“Tell Jesse what you told me. Maybe he or his guys can scare him away. Maybe they can keep an eye on him and catch him doing something he shouldn’t.”
“I can’t—”
“You can. For me. Please? Promise me you won’t go searching for him.”
Silence. It hung over the line and felt thick and heavy.
Her voice lowered. “Colt…please. I can’t lose you.”
No, technically they weren’t back together. But he was here. They could find their way back to each other.
Colt sighed. “I’ll do my best. But ifhefindsme—”
“You call Jesse.”
Another pause. “You know I’d do anything for you, right?”
“Is that you agreeing?”
“Yeah, Cricket, that’s me agreeing.”
The relief almost made her light-headed. “Thank you.”
“Now, can I ask you to do something for me?”
Nerves fluttered in her belly. “Sure.”
“Have dinner at my mom’s this weekend.”
She scrunched her nose. That was the last thing she wanted to do. In fact, she’d rather bathe in a pool of lava than have dinner with Sylvia Reed.
A polite “no thank you” was on the tip of her tongue, when she stopped herself.
Now that she knew what Sylvia had gone through with Colt’s dad, she had new sympathy for the woman. It didn’t excuse her behavior, but it explained some of it. “Can I think about it?”
“Of course. No rush.”
“Thank you.”
“Keep your doors locked for me, okay?”
“Always.”
She hung up, her skin still tingling from hearing his voice. Maybe dinner with Sylvia wouldn’t be so bad.
Or maybe she’d be her normal self, and Colt would see everything he’d missed for so many years.
CHAPTER 9
Colt pulled into the Amber Ridge Sheriff’s Station parking lot.
He should be at the park helping Noah and Randy’s team. But he’d barely slept last night, thoughts of his father being so close to Indie yesterday toying with him. And according to his mother, the asshole had been back multiple times over the years.
He was frustrated and angry and a million other things.
He turned off the engine and climbed out.
Every time that bastard returned, his mother should have told him. How many times had he returned while Colt was away in the Marines? He had no idea because his mother wouldn’t give him any details. She got all vague and claimed she didn’t remember.
