Page 12 of Their Forever Daddy

Figuring she’d done as much as she could do for poor Taylor, Jesse bit back a sigh and slid into the car. Taylor could handle her own Daddy. Jesse had bigger problems to worry about.

Like finding Edie so she could finally get some peace of mind about the way she’d left, then get the hell out of Lost River. For good this time.

Chapter 5

Edie

* * *

The llama, as it turned out, was the easy part of the trip. It was the little girl, sobbing her heart out, that had Edie rethinking all her life choices as she drove away.

She tried to tell herself it wasn’t her fault. She wasn’t the one who bought that poor baby a new pet without having the proper facilities in place to care for said animal. But it didn’t stop her from feeling like an absolute asshole as the child’s wails faded in the distance.

Which meant she wasn’t exactly in the best of moods by the time she backed her aging truck up to the barn and killed the engine. Maybe she’d luck out and discover Jesse had gotten herself a hotel room in town. Or, better yet, taken herself back to Hollywood. Where she belonged.

Luck once again was not on her side. No sooner had Edie hopped down from the truck than the front door swung open and Jesse stepped out onto the front porch. Feet bare and an apron wrapped around her slim waist, she was the very picture of domesticity. She looked so right standing there, it had Edie’s throat tightening with a longing she thought she’d gotten over years ago.

“You’re home!” Jesse stepped off the porch, wincing and jerking her foot up, courtesy of the gravel driveway.

“Jesus Christ, woman. Go put some goddamn shoes on.”

The order came out sharper than she’d intended, thanks to the riot of emotions churning inside her, and even from a distance she could see the hurt that flickered across Jesse’s face before she turned and stomped back inside.

Guilt added itself to that messy storm of emotions crowding Edie’s chest, but she deliberately ignored it. Maybe if she was enough of an asshole, Jesse would give up on this weird crusade of hers and leave her in peace.

Turning her back on the house, Edie made her way to the trailer attached to the back of the truck and opened the door. “Hey there, pretty girl.” She kept her voice low and soothing, doing her best not to spook the llama.

Not that she needed to worry. The llama walked down the ramp, its head held high, surveying its new home with a curious eye.

“You aren’t scared, are you, gorgeous?” Edie murmured, reaching up to rub her hand down its fuzzy snout. The wool was warm and soft beneath her palm, and she grinned. “I think we’re gonna get along just fine, you and me.”

A soft gasp behind her had Edie’s shoulders tensing. “Oh, she’s beautiful. Where did you get her?”

“Some idiot bought his five-year-old daughter a llama without bothering to do five minutes of research on what he’d need to take care of her.” Edie didn’t take her eyes off the animal, but she was painfully aware of Jesse’s presence as she stepped up to run a hand down the llama’s neck. Every cell in her body seemed to respond to the other woman’s presence, and she hated herself for it. “Didn’t even have a fucking barn for her to sleep in.”

“Those bastards,” Jesse crooned, her voice taking on the same gentle tone Edie’s had.

She always had been good with animals. And people.

Hearts, on the other hand….

“Need to get her settled in.” Edie’s voice was gruff as she flicked her gaze toward Jesse. And immediately wished she hadn’t when her heart tripped in her chest at the sight of her babygirl’s face lit with pleasure as she stroked a hand down the animal’s long neck.

Not your babygirl anymore. Hasn’t been for a very long time.

The smile on Jesse’s face widened. “Ready to see your new home, pretty girl? Edie’s going to take good care of you. She takes good care of everyone.”

“I do. Until they leave.”

She hadn’t meant to say it. But the emotions battering at her from all sides had pretty much stripped her of her usual filter, which wasn’t all that much of a filter to begin with.

Stepping away from the llama, Jesse turned, all the emotions Edie was trying so hard not to feel flitting across her face. “That’s not fair.”

“Maybe not,” Edie said with a shrug that was far more nonchalant than she felt at that moment. “But it’s the truth.”

“Your truth, maybe.” Fury shimmered in Jesse’s eyes as she jerked her chin up. “But not mine. I didn’t want to leave you, Edie.”

She wasn’t in any frame of mind to be having this conversation, not when her emotions were still so close to the surface. Reattaching the rope to the llama’s harness, she gave it a gentle tug. “Come on, sweet girl. Let’s go introduce you to Luna.”

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