She licked her fingers from the casserole dish. “Uh-huh. I loved that place. So many trails. Those were the good old days. All those fresh pine trees. You used to be outside for hours, playing with that lasso. I had a hard time calling you in at night. You were obsessed.”
Colt’s vibrant blue eyes sparkled at his mother’s recollection. “I know. I was a real scruff, too. Used to drag mud and dirt into the house.”
Colt talking about his family made me think of mine. Not like I got to see my parents much since they lived in Florida. I remembered what they’d said when I first came to Merced.
“Why do you need to go all the way over there? You can just stay here in Florida. Nothing wrong with this place. California ain’t got nothing on Florida if you ask me,” my mother had said. With her golden hair and tanned skin from the Florida sun, she thought it was the best place on earth. My father would follow whatever my mother said. He was a yes-man. Safe to say, my mother wore the pants.
“Mama. I want to see the other side of the country. I never thought I would get the job. I want to go see it. If I don’t like it, I can always come back.”
I felt myself smile. That had been over six years ago. I had well and truly made a life here in Merced and would never look back.
Cheryl grabbed her potholder and got ready to take the casserole out. She continued talking about her son. “Bella is the spitting image of Colt on a horse. She’s got her daddy’s genes.”
“I don’t know what to do on a horse, but I sure know what to do on a bike.” Hector laughed as he set the picture down.
“Similar in a lot of ways. You treat her right, and she will do the same. Have to talk to them nicely,” Colt explained as he looked at me.
“Where is Bella?” I asked, looking around.
“Oh, she is out in the barn with my husband, Clive, who you haven’t met yet.”
“A real family affair,” Hector observed.
“Sure is.” Colt had snuggled in beside me on the couch and laced his fingers together with mine. He curved into me and spoke delicately into my ear. “Hector and I have some dealings to take care of, so we will be in the barn after dinner. Don’t be alarmed.”
I rotated my head in his direction. “I realize I have to trust you. I know nothing about settling scores. I want you to be careful and to know you are still on parole.”
His pensive face let me know he was heeding my warning. “I understand. I won’t do anything to put you or your brother in harm’s way.” He grabbed my hand and kissed it.
The sound of voices made me look up from our secret conversation. Bella came in, holding hands with an older gentleman. His face had been weathered by time, but he was the spitting image of Colt, only decades older. If this was any indication, Colt was going to age very well. The resemblance was so uncanny that it shook me a little. My eyes blinked to look at him again. He had the same build as Colt and wore black leather boots. His head was bald, and he was a little smaller in height. Colt must have gotten that from his mother. Clive was not hunched over and weakly by any means.
“Hello, everyone.” He scanned the room and took everyone in. He turned his focus to his son.
Colt unhooked from me and stood. The respect for his father was clear as soon as he set foot into the room. He met his father halfway, and they embraced for a long moment.
“I knew you would make it home safely. Sorry I didn’t get here sooner to see you,” Colt’s father said in a raspy voice.
“It’s okay, Pop. You’re here now.”
It almost brought a tear to my eye to see the exchange between father and son.
“Your horses are in good shape. I might have to jump back in the saddle, my boy.” He patted his son on the back, laughing with a toothy grin.
Cheryl gave him a funny look. “Last time you got on one of those Palomino horses, you fell off, remember? I had to nurse you back to health for days. You whined so much,” Cheryl said.
Colt’s father pursed his wrinkled lips together and moved to sit at the kitchen table. “Oh, hush, woman. Now introduce me to your friends, Colt.” He smiled at us both.
Bella had her hair down and was wearing jeans, a cute little top, and, to my delight, her very own cowboy boots. She ran over to sit by me.
“Dad, this is my girlfriend, Amber, and her brother, Hector, who is staying here for a night or two.” The announcement shocked me. I was as stunned as everyone else in the room. You could hear a pin drop as everyone stared at Colt and then back at me.
“Daddy’s got a girlfriend!” Bella, with her big grin, was the one to break them out of their astonished silence. She covered her mouth, swinging her legs on the couch. She started giggling up a storm. She let the announcement fade and move right into the next thing on her mind. She got up after that and ran to her room, yelling, “Grandpa, I want to show you my horses! I’ll be back with the drawing.”
My mind spun in confusion. That reaction could have gone either way. Her mother hadn’t been dead that long. She might have been angry about it. I brushed my hair out of my face.
The room was like a slow-motion movie returning to full speed. Colt stared at me, and I tried hopelessly to avoid his gaze.
“That’s good, son. Just don’t go back to jail,” Clive warned. I saw the tension on Colt’s face as he balled his fists.
Hector sat silently. I got the feeling from his blank stare that he had other things on his mind than whether Colt and I were having a love affair.
Cheryl was in disbelief. “I should have known. I mean, you spent a lot of time together.”
Piping hot plates of a mixed smell of beef, sweet cinnamon, and earthy potatoes filled the air.
I walked out to the back porch. I felt embarrassed and rejected a little by Cheryl, and his father didn’t exactly endorse us either. Dusk was on the menu, as well, as the sky gave us a feast of deep oranges and pale pinks mixed with royal blue in the sky. The chill made me wrap my arms around myself. A minute or two later, Colt came out. I just needed to have the cool air injected into my lungs.
A large warm arm reached around my shoulders. “Babe. I’m sorry. It just came out. I don’t know why.”
I turned. “Colt, I said we should be careful. I mean, we don’t know what this is. You told your mother? I mean, what do I look like right now? A social worker who seduces my clients? I could get fired. I keep telling you that! You’re not listening.”
His pale blue eyes gazed high into the mountain tops that sat in the distance behind the property. Crickets were sounding off. This was their time. Frogs were making themselves known, as well. I listened to the sounds of nature to calm myself down.
“Might have been a Freudian slip, but I meant every word I said. My mother will get over it. It’s my life. Bella loves you. I love you, Amber. That’s the bottom line. I don’t give a damn about anything other than that at the end of the day. My mom isn’t going to rat you out. She would never do that.” His blue eyes came back from their journey over the mountain tops and reached into my soul.
“I didn’t know you felt that way.”
“Now you know. You don’t have to say it back. Prison has done something to me.” He kissed my cheek, and his lips were cool from the night air. “Come on in. Time to fill your belly.”