“I’m going to do what I couldn’t last year.” Kissing the top of her head, I stand. “I’m going to be honest with everyone and then we’re going to formulate a plan.”
She rises, worrisome eyes meeting mine. “You trust them?”
I laugh, it’s dry and exhausting, unused to coming out. “If you trust them, I trust you.”
“That’s the thing, Cass, they lied to me. Especially Bridger.”
The need to defend the guy rises, but that’s what brings me to my next comment. “What happened since I’ve been gone? Leave out the weird sex details,” I groan. “Please.”
We drink three more beers while she explains the last nine months, and I’ve realized something very valuable. When I didn’t trust Jordan, thinking it was him who outed me, Colt just gave me the answer I sought without trying.
Melissa Marchetti.
She’s the key.
We just didn’t see it.
As she’s describing her friendship with Melissa, so many things make sense. We walk out to the lake, sitting at the dock with our last beers. Her hair strikes me once more. It’s not her. At all. Even blonde Colt felt more like herself than this Posh Spice version.
Grabbing a lock, I gently tug. “We’ve got to do something about this do. You’re looking twenty years older.”
She smacks my arm. “Okay, old man.”
I push her. “Triplets, Colt. We’re the same damn age.”
We both laugh at that and when she pushes at me again, I grab her, jumping us both into the water. She screams. “You’re such an ass, Cassidy Amos Hudson!”
The way her layers fell off, her eyes alight with happiness, it’s worth all of this heartache. Simply for this moment.
We get to the ladder at the side of the dock and climb out. “They meant well,” I promise her. “I didn’t trust them, still don’t fucking like them,” I continue. “But they did what they did with the intention of saving your life. It’s what I was doing. The fact that they kept that energy makes me proud.” She smiles, her face morphing into a proud one.
“I’m still going to kick their asses for bullying you.”
“They weren’t that bad,” she argues, running a hand through her short hair.
“Not that bad doesn’t mean they weren’t assholes. Just means you’ve got a thick skin and give them twice as much as they gave you.”
“No one has ever known me quite like you. Even if you’re a complete dick with daddy issues.” I shove her a bit, tickling her soon after. She’s a fit of giggles, trying to shake me off. “Stop!” she squeals.
“You can say all you want about daddy issues, Col. But we have the same fucking dad.”
She pouts. “Stop disproving my points.”
I smirk, wanting to scream “Neener neener.” Instead, I pull her into a hug. “If I can’t be the pain in the ass funner sibling, what am I good for?”
“Piggy backs?” she jokes. But she’s right. Picking her up and hauling her onto my back, I carry her back to the cabin. When we get there, I realize our time of happiness is ending. We have so much shit to do and while this has been the happiest moment since Vegas of last year, it has to end.
“I think it’s time we tell the others,” I mention, setting her on her feet. We’re both soaking wet but I have tons of clothes in the house and I know she does too, even if they’re not the clothes she’s used to wearing.
“Are you sure?”
I bite the inside of my cheek, not even sure if I’m sure. “Ten knows now too, he ran into me by accident earlier. He told me about a lot of shit. I might as well come inside and figure it out with him. He was gone a long time.”
“So that’s where he ran off to.”
I nod. “I wasn’t going to let him in. But seeing his face for the first time in a long time, I’d missed him.”
“Ross was kidnapped,” she mentions randomly. We stop walking toward the house and she scrunches her face. “The twins I mentioned, they took him.”
“I know Just and Pru, Colt. Once upon a time, you did too.”
She shakes her head. “Don’t remember and, honestly, I’d really like my memories back. Especially the ones of our sister.”
“We’ll get her back,” I promise. “I’ll kill them all if I have to.”
Her face falls at that. “That’s the thing, Cass. I’m sure you would and I’m even sure I wouldn’t hesitate. But what does that make us?”
“The monsters of our parents’ making.”
We continue to walk and she stops again, her eyes narrowing. “You haven’t mentioned Moms once.”
I bite my tongue this time, not knowing how to tell her that Moms isn’t a good person, and while she probably lost a lot of her edge along the way, her whole existence in our lives was to babysit our mother, make sure she didn’t break the rules again.
Saving me from my next words are the voices of two people I didn’t know if I’d see ever again.
“What the fuck?”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Bridger
“What the fuck?” Jordan and Lux say at the same time.
Ten and I share a glance. Before meeting with the other two, he’d come to me about it. He and Cass spent a good amount of time catching up.
We decided not to tell the others, but I guess Cass had another fucking plan that didn’t include me.
I’d be more worried but Colt’s eyes are glistening and she’s not giving me malice. Either he didn’t tell her or she’s somehow not ready to rip my dick off.
“We’ve got a lot of catching up to do,” Cass mentions, his face lighter than before. He seemed dead inside, and now, I can see Colt brought him back.
“Want to say that with a lot more words, like a goddamn explanation?” Jordan hisses. Colt’s spine straightens and she narrows her eyes at him.
“Either calm the fuck down or walk away. He’s had enough to deal with.”
Ten laughs and I can’t help the smirk I offer. “Vamp got her fangs back,” Ten jokes. Cassidy’s gaze swings to him. That shuts Ten up really quick.
“I need to talk to my dad for a bit. Get dinner ordered in or whatever and we’ll catch up then.”
Colt stares at him, their silent communication louder than I’d have imagined. “I can come,” she offers. There’s a battle in her gaze, one that’s having separation anxiety. It’s understandable. He’s been gone for quite some time. Her not wanting to be apart from him right now makes perfect sense.