When Colby walks back into the house her smile is too plastered on to be real so I know there’s an issue, but I make sure not to ask about it in front of the boys. The tightness in her shoulders makes me want to comfort her. I’ve never done well around women who were suffering. If I can’t fix it—whatever “it” may be—I struggle. I step close behind her and knead her shoulders in an attempt to calm her. When her body relaxes under my ministrations, I continue for a minute or two longer.

“You about ready to go?” I ask quietly, unsure of what the best course of action is here.

“Yeah, I’m staying with the boys tonight and I need to run by my house to grab some clothes, if you don’t mind.” I turn her to face me while the boys chat animatedly with the other kids and eat their cookies.

“You okay?” I ask quietly and softly brush a stray lock of hair away from her face.

“Yeah. Just worried. I don’t want the boys to hear any of it though.”

“Okay, we can talk later. Let’s round them up and take off.”

* * *

A couple of hours later, I’m finishing the dishes that were left in the sink at her sister’s house when she comes down from upstairs where she was bathing the boys and getting them into their pajamas. The bulk of her hair is pulled back in a ponytail but little strands are wild and free around her face and her eyes show a level of tired I’m familiar with but haven’t experienced in a long time. It’s the kind of tired that reflects physical exhaustion and emotional worry. The kind that cuts to the soul and leaves you bleeding out life energy you didn’t even know you had.

“The boys in bed?” I ask, thinking it seems a little early for that but not knowing their schedule.

“No, they’ve got the blocks out and are building a barn like the one at Daisy Rivers Ranch. That’s all they talked about through bath time. I can’t thank you enough for taking us there today. They haven’t once asked for their parents so I know it worked in preoccupying them.”

I dry my hands on a dish towel and toss it to the side as I make my way over to her. When I get close enough to see the building tears along her eyelids, I open my arms and let her move into them and rest her head on my chest. Placing a kiss on the top of her hair I note the faint smell of her hair products and the lingering scent of the ranch. A place within me that’s been cold for so long warms. I kiss her hair once more and say a quiet prayer of thanks for leaving this woman outside the cemetery where I could find her.

“What if she’s not okay?” Colby whispers almost too low for me to hear.

I lean back enough to make eye contact but keep her secure in my arms. “She’s going to be okay. Have faith. You can help with the kids so she can focus on healing and Jeff can focus on her. I’ll take care of you so you can care for them. No matter what, you already know you’re strong enough to face this and I’ve got your back the whole way.”

“What did I do to deserve you?”

“You didn’t have to do anything. It’s the other way around and I will tie myself in knots doing whatever it takes to care for you and make you happy so you never realize that I’m the big winner here. I’m the guy who was lucky enough to find you kicking and cussing your truck.”

She rises on her toes and presses her lips to mine so tenderly that I can’t help but slide my hand into her hair and hold her in place. It’s not a kiss with tongue but there is so much feeling behind it that I don’t want it to end. However, the little guys upstairs have a different idea about that and we both jump a little when we hear Wyatt yell, “Aunt Colby! Aunt Colby! Gunner is eating Knox’s little blocks!”

“I’ll handle it. Why don’t you pick us a movie and pop some popcorn? We can try to wind them down that way,” I suggest.

“I can go get the—”

I cut her off with a gentle finger coving her lips. “Let me get the boys. Just get us set up.” I kiss her forehead quickly and bound up the stairs. When I round the corner to Knox’s room, both older boys are standing over the little guy whose cheeks are abnormally puffed out due to the toy pieces in his mouth. By the shake of his head it’s obvious he’s refusing to spit them out. If it didn’t look so dangerous I’d probably laugh at him.

“Hey, guys, are you ready for popcorn and a movie?”

Knox turns to me, his eyebrows pulled together and a scowl on his little mouth. “But he’s eatin’ my blocks. Dad says if we don’t take care of them they will disappear and I don’t want them to disappear in his tummy!”

I stick my hand out in front of Gunner and without a word he spits the slobbery pieces into my hand.

“No more eating blocks. They aren’t tasty anyway,” I tell him.

