Page 122 of Better Together

Colt sucked in a breath through his teeth. “I may have used them all.”

Remi stopped rummaging to glare at him. “And you didn’t replace them? You’re officially fired.”

“Can I take this jacket thing off?” Ben whined.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Remi took a deep breath. “Can we just make it through this hearing? This is important, guys.” She turned to the kids in the back seat. “Eyes on the prize. Today’s the big day.”

“Apopshun!” Abby shouted.

“Adoption,” Colt said slowly.

Remi bit her lips as she turned her attention to the first aid kit. The whole thing was a mess with empty bandage wrappers and ointment with the lid half screwed on.

Ben tugged at the lapels of his jacket. “How long until I can take this off?”

“I have no idea how long this will take.” Colt pointed across the street. “Focus on the ice cream waiting for you when this is over.”

When this is over. How could they blame the kids for being antsy? Remi was wishing the hours away herself. But the end of the hearing was only the beginning. If the judge approved the adoption, they’d walk out of the courthouse as an official family.

“Found it.” Remi held up the bandages.

Abby tugged off her patent leather shoes and extended her foot to Remi between the seats. Remi pulled down the back of the frilly sock and secured the bandage to Abby’s tiny heel. As soon as she pulled the sock back up, Colt grabbed Abby’s ankle and tickled the bottom of her foot.

“Ahh!” Abby screamed, laughing loud enough that two men in suits walking in front of the parked truck stared as they passed.

“Other foot,” Remi said. She focused on the task, trying her best to stop the shaking in her hands.

Camille was pretty positive the judge would grant the adoption. Everything had gone smoothly over the last few months, barring Tasha’s intervention, but they hadn’t heard a word about her since the incident at Grady’s Feed and Seed.

No news was good news, except when a woman who wanted to hurt your kids was on the loose. Remi lived in a constant state of anxiety, looking twice and three times. Checking locks she’d already checked. Watching over the kids like a hawk. The vigilance was exhausting, but the consequences of a lapse in awareness was unacceptable.

Colt had changed too, and there wasn’t much either of them could do about it. The fear of losing the kids hung over them like a cloud. Thankfully, the kids had recovered and seemed as happy as ever.

The sheriff’s department had gathered a little bit of information from the man who’d worked with Tasha. He’d confirmed her identity and explained their ridiculous plan to take the kids, drop them off somewhere nearby, and report Colt and Remi for negligence. In their hair-brained scheme, they thought kidnapping kids would be overlooked as misplacing children as if the two were interchangeable.

Remi pressed the second bandage to Abby’s heel. “Done. We’ll change into comfy shoes as soon as we get back to the hotel.”

Mark and Brittany’s house had sold a few weeks ago, and while Remi had feared the kids would miss staying at their house on the trip to Newcastle, the excitement of staying in a hotel overshadowed any sadness.

Ben leaned forward, grabbing onto the back of Remi’s seat. “Can we go to the gym when we get back to the hotel?”

Remi lifted her brows and looked at Colt. “That’s all you.”

“Oh, come on. You don’t want to hit the weights?” Colt practically laughed behind the words.

“Are you saying I need to work out?” Remi glanced at Ben in the back seat and shot him a wink.

“No, you’re perfect. But I wouldn’t mind seeing you running on a treadmill like a Baywatch lifeguard.” Colt narrowed his eyes, almost challenging her.

And that intense stare? She might be convinced to do crazy things if he kept looking at her like that. “Nice try, but if you see me running, you better start running too.”

“Why?” Abby asked.

“Because someone is probably chasing me.” Remi locked up the first aid kit and shoved it back into the glove compartment. “Everyone ready to do this?”

Colt’s large hand rested gently on her arm. “Let’s say a prayer first.”

Remi was all for prayer–with reason and without–but the mention evoked a spark of fear. They’d been praying for months about this. Did they need extra prayers? Was this hearing not a shoo-in like she’d expected?

---