Page 4 of Forbidden Flame

“Are you ready to find this secret hot tub?” I asked her, needing to lighten the moment.

Heath had been staying at Marley’s apartment at the inn, so I had the cabin to myself. No one else came out this far.

Daphne nodded eagerly, placing her hand on the door.

We got out, and I grabbed a few blankets I kept in the back of my truck for stargazing when I needed time to think.

I slid my hand into hers, preferring to keep a hand on her in case she stumbled. “Who’s watching Izzy tonight?”

“My dad and my brother Jameson. I came home when I discovered I was pregnant because I knew my dad and my brothers would support me. It’s not always perfect. They’re not naturals with kids, but they’re learning. Besides, she has them wrapped around her little finger.”

“I bet,” I said even though it was hard to imagine Teddy going soft over a little girl.

“There’s something about big, strong men wearing makeup or a pink boa to appease her.”

“They do that?” I couldn’t imagine the man I’d met tonight wearing a pink boa around his neck at the request of a seven-year-old girl.

Daphne smiled. “Don’t tell them I told you. They swore me to secrecy.”

“I won’t. Besides whom would I tell?” I loved the idea of her overbearing brothers taking care of their niece. It humanized them a bit. I’d always thought of them as the competition, not as people.

Daphne just gave me a look. “I think your cousins hate my brothers as much as my brothers hate them.”

I shook my head. “It’s a ridiculous feud.”

“So you don’t care about it?”

“I didn’t say that.” I pulled out the map, hoping she wouldn’t ask any more questions. “What do you do on your family’s farm?”

“I’m just a baker. I’m the youngest. I didn’t work on the farm growing up like my brothers did.”

I squeezed her hand, wanting to share a bit of myself with her. “Just between you and me, I want to be more involved with the Monroe farm.”

“Have you talked to your aunt or your cousins about it?” Daphne asked.

“There are five brothers that stand to inherit the farm. They’re talking about building a business that will last generations. I’m not included in that.”

“You don’t think they’d want to if you told them what you want?”

“I can’t see how I fit anywhere. They’re pairing off, having kids. There’s barely enough room on the farm for their growing families.”

“You can’t get what you don’t ask for.”

I shook my head. “You make it sound so easy.”

She swung my hand. “It could be. What’s the worst that could happen?”

I huffed out a breath. “They say no.”

“Think it through. What would you do?”

“I’m helping Heath with his contracting business, so I could do more of that.”

She turned to face me, placing her hand over my heart. “How do you feel in here?”

I thought about what it would feel like if Aunt Lori told me there wasn’t a place for me at the farm. “It would hurt.”

“Could you work there, knowing you’d never get a piece of the business?”

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