Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

JESSE

Two months later.

S he stared at herself in the mirror, turning one way, then the other. The long blazer she wore today would somewhat conceal her condition. She didn’t want people focusing on that—it was the science that mattered.

That’s when the baby kicked for the first time. It startled her and she gasped, her hand coming to rest on the swell of her belly.

Oh, boy.

Or…girl.

Or…nonbinary child.

This made it…

Real.

Part of her wanted to seek out the men.

Part of her didn’t want to see them at all, knowing she couldn’t handle their rejection and still keep her mask in place. And this presentation would be stressful enough as it was. Especially with her helicopter father hovering.

Why did I agree to doing this? Oh, yeah. Because I’m an idiot.

Her dad and Josie had taken the hint when she broke the news to them and added that she really didn’t want to discuss how she got pregnant, or who the father was. She invoked life being short, thinking it was perfect timing, and that she was happy.

Maybe Mom doesn’t believe me, but at least she helped keep Dad off my back.

That’s when she realized that although she hadn’t called Josie “Mom” yet, she was thinking about her as that.

She startled again at the knock on her hotel room door. “Sweetheart? Are you ready?”

“Hold on, Daddy.”

She grabbed her computer backpack and soon the three of them—and baby Brandt—were riding in the back of an SUV with one of their security team driving, heading toward the conference center. Another SUV with the rest of the security team followed.

“This is so exciting!” Josie said as she watched the landscape passing outside the windows. “It’s beautiful!”

“We’ll come back next spring,” her dad said. “Family trip. Right, Jesse?”

Jesse hoped her smile remained plastered to her face. “Yeah, sure. Family trip.”

She’d make sure to schedule important projects during that timeframe to make taking leave impossible.

“But no backwoods trails this time,” Josie said, her smile fading as she met Jesse’s gaze. “Right? I don’t want to lose you again.”

“Right,” Jesse agreed, now fighting back a prickle of tears.

She understood it was hormones, but it didn’t change the fact that it annoyed the snot out of her.

And Josie still carefully watched her, only changing her focus when Jesse’s dad asked Jesse questions about the presentation.

When they reached the conference center, Josie reached out and gently caught Jesse’s wrist after her dad climbed out first. “You can talk to me about anything ,” Josie whispered. “You know that, right? I won’t tell him. I promise.”

Oh, crap. She blinked back another round of tears and nodded. “Thanks,” she whispered, easing her hand from Josie’s grip.

The private presentation was scheduled first, with the big-money companies receiving a private preview of the equipment and software with hopes of bidding their way into her dad’s heart and partnership. As a park employee escorted them to the private conference room, Jesse glanced around, hoping and dreading to spot either man.

And this wasn’t a secret event, so they’d likely know about it.

Right?

MARK

He knew he was a masochist for volunteering for this duty, but he couldn’t help it.

He wanted to see Jesse again, even if only from a distance. If for no other reason than to assure himself she was okay, and that her not contacting them was the final word on the subject.

Still, he couldn’t help thinking about her, even dreaming about her.

And he hated the way Chris pined for her.

Maybe that’s what he really wanted, a chance to tell her how angry he was at how much Chris was hurting.

Yeah, he hurt, too, but that was irrelevant.

His guy’s heart had been broken.

At the very least she owed them an explanation, or a “fuck off,” or…something.

Not radio silence. Not ghosting. Not after what they survived.

He didn’t mention it to Chris, unsure if his guy even knew about today’s event. He hadn’t mentioned it to Mark, so Mark figured Chris was buried too deeply in his work.

He hoped.

Because he didn’t want Chris here to get hurt even more.

They expected probably a thousand people for the public part, and as law enforcement he’d been assigned to act as security inside the large event center where that part of the day’s events would take place.

Guess I am a “cop” today.

He’d picked a spot to stand at the back of the room where he could see all the entrances and waited as attendees filtered in. Over the next hour the room filled, even more than expected. At ten minutes before the start time they were already turning people away to watch on TVs in the lobby and in a smaller event room they hurriedly opened to handle the overflow.

Then there was a low hum of activity when a group of people, escorted by men Mark assumed were private security, headed toward the stage.

The pain slammed into his chest when he recognized Jesse, flanked by a man he knew was her father, and a woman who was carrying a baby. Her step-mom, probably.

But then Jesse turned to the side and his heart nearly stopped when he realized something.

Holy…shit!

CHRISTOPHER

Christopher tried to work in his office but wasn’t getting a damned thing done. He didn’t know where Mark was working today and was almost afraid to ask. The elephant in the room between them—Jesse’s evaporation from their lives—was slowly growing smaller but still present.

He didn’t want to know if Mark was working security for the event he knew Jesse would attend, but he suspected he would.

She’s an adult. She knows where we live—literally.

That she hadn’t reached out to them didn’t speak volumes—it screamed it.

We need to do something with her pack.

She obviously wasn’t returning for it, and it seemed wasteful to throw it away. Yet he hadn’t been able to bring himself to donate or give it away. So it sat in their guest room closet, gathering dust, the clean clothes they’d washed for her neatly stowed in it.

Finally, he gave up, packed his laptop, told his boss he was leaving for the day, and headed out. He was nearly home when his phone rang.

Mark.

He answered. “Yeah?”

It sounded like Mark was trying to keep his voice down. “Get Jesse’s pack and get over here. Now . Make sure you’re in a uniform shirt.”

He nearly swerved off the road. “What?”

“I’m at the big conference center. Get here right now. Text me when you’re in the employee parking lot.”

Then he hung up.

Christopher pulled into their yard and parked, staring at his phone. He even looked at his call log to verify yes, he’d received a call from Mark.

Fuck .

He didn’t want to hope. The fact that he was asking for her pack and not screaming with joy didn’t foreshadow a happy reunion.

Instead of losing track of time by mentally spinning himself in circles while considering all the possibilities, he left his truck running, dashed inside, grabbed her backpack, and peeled out.

When he pulled into the employee parking area he texted Mark. He’d barely climbed out of his truck when Mark ran up and yanked the passenger door open, grabbing the pack.

“What’s going on?” Chris asked him through the cab.

There was a wild look on Mark’s face. “Grab your employee badge and follow me.”

Chris retrieved his lanyard from where he hung it on his rearview mirror, locked the truck, and hurried to catch up.

“What’s going on?” he asked as Mark led him toward the main event center. Then he went quiet as they stepped into the back of the room and he spotted Jesse, where she stood on the stage as she gave the presentation.

Chris gasped. “Holy sh—” Mark clapped a hand over Christopher’s mouth and eased him sideways away from the door.

Chris didn’t know if Jesse had clocked Mark’s presence before but her gaze locked with his now and her voice faltered slightly before she continued.

And he couldn’t pull his gaze from the unmistakable swell of her tummy despite how she ‘d dressed.

She’s…pregnant?

He quickly did the math, and while he wasn’t an expert on pregnant women, the math…mathed.

Unless she’d been sleeping with someone else besides them, she looked to be about right to have gotten pregnant with them during their ordeal.

Oh. My. God!