For You (The 'Burg Series) (58 page)

Though I was thinking, he hadn’t had them; I wouldn’t have what he had to give me now.
 

On the other hand, he could just be a natural at this kind of thing he was so good at it.

“How you feelin’, honey?” Colt murmured and his voice rumbling in my ear, my body pressed against his, my fingertips skimming over his skin, all of that made my current thoughts tumble right away from me.

“Great,” I whispered and those thoughts had fallen so far I realized I was. How I could be this happy about Colt and me and Morrie and Dee and that Mom and Dad were home, even after reading Amy’s note and dealing with all this crap, I’d never know.

But I was.

Colt’s hand flattened on my hip, slid down and his fingers pressed into my ass.

“Best ass in the county,” he muttered and I grinned.

“You do a lotta research into that?” I teased.

“Yep,” he replied, my head came up to look at his shadowed face and he went on. “What can I say? I’m an ass man.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, so I did, but my hand slid up his chest to his neck and when I stopped laughing I asked quietly, “How you doin’, babe?”

I watched the shadow of his head come up slightly from the pillow then it dropped down and he sighed. “I’ve had better days,” his fingers pressed into my ass again before he finished, “not many better nights.”
 

I bent my head and kissed his collarbone before deciding to change the subject.

“Am I gonna have to brace anytime some asshole from my past walks into the bar and you’re there?”

“Nope,” he said immediately, “think tonight my point was made.”

I stared at him and realized he was right. That bellow of my name, calling attention to us, getting the admission out of Aaron, casting doubt on Stew (good doubt, anyone who thought twice about it, which they probably didn’t decades ago, would feel foolish for ever considering I’d give it to Stew), my and Morrie’s conversation, all of it was perfectly played. Not to mention, Colt and I were back together and as back together as you could get, kissing and sharing Frank’s in the bar, me living with him. Two weeks ago everyone knew Colt wouldn’t get near me and they thought this partially because they thought I’d run around. Truth was, I
was
always his woman and me running around, even broken up, was viewed as a betrayal (and girls were always looked down on if they had that reputation, earned or not). As ever about anything in a small town, but especially Colt and me, word would fly. Any guy who told their tale was probably going to look like a schmuck.

“You Superman?” I asked softly.

“How’s that?”

“Leap buildings in a single bound, salvage girl’s reputations in a second, that kind of thing?”

He was quiet for awhile before he replied, “I can’t leap buildings in a single bound, but I can make you come so hard you put a hole in my drywall.”

“I didn’t put a whole in your drywall.”

“Glad that’s Plexiglas on the print and I fixed it good, baby, or we’d be lyin’ in a bed of glass.”

“You’re such an asshole,” I said through my smile.

We both fell silent, me now thinking nothing but happy thoughts. I’d find out Colt wasn’t thinking the same.

“You know, there wasn’t a reputation to salvage.”

This comment so surprised me, I lifted up my head and looked at him.

“What?”

“People love you, February.”

I shook my head and settled back down but his hand squeezed my ass and he ordered, “Look at me, Feb.”

“Colt –” I started but stopped when I got another squeeze.

“Baby, look at me.”

I did as I was told.

“I told you about that kid we brought in, Ryan,” Colt said.

Oh shit. I didn’t want to think of all the shit he told me over Frank’s that night, about the new people who Denny duped and sent straight into their own nightmares.

“Colt –”

“He said, watchin’ you, he could tell you were nice. People gravitated to you. He wasn’t wrong, Feb.”

I shook my head and said, “It’s late. Let’s go to sleep.”

Colt rolled into me, obviously not feeling like taking my hint to drop the subject. When he had me on my back and his dark shadow loomed over me, he kept talking.

“People love you.”

“Stop it, Colt, we both know –”

“They do now and they always did.”

“That isn’t true,” I whispered.

“It is.”

“You didn’t feel it,” I told him.

“No, I reckon people were surprised, what went down, maybe disappointed, what they heard, and you felt that, but they never stopped lovin’ you.”

“Colt –”

His hand came to my jaw and tightened. “February, listen to me. You never stopped bein’ you. It mighta been subdued but you were always the girl who looked out for the Angies and Darryls of the world. You were always an Owens, collectin’ strays. You never changed that, no matter what they thought of the other.”

“I don’t think –”

His thumb slid over my lips. “Trust me, Feb. Now, they won’t ever think of the other.”

“That wasn’t necessary,” I said to his thumb and he laughed. It wasn’t with humor, there was a bitter edge to it that pressed against my flesh.

“Not much about the wrongs done us I can put right. That’s one so I did it. Fuckin’ thrilled when that asshole walked in the bar tonight. Meant I didn’t have to delay.”

God, I loved him, always had, always would. I loved him so much, that feeling of fullness started to press against my skin from the inside and there was so much of it, I didn’t think I could hold it all.

I wanted to tell him, I really did. I wanted to share, let him know. But this was new, just as it was old and the idea terrified me.

