a child. He doesn’t always understand, you know, the way the world works.”
She glanced over at her brother, who was sitting on the grass, his legs spread out before him lazily as the rabbits sniffed at his size-thirteen sneakers and continued munching on the grass.
“I have to go somewhere,” said Colton suddenly. “I’ll be gone for an hour or so.”
“Sure,” said Verity, scanning his face for clues about his abrupt declaration, but there were none. “I can clean up here.”
He nodded, standing up. “It’s a safe neighborhood, but if I’m not back before you head to bed, lock up. I’ll get you a key tomorrow.”
“Oh, I don’t need—”
“Whether you stay for one night or two, you may as well have a key.”
Or two. Two nights. So there it was. A gentle warning. She needed to figure out something else for her and Ryan by Tuesday night.
Well, maybe she could talk to Lynette about an advance. Or maybe, now that they had jobs, she’d be approved for a credit card. If not, maybe Colton could drive them to a local shelter? They could stay there for a while until they got their first paychecks and then find a motel somewhere near a bus stop so that—
“What’re you thinking about?”
His voice cut through the frantic hamster wheel of her thoughts, and she jerked her head up to look at him. He blocked most of the setting sun, which had the effect of making him look like he was on fire—bathed in flames, but standing tall. Sitting before him, she felt so small, so lost, so inconsequential and ridiculous, tears burned the backs of her eyes and her longing—to be safe, to be settled, to be comfortable, to be unafraid of the future—was so overwhelming, a lump rose in her throat. It was impossible to swallow over it, so she looked down at the table in misery.
“Spit it out,” he muttered.
He was a good man. Such a good man, in fact, that her worries might even translate into a burden for him, and she didn’t want that. He’d already done so much for them, the last thing he needed was some strange woman falling apart at his picnic table because she had nowhere to go. Reaching inside for the strength that had given her the courage to leave Camilla, to walk into that job fair this afternoon, and to accept Colton Lane’s kindness, she pushed past the lump and blinked back the tears, looking up at him in all his searing, godlike beauty.
“I’m thinking that I have never known someone as kind as you. And when I say my prayers tonight, you’ll be the thing I am most thankful for, Colton Lane.”
His jaw clenched as he stared down at her, but otherwise his face was inscrutable, hard and still as stone.
Finally he nodded once—a curt jerk of his neck—and said, “Don’t forget to lock up,” before stalking back into the house and letting the screen door bang shut behind him.
CHAPTER 5
Colt looked to his right, where Verity sat beside him on the way to work, wearing dark jeans and a yellow V-neck T-shirt, the tan seatbelt strap cutting through the small mounds of her breasts.
He’d slept like shit last night.
Staying out longer than he’d needed to, he hadn’t gotten home until ten o’clock, to find the house dark and quiet and the front and back doors locked, as he’d requested. The kitchen was clean and smelled of the lemon-scented counter spray that Verity must have used to clean up before bed. The kitchen table was set for three with the pink-flowered china plates that had barely been used since Aunt Jane passed, and Verity had left a note that read: Thank you for supper. I’ll take care of breakfast. V. He’d stared at the table for a long while, feeling his aunt’s gentle spirit in the room where she’d spent so much of her life cooking for her small family.
Aunt Jane, with her cheerful, uneven smile and sparkling, light brown eyes, would have approved of Verity. She would have respected the way Verity was trying to care for her disabled brother against the odds, the thought a sharp jab at Colton’s heart even as it comforted him.
He sighed, walking past the table and heading to his bedroom, which had been built as an addition on the other side of the kitchen. Down a short hallway, he passed two linen closets, a bathroom, and a walk-in closet, and finally entered the large master bedroom,