Page 14 of Guarding Colton’s Witness

Wyatt backed away. “And on that note, I’m outta here. Keep your doors locked and stay alert.”

She saluted him. “Aye, aye, Captain.”

“I’m serious, Matti.”

“Gotcha. I promise to keep my doors locked and stay alert. You stay safe, too.”

“Always.” He nodded at Ryan, “Later, bro.”

“If memory serves, that’s the first time I’ve ever been called bro,” Ryan said after Wyatt left, amusement in his voice. “I think that means he likes me.”

“I can see it now, a bromance in your future.”

“Never had one of those. Could be fun. Do I have to know his favorite color or flower?”

She laughed. Ryan was fun, something of a surprise from the man who’d raked her over the coals at first meeting her. A meet-cute it was not. “It’s about time to get Sam to bed. Want to stick around for a little? Talk about everything?”

“I’d like that.”

“Great.” Her gaze went to the boy who had no idea just how much his life had changed. “I have some spare children’s clothes I keep on hand for emergencies, but as you can see, they’re too big for him. I need to take him shopping tomorrow.”

“Don’t forget we have a pizza date tomorrow night.”

“Maybe we should wait to tell him about his parents after we get home from pizza.”

“Whatever you think best,” Ryan said. “Does he need a bath before he goes to bed?”

“Yes. Who knows when he last had a bath.”

Sam didn’t fight them about anything; not a bath, not brushing his teeth, not going to bed. “I think he’s afraid to make waves,” she told Ryan as she pulled the door to the guest room not quite shut.

“He’s afraid you’ll send him away if he does.”

“Probably.” His stomach was full—likely for the first time in who knew how long—he was clean, and he had a nice bed to sleep in, all things he wouldn’t want to lose. “The fire truck was a great idea. What made you think to do that?”

He shrugged. “He said he’d only had one toy, a fire truck that was gone, when I gave him the teddy bear. I just wanted to replace it.”

How many men would have thought to do that, taken the time to do it? The teddy bear in question was now snuggled up in bed with Sam. He’d wanted the fire truck in bed with him, too, but they’d stopped that from happening by telling him it might get broken if he rolled over on it in his sleep. He’d settled for having it on the nightstand where he could see it.

“A glass of wine sounds like the perfect end to this day. Would you like one?”

“I would.”

He followed her into the kitchen. “I have a bottle of vodka for when one of my brothers is here. Would you rather have that? I’ve got cranberry juice.”

“Even better.”

His drink made and her wine poured, they moved to the living room. She curled up on the couch, facing Ryan as he took the other side.

He gazed around the room. “I like your house. It feels homey.” He eyed the fireplace. “I can see being curled up with a good book and having a roaring fire going while the snow is falling outside the windows.”

She smiled. “I do that a lot in the winter. I’ll invite you and your book over on a day like that, so you can enjoy it.”

“I’ll hold you to that. Have you done a lot of work to it, or had it been updated when you bought it?”

“Oh, man, you wouldn’t believe what a mess it was. I’ve done much of the work on it myself, except for things like plumbing and electrical. My brothers helped me with the grunt work, like installing the kitchen cabinets.” She was proud of her home and the sweat equity she’d put into working on it.

“Impressive.”