Page 20 of Sweet Whiskey
COLT
Tossing the old flooring into the front yard, I roll my shoulders and crack my neck.
Everything feels stiff, and it’s not from the renovation work.
It’s the haunted, hurt look in Kinsey’s eyes when she realized I lied to her.
I roll my head back to stare at the cobwebs on the ceiling of the porch and blow out a breath.
We’ve been working relentlessly to get this place ready for Kinsey, and my stomach sinks that she may reject us in the end.
The house had been abandoned and didn’t cost much at the auction last week, but it wouldn’t mean anything without her here with us.
Thudding bootsteps come to my side, and Dallas tosses another pile of rotted wood. He glances over at me and shakes his head.
“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s wrong. Kinsey will understand,” he says.
I shrug. “She may understand, but that doesn’t mean she has forgiven.”
He frowns and then glares at me. “We may not know Kinsey that well yet, but I know how she makes us feel and how she responds to us. I have faith that she will.”
We both look up as Brooks’s truck kicks dirt down the driveway, bringing in the supplies he picked up from town, and we walk down the steps to help him. When he hops out, Dallas and I are already pulling down the gate and unloading the gallons of paint and new flooring.
“Larry said he was able to find a new nest mattress in the next town over. Otherwise if we order, it will be about two weeks.”
Dallas curses. “Alright, I’ll go pick it up Monday.”
“He figured you’d say that. Put a hold on two.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Two?”
“I think he sees the writing on the wall with Mav.”
Dallas snorts. “More like a glaring billboard. The man basically peacocks around her.”
My mouth pulls into a half-smile. “I’ve never seen him so interested in someone. It’s kind of cute.”
Brooks gags. “Cute? Please. I got secondhand embarrassment just being in his presence.”
“You should have seen Colt’s longing expression a few moments ago. It would have given Mav a run for his money,” Dallas says, swinging his arm around Brooks’s shoulders as they both face me with taunting smirks.
“Oh yeah. Did he get that lost in thought look too? Does Kinsey hate me? What if Kinsey never forgives me? What if Kinsey doesn’t think I’m the most handsome man anymore? ”
I growl at Brooks’s mocking words and slam the gate of the truck shut. “Y’all would be upset too. Hell, you should be upset. She’s mad at you too, Brooks.”
He shrugs, pushing off Dallas’s arm in the process and then grabs a few supplies to help haul them to the house. “I’m not worried about it. We lied to protect Levi, who is probably her dad. She’ll understand.”
Dallas waggles his eyebrows at the repeated words thrown back, and I narrow my glare and say, “She may understand, but her trust can still feel broken.”
Brooks sighs, dropping the stuff on the porch and heading to grab the rest. “It could be, but she’s trusted us with far more sensitive stuff, like getting her off during heat spikes, so I think she’ll forgive us for breaking her trust to protect our family.”
When I go to open my mouth, Dallas waves his hand.
“If you truly believed the bullshit coming out of your mouth, you wouldn’t still be putting in the work to get this house ready.
We all know you like to spend your weekends by the creek, resting your bare ass in the freezing water and pretending to fish. ”
My cheeks heat. “I am not naked.”
“You see how he didn’t deny about pretending to fish?” Brooks says with a grin.
Dallas nods. “Yeah, but we all knew that because he never returns with any.”
“Want me to leave you two jackasses to finish up here and I’ll go get us some fish?” I grunt out, feeling lighter with their taunting.
Brooks holds up his hand. “Of course not, daddy Colt. I did what was asked of me like a good boy.”
Dallas laughs, pushing Brooks away from him and bringing the supplies farther into the house. I shake my head at him, not nearly as annoyed as I should be about being called daddy.