Page 76 of Nanny for the Single Dad Cowboy
For months I’ve fought this—the idea of belonging here, of being part of their world. I told myself I was temporary, a stand-in, aguest passing through their lives. But now, looking at this little girl, this precious human being who trusts me enough to want me as hers, I can’t pretend anymore.
“Yes,” I whisper before I can stop myself.
Her eyes widen. “Really?”
“Really.” My voice breaks, but I’m smiling through it. “If your daddy still wants me here… then yes, Bug. I’d like that. I’d love to be your mom.”
She gasps, throwing her arms around me, nearly knocking me backward. I laugh as she squeezes me tight.
“I love you, Tessa.”
I hold her closer, heart thudding in my chest. “I love you too, Bug. So, so much.”
For the first time all night, the house doesn’t feel heavy anymore. The silence feels peaceful. Hope fills the space where fear had been.
We settle down to watch another movie, and this time we fall asleep, cuddled together, waiting for Jace to come home.
I have no idea how much time passes, but I’m woken up by the rumble of an engine echoing through the driveway before I even see the truck. I sit up with Daisy in my arms, and my stomach twists into a knot.
And then we see the headlights—bright beams cutting through the curtains, washing the room in silver light.
Daisy jerks upright. “They’re home!”
I freeze, my heart leaping to my throat.
They’re home.
The crunch of gravel outside jolts me to my feet before I even realize I’m moving. Daisy’s already halfway to the door, the blanket we’d been wrapped in trailing behind her like a cape.
“Wait, Bug—“
Too late. She flings open the front door, the night air rushing in—cold, sharp, and alive with the sound of engines dying down. The floodlights over the porch cast long shadows across the yard, catching the familiar shape of the truck as it pulls to a stop.
Zane jumps out first, dust on his jeans and exhaustion written in the lines around his mouth. Beck follows, helping someone out of the back passenger seat.
My breath catches.
Jace.
For a second, everything inside me stops.
He’s upright and walking, but the sight still knocks the air from my lungs. His shirt is torn, his knuckles scraped raw, and there’s a smear of blood along his jaw that makes my stomach twist.
“Daddy!” Daisy screams, racing across the yard.
Jace’s head lifts, and the second he spots her, the hardness in his face cracks. His mouth softens as he crouches low, ignoring whatever pain he’s in. He catches her mid-run, lifting her clean off the ground.
“Hey, Bug,” he rasps, his voice rough, hoarse, but alive.
I stand frozen in the doorway, my hands trembling. The world feels like it’s narrowed down to this—the man I love, holding the little girl who loves him more than anything, both framed in the porch light like something out of a dream.
Zane walks past them toward me, clapping a hand on my shoulder. His palm is warm, heavy with reassurance. “He’s fine, Tessa. Just a few cuts and bruises.”
But I can’t move. Not until I see it for myself.
Jace sets Daisy down and straightens, his gaze finding me instantly, like a magnet snapping into place.
“Hey,” he says, simple as that.
