Page 93 of Don't Let Me Fall (Don't Let Me 1)

“And big heads!” an older woman with red hair and a round face adds, appearing in the hall with an apron around her waist. She wipes her hand on it, pulling Colt into a hug. “I didn’t know if you’d make it.”

“I said I’d try,” he reminds her.

“And I’m glad you did.” She lets him go and turns to me with a warm smile. “I’m Becca Thorne, Colt’s mom. Obviously. You can call me Mom, Becca, Mrs. Thorne––whatever makes you comfortable. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” I reply.

Like I’m one of the family, she pulls me into a hug after letting Colt go and whispers, “I’ve heard a lot about you, Ashlyn. It’s nice to finally put a face to the name.” When she lets me go, she shoos us into the dining room. “Now, let’s eat while it’s hot. No one likes a cold pancake.”

“They’re the worst!” Blakely adds. She’s already sitting at the table with her plate full of bacon, eggs, and pancakes smothered in butter and syrup.

“Did you save any for us?” Colt asks, pulling out my chair.

I sit down and smile up at him as he takes the seat next to mine and across from Blake and his mom.

“Har, har. I ran eight miles this morning. You’ll have to cut me some slack for being the only one in shape around here.”

Colt hands me a plate of pancakes and dishes out two for himself. “Blakely’s training for a marathon.”

“A marathon?” I repeat.

Blakely nods and shoves a bite of sausage into her mouth.

“That’s awesome,” I tell her. “My roommate convinced me to do a 5k once, and I almost died.”

With a laugh, Blakely stabs her fork into a pancake and takes another bite. “Sounds like your roommate and I could be friends.”

“Definitely. She’s a sucker for a good running partner, and since I failed spectacularly during our freshman year, she’d kill to find a new one.”

“Well, I’ll have to hit her up next semester.”

“Yeah, Colt mentioned you’re transferring to LAU.”

“Yup. That’s the plan. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve loved going to the community college while living with Mommy Dearest––”

“You mean babysitting me since all my boys left me?” Mrs. Thorne quips.

Blakley laughs, but Colt isn’t half as amused as she explains, “But I am excited for a legit college experience. I need to find a place to live, though.”

“We have a spare room,” I offer. “Actually, you’d be doing us a huge favor. Tutoring doesn’t exactly pay well, and even though Mia works her butt off at SeaBird, and Kate, my other roommate, has a scholarship, we’ve been looking for a fourth roommate to help share the load. So, if you’re interested…?”

“Really?” Her attention shifts to Colt. “You’d be cool with it?”

“To be fair, I thought the alternative would be you sharing a roof with Theo.”

Her nose scrunches. “Ew. No. That bossy manwhore can stay as far away from me as possible, thank you very much.”

“Language,” Mrs. Thorne scolds.

But Colt and Blakely ignore her, and Colt teases, “Come on. You love Theo.”

Blakely glares back at him. “I love Teddy about as far as I can throw him.”

“Teddy?” I whisper to Colt, leaning closer to him at the dinner table.

“Theo hates being called Teddy,” he answers. “Which is why she does it.”

“Ooooh,” I reply, the pieces clicking together.

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