So instead of
I love you
,
I said, “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me, honey, I believed it too. That’s part of the wrong I made right tonight, lettin’ people know I was just as much of an asshole believin’ that shit as they were.”

“You aren’t an asshole,” I defended.

“You called me one just five minutes ago,” he teased.

“Oh, right,” I muttered. “I forgot about that,” I told him. “And I was jokin’.”

“I know you were, Feb.” Before I could say anything else, he kissed me then rolled us back so we’d resumed our positions and declared, “Now we can go to sleep.”

“Oh, so
now
we can go to sleep, now that
you’re
done talkin’?”

“Well… yeah.”

“I was right.”

“What?”

“Asshole.”

A short laugh, this one
was
filled with humor.

Then, “Shut up and close your eyes, baby.”

He was totally bossy.

Still, I did as I was told.

Wilson jumped up and curled his body mostly on our tangled feet, only partially on the bed, and I fell asleep.

* * * * *

A phone started ringing; I knew it was mine from the tone. It was my cell that sat next to Colt’s on his nightstand, the one he put there, digging it out of my purse when we got home, preparing, just in case.

It jarred me awake which jarred Wilson awake but by the time I lifted my head to stare at it in sleepy horror, Colt was reaching toward the glaring light of the phone display that seemed to pierce right through the dark like a beacon of doom.

He brought it to his face as I got up on an elbow and he flipped it open and put it to his ear as I held my breath.

“Yeah?” There was a pause while I let out and pulled in just enough breath not to suffocate. “Yeah. She’s right here.”

Then in silence he held the phone out to me.

Knowing it wasn’t who I thought it was because he wouldn’t give it to me if it was; I took it, looked at the display and saw who was on it. My breath went out of me again as I looked at the clock on Colt’s nightstand. It was two in the morning, not unusual for the caller, but not acceptable anymore, though he didn’t know it.

I saw Colt’s shadow move, arm extended toward the light. Then I rolled up and over to sit on my ass, arm holding the covers to my chest as I lifted my knees and pressed my torso to my thighs.

Then I put my phone to my ear, the light went on and I blinked against the brightness as I said, “Hey, Reece.”

There was nothing but silence for awhile and I waited.

Then Reece said, “Expected it to happen eventually, darlin’, but didn’t expect it to hit me that hard the first time I heard a man answer your phone.”

I closed my eyes tight and whispered, “Reece.”

“No promises, beautiful, no expectations, that was the deal. You gave it to me.”

“I know.”

“Now I gotta find a way to give it to you.”

“Reece –”

“Best way to find it right now is knowin’ some jackass is out there carvin’ up folks in your name and it’s good for me to understand you got a man at your side.”

“He’s not carving them up, he’s hacking them with a hatchet.”

There was a smile in Reece’s voice when he replied, “Whatever.”

I felt Colt’s hand hit the small of my back and then I felt his fingers run up the indentation of my spine then back down, the path short, the touch light but it was also steady. I knew it was weird in this situation but it made me feel better.

It helped that Wilson wandered up the bed and curled into a ball at my hip.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Headin’ out tomorrow, goin’ to ground until this guy is found.”

“I’m sorry, Reece.”

“Not your fault, darlin’.”

“Still.”

“Still nothin’. Could use a vacation anyway, haven’t had a real one since we went to Tahoe.”

Tahoe had been great, we went right before I came home and stayed a week. We rode there on the back of his bike and we splurged on a luxury rental. Gambled and rode during the day. Ate until we were stuffed. Fell in bed massively tipsy every night. It was a blast.

I’d seen him since as he used to be mine for those times I needed him. I took a two week vacation the first year I was home, got in my car, told no one where I was going or who I was seeing. I hit a few places where I had friends, including spending two days with Reece in Sedona. Did the same the second year, catching him up in Taos, but that time I stayed four days.
 

Reece had come to visit me also, spending his time while I was at the bar catching up with friends he had close or visiting the Speedway and doing other tourist crap. He was careful not to infiltrate my life, like showing up at the bar, knowing, without me telling him, that wasn’t his place to be. When he was around I took some time off, not explaining why, and sometimes would go with him and show him around. Nights, if we spent the day apart, he was always there for me. I’d come home and he’d be in my bed. I’d wake him when I hit the bed, or, if he was out, I’d wake him with my hands or my mouth, something he didn’t mind and I suspected he pretended to sleep just to get it.

Those days were over.

“You’ll check in?” I asked.

“Sure.”

“Frequently?”

“Yeah, darlin’ but don’t worry about me. It’ll be okay. I can take care of myself and the Feds I talked to seem pretty fuckin’ determined to find this guy.”

“Yeah.”

There was a hesitation before he said in a way I knew he was searching, “I’m guessin’ I shouldn’t call so late next time.”

 
“Probably not.”

Another moment of silence before he stopped fucking around and asked what he wanted to know but he spoke in a voice that said he wished he didn’t have to say his next words. “Hate to ask, beautiful, but gotta know. Your boy who answered the phone, this mean you’ll not be callin’ in awhile?”