Wild Man Creek by Robyn Carr Read Free Book Online Page A

planning to stay here with Luke and Shelby. He’d come up to Virgin River with his brother Aiden about a month ago and had managed to find a two-room cabin buried deep in theforest beside a mountain creek. He made arrangements to rent the place until hunting season opened in the fall.
    Luke stepped out onto his front porch, eight-month-old Brett balanced on his hip. “Hey,” he said. “How was the drive?”
    Horrible, Colin thought, fighting the urge to rub his leg, his back, his arm. “Terrific. Quicker than I thought.” He couldn’t quite disguise the slight limp as he walked toward the porch and saw Luke’s eyes dart to his leg. “Just stiff, Luke,” Colin said. He went up the steps and reached for the baby. “C’mere, Bud. Did you remember that trick I taught you?”
    Brett reached out for him with a wet, droolly smile. Of all the shocks Colin had shouldered in the past six months, this was one of the biggest—that he’d bond with a baby! He’d never been crazy about kids, didn’t want any, tended to give them a wide berth, but this one just got under his skin. In his eight months of life Colin had only seen little Brett maybe five times—right after he was born, once when Luke came to visit while he was in treatment in Tucson and brought the kid along and last month—that accounted for three. And yet…
    The baby grabbed Colin’s nose; Colin made a noise and a face. Brett giggled wildly and did it again. And again. And again. Finally Colin said, “Just like your father—easily entertained.”
    “Come on in,” Luke said.
    “I’m not staying. I just wanted to swing by, say hello, let you know I’m in the area. I’m going out to the cabin.”
    Luke looked annoyed. “Can’t you stay here just one night?”
    “Can you give me a break? I’ve been living with people for six frickin’ months and I am sick of living with people!” Shelby stepped outside, wiping her handson a dish towel. “Hi, sweetheart,” Colin said, his mood instantly lightened. “Tell your husband I want my own place and I want to be alone for a while and I have earned it.”
    “Yes, you have. Come in for a soda or cup of coffee. Fifteen minutes, then Luke will leave you alone.”
    “You went to see Mom,” Luke accused. “You stayed with Mom for a few days. Why not one night here, till you get your bearings?”
    “I have my bearings! And I only went to see Mom to placate her so she wouldn’t come to see me!”
    “Oh, Colin, she’s just being a good mother,” Shelby said. “I hope I’m as good a mother as Maureen is.”
    Colin looked at Brett. “You hear that, bud? You’d better look out.”
    Shelby made a face at him. “That’s going to cost you five more minutes. Now come in here, let me give you something to drink at least. And we should pack you up a little care package—sandwiches or milk and eggs—something to tide you over till you can get to the grocery store.”
    Colin tilted his head. “Not a bad idea,” he said. That was something he’d always liked about women—the way they seemed to want to feed you. The other things he liked, he probably wasn’t going to experience. Certainly not out here in the boonies.
    Luke held the door open and Colin walked in. “Weren’t you alone for three days of driving?” he asked to his back.
    “I want to be alone while I’m not driving.”
    “What will you do?”
    “I will unload a few things, settle in and listen to the inside of my own head for a while.”
    “Well that oughta scare the shit outta you,” Luke said.
    “Should we be saying shit around the kid here?”
    “Aw, I forget sometimes,” Luke said.
    Colin sat at their kitchen table, still holding Brett on his lap. He accepted a cup of coffee from Shelby and made sure it was pushed out of the baby’s reach.
    Colin had an attack of conscience because he was being difficult, as usual. Bad stuff had happened to him, his brothers had all come running, stuck by him for six months while he tried to