Colin frowned, tapping her nose in reproach. “You could have talked to me in the morning. You should be in bed, you won’t get a good sleep down here and I could have been gone all night.”
“I know, but it seems like I never get a moment alone with you now. Are you avoiding me?”
“Yeah, I have been,” he admitted. She stared at him, aghast. “Hey, Lila, no. Shit, I didn’t mean it the way it sounded.” He pulled her onto his lap and wrapping the blanket around her so she didn’t get chilled.
“H-have you decided I’m more trouble than I’m worth?”
Colin glanced down at the precious bundle in his arms and cursed himself. They were always telling her how important communication was and here he was, shutting her out. And she’d assumed it was somehow her fault.
“Hey now, you get that thought out of your head right now. I am not avoiding you because of anything you’ve done or because I’m sick of you or any other nonsense like that. I was trying to keep my distance because,” he sighed, “I was hoping to draw Sara out. I thought she might approach me if she saw I was alone. Although she’s had plenty of chances to approach me in the last eight months so I’m not surprised that she’s stayed hidden. I’m going to go to Hocken tomorrow, well, today actually.” He glanced up at the clock which showed it was just after three in the morning.
“By yourself? No way,” she said emphatically.
“Baby, I’m hoping that I can talk to her, convince her that there is nothing between me and her.”
“And what if she won’t listen?” Lila demanded. “What if she pulls a gun on you?”
Colin smiled slightly. “I hardly think she’s going to do that.”
“You don’t know that,” Lila insisted. “You guys think she’s dangerous enough to watch me like a hawk, to install an expensive alarm system and yet you’re just going to go and confront her alone? I don’t think so.”
Colin stared down at her, wondering how he’d gotten so lucky. He brushed her silky hair back off her face. “How the hell did I get someone as wonderful as you?”
Lila blushed, smiling shyly. “Just lucky, I guess.”
He grinned.
“You know, some of us are trying to sleep,” Gavin growled from the doorway. His voice sounded grumpy but there was a smile on his face.
“Sorry,” Lila said quickly, trying to rise. Colin held her firmly then stood, keeping her tucked in against his chest.
“We were just on our way up,” he told his oldest brother.
“Colin’s planning on going to Hocken to confront Sara,” Lila tattled on him. “Alone.”
Gavin immediately scowled. “Like hell.”
Colin sighed. Sometimes Gavin seemed to forget he was a grown man.
“Gavin,” he began.
“We’ll all go,” Gavin said emphatically.
“We can’t all go,” Colin tried to explain patiently as he climbed the stairs, Lila still held protectively in his arms.
“You’re right,” Gavin agreed, surprising him. “Lila and Trace can stay here. You and I will go.”
“Hey,” Lila protested as Colin carried her into her room and placed her on the bed.
“What’s going on?” Trace said tiredly as he stumbled into the room, heading straight towards the bed. He instantly snuggled next to Lila, his nose nudging her breast. Lucky bastard. Colin’s cock twitched, rising. Down boy. He was tired and Lila looked downright exhausted.
He heard Gavin explaining his plan for tomorrow as he moved into the bathroom. When he re-entered the room, everyone was in bed.
Gavin frowned. “Trace is busy tomorrow, he can’t watch over Lila.”
“I’ve got two new horses arriving,” Trace added.
“I don’t need someone to watch over me,” Lila grumbled.