He grins at me and I ruffle his hair while the other boys stand beside me with their arms crossed, clearly still angry.

“I’m going to wash these off. You guys do a quick cleanup and meet me downstairs so we can watch a movie.”

Reluctantly, they clean up the mess on the floor while I wash the spit-covered toys in the bathroom. When I come out, they’ve abandoned the job three-quarters of the way through and are thumping their way down the stairs. I do a quick pick up of what’s left and return to the living room where I find all three boys lined up on the floor in front of the television, cross-legged with individual bowls of popcorn.

Colby plops onto the couch behind them and pats the spot next to her. I sit down, stretch my arm across the couch and pull her in close. Her body weight relaxes into my side and I hear a soft sigh come from her. With her this close, concentrating on the movie is a hopeless endeavor so I relish the feel of her against me and the comfort I get by taking care of such a capable woman. I’ve always been attracted to strong, smart women, but I secretly love their moments of weakness. Not because I want them weak, but because I like to be needed and I like the opportunity to care for them on occasion. Tonight feels like that moment so I’ll savor it because it’ll be gone by morning when she’s well-rested and has a better outlook. Tomorrow will show me another reason why I’m clearly falling in love with her when her strength returns.

* * *

A couple of hours later, I wake up with a stiff neck. We must have dozed off after we started the second movie because I wake up with warm weight on both sides of me. I blink to clear my vision and find Wyatt curled up and snoring softly on the opposite side of me from Colby, who is snuggled in close and asleep. When I glance around I see Gunner draped across her legs and Knox on the floor with a blanket covering him. I hear keys rattle in the kitchen and realize Jeff must be here and that’s what woke me up.

I turn and look over the back of the couch to find Jeff with both palms on the counter and his head bent. I carefully slip out from under Colby and Wyatt and cross the room toward him. I stop a couple feet in front of him and prop my hip against the counter.

“How’s Shaunda?” I ask quietly so we don’t wake the others.

“A mess. After watching her mother die of this same thing, she’s terrified she’s going to die and leave them too.” He nods his head toward his sleeping family.

“What did the doc say?”

“Infection in the surgical site. It’s not uncommon, but she’s so scared that she’s emotional. I spoke to the doctor about giving her an antidepressant to help with things until we get through the rough spot…” He trails off like he’s not sure he can finish.

“How are you?” I ask, because the look on his face tells me he’s not okay.

“She’s the only woman I’ve ever loved. The strongest person I know is falling apart in front of me. I can’t tell you what it does to me to watch her cry.”

Jeff doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to talk feelings so even he must be vulnerable right now.

“When my wife was sick I spent so many days the same way you are. All you can do is stay close, hold her when she needs it and make sure she takes care of herself. We’ll help with the kids. It’s going to be okay, but I get what you’re going through.”

“Colby has to help with the shop since I’m out. We’re already behind with customers and I can’t call her every time something’s wrong. She has a life and we have to keep the shop going too.”

“I understand where you’re coming from, but your main priority needs to be your wife. Please take it from a guy who has been where you are that you can’t get this time back and she has a better chance of recovery with more support. I’ll give you my number and you can call me anytime to help. The kids and I get along, and I help with my buddy’s kids all the time so I’m no stranger to taking on all of them at once. It’s no big deal.”

I pull my card out of my wallet, scribble my cell number on the back, and pass it over to him.

“Thanks, man. I appreciate all you’ve done so far. I know my boys can be a handful.”

“They’re easy. The key is keeping them busy.”

I turn away and go back to carry the kids to bed when he speaks up.

“Just don’t hurt Colby, man. When Curtis left, he broke her heart. I thought she’d never get over him. Wasn’t sure she’d ever date again.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“I’m counting on that. She deserves a good man.”

Not sure of what to say in response I stay quiet and scoop Wyatt into my arms to carry him upstairs and lay him in bed. I hear Jeff’s heavy footfall pass the room as he takes one of the other boys to bed and I do the same with the last one.

