Page 95 of Triplet Babies for Pucking Christmas

Millie gives me a small, understanding smile. “You can stay here as long as you need to. You can rest. You can figure things out. They need time, too. Let them work through their stuff, and then you’ll all be okay.”

I look at her, gratitude welling up inside me. She’s always known how to help me make sense of the chaos in my head.

“Thank you,” I whisper, my voice thick. “I really needed to hear that.”

“Of course.” Millie pats my hand before standing up and walking to the stove. “I’ll get you set up in the guest room. You can just take some time for yourself, okay?”

I nod again, my heart a little lighter. It feels good to have somewhere to be, somewhere to breathe without the constant pressure of everything going wrong.

I hear the door creak open, and a little voice calls out, “Mom?”

Kieran, I think, but I don’t look up to confirm. The kids love me. They’re just...kids. Innocent. Millie ruffles Kieran’s hair as he toddles over to her.

“Everything okay?” she asks him, and he nods enthusiastically.

“I’m good,” he says, and his smile—so innocent, so simple—reminds me that I need to stop overthinking everything. Things will unfold the way they were meant to. I have to trust that. Trust is all I have left.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Troy

I’m sitting at the bar, staring into my glass, the amber liquid swirling around in a way that matches my head. All I’ve been doing for the last hour is drinking and trying to make sense of how everything went to shit so fast.

One minute, everything was fine, and then—bam. Savannah’s gone, and I’m left with a fucking mess to clean up.

I take another swig of whiskey, hoping the burn will give me some clarity. It doesn’t.

My mind’s still spinning, and the guilt’s eating at me. We should’ve done better. I should’ve done better.

The phone buzzes, and I damn near spill my drink. Finn’s name flashes on the screen, and for a second, my heart stops.

I don’t know why, but I panic, thinking something’s happened to Sav and the babies. Maybe they’re hurt. Maybe she…

I swipe the phone up and answer, my voice shaky, even though I’m trying to keep it together. “Finn, what the hell is going on? Is she okay? The kids? Are they…”

“Whoa, Troy, slow down,” Finn says, his voice calm but still carrying a weight I can hear through the line. “They’re fine. Savannah’s fine. She’s still here.”

I lean back, letting out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. “Shit, man, you had me worried. What’s going on with her? I don’t get it.”

He sighs, and I can hear him shifting in his chair. “She’s worried about you, Troy. She doesn’t think we’re working together well enough. Doesn’t think you’re there for her. We’re letting her carry too much. You, Jamie, Jared—y’all need to get your shit together.”

I run a hand over my face. Fuck. He’s right. I knew something was off, but I didn’t want to admit it. I’ve been so damn focused on my own shit that I didn’t even notice she was struggling. Not like this.

“I know, man. I’m...shit. I don’t know what the hell’s going on anymore.” I take another drink, trying to drown out the feeling of failure creeping up on me. “I can’t stand the thought of her being upset like this. We’ve gotta fix it, but...how the hell do we do that?”

Finn’s quiet for a second, then says, “You love her, right?”

My throat tightens, and I almost choke on my whiskey. Fuck. “Yeah. I do.”

“Then tell her. Not in so many words, but show her. Show her how much she means to you. She needs to see that we’re all in this together. That you’re not just spinning your wheels, fighting about dumb shit.”

I sit up straight, the words hitting me harder than the alcohol ever could. “You think that’ll help?”

“Yeah, I do. But you’ve gotta give her space first. Let her breathe. She’s gotta know she’s not alone in this, but she’s also gotta know that you’re not gonna drown in your own shit while she carries the weight. Give her time, Troy. Let her come to us when she’s ready.”

I nod even though he can’t see me. “All right. Okay. I get it.” I pause, the guilt still eating at me, gnawing at my insides. “Finn, I need to know. If anything’s going on with her—anything—promise me you’ll keep me in the loop. I don’t care what it is. I can’t let her deal with all this on her own. Not after everything.”

There’s a pause on the other end, and when Finn speaks again, his voice is firm. “I promise, man. I’ll keep you posted. But you gotta trust me, all right? She’s gonna be fine. She’s strong as hell. But right now, we just gotta give her the space to figure shit out.”

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