Page 123 of Better Together

“Yeah.” The word was tentative as she opened her hand to him.

Colt slid his calloused hand against her smoother palm and bowed his head. “Father, this hearing will be a big moment for our family, and we ask that You go with us into the courtroom. We pray that You calm our unease and give us peace. We pray that the judge sees our family for what it is–already perfect and complete. God, we thank You again for bringing us together when we needed each other the most. Keep us strong and united. Thank you, Father. Amen.”

“Amen!” Ben shouted. “Let’s do this.”

Remi’s phone dinged with a message. “It’s Camille. She’s waiting inside near the judge’s chambers.”

Remi stepped out of the truck and reached for Ben’s hand while Colt unstrapped Abby from her seat. They met at the front of the truck, and Colt slipped his hand into hers as they walked. With Ben on one side and Colt and Abby on the other, the link was complete. Touch was one thing that calmed the anxiety. If she was holding on to the things she loved most, no one could take them from her.

They walked up the stone steps and passed through the old wooden doors. The metal detector remained silent as they entered the main lobby. The clink of Remi’s heels echoed off the tile walls, reminding her of the suit jacket and pencil skirt she wore. She could count on one hand the times she’d worn business attire, and Ben’s restlessness in the formal clothing was all too understandable.

They turned a corner and spotted Camille chatting with a middle-aged woman at the end of the hallway. A few other smartly dressed men passed them carrying briefcases and shucks of files.

“There she is!” Abby shouted as she pointed at Camille.

Camille turned, and a smile broadened on her face as she spotted them. She waved them over, turning back to the woman for a few more seconds.

Abby wiggled out of Colt’s arms and ran to meet Camille. The pitter-patter of her little shoes lightened Remi’s heart. The kids were happiness in human form. How did she ever end up with so much pure joy in her life?

Camille hugged both of the kids before standing and straightening her skirt. “Everyone ready?”

“Yes!” Abby and Ben shouted at the same time.

“Shh,” Remi whispered with a finger in front of her lips. “You’re gonna get us kicked out before we can get the final order.”

“This won’t take long. It’s our turn next.” Camille looked at her watch. “You’ll be out in time to get that ice cream well before lunch.”

Remi worked to control her breathing. Was the air getting thicker, or was it just hot in here?

“Colt?”

Camille’s questioning word pulled Remi out of her panic. She looked up at Colt to find him jerking his head back toward them.

“Yeah.” The color had drained from his face, leaving a strained expression.

“You okay?” Camille asked.

Colt turned to look back down the hallway toward the intersection that led to the main exit. When he looked back at them, Remi recognized the fear on his face. “Yeah. I’m fine.” He stretched his neck to one side, then the other. “Just nervous.”

“Don’t be nervous. This is going to be easy,” Camille said.

Remi slipped her arm under his, wrapping her hand around the crook of his elbow. “I’m nervous too, but it’ll all be over soon.”

He slid his hand over hers. “I know. I’m just ready to get out of here.”

“I know what you mean.” They still didn’t know where Tasha was, and despite confirming her identity on the security footage at the feed and seed after she tried to take Abby, she was still on the loose. Newcastle had been her home once, and it might still be, and any connection to Tasha left all of them on high alert.

The doors to the judge’s chambers opened, and a man and woman stepped out. They wore the basic black suits that dotted the hallways of the courthouse, and their conversation was still on the hearing they’d just wrapped up. Behind them, another group of four people stepped out carrying briefcases. One pulled a small, wheeled bag behind her.

A white-haired man wearing a suit the color of sand peeked his head out into the hallway. “Y’all can come on in.”

“Show time,” Ben said as he darted around them to be the first into the courtroom.

Remi, Colt, and Camille stopped to shake the man’s hand, and Camille pointed out where they would sit. A few other people Remi didn’t know entered the outdated courtroom over the next few minutes. The kids sat in old wooden chairs beside her. Ben was drawing on one of Camille’s extra legal pads, and Abby sat right up against him, watching every move he made.

Colt wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and she sank into his embrace. She had so much to lose now. Before the day was over, the legal equivalent of cement would bind her family together.

“I love you,” Colt whispered.

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