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The twins and Liam join in with a chorus of, “I can’t believe it! And wait until I tell my dad!” The last one is from Liam.
“I don’t think your dad needs to hear about this, honey,” I tell him.
The last thing I need is for Brett to accuse me of putting my children’s lives in danger before I get a custody agreement in place.
“Don’t you think he’ll be excited?”
“I think it would just make him worry. We all have enough on our plates right now without adding to that.”
“I guess.” My son sounds disappointed, which I understand. But no good can come from Brett knowing anything about what happened this morning.
Lily snuggles deeper into my arms. She doesn’t wake up until we’re in the air. “Mommy, where are we?”
“We’re on our way back to the lodge,” I say, while hugging her tight.
“But it was my turn to flip the pancakes over the fire this morning,” she whines.
“You can come down to the lodge some morning this week and help me flip them there,” Digger tells her.
“No fair!” the twins yell in unison. The rest of the flight is full of child chatter. Digger and I stay fairly quiet. After we land, the kids are the first to jump onto the dock. Digger turns to me and says, “Harper, there’s something I should tell you.”
I can feel my pulse pick up. Is he going to talk about our kiss last night? Is he going to declare that he has feelings for me? I’m not ready for either of those things.
“Can we talk later?” I ask, hoping to postpone an uncomfortable scene.
“I think it’s better if I—”
“Please, Digger. Let’s just go up to the lodge and get breakfast. This morning has been exciting enough, and I need to settle down.”
He seems reluctant, but ultimately agrees. “Okay, but as soon as you’ve eaten.”
“Sure.”
Little does he know that as soon as we’re done eating, I’m going back to our cabin and locking us all in. I might even see if I can change our airline tickets to get the heck out of here. “Should we unpack everything now?” Look at me, trying to change the subject.
“It looks like the boys have their stuff. Just grab your bag and I’ll sort everything else out later.”
My stomach finally settles and I’m starving by the time we get to the lodge. Moose runs down the path to greet us, clearly looking for Digger, but he puts up with attention from the kids first. They form a petting crowd around him before clambering up to the lodge. Digger and I follow behind. “Thank you for saving me this morning.”
“I’m just glad I noticed what was going on.”
“I don’t even want to think about what might have happened if you hadn’t,” I tell him as a full body shiver overtakes me.
“It’s okay, Harper. You’re safe now and so are the kids.” He smiles like he’s trying to be reassuring. It’s not working.
I’m about to tell him that, when I hear my daughter shout out the last thing I ever expected to hear in Alaska.
“Daddy, you came!”
Chapter22
Digger
I watch the entire scene unfold before my eyes. Brett crouching to hug his kids before standing and picking up Lily. He swings her around while she squeals with delight. Liam waits patiently until he’s done before introducing him to my nephews. He’s clearly proud of his dad. Harper is frozen in place with a myriad of expressions crossing her beautiful face. Shock, horror, happiness, fear … it’s all there.
I feel like I’m in a movie, but none of the other characters can see me.
Colton, Ash, and Wyatt trip over each other to shake Brett’s hand and ask him questions. While I barely follow Hollywood news, my sister is a different story. Hence, her boys know what a big deal Brett Kennedy is.
