Page 53 of Secret Baby for the Triplets

I sigh, hanging my head. They’ve both had sex with her, it seems. Weaklings.

Or am I the weak one because I’ve denied that I want to be with her, too?

“Come on,” I growl. “Let’s go already.”

“What’s with the mood?” Toby demands as we leave the house.

We pile into my truck. I drive as always. The mayor’s mansion sits on the outskirts of Pine Sky on a sprawling estate encompassing over fifty acres of cattle farm.

The who’s who of Pine Sky will be there tonight, plus some Austin elite. According to the mayor, even a governor and several Washington power players are making appearances.

Mom always stressed the value of mingling with influential people. “You never know when you’ll need a favor,” she’d say.

Her advice still pops into my head now and then, but it’s more fleeting these days, like her voice and face. I don’t have anyone to pass all those tidbits of advice on like she did.

I weave through the dark country roads, thinking about Emerson’s baby and how they’re going to grow up, not unlike how we did.

“Has she talked to you about the baby’s father yet?” I ask my brothers, cutting off their conversation.

I hadn’t even heard what they were talking about. They fall silent, and Toby leans forward from the backseat.

“No,” he says. “You?”

I shake my head. “What do you think the situation is there? Abusive? Ex-husband?”

Owen doesn’t speak, but Toby has his theories. “One-night stand.”

The thought occurred to me, too, but it didn’t explain why she hightailed it out of Austin so quickly.

“What are we going to do down the line?” I ask as the mayor’s house appears on the horizon.

“Why are we having this conversation now?” Owen sighs.

“And without Emmy?” Toby adds irritably. “What’s wrong with you tonight?”

“I’m just wondering if some random guy is going to show up on the ranch one day, causing drama and stirring up shit. Shouldn’t we know the whole story?”

I pull the car up to the security gate and present ourselves to the guard. As I roll up the window, I ponder the question honestly. What is wrong with me tonight?

My brothers fall silent with my explanation, but I know it’s not really the threat of another man that worries me, but the idea that Emerson might belong to one.

We exit the car and head inside the event, but as I take a flute of champagne, I can’t bring myself to socialize with anyone deeply. My mind is only on Emerson and her baby. I don’t want to be there without her.

“I’m going back to the ranch,” I tell Owen. “I’ll come get you later.”

He doesn’t ask why, and his triplet instinct intuitively understands as I leave without telling Toby. I know he’ll explain it to our youngest brother.

I barely remember the drive back; my mind is only focused on what I’m about to say and do when I get there.

I leave my truck in the garage next to the bunkhouse and walk the rest of the way to the ranch house, passing the quiet property. Most of the staff has retired for the night, but hints of music whisper out from someone’s room, and echoes of laughter ring out periodically as I wind my way up the hill.

I enter through the back door, expecting to hear the television in the living room, but the house is startlingly quiet.

Is she asleep already?

I’m careful not to make any noise, lest I wake her up. Kicking off my dress shoes, I pad across the kitchen floor and peer over the leather sofa, but Emerson isn’t in the room at all.

Perplexed, I backtrack through the hall toward the bedrooms and check Toby’s room. The lights are off, and his unmade bed shows no indication of anyone.

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