Nodding, I leaned harder against him. “I missed you so much.”
“I know.”
Peep frogs began to sing somewhere, and a chill swept along the gully while a breeze tickled the back of my neck. No place I’d ever lived had been home as much as Colton’s arms were, and not even a top-speed ride on my bike could replace this feeling.
“Can we go home so I can fuck you?” I teased.
He laughed, giving me one last squeeze. “Yeah.” His phone vibrated in his pocket loud enough that I could hear it. He tugged it out to glare at the screen. With a groan, he answered. “Hello, Mom.” He nodded as he listened with his head tilted to the side toward the phone in a way I always thought was cute. I let out an internal sigh when he said those dreaded words that always led to endless work when it involved either of our families. “Yeah, sure. We’ll be at your house in a half hour.”
He glanced up with an apologetic smile, and I shrugged, getting to my feet. I dusted off the seat of my pants and sighed, staring at the distant diamond-strewn sky. My mood lifted. The world was amazing, Colton was a big mountain of muscle waiting for me to fuck him—I breathed out some excited jitters—and whatever this was couldn’t put a damper on that.
Colton moved the phone away from his mouth. “Do you mind if—”
“It’s family, of course I don’t mind.” I held out my hand to haul him to his feet. He smiled and let me, even though he was nearly twice as big as me, and I had to throw all my weight into it. He finished his call and stuffed his phone into his pocket.
We held hands as we walked back toward the maze of junk, and I could barely keep the smile that spread across my face from getting out of control. This was going to be so great.
5
Scar
Momma’s eyeswere watery and her breathing was ragged, and even though she tried hard to speak to Charley, she needed to stop halfway through a sentence to take a deep breath into her ventilator mask. But still, she looked at Charley as though he hung the moon. To her, he did. No one could tie me down until he came along, and in her eyes, that meant I would get into trouble less. In a way, it made sense because I had someone else to think about when I did stupid shit.
I grinned at Charley from where I sat on the floor in front of them, screwing together a new TV cabinet she’d bought from Ikea. It was nice seeing my boyfriend getting along so well with my mom, even if it meant I was doing this project alone.
“Andrew and Josh haven’tdefinedtheir relationship,” she said with a huff, patting down her gray hair, which looked freshly permed. She started going to the hairdresser once a month after I got out of the big house and was able to help with bills. I didn’t know how long Mom had left in life, and I wanted her to not worry about a thing, and I certainly didn’t want Josh trying to sell drugs again. “What does that mean? Andrew comes around for dinner every week, and him and Josh act like a couple. But they haven’t defined their relationship?”
She pressed the face mask to her nose and mouth and breathed in deeply.
I snorted and twisted a screw into a board I had in front of me. The living room was a mess of bolts and nuts and wood, and I really hated Ikea furniture. Mom deserved it, though. The house she lived in was the same one she’d raised me and Josh in after our father met his untimely end. She’d worked two and sometimes three jobs to make sure we had food on the table, and while the house was only a two-bedroom, it was warm during winter and cool during summer.
“Some people don’t ever define their relationship, Momma,” I said with a chuckle.
“Why not?” she asked, huffing again. “I never understand relationships these days. When I was your age, we got married and had kids. It was life.”
“Not anymore.” Charley smiled at her and kicked up a leg to cross over his knee, leaning back onto the couch. “You get all kinds of relationships these days—monogamous, polyamorous, open relationships. It’s all about what people agree on.”
She frowned at him, then me. “Are you two…?”
“We’re monogamous, Momma. I couldn’t stand another man touching Charley.” I winked at her when she sighed.
“You know I love you and Josh just the way you are.” She reached down to pat my head like I was thirteen and looking for her approval. As a kid I did everything to make her proud of me, and after Dad’s removal from this earth, I took up the position as man of the house and helped pay the bills. That’s how I’d gotten involved with the Kings in the first place—I met King, who was looking for some guys for a job to make some money. At the time I couldn’t resist that kind of offer.
“Josh and Rogue really care for each other, Melinda. Give them a while to figure themselves out.” That was Charley—practical. He knew exactly what to say to make Mom smile.
“You’re right. Josh is a good boy, and I like Andrew, too.” She nodded as if she’d decided he was right and everything would be fine. Mom always needed someone to confirm what she already knew. She breathed into her mask again before waving toward the kitchen door. “Would you like a drink, Charley? I think I have some pop. Maybe some beer from the last time we had dinner together.”
I snorted and twisted a bolt into the wood. “You haven’t asked me if I want one. I can see who your favorite is.”
She leaned over to flick me on the ear, and I laughed. “You’re not a kid anymore, Colton. Don’t be childish. I like Charley.”
Charley chuckled. “Thank you, Melinda. I like you, too.”
“He’s a good boy,” Mom continued. “First man I know who tamed you.”
“Tame is probably the wrong word.” The screwdriver slipped and I cursed when it got me on the finger. I shook my hand and glared at the pieces that were supposed to be combined to make a TV cabinet. “Momma, what did I tell you about buying stuff from Ikea?”
She harrumphed at me and waved her finger. “Colton, all furniture stores do flat packages now.”
