Cold Feet

Shocking Reality: Part I

Kolby's POV

It was just about dark when I pulled Dad's side by side up to the Dawg House since Crecia had sent us over to find B for supper. Brantley pulled his truck into his normal parking spot, killing the engine and climbing out. Dad opened his mouth to call out to him but something about the look on his face stopped the words immediately. I watched with a puzzled look on my face as he turned stalking towards the house without a word. Dad and I shared a look at the slumped shoulders and something apparently bothering him radiating off him as he walked away.

"What in the hell," Dad murmured raising an eyebrow at me in question. "Do you have any idea what is going on with him Ko?"

"Other than being tired from running himself ragged and needing to get laid," I said with a snicker earning me a cuff to the back of the head as Dad rolled his eyes. "No Pop I have no idea. He was fine when he left heading to Eli's earlier."

"Hmmm...." Dad drawled rubbing a hand over his chin. He nodded his head as another truck approached parking beside Brantley's. Eli climbed out seeing both of us, glanced towards the house, let out a sigh, then turned our way. "Maybe he can shed some light on the situation."

"What's going on Coop?" I asked the one man who had pretty much been my brother's partner in crime most of his life. "Tins put makeup on B again and he not want to be seen? I mean I was just joking when I said I would post it on TikTok. Well, kind of."

"I wish," Eli said lifting his hat off his head running a hand over his hair then replacing it. "Be a whole lot more simple if that was the case." E met Dad's eyes with uneasiness there. "I need to go check on him."

"Eli," Dad said with a low growl making him pause mid step. "What in the hell is going on? I haven't seen you this worried about B in over a decade...." They shared a look making my stomach turn a little. "Well shit the rumors are true. She is in town. Fuck. You didn't give him any warning E?"

"Who?" I asked then it hit me like a ton of bricks. "Savvy is in town? Oh shit." I laid a hand on Dad's arm motioning at Eli. "I'll go with E. Go back to your house and we will bring him around later."

Dad nodded then slid over to the driver's seat. I sucked in a deep breath as I fell instep with Eli heading to the house. While it was my middle and late teen years, I knew how in love with Savannah my brother had been. I often wondered if after losing her that was the reason other than here and there he stayed single. Lord knows his engagement to Jana had been a clusterfuck for both of them with all each of them had going on. Knew from the last year or so of his drinking that he blamed himself for making her leave and Savvy thought he didn't love her enough to quit. I opened the front door hearing Eli's footsteps trail after me.

Glancing around, I followed instinct heading to the back deck. Finding out I was right; I found my brother sitting in one of the chairs out there leaning forward resting his elbows on his knees. His slumped shoulders and cloud of despair circling should have worried me, but it was the full fifth of Jim Bean in his hands that sent my stomach to the floor. Ten years this December and her just stepping foot back in town was causing this, what the hell were we going to do? I stopped in my tracks watching him as Eli stood even with me.

No sounds but the crickets in the growing dark and the clink of Brantley's rings against the glass bottle as he rolled the fifth around in his hands. Finally, he realized he wasn't alone. Glittering green eyes narrowed aimed at his best friend shadowed beneath the brim of his Black Rifle Coffee Company hat. A low growl in warning as we both approached him with caution.

"Some fucking warning would have been great E!" he growled shaking his head in disbelief. "I walk into your damn kitchen seeing Savannah sitting there just as pretty as you please. Tinsley running in climbing me like a tree is the only thing that kept me from hitting my knees. Did it slip your mind that the last time I saw her I was literally looking through my fucking rear view mirror as I pulled out of our driveway in the pouring rain? God, knows I never should have been driving that night, but I couldn't handle the hurt in her blue eyes anymore at what I was putting her through."

"We meant to tell you B," Eli said taking a step closer holding his hands up but stopping in his tracks at the low growl. I watched Brantley roll the bottle back and forth over...and over. Yea, this was eating at him big time. "I was going to today. I didn't know you would come by while she was there. Ashley didn't look at your schedule close enough to see you would be home right now. It was an honest mistake. Any consolation, Ashley had her ass reamed earlier from Vannah over this."

"Well, she looked as shocked to see me walk in as I was to see her sitting there," Brantley grumbled. He turned his head studying Eli closely as an understanding of over thirty years of friendship clicked. "What else aren't you telling me Coop?" Eli paled as my eyes widened. "Don't fucking lie to me. Ashley looked as worried when I walked in as you do right now. What else aren't you telling me dammit?"

"B," Eli said as dread came into his eyes. He shot me a look before sighing in defeat closing his eyes. "She came home for her wedding. She is getting married Saturday." A loud roar echoed through the coming summer night and we both jumped a little at the crash of the whiskey bottle hitting the concrete below. "I didn't know how to tell you BG. Not without upsetting you."

"Bro," I said slowly taking a step forward and narrowly jumped back in time to avoid the big fist that flew by my nose connecting with the wooden post on the other side of me with a loud crack. Yea, his temper hadn't settled with age even if he tried to spin that shit to Mama. I let out a growl to rival his as he went to swing blindly again and I stopped his fist with my raised hand feeling the smack vibrate down my whole arm. Yep that was going to hurt like a bitch later. "B..."

"I need to get out of here," Brantley snarled pushing past both of us stalking down the steps. Eli went to chase after him, but I stilled him with a hand on his arm as B disappeared into the growing twilight.

"Just let him go for right now," I said shaking my head hearing Eli sigh in defeat. A few moments later we heard a motorcycle crank up and speed away. E opened his mouth to argue with me then stopped. "We both know where he is going and it is not a bar Coop. Give him a little bit, I'll track him down in a little while."