Page 82 of Better Together

Colt turned his head to look at Remi, and she shrugged. “Don’t look at me. I have no idea.”

“I don’t think anybody knows,” Colt added.

“But Mommy and Daddy know now,” Abby said.

“Yep. I think you’re right.” Colt yawned. “I think it’s time for bed.”

“No! I wanna sleep out here,” Ben whined.

“Not tonight. Wait till it gets warmer. I promise to take you out on a trail ride in the summer.”

Ben shot up, eyes wide enough to reflect the moonlight. “Really?”

“Really, really. Now, go brush your teeth. We’re gonna fold up the blankets, and we’ll meet you in the bedroom.”

Ben ran off to do as he’d been told, but Abby snuggled deeper into Colt’s side. “I like it right here. I think I’ll just sleep here.”

Colt wrapped his arms around her and cradled her to his chest. “Not today.”

She stretched in his arms before he set her on her feet just inside the door. “I’ll be checking teeth,” Colt said as she ran to the bathroom.

Remi did some stretching of her own as she got to her feet. “I think we made it too comfy out here.”

“Tell me about it. If Ben didn’t have school in the morning and the wolves weren’t out, I’d say we do the whole sleeping outside thing.”

Remi picked up the first blanket, and Colt grabbed the other end. She’d never been fond of sleeping in a bed with someone else, but Abby had climbed in beside her a number of times now, and she hadn’t minded. In fact, she slept better with Abby beside her.

Lying this close to Colt had one question knocking on the recesses of Remi’s mind.

What would it be like to sleep next to him?

She folded the blankets and gathered the pillows. She knew what it would be like. Safety. Peace.

Home.

Good grief. Why did Colt have to be so good and so tempting?

She chuckled, and Colt looked up with a smile. “What?”

“Nothing.” She wasn’t about to tell him that most women had a weakness for bad boys, but she had fallen for the good guy, and it was throwing her world into a tailspin.

The words were on the tip of her tongue.You can sleep in the bed.It would be easy to speak the words, but they meant so much that the action itself was terrifying. She could do it, but that was a step in their relationship that would change things forever.

So would opening up to him about the things she’d done. The war raging inside her was at an impasse. She wanted to show him she trusted him, but she couldn’t expect the street to go both ways until she laid it all on the line for him.

“Colt! Remi! We’re ready!” Abby yelled from inside.

Colt picked up the pillows. “Her majesty beckons.”

Remi walked into the kids’ room and put her hands on her hips. “Teeth brushed?”

“Yes,” the kids said in unison.

“Whose turn is it?”

“Mine,” Abby said, sitting up in bed. “I want ‘Froggy Went a Courtin’.’”

Colt walked in and sat on the end of Ben’s bed. “Only if it’s a duet.”

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