Their Forever Daddy

Chapter 1

Jesse

The day Jesse Walker left Lost River was written down in her personal history as both the best day and the worst day of her life. She hadn’t been the least bit sad to leave behind her apathetic parents and their stifling expectations that she would settle down with a nice boy and pop out a couple kids just like every other woman in her family. That wasn’t her destiny.

Hollywood. Hollywood had been her destiny, and even at the tender age of nineteen, she’d known she was going to be a star. She’d clung to that knowledge as she’d busted her ass learning the craft, running from one audition to the next, all while working three minimum wage jobs just to keep a roof over her head. A small, cramped roof she’d shared with two other aspiring actresses, but a roof all the same.

These days, her roof was significantly larger. Most would say too large, but she’d fallen in love with the old Spanish-style mansion overlooking the often violent waves of the Pacific within five minutes of stepping inside. It became her sanctuary, the one place in the world she could be herself away from the cameras and prying eyes of her adoring fans. Because as much as she loved her fans, there were just some things she couldn’t share with the world.

Like how much she loved crying for Daddy while someone spanked her like the naughty Little girl she was. Granted, it wasn’t exactly like she completely hid her Little side from the world. But luckily for her, most people seemed to shrug off her clothing choices and behaviors as Hollywood eccentricities. Which was perfectly fine by her, as it allowed her to indulge her Little side without actually explaining her Little side.

People, she’d learned long ago, could be judgmental assholes about things they didn’t understand.

Which brought her full circle back to Lost River. And the one thing she had been devastated to leave behind. Namely, the woman glaring daggers at her from across the cozy little kitchen.

“Nice to see you, too, Edie.” Doing her best to pretend her stomach wasn’t dancing with nerves, Jesse sipped her too-strong coffee and silently wished she’d taken the time to hunt down a Starbucks on her way here. What she wouldn’t give for a mocha with too many shots of espresso and a mountain of whipped cream. Especially since there was nobody around to spank her for going overboard.

Sigh. Missed opportunities.

But not one she regretted nearly as much as what she’d done to Edie McDowell, formerly Edie Williams, who was still frozen in place two steps inside her kitchen, her eyes narrowed and a muscle in her jaw twitching with barely constrained fury. She still looked exactly as Jesse remembered her, just… harder somehow. As though time and grief had whittled away all the softness she’d once held, and Jesse couldn’t help but grieve for the loss of it.

Even her eyes, those dark pools of brown that had once looked at Jesse with such love and tenderness, were hard as onyx now.

“I repeat,” Edie ground out through clenched teeth, her fingers curling into fists and then deliberately uncurling again at her sides. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Decided it was time to come home for a visit.” With a shrug that was far more nonchalant than she actually felt, Jesse took another sip of her coffee. “Is that a problem?”

“It is when you’re sitting in my kitchen, drinking my coffee. What do you want?”

Just like the rest of her, Edie’s voice no longer held any softness, or at least not for Jesse. And while she’d prepared herself for a less-than-warm welcome, it still stung. “To see you.”

For a long moment, Edie simply stared at her, that muscle in her jaw still jumping, and Jesse braced for the worst. But then Edie simply turned on her heel and stomped toward the front door without another word. A moment later, it opened then slammed shut again, rattling the old house, and Jesse sighed.

Welcome home, Jesse Walker.

Edie

The fucking nerve. The fucking audacity to just show up out of the blue after nearly a decade of silence and act like nothing had changed. It was rude. It was inconsiderate.

It was so fucking Jesse.

Edie forced her steps to slow as she entered the barn. No matter how out of control she was feeling inside, she couldn’t let on to her animals. It wasn’t fair to upset them just because her entire world had been flipped upside down in a matter of seconds.

Feeding her small zoo, which currently consisted of one sweet cow, two goats, three rude ass hogs, and a smattering of chickens and barn cats soothed her. There was comfort in the routine, and the snuggles she got from various animals—not the pigs, as they mostly just tolerated her presence because she gave them food—unfurled most of the knots in her stomach by the time she made it to Luna’s stall.

