Page 65 of Mountain Men’s Nanny

“I was so worried about you!” she cooed, hugging me tightly. “So I came all the way here, by plane, by bus, and in a sweet old man’s rickety truck to bring you home.”

“Home?” Lexi asked.

I hadn’t even gotten a chance to greet Holly back. This was not how I wanted to introduce her to everyone, but I already knew introductions weren’t even part of her plan.

“What do you mean, home?” Lexi asked. Her voice was shaky, already holding back a flood of tears.

“Good morning, Holly,” I said, blinking at her wordlessly, begging her to stop talking.

“I mean, I get it. You needed to clear your head, and this is the perfect place to do it,” she explained. “It’s beautiful, really it is, the snow-capped mountains, the hills, the frozen rivers. Absolutely gorgeous once you actually get here.”

Tobias stood behind Lexi protectively. Gunner and Gideon stood stone-faced, listening as Holly went on.

“But the holiday is over. I’m not going to stand by while you throw your life away.”

Tobias cleared his throat and looked at me quizzically. It was my turn to speak, my turn to patch together the two lives I had lived separately.

“Holly, we should talk outside. There’s a lot I need to tell you,” I said, gently trying to steer her toward the door.

“And you can fill me in on the way home. It’s a long, long way,” Holly said, standing her ground.

“But this is Brie’s home!” Lexi shouted, turning to hug her dad. “I love her, and you can’t take her away from me!”

“We all love her, and she’s staying,” Tobias said through clenched teeth.

I steered Holly out the door and onto the porch so we could talk alone. The last time I spoke to her, I was undecided, but by the time she dropped in, I knew I couldn’t walk away from what I had here. It wouldn’t be simple because it meant I had to walk away from her.

“I knew it!” Holly whispered. “Tech billionaires don’t just move out into the middle of nowhere for the views. This is weird, Brie, very culty. The sooner you leave, the better. They can’t make you stay.”

Gunner stepped out with two steaming mugs of hot chocolate. “Weird is an understatement. Tobias is more than just weird,” he said loud enough for Tobias and Gideon to hear him from inside the cabin.

“I’m Gunner,” he smiled, stretching out his hand.

Holly shook his hand suspiciously and thanked him for the hot chocolate before he disappeared inside.

“Watch the oven for me,” I called after him.

“Holly,” I laughed. “You came all the way out here?”

Holly rolled her eyes and sat down on the porch swing, looking out into the woods. I sat next to her and sipped my hot chocolate, preparing to explain myself.

“It’s beautiful out here,” I sighed. “I mean, we don’t get air like this out in the city.”

She sighed and sat back, relaxing. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Things didn’t really go to plan,” I said with a soft laugh. “Holly, I fell in love, not once, but three times over. Can you imagine that?”

“Are you okay?” she asked, placing the back of her hand on my forehead.

“Better than I have ever been,” I smiled. “I know, it’s complicated. I can’t even explain how it happened. But it works, and we’re happy. I can’t walk away from that.”

Holly was quiet for a while. She looked around, then down at my shoes, and up to my face. “Not complicated, try crazy.”

“What do you mean three times? You’re with all of them?” she asked, scrunching her face.

“Sometimes all at once,” I whispered.

Holly stared at me wide-eyed. “And you’re only telling me this now?”