Lyon
Chapter 127

Sometime Later

***

“Kat what the f**k, what’s she wearing?”

Oh Mylanta, I’ve been hearing that same refrain for the past year now.

“Clothes.” And I’ve been giving the same damn answer for just as long.

“Cute, either fix it or neither of you are gonna like when daddy goes shopping.” I gave him the stink eye because he was being ridiculous but you can’t tell him that.

Caitlin just turned thirteen and like all thirteen year olds she’s starting to assert her independence, at least she’s trying to but her dad won’t let her. He’s going to have a coronary if he doesn’t calm down.

“Where are your hooligans Colt, why don’t you go round them up instead of making me crazy?”

“My sons are with their grandfather doing who knows what, don’t change the subject Angel.”

“Colt, it’s what all the kids are wearing these days there’s nothing to get all hot and bothered about.”

He gave me a glare, which I knew meant he wasn’t going to let it be. In the past thirteen years life has certainly been an adventure. Five kids, twin boys born nine months after Colt swore he nailed me followed two years later by another little boy and then four years later another girl.

Still Caitlin was her daddy’s girl; the two of them were thick as thieves. Thank heavens I got Catalina because the other four were all about their father.

***

LYON

***

Kat and her damn kids are trying to drive me crazy, well not my boys it’s the girls. Just like their mother there’s always something with them now it’s this dress thing.

I’d be f****d if my daughter is going to leave the house dressed like that. Next thing you know there’ll be boys and shit sitting on my couch.

“Caitie bear come in here.”

“Yes daddy?”

“Where is it that you’re going anyway?”

“Me and Annalisa were gonna go to the movies.” Annalisa is Stacey and Emory’s daughter. She was born the year after Caitlin and the two girls are thick as thieves. I don’t see how because Anna is a girly girl while my little princess is like her old man, she likes bikes and grease and that’s just how I like it.

At least she used to be, until this summer when she discovered something and that something had better not be boys. Whatever it is she’s lost her damn mind. Instead of jeans and tees now it’s halter tops and shorts, f**k no.

Kat’s all excited talking about she’s finally got her little girl back. Since she turned four and could dress herself Caitie refused to wear anything resembling a dress. I had to hear about that too for a long time, apparently it was my fault that my girl wanted to look like daddy.

I don’t know what the f**k she expected me to do about that, wear a dress? Anyway my little princess was a tomboy all the way, no matter what stunts her mom and aunt Carol came up with they didn’t work. Now she’s trying to give her old man a heart attack with this shit.

“What movie?”

“You don’t know it daddy, it’s a young teen movie.” She twitched all over the place so I knew there was more going on here than she was telling.

“Uh Caitlin who exactly is going to this movie?”

“Well, meAnnaand Ralph and Todd.” The last two were said as one word but she wasn’t slick enough.

Calm down Colt it won’t do to have a heart attack and die, you have a wife and five kids to look after. She must’ve got scared by the look on my face because she started backing up but I knew who was behind this little coup, still to be fair

“Who gave you permission to go to the movies with boys princess?” I kept my voice nice and even and pretended interest in the papers on my desk.

“Well mom said it was okay as long as we were doubling up and it was just a movie and maybe ice cream later?”

“Okay thanks for telling me could you tell your mom I need to see her?”

“Daddy” Now she’s wringing her hands and fretting, too late.

“Nothing to worry about I promise, just send her up here.” She hightailed it out of the room and I got myself under enough control not to bite my wife’s head off as soon as she entered the room.

“You called?” She came into the room all smiles, still the same beautiful girl I’d married fourteen years ago. Not much had changed about her in fact she was even more beautiful now than she was when we first met if that were possible.

Our life together has been one for the books I’ll tell you that. Never a dull moment, she’s still getting up to her shit every other week, but now she has help.

“Did you tell my kid she could date?”

“Uh Colt, did you forget something? I carried her for nine months remember, you were there.” She gave me a saucy look with her hands on her h**s.

