Chapter Three

CHAPTER THREE

Colby

C olby kept tossing glances Vince's way as he drove them to Covington Acres. He couldn't help wondering if he'd ruined Vince's afternoon. Clearly, he'd wanted to go out and get laid. That's why he'd been looking at the app, of course, but then after their conversation, he'd stayed. Vince probably hadn't wanted to hurt his feelings. He'd made it obvious by saying he was there for Colby, that he thought something was wrong, and Vince was the kind of guy who wouldn't take off on someone if he thought they weren't okay. Colby should have been the one to cancel their plans for the day. Hell, all they'd ended up doing was some yardwork—and not even the trees; just mowing, pulling weeds, and shit like that.

"You could have gone out today," Colby couldn't stop himself from saying.

Vince chuckled. "I know."

"Then why didn't you?"

"Because I didn't want to." Vince looked his way.

"But you did want to because you were on the app."

"I was just looking."

Colby huffed, then sighed. "I don't want to ever hold you back. I don't want any decision you make to feel like it's because of me and not what you want. Even small ones like when to go fuck or not. Your life is your own even if we're now attached at the hip." He threw in the last line hoping Vince would laugh, which he did. Colby was serious, though. The situation was different, of course, but he often made decisions because of the people he cared about, even if he wasn't sure it was what he wanted, and he didn't ever want to do that with Vince.

"We are, aren't we?" Vince said, a fondness in his deep voice. "Attached at the hip, I mean."

"We are." Colby loved that there was never any pressure when he was with Vince.

"Then you should know by now that I don't do anything I don't want to do. If I stayed with you, it's because that's where I wanted to be. I kinda like you," he tacked on with a grin.

"I kinda like you too," Colby added just as he turned down the gravel driveway that led to Covington Acres.

"So…usually people do this when they're kids, but we can make one of those pacts. If neither of us is married by the time I'm fifty, we can marry each other."

Colby could hear the playfulness in Vince's words. "You don't want to get married."

Vince shrugged. "But I mean, it would be an adventure, right? Something fun. We get along well enough."

"You don't marry someone for something fun and because you get along well enough. Plus, I don't want to get married either."

He waited for Vince to make some kind of comment. He'd never actually said those words to anyone before. He'd hinted, or played it off like he hadn't found the right person but that it was in the cards for him. How could he be a Covington and not want marriage and kids?

But Vince didn't look or act surprised. He didn't give Colby a hard time about it or try to change his mind. He just said, "Good point. Maybe we can go skydiving instead."

Colby barked out a laugh. "You just went from us getting married to jumping out of a plane?" He knew Vince was joking, but he liked the thought of Vince still being in Harmony in six years. Liked thinking of them still being friends, and Vince wanting to plan something with him so far in the future.

"I'm a fickle man, what can I say?" Vince got out of the truck, and Colby did too.

When they met behind it, Colby wrapped an arm around Vince's shoulders. "No, you're not. You're about as steady as they come." Not for the first time, he silently acknowledged how thankful he was to have Vince in his life. How glad he was that Vince had moved to Briar County and Colby had asked the man to live with him. Everything was better and felt more fun with Vince around.

Another vehicle came down the driveway, and he turned just as the Jeep parked.

"Hey, Uncle Colby!" Wyatt, Roe's son, greeted him. Sean, Holden's nephew, got out of the passenger seat. Scout, Grady's nephew, and Reese appeared from the back.

"God, stop. I can't get used to seeing you drive. It makes me feel old," Colby replied.

"You are old!" Sean teased, and Colby ran after him, catching the kid and giving him a playful noogie. Sean was family to him, just like Wyatt was.

"Take it back, you brat."

All the kids laughed, and Colby let him go.

"He could have taken you, but we have to respect our elders," Reese teased.

"What are we going to do with this generation?" Colby pointed to them, but really, he thought they were fucking great. They were so different from when he was a kid. While Scout used he/him pronouns, he didn't stick to gender stereotypes. He played sports and liked to dance. Sometimes he wore dresses, and others, he'd be in what people considered more typical boy's clothing. It wasn't odd to see him playing football in a skirt or wearing a basketball jersey with painted nails. Colby couldn't imagine someone being that brave when he was young, and then when he looked at the other boys, how accepting they were, how no one batted an eye to gender nonconformity or being queer; hell, they made him prouder than Colby could say.

When Wyatt's phone rang, he said, "Oh, it's Bianca. I'll meet you guys inside," then headed back to his vehicle to talk to his girlfriend. The whole thing was new. It was Wyatt's first one from what Colby knew.

"You're here early this summer," Colby said to Scout as the rest of them walked toward the house.

"I'm going to stay the whole summer with Uncle Grady and Deacon. I like it here better." He glanced at Reese, then looked away. "I want to be here for the wedding too."

Roe and Holden were getting married toward the end of summer. Colby figured the whole town would shut down for the occasion.

"Well, you know we're all glad to have you," Colby replied.

The house was packed like always—Roe and Holden, his sister, Jackie, and her family, his brother Dennis and his family. Wyatt's mama, Lindsey, was already here with her boyfriend, Larry. Holden's sister, Marilee, and Ozzy, a guy she was dating. Plus, his parents, of course. Deke, Grady, Clint, and August weren't here, but that wasn't a surprise since this was more a Covington family thing. Sean and Wyatt must have asked to bring Reese and Scout.

"Hey, brother." Holden hugged Vince, having seen them first.

