"Shut up!" Colby said again.
Colt closed his mouth so fast his jaw popped.
"Since it sounds like we could be here all night with what you two have been up to, how about I get right to it." He paused. "The name Karen Ayers ring a bell? And before you decide to get cute, I"ll just throw it out there that Karen"s mother already called here and talked to your mother. So she knows that you skipped youth group last night and went skinny dippin" with Karen."
"Mom knows?" Colby said.
"We"re dead, huh?" Colt said.
"You think your mother needs to get phone calls like that? h.e.l.l no. And not only because she pa.s.ses the buck on to me."
"Is she madder about us skippin" out on church? Or about us goin" nekkid swimming with a girl?"
Carson stared at Colby. Hard. "What do you think?"
"We"re dead," Colt said again.
"You boys cause her enough grief with her havin" to nag you constantly to get basic household ch.o.r.es done. Next time you start muttering under your breath when she asks you to do something? Imagine if you"d have the same reaction if I asked you to do something."
Colby and Colt exchanged a look.
"And feel free to pa.s.s that advice on to your brothers. Now. Karen Ayers. What in the h.e.l.l were you thinkin"?"
A few moments pa.s.sed. Then Colby said, "We weren"t thinkin" beyond she"s the prettiest girl in school with the wildest reputation."
"Was it her idea to go swimming nekkid? Or yours?"
"Mine," Colby admitted.
"But it wasn"t like we had to beg her to take her clothes off or nothin"," Colt added.
"That"s not the way she"s tellin" it, least not to her mother. Anything else happen you wanna talk about?"
Colby closed his eyes when Colt opened his mouth. "She let us touch her b.o.o.bs. Not both of us at the same time, but one of us at a time."
Like that made it...better. Christ.
"That"s all that happened, Dad, I swear."
Carson addressed Colby. "Why"d you think it"d be a good idea to take your fourteen-year-old brother along?"
"I"m almost fifteen," Colt protested.
"I took him because goin" to the lake was his idea," Colby said.
Colt tried really hard not to look smug.
And Carson didn"t know whether to laugh or whap him upside the head.
"I ain"t gonna pretend that you won"t be tryin" to have s.e.x as often as possible once you start down that path. I will say I expect you to be responsible, discreet and respectful."
Confusion filled Colt"s eyes. "I don"t get it."
"He means wear a condom, don"t have s.e.x on the school bleachers and don"t go braggin" about which girls you"re havin" s.e.x with. Right, Dad?"
He wasn"t surprised Colby knew the score, or how to score for that matter. "Yes, condoms, every time, even if the girl swears she"s on the pill. We don"t need a grandkid and you don"t wanna get some crotch rot that"s goin" around. Discreet also means I don"t ever wanna hear about you skinny dippin" again, or where you"re dippin" your wick, and I definitely don"t want your Ma catchin" wind of it, am I clear?"
"Yes, sir."
"As far as respect? Girls who"re willin" to have s.e.x with you? Treat "em right, not like they"re just a warm place for you to stick it in. s.e.x ain"t only about you getting your rocks off. The sooner you learn that-"
"The more s.e.x I"ll have?" Colby inserted hopefully.
How was he supposed to answer that?
Don"t. Let that one go.
"Are we in trouble?" Colt asked. ""Cause you weren"t real clear on that."
"If I could take away your d.i.c.ks and give them back to you when you"re old enough to use them responsibly, I would. But since that ain"t an option..."
His sons looked at each other with relief, not like they"d gotten away with something.
"As far as the other s.h.i.t you"re doin"?" He leveled his gaze on Colt. "If I ever catch you drivin" faster than the speed limit, you"ll be walkin" everywhere for at least a month, understand?"
"Yes, sir."
Carson"s gaze moved to Colby. "I told you no bull ridin". Period. And that I"d consider lettin" you try it when you were eighteen. Until that birthday rolls around, I"d better never hear of you goin" against this rule I set. Never."
"Sorry, Dad. It won"t happen again."
"Now go apologize to your mother and ask her if she needs help with anything."
They bolted so fast they tipped the bench over.
Carson reached for the flask in his bottom desk drawer. Good thing he had a few years before he had to have this same talk with Cam and Carter.
But no way, no how was he ever having this talk with Keely.
Chapter Twenty-Six.
Hospital, Day 5-morning He had a bad case of indigestion. Not a good way to start the day. But that"s what he got for trying to eat something healthy; eggs and toast and fruit gifted him with heartburn.
He should"ve stuck to eating cookies. But he was actually tired of cookies. He swore he heard Carolyn"s phantom laughter in his head.
The doctors had checked on Carolyn first thing this morning. No change. No plans to ease her out of the coma. They decided she"d "benefit" from two more days in stasis.
That really increased the churning in his gut.
Pacing hadn"t helped.
Neither had catching up on world news on TV. If anything that"d turned his stomach a little more.
The nurses let him use the private shower and steam room on this floor. Ten minutes of hot water pounding down on him and slipping on a fresh pair of clothes made him feel better.
He returned to the ICU waiting room to find his grandson Ky hanging around.
"Hey, Grandpa. I wondered where you"d disappeared to."
