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She pressed her tiny hands to his cheeks and held him immovable. Her cheeks were pink, and her eyes were dark like her dad’s. A punch hit Colt square in the gut. He’d lost his brother, but he couldn’t lose anyone else.

Abby kissed his nose and smiled. “I love you.”

Colt wrapped her up and threw her over his shoulder. “I love you too.”

She screamed and laughed as Colt walked out of the kitchen. Remi stood in the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest. She hadn’t lost the haunted look yet.

He set Abby on her feet, and she darted into the living room. Leaning close to Remi, he rubbed a hand up and down her arm. “Hey, she’s okay.”

“I know.”

“It doesn’t sound like it. She’s really okay.”

Remi covered her face. “I know, but I can’t stop thinking about what could have happened.”

Colt wrapped her up, and she buried her face in his chest. “I get it. I was scared too.”

She slung her hands around, shaking them out. “I need to do something.”

“You want to finish cooking the spaghetti?”

Peeking around him, she looked around the kitchen. “Finish? Did you start?”

“Um, no. I was getting there, but there isn’t any actual fire yet.”

Remi patted his chest and stepped into the kitchen. “I’ll take care of it.”

Colt slapped a hand on Ben’s shoulder. “Go play. I’m gonna help Remi cook dinner.”

Ben didn’t waste a second before running into the living room.

Colt leaned against the counter beside the stove where Remi worked. The tension in her shoulders and the wrinkle between her brows brought back that helpless feeling from earlier. “What do you need?”

She looked up at him, then back at the meat browning in the pan. “I need to be close. To you, to the kids. I just want to hang out here together tonight.”

“I figured. That’s why I didn’t suggest going to the dining hall tonight.” He stepped up behind her and massaged the tight muscles in her shoulders, pressing his thumbs over her shoulder blades and back. “Why don’t we take some blankets and pillows out on the porch and look at the stars tonight? It’s supposed to be a clear sky.”

“It’s freezing.”

“I’ll set up a heater. We’ll snuggle up and keep warm.”

Remi nodded, then turned around and hugged his neck. Pressing her face into the crook of his shoulder, her soft sobs jerked against him.

Wrapping his arms around her, he whispered softly in her ear. “It’s okay. Let it out.”

She cried for a few more minutes before wiping her face on the back of her sleeve. “If she’d fallen–”

“Don’t say it. I know.”

Brushing at her eyes, she sniffed and turned back to the stove. “Great. Now the meat is burnt.”

“I don’t think anyone will care.”

Remi chuckled and glanced at him over her shoulder. “You’re probably right. Those kids will eat anything.”

He stepped up behind her and braced his hands on the counter on both sides of her. “So, stargazing? Cuddling?” If he leaned down one more inch, he could brush his lips against her hair.

She turned and looked up at him and nodded before her gaze drifted down to his mouth, then his chest, then jumped back to the meat burning on the stove. “That sounds good.”