Secretly Mine (Birch Crossing Book 5) by Stephanie Rowe

Author:Stephanie Rowe [Rowe, Stephanie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Authenticity Playground, LLC
Published: 2023-10-16T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER 18

On his way out of town, Dash pulled his truck over in front of Wright's General Store, parking behind Jackson Reed's pickup truck.

He knew he had to get on the road, but seeing Jackson's truck had prompted him to pull over. He jogged into Wright's and saw his boss at the register, chatting with Griffin, Blue, and Harlan. "Jackson!"

The four men looked over at him, and greeted him with the same smiles they always had, even though he wasn't that far out from his total fuck-up days.

He strode up to them. "I'm on my way out of town to pick up the twins," he said.

Jackson grinned. "You look terrified."

That hadn't been what Dash had been planning to talk about, but Jackson's words brought him to an abrupt halt. "Of being a dad? Hell, yeah."

Griffin leaned forward. "I'll tell you right now, Dash, you're going to screw up. A lot."

Fuck. "Thanks for that. You sound like Maura's in-laws. You want to sue me for custody? You and Clare would be great with them."

Griffin frowned. "That's not what I meant. You'll be great. My point was that there's no right answer when it comes to kids. Every minute is a guessing game, and you make the best choice you can, and that'll be enough."

"I don't have enough tools to make guesses. My parents sucked."

Understanding flickered across Harlan's face. "I get that," he said. "When I wound up an accidental dad when I married Emma, I was pretty sure those kids would be a thousand times better off with anyone but me."

Dash frowned, listening. He knew he was better than Maura's in-laws, but that wasn't saying much.

"Our kids went through hell before we adopted them," Harlan continued. "Hell. They deserved the best, and the dad they got was me. I had nightmares about fucking it up."

Dash nodded. "I've had those."

"But in the end, I realized that it was meant to be. I love the hell out of them, and I give them my best, and it's enough. My gritty past makes me able to understand where they came from, and I can help them heal."

Dash shifted. "Aimee and Ashley had a good home—"

"And now they have you and Leila. You guys will do it."

Dash's gut tightened. "Leila and I aren't together."

The men exchanged glances, but it was Griffin who spoke. "Sorry for the assumption. Based on how you guys were together this week, I figured it was on."

"It was temporary. We were just having fun."

Harlan grinned. "There's no 'just having fun' when it's with the woman you're married to. Trust me, I know."

"It's not like that." But Dash was on edge now. Had he led Leila on? "We talked about it. Neither of us are in a place for a relationship." He tried to laugh. "Hell, we're enemies now," he added.

None of the men looked impressed. "Enemies in what way?" Griffin asked.

"The house," Dash said. "She needs the money from the sale of it, and I don't have the cash to buy her out.

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