way of trying to make up for the loss of their mother.
Patrice had died when Brady was born, forcing Colt to take on the role of both parents. His son had been reasonably easy until he started school, but as Miss Grainger had told him time after time, he had a problem learning, which frustrated Colt and made Brady angry. Too often that anger drove him to disobedience.
Cilla, just five when her mother died, was definitely Daddy’s girl. Like her brother, she hadn’t been much of a problem until she’d begun to grow up. In a lot of ways, she seemed too old for her twelve years, and in others she was very immature.
In recent months, her moods had begun to fluctuate from childlike joy to pouty moodiness. Colt knew enough about the fairer sex to know that it was because she was fast approaching the time when she’d become a woman in the truest sense of the word. He had no idea how to explain the physical and emotional changes she was going through, so he just ignored them—and her—as best he could until her disposition changed back to something he could deal with. It seemed that women were born knowing how to deal with those emotional things men were not so good at.
There were times, though, like today, when he was forced to face his shortcomings. When that happened, he tried to put himself in their place and imagine what it must be like to grow up without a mother to confide in, talk to or look up to.
Wallowing in self-pity wouldn’t get him anywhere. The handwriting was on the wall. Looking the other way wouldn’t work this time. He knew Homer Talbot thought Allison Grainger was tops when it came to teachers, so it made sense that he would not want to lose her, which meant Colt would have to take charge of his progeny at last.
How are you going to do that? You haven’t been able to do it in seven years.
He had no earthly idea, but he thought he knew where to go to get some no-nonsense advice.
When Dan Mercer, Colt’s deputy, returned from running some errands, Colt left the office in his care and went to get Ellie’s take on things. Thankfully, the café was all but empty. Ellie was filling saltshakers. The expression on her face when she looked up told him she’d already heard the news.
“You’ve heard.”
She nodded and gestured toward an empty table. “From several folks, actually, including Allison.”
“Do you think she’s telling the truth?” Colt asked as he pulled out a chair for her.
Ellie glared at him over her shoulder. “Her story matches Sarah VanSickle’s.”
Colt planted his hands on his hips and tipped his head back to stare at the ceiling.
“Sit,” Ellie said.
He sat, and buried his face in his hands.
“Colt, look at me,” she commanded, circling his wrists with her fingers and tugging his hands down. His troubled gaze found hers. “You have to know...even I’ve told you...that the kids are...less than angels.”
A bitter laugh sputtered from his lips. “So it seems.”
“Well, then, the time has come for you to do something about it.”
“What? I don’t have a clue about what needs to be done.”
“Well, first you should stop letting them take advantage of you.”
“How do you figure?” he asked, scowling.
It was Ellie’s turn to laugh. “Everyone in town knows you’re tough on criminals and soft on your kids.”
His eyes widened in disbelief. That was exactly what he’d just been thinking. “So it’s a topic of dinner discussions, is it?”
“You know as well as I do that everyone’s circumstances are the topic of dinner discussions at one time or another,” she said with a little shrug.
“I’m all they have,” he said, as if that explained everything. “And they’re all I have of Patrice. Priscilla still misses her mom, and I hate to make things tougher on her by—” he spread his hands in a vague gesture “—being too strict. And Brady has never known what it is to have a mom, and as his only parent, I don’t want to be an ogre.”
“And they instinctively know that and use it to their advantage.”
“How could they know?”
“Children are like a wild animal stalking its prey,” Ellie said with a wry smile. “They instinctively know the weakest link. Even Beth is a master of it. It’s just a part of their makeup. I don’t want to make you angry,” she said, “but—”
“I have to get them under control,” he said.
“Yes.”
They sat in silence for several moments, while Colt digested the situation. It didn’t sit well. “Your sister said she would give up her teaching position before she spent another year with them.”
“She told me,” Ellie said in a gentle voice. “She’s a good teacher, Colt. A good person.”
“If you say so.”
Ellie smiled. “I do, and I think I’m in a position to know. Have you ever tried talking to Brady and Cilla about why they’re so disruptive?”
“I’ve had talks about them not misbehaving, but no, I’ve never tried to get to the root of why they do it.”
“Gracie has a theory,” Ellie told him. “And both Allison and I think she’s onto something. She believes they sabotage your associations because they don’t want to share you. I think she’s right.”
“That’s crazy,” Colt said with a hint of irritation.
“Is it? I started thinking back over the past year, and every time you’ve shown interest in a woman, they’ve done something to ruin things.”
It was true that something had gone wrong with each attempted relationship. Now, looking back, the kids were somehow the culprits in every case. Holly Jefferson. Leticia Farley. Jocelyn Cole. All of them had cried off, citing that they had too little in common and it would be silly to try to take things further. Rachel Stone was the exception. He and the lady doctor had soon realized that while they liked each other a lot, there was no romantic spark between them.
“If you plan to marry at some time in the future—”
“I do,” he said.
“Then you’d better make it clear to the kids that marrying again is your intention no matter what they think, how they feel about the woman or if they approve.”
“Isn’t that being a bit insensitive to their feelings?”
“Do they care about yours?” Ellie retorted. She reached out and gave his hand a friendly pat. “I don’t mean to sound cold, Colt. You should tell them that they must trust that you won’t fall in love with someone who will mistreat them or you.”
“I’d hope I’ll be smarter than that.”
“Allison
