Page 88 of Hawk
For her, acceptance seemed to come easily. For me, it took years to understand how a man could destroy his own family for personal gain. Then, I remembered Adrik told me about my father killing my mother when she tried to take us three kids and leave him. It was one of the rare times he was open with me about business and family, and that one night, he held me while I cried over the loss of the only parent who gave a damn about Devlin, Lucian, and me.
“I’m going to get dressed for breakfast. The ladies will be here in about an hour, and I was hoping you would join us,” Hailey commented, and I nodded.
“I’d like that very much.”
She leaned over and hugged me before saying, “I’ll be back to get you after I get clean up.”
With that, she called Jasmine and she and the dog walked next door to their cabin. Jacob opened the door as she walked up the steps and waved across to me before escorting her inside. Zeus came and sat next to me, and I scratched his head, watching him enjoy being a dog for a change instead of my emotional support.
The door behind me opened and I glanced over my shoulder to see Colton walking outside. He came and sat next to me before kissing me.
“Did you and Hailey have a good visit?” he asked, and I nodded.
“She had some questions about how we got separated, and I answered the best I could without going into too much detail.”
“What did you tell her?”
I turned and looked at him, knowing he knew the whole truth. “I told her the truth, or at least as much as I could. I explained about my father and his need to be in control.”
“And she didn’t ask about . . .”
He left the sentence open, but I knew what he was asking, so I shook my head. “I’m sure that will come up, but for now, I’ve avoided telling her anything about him or my time with him.”
“She can handle the truth, but I fully support your decision to not tell her about him. I know you’re worried about blowback from his family, but they’re either dead or in prison for the rest of their lives,” Colton reasoned, and I could see his point.
But I still didn’t want to bring him back into existence by saying his name. Not after I’d spent so many years trying to forget him. Adrik was a cancer on the world, and we were all safer with him being six feet under.
“I’ll cross that bridge if and when we get to it. For now, I’ll answer whatever questions she has and do my best to sidestep some of the landmines.”
He kissed me again and replied, “Whatever you think is best, I’ll support you.” I smiled at him, and he linked our hands together. “Let’s get you some more coffee before you head to breakfast with the ladies.”
Colton helped me stand, and as we walked back inside with Zeus following closely behind, I asked, “How are Matthew and Anna?”
“Jackal said they had a good night. They made a blanket fort in the living room and the five of them camped out.”
“That seems like fun,” I remarked as we walked into the kitchen.
After pouring me another cup of coffee, Colton asked, “Do you still want to go with me to pick them up this afternoon?”
“I promised them I would,” I returned, and he smiled at me before kissing me softly.
“You’re too perfect.”
I blushed again, not used to compliments, as he guided us to the couch. Wrapping his arm around my shoulder, he tugged me closer to him and we sat in comfortable silence as the minutes ticked away. I needed to get showered for breakfast but didn’t want to miss one minute with Colton.
My stomach grumbled, and he chuckled. “I guess you should get showered.”
I placed my coffee cup onto the table in front of us and turned to him. “You could join me if you want.”
His eyes hooded as he said, “If we get into the shower together, you’ll be late for breakfast. How about this evening, we take a long, hot shower and I’ll give you a massage.”
I stood from the couch and looked down at his handsome face. “That sounds wonderful.”
I could feel his eyes on me as I walked into the bedroom. I began digging through my bag for something to wear while he stood in the doorway, his shoulder propped against the side and his arms crossed, watching me intently.
I could feel his love from across the room, and as I walked into the bathroom, he followed behind me. Glancing over my shoulder, I teased, “I thought we didn’t have time.”
“I never said I didn’t want to watch you take a shower, just that we didn’t have time to take one together.”
