Page 71 of Secret Baby for the Triplets

I stand and amble toward the doorway. “Yeah?”

“Are you still awake?”

“Uh-huh.” I open the door and look at my flustered mother. “What’s wrong?”

Greg appears behind her, looking just as bewildered. “You have visitors,” he growls, his eyes flashing, but mostly in confusion.

“Visitors?” I echo, pulling the door open more. “Mae?”

I pop my head around the corner and look toward the front door, but I can’t see anyone from my vantage point.

“It’s definitely not Mae,” Mom counters. “Men. Three of them.”

Blood drains out of my face, and my pulse rushes into my ears. “Brothers, maybe? Triplets?”

Greg folds his arms over his chest. “Emerson, when we agreed to let you stay here, there were certain unspoken rules?—”

“I’m sure there’s a perfectly good explanation, Greg,” Mom interrupts, looking anxiously at me.

“They’re my employers at the ranch.” I meet Greg’s eyes. “And I don’t need permission to talk to the people I work for.”

“You see?” Mom tells her husband. “You don’t always need to be so suspicious, Greg!”

My breath catches as I open the screen door and find them standing on the walkway. The three of them command attention—tall, broad-shouldered, and unmistakably out of place in this suburban setting. Brock surveys the property with a measured gaze while Owen and Toby stand beside him, their presence alone making the small yard feel somehow smaller.

My mom and stepdad linger in the doorway as I step onto the porch nervously.

The guys don’t see me yet.

“Hi,” I call out warily.

In unison, they turn to face me. Relief floods their faces, and they step forward.

I turn to look at my mom and Greg. “Can you give us a minute, please?”

“Don’t be long,” Greg warns me. “The neighbors…”

I hold back my retort and wait for them to close the front door before descending the steps to join the triplets on the lawn.

“What are you doing here?”

“We tried to call you when you first left, and we decided to give you space when you didn’t return our calls. But you took too much space.” Toby stares down at me. “So, we decided to come and check on you.”

My heart pounds so ferociously that I’m sure they can hear it. “Honestly, I didn’t think you wanted to hear from me, based on the way we left things.”

“That’s why we’re here.” Brock tucks a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “We want to make sure there is no miscommunication. We are here because we want to be here.”

My face burns, and I look away.

I’m sure my mom and Greg are watching from the window, but I don’t care. I lean into his hand, and he caresses my cheek, his fingers lingering on my skin and sending waves of warmth through me.

“I’m sorry,” I choke. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

“You should have just talked to us,” Toby growls, closing in around me. “Why didn’t you just?—”

“It doesn’t matter now,” Owen interjects smoothly. “It’s all in the past. What matters now is that you’re here, and we’re here. But we will go if you ask us to leave.”

I raise my eyes and look at them, taking in compassion and understanding despite everything I’ve put them through.

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