Coral Hearts (9 page)

As Colt stepped
in the back door he’d seen Sage heading into his office, a frown creasing his brow. His older brother look annoyed, something Colt hadn’t expected. As the eldest of the Morgan brothers, Sage had always taken the responsibility of that position far too seriously even as a child. But now? Hell, it wasn’t as if the rest of them hadn’t grown into competent adults fully capable of taking some of the enormous burden from his shoulders. Okay, maybe Kip hadn’t fully morphed into the man they all knew he would be, but Sage wasn’t doing a thing to help the kid along either. Treating him like a college frat-rat instead of a partner in the business wasn’t going to help Kim mature—and the kid had enormous potential as a ranch manager.

Colt knew Sage had been pussy footing around Coral Williams for months. Why he’d been so reluctant to make a direct move mystified everyone, because it was totally out of character for the man who’d grabbed the reins of a fifty thousand acre ranch without blinking. The same man who oversaw several small mines, as well as their family’s varied other business interests without breaking a sweat, wasn’t hesitant. So his stand-down approach had baffled those who knew him best. Hell, the eldest among them had reached Master status as a trained sexual Dominant before he’d been old enough to drink legally at the fucking clubs the two of them had frequented. But a tiny newcomer working at the local hardware store had launched the
confident, professional
Sage they’d all come to know right out the window. In his place? A growling bear emerged. Hell, even their mama had been threatening mutiny.

The first week after their parents returned before Thanksgiving to spend the holiday season in Montana, Colt had seen his mother stomping down the sidewalk downtown. Patsy Morgan stomping mad was never a good sign, so Colt had quickly pulled over to find out who he was going to need to forewarn.

“What’s up, mama? You don’t look any too happy. Who do I need to bust-up so I get to see your sweet smile again?” Colt asked when he finally caught up with her. He’d fallen into step beside her and grinned at her slower-than-normal pace. He’d fought to hold back his grin because no doubt it had been her fashionable spike-heeled boots that had slowed her pace.

“Colt Morgan don’t you patronize me. If I tell you who put this frown on my face you’ll warn them I’m coming—I know about
the network
, don’t you think I don’t.”
Holy shit! Who the hell told her about that?
Their dad had implemented “the mama network” years ago—most likely it had been a way to keep his wife from dwindling down the number of their offspring. If one of the brothers knew their dad or a sibling was facing a tongue lashing or worse from “the force” as their dad often referred to his wife—then that “man” was obligated to warn the target. “Your daddy isn’t as sneaky as he thinks he is. How you all thought you were keeping it under your hats was almost comical, but it didn’t serve my purpose to bust you out on it. But that brother of yours—his hide is mine, and I’m not gonna do a thing to help you warn him.”

“Well, mama that would be tough since I don’t know which one of them has offended you.”

Colt had been sure his words were well chosen, but she turned on him anyway. “Boy, oh boy, you really do think I’m a dim-wit don’t you, Colt Morgan?”

“Um…no ma’am.”
Fuck, this is going downhill fast. Wonder which one of those damned brothers of mine has jumped into it feet first this time?

“Impossible. The whole lot of you are purely impossible. I swear I’m getting a plane ticket and flying back south. You all can eat bologna sandwiches on Thanksgiving for all I care.”

“Damn, mama. That’s just plain old mean-spirited. You know you’re the best cook this side of the Rockies, we’re all looking forward to Thanksgiving.” Okay, that was really pushing it. Patsy was a decent enough cook, but she’d also incinerated her share of beef over the years too. His dad had always laughed, and said there were plenty more steaks in the freezer. They’d sure eaten dinner late on many occasions because their mother had gotten distracted while grilling.

But today there didn’t seem to be any way to distract her and she hadn’t taken the bait. “Lame, Colt. Very, very lame.” He’d followed her into the diner, and then watched as she’d zeroed in on Sage. Colt hadn’t seen that one coming and had almost turned around to leave his grumpy brother to his fate—as it turned out, Colt had been happy he’d decided to stick around. It was fun seeing his brother sweat bullets after dealing with his cranky-ass nonsense for months.

