The Welcome to Eagle’s Rest sign came into view around another corner, followed by signs announcing the ski lodge, the downtown core and some hiking trails at the next exit.

  Her mother lived in a little apartment building off the old end of Main Street. It was from the seventies, with wooden siding and tall evergreens blocking out the light for the apartments in the front of the building. It looked “woodsy,” but dated. Gabby drove into the visitor parking area, and then turned to Seth.

  “So...happy newlyweds, right?”

  “It’ll be fine.” A smile curled at the corners of his lips. “Come on. Let’s get it over with.”

  They got the baby bag, and Gabby carried one car seat while Seth carried the other two. She had to admit that having Seth here to help her with carrying car seats made things easier. When they got into the front doors, Gabby punched her mother’s code and waited to be buzzed in.

  “That you, Gabby?” her mother asked. “Let me come down and help you with the babies—”

  “No, it’s okay, Mom,” Gabby said into the speaker. “I’ve got Seth here. Just let us in.”

  Carol was on the third floor with a side view that wasn’t blocked by those massive trees, and by the time they got to her floor, she was waiting with her apartment door open and a smile on her face.

  “There you are!” Carol said. “Oh, my little peanuts!”

  Carol took one of the car seats from Seth and cast him a smile. “This is nice of you to help Gabby out today, Seth.” Her gaze paused at the wedding ring on his hand, then she led the way into her one-bedroom apartment.

  What was her mother thinking, seeing that shiny new ring? Seeing as she didn’t say anything, she probably assumed he still wore his wedding ring from Bonnie—although that one had been platinum, not gold. It might be a detail she’d missed. Everyone knew how hard Seth had been grieving. Gabby and Seth exchanged a look.

  Gabby followed her mother into the apartment, and Seth took up the rear. For the next few minutes, Carol got her grandsons out of their car seats and gave each of them a kiss. She held Andy first and cuddled him close. Beau started to squirm, and Gabby handed him over to Seth, then scooped up Aiden. It felt like a normal visit, and watching her mother holding Andy, Gabby wasn’t quite sure how to bring up her news.

  “I’m so glad I had a day off,” Carol said. “I haven’t seen my grandsons in forever.”

  “In three days,” Gabby said with a low laugh.

  “Like I said, forever,” Carol said, and she looked up at Gabby with a smile. It was then that her gaze landed on Gabby’s left hand, and Carol froze. Gabby licked her lips.

  “Gabrielle?” Carol said quietly. “Do you have something you want to tell me?”

  “Actually, yes,” Gabby said, and she gave her mom a hesitant smile. “I’m... I mean, Seth and I... We, um—” Gabby looked down at Aiden in her arms, then over at Seth.

  “Got married,” Seth finished for her.

  “We got married,” she confirmed with a breathy laugh.

  “You got...” Carol’s voice faded. “Oh, my goodness! Gabby, are you serious? When?”

  “Yesterday,” Gabby said with a nod. “It was a big secret. But, yeah. We’re married!”

  Carol adjusted the baby in her arms, then moved closer to Gabby and lowered her voice.

  “Married?” Carol met Gabby’s gaze questioningly. “Legally?”

  “Yes, legally. How else does a person get married?”

  Carol sighed, and Gabby looked over at Seth. This might be a sham marriage, but she did care about his feelings. Seth met her gaze for a moment, then walked discreetly across the small living room. He adjusted Beau up onto his shoulder and fixed his attention out the front window.

  “Mom, just be happy for me,” she pleaded.

  “Sweetheart, I don’t mean to rain on your parade here, but three days ago, you were crying over Craig, and today you’re married to Seth? I mean, we all love Seth, but—”

  “I know, it was quick,” Gabby interrupted.

  “He’s a good man,” her mother whispered. “But this is rather fast.”

  “We had dinner together, and we just realized it was right! I can’t ask you to understand. I know you and Dad dated for a whole lot longer, but I know Seth inside and out. And I realized that I’d had this great guy in my life all this time, and when he asked me to marry him, I said yes. And here we are.”

