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Colt carried the bags to the kitchen where they realized the small table was covered in papers and toys.

Remi ushered Colt toward the bar. “Let’s tackle that after dinner.” The defeat in Colt’s shoulders was getting worse, and she was running out of ways to protect him from the mountain of responsibilities that had just landed in his lap.

Locating a stack of paper plates, Remi filled their plates while Colt grabbed drinks. One scoop of Mongolian chicken and one scoop of sweet and sour chicken for her. Three large scoops of Mongolian chicken and an egg roll for Colt.

When he took his seat at the bar, he launched into the blessing. “Thank You for the food, Lord. And please help me to know what to do. Tonight with the kids and everything else. Amen.”

Remi rubbed a hand over his broad back. She loved that Colt spoke his mind and didn’t even hide his fears from the Lord. She never had to wonder what he was thinking or feeling because he told her. There weren’t any smoke and mirrors where Colt was concerned.

Colt stabbed a few pieces of chicken with a fork and looked around the room. “Mark and I used to eat a lot of Chinese food.”

Remi mumbled around a mouthful of food. She’d been hungry too, and she might have succumbed to a hangry temper if they’d waited any longer. “Hm?”

“We ordered Chinese delivery a lot when Dad was too drunk to make us anything to eat.”

Remi swallowed the lump of half-chewed food and wanted to hurl. Her mom hadn’t cared much about her, but at least she’d been fed. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Mark helped one of our neighbors mow her grass in the summer, and she gave him a few bucks. It was enough to get us by. Dad never ate. I think he drank his calories.”

Colt huffed and dug into the food. After a few silent minutes, Colt’s plate was clean, and he pushed it away.

Remi was still stuffing her face. “You eat so fast. I can’t keep up.”

Colt chuckled. “I had an older brother. If I didn’t eat fast, he would steal it.”

Remi coughed and tried to keep the food in her mouth from spewing out. She covered her mouth and grabbed for a paper towel. “Are you serious?”

“Yep. Especially when we got older.”

Remi wiped her mouth and hands on the towel and looked at Colt. The things they’d had to endure growing up weren’t so different. “Are you okay?” she asked softly.

He rested his head in his hands and let out a shaky breath. Colt was hurting, and Remi had never cared so much about another person’s pain as she did right now.

She pushed her plate away and rested her hands in her lap. “I lost someone once.”

Colt raised his head and looked at her with bloodshot eyes. “Who?”

“My cousin, Kylie.” It had been years since she’d said the name out loud, and the memory brought with it a fresh stab of regret. “We were inseparable when we were kids. Her mom was better to us than mine was, so we spent a lot of time at her place.” Remi shrugged and picked at her fingernail. “We were best friends.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know. She ran away when we were young. Granted, I ran away too, but she stayed gone. I haven’t seen her since. I looked for her, but I’ve been afraid to keep looking.” Remi pinched her cuticle until the skin broke and a slit of red appeared underneath her nail. “I’m afraid she’s dead,” she whispered.

Colt stood, pushing the stool back and reaching for Remi’s hand. “Stop.”

She let herself be pulled into his embrace. The warmth of his chest and the comfort of the arms around her was a haven she’d never known. “Stop what?”

“Picking at your nails,” Colt whispered.

Remi wanted to laugh. She wanted to cry and scream and throw her fists in the air. But more than that, she wanted Colt. Her heart wanted to give in, but her head was running away screaming and terrified of what could be between them. Well, what could have been between them if Remi wasn’t a scaredy cat and Colt didn’t have a family to think about now.

He wouldn’t be dating now. He would be caring for his niece and nephew, and Remi had no doubts he would be great for those kids.

Now, he would finally give up on her, and it would be the best decision he ever made. He’d be safe from the fire she brought with her–the wreckage that was catastrophic and left nothing standing.

She’d done the right thing all those years ago when she pushed him away. He needed someone better. Someone without another addictive gene he could pass on to his kids. Someone who understood love and peace and home.

She didn’t know about any of those things except what she received from the Lord. But the Lord wasn’t going to hurt her. People hurt her, and she’d done a bang-up job of throwing that anger right back at them.