Page 53 of One Little Kiss

“Tsk. Tsk. Andy. You wait ’til I tell yer mama,” GG scolds.

“I’m just doin my job, GG.” I swear to God all I heard was aww, shucks come out of this man’s mouth. GG can literally bring grown men to their knees.

“Well, you git to it then. My boys got work to do so that little boy can sleep in his new bed tonight.”

“Yes, ma’am. Wendalyn? May I proceed?”

“It’s Winnie. Um …” Her teeth sink into her bottom lip, and I can feel her fear. Someday she’ll understand we all have her back.

“We won’t let anything happen to either of you, Win.”

If looks could kill, I’d be a dead man. I know I just forced her hand about moving in with me, but I have faith. This will be good for us all.

* * *

There isn’t much I hate more than the silent treatment. The silent treatment from Winnie, though? Hot damn, that’s enough to make me glitter bomb my own house just to get a reaction out of her.

By the grace of God, the home inspection was painless and over relatively quickly. Sheriff Anderson didn’t understand Weston’s headphones, but it was none of his business as far as I was concerned, and thankfully, he let it go.

Winnie has paced, huffed, cursed, paced, slammed a door and then quickly apologized to the wall, and paced again. None of it has been in my direction, but all of it is because of me. I showed her where to put her stuff, and when I tried to help, she smacked my hand away like I was caught in the cookie jar.

Now she’s standing outside of Weston’s room. Her bottom lip is caught between her teeth again and she’s worrying that wrist of hers. I hate when she does that most of all. Her skin is red and irritated, like she has no idea how rough she is on herself.

I’m standing at the end of the hall, but I can’t watch the pain and indecision any longer. I’m in front of her in four long strides.

“Tell me what’s wrong.” I have no idea why I keep barking orders at her. I’m not this dominating asshole, but something came over me when I saw her in the hospital the other night, and for the life of me, I haven’t been able to control it since.

Her jaw sets tight, and her nostrils flare in anger. Her body is wound so tight, I almost expect her to stomp her foot just to release some of the tension. Instead, she speaks through clenched teeth. “Everything, Colton. Everything is wrong. We don’t belong here. It’s going to end up hurting Weston in the end, and you gave me no choice in any of it.”

“We have a lot of ground to cover. But I mean here.” I point to Weston’s room. “What about this, Weston’s room specifically, is bothering you?”

Her body deflates as she drops her gaze, like the weight of life is literally dragging her to the floor.

“Baby, please let me help.”

“Don’t baby me. Just don’t. You don’t know me or how hard you’re making my life.”

“We’ll talk about all of this as soon as Wes is asleep. But please, help me break things down and I’ll fix them one at a time. What about his room is bothering you?”

“He’s never had his own room before,” she whispers so softly I almost miss it.

Bending my knees so we’re eye to eye, I wait for her to continue.

“Wh-What if he needs me? What if he wakes up in the middle of the night and can’t calm himself down? I’ve always been within reach. If not me, then my mom or Beth. I-I’m already failing him in so many ways. I don’t want this to be another.”

Winnie’s lip quivers until she juts out her chin, stubbornly sucking in tears I want to lick away.

“Can I show you something?”

She doesn’t even glance up, but she nods, and I open Weston’s door. Taking her hand to keep it from rubbing her wrist raw, I drag her into the room.

“East installed the best baby monitors he could find. He has the same one at his house for his twins. You’ll be able to see and hear him from your phone. There’s also a monitor in the kitchen and your bedroom. You can even check on him from work if you want to. My brother, Ash, set it up so it can’t be hacked. It’s all fully secure. And, CC?”

Her hand trembles in mine, but she glances up, and I want nothing more than to rid the fear from her eyes.

“He slept in here last night, even before all the train stuff, and he did great. Beth and I left the door open. We put on the sounds of the ocean on my phone, and I slept in the hall, right outside of his door, just in case. But if you’re more comfortable in here, we can get another bed tomorrow.”

She shakes her head no, but the tears fall free. “I usually sleep with him or on a blowup bed next to him.”