  And not really a lie, either. As it turned out, the truth, minus a few pertinent details, was a rather nice story of how they got together.

  “Here we are, indeed.” Her mother was silent for a few beats. “You didn’t think to tell me you were getting married? You didn’t think I’d want to be there?”

  Gabby felt tears gather in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Mom. It was...spontaneous. I guess I didn’t want you to talk me out of it.”

  “I would have wanted to see my only child get married!” Carol fixed Gabby with a wounded stare.

  “I’m sorry, Mom.” What else could she say? “Please be happy for me...”

  “Do you have pictures?”

  “I do, actually.” Gabby pulled out her cell phone and found the email. She hadn’t stopped to look at those photos, and she was mildly afraid that the truth would be glaringly obvious in those images. But as she showed her mom the first shot, she stared down at a lovely picture of two people looking nervously down at their joined hands. Her dress was nice, a simple cream knit that showed off her new, maternal figure. And Seth looked serious and handsome, the light setting off his dark eyes just right.

  “Oh...” Her mother sighed, and Gabby saw tears well in her eyes.

  The next few photos were variations on the first, and then there was the picture she’d actually forgotten about—Gabby with her eyes shut, her face upturned, and Seth’s lips pressed gently against hers in the very first kiss they’d ever shared.

  “I wish I could have been there,” her mother said. “If you’d told me—”

  “I was a nervous wreck,” Gabby said. “If you were there, I might not have made it to the vows. It was better this way—just the two of us.”

  Carol looked across the living room to where Seth stood with his back to them, legs akimbo, backlit by the window. Gabby looked at him, too. Seth always had been a good-looking guy, and now he was her husband. She wasn’t used to thinking that.

  “What about Seth’s parents?” Carol asked.

  “Seth told his mother last night. I wanted to tell you in person, or I would have called you, too.”

  Carol nodded. “And they’re happy for you?”

  “Yeah.” Gabby smiled hesitantly. “I was scared they wouldn’t be, but they really are.”

  “Welcome to the family, Seth!” Carol called. “You can come back now.”

  Seth turned, and he adjusted the baby in his arms. “Is it safe?”

  “Perfectly.” Carol crossed the room and held out one arm, her other occupied with Andy, who was sleeping in his grandmother’s embrace. “Let’s have a hug, now.”

  Seth bent down and Carol gave him a pat. Looking at her mother hugging her husband, both of them holding a baby boy, Gabby felt a stab of guilt at her lie.

  Was her mother really going to be happier believing that Gabby had up and married Seth in a romantic whirlwind? Was the truth maybe better, after all?

  Except the truth came with the hidden burden that Gabby and her mother couldn’t afford to provide for these children on their own. At least romance took the burden off her mother’s shoulders and made it a spontaneous leap instead of a calculated step.

  The truth would have to be Gabby’s burden to bear alone.

  * * *

  SETH BENT DOWN and accepted the side hug from Carol. He felt awkward, like he didn’t really belong in the room for this conversation. Beau was snoozing peacefully up on Seth’s shoulder, and he kept a protective hand on the baby’s diaper. These babies had changed everything. If he and Gabby were still just friends, he wouldn’t be here. She’d take care of her own family stuff. Except he was now a husband, a stepdad, and a part of this family.

  That made him feel a bit nervous. The Rogers women were a passionate duo, and then there was Gabby’s aunt Bea, who was known to be a pretty strong personality around town. And her uncle Ted...not really an uncle, but definitely part of the family. Seth had been happy to listen to her stories about various family dramas without ever having to dip his toe in those waters.

  Yet here he was.

  “You’ll be good to her, right?” Carol said, meeting his gaze earnestly. “You won’t break her heart?”

  That was an easy one to answer.

  “I’m not going to hurt her,” he said.

  Besides, her heart wasn’t invested in this marriage—at least not on a romantic level. But he’d most certainly take care of her. That was why he suggested their marriage of convenience to begin with. Gabby was special to him. She’d been there for him through thick and thin for years, and this marriage wasn’t for him, at all. It was all for her.

