Page 44 of Truths

“I'll bring him back to his mama,” Lex says. “Unless he already has a new one!”

They wait until she's back in the hospital room, and Ky places his hand on his shoulder. “That looked hard.”

“It was,” he says. “You have a beautiful baby boy, man.”

“Lily told me about... the thing. I'm sorry, man,” Phoenix says.

Colt nods. “Everything happens for a reason. That's what I keep telling myself. If I don't, I think I'd go crazy.”

“That's so cute,” Ky says and shakes Colt by the shoulders. “Colt thinks he’s sane!”

Punching him, he laughs. “Fuck off.”

“Colt, I do have to ask you something. Well, two things, and I have them strategically ordered,” Phoenix says.

“What's up?”

“First, we'd like you to be Porter’s godfather.”

Hand on his heart, he nods. “I'd be honored.”

“Second, are you and Lex ever coming back home? Permanently?”

Letting out a sigh, he shrugs. “I don't know, man. Summerville has become home for us. And you can't deny the difference it's had on Lex.”

All of them stare at the curly blonde sitting on the bed with Lily, and Phoenix nods. “Yeah, she looks... lighter. I'd never really noticed how weighed down she seemed before.”

“If we come home, it's going to be when she's ready. I'm waiting for her to come to me with that decision because it has to be hers to make.Ifshe decides to.”

“I get it, but I had to ask, you know. Lily has really been missing her. We both want what's best for our wives, but what's best for each of them doesn't really align.”

His phone buzzes in his pocket. “God, I'm the most popular man in the club today. I'm kind of a big deal, in case you didn't know,” he says and laughs. “Hey, Mom.”

“Colt, I need a favor.”

“How many bottles of wine am I picking up on the way to the house?”

“No, not that,” she says. “Wait, I am getting kind of low, though.”

Rolling his eyes, he shakes his head. “What do you need?”

“Well, we were talking, Emma and me, and we both miss having the kids around so often. Would you two be okay if wehad them for the week? We can bring them back to Summerville to save you the trip, but we miss our grandbabies.”

“Hold on,” he says and walks into the room. “Baby, the grandmas want to keep the kids for a week. Is that okay with you?”

Lex turns to him. “You mean, is it okay if we have an entire week to ourselves? In our house? Alone? Clothes optional?”

“I think we can make that work, Mom.”

“Oh, thank you, baby. I'll call you later to figure out arrangements.”

“I hate you both,” Lily says. “After the lack of pain meds, I'm kind of hesitant to let Phoenix touch me again, even after the six-week healing time.”

Shaking her head, Lex stands. “How many times have we had this conversation? There are plenty of other ways to get your rocks off while not causing issues to the stitches. Tongues, for example, work great. And once you get the big O, you'll remember it's totally worth it.”

Phoenix laughs and takes the baby. “Thanks for coming, guys.”

“Of course! You two make really cute kids, and I plan to spend a lot of time with them soon, but we should probably get back home.”

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