Page 111 of Better Together

“Where have you been, young lady?” Brett shouted and pointed a finger at Remi. “Don’t look at me in that tone of voice.”

Ignoring Brett’s attempt to diffuse the tension, Remi let her hand fall from the doorknob and took one step into the dining hall. Colt moved to meet her, but it wasn’t the furious rush he wanted. He closed the distance between them in slow, careful steps, afraid she’d run away like a scared animal again.

When he stopped in front of her, she glanced up at him before looking back at the floor. She bit the side of her bottom lip and pulled his shirt tighter around her.

The hurt of her retreat. The sting of her rejection. The anger of her dismissal. Every bit of it hit hard and all at once.

But the tears in her eyes said there was something he didn’t understand, and he wouldn’t find out if he lashed out at her.

“I looked everywhere for you,” he whispered.

She looked up at him again and let out a deep exhale. “Can we talk?”

Colt reached for her hand, desperate for a link and an anchor. He brushed the pad of his thumb over her soft skin and nodded. “I thought you’d never ask.”

Chapter31

Remi

Remi stalked into the silent cabin, walked straight to the far wall, and turned around to pace the length again. The ride to the cabin had been quiet, but everything bubbled and boiled beneath the surface, threatening to erupt like a destructive and messy volcano.

She stopped in front of Colt, handed him the keys to his truck, and turned to pace again. He was waiting. She had to say something. Why were the words building and clogging in her throat?

Colt tossed the keys onto a table beside the couch and sat down. With his elbows propped on his knees, he rested his forehead in his hands.

Okay, so he wasn’t going to rush her. Good, because she hadn’t figured out where to start. She moved her pacing to the living room and tracked back and forth in front of the fireplace.

Colt didn’t move. Why wasn’t he panicking like she was?

Camille’s words came back to her.

We’ve all been through trauma.

We all handle things differently.

Remi stopped and looked at Colt. He raised his head, and for the first time, she got a look at the pain he was hiding. The happiness she’d known and loved for so many years was gone, replaced by a haunted stranger. And she’d been the cause of at least a part of the hurt.

She opened her mouth to speak, but the words didn’t come out. She tried a second time, and the attempt wasn’t much better.

“I…I know you didn’t do it.” The heaviness behind her eyes seeped out, and her chin quivered. “I know you didn’t do what she said you did.”

Colt looked down, only marginally relieved by her words. The wound ran deeper than she’d expected.

She twisted her ring around her finger. “I know you wouldn’t hurt anyone. Not on purpose. You’re not capable of hurting a spider, much less a person.”

He lifted his head again and glanced up at her before turning his attention to the cold fireplace. “I didn’t do any of it. I didn’t have a relationship with her. I didn’t text her. I didn’t hurt her. I most definitely didn’t call her princess.”

Remi nodded, sure that he was telling the truth. “I believe you. And I’m so sorry I didn’t stay and tell you that from the start.”

“I don’t know how she knows what I call you, but I swear I never said it to her or anyone else.”

Remi sucked in a shaky breath, fighting with everything she had not to turn into a blubbering, sobbing idiot at his feet. She sat beside him, leaving a safe distance between them, and directed her thoughts toward the things she needed to say.

“I don’t trust a lot of people. And that’s silly because I’m the one who shouldn’t be trusted.”

Colt turned to look at her. “I’ve always trusted you.”

“I know. That was stupid on your part.”

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