* * *

The next few days fly by. A huge case gets thrown on my desk at the last minute when one of my partners goes out for an unexpected medical procedure and I’m the only one with both estate law experience and courtroom experience to take this in front of a judge. Usually, I don’t make it this far in a case. Things get settled out of court or never make it that far in the first place, but this one has been brewing for over a year and has to be dealt with now.

I guess it’s good for me that Colby is too busy at the shop to notice how consumed I am with work, but I’ve missed her. We were texting the last two days and I finally broke down and called her because I was craving the sound of her voice. I knew if I didn’t hear it I’d be driving to the shop on my lunch break and I really need to be working through lunch.

The conversation was short and sweet and although it quenched the desire to hear her voice, it did nothing but make the pull to see her greater. It’s 7:30 when I finally shut my computer down. Tomorrow I’m due in court, but tonight I have nothing going on so I’m going to the hospital to see Colby and check on Shaunda. I need to be more relaxed when I get in front of that judge tomorrow and the only cure for that these days seems to be Colby these days.

I make my way to the third floor, past the nurses’ station to room 3145 where Shaunda is and I hear a couple of male voices, followed by Colby’s laughter. Damn, I’ve missed that sound over the last few days.

When I turn the corner and enter the room there’s a man a little bulkier than I am but close to my same height, standing next to the hospital bed with his arm around Colby. She and the man are smiling down at her sister, and Jeff’s in a chair next to the bed watching me enter. The sight of another man’s arm around Colby spikes my blood pressure, but I work hard to keep the reaction out of my expression. I’ve met her guy friends and her brother—this guy is neither. I shove my hands in my suit pants pockets to keep from flexing them into fists. I haven’t been the kind of guy who fights when he’s angry since I was in high school, but something about this scenario has me instantly irritated. Probably because I’ve been thinking of nothing but her since I last saw her and here she is standing with another man wrapped around her and a smile on her face.

Jeff stands and smiles at me, coming around Colby and the guy to shake my hand. “Hey, man. Glad you came by. How are you?”

I force my voice to stay even. “I’m good, Jeff. How are you?”

Colby glances at the guy with his arm still around her and back to me nervously before she scoots away and comes over to greet me with a stiff hug. What the hell is that about?

“I didn’t know you were coming by here tonight,” she says, quieter than she normally is.

I glance at the guy and back to her. “I see that. I just wanted to check in on you and your sister before I head home for the night. Seems that everything is okay.”

She chews her bottom lip a little like she’s trying to decide how to approach this and my stomach rolls over. “Um… Victor, this is Curtis.” She motions to the guy.

Son of a bitch. This is the ex-boyfriend they thought she’d never get over. By the proprietary way he’s looking at her and his suddenly puffed-up body language, he either doesn’t think he’s the ex or he doesn’t want to be. What really gets me though is she never says who I am to her. Just that I’m Victor.

Curtis and I stare at each other for what feels like an excessive amount of uncomfortable time until I finally put my hand out between us.

“Nice to meet you,” I say, doing my best to be polite, mostly for Shaunda’s sake. He glances at my hand and back at my face before he finally takes it and shakes. He never makes eye contact though. He stares at Colby the whole time, building the tension to the thickness of cold molasses.

Shaunda breaks the tension a little when she says, “Looks like you’ve had a long day.”

I glance down at my rumpled shirt and tie and say, “Yeah, big case. I go to court in the morning. It’s been a while since I’ve had to litigate anything. Should be interesting.”

She smiles at me and the asshole on the other side of the room asks, “You’re an ambulance chaser?”

“Nope. Lawyer.”

“That’s what—” he starts, but I don’t let him finish.

“Yeah, I know what you mean. I practice estate law. I don’t deal with criminals and assholes. I deal with people’s estates and the people who want a piece of them.”

He holds his hands up with a smirk, “I didn’t mean anything by it. I just can’t believe our girl has been hanging out with a lawyer. Very unlike her, right, Colby-girl?” He wraps her in a one-armed hug and pulls her in tight. She stumbles to him with an uncomfortable look on her face like she’s not sure what to do. I’m not going to confront this guy or her here; it’s not the right place. But to keep from being a giant dick, I need to make a hasty exit.

