Page 19 of Take My Kiss
“This house is so cool!” Sam exclaims, rushing up to his mom. “You can see everythin’ from up here! The walls in my room look like tree branches!”
“I’m glad you like it.” Amelia grins, threading her fingers through his unruly brown hair.
“Just make sure you don’t leave without permission,” I remind him. “There’s a pretty deep slope below us, and you don’t wanna get hurt or lost. Always stay inside with your mama unless she says otherwise. We have some wildlife out here, too.”
“Like bears?” he gasps.
“Sometimes, but mostly deer, coyotes, bobcats, foxes.”
“Foxes?” Sam squeals. “I wanna see one!”
“No,” Amelia scolds. “Not happenin’.”
“My sister Posey has a couple rats you could play with, if we ask nicely.”
“Yes!” He pumps his fist in the air.
Amelia’s facial expression makes me chuckle. “They’re not diseased or anythin’. She treats ’em like her children, much to her husband’s dismay.”
“Interestin’ choice of pets,” Amelia says, and I laugh because that was Silas’s reaction, too.
“She also manages the goat farm, so if y’all ever wanna pet some baby goats, we can go visit.”
“Oh heck yes!” Sam squeals again, bouncing between his feet. “I wanna live here forever!”
At least I’m winning one of them over.
Delilah helps Amelia unpack the kids’ clothes and gets them settled into their room. I stay in the kitchen with Wilder to give them space and look through my fridge and pantry for meal ideas.
“Do they have any allergies?”
“Not that I know of,” he says. “Lily eats anythin’ you put in front of her. Sam’s a bit picky. He likes pasta, though.”
“Perfect, I can handle that.”
I dig around and find some options, then find the other ingredients I need to make dinner. It’s only lunchtime, but it’s one more thing I can take off her plate.
When they reappear in the kitchen, the girls are smiling, but Amelia’s gaze avoids mine.
“Do y’all like chicken fettuccine alfredo?”
Her eyes finally lift. “What?”
“For dinner. Would that be okay?”
“Yes, but you don’t gotta cook for us. I mean…I don’t expect you to.”
“It’s not a hardship. I was gonna make it anyway, and it’s not like I’m gonna eat in front of y’all like a jack—” I quickly remember there are children in the room and one who’s the swearing police. “—a jerk. So, I’d be happy to do it.”
Delilah clears her throat, grabbing my attention, then quickly smiles. “That’s very sweet of you, Colt. I have a feelin’ Amelia and the kids are gonna be in good hands.”
“I sure hope so,” Wilder says. “Amelia’s like a sister to me, so you better treat her like family.”
Well…I can’t promise I’ll treat herexactlylike family.
“Of course.”
chapter three
