Page 86 of Between the Boards
“Colton Wyatt Harrison.” The sound of my name spoken in that voice gives me chills, and flashbacks to all the times I’ve ever gotten in trouble before. “You better not be foolin’ around in that house you’re staying in. She’s a young lady and?—“
”Mom,” I cut her off, my whole face burning hot now. “We’re not kids anymore, and we know how to…to be safe.”
She purses her lips and sits back, eyes narrowing on me. “I’m just sayin’ I don’t want to hear that I’ve got grandbabies on the way before I’ve even met their mother.”
Yup, I think to myself.There it is.
”You should bring her by sometime,” she says. “We can make a pie, and I’ll show her all those cute photos of you as a baby.”
“One step at a time Momma,” I say, holding up two hands. “Let’s just make sure dad doesn’t kill me first.”
She furrows her brow. “Why would he kill you?”
“Because…he kicked me out?” I frown. “Told me if I picked surfing over the ranch then he wouldn’t consider me his son anymore and I wouldn’t be welcome here…didn’t he tell you all of this?”
She sits back in her seat with a distant look, but the sound of men shouting and horses galloping catches our attention.
“Go wash up sweetheart,” she says, picking up the dish towel and walking over to the sink. “Your room is still how you left it and there’s some clean clothes in your drawers.”
I stare at her, gripping onto the edge of the sink, shoulders raised high.
“Is everything okay?” I ask in almost a whisper.
“Everything’s fine,” she says, smiling at me over her shoulder. “Get goin’ now, the shower gets crowded when those three are back from their ranching duties.”
“Okay,” I say, not believing a word she says as I make my way to my old room.
There’s no way she didn’t know the reason why I was gone all these years, is there? I mean, what excuse could he have given her for me leaving that kept her from calling me to check in?
The questions ricochets through my mind, and I have no doubt in my mind dinner is going to be an absolute shit show tonight.
TWENTY-NINE
COLTON
I’ve never beento a more tense dinner in my life. Both of my brothers sit opposite me at the dinner table, while my parents each sit at either end. Here I was thinking it was going to be a shit show the moment my father spotted me, but no—the second he saw me he went mute and avoided eye contact with everyone.
What’s actually making this dinner so tense is the way my mother is sitting with her arms folded, a plate full of food in front of her, staring him down like she’s plotting his murder.
My brothers and I glance between the two before looking at each other with eyes full of questions.
“Wyatt,” she says, making all four of us jump. “Aren’t you going to greet your son?”
My father side-glances my way, and mutters a rough “Hi”.
I sneak a look at my mother and find her still staring him down. I glance down at my plate of steak, mashed potatoes, and fresh farm veggies longingly, knowing nobody is eating in peace tonight.
My mother picks up her fork and knife and begins cutting into her steak, eyes never once leaving my father.
“He for whatever reason felt like he wouldn’t be welcome to come back home and have dinner with his family,” she says, a bitterness to her tone.
He definitely did not tell her the real reason I was gone, and now I feel even worse for staying away for so long when it’s clear I would’ve been welcomed back without a problem—at least by everyone but my father.
”What’s momma talkin’ about dad?” Cade asks, a frown forming between his brows.
“Yeah,” my other brother, Cooper, chimes in as he looks at me. “Why didn’t you feel welcome?”
I open my mouth to answer, but my fathers voice makes me freeze.
