With a sigh, I went into the kitchen and grabbed the supplies before heading back out onto the porch. “Will you help me?” I asked Cheese.
“Sure.”
While he wrapped my cast I asked, “So, how did you get the nickname Cheese?”
“It’s not a nickname,” he corrected. “It’s a road name.”
“Right. How did you get the road name Cheese?”
“On the night of my initiation, the boys dared me to eat an entire block of cheddar cheese.”
“That’s a weird form of hazing.”
“It was all in good fun.”
“Did you do it?” I asked in amusement.
“Hell yeah, I did it.” He grinned. “The fuckers made fun of me all the next day because I didn’t leave the bathroom.”
“Charming,” I said with a snort.
Placing a final rubber band around my cast he said, “There ya go.”
“Thanks. What’s your real name?”
“Chester,” he said, his tone serious.
Well, at least I understood why he went by Cheese.
I headed back inside and took a fast shower. I was just pulling on a pair of new jeans and a red T-shirt when Joni arrived. With a smile, I offered her a cup of coffee, which she accepted.
“You didn’t have to come over and entertain me,” I said, placing the half-and-half in front of her.
“I know,” she said. “Though I have to say it’s not completely altruistic.”
“You want to grill me, don’t you?”
“Yep.”
“Sister’s prerogative, I guess,” I said with a smile.
“Definitely.” She tapped the rim of her coffee mug. “I’m just going to get down to it. Okay?”
I nodded.
“I think Colt wants to keep you.”
“What’s that now?”
“Keep you. Like, for good.”
“You can’t keep a person. I’m not a sheep in a petting zoo. You don’t just—what are you even saying right now?”
She took a sip of her coffee. “Let me give you a little insight to Colt, okay?”
I nodded, my heart pounding in my ears.
“He hasn’t been the same since our dad died. And that was nineteen years ago.”