“Hey there, pretty girl,” Edie said, her heart swelling as she opened the gate to step inside the cramped space.

Luna’s gaze locked on her, her big brown eyes watching as Edie grabbed the brush hanging in her stall and slid her hand into the leather strap, the wood resting against her palm. Another of those routines that soothed her soul, even as troubled as it was by the reappearance of Jesse Walker in her life.

Or did she prefer to go by Carly these days? Carly Simmons was her stage name, so Edie had to assume all her Hollywood friends called her Carly.

Not that it mattered. Jesse or Carly, she wouldn’t be around long enough for it to be a concern.

“Can you believe she just showed up like that?” Shaking her head, Edie ran the rough bristles of the brush down Luna’s coat. “Not a peep from that girl for ten years and she thinks she can just make herself at home in my kitchen now? What the fuck was she thinking?”

“Maybe she was thinking ten years was long enough for you to get over being pissed at her.”

Whipping around, Edie found herself staring once more at the face that had haunted her dreams for nearly a decade. Her cheeks had lost some of their roundness, though not enough for her to lose that adorable baby face Edie remembered. And her eyes were still the same gorgeous hazel, shifting between shades of brown and green, depending on the lighting. Here in the barn, they were almost whiskey gold as they lit with happiness at the sight of Luna.

“Who’s this pretty baby?” Cooing softly, Jesse entered the stall, and Edie nearly stepped back to avoid touching her. But since she stood her ground, it meant she had to look up if she wanted to meet Jesse’s eyes, which only served to further her annoyance at the situation. Their height difference hadn’t bothered her when she’d had Jesse on her knees once upon a time, but now she wished she had some kind of upper hand. Even if it was just a matter of inches.

“Luna,” Edie answered, and if she hadn’t known any better, she would have sworn Luna gave her a disapproving look at the sharpness of her tone.

“Luna.” With a quiet sigh, Jesse stepped closer, stroking a hand down the heifer’s soft nose. “It’s so nice to meet you, Luna. I’m… well, I suppose everyone around here knows me as Jesse.”

It didn’t make Edie’s heart jump to see the way her uninvited guest leaned in, nuzzling her face against Luna’s with zero regard for her perfect hair or makeup. It certainly didn’t make her wish Jesse was nuzzling her instead of the damn cow.

It didn’t.

Not one little bit.

Keep telling yourself that, McDowell.

Shoving those unwelcome thoughts from her mind, Edie turned around and resumed brushing Luna. “If you’re going to be hanging around my barn, you could at least make yourself useful. There’s a trough outside that needs to be filled with hay for Luna’s breakfast.”

Adding yet another shock to a morning full of surprises, Jesse gave Luna one last snuggle before stepping away and lifting her hand in a snappy mock-salute. “Yes, ma’am.”

Memories crowded Edie’s mind and heart, swamping her with feelings she’d thought long-since buried. There’d been a time when those words would have filled her with warmth and love, especially when they’d been spoken in that sweet, sniffly voice Jesse always had after a thorough spanking.

Did she still sound like that after a punishment? Did she even allow anyone to spank her these days?

Not that Edie really cared. Whatever Jesse Walker did with her life was no longer any of Edie’s business, and it hadn’t been for a very long time.

When Jesse disappeared around the corner, Edie leaned in, dropping her voice to a whisper for Luna’s ears only. “Traitor.”

One big brown eye rolled to the side, and Edie swore she could feel the judgment rolling off her oversized friend in waves. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. You don’t know her like I do.”

Luna just huffed softly, as if she didn’t believe a word Edie had said, and Edie narrowed her eyes.

“You’ll see. Or not. I doubt she’s planning to hang around very long.” And Edie wouldn’t be sad to see her go. Not in the least.

She was just about done brushing Luna when Jesse came bouncing back into view. Edie deliberately kept her gaze locked on Luna’s coat so she wouldn’t be distracted by the familiar sight of Jesse’s perky breasts swaying with every movement.