“What’s your last name Kat?”

“Huh?”

“Name Katarina what is it?”

“Um Lyon?”

“That’s right and everything with that stamp on it belongs to me. You see those?” I pointed to the framed copies of the kids’ birth certificates. Other people have their credentials and accomplishments on their office walls; those are mine.

“They all say Lyon, that means they belong to me too, everything in this bitch belongs to me. Now I repeat; did you tell my kid she could date? Don’t roll your eyes at me woman you’re skating on thin ice.”

“Well I didn’t say she could date exactly.”

“What exactly did you say?” She started wringing her hands and biting her l*p. I knew what was coming next the little sneak. The hand came up and the finger trailed down the middle of my chest.

“You know Colt I was thinking. Why don’t we leave the kids with their grandparents and go to the cabin for the weekend.” I kissed her hard once and then moved her back.

“Fine we’ll do that now answer my question.”

“Oh alright, I said she could go with a boy as long as Annalisa was bringing someone along.”

“Does Emory know that his daughter is dating?” She gave me a guilty look and then looked everywhere but at me.

“I see, so this is something you and my sister came up with. Lets get something straight, my daughter isn’t dating anyone anytime soon and after this little stunt she’d be lucky if she ever sees the outside of this house again. As a matter of fact I’m going down to the shop, I have some commercial grade padlocks down there that would keep her little a*s locked in her room.”

“Oh Colt you can’t be serious, most of her friends have dates; things are not the way they were when you were growing up. In fact it’s not even the same as when I was growing up.”

“I give a f**k, while I’m gone you better get on the Internet and figure out homeschooling because she’s not going back there either.”

“Colton calm down, where are you going?”

“First, I’m going to have a chat with little Ms. Caitie and then I’m going to get the f*****g padlock.”

“Caitie?” I knocked on her door and gave her enough time to get decent if she needed before pushing it open.

“Who’s this boy?” She was lying across the bed with one of her gadgets.

Kid has way too much damn crap, I don’t know what the hell half of it is but her mother is always after me about getting her something or the other.

“He’s just a friend daddy.” She was staring back at me wide eyed and innocent. Uh huh.

“What kind of friend?” I tried not to fold my arms and spread my legs the way I do when I’m dressing down my crew for some shit f**k thing they’d done.

“You know.” She shrugged her shoulders.

“Have you ever kissed this friend?” She pinked up just like her mother dead give away.

“That’s it you don’t leave this room again for the rest of the night. What’s this boy’s name?”

“Todd.”

“Todd what and where does he live?”

“Henderson, he lives just around the corner from grandma Elena’s. What’re you going to do daddy?”

“Nothing for you to worry about. So he doesn’t go to your school, you met him in grandma’s neighborhood?”

“He goes to my school. Daddy please don’t embarrass me.”

What the f**k? Now I’m an embarrassment? I knew this shit would happen as soon as some little f**k came sniffing around my daughter f**k that. I had another thought before I left the room.

“How old is this Todd?”

“He’sfifteen.”

“Fif” I closed her door hard and went in search of her mother.

“Did you know this kid she’s dating is fifteen?”

“Of course I know I’ve”

“You’ve what? You’ve met him before?”

“Well”

“What the f**k is going on around here? Have you people lost your damn minds?”

“Colton where are you going?”

“First, I’m going to pay old Todd a visit, and then I’m going after that padlock. You better get on the ball with that homeschooling deal because she’ll be thirty before she leaves this f*****g house again.”

“Colt you’re being ridiculous.”

“I’ll deal with your a*s when I’m done with him.” She was getting worse every year with her smart a*s mouth.

I pulled my phone on my way out the door. I’m going to need reinforcements to get my point across. I gave Jared, Zack Pete and Tommy a call. That should be enough to get the job done.

We met in front of my parents’ house to get our shit together. I knew if anything my guys would understand my point, after all they all had daughters of their own now.