Carson ran a hand through his damp hair. "Cleaning myself up so your Aunt Channing doesn"t come back and hose me down like we used to have to do with your Uncle Colt when he was a boy."
"Uncle Colt? Really? Man, he"s always like...so clean. Cleaner than anyone else, even when he"s workin" cattle."
"Times change." He dropped into his chair. "So what"s up?"
"Dad said I was supposed to tell you that me"n Anton and Gib are looking after your horse."
"I appreciate that. I"m sure your Gran-gran would say the same." As much as it pained him to admit, he"d have to get rid of Sheridan. That mare deserved an owner who could give her the care she deserved and that hadn"t been him in the last year. Plus, he couldn"t look at the horse without thinking of the accident.
Kyler shifted his sneakered feet and glanced at the closed hospital door. Carson couldn"t count the number of times he"d heard the words "spitting image" used to describe a father and son, but Ky was such a carbon copy of Cord-at least in looks-that even he"d mistakenly called the kid Cord a time or ten.
"How is Gran-gran?"
"The same. I keep tellin" myself that"s a good thing. Might be bad if she woke up before the doctors wanted her to."
Ky sat heavily in the chair next to him.
Didn"t seem like the kid wanted to be here-not that Carson blamed him. Chances were he"d been roped into keeping Grandpa company.
Ky locked his gaze on Carson"s. "Are you and Dad in some kinda fight? He wouldn"t come here himself and tell you about us takin" care of the horse and we"ve been doin" it for four days. Then I heard him complaining to Mom about you."
"Not gonna repeat what names he called me?" Carson said with amus.e.m.e.nt.
"Nope."
"Probably wise. Your dad-and the rest of my kids-ain"t happy about the "no visitors" rule. They think I"m bein" controlling and paranoid. They believe the rules oughta be different for them since Carolyn is their mother. But she"s my wife, my responsibility. My sole purpose is to do everything in my power to get her outta that hospital bed and home where she belongs."
Kyler didn"t even blink at Carson"s snappish response. "I don"t understand why everyone is so bent outta shape about it. I know if it was Mom in there my Dad would be the same way. "Cept probably worse."
Silence stretched.
Finally Carson said, "You don"t need to stick around if your dad guilted you into comin" here."
"He didn"t. I"m here because I wanted to ask you something."
"Ask me what?"
"What happened between you and Dad that made him move to Seattle?"
Not what he"d expected and he didn"t know if he should answer. "Son, does your dad know you"re askin" me about that? "Cause that wasn"t a happy time for either of us."
"He refused to talk to me about it, so I figured I could ask you since you don"t pull punches."
Maybe this would be the one time he would.
"I wouldn"t be asking if I didn"t need to know so I can make a decision."
"You and your dad still goin" round and round about post-high school options?"
"We"re still going round and round about everything."
Poor kid. Carson remembered what it was like to be at loggerheads with his dad and all the times he"s been a stubborn jacka.s.s of the first order with his sons. "Tell ya what. Get us both a soda and we"ll see where we end up." Carson dug in his pocket and pulled out five crumpled one dollar bills. "d.a.m.n soda here is higher priced than whiskey."
Kyler grinned. "Maybe we oughta be drinkin" whiskey. I"ve got some in my truck."
Carson gave him a level stare.
"Kidding. Dr. Pepper it is."
He returned with two bottles of soda, two candy bars...and three bucks. Carson raised an eyebrow when Ky pa.s.sed the money back. "The candy is my treat."
"Thanks. You oughta be savin" your money to take out all them pretty girls swarming around you. Gas ain"t cheap these days."
"Dad pays for my gas, so it"s all good." Kyler cracked open his soda. Then he wolfed the candy bar before Carson opened his wrapper.
"Why don"t you tell me what"s goin" on."
He sighed. "The team"s already started football practice. Every morning from six to eight and then there"s weight training and agility conditioning every afternoon from four to six. Coach thinks we can win state this year after we"ve finished second the last three years, which would be awesome since it"s my senior year. I come straight home after practice and get ch.o.r.es done. Dad is pa.s.sing off my evening ch.o.r.es to Foster, which is about time because I was doin" way more at his age than he is. Anyway, there"s already been a couple of college scouts showing up to watch practice."
"The scouts are there for you?"
A tinge of red appeared on Kyler"s cheeks. "Yeah. Anyway, I like the scout for UWYO. They"re a division one school, but they"ll never get close to a national championship. The scout who showed up last week was from Oklahoma State. He talked a good game and they"ve got the winning records to back up their claims."
"Did either of them offer you anything?"
"Both did. Full rides. Arizona State University offered the same thing with the option clause of expanding their offer, whatever that means." He wiggled the metal tab on the can. "So to throw more c.r.a.p in the mix, last week, Marla called."
Since Cord had married AJ a dozen years ago, Ky had called AJ Mom, a fact his biological mother Marla wasn"t happy about. But since the boy visited Marla in Seattle maybe once every two years, and AJ was in Kyler"s life every day, Carson didn"t see the issue. "What"s goin" on with her?"
"She wants me to apply to Washington State."