Page 58 of Colt

27

Colt

It was two in the morning when I finally made it home and saw Jenna’s car in my driveway. My first thought was something was wrong with my kids, but my rational side figured she would call me if there were a problem. That meant whatever reason Jenna was here would be more of a nuisance than anything important. I was dragging ass and had no desire to deal with her shit. I’d been on my feet for the last ten hours, and all I wanted to do was spend a little time with Ember before I crashed.

I walked into the house, tossing my keys into the bowl Ember bought for the table in my entryway. She spent the last week adding little touches to this house that I didn’t even know I needed but now couldn’t imagine living without.

When I entered the living room, I saw Jenna sprawled out, sleeping on the couch. “What are you doing here, and where are Jasmine and Jett?” I asked loudly to wake her up. I scanned the room looking for Ember, but there was no sign of her.

Jenna stretched her arms over her head, her mouth opened for a loud yawn to escape. It took a minute for her to get her bearings, but then a huge smile broke out across her face. That wasn’t reassuring. “The kids are with my mom. I came over to share some good news.” When I didn’t respond right away, she let out a huff but continued anyway. “I asked my lawyer to draw up a new custody agreement. I think you’ll be very happy. It’s joint custody.”

My eyebrows lifted in question, curious what the catch was. She lifted a folder and pulled out a stack of papers. I grabbed the paperwork out of Jenna's hands and read it over. Sure enough, it stated joint legal and physical custody.

Things were never this simple when they involved my ex, and I was left waiting for the other shoe to drop. “What made you change your mind?”

She looked away from me before answering. “Jason thought it would be better if the kids spent more time with you.”

And that explained it. There was no way Jason suggested joint custody for my benefit seeing as he wasn’t my biggest fan. The more likely explanation was that he was tired of having another man’s kids around all the time. The couple of times I’d been around him, he didn’t interact with them at all.

“So you agreed to joint custody because your boyfriend doesn’t want to deal with your kids?”

Ignoring my accusation, she stood up and ripped the papers out of my hands. “I thought you would be happy. Besides, now you don’t have to pretend to be with Ember anymore. I know how much you enjoyed the bachelor life.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“One of the girls overheard Ember telling Kate that your relationship was fake. Besides, you said so yourself, you were using her knowing a judge would look favorably on you having some stability in your life.”

“That’s not what I fucking said, and you know it.” Jenna was so far off base with this, but that wasn’t my biggest fear. “What else did your friend, whoever she is, overhear?” We couldn’t risk this information getting out before we dealt with Torch.

“Nothing. At least that’s all she told me. She said she was walking by the kitchen when she heard Ember say it was all fake, and then ran to her room to call me.”

I could tell Jenna was telling the truth and I was relieved. Still, I was pissed that Jenna used that knowledge to hurt Ember. “I swear to God, if you said anything to upset Ember, you’ll regret it.” I only hoped she would give me a chance to explain.

“Are you threatening me?”

Not giving her the satisfaction of an answer, I opened the door and said, “Get the fuck out.”

As soon as Jenna left, I called Ember’s cell phone, but it went straight to voicemail. If Ember wasn’t here, the only other place she would be at was the clubhouse. It was late, so instead of texting one of my brothers, I decided to ride over there.

Zeke was manning the gate when I rolled up. “Have you seen Ember?” I asked before pulling in.

“I haven’t, but I just relieved TJ, so maybe I missed her.”

The clubhouse was silent when I entered. I climbed the stairs and chose to check my room first since that’s the one Ember and I stayed in most often.

Much to my relief, she was curled up on what I now thought of as her side of the bed. She was wearing one of my t-shirts, and her red hair was fanned out behind her, and I realized how much I liked seeing her in my bed. She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on, and at some point in the last few weeks, she managed to work her way into my heart. It was something I didn’t expect, but I was grateful we somehow found our way back to each other.

Even though she looked tempting, I didn’t want to wake her. I shut the door gently, the click of the lock barely making a sound. I got undressed and slipped into bed behind her, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her against my chest. For the first time in as long as I could remember, all felt right in my world.

“You’re here,” Ember mumbled, coherent enough to put together a couple of words but not much more.

“I am.”

“Jenna wants to talk to you.” She must have fallen asleep with that weighing on her mind.

“Shhh... we’ll discuss it in the morning.” I kissed her on the top of her head. “Get some sleep.”

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