Page 45 of Falling for My Boss

“You two are too cute,” he said. “Seriously, adorable. It makes me ill, but I love it. I am so damn happy for you, Jodi. So damn happy.”

“Thank you,” she said. “You will always be my brother, but I want to stay here and try to do the family thing. You can see me whenever you want to, but I need somewhere stable, and preferably not near our crazy parents, to raise my baby.”

“I get it,” Jack said. “No need to convince me. You are one hundred percent right. Besides, I have business here now. I can always come up with a reason that I need to go to King Vineyards for something.”

“Good,” she said. “I want you here and in my kid’s life. I just also want to be here.” She looked up at me and grinned. “All this was sort of an accident, but it’s the best one I’ve ever made.”

I held her tighter and sat back to listen as the twins continued to catch up, munching on fries and enjoying the occasional looks out of the kitchen window by Ally, who just grinned, shook her head, and motioned for me to stay where I was. What was going on at that table was far more important. Frankly, any excuse to hold Jodi was more important than anything else I could think of.

28

JODI

The relief that flooded my body when I realized that not only was my brother not going to send me back home or tell my folks about it, but that he was on my side was incredible. I felt like I had the weight of the world lifted off my shoulders and tossed away. I kept having to hold myself back from falling into a crying puddle at the release of all that tension, most of which I hadn’t even let myself feel.

But it was gone now. I had spent so long on my own, ducking from town to town, working as much as I could wherever I could and saving up the money to keep moving. I had lived essentially on the streets. I had done what I needed to survive and maintain my dignity, but it wasn’t easy. There were cold nights and long, hard days. There was the constant terror of being found, of being chased.

There was the heartbreak and crushing loss when I thought my brother was against me.

It was gone now. I could barely believe it, but it was gone. I didn’t even care how my parents felt anymore, though I was sure I would care at least a little when I came down from that high. Yet, at that moment, with Derek beside me, my brother having my back, the entire King clan inviting me into their family and welcoming me warmly, genuinely, and a baby in my belly… I didn’t care.

I hated that I thought my brother had really turned against me though. It weighed on me that I didn’t give him a chance to explain himself, to question why he said what he said. If I had just listened, if I had just waited…

I knew that wasn’t reasonable. I was terrified, and with good reason. My parents were not known for taking disappointment lightly. They were known for being ruthless business people. My brother and I had spent our entire life trying to be what they wanted us to be: the perfect children. I knew deep down they loved us, as much as they seemed capable of love. They were just singular focused and singular minded. Somehow, I attributed that to my brother, just because he was successful in their business. It wasn’t fair to him. But I had to be fair to myself too. I didn’t make decisions with a rational mind all the time. I was on the run. I had to protect myself.

And it led me here. To King Vineyards. To Derek. I had to be able to see the good in that. Now, I was finding myself not only having a man who I loved, but a baby too, and my brother at my side.

I tried to focus on that. I tried to make that my only thought. That it worked out. How it worked out so much for the better than I ever could have imagined.

But as soon as I was through the door and back in the kitchen, it all came out.

I collapsed into Derek’s arms almost before the door shut behind me. He held me tight, kissing the top of my head as the tears streamed. I was supposed to be going back there to grab some drinks for me and him, a couple of sodas since I obviously wasn’t going to drink alcohol. Derek was making his way back to work the dinner shift, insisting on us taking the time off to hang out. Yet, he wasn’t rushed, wasn’t upset with me, and instead pulled me to the side where he could take me into the office and sit me down.

“Hey, it’s okay,” he said, shutting the door behind us. “It’s alright. I know. It’s a lot.”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I hope this isn’t how pregnancy is for me, because I’m already a crier.”

It got a short laugh from Derek, and I smiled through the tears. I knew it was reacting to so many things all at once that there was no one singular emotion, but I was trying to hold on to that relief more than anything else.

“You will be fine,” he said. “Go on, go enjoy the rest of the evening with Jack.”

“He said he has to go back to his hotel,” I said. “Right after you left to come back here, he said he was going to head out in about a half hour.”

“Oh,” Derek said. “Well, then you can go on home.”

“No,” I said. “I want to work. It will help.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” I said. “Thank you. I just needed a moment. I’ll be okay.”

He smiled warily and waited with me while I cleaned up. Then, I made it back out, hugged Jack, who said he was going to be back the next day and for a few days yet, and then went right into work. I settled into the rhythm well, and when the shift was over, I was feeling much better. Better enough that when I saw Cam walking through the kitchen from his office over to the one that Alex was primarily using these days, I caught him by the elbow.

“Hey,” I said. “You can go ahead and put me on payroll now.”

He grinned widely. “I heard. Good thing I have the paperwork right here. And your back pay.”

“You didn’t need…” I began.

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