Their mom had proceeded to rip Sage into little pieces about his recent “bout of idiocy,” and the way he’d been treating everyone within a hundred miles according to their mom’s morning coffee posse. Evidently Patsy’s friends had been more than happy to regale her with tale after tale of Sage’s recent outbursts, and Mama Morgan was none too pleased with her oldest child. She’d finally wound down enough to actually fall into a chair and lean close. “You listen to me, Sage Morgan. This all about that sweet girl down at the hardware store—I know full well it is, so don’t you be trying any of your smoke and mirrors tricks with me. You either ask that sweet girl out or walk away because you are making everybody miserable and none of us need it, least of all Coral.” With that she’d stood up and marched right back out the door to the claps and whistles of everyone within hearing range. Hell, Colt had cheered as loud as anyone else in the room.

And now, it looked like the grumpy bear was back in residence.
Yippee fucking skippy.
Sage waved him over, excusing himself from whoever he’d been speaking with on the phone long enough to direct Colt to the lower level. “Coral is downstairs looking around. Make sure she doesn’t get into trouble.” His brother’s raised brow wasn’t needed, Colt knew exactly what
trouble
his brother was trying to avoid. Their playroom was downstairs. It wasn’t that any of them were ashamed of the lifestyle they’d chosen, but today wasn’t the day to introduce her to their dungeon.

When he’d first found her downstairs, Colt leaned against a doorframe watching Coral study each picture with admiration, and something very close to longing in her pretty eyes. He’d read the report Brandt put together on the brunette beauty, and knew nothing in her life had been easy. Colt felt a twinge of guilt when he considered how idyllic his and his brothers’ lives had been while Coral had encountered nothing but rocks, boulders, and detours along life’s path. And just now, when he’d mentioned tattling on her to get her a swat or two he’d been shocked by her reaction. She’d immediately flushed and then zoned out—he didn’t know exactly where she’d gone, but he had a pretty good idea what—
or at least who
, was playing through her mind. The entire scene had been fascinating to watch, and Colt couldn’t remember a time when he’d wished more for the ability to read someone’s mind. Damn, he’d have loved to able to see whatever Coral had been seeing in her mind’s eye.

“Tell me, sweetness, until last night—how long had it been since you’d slept a whole night through?” Colt saw her eyes widen before pink painted her cheeks, and he couldn’t hold back his grin. “Don’t be embarrassed, it was a safe bet my brother would make sure you were exhausted enough to sleep, sweetheart. He’s wanted you in his bed for a long time.” She was going to have to get used to the fact none of the Morgan brothers would pull any punches with her—it simply wasn’t the way they were wired. They were all members of at least one kink club, though some of them were definitely more dedicated to their roles as Doms than others.

Colt watched her take a mental step back—it was written clearly in her body language. Under ordinary circumstances, he would have been forced to allow her attempt to hide because she didn’t belong to him. But, Sage had silently slipped back into the room, standing behind her, he’d nodded his head for Colt to continue. “Again I’ll remind you of the importance of honesty, sweetness. I believe you will find Doms are fairly rigid about that particular rule—and remember, honesty applies to
all things
for some very good reasons. You’ll learn all the reasons as you learn more about the lifestyle.” He gave her a few seconds to process what he’d said before continuing, “Now, answer my question. How long?”

She’d met his gaze, but only long enough to convince him she wasn’t planning to lie—she was simply embarrassed to be put on the spot. Likely she wasn’t accustomed to other people looking out for her, even though he knew Charlotte had been mothering her as much as the independent young woman would allow.
May as well get it over with, baby. I’m not going anywhere and your Master is losing patience with every breath.

Taking a deep breath as if stealing herself for his anger, Coral finally sighed, “Several weeks. The thing is, I really like it here, but I haven’t managed to save much money after spending so much to fix my car.” Colt didn’t even want to think about what it had cost her to get the death trap she’d been driving back into working order—probably far more than it had been worth.

“Is there a reason you hadn’t spoken to Brandt about the problems you were having?”

