She shook her head but her cheeks darkened with a hint of color. No matter how often they told her she was beautiful, that she was their world, she always got shy when they gave her compliments.
“Mom’s here. She’s kicking us out. Know anything about that?”
Lily’s eyebrow arched. “What, she can’t come to visit me without you getting suspicious?”
Dillon snorted. “I don’t trust my mother when she’s smiling that sweetly at me. She patted me on the cheek and called me her baby. I know she’s up to something.”
Seth snorted at the image of their petite mother patting Mr. Badass on the cheek and cooing at him. “Mama’s boy,” he taunted.
Dillon flashed a grin. “Yeah, so? You’re just mad because she loves me better.”
Seth rolled his eyes and then Lily laughed. God, he loved that sound. She had the most beautiful laughter. It was a far cry from the sad-eyed woman he’d first seen in the line at a soup kitchen for the homeless. She’d been so somber and serious then. That she laughed and smiled so readily now made his chest tighten.
Lily got up and walked to him, sliding her arm around his waist even as he pulled her into his side. He kissed the mop of dark curls and rubbed his cheek over the top of her head.
“Come on. We don’t want to keep Mom waiting.”
Lily slid her hand into Dillon’s and tugged him along behind her and Seth as they made their way into the living room. They both were warm and vibrant against her. Strength. Comfort. Her entire world.
And there was Michael, sitting with his mom, but as soon as she and his brothers entered the room, his gaze found hers and was so full of love that her heart stuttered.
There was so much love in this family. That she’d found a place here in their midst still boggled her mind.
She belonged. This was hers. They belonged to her.
It would be all right. She just had to keep telling herself that.
“Lily!” Holly exclaimed as she rose. “I hope I didn’t disturb your painting.”
Lily accepted her mother-in-law’s warm hug and returned the embrace with one of her own.
“You’re never a bother. I’m glad you’re here. Do you know if Callie is feeling better?”
She marveled at just how innocent the exchange seemed. She could barely suppress her grin. So far, things had gone off without a hitch. It truly looked as though Holly had popped in for a visit and wanted to spend time with her daughter-in-law.
Holly’s expression sobered for a moment. “She and Max are flying to New York this afternoon. They left for Denver this morning.”
Dillon scowled. “What the hell? She’s sick. She doesn’t need to be flying all over the damn country. I knew I shouldn’t have let her work the bar while Max was gone. He hates it and so do I.”
Holly sighed as Seth and Michael both gave frowns of disapproval as well.
“It was necessary. There are issues with Lauren. Max didn’t want Callie to go either, but she insisted, and she was right to do so. Lauren needs them. She needs all of us right now.”
Lily’s brow furrowed at the sorrow in Holly’s voice. “What happened?”
Holly’s lips turned down. “She was abused by a man she trusted.”
Lily’s husbands’ frowns turned to deep scowls. If there was one thing the Colter men held true to, it was that women were to be cherished above all things. It was a principle passed from fathers to sons and was evidenced in the way the Colter women were coddled, pampered, and protected.
“Damn,” Michael muttered.
It was common knowledge in the family that Holly had escaped an abusive husband many years earlier. It was what had brought her to the Colter men. They’d nearly lost her to the bastard, and the subject of abuse was always bound to make any of the Colter men immediately snarly.