He didn’t have the right to tell Rene no, but he did have some questions. “I don’t like the idea of you deciding it’s time for you to settle down and picking Lila because she’s standing in front of you. She deserves more than that.”

Rene watched him with shrewd eyes. “She was standing in front of me saving my life. It wasn’t like she was a random pretty lady I decided to choose because I was bored. She was a damn warrior. Even as I was bleeding out on that street I was thinking about how amazing she was. As I sat in that hospital I came up with all the ways I was going to seduce her. Imagine my surprise when I got home and all the talk was about how the sheriff had made his move.”

He didn’t like how passionate Rene sounded about Lila. But then, who wouldn’t be? She was complex and difficult and worth every bit of trouble.

“Armie, it’s obvious you miss her,” Remy said quietly. “I know it’s hard to apologize when you’re wrong, but trust me, it works. Groveling is something we all do.”

It wasn’t that simple. “She doesn’t get along with my daughter.”

“Lila loves Noelle,” Remy said gravely. “I’m struggling to understand this. She’s crying every night. You’re obviously upset.”

“What went wrong?” Rene asked. “There’s no gossip, and that tells me you’re both playing this close to the vest, but I want to know because I think I could care about her. I know I care about you. Give me a good reason why I shouldn’t go after her.”

“I can’t,” he replied. “If you’re smart, you’ll chase after that woman and raise a family with her because I think one day she’ll be an amazing mom. Maybe she just has to go through it for herself.”

“Lila’s been through it. Lila was raising kids when she was a kid,” Remy pointed out. “That’s why she and Lisa have a somewhat contentious relationship. You know Lila was in charge of that household when she was ten years old, right? Her brother did a lot, but he left her in charge of Laurel and Lisa.”

They didn’t understand. “I have to think about Noelle. I’m stuck in a bad place. The reason for the disagreement is that Noelle thinks Lila is pushing her too hard on the rehab training.”

“What do you think?” Remy asked.