Page 93 of Twins for the Mountain Daddies

I smile at the thought, excitement bubbling up in a way that still catches me off guard. A few months ago, my biggest worry was picking the right shoes for some fancy event. Now, I’m sitting here, debating baby names with two stubborn, infuriating, wonderful men.

And today, we get to see the heartbeats. Holt and Wyatt will be seeing them for the first time and something about that makes this all feel so much more real.

“You sure you’re ready for this?” Holt asks, his voice teasing but with an edge of seriousness.

“For the doctor? I think I can handle it,” I reply, playing along.

He gives me a look, one that’s both amused and pointed. “You know what I mean. The babies. Us. Hank being a broody ass.”

I hesitate, wondering how much of my heart I’m ready to show. “I’m ready for the babies,” I say, and it’s the truth. “The rest...I’m figuring it out.”

“Good.”

I lean back against the booth, letting the warmth of the tea seep into my hands as I watch the world pass by outside. Main Street is quiet, the kind of sleepy morning lull where shopkeepers are just starting to unlock doors and a few early risers trudge down the sidewalk, bundled against the cold.

I’m feeling relaxed, happy. Until a massive, gleaming SUV rolls up outside. The windows are tinted so dark you can’t see who’s inside and it has an obnoxiously expensive finish. Thevehicle is so out of place it’s like spotting a unicorn grazing in a parking lot.

I blink. Then blink again.

Holt frowns, following my gaze. “What?”

I shake my head, convinced I must be hallucinating. “Uh...are vivid delusions a pregnancy symptom?”

My hand drifts to my belly, now showing the slightest hint of a curve. The doctor said twins might show earlier, but she didn’t mention anything about delusions.

He follows my gaze, and his eyebrows shoot up. “Whoa.”

I take a breath and turn back to the window—just in time to watch a pair of thousand-dollar heels step onto the icy sidewalk.

“Oh no,” I whisper, feeling the panic rise. It’s not a hallucination. It’s my mother.

She steps out, perfectly coiffed and dressed in a tailored outfit that probably costs more than some of these people make in a year. Even from a distance, I can see the familiar set of her jaw, the determination in her stride. She’s on a mission.

Unfortunately, that mission is me.

“What’s she doing here?” I say, more to myself than to Holt. My voice sounds small, even to my own ears.

Holt looks from me to her, then back again. “You want to get out of here?”

I can’t move, frozen in place as my worlds collide. She wasn’t supposed to find me. Not yet, maybe not ever. I was supposed to have more time to figure everything out, to decide who I am without the spotlight, or my family’s demanding ways.

“Ivy?” Holt’s voice is gentle, the teasing edge gone. “Talk to me.”

I drag my gaze away from the impending storm that is my mother and focus on Holt. He’s watching me carefully, concern etched into his features.

“That’s…that’s mymother.”

He reaches across the table and squeezes my hand. “You want me to run interference? We can hide in the firehouse. She’ll never find you in there.”

I almost laugh, but it comes out more like a strangled sob. I shake my head, trying to pull myself together. I’m not the girl she thinks I am, and I’m not going to let her make me feel that way. Not anymore.

“Seriously, Ivy,” Holt says. “Say the word, and I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”

I look at him, at the warmth and sincerity in his eyes, and for a moment, I consider it. Running. Hiding. Letting him and the others shield me from everything I left behind. But I know my mother. She won’t stop until she gets what she wants.

“No,” I say, straightening my shoulders. “No, I’ll deal with it.”

“You sure? We can make a break for it, get lost in the woods for a few days.”

---