Maya Banks - Colters’ Lady

The trip took an hour longer due to the weather and the fact that Michael didn’t want to jostle Lily once they got off the interstate and onto the county roads.

By the time he pulled up to his cabin, it was already dark. Lily stirred and raised her head, the blanket sliding from her shoulders to her waist.

The rear door opened and Seth stuck his head in. “You okay, honey?” Lily nodded, but Michael could see the wariness in her eyes. He got out and waited as Seth helped Lily from the backseat. After wrapping the blanket tightly around her, Seth hurried her toward the door, but she stopped and turned her face upward to catch the fluffy snowflakes that spiraled downward.

She closed her eyes when one stuck to her lashes, and then her entire face lit up with her smile.

Michael was enchanted. He stared dumbstruck at how beautiful she looked bathed in soft moonlight as snowflakes danced around her.

Then she opened her eyes and started forward again at Seth’s urging. When she reached the porch, she paused again, her gaze sweeping over the entrance.

“This is yours?” she asked Michael.

He was discomfited by her scrutiny. It irritated him that he was suddenly self-conscious about a home he was intensely proud of. It was nestled at the base of the mountain his parents lived on, purposely rural and surrounded by huge ponderosa pines. It was just minutes to town but far enough away to afford him the privacy he craved and the isolation he thrived on. But now he worried it would be off-putting to Lily. What if she didn’t want to stay?

“Yeah,” he said. “It’s mine.”

Her smiled was brilliant. “I like it. It’s exactly like something I would have chosen.” The yearning in her voice made him ache. The approval relieved him.

“I’m glad you like it,” he said huskily.

“It’s cold. We need to get you inside,” Seth said to Lily. They trekked into the house, and Michael turned up the heater. He kept the house pretty chilly when it was just him, but he didn’t want Lily freezing to death.

As Lily looked around the living room, it occurred to Michael that she hadn’t eaten a damn thing today. Hell, neither had he, but it was likely Lily had missed a hell of a lot more meals than he had.

“I have leftover chili in the fridge. You guys interested?” Seth rubbed his stomach and grimaced. “Yeah, I’m starving.” Lily frowned a moment as if it hadn’t occurred to her that she’d missed any meals. It bothered Michael immensely that it was normal in her world.

“Yeah, I’m hungry too. Chili sounds wonderful. Did you make it yourself?” Michael nodded.

She smiled. “You and Seth both cook? Your mother must be so proud that you picked up the skills.” Laughter rumbled out of Michael’s chest and Seth hooted as well. Lily looked at them in confusion.

“Sorry,” Michael said. “Our mother can’t cook to save her life. Our fathers would hurt themselves laughing at the idea we learned to cook from her.”

“Oh, so they do the cooking?”

Seth nodded.

“That’s cool,” Lily said. “They don’t mind?”

Michael smiled. “Not at all. For the most part our mother doesn’t have to lift a finger. She’s hopelessly spoiled and that’s the way our fathers like it.”

“They love her a lot,” Lily said in a wistful tone.

“Yeah, they do,” Seth replied.

“Have a seat and get comfortable,” Michael urged. “Seth can start a fire and we’ll eat in the living room. Then I’m going to check your arm. I want to keep a close watch on it to make sure infection doesn’t set in.”

“Anything to keep me out of the hospital,” Lily said lightly.

She had lost some of the cautious reserve around them. Michael was encouraged by her ability to joke with them and indulge in casual conversation. He and Seth exchanged glances, and Seth’s expression reflected the same satisfaction.

“If at any time Michael thinks you need a real doctor, you’re going,” Seth said.

“Real doctor?” Michael asked in mock disbelief. “You wound me, brother. I spent as many years in medical school, thank you very much.”

“Vets are real doctors,” Lily defended.

Her vehemence made Michael grin. She’d seemingly come alive, color flooding her cheeks and a spark of emotion in her eyes.

“I just don’t want you to get sick,” Seth said gruffly.

She smiled at him and then lifted her arm and poked cautiously at it. “It doesn’t hurt much. I mean, I would have imagined something as dramatic-sounding as a bullet wound would have me on the floor with pain.”

Seth rotated his arm and rubbed absently at his arm at her words.

“Seth would know,” Michael said. “He was down for a while after he was shot.” Lily whirled around, her eyes wide. “You were shot? When did this happen? Are you okay now?” Seth seemed surprised by her reaction but Michael was already figuring out she was loyal and protective.

“I’m fine,” Seth assured. “I’ll be back at work soon.” Her eyes became troubled. “You’re a cop. I remember. Should you be going back so soon?” He grinned. “Yeah. Unless I want to be unemployed.”

“Where were you shot?”

He touched his shoulder and Lily’s gaze followed his hand. “Was it bad?”

“Bad enough,” Seth replied.

Reluctantly, Michael left the two of them to go into the kitchen to warm up the chili. When he returned a few minutes later to set up the TV trays, a fire crackled in the hearth and Lily was sitting comfortably on the couch, Seth on the other end.

It all looked utterly domestic. Bizarrely domestic. Not that he wasn’t used to seeing such a scene in his parents’ home, but in his cabin? Despite the family he’d grown up in, he’d never expected to have the same kind of relationship his parents did. If asked, he’d have laughed. To him, his parents were unique.

Now it looked very much like he was heading down the same road. Now he understood why his fathers hadn’t been able to walk away from his mom, because he sure as hell couldn’t walk away from Lily.

He set up the trays and returned to the kitchen to check on the pot of chili he’d left warming. After a quick stir, he dished up three bowls and took them back into the living room.

