Page 10 of Their Forever Daddy

Bracing herself for Taylor’s icy fury, Jesse plastered on a smile and opened the door. “Hey, Taylor. Is Edie here?”

“Nope,” Taylor answered, barely glancing up from the book she was reading.

“Okay, well… do you know where she went?”

“Out.”

Jesus. “Out, where?”

“I’m not Edie’s keeper.”

“Well, can you at least give me her number so I can call her?”

Without even pretending to look up this time, Taylor turned a page. “Nope.”

This was getting her nowhere. Stomping up to the counter, Jesse slapped her hands down on the polished wood hard enough to have Taylor’s head jerking up to stare at her. “All right, Taylor Dawson. Are you going to tell me why you suddenly hate my guts?”

Taylor blinked in surprise, a pretty blush creeping into her cheeks even as she lifted her chin. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t know you well enough to hate you.”

“Exactly my point. So, what’s your deal? Is this all because of Edie?”

Before Taylor could do more than open her mouth to respond, the bells above the front door jangled and Jesse whipped around to glare at the intruder. Only to find Ian Grady stepping into the store with a wide grin on his face.

His smile brightened even more when he spotted her. “Jesse? Holy shit! I didn’t know you were home!”

Ian rushed forward, sweeping her up in a tight hug, and Jesse’s heart stuttered a bit as she returned the embrace. It was a knee-weakening relief to know not everyone felt the same way as Edie and Taylor did about her return to Lost River.

“I had some business in town, figured I’d stay a bit,” she said when Ian put her back on her feet. “How have you been?”

“Good. Really good.” His gaze shifted to Taylor, and his grin seemed to freeze on his face. “Why are you staring at me like you want to rip my throat out, Tayter Tot?”

Tayter Tot? Well, that was freaking adorable. And fitting for Taylor, who was cute as a button even when she was trying to murder you with her eyes.

“Nothing,” Taylor said, her voice as stiff as her posture. “Jesse was just leaving.”

Eyebrows raising, Ian glanced from Taylor to Jesse and back again. “What did I miss?”

“It’s nothing,” Jesse said, echoing Taylor’s words but adding a bright smile she didn’t remotely feel. “I was just coming in to ask Taylor if she had Edie’s number so I could get a ride up to her house.”

“Knowing Edie, she’s off saving a herd of cats or another goat or something. But I can give you a ride wherever you need.”

“Absolutely the fuck not.” Fury snapped in Taylor’s eyes and her voice, making Ian’s eyes narrow in a look Jesse recognized all too well.

Uh oh.

“Excuse me, Taylor Grace?”

Yup. That was definitely a Daddy Warning Tone if she’d ever heard one.

But Taylor either didn’t hear it or didn’t care. “I said, absolutely the fuck not. You aren’t giving her a ride anywhere.”

Ian’s gaze flicked toward Jesse for only a second before returning to Taylor’s defiant expression. “Jesse, please excuse us for a minute. Taylor and I need to speak in private.”

Shit. Taylor really was going to hate her forever if Ian took her to task over their… whatever this was between her and Taylor. “Actually, if I could just get Edie’s number I’ll get out of your hair. I’ll head over to Joe’s Diner and wait for her.”

“No need,” he said firmly without bothering to actually look at her. His gaze was still locked on the furious blonde behind the counter. “Taylor. Office. Now.”

A tiny sliver of worry snuck in through Taylor’s icy facade. “Can’t it wait?”

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