Wolf Creek Father (Wolf Creek, Arkansas Book 3) by Penny Richards Page B

he added a generous amount of cream and two heaping spoonfuls of sugar. If she used cream and sugar in every cup of coffee or tea she drank, she would soon be waddling, but the sheriff’s lean, muscled body didn’t appear to have an extra ounce of fat anywhere.
    “Allison? What for you?”
    “Just a piece of toasted bread and an egg, please.”
    “That’s it?” Colt asked.
    “No sense arguing with her,” Ellie said. “It’s what she usually has.”
    Allison felt decidedly uncomfortable at being the topic of conversation. Heaven knew—everyone knew—that she didn’t need a full breakfast.
    His shoulders lifted in a shrug of disbelief. “Bring the lady some toast and an egg.”
    “Got it,” Ellie said, and walked away, her slim hips swaying.
    Colt sighed.
    “She’s lovely, isn’t she?” Allison’s tone was wistful.
    “She is.”
    His agreement brought a lump to her throat. Well, she had asked, and there was no denying the obvious. “And just as beautiful on the inside.”
    It was the sheriff’s turn to look uncomfortable with the turn in the conversation. He took a hearty swig of the steaming coffee without flinching.
    “She deserves a good man.”
    He scowled. “You’ve probably heard the scuttlebutt that it won’t be me.”
    Allison
had
heard from Ellie that she’d told Colt they had no future since she had no idea if the husband who’d deserted her when Bethany was born was alive or dead. Besides, as nice a man as he was, she didn’t love him.
    “I’m sorry.”
    “So am I. She’s a sweet person and wonderful company, but I think we both always knew we were never going to be more than friends.”
    The knot in Allison’s chest loosened.
    “Back to the children,” she said, deciding that she should return the conversation to their mutual problem. “What did Cilla have to say about her behavior?”
    Colt cleared his throat but met her curious gaze head-on. “It seems that as a father, I’ve fallen far short in the attention and support areas of their lives.”
    “I’m not certain I understand.”
    Colt placed his elbows on the table and leaned toward her. Allison listened as he explained what Cilla had told him about the reason she misbehaved.
    When he finished, Allison said, “She misbehaves to get your attention?”
    “So it seems. She says that even when I’m at home with them, my thoughts are far away.” He leaned back in his chair and lifted his coffee mug. “As bad as I hate to admit it, she’s right. It took me a long while to get past losing Patty. Maybe I still dwell on it too much sometimes.”
    He met Allison’s troubled gaze. “When Patty was alive, she took care of most of the child rearing, and I made the living. When she died, it all fell to me. I didn’t know what to do besides feed and clothe them, and that’s more or less all I’ve been doing. It seemed to work okay when they were small, but now that they’re growing up, they need more.”
    Allison looked at him, wondering what it would be like to be loved by a man who still missed you after so many years. “That makes sense. Most men would probably handle things the same way. And Cilla’s comment fits with something she said yesterday.”
    “What’s that?” He took another swallow of coffee.
    “She said that she stepped on my glasses because she was standing up for Brady. After I thought about that awhile, I realized that almost every time she gets into trouble, it’s
after
Brady and I have had some sort of exchange about his schoolwork. I believe one reason she acts out is to take my attention away from her brother.”
    Colt looked dumbfounded. “She’s always been protective of him, so that makes a strange sort of sense,” he said after a moment. “Sometimes I think she’s trying to take the place of her mother.”
    While Allison tucked that bit of information into a corner of her mind to ponder later, he explained how Cilla was feeling sorry for herself over not having a mother to instruct