The three sat together eating with an ease that surprised him given the complexity of the situation.

There was still so much they didn’t know about Lily. He was content, however, to field her questions about his practice, Clyde and whatever else struck her fancy. He and Seth took turns answering her inquiries, but Michael noticed how careful she was not to divulge any information about herself.

By the time Michael was finished eating, Lily was listing to the side, her eyes nearly closed. Seth reached over and gently pried the spoon from her grasp and set it on her TV tray.

“Is your spare room still made up?” Seth asked Michael in low tones.

Michael nodded.

“I’ll take the couch and Lily can have the guest bed.” Lily stirred and turned unfocused eyes on the two men. “No, you should take the bed, Seth. The couch is fine for me.”

Seth rubbed his knuckle down her cheekbone and shook his head. “Not an option, honey. Don’t bother trying to argue, because I’ll win.”

She cocked her head to the side. “Do you always get what you want?”

“No, but I’m sure as hell hoping I get what I want right now.” She didn’t ask what it was he wanted. Neither did Michael, because he knew his brother wanted the same thing he did.

Lily.

Nervousness fluttered in Lily’s chest as Seth drove the winding road toward town. Michael had made good on his desire to fashion a sling, though she’d tried hard to convince him it wasn’t necessary.

Her arm was now secured to her side and dressed in a fresh bandage thanks to Michael’s careful attention.

After breakfast, Seth had asked her to go into town with him. Startled, she hadn’t known how to respond. Indulging in normal activities seemed so…normal. Domestic.

When they pulled into the small town of Clyde, she looked around curiously at the buildings, small shops and rustic charm. Seth parked in front of a corner pub that encompassed a third of the block. She glanced up at the sign over the entrance to see the words Mountain Pass in neon blue.

She glanced to the side to see the parking lot empty and then saw a closed sign against the glass of the front door. She cast a questioning look at Seth as he cut the engine.

“We’ll just be a minute. There’s someone here I need to talk to,” he said. “Then we’re going to buy you some clothes.”

Heat suffused her cheeks, but before she could argue, he got out and walked around to her side. He took her free hand and helped her from the truck and then took her inside the pub.

The floor was littered with stray peanut hulls and the smell of cedar, and the lingering scent of cooked food hovered in the air.

“Callie?” Seth called.

Silence greeted him. He led Lily over to the bar and helped her onto one of the stools.

“I’ll be right back. Just make yourself comfortable. Callie must be in the back.” Lily tucked her feet under the rung of the stool and rested her free arm on the scarred wood. Seth rubbed his hand over her shoulder.

“I won’t be a minute.”

Lily made a shooing motion. “I’ll be fine. Go talk to your sister.” He leaned over and kissed her temple, his lips lingering for a minute before he backed away and walked around the counter to the door on the other side.

Michael pulled up to his parents’ cabin and glanced over to see whose trucks were in the drive. The dads were either gone or out on the land because only his mom’s SUV was there.

He got out and walked to the door, not bothering to knock. It irritated his mom when her sons acted like guests.

“Mom?”

He closed the door behind him as he stepped into the living room.

“Michael?”

Holly Colter hurried around the corner, her smile warm and welcoming.

He met her halfway and let her lean up on tiptoe to hug the daylights out of him. He grinned when she squeezed extra hard and then patted his cheek as she pulled away.

“Where have you been? Adam dropped by to see you yesterday but couldn’t find you anywhere, and you weren’t answering your cell phone.”

“I went down to see Seth.”

At that, his mom’s eyes widened, and she latched on with both hands. “How is he? Is he doing okay?” Michael smiled. “He came back with me.”

“What? Where is he? Why isn’t he here now?” she demanded.

He held up his hands. His mom could be ferocious when her chicks were involved. “He’s in town checking on Callie.”

“Oh.” His mom’s face fell and worry creased her brow. “It’s good that he’s talking to her. Maybe she’ll tell him what’s wrong.”

Michael didn’t tell her about Lily. He wasn’t sure what he’d say anyway. He needed to talk to the dads.

“Are the dads here?”

“Ethan and Adam are down in Callie’s Meadow, and Ryan is out in the barn with the horses.” Michael leaned forward to kiss his mom’s cheek. “Okay, thanks. I’ll head out. I need to talk to him.”

“Michael?” she called, halting his progress as he made his way toward the kitchen.

He turned to look at her.

“Is everything okay? With you I mean?”

He smiled. “Yeah, Mom. Fine. I’ll come find you before I leave.”

“And bring your brother out for dinner tonight,” she ordered.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Michael went out the back door and took the familiar worn path to the barn. Ryan was inside talking in low tones to one of the horses who was nuzzling affectionately at his chest.

“Hey, Dad, you got a minute?”

Ryan looked up and dropped his hand from the horse’s neck. “Michael, where the hell have you been?

You had your mother all worried, and Lord knows she’s worried enough about her other kids.” Michael chuckled. “Have I ever been any trouble?”

Ryan snorted. “You and Dillon. It’s a wonder I survived your childhood. You tortured poor Seth endlessly and made us all crazy in the process.”

He walked toward Michael and put his arm over Michael’s shoulders. “What’s up, son?” Michael allowed Ryan to walk him outside into the bright sunshine. As nasty as it had been the day before, spring had won the battle once again, and it was marginally warmer.

They walked to the far edge of the fenced section that overlooked the drop-off to Callie’s Meadow.

Ryan leaned on the newly replaced wooden fence and glanced sideways at Michael.