Page 81 of Better Together

“Me either,” Remi said after a big swallow. Funny how she and Colt had grown up with nothing but were desperately trying to break the curse.

“Why not?” Ben asked.

Colt ruffled Ben’s hair. “We didn’t have mommies and daddies who loved us. Or even an aunt and uncle. I think that makes all the difference.”

“What about you?” Abby asked, tilting her chin up to Remi.

“Same. I had a mom, but she wasn’t a very good mom. And we moved around a lot, so I don’t even think I had a real home until I came here.”

Ben sat up and turned to Remi. “When did you come here?”

“I think I was twenty-one. The years run together when you pass twenty.”

Abby pushed up and looked at Remi. “How did you not have a home?”

Remi brushed a hand over Abby’s soft hair. “Home isn’t just wherever you’re living. Home is where you feel safe and happy. For me, that’s here.”

“Me too,” Abby said. “I like it here.”

“Good, because I like it here too,” Colt said.

Ben laid back, resting his hands behind his head. “If you could change anything about your life so far, what would it have been?”

“That’s deep stuff, bud,” Colt said with a chuckle. “Where to start?”

The words were out of Remi’s mouth before she had time to think. “I wish I’d had more people who loved me when I was little. I would have been much happier if I’d had a Miss Stella and a Miss Vera in my life.”

“I love them,” Abby said wistfully. “It makes me sad you didn’t have them when you were little.”

Remi cupped Abby’s face and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “It’s all good. I have more good people in my life than I can count now. I’m especially grateful for you three.”

Colt stared up at the stars. “I wish I’d been there more when you were little.”

“What do you mean? You were there,” Ben said.

“I was there when you were born, and I visited. But I’ve only seen a small part of your lives. Now I realize just how many awesome times I missed.”

Remi bit the inside of her cheek and turned away from Colt. He could have wished he’d had a mother who loved him. He could have wished for a dad who hadn’t been a slave to a drink. But she understood his wish. She’d missed more than Colt had, and it didn’t matter that the kids weren’t hers from birth. She still wanted the things she’d missed. In a way, she considered those years to be stolen.

Abby rolled over and hugged up to Colt. “We’ll be here if you want to keep watching us grow up. I’ll be five soon.”

“You think this is what Heaven is like?” Ben asked.

It was a valid question. Remi had no idea what Heaven would be like, but if she got to choose, it would be a little cabin in the foothills of the Big Horn Mountains.

“I think Heaven is too perfect for us to understand,” Colt said. “But I bet it’s a lot like this.”

Remi turned onto her side and wrapped an arm around Abby. “I can’t wait to see it.”

“What? You’d have to die first.” Ben’s high pitch threatened to catch the attention of the animals that roamed the ranch at night.

Colt chuckled. “I’m not afraid of dying, and I imagine your parents weren’t either.”

Ben wiggled before asking, “Why not?”

“They’re with Jesus,” Colt explained. “I know your mom and dad knew Jesus, so they’re in Heaven now.”

“I love Jesus,” Abby said. “What does he look like?”

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