Page 133 of Tangled up in You

“We were so damned terrified,” he said. “I did try to be good. I texted you and tried not to worry that you weren’t responding until the park service called.”

“You get anAfor effort, Daddy.”

Josie draped an arm around her. “The surprise of this,” she said, “is nowI’mthe one wanting to wrap you in bubble wrap.”

“So says the woman about to explode,” Jesse teased back.

Josie rested a hand on her stomach. “Yeah, well, I couldn’t risk having him and you not be here for it. When do we get to meet the men your father now wants to have sainted?”

Jesse’s face heated. She didn’t know how she’d break the news of their relationship to them, but her first step was to figure out exactly what this relationship with the men was first.

And best to do that before letting her parents in on the news.

Which led her to another thought.

“I love you, Josie. You know that, right?”

She cocked her head. “Yes, honey. I love you, too.”

Jesse teared up again. “You’re a good mom to me, and you’ll be a great mom to the tater tot. I know you will.”

Now Josie started crying, engulfing her in another hug. “I never wanted you to think I was trying to replace your mom,” she tearfully said. “But thank you. I want to be your mom.”

“You are.”

“Well, when we finish crying,” her father said. “Let’s eat breakfast and figure out how to get back home.”

“I can’t leave for home yet,” Jesse said. “Besides, I need to go back to Mark and Christopher’s. My things are all there.”And I need to talk to them to see if I even want to leave Yellowstone.

He nodded. “Okay. Well, I’ll go with you, and?—”

“No, Daddy,” Jesse said. “You stay here with Josie. I don’t want her going into labor alone.”

Josie cocked her head at Jesse, studying her for a moment. “Brand, let her go. She’s been through a lot. She probably needs time alone away from everyone.”

“She was just lost in the wilderness for nearly two weeks!” he protested.

Jesse grabbed the easy excuse. “I was cooped up in a tent with them for nearly a whole week of that, too. She’s right; I do need alone time. I promise I won’t disappear again.”

He finally agreed, and after eating breakfast at Melva’s, Jesse drove back into the park while the two security guys her dad brought with them drove them back to the hotel.

Her palms sweated as she made the drive and ran through several scenarios in her mind, working on scripts.

The men certainly seemed on-board with the idea of this being the start of something long-term. At least, that’s what she gleaned from their discussions.

When she pulled up in front of their cabin, both their trucks sat parked there, and the front door was unlocked, so she walked in. She heard the men talking somewhere in the back of the house, along with the sounds of the washer and dryer going, and headed that way.

CHRISTOPHER

The men stood in the laundry alcove in the master bath, sorting and folding the first load of clothes fresh from the dryer while another load started washing and the second load tumbled in the dryer.

“I’m saying don’t get your hopes us, Chris,” Mark said.

He wanted to strangle Mark. “Can’t you put your doubt aside for a little while? Why wouldn’t she want to be with us? Everything she’s said points to that.”

“I’m just saying we’ve gone through this before,” Mark snapped. “Wealthy tourist, fun fling, and nothing more. It’s the same pattern, especially with the rich ones. Certainly nothing to uproot our lives over.”

Chris shook his head. “I’m sure that’s not all this is to her!”

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