AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Pride kicks in, and he crosses his arms over his chest. “I’m not going to beg you to come back.”
“Like I begged you? Trust me, I didn’t expect you would.”
Grinding his teeth, anger washes over him. “Stop this! Come home, and we’ll talk. We’ll be fine. I love you.”
Her lips tremble as she looks at the ground. “I don’t believe you. And that hurts worst of all.”
“You don’t believe I love you?” His arms drop to rest at his side, and he takes a step back. He couldn’t have heard that right.
“No, I don’t,” she whispers. “I have to go. I’ll be here to pick the kids up on Sunday around five. If you need to go to Black Valley, just let Karmen know. I’ll be checking in with her. Calla has had a cough for a few days, but she hasn’t been running a fever. There’s cough medicine in the cabinet if you need it.”
He watches her damn near run to her car and get in. She doesn’t even glance in their direction as she backs out and takes off. There’s no doubt about it: He’s fucked.
“Colt, what the fuck did you do?” TK asks.
“Nothing that can’t be fixed,” he says, but even he doesn’t know if he believes the words. “We’ll figure it out. We always do.”
Just as he turns to walk towards the house, VP grabs his arm and whips him back around. “She didn’t fight you, Colt. The only time that woman ever stops fighting is when she gives up. And she doesn’t give up easily. Especially when it comes to you.”
“We’ll figure it out, okay? Relax. I’d appreciate it if you keep this to yourselves for now. I don’t want to make a big deal out of something that’s going to be a non-issue in a few days.”
“You better figure it out,” his father says. “If she disappears, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”
Sighing, he walks inside to get his kids loaded up into his mother’s car. This will be a long weekend.
Chapter 3
Griffin’s Beach
Colt
Colt sits in the clubhouse later that night, his mind a million miles away. Jennings called Church, and Karmen agreed to stay at the house with the kids until it ends.
“Look who decided to show back up,” his best friend, Ky Short, says with a laugh. “Thought you’d up and moved to Black Valley with how much time you’ve been spending there.”
The man’s the only person besides his father who knows him better than he knows himself. Well, and Lex.
“Shit’s been going down,” Colt says as the rest of the men filter into the room.
“You okay? You seem weird.”
Okay? He’s anything but okay. Hasn’t been okay since the night Casey died, but now it’s different. Calla wouldn’t stop screaming and fighting him when Karmen dropped them off with him at the house. He tried a bottle, tried to feed her mushy baby food, and then tried to entertain her with her toys. Nothing worked. Noah had to come in and take care of her. Maybe Lex was right about their daughter not knowing him. But he had to be gone. Why can’t anyone understand that?
Her cough started after her tantrum, which ended with her throwing up all over herself from crying so hard. He had to fight her to get her cleaned up, and then Noah had to give her the medicine because she refused to take it from him. At least his daughter understands stranger danger, he supposes.
“I’m fine. It’s just been a long day.”
“Are you sure? Because VP looks about ready to murder you.”
He nods towards VP, and Colt sighs. Jesus Christ. It’s been four hours. He clearly expects miracles. Part of him hates the fact Lex left, but the other part is pissed at how she’s overreacting. She doesn’t understand anything that’s going on. The obligation he feels. If she realized, maybe things would be different.
How the fuck is she supposed to know when you never talk to her?Noah’s voice echoes in his mind, and he wishes the ghost of his brother living in his head would materialize so he could punch him in what he’s sure would be his smug fucking face.
“Holy shit, Colt Nichols does still belong to this charter,” Jennings Molloy, the President, says and gasps. “Thought maybe we transferred you, and I’d just forgotten about the paperwork.”
“Ha ha, very funny. Anyone else want to make comments?”
A few of the men laugh and shoot jabs at him, but for the most part, it dies down quickly. They walk into the Chapel, and he focuses on Jennings and the reason he called Church.
