Page 15 of Covington Acres
“Sit down with your mama for a second. I feel like we never talk anymore. You’re my baby, and I miss you.”
Christ, he loved her, but he also wanted to run out the back door before she could say anything he didn’t want to hear. Contrary to some of his actions, he wasn’t a coward, though, so he sat at the table with her. Plus, he wanted to get her thoughts on Dad.
“What’s going on with Dad?” He watched her, looking for signs that she was uncomfortable or worried.
“Why do you ask that?”
“Dennis said he was too hot and took a break. It felt weird.”
“He’s okay.” She gave him a sad smile. “Just getting older, is all. It’s not quite as easy as it used to be, but your daddy loves this farm, and he’s going to work this land until it becomes impossible.”
That sounded like his dad. Maybe he was blowing this out of proportion.
“How are you?” she asked.
He frowned. “I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Not sure. You just don’t seem like yourself lately. You really haven’t since you broke up with Lulu. Do you regret it? You seemed upset when we mentioned her being engaged.”
Yep. He had a feeling this would happen. He groaned. “I’m fine. I’m not upset about Lulu. She deserves to be happy. She deserves what I couldn’t give her.”
“What couldn’t you give her? The two of you were so good together.”
“I wasn’t in love with her.” He looked down, looked away, searching for a change of subject. “Me and Vince were thinking about going away for a weekend pretty soon. I’m not sure exactly when…whatever is best for the farm. I realize it won’t be easy for both of us to take time off together…plus, if Dad needs the extra help, I don’t want to bail on him.”
She didn’t answer. When the silence stretched on, Colby looked at her. His mama’s brows were pulled together, her forehead wrinkled in thought.
“Colby…you know it’s okay if you and Vince are together. That would be lovely! We adore him. He already feels part of the family.”
A weight landed in his gut. “Ah, hell. There is no me and Vince. We’re friends.” His mom playing matchmaker was the last thing he needed. She’d have him and Vince married off just like Roe and Holden.
“Are you sure? You can tell us anything. We love you.”
He sighed. “I’m not gay.”
“You could be bisexual.” When he cocked a brow, she added, “I know the terms. If you think I didn’t do my research when Roe came out, you’re wrong.”
That didn’t surprise him at all. “I’m not bisexual either.” He didn’t think… Again, he figured he’d know. But then there had been that one high school jerk-off session, and he’d looked… “Vince and I are friends. He’s…probably my best friend, but there’s nothing more to it.”
“Okay. Just hammering home that you can tell me anything. Like I said, we adore Vince and he’s already like a member of the family. I—”
Colby dropped his head back and groaned. “Get those ideas out of your head.” He knew her well enough to know she had them married off already. Definitely no joking about them being husbands around her. Even if Colby wanted a relationship withVince, even if he was bisexual and wanted to be with him, Vince didn’t want a serious relationship either. The two of them had that in common.
The back door opened, and Colby said a silent thank-you that they were being interrupted.
“Speak of the devil,” Mama joked.
“You talking about how great I am again?” Vince teased, washing his hands, then grabbed the plate off the counter. “Oh, you saved me the ham and cheese. It’s my favorite.”
“It’s Colby’s favorite too,” his mama replied.
Damn it. She was going to read something into that that wasn’t there and also make Vince feel bad.
“Here, you take it.” Vince sat beside Colby and tried to trade plates.
“It’s fine,” Colby said. “I like turkey as well.”
“I have an idea.” Vince got up and grabbed a knife. He cut his sandwich in half, putting one side on Colby’s plate, before doing the same to Colby’s and taking half of that. “Compromise.” He winked.