It had been several days since Colton snapped at me, and even though we’d made amends, I was still feeling a little off, especially today. I’m not sure what was going on with me, but I was having one of those days where I just wanted to turn out all the lights, crawl into bed, and close out the world around me. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option. I had to finish packing the kids for the weekend with their dad, call my sister and mother back before they both had a conniption, and find something to fix for dinner. All of that wouldn’t have been so bad if the kids weren’t getting on my last nerve. Their toys and backpacks were strewn all over the house, and they weren’t listening to a thing I said. To make matters worse, they were in one of their moods and had been bickering back and forth since we walked through the front door. I’d managed to tune them out while I worked on the laundry, but once I was in the kitchen with them, there was no way I could ignore their incessant arguing—Beatrice made sure of that.

“Momma! Ian took my markers!” she shouted from across the room.

“No, I didn’t.”

“Yes, you did! Those are mine. Now, give them back.”

“They’re not just yours, stupid-head. Mom said these were for us to share,” he argued.

“Mom! He just called me a stupid-head!” When I didn’t respond, she repeated, “Momma! Did you hear me? Ian just called me a stupid-head!”

“Um-hmm.”

Without looking at either one of them, I opened the refrigerator door and took out a gallon of milk. Infuriated by the fact that I hadn’t come to her rescue, Beatrice grumbled, “Daddy wouldn’t let him call me stupid-head.”

As she’d hoped, she now had my attention, but not in the way she’d expected. A look of astonishment crossed her face when I said, “Well, you can tell him all about it when you get to his house tomorrow.”

A disgusted look crossed Ian’s little face as he pouted, “I don’t want to go.”

Over the past couple of years, I’d gotten used to the kids fussing about going to their dad’s. It was just one of the wonderful perks of being divorced. While neither of them was exactly excited about going, they always seemed to have a good time once they got there, so I tried to make the best of it. “It’s his weekend, buddy.”

“So.”

“So, you have to go. He’s supposed to take you to the circus. You know that will be fun.”

He gave me one of his most pitiful looks as he said, “I’d rather go with you and Mr. Colton.”

“Well, that’s not an option, sweetheart. You know we have to follow the calendar, besides your father has been planning this for weeks.”

While Ian was distracted, Beatrice reached across the table and grabbed a handful of the markers. When he realized what she’d done, he huffed, “Give me back my markers, Bee!”

“They’re mine, potato-head.”

“You really are stupid.”

“No, I’m not!”

“Just give them back and stop being a brat,” Ian bellowed. “I need to finish my homework.”

“I have to finish my homework, too.”

“You don’t need the markers for your homework.”

“But I want them, now! They’re mine!”

“Enough, you two! I’m tired of hearing it,” I scolded.

Hoping to end the argument once and for all, I decided to take the markers away from them both, but just as I started towards the table, I noticed Colton standing in the corner. A feeling of dread washed over me, stopping me dead in my tracks. I prayed that by some miracle they would simply stop when they saw him, but their bickering only seemed to escalate as Colton stood there watching them. It wasn’t exactly their fault. They’d become accustomed to his good nature and no longer felt the need to be on their best behavior whenever he was around. My panic was about to hit an all-time high, but then, I noticed the smile on Colton’s face.

Amused by their little display, he walked over to the cabinet and reached inside for the kitchen timer. Without saying a word, he took it over to the table and set it down in front of the kids. A puzzled look crossed her face as Beatrice asked, “What’s that for?”

Colton answered, “This is the peace keeper.”

“The what?” Bee asked.

“The peace keeper. You want to see how it works?”

“Yes!” Ian answered excitedly.

“Okay. We’ll start with you. Once I start the timer, you have thirty seconds to tell your side of the argument, and then, when you’re done, your sister gets her turn. There is just one rule. No name calling during your thirty seconds or you forfeit your time.” As he turned back the knob on the timer, Colton asked, “Are you ready?”

“I think so.”

“Good.” As soon as he pressed the start button, Colton told him, “Go!”

“I have to color this worksheet for Ms. Tate for science class, so I need the markers. These are the markers that Momma got for Bee and me to share, but Bee keeps saying they’re hers. I told her I’d give ‘em back when I was done, but she’s acting all stupid about it.”

