Page 29 of Better Together

“I was, but I really don’t know how much I’ll be able to do. The youngest isn’t in school yet, and–”

“I’ll help take care of her,” Ava interjected with a sniffle.

Colt had assumed she’d left the room, but her quick willingness to help was like salve on a wound. “Thanks. I’ll do whatever I can for the ranch. I love working here, and I don’t want to let you down.”

“Ach. It’ll all work out. You always have a place here,” Mr. Chambers said.

Colt sat down on the couch and glanced at the hallway. Remi would be finished packing any minute now, and they would be on their way. Was he ready for this?

“The cabin!” Ava shouted. “Do you still want to move in?”

“Yeah. I guess I’ll need a place for all of us.” It was too much to ask of Ridge, but the small fee for the cabin rental would come out of Colt’s check every week. He could manage the pay cut since he’d been saving every penny he could while living at Ridge’s place.

“We’ll have it ready for you when you get back,” Jameson said. “I can start on it this afternoon.”

“I’ll help too,” Ava said. “Don’t worry. We’ll take care of everything here. You just get those kids.”

Jess stepped out of the hallway and gave Colt a squinted look. She raised her hands together and made the prayer gesture as she mouthed, “Sorry.”

Colt gave her an acknowledging nod as she walked out the door. Thankfully, the call with his employers was winding down. “Thanks. I’ll keep you posted.”

Ava sniffled again. “I’m so glad there are going to be more kids around here. Our little one will have friends to grow up with.”

“Speaking of the little one, is it a boy or a girl?” Colt asked. Families were growing everywhere at the ranch, and maybe they’d have the winter to get used to the changes before the busy season started up again.

“We don’t know yet, but we don’t plan on keeping it a secret once we find out,” Jameson said.

Remi stepped into the living room stuffing the sleeve of a shirt into a duffel bag that hung over her shoulder. She had one of Colt’s flannel shirts draped over her other arm.

Colt stood and reached to take the bag from Remi. “Good. I want to be the first to know. We’re about to get on the road.”

“Let us know you make it there,” Ava said.

“Will do.” Colt wasn’t used to checking in with someone who cared if he made it from point A to point B safely, but the gesture proved that Ava would be a great mom.

They ended the call, and Remi handed over the bag. She looked around as if searching for a way out.

“You don’t have to do this,” Colt reminded her, even though he knew the sting of losing her would be sharp if she backed out.

“No. I want to. I just hope I’m not forgetting anything.”

Colt started ticking off things on his fingers. “Socks, underwear, jammies, sleep mask–”

Remi pushed past him with a chuckle. “If you ever see a sleep mask on my face, it’s a cry for help. Let’s go.”

Colt followed Remi to the truck and tossed her bag in the back of the extended cab. The floorboard was covered in tools and shop rags. Thankfully, he’d cleaned it out recently, and there wasn’t anything to stain her things.

Remi settled in behind the wheel and popped her knuckles one by one–a sign she was nervous. “Okay, trusty co-pilot, where to?”

Colt plugged his brother’s address into the GPS on his phone, and the female artificial intelligence voice filled the cab. “Starting route to Mark’s house.”

Remi looked over her shoulder as she backed out of the short driveway. “Anything you need to catch me up on while we drive?”

“I called Mr. Chambers. He knows what’s going on. Jameson and Ava too. They’ll try to help however they can. Ava said she’d help out with the kids so I can stay on through the winter.”

“I’ll help too,” Remi added.

“You don’t have to do that. Weren’t you planning to work this winter too?”

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