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“You’re kidding.” A staring contest. It had been almost a week since they’d faced off. They’d been distracted by the changes going on in their life and had forgotten the games that used to take up their time.

The seconds passed, but Colt didn’t break. Was he getting better at this, or was she getting worse? The warmth of his hand in hers anchored her attention to the spot where they connected.

Colt took a small step toward her, and heat spread up her neck. Staring into his eyes, she was comforted by his nearness, but panic boiled in the back of her mind. Would he kiss her?

The second the thought sprang to her mind, Colt stepped back, breaking the stare and ending the contest. “Sleep tight, princess.”

What was happening? She’d wanted him to break the stare, hadn’t she? She’d drawn the lines, and he had respected them.

Did she want him to cross those lines?

Colt wouldn’t do that. He would patiently wait for her signal, and she loved him for that.

Love. The mere thought had her head spinning. She wasn’t sure what it meant. The whole idea was obscure and unattainable. A trophy on a pedestal.

If things were going to change between them, she would have to make the move. Was that what she wanted? A part of her wanted Colt to bulldoze over her insecurities and promise to love her no matter how messed up and broken she was. Another part of her pushed those thoughts back into a cage. They were dangerous and shouldn’t be trusted.

“Good night,” she whispered as she turned and headed toward the bedroom–the one where she would sleep alone.

Chapter18

Colt

Colt stepped up onto the front porch and toed off his boots. A loud thump sounded from inside the cabin, and he stopped to listen for a few seconds. Laughter. Apparently, everything was fine. He pulled off his hat and walked in.

Abby darted across the living room, screaming at the top of her lungs and wearing nothing but a pair of pink sparkly panties and a hooded towel on her head. Remi chased her with her arms out, reaching for the running kid. Ben climbed onto the back of the couch and jumped off, blazing a hot trail toward the kitchen. He was also only half-clothed, wearing a long-sleeve pajama shirt and Spiderman briefs.

Colt paused in the doorway. After the day he’d had chasing a runaway horse on the Little Canyon Trail, wrangling kids sounded like the straw that would break the camel’s back. After a moment of contemplation, he turned and headed back out the door.

“Don’t you dare! Don’t you dare leave me!” Remi shouted.

Colt bit his lips to hide the grin. Oh, how he’d wanted to hear those words from her. He just never expected it to be like this.

“Um, I forgot my hat.”

“Colt Walker, get back in here!”

Lifting the hat, he hung it on the hook by the door. “Found it.”

Remi pointed to Ben as the kid twirled his pajama pants over his head. “Grab that one.”

Colt locked his target on Ben who darted toward his bedroom. A few quick steps had Ben in his grasp. Colt tossed his nephew over his shoulder. Screams pierced his ears, no doubt catching the attention of every nocturnal animal within half a mile of the cabin.

Remi grabbed Abby and shoved a nightgown over her head. “You can’t run around naked all the time.”

“Why not?” Abby asked, laughing.

“Because nakedness is frowned upon in society.”

“What’s society?”

Remi looked to Colt who hefted Ben higher onto his shoulder. “Sorry, I have a kid to toss into bed.” Why did kids have to ask questions that he didn’t have an answer for? That was probably the murkiest part of parenting he’d come across so far.

Colt flipped Ben onto his bed and tickled his neck. “It’s bedtime, Ben. Stop playing around.”

Ben laughed and squirmed. “I’m not doing it. You are!”

“Tickle me!” Abby shouted as she dove onto the bed, spreading her arms for tickles.