Page 50 of Better Together

“Is it so bad that I tell a woman she looks nice when the thought comes to me? Heaven forbid I speak the truth.”

“The truth is good, but if you’re hitting on every woman under the age of forty, they’re all in the know about it. Blackwater is a small town.”

“Tell me about it. Blackwater is getting smaller by the minute.”

Blackwater, Wyoming wasn’t much bigger than the town where Colt and Mark had grown up, and the memories of the metaphorical walls closing in on Colt in his late teen years was particularly vivid.

The thought of his hometown brought with it the reminder of his dad. He hadn’t heard from the old guy in months, and he hadn’t reached out since Mark’s death. Colt had been putting it off for a reason, but his time was running out with the memorial service happening in the next couple of days.

“You’ll find someone. Probably before Linc, so don’t stress about it.”

“Well, that’s a comforting thought. Linc will be an old lonely grouch until the day he dies.”

“All is not lost, man. Getting married to Remi was a curveball I didn’t see coming. Maybe your future wife will fall into your life out of the blue clear sky one day.”

“Did you just use a George Strait song to impart wisdom?” Brett asked.

“Maybe. Listen, I need to go.”

“All right, but I’m going to need a written explanation as to why I wasn’t asked to be your best man.”

“I’ll get right on that. See ya.”

Colt ended the call and stared at his phone. Maybe he needed an ice cream pick-me-up before laying out the bad news for his old man.

No. If he put it off any longer, he’d never make the call. He said a quick prayer for guidance before pressing the button.

“Hello.”

It had been months since Colt had heard that voice, but nothing had changed. The first eighteen years of his life came flooding back in an instant. “It’s Colt.”

“Long time no talk,” Jeffrey Walker said.

Colt propped his elbows on his knees and stared at a crack in the brick at his feet. “Yep. And I don’t have good news.”

“I figured as much.”

Spit it out and get it over with.“Mark was in a car wreck. Brittany was with him. They didn’t make it.”

His dad swore, then huffed a long sigh. “I figured the devil would get him too.”

The devil. That was a good label for the addiction that had a tight hold on his dad and brother.

“I don’t know if that was the cause. Since it was a one vehicle wreck, they might not have even tested them. The police officer I spoke with didn’t mention it to me. Listen, we’re having a small service for them on Thursday. It’s at Henderson Funeral Home in Newcastle at ten in the morning.”

“Ah, okay.” His dad’s breathing was ragged and hard. It was just before three in the afternoon, and the old man had probably been drinking since the sun came up. When the conversation was over, Jeffrey Walker would drink until he passed out and forget all about his dead son.

For that, Colt could hardly blame him.

“Ben and Abby are with me. We just got out of the guardianship hearing.”

“Oh, man. I forgot about Ben and Abby.”

Yeah, he would easily forget his grandkids if he barely called to check up on them. Colt would bet his last paycheck that the kids hadn’t seen their grandpa more than twice in their lives.

Best to get all the information out at once. “And I got married. In case you cared to know.”

“Congrats. I hope she’s nothing like your mother.”

---