himself an internal pat on the back. He appeared to be making progress.
“Fort Campbell? That’s a rather large base, right?”
“Yeah, it’s really big. Just on the border between Tennessee and Kentucky. Almost four years I was stationed there. Well, most of the time, I was deployed…”
“That’s right.” Henry couldn’t help but feel that even though Colton seemed reluctant to engage in the conversation, he wasn’t exactly hostile. “You mentioned Afghanistan at the clinic this morning?”
Colton shifted slightly in his seat and took a long drink of his coffee. He seemed to think about his reply. Henry was almost about to tell him that he didn’t have to answer that. He was just being nosy.
“I was also in Yemen for two years. I mean, I had a leave for three months but yeah, two years. At theAl Anad Air Base in the south of the country. Maybe you’ve heard of it?”
Henry sat up straighter in his seat, playing with the salt and pepper set between the two of them. He felt a sting in his chest when he was met with the question in Colton’s hazel eyes.
“Yes, I think so… Wasn’t it in the news recently? Last summer, right?” Henry remembered that there’d been a rather large attack at the military base resulting in many casualties. Images of burning buildings and casualty counts had been all over the national news stations. It was strange to think of Colton being amid that chaotic inferno when Henry himself had probably been enjoying the warm summer weather in the yard with his gran.
“Yeah… It was pretty bad. Lost a lot of men. Yemen is not exactly a peaceful corner of the world.” Colton dropped his fork in the middle of his plate with a clang, continuing to look straight at Henry. His golden-brown eyes seemed to look directly into Henry’s soul, scrutinizing him. It wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, but he felt Colton’s pain ? a pain so intense and naked that it left him speechless. “I’d better head off to Hank’s place. Got some unpacking to do.”
Before he could offer a reply, Colton had left the table and was heading towards the door. Looking at his plate, Henry realized that he’d lost his appetite. Shaking his head, he dropped another twenty-dollar bill on the table in addition to the twenty already left by Hank and called out to Tilly.
“Thanks Tilly. Gotta go. Urgent call,” he blurted. Tilly looked up from the counter and gave him a short nod. “Sure thing, hon. See you later.”
CHAPTER NINE
Colton
