Page 37 of Colt
“Teaching them. Being patient.” I moved into the kitchen, leaning against the counter. “I never had anyone to help with their homework before. It’s always just been me.”
Colt’s face went dark for a second—anger first, then something quieter underneath. He kept his voice neutral. “Kids learn better when you meet them where they are. Luca is smart—he just needed to see the problem differently. And Knox…” He smiled. “Knox just needs someone to make it fun.”
“You figured that out quick.”
“I’ve been watching them.” He set the papers in a neat pile. “Paying attention. Learning who they are.” He met my eyes. “They’re amazing, Lilac. You did that. You raised two incredible boys.”
I didn’t know what to say. Compliments about my parenting were rare. Mostly I just felt like I was barely keeping my head above water.
“It wasn’t easy,” I managed.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help.” He stood, and for a moment we were close—close enough that I could smell his soap, see the green of his eyes. “But I’m here now. For homework, scraped knees, and everything else. If you’ll let me.”
From the living room, Knox shouted something about the TV remote, and Luca shouted back. Normal sibling chaos. The kindof noise I’d been the only parent listening to since they were born. Until now.
“I am letting you,” I said. “Little by little.”
“That’s all I’m asking for.” Colt stepped back, giving me space. “Bit by bit works for me.”
He headed toward the living room to referee whatever dispute had erupted, and I stood in the kitchen wondering why I’d started to believe him even though I still didn’t remember anything about our past.
?
I didn’t hear my phone during the staff meeting. The boys had been playing games on it that morning and turned the volume down—something I hadn’t noticed until I picked it up afterward and saw the screen.
Three missed calls from the school.
I was already calling back when my phone buzzed again. This time with a text from Betty.
The school called. Luca was in a fight. I’m at the doctor, can’t get there. Called Colt. Hope that’s ok.
I stared at the message, my heart racing. Luca was in a fight? Betty was unavailable? And Colt… Colt was going to pick up my son from the principal’s office?
Part of me wanted to leave immediately. But the staff meeting had just ended and the others had gone to lunch so I was the only one here. Someone had to stay for the next thirty minutes until they got back. And Betty was at the doctor for something she hadn’t mentioned, which worried me in its own right.
Colt would have to handle it.
I texted back:It’s ok. Hope everything is ok with you. We’ll talk later.
Then I stood at the desk and tried not to think about my six-year-old in a fight serious enough to get a call from the school, or his daddy—the man he was still learning to trust—stepping into a parenting role for the first time.
Chapter 15
?
— Colt —
Dutch had texted at eight in the morning:New wing’s done. Come see it before the rest of these assholes get here.
I’d been up anyway. I was always up earlier than everyone other than Glitch, who never seemed to sleep.
The addition looked different finished. No more bare framing, no more construction dust in the air. Dutch walked me through it himself, which wasn’t something he did casually. Three thousand square feet, exactly what he’d planned. Conference rooms. A proper operations office. Storage that didn’t involve hiding things under floorboards. And at the end of the corridor, the main office—two desks, two chairs, a window overlooking the compound. Built for both of them. Next to it, smaller, a second room with Dutch’s name on it in everything but the signage.
“We share the big one,” Dutch said, as if this was news but I’d known his plan since he had the plans drawn up. “But when she needs the space to herself. Client calls, presentations, whatever. I clear out.”
I looked at him.
“What?” He was already moving on down the hall.
