Page 32 of Redemption

“What?”

“Eating. Are you eating?”

Looking up at him, she furrows her brows. “The kids are well fed, Colt. I’d steal before I’d let them go hungry.”

“I didn’t ask about them. I asked about you. Our kids being taken care of isn’t anything I’d ever doubt, no matter what situation you’re in.”

She laughs and sighs in relief. “My appetite hasn’t been present, but I do eat. I have to in order to keep up with the kids. But on the plus side, I finally lost the baby weight I struggled with. So, that’s a silver lining, I guess.”

“You never needed to worry about that. I know I didn’t make it well-known, but I’ve never had any issue with the body that gave me our two kids.”

Her eyes shift to look at the ground, and he can feel her discomfort. “Thank you.”

Getting into her car, she leaves, much less rapidly than the last time they met at his mother’s house, and he watches her leave. His heart breaks knowing she’s leaving him again, but the anger quickly replaces the sorrow. She did this. Damn her.

He walks inside to find Karmen trying to console Calla. “She won’t settle down,” she says and bounces her.

Taking his daughter from her, he coddles her. “You miss your mommy, don’t you?”

Calla grabs his hand and settles down. Her cries turn to small hiccups, and she slowly falls asleep. No wonder Lex had an issue letting her go. She’s the perfect little image of her. How had he spent so much time away from his family? Away from this little one snoring in his arms?

Noah walks in and says, “She finally stopped crying. We couldn’t get her to stop.”

“Buddy, you should always try and help calm your sister. When she’s sad, we shouldn’t leave her alone,” he says and hands her back to Karmen.

“Really?”

“It’s your job as man of the house to take care of the women. You should always be there when they cry.”

Tilting his head, he studies him. “You didn’t.”

He lets out a deep breath. Noah still hasn’t forgiven him for how he spoke to Lex at the clinic, and he’s outwardly defiant most of their time together. “I know I was gone a lot when Calla was a little baby.”

“Not just Calla.”

Colt’s eyes look up at his mother who shrugs. “Don’t look at me.”

“What are you talking about, Noah?”

“Mama. You weren’t there when she cried.”

“I know things are a little different right now, but they’ll settle down. Mommy and Daddy are both sad, especially when you aren’t with us.”

He shakes his head. “No, before.”

“Before when?”

“When we all lived in our house. Together.”

“What are you talking about, buddy? When did Mommy cry?”

Noah looks at the ground. “When she would sleep on the couch. She still does, sometimes. Cry, I mean. She sleeps in a bed now.”

He closes his eyes. She’d said she didn’t sleep in their bed very often because it got to be too lonely, but he never realized just how badly she felt. “Did she cry a lot?”

“Most nights. One night, I hurt her feelings. When I went to say sorry, she said I didn’t hurt her feelings, but I know I did. I was mad at you, not her. When I asked her why she cries, she told me something made her sad. But I know I made her sad.”

“What did you say that made her sad?”

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