Page 35 of Better Together

Remi huffed. “Isn’t that the question of the day? I guess I am. I’m just here to help Colt.”

But that wasn’t the whole truth. Ben and Abby would be a big part of Remi’s life now too, and she wanted to help them any way she could. If Colt cared about them, she cared too.

There was a quiet knock on the door, and Colt stood just outside in the hallway. He gave a thumbs up, letting her know they were good to go.

“Colt just told me it’s time to leave. I’ll try to call you tomorrow to see how things go.”

“Don’t worry about us. We’ll be fine. Bye.”

Remi hung up the phone and stood. She said a quick prayer that all went well at the meeting and that they could get the kids without any trouble.

Chapter10

Colt

Colt sat in the waiting room at the Department of Human Resources. The caseworker, Janet Brighton, was finishing up another meeting, and the minutes were ticking by slower than a turtle with a broken leg.

Remi rested her hand on his knee. He hadn’t realized he’d been bouncing it until she touched him. “It should be our turn soon. Are you sure you want me to come with you?”

“Positive. What if I say something stupid?”

“Well, I can’t stop you from saying things. I’ll just do damage control when you do.”

Colt groaned and rested his head in his hands. “I’m going to screw up.”

“Colton Walker,” the receptionist called.

He was on his feet in an instant, scrambling for anything to relieve the nervous energy. “That’s me.”

The old lady manning the welcome desk pointed toward a hallway on her right. “Miss Brighton will see you now. Third door on the left.”

Remi walked close beside him down the hallway, and her nearness was both a balm and an itch. She was going to witness his screw-up, and she’d probably run for the hills when he flubbed this up.

Miss Brighton sat behind a black desk in a small office. The walls were off-white, and there wasn’t a single thing hanging on them except what looked like a schedule with lots of numbers.

“Mr. Walker. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Janet.”

Colt extended a hand and tried to look casual. Janet’s hair was tall and seemed to be reinforced by something like rebar. How did it stay up in those big poofs? He’d seen the style in photos from the eighties but never in real life.

“This is Remi Taylor.” He laid a hand on Remi’s back, coaxing her forward. The tense grin on her face was a mask. She was trying to hold in laughter, and Colt said a silent prayer that Remi could restrain her comments about the larger-than-life hairdo until they were out of the building.

“Nice to meet you, Janet,” Remi crooned. Even her voice was altered as she tried not to break.

Janet gestured to the two chairs in front of her desk. “Have a seat. Ben and Abby will be here soon, but we have some things to go over before they arrive. I’m glad your employer was able to send over so many of the documents earlier today. That definitely sped things up.”

Good. Colt wanted to be out of here as fast as possible. The white-on-white walls, ceiling, doors, and carpet were giving him a headache.

Janet tapped a stack of papers together on her desk as she sat. “We got the results of your background check just an hour ago. Everything looks fine.” She turned to Remi with a slight tilt of her head, which didn’t wobble the towering hair even a millimeter. “Are you living in the home with Colt?”

Remi’s eyes widened. “Me? No. I’m just here for support. We don’t live together.”

Janet grinned and turned back to the paperwork. “Oh, okay. Well, let’s go over a few things. Ben and Abby will need to be enrolled in the Blackwater School system as soon as you get there. We have assigned a local caseworker to them who will be your contact until the guardianship is finalized.”

After being bombarded with questions and information for half an hour, Colt’s head was spinning. Hopefully, Remi was remembering all of this too because he was bound to forget half of it.

“One more thing. Brittany has a sister named Tasha White.”

Colt’s blood froze in his veins. Tasha. How could he have forgotten about Tasha? Colt cleared his throat. “Yes, I met her years ago.”

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