Hidden Killers: Hunters in the Wind (Book 2)

11 - Abby POV

"Oh Abby, who have you got strapped to your legs?" My mum gushes at the twins as I hobble into the pub with them still attached; Colt giving me his arm for assistance so I didn't lose balance. She came round from behind the bar to greet us.

"Hi mum. These are Naomi and Austin's children. Teagan, Tyson, say hello to my mum, Helen."

"Hi." They stare up at her before giggling as I continue to walk towards her to give her a hug.

"Why, you two are like monkeys, clinging onto my daughter's legs, aren't you?"

"We are not monkeys. We are-"

"Trouble! That's what you are." Naomi interrupts Tyson as she and Austin pry them away from my legs and ushering them to a nearby table. "We will be over here." Austin comments as Naomi starts whispering at the twins furiously. I'm guessing talking about the importance of not revealing their true identities to unsuspecting humans.

"This one doesn't seem to cause much fuss." We turn to see my mum is now going goo-goo eyed at Imogen who was fast asleep on Daniel's chest.

"Only when she is sleeping, ma'am." Daniel uses his free hand to shake my mum's as he turns towards the table.

"Sorry, if I don't answer you straight away if you speak to me. I am deaf so just tap me on the shoulder if you want to chat - I can lip read." Siobhan clasps a hand on my mum's shoulder.

"No need to apologise, dear. I appreciate you letting me know."

"Well, if you lot are settling in then I'll be in the back doing my job." Maeve waves us off before heading towards the kitchen.

"Adelaide, you never introduced me to this fine young man you have been hanging off of since yesterday."

"Auntie Helen, this is Clarke." Adelaide and Clarke are pulled into a group hug before they are registered what was happening.

"I'm happy for you, honey." My mum gives them a kiss on the cheek before letting them go and sit with the others.

"I am happy for you as well, you know, Abby." I look towards my mum as she looks between everyone who is left - Me, Colt and Jason.

"I want to apologise for my husband's behaviour at lunch. He can get too protective of our Abby." She cups both sides of my face as she speaks. I could see her eyes were misting up so I brush away any stray tears thar threatened to fall.

"No apology needed, Helen." Colt comes next to me and wraps an arm around my waist. "He just isn't the only one who is protective of her." And he plants a gentle kiss on the top of my head.

"I can see that. Thank you, all of you. It brings me great joy to see my Abby have such caring friends."

We have a group hug - I pull a reluctant Jason into it at first so that he was not standing on the edge.

"Well then, is there anything I can get for your group?" My mum asks as we pull away; I glance at Jason who seemed to enjoy it in the end. I knew he would.

"How about we get a couple of lemonades as some of them are driving, juice for the twins and the rest of us can have your house beer." Colt places the order for the group.

"What is the house beer?"

"You are gonna love it, Jason. It is called Lady of the Lake and it's got a fruity hit to it." Colt and Jason depart to the table in conversation as I follow my mum towards the bar.

"I like them." She says after a few moments.

"How long do you think it will take for dad to agree with you?" I couldn't help the slight edge to my tone.

"Come now, Abby. You know that is just how he is."

"That doesn't make his behaviour towards them acceptable, mum." I finish filling up the lemonades and juices before walking them over to the table. "I am 22 years old - does he not trust my judgement?" I ask as my make my way back to pull the beer order whilst mum does the other orders coming in.

"Of course he does." My mum huffs before turning to me. "He's just being your dad. He loves you with all his heart and just doesn't want to see you get hurt." She takes her order to the table before coming back. "When you have children of your own, you will understand."

Oh mum, if only you knew how soon that was.

I place all the beers down on the table. "Enjoy guys."

As I walk away, Colt stands behind me with his drink and follows me to the bar. "You not drinking with the others?"

"One - my beautiful mate is serving at the bar, despite not being on shift tonight. Two - I would like to get to know my mother-in-law and vice versa." He whispers in my ear before he settles himself on one of the bar stools.

"Have you always wanted to run a pub, Helen?" Was Colt's opening question as my mum re-emerged from the back.

"Oh, well I originally worked in the city for the Council but it just got too much and I was spending less time with Abby. I loved cooking and looking after people plus I always wanted my own business with a view like that." She gestures out of the window. Even though it was dark outside, we had lights around the tree and the edge of the lake which made it look magical.

"Then one anniversary, Edward surprised me with this. The rest was history." She smiles as she loses herself in the memory - no one could deny the love my parents had for each other.

"What about you, Colt? What do you do?"

"Oh well... I'm a business owner too." He tries to hide his blush but I start to chuckle. "He's being modest, mum. Tell her the name of your company?"

He gave me a dirty look before turning to my mum, who was looking at him with curiosity. "I run... Prosthetics and After Care..."

My mum had the same expression on her face as I did when I found out. "You own P.A.C?" Colt nods in return. My mum turns to me stunned. "I was joking when I said to find a rich man." That caused Colt to sputter his drink into his glass.

"I'll have you know, I was already falling for Colt before he told me that."

"Were you?" He looks at me, surprise in his eyes.

I take a hold of his hand that was resting on the counter. "Yes. I was. I just didn't realise it until later."

"You two are so sweet together." My mum pretends to wipe a fake tear from her eye, although deep down, I reckon she was actually trying not to.

"Your parents must be so proud to raise such a successful young boy." The smile on Colt's face dropped as he looked sadly at his drink.

"They err... they were..." He trails off, taking a swig of his beer before he continues. "My dad died in an accident and my mum... took her own life."

I moved myself around, from behind the bar, and hugged him from behind, resting my head on his shoulder and nuzzling into his neck. I knew he didn't like to talk about it and was still coming to terms with it.

Weight was put on my back as my mum had also came up behind him and joined in the hug, resting her head on the other shoulder.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Colt. I'm sorry I brought it up. I did not mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

"It is quite alright, Helen. How were you to know?" He pats her arm in reassurance before we both pull away.

She now takes his face between her hands and looks him in the eye with nothing but love in her gaze. "My Abby loves you and has welcomed you into her life. That makes you family. I know I could never replace them but, if you ever need me, for anything, then I am here for you."

Colt started to shed a few tears and so he pulled my mum into another hug, burying his head into her chest like a son would hug his mother. "Thank you, Helen. You have no idea how much that means to me."

I could feel myself welling up. This is what I wanted when Colt met my parents.

Now, I just have to work on dad.