Colters' Lady

Chapter Twenty-One

When Seth and Lily pulled up to his parents’ house, Lily saw Callie standing in the distance overlooking the expanse of land below the cabin.

Seth cut the engine but sat in the truck watching his sister for a long moment.

“She looks sad,” Lily observed.

Seth sighed. “I’m not sure what’s going on with her. Something happened on her last trip overseas, but she’s not talking. I hate to see her down. She’s always the cheerful, upbeat one in the family.”

“Maybe she just needs some space,” Lily said softly. “It’s not always easy to talk when wounds are still so fresh.”

Seth turned his gaze on her, unpeeling her layer by layer. “Is that what happened with you, Lily?” She hesitated and gripped the handle to the door. “Some wounds never heal.”

“You’ll heal,” he said quietly. “You’ll have me and my brothers and our family. Family heals even the worst hurts.”

Warmth spread into her heart until her smile reflected the sheer joy his words brought her.

“That’s a beautiful sentiment, Seth. And you know, I believe you. I really do. I feel…I feel like maybe everything is going to be okay again.”

He leaned over and cupped her cheek and then he kissed her. “You can count on it, honey. Now let’s go in and find Mom. She’ll be looking forward to seeing you.” Lily opened her door and stepped into the chilly air. It was colder now than it had been earlier in the day. She turned her face upward to see the white sky lined with shades of gray.

“Bet it snows before the day’s out,” Seth said.

She shivered but secretly hoped it would. Before, snow had been a dreaded event when she lived on the streets. With no way to stay warm, snow could mean death. But here where she could sit in front of the fireplace with hot chocolate and watch the snow fall through the window? She couldn’t think of anything more heavenly.

Seth opened the door and called in, “Mom? Dads? We’re here.” He ushered Lily inside and closed the door behind them. One of the dads entered the living room—

Ethan? She was fairly certain he was Ethan. She been a little befuddled and overwhelmed the first time she’d met them all, but he’d been the one to prepare lunch for her and Callie.

He smiled gently in Lily’s direction. “Hello, Lily. How is your arm today?”

“Oh, I’m fine. Michael even gave me a clean bill of health this morning.” Ethan chuckled. “If you got by Michael, I’m betting you’re just fine.”

“Where’s Mom?” Seth asked.

“She’ll be along in a minute.”

The peculiar look in Ethan’s eyes made Lily think that she and Seth had interrupted a private moment.

Her suspicion was confirmed a moment later when Holly entered the living room, her face flushed and her lips swollen.

Ethan’s gaze was drawn to his wife, and he pulled her to his side. The tenderness that he displayed and the obvious love in his eyes made Lily’s heart melt.

Holly’s eyes lit up when she saw Lily, and she hurried across the room, her hands extended. “Lily!

I’m so happy you came over. How are you doing? Is your arm all right?” As she spoke, she did very motherly things like smooth Lily’s hair from her face and stroke her hand down Lily’s arm. Lily couldn’t help but be drawn to the other woman. There was just something so warm and infectious about her.

“I’m good,” Lily said, returning her smile. “Thank you for having me. I appreciate you being willing to go with me to the clinic.”

Holly beamed back at her and then turned to Seth. “And you. You’re going to get all the paperwork done so that your coming home will be official?”

Seth smiled and nodded. Holly latched on to Seth and hugged him senseless. “Oh, I’m so happy that you’re going to be home.” As she pulled away, tears shone brightly in her eyes.

“Aw, Mom, don’t cry.”

“I’ll cry if I want to,” she sniffed. “I hate that you’ve been away for so long. It’ll be so wonderful having all my children back home where they belong. I pray that Callie doesn’t decide to go back to parts unknown.”

Seth grinned and rolled his eyes. “Admit it, Mom. You’d rather we all still lived here under your roof driving you and the dads crazy.”

“Well, yes. I refuse to apologize for that.”

Lily’s chest tightened as she watched the obvious love and affection between them. She glanced up to see Ethan watching her with those soft brown eyes. She squirmed and looked away, worried that they were still wary of her and her intentions.

Holly shoved Seth toward the door. “Okay, so off with you. I’ll feel a lot better when you’ve filled out all your paperwork and it’s all official. Don’t worry about Lily. Callie and I will take good care of her.” Seth turned to kiss his mom on the cheek. “I know you will, Mom.” Then he looked up at Lily and his features softened. “I’ll see you later, honey.”

