Page 148 of Colt

There was so much reflected in his ocean-blues—love, adoration, pride. My chest twisted as emotions swirled within. I had to get away, I was so overwhelmed. When I glanced back, Colt still gazed at me steadily, his eyes saying everything his voice couldn’t.

“Thank you,” I mouthed silently.

“I love you,” he mouthed back.

My heart swelled.

We were so lost in each other that we didn’t realize somebody was watching our silent conversation. If we had, we would’ve been more careful, but then again, maybe not. Our feelings were so all-consuming, how could we hide them? They were written all over us, in our faces, in the loving looks we threw at each other, and in our reactions whenever the other half of our soul entered the room.

As much as I wanted to be careful, it was getting harder to hide my feelings. The thing was, I knew we had to do it the right way or else we’d hurt my dad, and I didn’t want that.

Except, little did I know that very soon, the choice would be taken away, and it would turn out to be a damned nightmare with repercussions I couldn’t even begin to imagine.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Colt

After Freya took Sunny, Kady, Kennedy, and Layla out for a spin in her new car, we all went back inside to watch the kids tear open their gifts.

I’d never seen so much excitement contained inside one room before. The kids were feral, shouting and yelling whenever they opened a gift, but above all else they were grateful, which was nice.

As soon as everything had been cleared away, Adele stuck two fingers in her mouth and let out a piercing whistle. “Can I have your attention please?” she hollered, eyes going from one person to the other as we lounged together on the couches. “The cursing ban is officially in place. You know the score. Five dollars a cuss, all proceeds go to the kids.”

“Fuck!” Atlas muttered.

“Five dollars please, Assless,” Sunny yelled, skipping toward the SAA, holding her hand out with Jolly Batman prancing around her ankles.

Kai cocked his head at his grandma. “So, what you’re sayin’ is, every time someone cusses, they have to give us kids five dollars?”

Adele grinned. “That’s exactly what I’m saying, Kai.”

The boy punched the air. “Cool!”

Atlas went into the inside pocket of his cut and grabbed a wedge of cash. “I’m sorted for the day. Got five grand, all in fives. Job done.” He pulled a bill out and handed it to Sunny.

“I don’t think so,” Sophie interjected, slapping him across the chest. “All that cash wasted because you’ve got a dirty mouth. That’s money we could be spending on the baby.”

Kennedy shrugged. “I’ll write you kids a check. One of you will have to tally me up at the end of the day.”

Kit chuckled.

My gaze slid to Freya, and I smiled when I saw she was watching me intently.

Kennedy waved a hand. “Any of you ladies want to partake in a glass of wine with me?”

“It’s eleven o’clock,” Layla argued.

Kennedy squeezed two fingers together. “This is how many fucks I give. I don’t often drink. I work like a horse, and I look after my kids. If I want an early drink on Christmas day, that’s what I’ll have.”

“Five dollars please, Mommy,” Kady called from the corner of the room where she and Sunny were playing with the kittens.

“Shit,” Kenndy said under her breath.

“Ten dollars please,” Sunny sang.

Kennedy rolled her eyes. “Write it down.”

“You’re as bad as Atlas,” Sophie told her exasperatedly.

---