Page 17 of Going Home

"It was. It was humbling, to say the least."

"What do you mean?"

Laughing, Colt leans back to mirror VP's position. "Who would've ever thought that I, Colton Nichols, would be the voice of reason in any situation?"

"Get out of here."

"It was eye opening. I saw Dax at his most destructive, and it was like an out of body experience. I saw just who I used to be, and it was like... God, it put into perspective just how patient Lex has been with me. I still can't figure out how she could love me through everything I put her through and still be here."

He recounts how he rolled up to a gas station after a run to find Dax picking a fight with three men who could and would have put him in the ground. If it hadn't been for Colt showing up when he did, Summerville likely would have lost their President, which was a fear the men had when they asked the Drifters to patch over. Dax was at the point of no longer wanting to go on with his life without Dani, and he thought getting himself killed would somehow bring him to her.

"What'd you say to him?" VP asks, his eyes intrigued.

"That if Dani was anything like Lex, she won't be wherever the hell he goes. Just like I doubt Lex will be meeting me on the other side," Colt says. "She's only ever killed to save herself or someone else. She's not like us."

"She's more like us than you think," he says and chuckles. "I knew Dax was reckless. They all told us, but I didn't think he was suicidal."

"I kind of understood. If I lost Lex like that, before we had kids, I'd go off the fucking deep end, too. I wouldn't know what to do, but I also know Lex would pissed as all get out if I did. It's definitely a good thing we stepped in with the Hellraisers, though. He might've found a way to get himself taken out before finding out Dani was alive."

A smile of pride spreads across VP's face. "That's something else Lex did that shows how much things have changed. The old Lex would've charged in without thinking. The way she brought it to us to do the heavy lifting really showed how much she's grown. Maybe it's being a mom, but she's done such a great job. She actually seemed happy when she called me from the wedding."

"I really don't think she hated being someone we all turned to for ideas and plans, but she hated how she was taken advantage for it. I can't blame her for thinking that's the only reason she was kept around."

A look Colt can't quite figure out washes over VP's face, and Colt hates how much he feels as though he's being examined through a microscope. Like this man hasn't known him his entire life. Before he can ask what it's all about, VP changes the subject.

"Who are Hailey and Lucas?"

"Oh, yeah. Uh, we found a couple of teenagers squatting in the house when we went to check it out before everything arrived. They'd been there for a while, and I brought them home to what I can only imagine would make the producers ofHoardersrun away in fear and disgust. I couldn't leave them there," he says and lets out breath to calm him at the memory of the passed-out druggie mom and abusive, disgusting stepfather. "It was bad. It was... The mother was passed out with a pile of needles on the floor next to the couch, and the maggots and ants made me wish I was back in Ty's apartment. Pre-Tara."

His eyebrows shoot up. "That has to be disgusting."

"The abusive stepfather was the reason I knew I couldn't leave the kids there. I nearly murdered that asshole when he slammed Lucas against the wall right in front of me."

"What?"

Sniffling, he looks at the table. "Lex and I are taking over guardianship of them. Hailey's graduating this year, but Lucas still has a few years left. And I'll be damned if I let a child go home to parents I know are abusive and neglectful. I just can't. It's not in me, and I've apparently become more like your daughter than I'd realized."

VP's eyebrows stay raised. "Wow."

"Hailey's going to be a bit of a challenge. From what I gather, both of her parents are gone, and the two shitheads at the house are her stepparents. She doesn't seem to have had an easy life, and it definitely shows. That girl is harder than Lex ever was. With a sass that rivals my sister."

"God help you both."

Laughing, Colt shrugs. "Just a year. Lucas seems easier. I don't think he's been hardened yet thanks to Hailey shielding him. She used her body as a shield when we confronted them in the house. I just hope we can stop his circumstances from completely ruining him because he seems good. He kind of reminds me of my brother, actually."

It's been a while since he's let himself think of his brother, Noah. The last time he did, it was after Casey died in his arms in Black Valley, and Colt spiraled into a darkness that almost cost him everything. Noah was always the good one in the family. He was the one who would have gone off to be a doctor or something. More than the outlaw lifestyle.

VP seems to understand the need to take a moment to think about Noah, and Colt appreciates it. He's been too scared to let Noah enter his mind after nearly losing Lex in more than one way, but it feels good now.

"I can't imagine not caring about where my kids are. Even when shit went south with Ashley, it was obvious Diesel worried about her. He couldn't force her to get help, but we know he'd go running the minute she called and said she was. These kids were gone for a month, VP. A fucking month."

"I guess I have five grandkids now."

"We're not adopting them, but Lex will only need about a day before she considers them her own. So, yeah, I guess you do."

"And Lacey's pregnant?"

Shrugging, he shakes his head. "I guess so. She showed up in a full-on panic. Not that I can blame her much, but I think Black Valley has done her good. Lex commented at the wedding how Lacey looked like she was glowing, and I saw a bit of a belly. But I never would've guessed a baby. I have a feeling P's freaking out, too."

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