  “And you’re ready to take on three boys?” Carol asked.

  “Yeah. I mean, not really, but I’m sure I’ll figure it out. I don’t know anyone who’s actually ready for triplets.”

  Carol smiled at that. “You have a point. But marriage isn’t easy. Take it from me. It takes two people who want to make it work, not just one.”

  “Yeah, I know.” He’d been married, after all. He knew what it took to keep a relationship going, but what he had with Gabby was different. This relied on a well-established friendship, not something so fickle as romantic love. He couldn’t tell her mother that, though. “Gabby and I aren’t kids. We know what we’re getting into.”

  “We always think that, don’t we?” Carol raised an eyebrow. “Well, Seth, of all the men Gabby could have chosen, I trust you. You’re a good person.”

  She was trusting him to tell her the truth, too, to be open and honest. That stung a little.

  “I try to be,” he said, and he glanced over Carol’s head to find Gabby watching him with a small smile on her face. Was he doing okay with this first introduction as the husband, then?

  “You know that Uncle Ted hasn’t seen the babies yet,” Carol said, turning toward Gabby.

  Gabby popped a soother into Aiden’s mouth, and glanced at her mother with a tired look.

  “I’ve been a little busy, Mom.”

  “I know—and I completely understand now that I know what you’ve been up to. But Ted has been asking about you, and you know how he worries.”

  Seth knew Ted Charleston from his years of friendship with Gabby. He’d always been pretty close with both Gabby and her mom. It seemed strange that a man with a family of his own would care this much about seeing Gabby’s infants himself. Whatever... Seth pushed the thought aside as Beau’s diaper started to rumble.

  “I’ve got a live one here,” Seth said, and he looked down at the baby uncertainly. Beau’s face was crunched up, and he wriggled again, producing another rumble.

  “All right. You finished, Beau?”

  There were no more rumbles, so Seth grabbed the diaper bag from the back of a chair where Gabby had left it, and looked around.

  “I’ll get you a towel,” Carol said. “You can just use the couch. That old piece of junk has seen worse, I can assure you.”

  Carol came back with a towel, and Seth set to work. It wasn’t quite so bad as he’d feared, except the tub of wipes was next to impossible to open.

  “Here...” Gabby leaned over and pressed a button. The lid popped up.

  “Oh.” He smiled ruefully. He’d get better at this with a more practice.

  “Ted bought you some baby stuff,” Carol said, turning to her daughter. “I told him you’d be here today, so he might come by. It depends if he can get the time.”

  Seth wiped Beau’s little bottom, and slid a new diaper underneath him.

  “Cream...”

  Gabby passed him a tube.

  “How thick?” Seth asked.

  “Like well-buttered toast,” Gabby said.

  He chuckled. “You and your buttered toast.”

  She was a bit of a stickler over how her toast was buttered. Anytime they got breakfast together, he’d watched her butter her toast from edge to edge with the attention to detail that a drywaller would use.

  Still, he used her imagery and slathered some cream onto Beau’s bottom, then secured the diaper. He cleaned his fingers off on another wipe, and then picked Beau up again. He grabbed the balled-up diaper.

  “Where’s the garbage, Mrs. Rogers?” he asked.

  “Under the sink—” Carol began, then she held out her hand. “Maybe I’ll just take that. And you might as well call me Carol. We’re family now.”

  “Mom, I was thinking...” Gabby eased Aiden back into his car seat and looked up at her mother from her crouched position. “I want to contact Dad.”

  Carol came back into the room, but her face had paled. “Why would you do that?”

  “He’s a grandfather now,” she said. “I figured he might want to know.”

  “I doubt he’d care,” Carol retorted. “He left when I was pregnant with you, and he never came back. What makes you think he cares about your babies more than he cared about you?”

  “Craig left me, too,” Gabby snapped. “Is that the same thing? He’s not going to care about his children because he was married to someone else?”

