Colters' Gift (Colters' Legacy #5)(62)

“Just give me a call. We have plenty of room,” Adam said.

The older Colters filed out of the living room toward the kitchen, leaving their sons to follow. Max remained and Noah braced himself for the confrontation.

When they were alone, Max glanced sharply at the other two men.

“I don’t like the speed in which this ‘relationship’ has progressed,” he said with a frown. “Lauren is extremely vulnerable right now.”

Liam’s lips twitched and he glared at Max. “Just because you had your head up your ass where Callie was concerned doesn’t mean the rest of us do when it comes to our woman.”

Max’s face flushed a dull red, and then he sighed. “Sit down, both of you. I’m not going to try to kick your ass. I just want some answers.”

Noah took his seat in one of the armchairs. Liam was more reluctant to sit down but perched on the edge of the other armchair.

“You’re right. I made my share of mistakes with Callie. I fought the inevitable. I’m damn lucky I didn’t lose her and that she has such a loving, generous, forgiving nature.”

“Then perhaps you understand why we’re not willing to do anything to risk Lauren. Physically or emotionally,” Noah said in a low voice. “We aren’t fighting anything. We want her. No matter how long it takes.”

“Look, it’s hard for me to wrap my head around the kind of relationship you’re wanting with my sister,” Max said painfully. “There are so many reasons why, it makes my head spin. I realize the Colters have a very atypical relationship and family. No one blinks an eye over them. It’s just part of the Colter package. You don’t even really question it because you look at them and it’s who they are. And it’s so apparent that those men love their wives and that the women love each man equally. But it’s also like looking at a fantasy. Something that isn’t real. Lauren is my sister. I love her dearly and she’s been hurt far too much in her young life. I want to protect her and I want her to be happy. And while a relationship like the Colters have is just fine for them, the idea of Lauren being involved with both of you concerns the hell out of me.”

Liam cleared his throat, but Max held up his hand.

“Let me finish. Let me get it out so that we can clear the air.”

Noah nodded and gave Liam a quick glance to make him stand down.

“The Colters live here. In Clyde. A town they’ve been a fixture in forever. Their son is the sheriff. The dads have friends dating back over thirty years. They live a very isolated existence in a very small population that accepts their unusual arrangement. This isn’t the rest of the world, though. Have you given any thought to where you’ll live with Lauren? Have you considered if you’ll ever have children and what kind of life they’ll have?”

Max’s words didn’t come out in an angry torrent. He was passionate and obviously concerned for his sister, something Noah could well understand.

“What about your families?” Max added quietly. “Are they going to accept and understand the relationship you and Lauren have?”

Noah glanced to Liam because it had been the same question he’d had in the beginning.

“Noah doesn’t have family,” Liam said quietly. “My family is his family. They’ll love Lauren and as long as Noah and I are happy, they’ll be happy for us.”

“My point is you can’t protect her from everything,” Max said. “There’ll always be someone who questions or doesn’t understand or openly reviles you and Lauren because of who you love.”

“We understand that,” Liam said gruffly. “And we don’t have all the answers right now. The only thing that occupies our mind is getting Lauren through this thing with Joel Knight safely. Once she’s free of that threat, then the choice will be hers to make as to whether she wants a life with us. From there we’ll take it one day at a time, but she’ll never be alone. She’ll always have us. And she’ll always have you and the Colters.”

Max nodded. “I understand and I appreciate your devotion to her safety. I apologize for some of my earlier remarks. Lauren is very dear to me. After our mom passed, it was just the two of us, and I feel like I failed her because I wasn’t around to see the kind of man Joel Knight was. I was too locked in my own private hell over Callie.”

“Apology accepted,” Noah said.

Max stared hard at Noah, as if trying to see deeply inside Noah’s head. “Do you love her?” he asked bluntly. “Liam’s been very adamant about his feelings, but you haven’t had anything to say.”

Noah didn’t need any time to think about his response. He just wasn’t as comfortable about throwing the words around publicly. To him they were intimate, private words and if used too much, they lost their meaning. He coveted them, never having heard them growing up. To him, they were the most precious gift to give to another person.

“Those words are for Lauren only,” Noah said in a soft voice. “She means more to me than any other person has ever meant to me. I wouldn’t be here if she didn’t.”

Apparently satisfied with Noah’s response, Max rose and extended his hand to shake Noah’s. Noah shook it and then Max turned to Liam to do the same.

“If you need anything, anything at all, don’t hesitate to contact me,” Max said. “Give me a go date and I’ll make sure the jet is ready.”