“Well, I can see you guys are busy.” Then I look away from those two toward Shaunda and say, “It’s good to see that you’re doing better.” I reach out to shake hands with Jeff. “Call me if you need anything.”

He nods and shifts on his feet a little. Damn, this is uncomfortable.

No waiting for Colby’s reaction or to be humiliated further, I turn on my heel and leave.

I’m pressing the button on the elevator with more force than is necessary when she approaches.

“You didn’t even wait to talk to me. What’s up with that?” she asks like she’s offended.

Colby’s an intelligent woman, so her trying to play dumb just irritates me. “Don’t ask questions you know the answer to.”

“What do you mean?”

My eyebrows rise. Does she really want me to state the obvious?

“I didn’t know he was coming. I thought he was still overseas. We haven’t spoken in a long time. He went by the shop and Pete told him we were here, so he showed up. Why are you getting jealous?”

“I’m not getting jealous. You two looked awful cozy together when I came in unexpectedly. I’ve already been the loser in a similar situation, and I’m not going through that again. If he makes you happy, that’s fine, but I’m not sticking around to watch it.”

“Victor.” She grabs my arm as I’m turning toward the opening elevator. “I’m over him. I promise. He dropped in. He had only been there a few minutes when you showed and I hadn’t gotten the chance yet to tell him to back off. When he used to come to town we’d hook up and he’d break my heart. This is the first time we’ve seen each other since I’ve moved on. I didn’t think having it out with him in the hospital room with my recovering sister was a good idea. I planned to tell him I’m with you. Can’t you trust me?”

I run my fingers through my hair and exhale. She’s right. I’m not 15 years old, fighting over a girl in the lunchroom, and she hasn’t done anything to make me question her. She steps up closer, her eyes pleading for me to believe her.

I wrap my arms around her and kiss her hair. “I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions. I’ve been dying to see you for days and envisioned a different scenario when I walked in that room. It was my fault. Go back in there and visit with your sister. I’m okay, really.”

“I don’t—”

“It’s okay.” I place a finger over her lips. “Be with your sister. She’s the most important thing right now.”

“Can I come over when I get through here?” Her eyes practically beg me.

“Yeah, you can come over any time you want. I’ll text you my address. Don’t rush. Do you need to eat still?”

“Yeah, I could use a little something. I’ll pick it up on my way to your place. Want anything?”

“No, I’ll whip something up for us to eat. Go on, go back to your family. I’ll see you when you’re done here.”

Reluctantly, she steps back and I enter the waiting elevator. “See you in a little while.”

With a small smile she turns and moves back toward her sister’s room and I fight the urge to follow her and mark my territory. I don’t trust that guy as far as I can throw him, but guys like him have to be dealt with in a certain way and I’ll let him continue to underestimate me until I have to prove what I’m capable of.

* * *

Two hours later, I’m lounging on my couch with a beer and a book. Yes, I’m the rare breed of man who likes to read. Of course, it’s fictional stuff like Tom Clancy and Dan Brown, but it’s reading just the same. I read my fair share of sporting news and articles but when I’m trying to keep my mind busy I pick up a book like this to get buried in.

The doorbell rings so I go to the door and look through the peephole to see Colby fidgeting with her keys while she waits for me.

When I open the door and usher her inside she doesn’t waste any time with pleasantries. Instead she grabs my face and kisses me like she can’t get enough. Her lips and nose are cool from the evening air but her mouth is warm as my tongue tangles with hers. Her arms wrap around my neck and hold tight, so I pull her body in closer and lift her slightly so that she can wrap her legs around me. This is more the type of greeting I like to get, rather than the cold, deer-in-the-headlights one I got earlier.

I carry her to the couch and sit so she’s straddling my lap. Within seconds, we go into a high school style make-out session guaranteed to have any red-blooded male on the edge of losing control. When I finally slow the kiss and remove my hands from under her shirt, she pulls away; her eyes are hooded with lust and there’s a slight grin on her lips.

