Cowboy Take Me Away(214)

            “It is.”

            “How long has this been goin’ on?”

            She rolled her eyes. “Years. So maybe I am using the gender argument when it comes to teenaged boys. But do you really believe they’ll have an open conversation with their mother about sex? Cord wouldn’t look me in the eye for two weeks after I found that Playboy magazine in the bathroom. He reacted the same way after that night at the Rusty Spur and I all but told him that fighting made you horny and you were about to ball my brains out in your truck.”

            He sighed. “All right, all right, I get it. I’ll talk to them. But fair warning that if I do this, chances are slim Karen’s mother is getting an apology.”

            Carolyn kissed his cheek. “Thank you. I’ll tell the skinny dipping twins you want to see them in your office.”

            So that’s how Carson ended up having the sex talk with his sons. It helped that he’d had three shots of whiskey before the conversation started.

            Getting summoned into Dad’s office sent the other kids scurrying upstairs to their rooms, because a trip to the office meant they were in big trouble.

            Colby and Colt sat on the padded bench and the two of them nearly took up the entire thing. Carson remembered when he could line up all five boys on the bad bench.

            “Have any idea why you’re both in here?”

            A moment of silence followed.

            Then Colt said, “I know I was drivin’ too fast. And I don’t have any excuse except I wanted to see how fast that truck would do a quarter mile. Colby was just along for the ride.”

            Carson looked at Colby and the boy cracked like mud in the August sun.

            “I know you said you didn’t want me on the back of a bull because I’d break my fool neck, but I had to try it one time. And Colt didn’t have nothin’ to do with it besides drivin’ me there and home.”

            Jesus. He wondered just how many confessions he’d get out of these two if he kept doing his stone-faced statue imitation.

            “That’s not why we’re in here, is it?” Colby asked.

            Carson shook his head.

            “It’s not?” Colt said, realizing he’d made an unnecessary confession.

            “But keep goin’. Let’s see what other shit you boys’ have been pullin’.”

            “Ah, we didn’t mean to get stuck up at Flat Top after the keg, and we’ll get your tow chain back from Dag…tomorrow?” Colt offered.

            “Jesus, Colt, shut your damn mouth,” Colby snapped.

            “Well at least I didn’t tell him about us takin’ Tina and Tonya to—”

            “Shut up!” Colby said again.

            Colt closed his mouth so fast his jaw popped.

            “Since it sounds like we could be here all night with what you two have been up to, how about I get right to it.” He paused. “The name Karen Ayers ring a bell? And before you decide to get cute, I’ll just throw it out there that Karen’s mother already called here and talked to your mother. So she knows that you skipped youth group last night and went skinny dippin’ with Karen.”

            “Mom knows?” Colby said.

            “We’re dead, huh?” Colt said.

            “You think your mother needs to get phone calls like that? Hell no. And not only because she passes the buck on to me.”