Page 60 of Stuck with my Mountain Daddies

“I miss you,” I blurted. The words hit the air before I could swallow them back.

Lucy went quiet for a beat, then her voice softened. “I miss you, too, Ry.”

I pressed a hand to my eyes, squeezing tight. “I should’ve been better. About… you know. Keeping in touch.”

“You’re here now,” she said simply. “That counts.”

Shit, I didn’t deserve her. Especially with what I’d done.

“I can’t wait to see you,” I whispered. And I meant it.

But as soon as the words left my mouth, the guilt came crawling back in.

Because what the hell was I going to do when I saw her?

Lie?

Pretend I hadn’t been wrapped up in her brothers like a bad plotline in a scandalous romance novel?

Would they want to keep this a secret? Would I?

I had no answers. Only a head full of questions and a heart that was already tangled up in ways I wasn’t sure I could untangle.

“Let’s make it happen. Soon, okay?”

I nodded, although she couldn’t see me. “Can’t wait.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Garrett

“Well,we’ve done all we can.” I rested my hands on my hips. “But the damage runs deep. We might need to take a few days on this so we can rebuild some of it.”

Lucy wasn’t going to be pleased, but what else could we do?

Finally, Beckett blew out a breath. “It’s bad. Worse than I thought. From a distance, it didn’t looktoobad.”

“Way worse,” I agreed, rubbing a hand over my jaw. “The water got into the walls. Floors are shot in at least two rooms. Mold’s gonna be a problem if we don’t act fast.”

Asher let out a low whistle, tugging his hoodie over his head as we walked back to the truck. “We should just go down to Medford. Tell Lucy in person.”

Beckett glanced at me. “Today?”

I thought about it for a second. “Yeah. Better we show up and talk it through. Pictures won’t do it justice. We can take Riley, too. Put Lucy’s mind at ease.”

Something about that made me nervous.

It wastoo muchreality. But we had to face it eventually.

The cabin welcomed us with the smell of coffee and wood smoke. Riley was in the kitchen, wearing soft leggings and anoversized sweater, stirring something on the stove. Her face lit up when she saw us.

“You’re back,” she said, setting the spoon aside.

“We are,” I said, brushing a kiss to her temple. “Got a minute?”

Her brows pulled together. “What happened?”

“It’s bad,” Beckett said. “Like, full gut job in parts.”

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