  “Maybe not!” Carol said. “He’s not exactly a man to be trusted, is he? And he didn’t bother coming to see them when they were born. I’m sorry if you don’t like to hear this, but I doubt he’s going to put much effort into ever meeting them. These beautiful babies are an inconvenience to him!”

  “People can change!” Gabby turned to face her mother. “Craig’s priorities might change over the years. Dad’s might have, too, for that matter! Besides, how much of Dad staying away was because you hated him for leaving you?”

  Carol’s face paled and she clenched her jaw. “Are you blaming me now for what he did?”

  “I’m saying it’s a bit more complicated than you make it sound. He’s not the devil. He’s my father.”

  “Sweetheart, take it from me. Just enjoy your babies and your husband, and leave your father alone.”

  Gabby rose to her feet, and Seth could see that she was trying to calm herself, but she was angry. “If he ignores me, I’m fine with that. In fact, I kind of expect it. But I just want to try. I’m a mom now, and... I feel like he deserves another chance to be in my life if he wants to take it.”

  “Your father isn’t worthy of your heartbreak.”

  “I’m not heartbroken,” Gabby snapped.

  “Not yet,” her mother retorted. “Trust me to know him better than you do. Okay?”

  Seth looked down at the baby in his arms, his heart beating just a bit faster than usual. Gabby’s argument with her mom didn’t involve him, but the tension in the room felt almost palpable.

  There was a buzzing sound, and Carol went over to a panel on the wall. She pushed a button and leaned closer to the speaker.

  “Yeah?”

  “It’s me.”

  “Come on up, Ted...” Carol pushed a different button and turned back to them. “Seth, you might not understand all the dynamics here, but Gabby’s dad is only going to cause pain. It’s a fact. So I might seem a bit extreme, but I know what I’m talking about. If you’re the one who’s pushing her to do this—”

  “No one makes up Gabby’s mind for her,” Seth said. “I promise you that.”

  “It isn’t Seth,” Gabby sighed. “It’s me.”

  Carol fell silent, and Seth looked over at Gabby, watching the conflicted emotions flicker through those clear blue eyes.

  “I just thought...” Gabby said after a beat of silence. “It was tough growing up without a father.”

  “You had me,” Carol said, and she sounded wounded.

  “I know. And I’m not complaining. I had a great childhood, Mom. Never mind. I’ll leave him alone.”

  “Thank you.” Carol gave a curt nod. “Just appreciate the people you have in your life, Gabrielle. That’s the way to be happy.”

  There was a knock, and Carol went to answer it. Ted Charleston stood in the doorway holding a couple gift bags. He looked down at the baby in Carol’s arms and smiled wistfully.

  “Hey,” he said quietly. “Wow. Here’s one of the main guys, huh?”

  “This is Andy,” Carol said. “Come on in, Ted.”

  Ted nodded a hello to Seth, then smiled in Gabby’s direction. He was a tall, slim man with silver hair and a good-natured smile. He had the natural look of a politician, although he’d skipped that profession.

  “How are you, Gabby?” Ted asked. “You look like you’re doing okay.”

  “I am. I’m feeling pretty good,” she said. “Hi, Uncle Ted. This here is Aiden, and Seth has Beau.”

  “Wow...our Gabby is a mom, huh?” Ted said. “I’m proud of you, kiddo. Do you think I could hold Aiden?”

  “Of course.” Gabby seemed to grow a little younger as she smiled at Ted, then she eased the baby into his arms. Ted’s expression softened as he looked down at the infant, and his eyes even teared a little. Seth knew that Ted had been a big part of Gabby’s childhood, but seeing them together like this, it hammered home just how important her godfather had been to her. He’d been...like a dad. This was the role Seth was taking for the time being, wasn’t it? Godfather, but doing all the stuff a dad would do.

  Gabby was right; these boys did need more stability than that. Maybe he did, too.

  “We have more news, actually...” Gabby looked toward Seth and sucked in a breath. “Seth and I got married yesterday.”

  Ted’s eyebrows shot up. “What?” He adjusted Aiden in one arm and reached for her left hand, as if that were the only way to make sure this was a fact, then looked toward Seth.