Page 66 of Their Forever Daddy

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Coffee was still brewing when Edie made it back down the stairs, so she stopped in the kitchen and poured herself a cup without bothering to wait for it to finish. Taylor was standing beside the counter, looking nervous but in a way that made it clear she was trying very hard not to look nervous as Edie lifted the mug to her lips and sipped.

“We were worried about you,” Taylor said, her mouth setting the way it did when she was prepared to dig in her heels about something.

“Coffee first. Then we can talk about you four threatening to break down my front door.”

“Technically, we threatened to break a window.”

Edie slowly raised one eyebrow, silently taking pleasure in the way Taylor shifted from one foot to another. “Do you really think that makes it better?”

Clearing her throat, Taylor jerked one shoulder in a nervous shrug. “Maybe.”

“Let me rephrase. Do you think your Daddy would be any less pissed about paying to replace a window than he would a door?”

As if on cue, the front door in question opened then slammed shut again, and a moment later her kitchen was filled with the rest of their group. Edie narrowed her eyes at the hay stuck to Carly’s jeans and, somehow, in Noelle’s hair.

Ginny, as always, still looked flawless. Sometimes Edie wondered if she wasn’t part fae, considering she hardly ever looked mussed unless Rex was around. It just didn’t seem natural for her to always look so perfect.

Still sipping her coffee, Edie pinned them with the same stare she’d been giving Taylor. “I thought I told you to wait in the living room.”

Carly crossed her arms, a look of pure defiance etched into her features. “You also said you hadn’t fed the animals yet. We went and tossed everyone some food and let Luna and the llama out into the pasture. You’re welcome.”

Dammit. She’d completely forgotten after Grant had kissed her brainless. The man was dangerous. “She’s not a llama, she’s an alpaca. But thank you. Now, living room. March.”

It took a fair bit of grumbling, but they eventually all made their way to the living room and settled in what Edie had come to think of as ‘their’ seats. Taylor on the couch, with Noelle and Carly on either side of her, Ginny curled up like a kitten in one of the oversized armchairs, leaving the other open for Edie.

Taking her place, coffee cup cradled in her hands, she let her gaze slowly travel the room. Mostly for the pleasure of watching them all squirm in their seats, which they did. Even Ginny, who wasn’t quite as ‘Little’ as the others and who normally didn’t seem as affected by Edie’s bossy ways shifted in her seat, her cheeks coloring under Edie’s scrutiny.

From the stairs, she heard the low rumble of Grant’s voice and Jesse’s responding whisper. And everything in her positively ached to go to them, to see if they were all right. But she also didn’t want to draw any more attention to Jesse than necessary, so she simply sat and waited a bit longer.

Finally, Grant and Jesse made their way down the stairs, pausing at the bottom. Her eyes locked with Grant’s, and she saw the silent question there. Are you okay?

In response, she jerked her head toward the front door. He waited another moment before nodding slightly and herding their babygirl outside, his body shielding her from view. Edie waited until she heard the clear sound of tires crunching over gravel to finally speak.

“All right. Who wants to tell me what the hell has gotten into the four of you?”

She’d half expected all of them to start talking at once. Instead, there were lots of shared looks and subtle nods, as if they were silently debating who was going to be the one to actually do the speaking.

A problem she was happy to solve herself. “You,” she said, pointing to Ginny. “Speak.”

Ginny sighed, as if accepting her fate, then sat up straighter in her chair. “We were worried about you.”

“Why? Because you hadn’t heard from me in a few hours?”

“Twenty-four hours, Edie!” Obviously fired up now, Ginny leaned forward, anger sparking in her emerald eyes. “A whole fucking day! Which, okay, isn’t that unusual for you but this isn’t a usual situation, either. If one of our exes randomly showed up in town and we went radio silent on everyone, you’d be leading the charge to our house demanding to know what was going on.”

Edie opened her mouth to argue, then almost immediately snapped it shut again.

Because Ginny was right. If it had been Ginny, or Carly, or any of the others—hell, even if it had been Matt or Ian or Rex—in her position, Edie would have been out of her mind with worry.

“You’re right. I’m sorry I worried you for no reason. As you can see, I am clearly unharmed.”

“Physically, anyway,” Carly muttered darkly. “But she’s obviously fucked with your head since you ended up in bed with them.”

“For real.” Arms crossed, face set in a mutinous expression, Noelle glared at her from the couch. “How the hell did that even happen, Edie? I thought you were smarter than that.”

Ouch. Direct hit. Battleship sunk. Fighting the urge to squirm in her seat, Edie shrugged. “It’s… complicated.”

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