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“We were sleeping a little after midnight,” Bella said. “I told you that.”

Marly looked at his face, didn’t see any tired lines there, but he was used to not sleeping much in his job.

“Did they keep you up?” she asked, moving aside for them to come in. No reason for anyone to know she’d seen Colson not that long ago.

“No. For the most part Bella is pretty quiet.”

And her room was at the other end of the hall from Colson’s. She knew that much.

“Hi, Bella,” Regan said. “Colson.”

“Hi,” Bella said.

“Bella, this is my mother, Marjorie, my father, Dave, my brother, Zander. Everyone else knows Colson.”

“Because you two used to date,” Bella said. “When you were younger. How young?”

There was just no way around this. She knew. She didn’t know why they were hiding it, but looked at Colson to see his answer.

“It doesn’t matter. And don’t even consider asking if you can have a boyfriend. Times are different now and it’s not like we ever went on a date alone back then. Right?”

He was looking around the room at her parents.

“Never,” her mother said. “They were together in groups or here at the house. If they went to the movies, it was with friends.”

“Or my mother,” she added. “Who would sit in another row.”

“That’s right,” he said. “Wait until you're older.”

“There isn’t anyone I’m interested in any way,” Bella said. “No boys talk to me.”

She frowned. It was the way it was said. “Then it’s their loss.”

“I guess,” Bella said. “They are all into girls who play sports or have more freedom than me.”

She lifted her eyebrow and looked at Colson who didn’t seem fazed by that comment. “Glad I’m setting a pattern early,” he said. “Saves me from answering the door with my gun and badge on when a boy comes to get you.”

Bella let out a sigh. “Most know I live with my brother and what you do, Colson. So yeah, just another thing.” Bella moved away from her brother. “Can I hold Zola? Is that okay? I love babies.”

“You can hold her,” Regan said.

Her father handed the baby over. “Why don’t we all go in the back and relax? I’ve got some snacks to put out and Dave has the grill lit and we can start dinner,” her mother said.

Everyone followed her mother, but Marly held back. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“That’s the first I heard her say that about boys or me. I’ll have to find out what it means.”

“I think it means what she said. She didn’t seem too distressed over it. And if she was, I’d think she’d keep it in more.”

“Really?” he asked.

She laid her hand on his. “Really. If you’re that concerned, set her up with Regan to talk about it, but I really think there might have been some pride there.”

He snorted. “I highly doubt that.”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I know. I’m a daddy’s girl. At times I hated that he was so firm with things, but other times I kind of liked it. That people were afraid of my father and maybe deep down I knew they wouldn’t give me a hard time.”

He seemed in thought. “Her life is just messed up.”