Colton immediately stopped the timer. “Times up, buddy. Remember what I said about no name calling.”

“Wait! You never said that!”

“Yes, he did, Ian” I interjected. “He specifically said if you name call, then you’ll forfeit the rest of your time. That means you can’t say anything bad, or you'll lose the rest of the time you have.”

“That’s not fair. How was I supposed to know what forfeit means?” Ian complained.

“Well, now you know for next time,” Colton told him as he turned his attention to Bee. “Are you ready for your turn?”

She nodded as she said, “Yes, sir.”

He turned back the knob once again, and once he’d hit the start button, he told her, “Go!”

“These aren’t the markers that Momma bought us. Those are still back at our apartment.” She grabbed several markers and held them up in the air. “These are mine. I got them out of my art box last night, and Ian took them. He didn’t even ask if he could use them. He just got them. I think he should ask first. That’s what Momma always tells us. We have to ask first.”

The timer ended, and both children waited in complete silence to see what Colton was going to do next. He pulled out a chair and sat down. “Okay. Now, that we’ve heard both sides, we have to come up with some kind of resolution.”

“Huh?” Beatrice asked.

“We have to decide what we should do next.” He turned to look at my son and asked him, “Ian? Do you have any ideas?”

Ian lowered his head and said, “I thought these were the ones that Mom bought.”

Sounding hopeful, Colton asked, “Okay. So, what should we do about that?”

“I should say I’m sorry and ask if I can use her markers to do my homework.”

“Beatrice? Do you think that sounds fair?”

“Yes, sir,” she answered in earnest.

“Okay, then. It looks like we have ourselves a fair deal.” As he stood up, Colton looked over to Ian, he added, “It’s in your hands now.”

Ian quickly apologized, and they both went back to work on their homework. I looked at Colton with absolute wonder and said, “That was amazing.”

“I can’t really take the credit for it. My father used that trick on us when we were kids. It was the only way we could ever settle a fight.”

“I have to say, I’m impressed.”

“Don’t be. The magic won’t last long.” He chuckled. “If they’re anything like my brothers and me, they’ll find something else to fight about soon enough.”

I was just finishing the macaroni and cheese when he peered over my shoulder to see what I was making. “Don’t worry. This is for the kids. I’ll fix you something else in just a minute.”

“What? No mac and cheese?” he asked sounding overly disappointed.

“I didn’t think you’d want fish sticks and macaroni for dinner.”

“Seriously? I used to eat that all the time when I was a kid.” He walked over to the oven and opened the door. “Oh, man. These are my favorite!”

I couldn’t believe my ears. At first, I thought he was joking, but when I saw the look on his face after he opened the oven, I knew he was being completely serious. “I can make you some if you’d like.”

“Are you sure?” he asked enthusiastically. “Is there enough for me to have some, too?”

“Yes, Colton. There’s plenty.” I reached into the freezer and took out the box. “I think I’ll make me some, too.”

“What about ketchup? Do we have ketchup?”

“For fish sticks?”

“Well, yeah. You can’t have fish sticks without ketchup.” He took off his coat and tie and folded them over the back of a chair. Then, he walked over to the fridge and said, “I’ll get it.”

Once I had everything ready, we all gathered around the table and started eating. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched Colton drag his fish stick through a mound of ketchup before shoving into his mouth. He’d barely had time to swallow, before he was reaching for another. When he’d cleared his plate, I asked, “Was it as good as you remember?”

He nodded. “Only one thing that could make it better.”

“Oh, really. What’s that?”

“A trip to the arcade.”

Suddenly, both of my children turned and looked at me with big, pleading eyes. “Can we go? Please, Mom!”

“What about your homework?”

“I finished mine,” Ian answered.

“Me, too,” Beatrice added.

“I have to finish packing your things for your dad’s, but I guess I could do that when we get back.”

“So, what do you think, Mom?” Colton teased. “Can we go?”

When I saw the smile on all their faces, there was no way I could refuse. “Okay, but I get to play Deal or No Deal at least once.”

