Page 51 of Rocky Mountain Home

Ginny grinned then motioned to the long rows in front of them. “I’m so glad you’re my friend because it means I don’t have to deal with all these weeds on my own.”

“I knew there was an ulterior motive to your pep talk.”

They exchanged knowing smiles then got to work, and in the midst of the repetitive labour, Dare considered her options.

Chapter Nine

He’d limited himself to one cup of scalding hot coffee after crawling out from under the covers, but hours later Jesse’s heart rate still hadn’t dropped to normal, proving it wasn’t the caffeine that had sent his pulse racing.

Sweet old doctors with grey hair and kind eyes could just go to hell.

He bet that evil Dr. Martins had done it on purpose. Between the damn stirrups and the inch-thick package of reading material on what disasters could happen during pregnancy, Jesse’s usual rock-solid sleeps had vanished into a series of midnight apocalypses all populated by ghostly versions of Dare screaming as she begged him to help her, and he could do nothing but stand by helplessly.

To top it off, he was stuck here in the south, and she was there at Silver Stone ranch, and how the hell was he supposed to protect her when they were in different counties?

Yes, he knew his sisters-in-law had safely delivered kids, one of them on a regular basis, but hell, that was Jaxi. She was ballsy enough that if the Grim Reaper ever did come for her, she’d probably slap the scythe from his bony hand and demand he sharpen it before crossing the threshold of her house.

Dare was kickass too, but she’d never done this baby thing before. She didn’t have a mom, or older sisters—

Fuck. There went his heart racing again.

Sweat dripped from his brow, and he wiped it away angrily. He’d decided he couldn’t let things carry on the way they were. He and Dare hadn’t even discussed it, so quitting his job and making the move closer to Silver Stone ranch seemed to be jumping the gun. But if he meant to do everything possible to be there for her, something had to change.

The sleepless nights had contributed to one good thing. He gathered up the paperwork he’d completed for Bar M and headed to the foreman’s office. He checked his phone for messages, but Dare hadn’t contacted him since the previous night.

Damn it all, now he was being needy and clingy, but he couldn’t shove away the concerns that reared over and over.

Damn Dr. Martins and her faux cheerful paperwork of doom and gloom. Even though he’d been back to visit only a few days after that first doctor’s visit, and Dare had insisted everything was fine, Jesse couldn’t stop worrying.

What if something happened? What if she needed him and he was somewhere out of reach, and a three-hour drive away on top of it?

This was bullshit, and there was only one thing he could do that would make things better. He should have done it in the first place.

The foreman rose to his feet as Jesse walked into the office. “Just the man I wanted to see.”

Jesse somehow didn’t think so, not after Tony found out what he had to say.

Jesse dropped the pile of papers onto the desk. “I’ve got about six months worth of projections ready for you, and I’ve added the data to the ranch computer.”

Tony frowned. “How the hell did you get that much done so quickly? We only needed two months.”

“I’ve been working late the past few nights. I figured it was only right because I need to give my two-week notice, and this way I’m not leaving you in the lurch as badly.”

The foreman leaned his hip against the desk, arms folded across his chest, disapproval in every line of his body. “You’re leaving already?”

Jesse didn’t care what the man thought of him at this point. Maybe he could’ve made an excuse to make himself look better, but it was time to stop making excuses and face facts. “I’m moving closer to my girl. She’s expecting.”

Disapproval turned to disappointment. “Sorry to see you go.”

“You’ve been good to work for, and if the next man you hire wants to talk, I don’t mind getting him up to speed on what I was doing.”

“Appreciate that.” Tony looked him over. “You have a job lined up already?”

Jesse shook his head. He hoped—but he’d been reluctant to ask Caleb straight-up the last time he was there.

Tony grunted. “Well, you’re welcome to stay on as long as you like. Just let me know when you’re officially off the clock, and if you need it, I’ll give you a letter of recommendation.”

The schedule said Jesse was off until the following afternoon, so he hightailed it out, making it to Silver Stone ranch shortly after lunch. He and Dare had a lot to talk about.