Page 159 of Rocky Mountain Home

Like the air going out of a balloon, tension drained out of Tamara. She collapsed back in the chair, pulling off her glasses to wipe at her eyes before replacing them. “Okay. Now I can breathe again.”

Dare was punching in a message on her phone. “How soon do you want to start?”

“I need a couple of days to pack, that’s it.”

She nodded, hitting send then looking up. “We’ll have to wait to hear back from him to make it official, but thank you.”

“God. I’m the one who needs to thank you. You’re saving my life here,” Tamara said.

Jesse hurried forward to help as Dare worked to get to her feet. “Hey, you’re a mutual-admiration society.”

Dare rested her hands on Tamara’s shoulders. “You trusted us enough to come right away. That means a lot.”

“You’re family.” It was all Tamara needed to say.

It was all it took to have tears forming in Dare’s eyes. He slipped his arm around her shoulders and squeezed tight, waiting as her phone went off again.

“Message from Caleb?” he asked

She nodded, reading aloud. “If you think it’s a good idea, I trust you. I guess.”

Tamara snorted. “It’s not the most enthusiastic hiring I’ve ever had, but I’ll take it.” She stepped forward and offered Dare a hug. “I’m so glad you’re part of this family, and not just because you saved my bacon right now.”

Jesse and Vicki both gave Tamara a hug. She took off, leaving a whirl of energy in the room.

Before they got distracted with anything else, Jesse figured it was his chance to nail down Dare.

“There’s something I want to show you,” he said. “Can you get away for half an hour?”

“Sure.” She finished texting Caleb back before offering a smile. “Let me hit the washroom so I don’t have to find one wherever you’re taking me.”

He watched her walk away, his hand slipping into his pocket to reassure himself he still had everything he needed.

He was finally going to do this.

The silence stretched, and he suddenly became aware it was just them in the room—him and Vicki.

They were alone, and he wasn’t being overwhelmed with guilt or frustration, and the realization was pretty spectacular.

They spoke at the same time.

“I wanted to—”

“There’s something—”

They both stalled out.

Jesse gestured. “Go ahead.”

Vicki nodded and rushed onward. “I’ve wanted to say something for a long time, but kept chickening out. I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry we had a hard time in the beginning, and I’m honestly glad you’re back.”

He examined her face, but she was staring at him seriously with just the faintest hint of a smile. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Vicki shook her head. “Yes, and no. I needed to grow up a little. I was so skittish when Joel and I started dating that I set us up for disaster with the things I imagined might happen. If I’d been more trusting maybe I could have avoided driving a wedge between you and Joel. So I’m sorry. I really do want what’s best for you. And for Dare, and the baby.”

Jesse’s throat was tight, but he nodded briskly, fighting to swallow so he could speak semi-normally.

Dare had called it. It was time for him to take her advice on the other parts of this situation.