Lily smiled and gave him a small wave as he walked out the front door.

Holly turned her attention to Lily. “Okay. You and I have some shopping to do.”

“Oh hell,” Ethan muttered. He backed away, hands out. “I’ll leave you to it.”

“What are you leaving them to?” Ryan asked as he entered the room. He smiled at Lily as he came to a stop next to Holly. He bent and kissed his wife full on the lips until she emitted a breathy sigh.

“Shopping,” Ethan replied in a voice that suggested Holly had said they were going to murder someone.

Lily couldn’t suppress the giggle when Ryan took a hasty step away.

“You two are such wimps,” Holly muttered. “In the early years, you were all about shopping and providing for your woman.”

“That was before you turned it into a survival sport,” Ethan said dryly.

“Lily needs clothes, and Callie and I are going to take her to get what she needs. We don’t need you anyway.”

“I’ll drive you as long as I don’t have to go in,” Ethan offered.

Holly rolled her eyes and looked over at Lily. “You’d think after thirty-something years that I could drive somewhere by myself. Ethan still has a kitten when I want to drive into town without one of the menfolk.”

“The weather’s supposed to get worse,” Ryan said with a frown. “It’s not a bad idea for him to take you ladies. Snow’s supposed to start in an hour or so, and there’s a chance of it worsening as the afternoon progresses. Could get more than a foot accumulation.”

“Then I’ll let Callie drive,” Holly said.

Ethan and Ryan both winced.

“I’ll take you in the Rover,” Ethan said. “There’s plenty of room for everyone and you ladies can take your time. I’m in no hurry.”

Holly looked at Lily as if to say, “See what I have to put up with?” Lily smothered her laughter, but the sound still escaped.

Holly’s gaze narrowed. “Just you wait, Lily. If you think you’re going to have it any easier with my sons, you’ve got another think coming. They’re chips off the old block for sure, and I’ll tell you right now that Michael and Dillon have two of the hardest heads I’ve ever encountered. It’s a wonder any of us survived their childhood.”

“Amen,” Ryan muttered.

“I think you’re all pretty great,” Lily said in a low voice.

Holly beamed at her and walked over to pull her into a hug. “And I think you’re pretty great too. If you make my sons happy, this family will love you forever.” Ryan frowned. “Lily needs a coat. Do you or Callie have something she can wear into town?”

“Oh, of course. I’ll get her one from the closet. If one of you will holler at Callie, we can go.”

Holly hurried away, leaving Lily in the living room with Ethan and Ryan.

“I’ll get Callie and warm up the truck,” Ethan said. “Tell Holly to come on out when you’re ready.” Lily waited in nervous silence for Holly to return. She could feel Ryan watching her.

“Lily,” Ryan said in a soft voice.

She looked up to meet his gaze.

“You don’t have to be nervous around us. I think you’ll find we’re pretty laid back around here.

You’re important to my sons, so that makes you important to me. You’re part of this family and that means you have our support. All of us.”

“Just like that?” she whispered.

He smiled. “Just like that.”

She smiled back. “Thank you. I don’t know what else to say. It’s all so hard to believe. How did I get so lucky?”

He walked over to her and held out his arms. After only a moment’s hesitation, she went into his embrace. He hugged her tightly.

“I think my boys would say they’re the lucky ones. No reason to dissuade them of that notion, is there?”

She laughed and absorbed the wonderful feeling of home and acceptance.

“I think this will be perfect for you, Lily,” Holly said as she hurried back into the room carrying a heavy coat. “It might be a little big on you, but it’ll do until we get you a new one in town.” Lily took the coat, enjoying the feel of the warm sheepskin lining.

“You don’t have to take me shopping, Mrs. Colter,” she said. “Just taking me to the clinic is more than enough.”

“First, call me Holly. Mrs. Colter sounds so…old. And second, you need clothes. My boys have given me strict instructions to buy you whatever I think you need. Notice, they were sure to say what I thought you needed and not what you thought you needed.” Her eyes twinkled merrily as she teased. “And since I don’t want my boys to think I fell down on the job, you’re going to be fully outfitted head to toe by the time I’m finished.”

Ryan let out a groan. “Thank God Ethan volunteered for chauffeur duty.” Holly elbowed him in the gut.

