Kat
Whew, I’m glad that’s over. It’s not everyday us girls can get one over on our men, but lately, with Catalina’s help, the tables sure have turned. At least this time, the fight was more between Illyana and her knucklehead, and the rest of us were just there as backup to make sure our sister came out on top. Dealing with the guys is a trial in endurance, whether back home or here on this island paradise.
If someone had told me that there was even one man out there like Colton Lyon, I would’ve laughed in their face. But from everything I’ve learned, there seems to be plenty, and they all happen to be here right this moment. Yeah us! Never a dull moment. As much as they think we’re the shit starters, I’m pretty sure they cause their fair share of the drama that never seems to cease.
Sometimes I think really hard about what my life would’ve been like had I never met Colt, and the thought makes me sick to my stomach. The fact that my life has been derailed from anything I ever imagined as a child is one of the things I will always be grateful for. There are days when I miss my old friend Donna. I mourn her still and wonder how she would’ve fit into my life now. Would she have been the doting aunt to my kids?
The memories are getting easier to face as the years go by, and my life is so full now that I hardly have time to dwell. But every once in a while, I bring out a fond memory of our youth and share a thought for my old friend. Of course, I do this when Colt is not around since it always makes me cry, and he loses what little mind he has left when that happens. Apparently, I’m not allowed to cry or be unhappy because, as he so succinctly puts it, I don’t have one fuck to be unhappy about.
I can’t imagine what my life would’ve been like had it not been for the women I’ve met in these last few years, thanks to Colt and his friends. The first few years of our marriage, the only women I knew were either my mother in law, mom, or the wives of Colt’s crew, which in itself was not a bad thing, but Colton, with his usual over protective self, vetted everyone who even tried getting close to me. Even the kids’ teachers were suspect, and in a small town like ours, there weren’t that many people to choose from to begin with.
But now, having all these women from so many different walks of life as close confidantes have opened up a whole new world for me. The fact that they’re steady trying to get me killed by the nut I’m married to by involving me in stuff that I know for damn sure he doesn’t want me anywhere near is neither here nor there.
Right now, I’m keeping an eye on him as he moves around the room, mumbling to himself while I play on his phone. Caleb had been playing with mine until it died, and I’d seen the twins very deep in conversation with their heads together over their tablets, so I’m checking all their social media to see what the heck they’re up to this time. If I don’t stay on top of them and they take a wrong step, I’ll never hear the end of it since whenever they mess up, they automatically become mine, like I’d made myself pregnant.
I took a peek at what the boys were up to and laughed at some of the antics of the people on TikTok. Things sure have changed since I was their age. The crap people get up to boggles my mind. I watched for a few seconds more, laughing my head off while his grumpiness gave me the side-eye.
“Colt, if we got divorced, what three things would you take?”
“You, the kids, and our home, dafuq!” I snorted through my nose and almost choked myself. Leave it to Colt to come up with an answer like that.
“Why’d you ask me that stupid ass question? You feeling hormonal again?” As a matter of fact… I was about to answer him when something came across his phone screen that startled me.
I think my vision went in and out for a second as I tried to make sense of what I was seeing, and my world tilted. I looked at Colt, not quite able to grasp what I was seeing as tears filled my eyes. My body went numb seconds before I started to shake uncontrollably. The pain I felt at that moment was unbearable, and there was no escape.
“You bastard, I hate you.” I flung those words at him as soon as my throat opened up enough for me to talk and threw the phone across the room before jumping down off the bed. My knees buckled, and I went down, but he caught me before I landed, and when he put his arms around me, I lost it.