Shrugging my shoulders I looked into my father’s eyes. One thing about my father, he was always there for me. When we talked, I could see it in his eyes, at that moment, I was his only concern. “I feel like I crave her, Dad. Her touch, her smile, her laughter, and the silly way her blue eyes light up in the mornings when she comes skipping into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. She is so full of life and I’m drawn to it like a moth to a flame. When I’m not with her, I feel lost. I keep thinking it’s because we’re fairly new in our relationship. Puppy love phase maybe?” I let out a nervous chuckle.
Clearing his throat, my father nodded slightly. “It’s not a puppy love phase, Colt. That is something special. Rare, that not everyone is blessed to experience. It never stops, it only grows. There are times when I’m away from your mother and nothing seems to go right.” Laughing, he shook his head. “It’s like I can’t think right or function right because she’s not there. She is almost like my energy source sometimes.” Glancing back at me his eyes glassed over. “That is scary, son. But at the same time, it’s the most precious gift in the world. Never take that feeling for granted.”
Placing my hand on his shoulder, I gave it a squeeze. “Lauren and I would be blessed if we had a marriage as strong as you and Mom.”
My father smiled, then dropped it. “Marriage? Um . . . are you two . . . ah.” Shaking his head as if he needed to clear his thoughts, my father looked straight ahead. “Marriage.”
Tossing my head back, I let out a laugh. “You should see your face right now, Dad. Don’t worry. Lauren and I have not even talked about that step. Wipe the look of panic off your face.”
Scrubbing his hands down his face he whispered, “Thank God. I was trying to come up with some kind of plan to keep Scott from breaking your legs.”
My smile faded. “Huh?”
Still looking straight ahead, my father blew out another breath as he slowly moved his head back and forth. “Man oh man, that was a close call. You really scared me there, buddy.”
Jumping off the tailgate, he took his cowboy hat off, ran his hand through his hair, and placed the hat back on his head. “I need a cold beer after that.”
My eyes widened as I watched my father walking to his truck. Jumping off the tailgate, I attempted to catch up to him, but I stumbled and had to catch myself from falling flat on my face. “Dad! Wait. Why would Scott want to break my legs? I thought he liked me?”
Looking over his shoulder, he let out a stronger laugh. What the fuck?
Stopping at his truck, he turned and watched me as I made my way to his truck. My legs felt like rubber. “What in the hell is wrong with you? Are your legs asleep?”
Stopping in front of him, I glanced down to my legs. “No! You just gave me the image of Scott breaking them and I’m a little concerned. Why would he break my legs? I mean, Alex and Will are engaged and you didn’t want to break Will’s legs.”
My father’s eyes grew dark. “Please, if you only knew the different ways I was going to torture that boy, your eyes would pop out of your head.”
Taking a step back, I tried not to look stunned. “Dad. Will’s like your son.”
Pursing his lips together he nodded in agreement. “He is, just like you’re like Scott’s son. But I can promise you one thing, Scott cares more about his little girl than he does you. You mention marriage right now and all I think about is you’re wanting to get married because of a baby. ” Leaning closer, my father looked around, then looked back at me and talked in a hushed voice. “Don’t forget, his best friend was a trained killer. One shot and how in the hell am I gonna explain it to your mother?”
Sucking in a breath of air, I said, “Wait! What? There is no baby! No baby . . . none. None! Seriously, Dad you’d let someone kill your own son?”
Pulling his head back in surprise he widened his eyes. “Hell no I wouldn’t. But as much as Scott loves that girl and she is their only child, I’m almost positive he’d find a way to hurt you in some way.”
Swallowing hard, all I could think about is how Lauren and I had made love last night with no condom. Sweat began to build on my forehead as I reached up and wiped my brow. Tilting his head, my father stared at me. Then he started laughing his ass off. “Seriously, Colt. You have always been so easy. Scott’s not going to kill you. Can’t promise he wouldn’t hurt you if you ever hurt Lauren though, so don’t.”
Closing my eyes, my shoulders dropped. “I hate you right now, Dad. You scared the piss out of me and I wasn’t even sure why. I didn’t say we were getting married.”