Page 77 of My Three Mountain Men

Brooks’ grin grew as he steered us up to the gate, punching in the code. It gave way, allowing us through, and instantly, I saw the balloons and streamers.

WELCOME, BABY MILLAN!

The plastic sign spanned along the pines before the cabin, and I counted six women standing on the porch even before we parked.

“Oh, shit,” I mumbled. “Is this a good idea?”

Brooks reached for my hand comfortingly. “No one cares about our personal business, Simone,” he promised. “Loganville loves us. They love you, especially since you started the foundation. It’s helped so many people out through inflation. The Neighbors Helping Neighbors campaign is brilliant.”

“I’m nervous,” I muttered.

“It’s a baby, Simone. Everyone is here to celebrate the birth of our daughter.”

“As long as you didn’t invite Aimee,” I joked.

“Never,” he said. “She’ll be in prison for a long, long time.”

He squeezed my leg as Knox approached the truck, a scowl on his face. I grinned as I opened the door.

“If one more of them asks who the father of the baby is…” he growled.

“Come on, cuz,” Brooks said smoothly, guiding his cousin away from the truck. “Men aren’t supposed to be at baby showers.”

I stared helplessly after them, wishing they wouldn’t just leave me with a bunch of local women, but I didn’t have much of a choice when I was flocked a minute later.

“Look at you, Simone! You’re glowing!” Lynnie Travers cooed sweetly. “Wasn’t it nice of the boys to put this together for you?”

I eventually lowered my guard and allowed myself to enjoy the party, realizing how much my guys had had to let go in order to let it happen themselves. Permitting this many people they barely knew, planning a surprise behind my ever-astute back—it was a kind gesture.

I’d made my decision to forsake the world as I’d known it, after all, but that didn’t mean I didn’t sometimes miss the connection, which was why I involved myself more actively in Loganville than the guys did, a fact that they wholeheartedly encouraged.

But this party went beyond that.

“I’ve always wanted to see what this place looked like,” Candy McGuigan admitted. “I’ve hiked the perimeter, trying to get a glimpse inside.”

“I know,” I cracked, accepting a glass of sparkling cider. “We’ve seen you on camera.”

Candy balked, and the others laughed, thinking I was kidding, but I winked before she could question me.

“Do you know the sex yet?” Vero James asked, placing her hands brazenly on my full belly.

I grimaced, but didn’t stop her. As much as I hated it when people did that, I didn’t make a fuss when women did it. Men knew better—at least with me. No one wanted to face the wrath of touching the Millans’ woman—even if they didn’t fully understand the dynamic of what was happening up there in our cabin.

“Ryder really wants to know,” I answered before I thought about it. “But the rest of us are waiting.”

My response created a full silence in the kitchen, all eyes on me, as if I’d answered a query that had been weighing on everyone’s mind since they’d learned about my pregnancy.

Fuck ‘em.

I dared them to ask it aloud.

Lynnie cleared her throat and changed the subject abruptly, refilling glasses. But I hung back as the others drifted off into the living room, a small grin playing on my lips.

They could never understand what I had with Ryder, Knox, and Brooks. They would never know the connection of being saved, mind, body, and soul the way I had.

I bowed my head, my long blonde tresses covering my face as I stared at the bump under my blouse.

“But you… you’re going to know the best kind of life,” I promised my unborn child. “You’re never going to know abandonment or betrayal. You’ll never experience the loss that we’ve known because you’ll always have backup.”

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