Page 45 of Treasure and Tarot

“That’s an understatement and a half.” He had to grin though, because that was true. It was all new. “So what happens now? Tonight’s the big filmed walk-through?”

“Yeah, we’re bringing in a medium, and he’s a great guy. I’ve never met him in person, but I’ve worked with him online quite a few times, and we’ve been corresponding.”

“Oh?” Sebastian ignored the jolt of jealousy. “Where’s he from?”

“Santa Fe originally, and then I think he spent quite a bit of time in California. Now he’s sort of a nomad.”

“Yeah?” Sebastian couldn’t imagine. He really wasn’t the nomadic type. He didn’t even normally go as far as Denver, or Grand Junction, for that matter.

“Yeah, like seriously he lives in a travel trailer kind of nomad. He’s a wild little guy, but deeply decent, very spiritual, and very into helping.”

“I don’t guess any of those words are bad.” He wasn’t sure he liked this very spiritual guy. “Do you really think he can help?”

“I think he’s going to try. I think I am too, so that’s something.” Colton looked away, like he was thinking and then glanced back at him. “Did you mean it?”

“Did I mean what?” He was lost.

“That you were interested in me staying for a while?”

Oh. “We need to talk about that.” Because he had meant it, and he did mean it now, but… “It depends on what you mean by a while. If you’re going to stay for three or four days and then go permanently, I need to know that, so I can prepare Abby for it. I need you to know that when I said a while, I meant a while. When you say a while, what do you mean?”

“I mean as long as you’ll let me.” Colton took a deep breath. “There’s nothing to hold me in California, baby. My parents are there. That’s a good thing to avoid. Gent has offices there, but he also has a place in Aspen, so if I need to meet with him someplace not Zoom, I can do that.”

He blinked. Okay. Okay, wow. That was—A lot. But he found himself smiling. “So, you want to hang out here?”

“I do.”

“Okay. I’m—” He took a deep breath, just like Colton had. “You can stay with us. I’d love for you to.”

“I would love that too.” Colton glanced at Abby. “We should sit down tomorrow night and set some ground rules. I know I can be…alpha-y. And you two have a routine.”

He nodded. “I appreciate that. I do. Okay. Today, we enjoy breakfast and you go to the house and film, right?”

“Right.” Colton chuckled. “Let’s get the business part out of the way. And the solving of the ghost problem. I want it safe in the house for Abby and you.”

“And you,” he put in gently. “If one of them pushed you down the stairs or something, I would never forgive myself.”

He’d seen Colton’s scars now, which made the “I was in the hospital in a coma after a cave-in” so real. He couldn’t bear it if his house was the reason Colton got hurt again. It had taken him too long to get better the first time.

And that was purely beyond the selfishness of wanting Colton with him and Abby, learning how to be whatever they decided to be together.

“Daddy! Is my coffee cool enough now?” Abby was at the table swinging her legs and nibbling instead of shoveling her portion of breakfast.

“Let me check.” Xavi never made her hot chocolate super hot, but if he had to split the milk with more than her drink, she had to wait for it to cool down. And Colton had gotten an almond milk latte.

“So, still almond milk?”

Colton grinned. “I prefer to waste my lactose on ice cream or cheese. And not start the morning with heartburn.”

“Luckily, little bit there isn’t showing any signs of that problem.” He would hate for her to lose out on her milk obsession. She really loved her “coffee”, and her froyo, and her cereal with milk, and her whipped cream.

“Yeah. One of the few things my mom gave me.” Colton wrinkled his nose. “But if I really want it, I just take a pill. Mom? She gets the bloat like a cow-eating larkspur.”

“Ow.” Though he more than kind of thought that Colton’s mom deserved to be in pain all the time. She’d denied her grandchild and denied her son the knowledge of her. That was the height of cruelty.

“Yeah.” Colton’s tiny smile said he thought the same thing.

“Let me take her the ‘coffee’.” He made quote fingers. Then he took Abby her drink, sitting down with her for a moment at the table to see what all she’d eaten. The bacon was all gone, but the eggs…

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