Page 48 of Stuck with my Mountain Daddies (Men of Medford #4)

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

Riley

It took me three tries to knock on Lucy’s door.

The first time, my knuckles hovered in the air, and I froze, every worst-case scenario crashing through my mind at once.

The second time, I barely tapped once before stepping back as if the wood had burned me.

The third time, Beckett placed his hand gently over mine and gave the door a firm knock.

Then he stepped away.

So did Garrett. So did Asher.

None of them said anything.

They waited behind me, a silent wall of support in boots and flannel, making it clear I didn’t have to do this alone, but they trusted me to take the first step.

I swallowed the nerves clawing at my throat and waited.

The door opened. Lucy stood there, hair scraped into a messy bun, sweatshirt too big for her, arms crossed like armor.

Her eyes flicked to the guys behind me, then back to me.

Her expression didn’t crack.

I tried to smile, but it came out twisted. “Hey.”

A long pause. Then: “You’re lucky I opened the door.”

“I know.”

“I almost didn’t.”

“I would’ve deserved that.”

Another silence.

Then she exhaled, stepped back, and said, “Well, you’re already here. Might as well come in.”

I followed her into the cabin, but her brothers made no effort to move.

It was warm. Familiar. But quieter than I’d ever felt it before.

She sat on the couch. I took the opposite side, folding my hands in my lap like I didn’t know what to do with them. Because I didn’t.

“Lucy,” I started. “I’m sorry.”

Her head tipped slightly, not angry. Just waiting.

“I should’ve told you. From the beginning. As soon as I found out that I was pregnant. That it was your brother's. One of your brothers'.”

Her eyes stayed on mine, and that was the worst part, how much I missed that gaze. Her steadiness. Her sharp, unwavering honesty.

She didn’t say anything for a beat too long, then: “You told me you were having a baby. You let me rub your back when you puked your guts out for two weeks straight. I thought I knew the hard part already.”

“I thought telling you that part was enough,” I said, voice cracking. “But it wasn’t. Not when the rest of it meant you were going to see your family name blasted all over the Internet next to mine.”

Her eyes flickered, pain flashing beneath the surface.

“I hated seeing it online,” she finally said. “Not that it was one of them. It’s not like I don’t know how irresistible those idiots can be. But I hated that the Internet knew before I did. I hated seeing you caught up in a mess I should’ve been helping you through.”

“I didn’t want you to get caught in it,” I whispered. “I didn’t want to drag you into the fallout.”

“You’re my best friend, Riley. They’re my brothers. I was already in it.”

“I know.”

She looked down at my still-flat belly. “So it’s really my niece or nephew in there?”

I nodded, breath catching in my throat.

“I can’t believe you kept that part from me.” Her arms tightened around her ribs like she was holding something in. “I kept thinking, how could she not tell me? And then that stupid video dropped, and suddenly I realized I wasn’t just left out. I was blindsided.”

“I was scared I’d lose you.”

“Well,” she said, “you almost did.”

I blinked fast. “Lucy.”

“But,” she added, cutting me off, “I get it now. Sort of. You didn’t just fall in love. You fell into a life . And you didn’t know how to keep it from crashing into the one we already had.”

A silence stretched between us, heavy but not hostile. It felt like walking over ice, slow and careful, waiting to see if it would hold.

“I want you to be happy, Riley,” she said finally. “I do. You deserve that. And if it’s with one, or all, of my idiot brothers and their collectively tragic flannel wardrobe…”

“Oh my god, Lucy.”

“…then so be it.”

I laughed. I cried. Probably both at once.

She smirked, but her eyes were still a little glossy. “I mean, I knew Asher liked you. That was obvious. He gets all broody and weird around women he actually likes. It’s like watching a lumberjack short circuit.”

I blinked. “Wait, you knew about Asher?”

She shrugged. “He looked at you like he was already halfway gone. But I didn’t think it was all of them. That part was a shock. Like, an actual spit-out-my-coffee moment. Beckett, too? Garrett ?”

I winced. “Yeah.”

“Girl,” she said, giving me a look. “You don’t do anything halfway, do you?”

“I didn’t mean for it to happen like this. Any of it. It just did. And now it’s all so messy and confusing and sometimes it feels impossible, and…” I let out a slow breath. “I’m still trying to catch up to my own life.”

Lucy nodded slowly, her teasing dimming into something gentler. “So are you staying? In Medford, I mean.”

I hesitated.

There was a time not that long ago when I would have immediately said no. LA was my home, and I was always going to make my way back to that.

But now?

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “Everything still feels like it’s up in the air.

I want to stay. I want to make this work.

But things are complicated. The town’s still buzzing, and the media won’t let it go.

I feel like I’m constantly trying to shield the baby from a world that already has opinions about who they should be. ”

Lucy nodded, understanding written in the soft downturn of her mouth.

“But when I’m with them,” I added, glancing toward the door where the brothers had vanished to give us space, “it’s the only time I feel like I can breathe. Like maybe I don’t have to figure it all out right away.”

“That’s fair,” she said. “And honestly? Medford’s not going anywhere. Neither am I.”

“I missed you so much,” I said.

“Same.” She squeezed my hand. “And for the record, if you decide to stay, we’re going full auntie mode. I’m talking knit hats, baby yoga, and a shower so over the top it’ll make your influencer soul weep with joy.”

I laughed, really laughed, the sound scraping off something sore and leaving relief behind.

“Let me get through the next doctor’s appointment without crying first,” I said.

Lucy grinned. “Deal.”

Eventually, I made it back to my room, packed up my suitcase, and then returned to the front door where Lucy was waiting.

The guys were still outside. Beckett leaned against the porch rail. Garrett paced slowly, glancing at the tree line as if he expected trouble.

Asher didn’t move at all. He met my eyes with that intense look that always made my chest tighten.

“I’ll call you later,” I said to Lucy, my voice softer than before.

She nodded. “And Riley?”

I turned back.

“Don’t let fear make your choices for you.”

I carried those words with me all the way back to the truck.

Later that night, I stood in the kitchen at the Wolfe cabin, absently swirling a spoon through a mug of peppermint tea. My phone buzzed on the counter. Unknown number.

I almost didn’t answer.

I wish I hadn’t.

“Riley Brooks?” the voice said, too bright, too polished. “This is Amber Reyes from Vision7 Media. I know it’s been a minute since we last touched base, but I wanted to say we love your brand. And now, with all the press swirling around your name, well…”

I gripped the counter.

“I’m calling with an offer,” she continued, like this was the most casual thing in the world.

“It’s big, Riley. Think brand relaunch, think exclusive sponsorship deals, think your own unscripted docuseries.

You, the baby, the scandal. America eats this stuff up.

We’re talking prime slots. High budget. You’d be set for life. ”

I stared out the window.

Snowflakes drifted gently over the porch where Beckett and Garrett were stacking firewood in the dark, their laughter faint through the glass. Asher walked by, saw me inside, and gave the barest nod.

Amber kept talking, oblivious. “We can fly you out to Hollywood in the new year. No pressure, but this is the kind of moment that turns everything around.”

“I’ll think about it,” I said quietly.

“Oh, Riley, this is everything you’ve ever wanted.”

She wasn’t wrong.

But as I ended the call and set the phone down, something twisted in my chest. Because once, that had been true.

But now?

I looked down at my belly, at the little life growing inside me, and then back out the window to the men who’d become something I never thought I’d have.

A home.

I had a choice to make.

And this time, it was going to be mine.