Songbird

Fifteen: Colt

I woke her up twice. The second time I almost felt bad... but not really, and she sure didn't seem to mind. Then we did it again before we got out of bed. And then again in the shower after breakfast. For someone that hadn't gotten laid in the last decade, I was quickly making up for lost time. It was almost like I was waiting for her, and maybe I was, at least subconsciously. At this point, the more time we spent together, the more I was kicking myself for not reaching out at some point. Who knows. Maybe I could've saved us both a lot of pain and wasted time. Then again, maybe this was exactly when fate or whatever you wanted to call it, wanted to bring us back together. I sure didn't have any explanations, and I wasn't really looking for one. I was just counting my lucky stars that she was here and she was finally, officially mine.

After I made her legs damn near give out and nearly broke the glass door of the shower, we sat wrapped up in each other on the porch swing, waiting for Beau to get home so we could head out to Orchard. I ran my hands up and down her legs as they laid draped over my lap. "What's the plan today?" I asked a bit sleepily, as I pushed the swing back and forth, feet on the wooden deck.

"I'm thinking about fixing up that old cottage at the back of the grounds. I thought maaaaaybe you could help me?" she answered with a bright hopefulness.

I chuckled. "Depends exactly what fixing up entails. I'm no contractor."

"Just some general maintenance and sprucing up," she stated. "Paint, trim. I wanna plant a flower garden around it. Mostly superficial things."

I pushed my sunglasses up to the top of my head and looked at her. "What exactly are you fixing it up for?"

She shrugged. "Dunno. Don't really wanna live in a single room my whole life. Plus, Maggie could use the extra room to sell, especially in the summer months."

"You're moving into it?"

"Yeah. Why do you sound so surprised?"

"Why... would you go through all that work for a few months a year?"

She narrowed her eyes at me. "Why would I only live there a few months out of the year?"

"Because... you live in... Nashville?"

I immediately knew that was the wrong answer cause she  looked at me like I'd just said the dumbest thing she'd ever heard. "Colton, really?"

"What?" I asked with a laugh. "We never talked about you actually moving back. It was casually mentioned, but there was no real conversation."

I watched as her brows cinched together, causing a little crease to form between them. "Do... do you not want me to move back?"

"No, that isn't what I said," I corrected the second she finished her sentence. I reached out and smoothed my index finger over the line between her brows. "I just wasn't aware that it was a set plan. I don't... like the idea of you giving up your life for me, Len. I had someone do that. Didn't end well."

She rolled her eyes and pulled her legs from my lap, scooting as far away as she could get (which, albeit, wasn't far) and crossing her arms with a huff. "I'm not Rachel, Colton."

"Didn't say you were," I stated, trying to tug her back to me. She wouldn't budge, so I slid myself over until I was up against her. "Len, come on. This is a big deal! Don't you think there should be an actual conversation?"

"Well, it's not really your decision. It's mine. And I guess if you don't want me around, I can go back to staying at Orchard as much as humanly possible." She quickly pulled herself out of the swing and stomped her way back into the house.

I groaned and ran my hands over the ball cap atop my head before getting up and going after her. "Len, will you stop..." I pleaded, following her into the bedroom. "You're overreacting."