His to Win (Carmel Springs Book 5)

Chapter 9

Maxwell~

"How did you do it?"

"Well, come on in, son," Dad drawled out as I practically pushed him aside to get inside the front door.

Grimacing, I turned, gave the man a hug, then repeated the question. "How did you do it?"

"I need you to be more specific, Max. I've managed to do quite a bit in my lifetime," he replied, reaching his arm out, directing me towards the living room, even though I'd grown up in this house and knew the layout like the back of my hand.

While my mother's death had hit us all hard, I was never going to get back the piece of me that she'd taken with her. While Brett and Jax had still been in the military when Mom had gotten sick, I had missed all her struggles when they hadn't. I'd felt like I'd been the last to know, and I would give up every day of those years to have just one more day with my mother. While Dad had always been there when he could, Mom had always been there. Now, could be because I was the baby or because I was the only one that had inherited Mom's eyes, but Mom and I had been super close, and no one objected when Dad had changed his will to give me the house when he passed away. So, again, I knew this place like the back of my hand.

"How did you handle it whenever Mom got upset with you?" I asked. "How did you keep from losing your damn mind?"

"I presume this little visit has something to do with Rogue?"

For people that talked a lot of shit about small towns, we were the worst. There were no secrets in my family, and everyone knew it. Even the girls were beginning to understand the level of closeness that was the Colters. Though Addie was still a bit skittish, the girls could often be seen together, forming their own little loyal clan.

"We got into a fight...of sorts," I admitted, finally taking a seat on the couch. "She's upset, and I don't fucking like it."

Dad's lips twitched, but I knew that he wasn't laughing at me. It was more of a welcome-to-the-club smirk. "That's usually the case when a man loves a woman."

I looked at him. "So, how did you handle it whenever Mom was upset?"

"Well, there's a difference between a woman being upset and a woman being upset with you," he said. "Is she upset with you?"

"I don't even know," I muttered honestly.

"How about you tell me what happened, Max," he suggested. "Then we can go from there."

Letting out a deep breath, I told him everything from the very beginning, leaving out the sexual details, of course. While uncomfortable, at least Clayton couldn't blackmail me anymore with the parking lot incident. The asshole wasn't above saving it for a rainy day.

When I was done, Dad said, "Even though you deserve a lecture about conducting yourself in public with this young woman, since Clayton already covered that, I'll leave it be."

"Appreciate it," I mumbled.

"Now, while not having met the woman yet, I'd say that she's upset about Clayton catching you," he said, finally addressing my issue. "Right, wrong, or indifferent, most women always feel like they're being judged, and she's probably worried that she's going to be the talk of the picnic table at our next family get-together."

"Clayton catching us is no worse than the times that I've had to blast music through the intercom system at Colter Security because Keats can't keep his hands off Poppy," I snorted. "Plus, I know for a fact that it's a good thing that the clinic is sanitized daily with the way Trayce is with Arden."

"Maxwell-"

"And let's not forget about Jax and Layne," I went on, feeling defensive. "Those two were out of control in high school, and they still are. If Jax hadn't moved her in right away, who knows how many times those two would have been arrested."