If any of the paparazzi normally trailing Jesse had walked into the barn at that moment, Edie wasn’t sure they’d even recognize her. Instead of her signature poofy skirts and sparkly tops, Jesse wasn’t dressed that much differently than Edie. Well, other than the fact her jeans were brand new and probably cost more than Edie’s store made in a month. But for the most part, she looked like she belonged.

Which was a hell of a lot more uncomfortable than Edie cared to admit.

“Hay’s in the feeder. What else do you need?”

It was on the tip of Edie’s tongue to send her off on some disgusting, back-breaking chore. But that would have been mean, and petty, and even though she was certainly feeling both of those things in that moment, she prided herself on being neither. Keeping Luna by her side, Edie turned and cocked a brow. “I need you to tell me what the hell you’re up to, Jesse.”

Something flickered over the other woman’s face, too quick for Edie to pin down exactly what it was. A smile replaced whatever the flash of emotion had been, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. It was the kind of smile she might give someone on the red carpet, not the smile Edie had fallen headfirst in love with all those years ago, and she told herself she didn’t miss the real version. “Can’t a girl come home for a visit now and again?”

“Sure. Unless that girl is you.”

The smile faltered, just for a second. “I wanted to see you.”

On their own, those words would have been shocking enough. But there was an earnestness to them, as though Jesse was so desperate to be believed that Edie found herself once again staring at her in surprise. “Why?”

Edie had no problem placing the annoyance that now flickered in Jesse’s eyes. “Maybe I missed you. Did you ever think of that?”

Nudging Jesse aside, Edie led Luna out of the stall and out to the pasture. “I’ve been here the whole time. Could’ve come to see me whenever you wanted.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t exactly think I’d be welcomed with open arms.”

Temper pricked at the base of Edie’s spine, but she did her best to keep it from showing in her face as she closed the gate behind Luna and turned back to Jesse. “And who’s fault is that?”

In yet another surprise move, Jesse didn’t flinch away from the question. She met Edie’s gaze head-on as she answered. “Mine.”

Edie almost wished she’d denied it. Righteous anger had been the only thing that had kept her from wallowing in her heartbreak when she’d woken up to find Jesse gone for good without so much as a goodbye note back then. Now, faced with Jesse’s simple, unwavering admission of guilt, her grip on that anger was slipping, giving way to something too close to curiosity for Edie’s comfort. Curiosity invited explanations and apologies, both of which tended to take the edge off a person’s anger.

And Edie liked her anger just the way it was, as sharp and deadly as Taylor Swift’s eyeliner, thank you very much. “Cut the shit, Jesse Lynne. We both know damn well you didn’t just pop by for a visit.”

Now Jesse did look away, her cheeks turning pink as she shoved her hands in the pockets of her expensive jeans and rocked back on the heels of what were likely even more expensive boots. And fuck if that guilty-Little-girl expression didn’t have Edie’s chest aching with a familiar need to comfort and soothe.

Or punish. Whichever the situation might call for.

“I needed to talk to you.”

“That’s what phone calls are for. Or emails. Hell, I even have social media these days. You didn’t have to fly all the way across the country just to talk to me.”

“I did about this.” Jesse shifted her gaze back to Edie’s face, her expression uncharacteristically somber. “It’s important.”

Ignoring the pounding of her own heart trying to alert her that something was off, Edie raised a brow. “Well? What is it? I don’t have all day.”

Her gaze locked on Edie’s, Jesse inhaled deeply and let it out in a long slow breath before finally answering. “I met someone. Not another actor. He runs a chain of restaurants, actually. He’s really great, and he keeps my feet on the ground, and… he’s a wonderful Daddy.”

It wasn’t a surprise, exactly. The rumor mill was always swimming with whispers about Carly Simmons and who she was or wasn’t dating. Other than the revelation that the man in question was a Daddy, there was nothing in Jesse’s statement that should have come as a shock.

And still, it was a punch in the gut Edie wasn’t remotely prepared for. “You came all this way to tell me you’re sleeping with some guy?”

“No.” Another deep breath, this one a bit shakier as Jesse shook her head. “No, Edie. I came all the way out here to tell you… to tell you I’m getting married.”

Fuck.