After a moment, she leaned her back against the tree and soaked in her surroundings. The crisp, clean smell of the air. The scent of pine. The tickle of snowflakes as they drifted lazily down, melting on her cheeks.
Her breath came out in a fog, and after a while, her breathing slowed and evened out. For the last few days, she’d existed in denial. She hadn’t allowed herself to think about the baby, much less dwell on the details. Boy. Girl. Who would it look like?
She’d busied herself with Holly and immersed herself in family, putting on a brave front, not allowing them to see her worry or fear.
But it hadn’t helped. She had decisions to make. She had fears to face. All she had to do was reach out and ask for help. Seth, Michael, and Dillon loved her. She had no doubts there. They’d do anything in the world to make her happy, and they’d help her work through her conflicting emotions about her pregnancy.
She just had to muster the nerve to blurt it all out.
With a resigned sigh, she pushed off the tree and started retracing her steps back to the cabin.
As she drew nearer, she frowned. She could swear she heard her name.
She quickened her step through the aspens but stopped when she heard the distinctive call. It was Seth and he was yelling her name.
Worried that something was wrong, she jogged through the snow, taking care not to slip as she headed down the incline.
She came to an abrupt halt when she broke into the clearing and saw all three of her husbands spread out behind the cabin, obviously looking … for her.
CHAPTER 8
MICHAEL was the first to see her. He turned, did a double take, and then charged toward her, calling to his brothers the entire way.
Lily’s breath caught in her throat and her pulse accelerated wildly. There was fierce determination—and worry—in her husbands’ gazes and she knew that no matter whether she was prepared or not, the time had come. There was no way around it.
Michael ran up to her, took her arms in his hands. “Lily! What on earth are you doing up here? We were worried sick. You aren’t even dressed for the cold.”
Even as the questions poured out, he pulled her into his side, wrapping as much of his coat around her as he could while providing her with his body warmth.
His worried gaze cut to his brothers as they ran up, snow kicking up from their boots.
Dillon stood back a little hesitant. “Lily?”
She sent him a reassuring smile. “I’m fine, Dillon. I just went for a walk through the aspen grove. It’s such a beautiful day.”
Seth frowned. “You aren’t dressed to be out tromping around in the snow. You don’t even have a coat or gloves.”
She shrugged. “I hadn’t planned on going that far. I went to sit out on the bench and got the urge to take a walk. I was just heading back. I haven’t been out that long.”
“Well, let’s get you back inside,” Michael said. He propelled her toward the house, still holding her tightly against his side.
With a sigh she settled against him, letting his solid strength seep into her body. She leaned her head against his chest and blinked away the snowflakes trapped on her eyelashes.
It was, as she’d said, a truly magnificent day. She loved winter on her mountain. She loved the cabin that Dillon had built himself and later added on to when it had been decided that they would all live here.
Now she looked at it with different eyes. Holly and the dads’ cabin … it was where all the Colter children had grown up. There was a strong sense of home there. You couldn’t walk into their house without being swamped by love. History. The sense of family. There were pictures everywhere. Of Seth, Michael, and Dillon, and then Callie, who’d come along later and had been a surprise.
That house was a symbol of everything she wanted most in the world. She’d always been a little awed by it. The family gatherings on the weekends for dinner. The easy way the Colters demonstrated their love for one another.
She wanted all of that for herself. She wanted to start a new chapter in a solid legacy. She wanted her home to be filled with love and laughter. Children. Oh God, children.