Colters' Promise (Colters' Legacy, #4)(21)

“You’re being too hard on yourself,” Holly said gently. “Give yourself time to heal. Distance always provides perspective. The guilt and self-blame will fade. You’ll be able to look back and know that the blame lies solely with him.”

“I hope you’re right,” Lauren murmured. “I hate wallowing in this cesspool of pity.”

“My advice? Get out more. Stop shutting yourself away from the world. Take long walks. It’s beautiful up here. Go to town. Buy something fun for yourself. Pamper yourself. Get a manicure. Whatever it takes to give yourself back the gift of confidence.”

Lauren smiled. “Thanks, Mrs. C. Really, just thank you. I needed this kick in the ass.”

“Oh, I don’t kick people in the ass,” Holly said. “That’s what my husbands are for. I just hug people to death and then mother them senseless.”

Impulsively, Lauren hugged her again. “I’m so glad I’m here. This family is the absolute best.”

Holly held her for a long moment and then eased back so she could rise from her chair. “I’d love for you to come up to the house for dinner. My children are in and out all the time. Our door is always open.”

“I’d like that,” Lauren said softly.

“And now I better run before the husbands send out a search party,” she said in amusement.

“They love you so much,” Lauren said wistfully.

Holly reached out to stroke her hair. “One day you’ll find someone who loves you just as much.”

“I’ll walk you down,” Lauren said, rising from her own chair.

Holly gave her a delighted smile. Max and Callie would be thrilled that Lauren ventured down. It was a step. Lauren wouldn’t be taking on the world in the next day, but she’d get there on her own. The Colters would simply close ranks around her and help her get back on her feet again.





CHAPTER 10




LILY waited anxiously for her husbands to get home. They’d been banished to the dads so Holly could come over for her cooking lesson. For the first time, Lily had been impatient for her mother-in-law to leave. Lily was focused on having her men return so that she could make things right.

She thought back over her plan for the hundredth time, reciting the words she’d committed to memory but also knowing that the moment her husbands were there in front of her, she’d forget everything and have to wing it.

The important thing was that she would give them a memory to replace the one of her freaking out and scaring them to death. She’d give them something to look back on when their own children were grown. A happy time, a time to be excited and look to the future.

It had been a wake-up call for her when she’d realized just how much she lived in the now. Not that it was a bad thing. No one wanted to wish their life away, always looking forward and never enjoying the here and now.

But she’d made it a practice to never look beyond the next day. It was almost as if she were afraid to hope for any kind of a future. Or maybe she was just afraid she wouldn’t have one.

Finding out she was pregnant had altered her perception. It had altered her focus. No longer was today the only thing she concentrated on. Now she looked to the future, imagining how their lives would change when they welcomed a son or daughter into their family.

It was … nice.

Scary. Heart-stopping. Nerve-racking. But so very nice.

Her pulse leaped when she heard the truck in the drive. She smoothed her hands down her jeans, wiping her palms before she started toward the door to greet them.

She was there to open the door before they reached the porch. She tried to smile but she was so nervous that she wasn’t sure she pulled it off convincingly.

Michael reached her first, and before he could say anything, she launched herself into his arms and gave him a scorching kiss to curl his toes.

When she pulled away, his eyes were half-lidded and dazed. She smiled and pushed him into the living room.

Seth and Dillon stood in the doorway, observing her cautiously. Not wanting to leave them out in the least, she went into Seth’s arms and kissed him with every bit as much heat as she’d kissed Michael.

Man, she loved the way he smelled. Loved the way he felt. He was still wearing his uniform, and he hadn’t yet taken off his holster with his gun.

All in good time.

She felt a little smug when he was reluctant to let her go, but she pointed him toward Michael and then went into Dillon’s arms.

She tried to take control much as she’d done with Michael and Seth—though interestingly enough, Michael was the more dominant force, especially when it came to sex—but Dillon was having none of that.

He met her hungrily, taking over and ravaging her mouth. For several long, breathless seconds, he tasted her, explored her lips, and nibbled teasingly at their fullness.

“How are you feeling?” he whispered.

She put a finger over his lips and then turned to the others.

“I have something important I want to tell you.”

Seth lifted an eyebrow, then glanced at Michael, then to Dillon, and finally back to her. “Okay.”

She gestured everyone toward the couch. “Sit.”

As soon as they were all seated, she moved forward, no longer nervous or edgy. Peace settled over her. Her mind was quiet and no longer contained the painful memories of the past. It was filled instead with images of the future. Of her husbands and a tiny newborn baby. And then an older child, a girl or a boy. And of her husbands doting on him or her, and other children. Their family.