“And speaking of, Ethan said for you two to go on out when you were ready. He’s warming up the Rover.”

“You ready?” Holly asked. “Get your coat on and we’ll hit the road. I don’t want you to be late for your appointment.”

Ethan drove them into town, and as they pulled into Riley’s the first snow flurries started to swirl.

Holly climbed out of the front while Callie and Lily got out of the back.

“Riley’s has been around forever,” Holly explained as they walked into the general store. “More shops have opened over the years and I’ll take you there for clothes, but this is the best place to get coats and boots and jeans.”

Callie grinned. “In other words, if you want something cute, you’ll need to hit the boutiques on Main Street.”

“You should know that Callie’s idea of cute isn’t most people’s idea,” Holly warned.

Lily smiled. “I like her clothes.”

“Oh, I dress to fit in here,” Callie joked as they started browsing the racks of jeans. “Anyone not in jeans, boots and western wear gets the eyeball from the locals.” Holly picked up a pair of jeans and held them up, looking skeptically at Lily. “You can try these on but they look a little big to me. You’re smaller-waisted than me and Callie. I figure you’re at least a size smaller if not two. We’ll start with these, though and see how they fit you.” Lily was hustled into a dressing room and never had to come out. Callie and Holly kept handing stuff in for her to try. In an hour’s time, she had an armful of jeans, two coats, one heavy and one a lighter windbreaker, plus two pairs of boots and two pairs of loafer-style shoes.

“It’s too much,” Lily protested as Callie and Holly hauled the clothing to the register.

Callie held up a hand. “Oh please, this is a drop in the bucket compared to some of the shopping trips I’ve made Seth take me on. They’ll be happy the bill was only this much.” Holly laughed but nodded. “Callie was a born shopper, much to her fathers’ and brothers’ dismay.” Lily joined in their laughter, enjoying the companionship of other women. Friends. God, how she’d missed having good times and social outings. Shopping trips.

Holly checked her watch. “Okay, we need to get to the clinic. We can either hit the boutiques after your appointment, or, if you trust Callie to pick up a few things for you, she can walk over while we’re at the doctor’s.”

Lily glanced over at Callie who raised her hands in defense. “I swear I’ll do right by you. I have a pretty good eye for what will look good on you. And it will give me immense pleasure to go shopping on my brothers’ dime.”

Lily laughed. “I trust you. I’m sure your taste has to be better than mine.” Holly hustled the girls out of the store and into the truck where Ethan waited. They stuffed their bags in the back and piled in.

“Get everything you need?” Ethan asked.

“Take us to the clinic,” Holly said. “Callie’s going to do some shopping across the street while Lily is at her appointment.”

Two hours later, Lily and Holly walked out of the clinic, Lily clutching the bag with the starter pack of her pills and a prescription for several months’ worth. Callie was waiting in the truck with Ethan when Holly and Lily climbed in.

“I’ve had calls from all three of my sons demanding to know how things went with your doctor’s appointment,” Ethan said to Lily.

“Oh, everything is fine,” Lily said. “He looked at my arm and said it was healing nicely. No cause for alarm. It doesn’t even hurt anymore.”

She wasn’t about to tell any of them what the true reason for her appointment had been, although she was pretty sure Holly had a good idea.

Callie leaned forward and rested her arms over the back of Ethan’s seat. “I vote we go home and have the dads fix us dinner while Lily hosts a fashion show for me and Mom.”

“Spoiled much?” Ethan asked dryly.

“I’m not going to deny it,” Callie said with a grin.

Holly laughed. “Well, I could cook, but somehow I don’t think anyone wants that.”

“No, that’s okay,” Ethan said hastily. “I’m sure any of us would be more than happy to cook for our women.” He glanced back at Lily as he started to pull out of the parking space. “Were the guys expecting you for dinner?”

“I’m not certain,” Lily said hesitantly. “They were all so busy today. They said they’d see me tonight, but I don’t know when.”

“Don’t worry,” Holly soothed. “Ethan will call them and tell them all to come to supper. It’s been a long time since we all had dinner together, and I can’t think of a better occasion than now.” In truth, Lily was excited about the prospect. She smiled and nodded and then leaned back, squeezing her arms over her chest and holding her happiness close, as if any moment it would be torn away from her.