“We’ll never let you forget who you belong to, baby.” He spoke against my lips, his tone low and rich. “Fuck, how you own us.”
Possessiveness and love flowed freely through me, and I kissed him back with everything I was.
When Lucas stood up, Colt slowly ended the kiss and told me to follow him to the kitchen.
He took the lead, and Lucas hugged me to him on the way.
“What have we done to deserve you?” he murmured.
For the first time in years, I wasn’t going to crack a joke at my own expense. “I think the same every day,” I said instead. “I liked getting a tattoo that celebrated something rather than covered something, too.”
He squeezed my hand. “You know, when Colt came home after getting injured in Iraq, he told me something beautiful about scars.”
“I was on a lot of Vicodin,” Colt drawled with a glint in his eye.
I grinned slightly and slid onto one of the stools in the kitchen. “What did you tell him, Daddy?”
“Luke might actually remember that one more clearly,” he chuckled.
Lucas smirked and gave a shake of his head, and he took a seat next to me. “I’m paraphrasing a bit, but… Scars are like book covers. They hint at a story. We know the story is there, but we are the authors, and we tell it.”
Oh, I liked that. It was similar to what Kirk had once told me. “That’s sweet.” I rested the side of my jaw in my hand and faced Colt. “You never told me how you got injured.”
He lifted a shoulder in a slight shrug and scratched his chest. “Our base took fire during the arrival of a shipment, and one of my buddies got trapped in a Humvee outside the gates. A few of us ran out to get him, and an IED went off nearby.” He knocked his hip. “Got enough shrapnel in here to set off the metal detectors every time I go through airport security.”
I winced. “I know this sounds lame, but I appreciate everything you’ve done for us. You’re a hero, Daddy.”
“Oh, you used the H-word.” Lucas smiled teasingly, and I watched how Colt cleared his throat and became visibly uncomfortable. “If there is one single word that makes our man squirm, it’s being called a hero. Look at him.”
How curious. I chuckled softly and gave Daddy a confused expression. “You call yourself a ten and a living legend, but—”
“No one else is allowed to,” Colt stated frankly. “That’s correct.”
I snickered. “You’re weird.”
“You’re allowed to call me that,” he replied. “Now, for the reason we’re standing here. We have about—” he checked his watch “—two minutes until the grill is ready for the salmon.” He completely ignored Lucas’s comment about how quickly Colt changed the topic. “Kit, though Daddy and I suspect you didn’t quite know what you got yourself into this morning when you agreed to try the allowance thing, we wanted to tell you we’re proud of you for trying.”
“And we want to show you that there are options,” Lucas added.
“Exactly.” Colt hooked his fingers into one of the handles on a cupboard, and he sent me a wink. “You don’t have to go out and buy the priciest shit to get what you want.” With that said, he opened the cupboard, and my jaw about hit the counter.
“Oh my God!” I scrambled out of my seat and ran around the island to get a closer look.
“Rosa deserves a lot of credit,” Colt said. “She helped me put everything together this mornin’.”
I was in heaven. It was my very own toppings bar. All the shelves were filled with small bottles of… “Oh my God,” I repeated in a whisper. There was everything. Gummy bears, Cap’n Crunch, granola crumbs, sprinkles in a dozen different colors and shapes and flavors, edible glitter, tiny peanut butter cups, mini M&Ms, Oreo dust, chocolate chips, nuts, and little bits of fudge.
Overwhelmed by the deliciousness, I sniffled and threw my arms around Colt’s middle. “Thank you, Daddy. This is the best gift ever.” Me being me, I had to get weepy about it. I couldn’t help it! It was just so beautiful.
“You’re welcome, little darlin’,” he chuckled. “There are some rules, though. You gotta ask before you take ice cream—because we know you’d have it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if you could.”
Mayyybe.
“You also have to do your chores.” Lucas joined us on this side of the island, and I threw myself at him next. He chuckled too and kissed the top of my head. “There will be a list on the fridge every morning. You’ll check off the chores, and—”
“I’ll do them lickety-split, I promise,” I croaked. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, Daddy!”
Colt laughed. “I’m startin’ to think we should’ve made this gift the headliner.”
“You and me both.” Lucas was amused too.