“You’ve got yourself a … deal.” Colton smirked then stood up and looked over at the kids and added, “You two help me get the plates in the dishwasher, and then we’ll head out.”

It was like they were both under a spell as they both got up and carried their dishes over to the sink without a single complaint. And even more surprising, they helped Colton gather up the rest of the dirty dishes and load them into the dishwasher. I was completely flabbergasted when Ian asked, “Is there anything else we need to do?”

“Why don’t you see if you can help your mom pack the rest of your stuff for your dads while I go change my clothes?”

“Okay.”

The kids followed me upstairs, and as soon as we had everything packed up for their weekend away, we headed back downstairs. The kids were literally chomping at the bit as they waited for Colton to finish getting ready, and to be completely honest, I was, too. Without even trying, he’d swept us off our feet, and we were all eager to see what he was going to do next. Since we were just going to the arcade, I decided to wear a pair of jeans and one of my favorite vintage t-shirts, but the longer I stood there, the more I started to doubt my choice of attire. Knowing I didn’t have time to change, I took a quick glance in the hallway mirror and toyed nervously with my hair and makeup. When I heard Colton’s footsteps coming down the stairs, I turned and silently gasped when I caught sight of him.

He’d always looked devastatingly handsome in his suits, but in his worn-out jeans and a black, fitted t-shirt, he was just about the sexiest man I’d ever seen. His blue eyes practically sparkled as they locked on mine, and when his lips curled into a smile, I thought my knees would give out on me. As his foot hit the last step, he asked, “You ready?”

“Yes.” I nodded, and when he started to walk towards me, I got a good glimpse of his tattoo. With most of his time spent wearing a suit jacket and a dress shirt and tie, it was rarely seen, but I’d always known it was there. We all did, but no one ever mentioned it. Trying my best not to stare, I turned my attention to the kids. “Come on, you two. Let’s go.”

“Do you have money for tokens?” Ian asked.

Before I could answer, Colton said, “You bet we do.”

“Awesome!” he shouted as he bolted out the door.

As we followed behind him, I turned to Colton and asked, “Are you sure you’re up for this?”

“Absolutely.”

With a playful smile, he reached for me, and butterflies danced in my stomach as he took a hold of my hand and playfully tugged me towards his car. I watched with wonder as he opened the car door and waited for me to get settled inside. Before he started the engine, he looked behind him, making sure the kids were safely buckled into the booster seats, and then, we were on our way to the arcade.

As soon as we arrived, Colton gave the kids their tokens, and we spent the next hour following them around as they played one game after the next. Once we got to the foosball game, the kids quickly became obsessed. Seeing that the kids were distracted, Colton turned to me and said, “Your turn.”

“What?”

He cocked his head towards the Deal or No Deal game next to us and repeated, “It’s your turn.”

“That’s okay. I don’t have to play.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. We made a deal.” And like he’d done several times throughout the night, he placed the palm of his hand on the small of my back and led me over to the game. “Let’s see what you got.”

After he put the tokens in the slot, I asked, “So, which case do we choose?”

“If you want to go low, I’ve always been partial to the number seven, but if you want to go higher, I’d say nineteen.”

“I think seven sounds good,” I told him. While the kids continued to play beside us, Colton and I went through each round with him insisting that I press “No Deal” every time the announcer told us the money amount that we would win. We continued until it was time to open the last case, and we had a chance to win either two hundred thousand dollars or only one hundred. When the time came to press the button for the last time, I turned to Colton and asked, “So, what’s it going to be? Deal or No Deal?”

“Do you really have to ask?” He chuckled. “No Deal!”

Once I hit the button, the pretty girl opened the case, and sure enough, we’d won the grand prize. When tickets started rolling out of the side of the game, Ian cheered, “Look! Momma won!”

The tickets continued to stream out and onto the floor while the kids frantically chased after them. Once we had them all picked up, we took them over to the counter to let the kids pick out their prizes. Colton and I stood back and watched as they considered all of their options, and it was clear from their excited expressions that they’d had a great time. I looked over at Colton, and to see the smile on his face brought a warmth to my heart knowing that he had enjoyed himself, too. It had been a wonderful night, and I owed it all to him. “Thank you for all of this. The kids had such a great time, and I did, too.”

