“True,” I say softly.

“This is all new to him. A shock to the way he’s lived his life. The one thing he never wanted or expected until he met you. Men have a hard time adjusting to change when they have no control over it. He’ll come around, sweetie. He has no choice.”

But he does, I think to myself. I know the old Colton who used to close himself off with impenetrable steel walls. He wouldn’t do that to his son, though. There’s no way he would. Because that would make him too much like his birth parents.

“I know. I just don’t want him to pull away.”

“He might for a bit, but here’s the thing, Rylee: the connection between you and Ace, and Colton and Ace is completely different. Perfect example is what just happened. You don’t want to part from Ace. He’s the air you breathe right now. It’s rarely the same for men.”

“I never thought of it that way.”

“I know the idea of having to be apart from him causes your heart to race. And if you had to, you wouldn’t give a second thought to driving onto sidewalks, over people if need be, to get home to him as quick as you can. That’s normal,” she says with a chuckle. “I used to feel the same way with you guys. I’d need a break . . . but the minute I had it I needed to be with you as soon as possible. But for Colton? It’s a different type of feeling for him. There’s this huge change in his life right now. A bonus, yes, but at the same time it’s scary as hell for him. Not to mention he worries he’s being replaced in your life by the one man that’s probably more handsome than he is.”

I snort a laugh at the comment but her words of wisdom hit home more than I thought they would. “Thanks, Mom. You always know what to say.”

“Hardly, but thank you.”

The door to the room opens with perfect timing and Colton walks in at the same time my mom rises from beside me on the bed. “There’s my cue,” she says as she leans over and presses another kiss to Ace’s head before looking up into my eyes. “I’m always here for you. Always. Any time.”

“Thank you. I love you.”

“Love you too,” she says as she gives Ace one last glance and turns to face Colton. “I’ll leave you with your family now, Colton. Take good care of my babies.” She steps forward and gives him a long hug before kissing his cheek.

“I will. Let me walk you out.”

They leave the room and the comforting silence surrounds Ace and me once again.


I’M SWITCHING ACE FROM MY left side to my right side when the door swings open into the room. “Thanks for walking her out,” I say distractedly. When Colton says nothing back I look up and let out a little yelp at the man standing near the foot of the bed.