Page 162 of Stuck with my Mountain Daddies

A silence stretched between us, heavy but not hostile. It felt like walking over ice, slow and careful, waiting to see if it would hold.

“I want you to be happy, Riley,” she said finally. “Ido.You deserve that. And if it’s with one, or all, of my idiot brothers and their collectively tragic flannel wardrobe…”

“Oh my god, Lucy.”

“…then so be it.”

I laughed. I cried. Probably both at once.

She smirked, but her eyes were still a little glossy. “I mean, IknewAsher liked you. That was obvious. He gets all broody and weird around women he actually likes. It’s like watching a lumberjack short circuit.”

I blinked. “Wait, you knew about Asher?”

She shrugged. “He looked at you like he was already halfway gone. But I didn’t think it wasallof them. That part was a shock. Like, an actual spit-out-my-coffee moment. Beckett, too?Garrett?”

I winced. “Yeah.”

“Girl,” she said, giving me a look. “You don’t do anything halfway, do you?”

“I didn’t mean for it to happen like this. Any of it. It just did. And now it’s all so messy and confusing and sometimes it feels impossible, and…” I let out a slow breath. “I’m still trying to catch up to my own life.”

Lucy nodded slowly, her teasing dimming into something gentler. “So are you staying? In Medford, I mean.”

I hesitated.

There was a time not that long ago when I would have immediately said no. LA was my home, and I was always going to make my way back to that.

But now?

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “Everything still feels like it’s up in the air. I want to stay. I want to make this work. But things are complicated. The town’s still buzzing, and the media won’t let it go. I feel like I’m constantly trying to shield the baby from a world that already has opinions about who they should be.”

Lucy nodded, understanding written in the soft downturn of her mouth.

“But when I’m with them,” I added, glancing toward the door where the brothers had vanished to give us space, “it’s the only time I feel like I can breathe. Like maybe I don’t have to figure it all out right away.”

“That’s fair,” she said. “And honestly? Medford’s not going anywhere. Neither am I.”

“I missed you so much,” I said.

“Same.” She squeezed my hand. “And for the record, if you decide to stay, we’re going full auntie mode. I’m talking knit hats, baby yoga, and a shower so over the top it’ll make your influencer soul weep with joy.”

I laughed, really laughed, the sound scraping off something sore and leaving relief behind.

“Let me get through the next doctor’s appointment without crying first,” I said.

Lucy grinned. “Deal.”

Eventually, I made it back to my room, packed up my suitcase, and then returned to the front door where Lucy was waiting.

The guys were still outside. Beckett leaned against the porch rail. Garrett paced slowly, glancing at the tree line as if he expected trouble.

Asher didn’t move at all. He met my eyes with that intense look that always made my chest tighten.

“I’ll call you later,” I said to Lucy, my voice softer than before.

She nodded. “And Riley?”

I turned back.

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