The Inevitable

Kolton sighs a breath of relief, and then shocks the hell out of me with his next words. “Move in with me. I don’t want to be without you. I don’t want to wake up or go to bed without you. I want to spend my life with you. I wanted to ask you weeks ago, but with Keegan here and everything going on, I didn’t want to ask you while hiding shit from you.”

“Technically, you’re still hiding things from me,” I sass.

He nods. “Only because you don’t want to lie to your sister. Otherwise, I would tell you everything now.”

“I want to move in with you.” Kolton’s eyes go wide in surprise. “But I need to speak to Blakely first and see how she feels. If she doesn’t forgive Keegan—”

“She will,” Kolton says. “I know she will. They love each other, and when you love someone like that, you don’t throw in the towel that easily.”

I nod in agreement. “I can’t move out if she isn’t taken care of. I pay the bills, so she needs me.”

“You can keep paying them.” Kolton presses his lips to mine. “I’ll take care of everything. In May, I’m graduating, and if all goes as planned, I’ll be working at the college full-time. I can afford to pay our bills. I just want you in my bed with me every night.”

“I want that too,” I murmur against his mouth. “I just need a little time.”

“Off work today?” Blakely asks when she and Zane walk through the door. I was technically off, but like always, I had to go in and take care of shit. I considered going back after Kolton and I talked, but instead, I came home so I could wait for Blakely.

“Yeah, I spoke to Kolton. He said Brenton approached you. How are you doing?”

“I’m okay.” She pauses and glances at Zane. “Hey, sweetie, go potty and get ready for your nap, please.”

“Okay, Mommy!” he says like the good boy he is, before running down the hallway.

“I can’t believe he actually thought he’d apologize, and I’d forgive him,” Blakely says once Zane is out of earshot, referring to Brenton.

“I can’t believe he was doing that shit right under our noses.” I huff. “I feel as stupid as you do. You know he used to sell when we were in high school?”

“What? No, I didn’t know that.”

“Yep, but I just thought it was him being a stupid teenager. I never thought he would continue.”

“He thinks I’m going to come around, but it’s not happening.”

“Kolton mentioned you and Zane moving in with Keegan. He said it would be safer.”

“What else did he say?”

“That’s it. He wanted to explain the entire story, but he said he can’t until Keegan speaks to you. They feel you deserve to know the truth first.” The truth is, he wanted to tell me, but I wanted to wait. Blakely deserves to know the truth first.

“I was thinking about talking to him,” Blakely admits. “To at least hear him out.”

“I won’t tell you what to do, but I think that would be a good idea.”

“And if we moved into Keegan’s place, would you move with us?”

Shit! I wasn’t planning to say anything about Kolton asking me to move in with him yet, but I can’t lie to her… I won’t.

“S?”

“I was…” I take a deep breath, trying not to appear too excited. I don’t want her to base her decisions on me. “I was actually thinking I could move in with Kolton.”

Blakely’s eyes bug out. “He asked you to move in with him?”

“He did. He said the only reason he didn’t ask sooner was because of everything going on, but now that it’s done, he wants me to move in. But I told him I had to speak to you first.”

“I would never keep you from moving in with him,” she says softly.

“Are you upset?” I stand and walk over to her. Blakely and Zane will always come first. If she doesn’t want me to move, I won’t.

“No… I guess I’m just a little sad. It seems like everything is changing. I just learned Keegan is a cop, and now you’re talking about moving in with your boyfriend. Brenton was my best friend for years, and now he’s being cut out of my life. It’s just a lot to take in, you know?”

“I know.”

“Mommy! I’m ready for bed,” Zane yells, making Blakely and me laugh.

“I wonder if all kids love to nap the way Zane does.”

“I doubt it,” I tell her. “Watch, you’ll have another kid one day, and he or she will despise naptime, and you’ll never have a moment to yourself.”

“Wow, you’re not only knocking me up, but you’re cursing me. Thanks.” She stands to go tuck Zane into bed, and there’s a knock on the door.

“I’ll grab it while you tuck him in,” I offer, already heading to the door.