Page 130 of Billionaire Lumberjack's Bargain

If what we left is even there when we get back after spending two days at the hospital in Saranac Lake…

Anything could be happening up there.

That uncertainty has been weighing on Dalton and Pops, but I’ve been trying to have faith. Something that’s been hard for me the last six months.

Dalton shifts, adjusting his hold on Hope so he can slide his hand on top of mine on the bed, intertwining our fingers. He brings them up and kisses my palm, an unspoken apology for saying it like that and rattling me in the light brush of his lips. “What do you want to do when we get back up there?”

Besides never leave again?

“What do you mean?”

The past few days have been filled with a lot of sleeping. Almost hourly breastfeeding sessions. Changing diapers and teaching Dalton how to do the same. And trying to keep Davey occupied and content in a single small hospital room without any of the comforts of home, save for his teddy bear and blanket.

We haven’t evenbegunto discuss what will happen when we go back.

Maybe because we’re both afraid to have the conversation.

The way Dalton watches me now, it’s apparent that he’s worried whatever he’s about to say will upset me. “When you get released from here, it might not be safe for all of you to come home, not after what happened with the barn.”

Of course.

I should have known that was where he was going with this.

“Don’t.” The word comes out louder and sharper than I intend, and I glance down at Davey to ensure I haven’t woken him before refocusing on Dalton. “Don’t try to make that decision for me. I know what the risks are, and that mountain is my home as much as it is yours. I don’t want to leave it.”

He squeezes my hand again, an appreciative smile pulling at his lips. “That’s what I figured, but it still begs the question…”

“What question is that?”

There have been so many over the last few days.

Over the last several weeks.

And the months we’ve known each other.

Some that I still don’t have the answers for and some that are crystal clear.

“Where do you want to live when we go back?” Tension crinkles the corners of his mouth. “Your place or at the big house with Pops and me? I go whereyougo.”

God, he’s so sweet…

Any woman would be lucky to have a man like Dalton willing to give up so much for her, but that isn’t what I want.

I don’t want him sacrificing for me—not when he already has in so many ways.

“You can’t leave your home. And you can’t leave Pops alone.”

Dalton snorts a laugh, releasing my hand to settle back in the chair, readjusting Hope on his chest. “He’s a grown-ass man. He’ll be fine, at least for a while. And when he’s not, we’ll deal with it then.”

I peek down at Davey, then back over to Dalton and my daughter.

It isn’t that I haven’t thought about this at least a few times over the last few months with as many hours as we spend at their place and them at ours. Early on, it was a very simple decision—I didn’t want to leave the homestead or the life Dave and I had built there, the life we had created for Davey.

But now, a different answer seems just as simple.

“We’re going to stay with you at your place.”

His eyebrows rise.

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