Page 188 of Colt

There’d been a lot of push and pull between me and my girl since we got together. I thought back to all the instances where I’d put up walls, and I realized something that made my throat go dry.

My own father and fiancée had made me so untrusting that Freya had seemed almost too good to be true. All the times I’d pushed her away and been a dick had been my way of testing whether she’d stick by me through thick and thin. Mom was right, I’d been self-sabotaging since the night we got together and I gave her hell because a waiter back in Denver gave her his number.

I buried my head in my hand. “Fuck!”

“Colter, language,” Mom snapped.

“Mom,” Cordy began. “I think we can ignore it given the circumstances—” she was cut off by mom’s ringtone blasting from her purse.

She fished it from her bag, checked the caller display, and froze, all color draining from her face. “It’s your dad,” she whispered.

“Want me to take it?” I offered gently.

She shook her head, pulling her back straight. “No. I can do it.” She looked at us in turn before pursing her lips and clicking the icon to answer the call. “Conrad,” she murmured. “What can I do for you?”

I held my breath, studying Mom’s expression, trying to work out the tone of the call by her face.

My dad should’ve called me, not Mom. The fact he’d gone over my head made him a fucking coward. He knew Mom wouldn’t stand up to him the same way I would. She was still getting over the years of trauma he’d caused her.

“Okay, Conrad,” she murmured. “If that’s how you feel, we’ll see you at the meeting. Good day.” She disconnected the call and put the phone back in her purse. “Your father won’t agree to the divorce. He said if I go back to him today, he’ll ditch the mistresses and give our marriage a chance. As you just heard, that’s unacceptable to me. So, it looks like we have to be up bright and early for a meeting.”

“God,” Gracie snapped. “He’s such an asshole.”

“Preach,” Cordy muttered.

My heart went out to Mom. “You did good there,” I said softly. “I know that was hard for you.”

She shrugged. “I didn’t expect him to give in at the first hurdle. It’s not his style. If there’s one thing I know about your father, it’s that he’s a tenacious son of a bitch. He’ll wait it out until the last minute.”

“Language, Mom,” Gracie said with a giggle.

She waved her hand nonchalantly. “Well. His mother was a bitch, God rest her soul. She spoiled him. I blame her that he can’t keep his teeny tiny little penis in his pants. He’s so needy.”

I sat back grinning. “At last!”

Mom turned to me. “At last what?”

“At last there’s somethin’ about him that I can honestly say, he didn’t hand down to me.” I nodded toward my crotch. “Nothin’ teeny tiny about me.”

“Oh my God,” Gracie muttered. “You’re such a child.”

I grinned huge, my thoughts going back to the time when I’d just thrown Christian the auto mechanic outta Freya’s apartment. She’d called me exactly the same thing.

“You’ll get on well with my girl,” I said huskily. “She gives me so much shit in one breath, then so much love in the next, she makes my head spin.” I rubbed at the ache in my heart. I missed her so much, but I didn’t know how to make it right from so far away.

“Go to her,” Mom breathed. “Explain everything. Be honest.”

I jerked a nod. “I will. Just need to see this shit through with Dad first. When I go to her it’s gonna be forever. I want this part of my life over, Dad’s gotta be gone. I don’t want him around my woman or my kids. Not ever.”

Every one of my girls comforted me in some way.

Mom hugged me.

Cordy stroked my arm.

Gracie squeezed my hand.

“Let’s make a pact now,” Cordelia suggested, studying each one of us in turn. “When Dad’s gone he doesn’t get back in. We all move away and we start fresh. I’ve already instructed my divorce lawyer. I don’t want a cent from Jasper, I just want my freedom.”

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