Trust in the Lawe (Colorado Trust 3)

“A week?” Noah whined.

“A week. No TV, no games, nothing. Instead, you’ll work. Whatever Colton tells you to do, no questions asked. And if he can’t find anything, I will.”

Noah kicked the dust. “This sucks.”

“Not as much as two weeks would.”

Geez, she’s tough, Colton thought with a twinge of guilt. Noah’s lips thinned, but the kid wisely remained silent this time. Hell, Colton was afraid to say anything right now.

“Same goes for you, young man,” Joel said to Cody, who nodded solemnly.

“Sorry,” Noah mumbled.

Colton knew Noah didn’t like him, and hadn’t expected the apology without some prompting from Kendra.

“Yeah, me, too,” Cody echoed. “I’m sorry, Colton.”

As if he could stay mad now. With a heavy sigh, he nodded.

“Where’d you get your ingredients?” Joel asked.

A sheepish smile lifted the corners of Cody’s mouth. “Mom’s paint from the flower boxes.”

Colton pictured the flower boxes located on the front porch of the main house, edges outlined with purple paint, overflowing with violet colored pansies. He ran a hand through his hair. Yep, that’s what he looked like—a friggin’ pansy.

“And the hair dye?” Kendra prompted.

“We bought it the other day,” Noah said.

Premeditating little shits.

“Looks like it’s time for bed—now,” Kendra said.

Neither of the boys said another word on their way out. Kendra

followed.

Once Colton and Joel were alone, Joel burst into unrestrained laughter and clapped him on the back.

“Buck up buddy—it’s really no worse than standing bare-assed naked on your sidewalk.”

The hell of it was, Joel was right. It didn’t get much worse than that.

****

With the purple in his hair having faded to what could pass for a reddish tinge by the end of the week, Colton finally left the ranch on Sunday for church. His mother invited the boys along with him over afterward. Though Noah’s resentment remained obvious, he wasn’t surprised when the kid barely hesitated at the chance to leave the ranch. While he’d gone easy on the kids, Kendra had kept Noah pretty darn busy the past week.

The boys rode home with his mom and Colton detoured for a visit with his dad before joining them at the house.

When he returned, he found his mom out on the porch with a cup of coffee while the boys played on his old swing set. A plate full of crumbs sat on the table with three empty milk glasses.

“Cookies?” he asked hopefully.

“Yes, you want some?”

“Of course.” She laughed and started to get up. Colton waved her back into her chair. “I got it. You want any?”

“I’m good. Pour yourself some coffee, too, though. We need to talk.”