This time she took an actual step back, her eyes going wide. “Well, yes, actually there is. If you think about it, I’m a material witness to a murder. Not something most law enforcement personnel feel you should run from.” Colt wanted to laugh out loud because she’d absolutely nailed it. “And your brother doesn’t really appear to be the understanding type, if you know what I mean.” Oh yeah, he certainly understood what she meant.

“Why not speak to Sage? You had to know he was interested in you.”

She didn’t answer for so long he wondered if she planned to simply ignore the inquiry. When she finally returned her gaze to his, Colt felt a jolt of electricity pierce his heart at the stark look of longing in her eyes. God in heaven, he hoped someday he’d find a treasure of his own like the one standing in front of him. His brother better pull this off because Coral Williams wore her heart on her sleeve and she was obviously genuine all the way to her soul. “That’s exactly why I
didn’t tell him
.”

In many ways, Colt understood Coral’s line of thinking—but it didn’t mean he agreed with her. But just to be sure
his brother
understood, Colt pushed on. “I’m not sure I understand exactly what that means. So—as Sage would say…
clarify
.” Colt had the advantage of standing face to face with her. He could see her expressions up close, but Sage was looking over his shoulder. Colt knew Sage was trying to see as much as possible in the mirror on the opposite wall without drawing Coral’s notice.

Coral took what Colt recognized as a fortifying breath before looking up from where her eyes had dropped. “Sage is a well-respected businessman, Colt. He doesn’t need to be caught up in this mess.”
Oh sweetheart you just bought yourself a whole lot of trouble.
Colt was barely able to bite back his smile. Holy shit, his brother was about to blow a fuse. Colt hoped Sage didn’t have a stroke before this conversation was over.

He didn’t respond, Colt simply waited for her to continue. “Geez Louise, you’re gonna play dense, huh?”

The Dom in Colt surged to the surface. “Careful, sweetness. You’d be well advised to remember Sage isn’t the only Dom in the family.” Her soft gasp assured him she understood exactly what he’d meant.

“I’m not trying to be disrespectful, but you and I both know exactly what I meant. I don’t know why I have to say it out loud. The reputation of your entire family could be tarnished by this, and I don’t want to be responsible for it. And God forbid something happened to one of you. Your entire family would end up resenting me, and it would break my heart to know I could have kept you safe if I’d just walked away.” She’d spoken the last part so softly Colt wondered if Sage had been able to hear her. Sage’s expression softened, and Colt knew he’d caught every word.

“Before I turn you over to Sage, I want to make something clear, sweetness. Families don’t back you when everything is easy. Hell, you don’t
need
a family when the sea ahead of you is smooth sailing. The real strength of
this family
is in our commitment to each other when things go to hell.”

Coral’s pretty blue eyes filled with tears as Sage’s arms wrapped around her from behind. Colt watched his brother lean down, his lips so close to Coral’s ear she would feel the words as well as hear them. “Listen to what Colt is telling you, love. My brothers and I will always tell you the truth. Do you really think our family would have the reputation for doing the
right thing
if we walked away from people who are important to us just because it might get messy?”

The first tear trailed down her cheek, and Colt felt his heart clinch. “I don’t really know much about how
normal families
work. When I was growing up a teacher at school knew my parents. She also knew how embarrassed I was by everything my mom and dad had done to people in our community.” Colt stood perfectly still watching as his brother turned Coral so she faced him. Sage’s expression was one of compassion and interest without an ounce of judgment, and Colt couldn’t remember a time when he’d been more proud of his older brother.

“Mrs. Fischer told me I didn’t have to follow my parents’ example…that I could build my own reputation. She taught me how a good reputation could be my most valuable possession and it wouldn’t cost me anything. When I found out I could have something of value without being forced to steal money to get it…well, that made a very big impression, you know?”

“How old were you, baby?” Sage’s voice had an underlying edge Colt hoped Coral hadn’t noticed. Colt knew his brother was skating along the edge of blind rage. Every protective instinct Sage had spent years honing as he dealt with four younger brothers would pale in comparison to what Colt knew Sage would feel for Coral.