Page 40 of Colt

“A thorn is the worst part of your week—something that made you sad or that was bad,” Dean explains.

“Right.” I scoop some grits into my fork. “Because talking about that stuff makes us feel better.”

I feel Lainey’s eyes on me when she says, “Opening up is always a good thing. Some of us could probably use some more practice doing it, though, huh?”

Mack cackles. A literal fucking cackle.

I’ll stab you, I tell him with my eyes.

I’d love to see you try, he replies with his as he goes to town on his salad.

“My thorn this week was…” Dean puts a finger on his chin and ponders this for a minute. “Probably not being able to cowboy enough. School takes up so much of my time.”

“Quite the pickle,” Lainey says with a smile.

“But you do love school,” I say.

“Yeah, I love school. I just love to be a cowboy too.”

Nash shakes his head. “The struggle is real, bro.”

“Bro, I know.” Dean turns to Lainey. “Then my rose was meeting Lainey. She’s really nice and super pretty, and we are going to draw with markers together and also play with my LEGO bricks.”

“Aw, thank you, Dean,” Lainey says with a laugh, her cheeks turning pink. “You’re very kind to say that. I can’t wait to hang out more.”

He wiggles in his chair as he munches on a carrot. “Maybe tomorrow?”

“You have school tomorrow, buddy,” Billie replies. “It’s Monday, remember?”

“Maybe another day, then,” Lainey says.

“Fine.” Dean’s glum little face makes my chest contract. “Can you go next, Lainey?”

Because she’s back to being annoyingly perfect, Lainey doesn’t miss a beat. She wipes her mouth on her napkin and clears her throat. “Sure. My thorn…hm.” Her head swivels in my direction. “My thorn would be the storms that come barreling through here without warning. Y’all have some wild weather around here.”

“So does Dallas,” I reply.

“I wouldn’t know, because I’m not from Dallas.”

“She’s from heaven,” Dean says dreamily. “Stop teasing her, Dad. Gosh.”

I do not blush. But for the first time in…a long-ass time, I feel heat creeping up my neck into my face.

Nothing like being shamed by your six-year-old son.

I also wonder if Lainey feels sorry for Dean. Is that why she’s being so kind to him, because she somehow found out his mom is gone? Or is she just…genuinely like this? Warm and friendly and generous?

I have a hard time believing that, though. I hate this girl for a reason. I just gotta wait for her to prove me right. Because chances are Lainey isn’t different from the bullshitters I’ve encountered. She’s just smoother. Better at faking it.

“Anyway.” Lainey clears her throat. “My rose was definitely getting to meet all of you. Oh! And petting Big Brother.”

“You got to pet Big Brother?” Dean cries. “Do you know I named him?”

Lainey lifts her brows. “You did?”

“Yup. My mom is in heaven—that’s where you’re from, remember?—so my dad can’t give me any more brothers or sisters. I figured I’d make the horses my brothers instead. Big Brother was born first, and he’s my dad’s horse. Little Brother was born second, and he’s my horse. That way, we have our own family. It’s not as big as Dad’s, but at least I get to pretend like I have real brothers. It’s pretty cool.”

Lainey blinks and blinks again. The table is quiet for a full beat.