Page 3 of Their Forever Daddy

Temper pricked at the base of Edie’s spine, but she did her best to keep it from showing in her face as she closed the gate behind Luna and turned back to Jesse. “And who’s fault is that?”

In yet another surprise move, Jesse didn’t flinch away from the question. She met Edie’s gaze head-on as she answered. “Mine.”

Edie almost wished she’d denied it. Righteous anger had been the only thing that had kept her from wallowing in her heartbreak when she’d woken up to find Jesse gone for good without so much as a goodbye note back then. Now, faced with Jesse’s simple, unwavering admission of guilt, her grip on that anger was slipping, giving way to something too close to curiosity for Edie’s comfort. Curiosity invited explanations and apologies, both of which tended to take the edge off a person’s anger.

And Edie liked her anger just the way it was, as sharp and deadly as Taylor Swift’s eyeliner, thank you very much. “Cut the shit, Jesse Lynne. We both know damn well you didn’t just pop by for a visit.”

Now Jesse did look away, her cheeks turning pink as she shoved her hands in the pockets of her expensive jeans and rocked back on the heels of what were likely even more expensive boots. And fuck if that guilty-Little-girl expression didn’t have Edie’s chest aching with a familiar need to comfort and soothe.

Or punish. Whichever the situation might call for.

“I needed to talk to you.”

“That’s what phone calls are for. Or emails. Hell, I even have social media these days. You didn’t have to fly all the way across the country just to talk to me.”

“I did about this.” Jesse shifted her gaze back to Edie’s face, her expression uncharacteristically somber. “It’s important.”

Ignoring the pounding of her own heart trying to alert her that something was off, Edie raised a brow. “Well? What is it? I don’t have all day.”

Her gaze locked on Edie’s, Jesse inhaled deeply and let it out in a long slow breath before finally answering. “I met someone. Not another actor. He runs a chain of restaurants, actually. He’s really great, and he keeps my feet on the ground, and… he’s a wonderful Daddy.”

It wasn’t a surprise, exactly. The rumor mill was always swimming with whispers about Carly Simmons and who she was or wasn’t dating. Other than the revelation that the man in question was a Daddy, there was nothing in Jesse’s statement that should have come as a shock.

And still, it was a punch in the gut Edie wasn’t remotely prepared for. “You came all this way to tell me you’re sleeping with some guy?”

“No.” Another deep breath, this one a bit shakier as Jesse shook her head. “No, Edie. I came all the way out here to tell you… to tell you I’m getting married.”

Fuck.

Chapter 2

Jesse

* * *

A hundred emotions seemed to flicker over Edie’s face in the seconds before she shut down completely, leaving Jesse with no hint of what she might be feeling as she inclined her head in a short, sharp nod. “Congratulations.”

It was a perfectly polite, even bordering on nice response. And it still felt like a kick to the chest. “Thanks,” Jesse managed past the tightness in her throat. “He’s a good guy. I think you’d like him.”

“I’m happy for you.”

She didn’t sound happy. She didn’t sound anything, which was even worse than the storm Jesse had prepared herself for when she’d decided to make the trip out to Lost River.

“Thanks,” Jesse repeated, at a loss for anything else to say. What else could she say? Sorry I left you behind. Sorry I didn’t call or write. Sorry I didn’t come home when Ken died.

I’m just so fucking… sorry.

But she didn’t think any of those apologies would be welcome, so she kept her mouth shut and tried for a smile. “Want to go into town for breakfast? My treat.”

“I’ve got food here.”

Temper sparked in her chest, but Jesse did her best to smother it. Getting into a pissing match with her ex-girlfriend wasn’t on her agenda. Well, at least not over biscuits and gravy. “All right. What’s for breakfast, then?”

Finally, she saw her own anger reflected in Edie’s eyes, but only for a moment before her face was a blank slate again. “I don’t remember inviting you.”

“You didn’t. I invited myself.” Jesse flashed a wide grin as Edie’s eyes narrowed. “Mama never did manage to teach me any manners.”

There was a long, tense moment as Edie obviously struggled with what to do next. Because while she may not have been what other people considered well-mannered, she did have her own personal code she lived by. A code that hopefully included not refusing a guest breakfast, even an uninvited and unwelcome one. “Fine,” Edie finally snapped, giving Jesse as wide of a berth as possible as she stalked out of the barn.

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