And just when I was beginning to get a bit more comfortable with the idea of having sex with Colt, Uncle Daryl came storming out onto the porch, and he didn’t look happy.
As soon as I saw my uncle’s face, I knew he was ready to enter the ring once again, not for me, but for Colt. Not that Colt deserved punches, but according to my uncle’s book of rules, you didn’t have sex unless you were married.
And you especially didn’t have sex under his roof. That was tantamount to throwing the first punch, right to his gut.
How he knew what happened when I could barely remember, was beyond me, but I could tell, he knew, and he was about as unhappy as a bear who’d been awakened from its winters’ nap.
“Colt, while I appreciate that you’ve been like a son to me, I can no longer welcome you into my house. You’ll have to go, and I’d appreciate it if you never come knocking on my door again,” he said, straight faced.
My stomach instantly clenched, and I felt as if I might hurl right there on my uncle’s porch. I had no idea what I’d do if he started throwing punches.
He continued, voice still monotoned. “The only reason why I’m not booting your ass off my property physically, is because little Darci’s in her highchair, and she can see right out to this here porch,”
I secretly thanked God for Darci and her highchair.
“Daryl, you can’t be serious,” Colt said, sounding as if he were on the edge of pleading.
“As serious as a snake bite,” my uncle told him without flinching, the look on his face, fierce. I knew Colt would try his best to tread lightly.
“Come on, Uncle Daryl, you and Colt have been friends ever since I started coming out for visits. You can’t mean this,” I countered, trying my best to talk some sense into him.
“Keep talking, CindyLou, and you’ll be leaving as well,” he told me, and my throat tightened. He knew damn well I had nowhere else to go.
Colt turned to me. “It’s okay. I’ll go. It’s not a problem.”
“Yes, it is,” I told him, upset that my uncle thought he could give me such an ultimatum when he knew how much I depended on him and my aunt. “I’m a grown woman, Uncle. You can’t dictate what I can and can’t do.”
“Did you and Colt couple last night under my roof?” he asked, and I wanted to snicker over the word couple, but I knew he’d probably blow a gasket if I did, so I held back.
“Yes, we coupled, but it wasn’t planned,” I argued. “It just happened, and technically, we weren’t exactly under your roof. Not in the strict sense. We were outside, on this porch, which isn’t enclosed. So, you can’t really say we were under your roof.”
“You’re splitting hairs, and I don’t split no hairs,” he began. “You were on my property, and that’s not allowed. You know the rules. We went over them again when you and Darci moved in. You agreed. Was that all a lie?”
“Of course not, but I didn’t think, well, fine. There’s no excuse, but you know I don’t have anywhere else to go right now.”
“I’m not asking you to leave. I’m telling Colt to leave.”
“And never come back,” I reminded him. A totally unacceptable rule. “I can’t abide by that. Colt and I have a connection now, and I might or rather, we might want to pursue that connection further.”
“Do you mean that, CindyLou?” Colt asked as he stood near the front steps, angling to leave.
“I do,” I told him.
“You should be thinking about Mickey, Darci’s father, and not Colt.”
He never should’ve said that, because I’ve never been one to do what other people thought I should do. “Is that why you and Mickey fought last night? Because you think he and I should be together?”
“He’s Darci’s father, so darn right you two should be together. He has a responsibility to his family.”
“That’s not why I came back here,” I told him, raising my voice a bit, trying to get my point across.
“Of course, it is,” Daryl said, trying his best to keep any emotion out of this.
“I told you right from the beginning that I didn’t want you or Auntie telling Mickey about Darci.” My anger was finally showing, and I couldn’t afford to offend him. I literally had nowhere else to go.
“Yes, you told us not to tell him, but I thought by now you would’ve corralled the sonofabitch and told him yourself. Mickey needs to man up to his responsibility to you and his daughter.”
His forehead furrowed, and his lean body stiffened. If I didn’t know better that he never got violent in front of kids or my Aunt Donna, I’d say he was about to throw punches.