At Peace (The 'Burg #2)(82)

Even as well as Dec and Martha took care of their house, Vi did it better.

Colt came back, scraped another plastic chair next to Cal’s and handed Cal his beer. Cal took it, downed the dregs of the last one and set the bottle on the deck as Colt sat down and put his feet up on the railing, knees cocked, like Cal’s.

“Weather’s good,” Colt remarked.

Cal didn’t answer. It was a warm evening but no humidity, the day had been sunny, no clouds, a fair breeze. There was no need to answer.

“You comin’ to the wedding?” Colt asked.

“Yeah,” Cal replied though he wanted to go to a wedding like he wanted someone to drill a hole in his head. He liked Colt and Feb enough to go, though. They wanted him there, he’d be there.

“I’ll tell Feb, she’s livin’ and breathin’ this wedding, you show without RSVPing, her head might explode.”

Feb, as far as Cal could tell, was pretty laid-back. He showed and didn’t let her know he was coming, she wouldn’t have cared less.

“You know Audrey?” Colt asked and, in the middle of taking a pull off his beer, Cal’s eyes went to his friend.

He swallowed and lowered the beer.

“Who?”

“Audrey Haines.”

There it was. Fuck.

“Nope,” Cal answered.

“Total bitch,” Colt noted, “lazy bitch. Mike ran himself ragged for years, used to do side work, security for awhile then he made detective and started doin’ without, even havin’ to make his kids do without so she could sit on her ass in a designer track suit and watch soaps in that huge f**kin’ house. He gave up; divorce was final two months ago. The whole department celebrated. Good man like that doesn’t need to go home to that shit.”

Cal didn’t reply.

“He’s into Vi,” Colt went on.

Cal took a pull of his beer. That didn’t need a response either. Cal knew Mike was into Vi, he knew why, not to mention, Mike had made a point of making that fact clear to Cal.

Colt fell silent and contemplated Cal’s yard while they both drank beer.

Eventually Colt continued. “You knew Melanie.”

Cal did, he’d lived across the street from her since Colt and she moved in. Colt’s ex-wife Melanie was pretty, shy, sweet but shit scared of life. Cal never knew why they broke it off, didn’t ask but he figured it was because it’d get old, dealing with that shit, no matter how pretty she was.

“Yep, how’s she doin’?” Cal asked, since Melanie had been caught up in that scene with Feb and Colt, Denny Lowe kidnapping Melanie and holding her, Feb and Susie Shepherd hostage.

It didn’t say much for him but Cal was glad Susie’d been caught up in it. He’d f**ked her, they had one night, she was good but he was done and she’d almost acted like Kenzie when he didn’t want seconds. Difference was, Susie wasn’t annoying when she wanted something, she was a total bitch. How she thought she’d get what she wanted acting like that, he had no idea. Likely because her Daddy spoiled the bitch rotten. He thought that maybe she’d take a look at her life when some psycho, serial killer shot her. Susie didn’t. She was still a bitch, therefore, as far as he knew, she was still alone.

“Don’t know,” Colt answered his question. “Took awhile but she pulled her shit together though I haven’t heard from her for months. Don’t think I will, what with Jack bein’ born and the wedding comin’ up.”

Cal didn’t disagree. Melanie didn’t seem the type to hang on. Cal wished his ex was the same.

“You know why we split?” Colt asked, Cal looked at him, lifted his brows and Colt carried on. “Couldn’t fix her.”

Cal pulled in breath through his nose and looked away, muttering, “Colt.”

“Tried, man, years, f**kin’ years I tried. She wanted a kid so f**kin’ bad, Christ, obsessed with it. And she hated it when Feb would come into town, pissed me off, she’d get so tense when Feb was here. Melanie thought I’d stray.”

Feb and Colt had been in item in high school and after it. When they broke it off everyone, even Cal who was young back then, maybe sixteen, had been surprised. They seemed solid, more solid than anyone he knew. And Feb was gorgeous.

On the one hand, he didn’t blame Melanie with Feb being Colt’s ex, having their history. On the other hand, Colt was Colt and that kind of shit was not Colt’s gig and everyone knew that too, the person who should have known it most was Melanie.

“Sucks,” Cal muttered.

“Nope,” Colt muttered back, his eyes on the yard, he took a pull from his beer, then continued. “She didn’t take off, I’d have a lifetime of that crap and I wouldn’t have Feb.”

Surprised, Cal glanced at Colt. That was cold, Colt wasn’t like that.

Colt didn’t take his eyes off Cal’s yard as he kept talking. “Had years of that shit, tryin’ to fix her, bustin’ my ass to figure out what was in that f**kin’ head of hers, wonderin’ where I was goin’ wrong,” Colt’s eyes slid to Cal. “Then I got a woman doesn’t need fixin’, not anymore, and now life’s sweet.”

“Colt –” Cal started.

“Mike’s into her, Cal, but Vi’s into you.”