Page 26 of Mistletoe and Mischief

The confines of the helicopter keep me from putting my fist through a wall.

“Why didn’t you tell me she was pregnant?” I yell at Blake and Cole.

Cole looks up numbly. He got the termination text too. And so did Blake, judging by his defeated expression. Cole says, “We were waiting for you to hang up with the parks rep.”

I bite back my reply and pull up the addendum they had me sign. It’s my own damn fault for not reading it.

“The one fucking thing she insisted on… us taking her seriously. How the fuck can I make this right? I would have signed even if I’d read it. You guys know that.”

My fingers tremble as I hit Jasmine’s number. It rings once, twice, three times. No voicemail. What the hell?

I try to send a text. It fails.

“Pull your thumbs out of your asses, see if you have reception.” While venting my anger, I dial a friend.

He answers. Fuck! I tell him it was a butt dial and get off the call.

I’d throw my phone out of the chopper if I didn’t fear Jasmine not being able to contact me—a pipe dream since she’s clearly serious about the termination clause. It finally occurs to me that Trent just heard the news. He’s staring out the window, fists balled in his lap, the muscles of his jaw flexing.

A ping from my phone holds more excitement than any split second in my entire life. I’m afraid to look in case it’s not her. But I’m also not about to delay my chance with her.

It’s just a follow-up message about the national park partnership. I laugh bitterly. A few minutes ago, that news had me over the moon. Now? I couldn’t care less.

“Get this bird on the ground!” I yell at the pilot we’re interviewing.

“He’s not mad at you,” Blake says quickly. “But we do need to get down ASAP.”

“Fuck this termination clause. I’m going straight to her house.”

“Excellent idea.” Trent laughs darkly.

Cole says. “Think it through, Landon, she values her independence about all else. That’s why we swore to each other we’d make this a long game.”

Blake tries to add more logic. “Let’s look at the positives.”

I hold a hand up, feign thinking, then say, “Okay, now that we’ve exhausted that list, I’m putting together a game plan.”

Cole exhales hard. “Don’t fuck this up, Landon. She needs independence. She’s afraid of commitment. She just found out she’s pregnant. She’s not thinking any clearer than you.”

“All the more reason she needs me to explain why I signed without reading it.”

Blake takes a firmer stance with me than ever before. “Dammit, Landon. Take a step back. The addendum made it clear she plans on keeping the baby. She’s going to find out which one of us is the father. This is good.”

“We have very different definitions of good.”

Seventeen

Cole

Blake rolls down the passenger window as we pull up beside Landon’s car.

“You ready to talk to her calmly?” Blake asks when Landon rolls his window down.

Dark circles under Landon’s eyes speak to how little sleep he got staking out Jasmine’s house. It was our compromise. He refrains from barging into her house and insisting she hear him out, but he gets to make sure she doesn’t skip town… which he was fairly certain she might do. Blake and I didn’t disagree.

Landon clears his throat “We’ll have to wait. She left.”

“What?” I exchange a puzzled glance with Blake. “So why aren’t you tracking her?”

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