“I had a pretty great time myself. I wish we could’ve stayed longer.”

He’d meant what he said. I could hear it in his voice, and then it hit me. “Oh, wait! You didn’t get your turn to play Missile Command.”

“No. I’m good. I had my fun playing with you. I’ll get to Missile Command the next time we come.” I didn’t want to read too much into his response, but it was impossible not to feel a little hopeful when he mentioned us doing this again. I enjoyed my night with him, and it made me realize just how much I’d wanted someone to share my life with. While I knew they had their father, I’d always wanted the kids to have a strong male figure in their lives, someone they could look up to and respect, and Colton proved once again that he was the kind of man who could fit that bill, especially when he said things like, “Besides … I’d hate to embarrass you with my mad skills.”

“Um-hmm. We’ll have to see about that.”

When we got home, Colton went to his study while I took the kids upstairs to get them ready for bed. After a quick bath, I helped them into their pajamas and read them a short story before tucking them in. Once I was certain they were settled, I started towards my room to take a shower, but stopped when I heard my cell phone ringing. I rushed downstairs to get it out of my purse and groaned when I saw that it was Richard calling.

Reluctantly, I answered, “Hello, Richard.”

“Hey, Lang. How’s married life treating you?”

In true Richard form, he tried to start off the conversation with a light-hearted tone, but I’d learned from experience that he only did that when he wanted something. “Things are going great, actually. Was there something that you needed?”

He paused for a moment, then said, “I know it’s short notice, but I need to swap weekends with you. I’ve got a lot of stuff going on at work, and I just can’t swing it this weekend.”

It wasn’t the first time Richard had asked to change weekends. In fact, he did it all the time. Normally, I would consider working something out with him, but after he’d called me an unfit parent, I was feeling less accommodating. “I don’t think so. What about taking the kids to the circus? They were really looking forward to it.”

“We’ll have to do it some other time. I’m doing the best I can.”

“And I’m doing the best I can, too, Richard,” I huffed. It was all I could do to keep myself from losing it all together. This man had put me through hell over the past few weeks, making me worry night and day about the possibility of losing my precious children, and he couldn’t even keep his word about one damn weekend. The whole thing was simply absurd. Knowing that our entire custody battle had little to do with Richard and everything to do with his new bride, I asked, “What about Jody? What does she think about you swapping weekends?”

“She isn’t exactly thrilled, but like I said, I don’t have a choice.”

“Seriously? How do you and Jody expect to get the kids full-time when you can’t even commit to them on the weekends you’re supposed to have them?” I asked sarcastically.

Apparently, I was talking louder than I’d realized and had drawn Colton’s attention. He’d come out of his study and was standing near the doorway with his eyebrows furrowed. Not knowing what else to do, I gave him a disgusted shrug as I listened to Richard say, “Don’t pull that shit with me, Langley. You know I want to see my kids. I just can’t do it this weekend,” he growled.

Damn. I hated it when he called Ian and Bee “my kids,” like they were one of his possessions and not his flesh and blood. I didn’t try to hide my anger when I replied, “Well, you need to figure something out, because you can’t keep yanking your kids around like this.”

“I’m just asking you to swap fucking weekends, Langley. It’s not that big of a deal. You and I both know they won’t care.”

Colton could see that I was becoming frustrated, so he walked over to me, and after quickly jotting something down on a piece of paper, he slid it over to me. Without hesitation, I read what he’d written to Richard. “Our parenting plan states that this is your weekend. If you want to see the kids, you will need to make arrangements to do so or you relinquish this weekend’s visitation. It’s in the papers, Richard. You might want to actually read them.”

“Fine. I’ll pick them up from school tomorrow, but I will be bringing them back early on Sunday.”

“That will be perfectly fine. I hope you all have a great visit.”

As I hung up the phone, I turned to Colton and smiled. “That was amazing. That was exactly the right thing to say!”

“You would’ve gotten there on your own. I just gave you a little push.”

“You are really something, Colton Michaels.”

With a sexy smirk, he replied, “You haven’t seen anything yet.”

Damn. I had no idea what he meant, but I sure was looking forward to finding out.