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“No argument here.” Tai stared him down, then broke into a grin, clapping him on the arm hard enough to send Bridger sideways. “Good thing it’s not a terminal condition, right? Now get your skinny behind over there and fix this.” He glanced out the side window. “She’s into you. Trust me. I have instincts about this kind of stuff. Nothing to be afraid of.”
“Says you.” He knew Tai felt the mistakes from their past deeply, but he didn’t seem to worry about how that tainted them. Or if he did, he didn’t let on.
Still shaking his big, shaggy head, Tai slid out of the passenger seat and lumbered off toward the main house, muttering something suspiciously like, “You can lead a horse to water…”
Jane was just ahead of Tai, moving briskly, her back rigid with hurt. Bridger ached to pull her into his arms, to feel her soft warmth against him. He wanted more time to drink in her presence. But the longer he put off revealing his past, the more she’d hate him once she understood the man he’d been.
He started toward her, each step across the barren dirt echoing his hammering heart.
Before he caught up to her, Kellen burst out the door of the ranch house. He streaked past Paige, heading straight for Jane with a grin stretching from ear to ear. “We caught crawdads down at the creek,” he announced. “Mason says they’re good eating.”
Just like that, his plan was torpedoed. Standard Operating Procedure, for sure.
Over his head, Jane met Bridger’s gaze. Her eyes shimmered with uncertainty and longing.
Bridger steeled his courage. He would do this. She deserved to know the truth.Then he’d man up and play the cards he was dealt. At least then he’d know if they had a future.
Mason sauntered out the door, hands jammed in his pockets. “Welcome back,” he called out, grinning.
Jane turned to Mason, ruffling Kellen’s hair. Her shoulders relaxed a fraction as she listened to Mason praise their handling of the Vegas op. Bridger was too far away to catch the whole convo.
“...Calm under pressure—clearly runs in the family,” Mason said. “Your bro is legendary for his calm, but I gotta say, you put him to shame today. No one could have handled that better.”
Jane flushed, shaking her head. “Just trying to keep my head down and let the professionals work.”
Mason nodded, all seriousness now. “Couldn’t ask for better in a tight spot. Your boy Bridger’s lucky to have you watching his six.”
Bridger met Jane’s eyes. The longing was still there, mixed with doubt now. He had to keep trying, no matter how vulnerable it made him feel.He’d find a moment to get her aside. Soon.
Habit had him scanning the surroundings. The Pilatus was gone from the landing area.
“Where are Kate and Fenn?” he asked Mason.
Mason shrugged, the picture of nonchalance. “They had something to take care of. Said they’d be back in a bit.”
Bridger’s eyes narrowed. He crossed his arms. “In the turbo?”
Mason held up his hands. “Look man, they didn’t give me details. Just said they had a lead to run down on something important. I figured it was need-to-know.”
Frustration simmered in Bridger’s gut. He hated being left out of mission critical information. Especially by members of his own team.
Just then, his phone buzzed with an incoming video call. Kate and Fenn’s faces filled the screen, the turbo jet’s interior visible behind them.
“Hey boss,” Fenn said breezily. “Sorry to duck out without notice.”
Bridger cut him off. “What’s going on? Why the secrecy?” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mason quietly lead Kellen toward the house. Getting the kid out of earshot. His sense of unease deepened.
Paige drifted back over, motioning Jane to join them.
Kate’s grinning face filled the screen. “We have more news on Kellen.”
Jane tensed even more, her body practically vibrating with energy. She clasped her hands in front of her, as if she were praying.
Bridger angled the screen so Paige and Jane could see. “Go on.”
Fenn poked his head into view. “Paige helped us track down Pete’s brother. He confirmed that Kellen isn’t Pete’s biological son. Pete found out shortly after meeting Kellen’s mother that she was already a few weeks pregnant. She never said who the bio dad was. He also thinks the woman has a sister. She could know more.”
Stunned silence met this revelation. Bridger saw the same shock mirrored on Jane’s face. If Kellen wasn’t Pete’s son, his death wouldn’t prevent her from adopting the boy. No one in Pete’s family would have any more right to the child than she did.
