Colt grinned, leaned down, and kissed me quickly. Cam made a gagging noise while Lily giggled and hugged his leg.
He reached down and hoisted Lily up and settled her onto his shoulders before returning his attention to me. “What are y’all talking about?”
This man, speaking in a drawl with a cute little girl on his shoulders, had me sighing like an idiot.
“She’s trying to give me a donation,” Laura said, looking at me with a knowing smile.
“You gave me clothes when I had none,” I protested.
“I was happy to do it.”
“They’ve been arguing for a billion minutes,” Cam informed Colt. “And I’m hungry.”
“Me too,” Lily added.
I folded the envelope and shoved it into the pocket of Laura’s denim skirt.
Laura didn’t look at me but at Colt. Colt nodded and then Laura accepted it.
“Come on,” Colt said. “I’m hungry.”
“How hungry?” I asked in a playful voice.
“So hungry that I don’t think a few hotdogs will do it.”
“No?” I asked.
“No.” Colt pretended to look thoughtful. “I think I want…a Lily burger!”
“What? No!” Lily laughed as Colt lifted her off his shoulders and slung her over his back and began to nibble on her arm.
“Yep,” Colt said in amusement. “I’ll have a Lily burger, medium rare, with everything on it!”
“And fries!” Cam added with a grin.
“You’re next,” Colt warned.
“Eat him first!” Lily offered.
Colt set Lily down on the ground and playfully tugged on her pigtails. “Nah. I think it’s too much trouble. Guess I’ll settle for three regular burgers then.”
I snorted in amusement. “Just three?”
“Gotta keep up my strength for tonight.” He winked.
“Why do you need strength for tonight?” Cam wondered.
“Way to go,” I muttered.
“I’m gonna be in a wrestling match,” Colt deadpanned.
“With costumes?” Lily asked in excitement.
“Yeah, we’ll wear suits.”
“Hey, guys, why don’t you run ahead to the hot dog truck and order. Colt and I will be there in a moment,” I suggested.
The kids took off in exuberance, and when I was sure they were out of earshot, I looked at Colt. “Suits?”
Colt slung his arm over my shoulder and pulled me into his chest. “Yeah, suits. Birthday suits.”
I let out a chuckle. “You think you’re hilarious.”
“I got you to laugh, didn’t I?”
“Yep. You also got me thinking about you naked.”
“Then I definitely did something right. I’ve been missing you this week.”
“You’ve been busy,” I said. “How are things with Sanchez?”
“Coming along. Knight and his boys are going to do us a solid and help Sanchez’s men move the product.”
“For a cut, right?” I asked.
“A cut of the game, yeah. They want in. Make it profitable for all of us if we can run shit up all the way to Idaho.”
I paused in thought and frowned.
Colt noticed my pensive expression. “What?”
I glanced around at the park bustling with smiling, laughing kids, their parents, young twenty somethings buying used furniture to outfit their boho chic apartments.
“I just—drugs destroy communities.” My gaze drew back to his. “Are we knowingly going to be part of something that will change the landscape of Waco? It’ll have repercussions and they won’t be good.”
Colt scratched his jaw, obviously weighing his words. “What about pharmaceutical companies? Doctors write scripts for opiates. Do you know how long it takes to get addicted to opiates? Ten days. You know the duration doctors are writing those scripts for? Ten days. Bankers swindling old ladies out of their pensions. The world is stuffed with people robbing each other blind.”
“Two wrongs don’t make a right,” I pointed out.
“That’s true. But why is it okay for others to fuck with humanity? Because it’s technically legal? It’s bullshit. How many people die from alcohol related incidents versus pot?”
He took a step closer and wrapped his hand around my neck. “You chose this life, Mia. When you chose me.”
My eyes swept up to meet his. “I know that, Colt.” I sighed. “But I’m allowed to push back. It helps me process.”
I reached up to cover his hand caressing my neck. “I’m not going anywhere. If that’s what you’re worried about. But that doesn’t mean I can turn a blind eye without saying something. That money will be used to take care of our family. That money will send Cam and Lily to the college of their choice. But in taking care of our family, who do we hurt in the process, you know?”
“I know,” he murmured. He paused for a moment. “You still love me? Knowing what you know?”
I smiled slightly. “Yeah, I still love you. I just have to reconcile it, okay? And this wasn’t me busting your ass or naively saying, ‘Oh, just do something else for money. Something legitimate.’ I just don’t want to be a raging hypocrite, enjoying the comfort the money will bring without at least broaching the topic of what my comfort will mean for others.”
“This event is because of the Blue Angels. All under wraps, mind you, because we don’t want to make people uncomfortable. We give back to our town, and maybe that’s all anyone can ever hope to do, you know?”
He squeezed the back of my neck and then let go. “Can we be done talking about this now?”
“Yeah, we can be done.”
He smirked. “Can we talk about when we can get out of here?”
“Not for a while yet. Oh, and when all this stuff is sorted with the Iron Horsemen, I told Darcy we’d take her kids for the weekend.”
“Why would you do a thing like that?” he demanded.
I grinned. “So she and Gray can remember what it’s like to be childless for a couple of days. And then I can give you an idea of what our life is gonna be like when we finally decide to go that route.”
“You think you’re gonna scare me away from it, but ten bucks says it backfires. You’re gonna see how hot I look caring for kids and you’re gonna beg me to—”
I jumped into his arms and sealed his lips with mine. Partly so he wouldn’t say anything dirty in public and partly just so I could kiss him.
After we got our hotdogs and burgers, we took them to a spot on the grass. Lily finished her hot dog in record time and then asked for ice cream instead of a cotton candy.
“Let’s wait a minute,” I suggested, not wanting to deal with an upset stomach if I let her gorge too fast.
“But—”
“Listen to Mia,” Colt commanded gently but firmly. Lily closed her mouth and crossed her arms over her chest. Then she widened her eyes and gazed at Colt.
“Don’t look at me that way,” he said, his voice losing some of his gruffness. “I’m immune to manipulation.”
Lily dropped the act and frowned. “What’s immune mean?”