The Colt & The Cobra - THE SPECTER SERIES [book six]

Chapter SEVENTEEN

Mikki De'lucca

After waking at sunrise with an odd tension headache you had taken to the bathroom to splash your face with cool water to little relief..

Colt had disappeared from the guest room, leaving you to quickly dress in a borrowed pair of tight blue-denim Daisy-Dukes, a cropped dandelion yellow t-shirt that is much too tight and Juliette's cute little tan-leather cowboy boots, before wandering through the enormous ranch towards the kitchen..

The heavenly scent of butter and maple syrup fills the hall, almost distracting you entirely from the rustic framed family portraits that hang on the timber clad walls.... Though one picture catches your attention..

It is unmissable..

Two handsome dusty cowboys in ten gallon hats stand arm over shoulder beside one and other, beaming beautiful smiles of pure joy..
eerily Identical smiles...

One of the young men must be Colt, you'd recognise that dazzling grin anywhere, even captured on film it is breathtaking.. Though for the striking similarities of their appearances, you can't for the life of you tell which is which..

Immediately you know exactly who the other cowboy must be..

You realise, this man, this Colt clone, was Kane Knox..
The dearly departed husband of Juliette..

Poot Juliette..

Your heart cracks and aches with empathy..

Shaking yourself from a dumbstruck stupor after inspecting the portrait for several minutes, still a little bewildered you continue on to find the others in the kitchen, chuckling away over their delicious breakfast plates..

Juliette jumps to her feet when you enter the room, her welcoming warm smile so pure and her bright eyes alight.. "Good morning, Mikki, let me fix you a plate, Sweetie-pie!"

Colt half smiles at you, when he glances up from his hotcakes before pulling out the chair beside him and pouring a second cup of coffee..

"Um.. Thanks.." You let out a low grateful hum..

You're really not used to such welcoming kindness, and all of this familiarly feels a little strange.. The closeness, the sharing and consideration of the kitchen atmosphere makes even the simple act of Colt pouring you a cup of coffee, feel strangely intimate..

Probably because the only person you have left back home who treats you with any decency is Rocco, and even he has his bad days.. Still, aside from you, Rocky is the only other De'lucca with a shred of compassion.. Or a soul.

Juliette whistles a happy little song as she sets about loading a plate with more than you'd usually eat in an entire day, setting it down before you..

When she disappears into the fridge, seeking cream for the coffee, Colt places a small white pill bottle on the table in front of you, his question a gentle command laced with concerned authority..
"You need to take one of these, Sugar, remember?.."

You nod obediently remembering Doctor Greyson's orders and he smiles in relief as you reach for the pills, unscrewing the cap to tip one into your hand..

Juliette returns to the table, her hands overfilled with treats that she begins setting down on the table, she peers out the beautiful bay windows that look out over the meadows that surround the ranch.. .. "Gosh, Honey-bear, with that darn storm warning, I'm awful worried 'bout the roof on the stables.. Paw' is determined to get up there and fix it himself, but-"

Colt immediately huffs in frustration as he shakes his head, those messy sunshine golden falling about his eyes.. "Clint can't be climbin' up on no roof, you know that.."

Juliette's expression falls and her voice drops to a whisper.. "He's been getting worse, Colt.. Since you were here last I've caught him walking the fences in the middle of the night.. He just gets so confused.." Juliette sighs, sadness wearing its way into her words, dulling the brights of her eyes..

The cowboy cocks a curious ear.. "What the hell happened to the Ranch-hand?"

"Jameson? He..uh.. quit-- Again.." Juliette shrugs, turning away to avoid Colt's eye and even you notice the awkward tension wind its way into her shoulders as her posture stiffens defensively..

You watch on, silently entranced as The Cowboy gits his teeth, clearly annoyed, though still he nods.. "Godamnit.. Alright, I'll sort it.. N' I'll fix the roof this afternoon, Jules, don't you worry.."

"Thanks, Honey-bear.."

Juliette sighs in relief and their conversation dies just as an elderly man, dressed if faded levi's and a turquoise blue bolo tie meanders into the kitchen, his silvery hair is neatly combed into place and and his wrinkled face is set in a stern grumpy grimace..

"Them fences ain't gonna fix themselves, Kane, you plannin' on doin' any actual fuckin' work today!?" He glares at Colt as though he were the devil himself..

You frown at Colt in confusion, silently munching on your pancakes, as the old man begins to mutter beneath his breath..
"Good-fer-nuthin'.. Slack-ass.. Useless son'ov'a.."

But The Cowboy just shakes his head at you with an eye-roll and a shrug..

"Sure thing, Paw, I'll get right on it.." Colt rises to his feet and Juliette casts an apologetic glance in your direction before she begins to introduce you..

"Paw, this is our friend Mikki, she's going to be staying with us a while.. Mikki, this is my dad, Clint Kincade.." Juliette twists her hands together nervously..

The old man stops in his tracks, completely fixated on you, his intense stare burns through you, unseeing and foggy..

Out of sympathy you smile as best you can and offer a polite greeting.. "It's nice to meet you, Mr Kincade.."

A sudden glimmer of recognition flickers in his gaze.. "Savannah?.. You look-- so different.."

"No, Paw.. This is Mikki--" Juliette tries to correct him and immediately you see his confusion..

Having spent time working with various charity's at the uptown hospital, you know better than to cause distress.. You rise slowly to your feet.. "It's okay Juliette, he can call me Savannah.. I don't mind.."

You smile and Clint beams a happy grin, moving towards you fast, his arms outreached, seeking to embrace you..

"I knew you'd come back to us, Savvie.. I knew you'd come home.."

The old man wraps you in a beef jerky and bourbon scented embrace, and even though it isn't really yours to take you feel something you have never felt before in your life..

A fathers love.