Page 114 of Rocky Mountain Home

“You’re carrying one of her grandbabies. You could commit murder and she’d go to bat for you.”

Dare offered him an evil grin. “Good to know. Now, make sure you don’t do anything that makes me want to murder you.”

He snorted. “Too late. I seem to have that effect on just about everyone eventually.”

Across the room what was a low conversation grew in volume, and Jesse and Dare’s attention fell on Marion who had pulled Mike into the argument.

“But it’s not right,” Marion insisted. “Mike, you tell him.”

Mr. Coleman shifted his feet, but he looked serious as he shook his head. “This isn’t up to me, Marion. I gave control of the schedule to Blake, and I stand by his decision. I trust him, and you need to do the same.”

“But Jesse is a part of this family too.” Her volume rose again, indignation in her tone.

“Jesus Christ,” Jesse muttered under his breath, squeezing Dare’s hand before giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. “I need to do some damage control. I’ll see you in the morning?”

“I’ll be here.”

“I never thought I’d see the day when one of my sons would—”

“Is there a problem?” Jesse interrupted as he slid into position next to his mother.

Marion put an arm around him. “I just heard that Blake has you working all sorts of terrible shifts. He can’t do that. I want him to treat you better.”

“Ma, it’s fine. Blake has been more than generous in giving me some work while Dare and I have been stopped here in Rocky.”

“He doesn’t have to be generous. You’re his brother,” she protested.

“And he’s in charge of making smart business decisions, and I stand by him completely,” Jesse offered, a little more sharply than before. “You know damn well I haven’t been an angel, but this isn’t Blake punishing me. I’m thankful for what he’s done, and I don’t want any more of this in here. You want to complain, you can give me hell for being stupid later, but this conversation is over. I don’t want Dare upset. It’s time to go.”

Marion whirled, hand rising to her mouth, worry in her eyes. “Oh my word, I’m sorry, Dare. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

Dare wanted to kick Jesse’s butt for giving his mom hell, but at the same time, he was right. Marion had gone too far. “It’s fine. I’m great, and honestly, you’ve all been wonderful. I know Jesse’s been pleased he could help out.”

“But now it’s time to call it a night,” Jesse said bluntly. “Come on, Ma. I’ll walk you and Dad to the truck.”

Marion insisted on stopping by the bed and offering another apology before they left, Jesse watching over her shoulder to ensure Dare was okay.

Jaxi lingered, motioning for Blake to go ahead. “I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

Blake nodded, then examined Dare’s face before speaking in his deep, rich voice, so much like Jesse’s and yet enough different to have his own unique timbre. A little slower, a little more measured. “You’re a strong one. I think you’ve been good for Jesse.”

“He’s been pretty good for me too,” she admitted with complete honesty.

Blake dipped his chin then headed out, leaving them alone in the room. Well, alone except for the baby in Jaxi’s arms who was snuggled against her chest, his body moving with every breath.

“That was a little bit awkward,” Jaxi said.

Dare shrugged. “She’s a mama bear, right? If she thought somebody had done Blake wrong, she’d do the same for him. But to be clear, I don’t think Blake did anything wrong.”

Not anymore. Strange how quickly her opinion had changed.

“Yeah, Marion is like that. And family is like that. I wanted you to know that even when we disagree, or things go sideways, we are family. It felt like for a while Jesse forgot that, but I hope he’s remembering. We’re family, and we care about each other through thick or thin.”

Something went pop inside Dare’s heart. As if a seal had broken and now there was no way to hold back the emotions slipping out.

No matter what, Dare decided, she was keeping the Colemans. Whatever she and Jesse were was still to be decided, but the Colemans? They were people she wanted to be with. They were people she wanted Buckaroo to grow up around.

“Dare, I hope tomorrow we get news that you’re all clear to get out of here. I was wondering what you’re planning.”