“So, you aren’t mad?” she asks.

“Why would I be mad?”

“Because Curtis was there.”

“Nothing’s going on?” I ask, to clarify.

She shakes her head, keeping eye contact with me.

“Does he care about Shaunda?”

“Yes, they were friends when we dated.”

“Then, no, I’m not mad. Besides, if you want him I can’t do anything about it. Getting mad won’t make you want me more.”

“Most guys don’t feel that way.”

“I’m not most guys and I’ve been through enough in my life to know that I can’t force you to feel more for me than him. Did it sting to see his arm around you? Yeah, but it didn’t kill me. Would it hurt if you wanted him? Hell yeah, but me freaking out wouldn’t change your feelings. So I guess the question is, do you want him back?”

Her eyes search my face for a moment and I force myself to hold still, not to prompt her for an answer. Truth be told, I’m nervous about what her response will be. Sure, she’s straddling my lap in my home right now and not him in his, but her heart may still be back there with him. Her brother-in-law told me Curtis broke her heart and when I saw him I knew he wasn’t there for Shaunda and Jeff. He was there to get her back. I wonder if she knows that or if she really believes he was there for Shaunda.

She gently runs her fingers through my hair and along my face, following the movement with her eyes before looking directly into mine again.

“There is only one man I want and he’s seated between my thighs,” she leans in close, “my lips are close to his,” she grabs my hand and pulls it up over her chest, “and my heart is in his hands. No one else matters. Definitely not my ex.” She places the softest of kisses on my lips, my nose and then my forehead before wrapping her arms around my neck and holding tight. The little bit of unrest I felt earlier settles with her words and actions.

We sit like this for several minutes, quiet, relaxed, just enjoying the moment until I break it by asking, “How are Jeff and Shaunda holding up?”

“Better. She’ll probably come home tomorrow.”

“Good, I know Jeff will relax when she does.”

“Yeah, he hates being separated from her and from the boys. He feels torn when they’re in different places. He wants his family all under one roof.”

“He’s a good man.”

“I’ve always been jealous of them. Not in a nasty, mean, sabotage them kind of way, but in a damn-I-wish-I-had-that kind of way. It must feel so good to be loved in an all-consuming way. For as long as I can remember, he’s looked at her like she’s the only woman who ever existed. Even in high school when the most popular, most beautiful girl in school turned her sights on him, he ignored it. Like she didn’t even matter. God, that girl was pissed; she did everything to get his attention and he just keep walking. I didn’t even know it was possible for a man to be like that.”

I kiss her then, hoping to stop her train of thought. I’d love to tell her that the guy she’s been looking for is sitting in front of her right now. I’m already half in love with her and haven’t noticed a single woman since I met her outside the cemetery that day. I haven’t even been to Carol’s grave since I met Colby. Not even Valerie kept me from wanting to go there. Colby is the first thing I think of in the morning and the last at night. But if she knew that, it might spook her.

It sounds insane, considering I just met her. It could be infatuation because this is so new and she’s so different from the women I’m surrounded by every day, but I don’t think so. I’ve never been the kind of guy who is easily distracted by a great rack and nice ass. For as long as I can remember I’ve looked at the heart of a woman, even when the other guys my age were screwing every woman who glanced their way. Probably because I didn’t want to be like my dad and that’s the kind of man he was.

When the kiss ends she smiles at me. Her stomach grumbles and she giggles.

“Come on, let’s feed you. Dinner is almost ready.”

“It is? I’m starved!” Her eyes light up.

“Yeah, I can tell.” I pat her stomach playfully and she swats my hand away. “I hope you like poppy seed chicken. I should have asked. It’s my mom’s recipe and it’s easy to make so I threw it in.”

“Is that the amazing smell in here?”

“Yeah.” I tap her leg for her to move and she shuffles off of me so I can stand.

“Make yourself at home. The bathroom is the first door on the right, down the hall. I’ll get this ready so we can eat. I was waiting for you.”

She stands and looks around for the first time, and I wonder what’s going through her head.