Page 27 of Double Mountain Men

Misty

“What do I do?” I wail. “I have no idea what comes next.”

Jenna is thoughtful, her lips pursed in a pout as I stare at my friend though the screen.

“Well, it doesn’t soundtoobad,” she ventures. “I mean, Chris and Brent want you,” she says. “They’re rich as fuck and want to be in a relationship with you while getting to know their son. I’d say this is ideal, even.”

I shake my head.

“Jenna, you and I come from foster care. We can’t be naïve about stuff like this. You know they must be pulling my leg, and there’s something that I’m missing.”

My buddy frowns, her pretty pout turning upside down.

“I don’t know. Is there? You googled them using their real names, right?”

I nod.

“I did, and everything checks out. Cross is the CEO of Cross Holdings, which is a multimillion-dollar credit card company. Barrett works for a VC firm, and evidently owns a huge estate on the outskirts of Minneapolis. They both appear to be what they claim.”

“So what’s the problem?” my friend asks in a reasonable tone. “It sounds like a go to me.”

I pause for a moment.

“I just don’t think things can be that simple, you know? Life is hard.Ourlives are hard. How can I be sure that they’re telling the truth?”

Jenna purses her lips again.

“Can I just be a Debbie Downer for a moment and say I think you’re being pessimistic, Misty? I don’t blame you because of where we come from,” she says quickly. “Foster care is rough, and being a ward of the state really sucks. But I also think you’re determined to look beneath every stone in order to find a problem. Can you just take it slow, and go by feel maybe?”

I stare at her.

“With two powerful alpha males? Is there such a thing as taking it slow? Especially when we already share a child?”

“Okay, you have a point,” Jenna acknowledges, tapping her perfectly-manicured pink nails against one another. “There are many different speeds, and slow is a relative term,” she hums.“But maybe just stop looking for hurdles and problems? Maybe lean into life and relax a bit? Chris and Brett want to help, and they basically said that they love you.”

“You mean Cross and Barrett,” I say in a rueful tone. “Because they were using fake names.”

Jenna shrugs.

“I think a lot of people on Sweet Lies use fake names. I know I do.”

I stare.

“You do?”

“Hell yeah!” she giggles. “I’m not going to tell you what my fake name is, but I’mdefinitelynot going by Jenna London. That’s asking for trouble.”

I roll my eyes.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe you’re still with Sweet Lies after all this time.”

My buddy merely shrugs with a coy smile.

“The money’s good,” she sings. “And I like feeling rich, instead of dirt poor.” Then she pauses and thinks for a moment before cocking her head at me. “But didn’t you say that Chris and Brett claimed you were “the one who got away,” and that they regret giving you up? That they turned all other girls away after you? We can verify that, you know.”

I look at my buddy askance.

“How? I think it’s just a figure of speech, Jen.”

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