"Good to see you, babe." Vince kissed his cheek.

Colby shifted uncomfortably, unsure why. Probably because being at family functions now did this to him. He wasn't proud of it. It made him feel like shit. He was surrounded by the most loving people in the world, yet they made him feel insecure.

"Hey, Colb. You keeping him in line?" Holden asked Colby.

"Someone's gotta do it."

They all chuckled.

Cousins ran around the large farmhouse, playing. Wyatt was the oldest. Siblings and spouses talked. It was like a party every time they were all together. Colby stayed engaged like he should, but damn, sometimes his own family was overwhelming to him.

Everyone chatted and visited for a while. Dennis and Dad were talking to him and Vince about some of the crops on the farm and things that needed to be done. Once dinner started, his mama had a rule about not talking work when they were at the table, so Dennis and Dad tried to get it out of the way now.

"I'm worried there are some problems with the irrigation," Vince told Dad. "Maybe clogged or something. I noticed last night that there seems to be an uneven distribution of water on the western edge. I meant to say something yesterday and forgot."

Shit. Colby hadn't even noticed that.

"Oh, that's all we need with the hot weather," Dad replied.

"I'll take a look in the morning," Vince told him. "If I can't figure it out myself, then we can look into calling someone, but I'm pretty handy, so maybe I can do it."

"Thanks, Vince. We appreciate the work you do for us." Dad squeezed his shoulder, and Colby just stood there watching them. Why did he find this so interesting? There was no jealousy that his dad was speaking to Vince this way. In fact, Colby liked it maybe more than he should. It made him feel good that Vince had been brought into the fold so easily.

"Dinner's done!" Mama called. "Get your butts in here and help me."

There was a mad dash for the kitchen, where they helped grab serving dishes to place on the tables. They'd bought a second one a while back, pushing two of them together so there was enough room for their growing army.

Once everyone was seated, his dad said grace. Colby used to go to church a lot more with his family, but it wasn't something he did much now. Roe hadn't gone since he was eighteen, but it took Colby longer to start skipping out. He just wasn't sure he believed the same things his parents did, and if he did, he didn't think sitting in church on Sundays mattered as much as how you treated people. He would rather focus on those things.

"How are the wedding plans going?" Mama asked because weddings were always on her mind. She was so damn happy that Roe and Holden were tying the knot, and while Colby was happy for them, he couldn't deny that the question made his gut roll. It wasn't usually long before they went from that to Colby's love life—or lack thereof.

"Same as last time you asked," Roe teased her.

"Monroe Covington. Don't you talk to me that way," Mama said, but she had a smile on her face.

"We picked out Sean and Wyatt's tuxes," Holden added.

"They look so cute!" Marilee said.

Sean would be Holden's best man, and Wyatt was Roe's. Their parents had been slightly upset that Vince was performing the ceremony rather than having their pastor do it, but they didn't put up much of a fight. They typically didn't with Roe. He was able to do his own thing.

"We have to make sure everything stays nice and green. I want it to be perfect." Mom looked his and Vince's direction. The wedding was going to be here.

Colby cleared his throat. "We're on it."

They rambled on some more about the ceremony while eating the baked chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and vegetables Mama had made. Colby couldn't stop his leg from bouncing the whole time, the nervous habit frustrating him.

Until he felt the warm press of Vince's hand on his thigh. He'd never had a man do this to him before Vince—hell, Vince had never done it to him either, but somehow, it made the bouncing slow. Made him feel…like someone was on his side? Yes, that, but also like someone saw him. Not one single person at this table realized Colby was uncomfortable except Vince. He didn't get why, but his friend always seemed to know.

"Did you hear Lulu is engaged?" Lindsey asked, and damned if Colby's heart didn't drop. Not because he was jealous. Or at least, not in the typical way. He didn't want Lulu. He was happy for her, but…why couldn't he want that? Why couldn't he have loved her the way she deserved?

His mama looked down at her food. "I heard. Justin is a good man. I'm sure they'll be real happy together."

Lulu had also stopped working at the farm, and Colby knew his mama missed her. She'd liked Lulu even before they started dating.

"Why didn't you marry Lulu, Uncle Colby?" his niece Heidi asked.

"Heidi," her mama scolded.

"Sorry…I liked her. I didn't mean anything by it," Heidi replied.

He could tell she felt bad, and that was the last thing he wanted. Maybe most wouldn't understand it, maybe it didn't make sense, but in that moment, he felt like he was letting her down too.

"It's fine, kid. Lulu was way out of my league." He tried to sound playful, but really, he wanted nothing more than to walk out of the room. He was so fucking different from his family. From everyone in the room…well, except Vince.

"But didn't you break up with her?" his nephew Scotty asked.

Fuck. He should have thought his reply through better.

"Sounds like Lulu was meant to be with Justin," Vince added.

"I don't think Uncle Colby wants to grow up," Dennis said with a chuckle. He wasn't trying to be a dick; it was just how Dennis saw it. A few laughs sounded around the table.

Vince's thumb brushed over the tight muscle in Colby's thigh.

"Dennis, let it go," Roe warned.

He didn't want anyone to get into a fight over him, didn't want this to become a big deal, so he said, "Yep. I'm a big kid. It's a whole lot more fun this way."

"I'll drink to that," Vince said. "That's why we get along so well."

There was another round of laughter before the subject was changed.

Vince's hand didn't leave his thigh, and Colby was thankful for that.