Bound to You by Vanessa Holland

You could have asked any one of my family and they would have told you. I wasn’t hard to find.”
    That was true, and she had thought of that many times over the past three years, but…. “Well, honestly, I wasn’t sure I wanted you to know. You got what you wanted and then you dumped me the next day. By the time he was born you and I had no relationship. I wasn’t sure…. I was scared. I realized I never really knew you. I wasn’t sure if I could trust you. My dad kept saying….” She stopped and took a deep breath before her babbling got out of control. “I didn’t know what to do.”
    He let out a long breath. “I sat in my truck for about an hour that day after I called you, trying to decide what to do. I was afraid you’d give up law school to follow me. I probably would have taken you if you’d wanted to come and then you’d have resented me for the rest of your life for costing you your education and career. You had that plan. You were always talking about your plan. The law degree, the city, and so on. So, I finally started the truck and drove off.”
    Jenna was amazed he’d thought of her at all before he’d left. “Why did it have to be one way? Me going with you? Why couldn’t you have stayed with me?”
    “ My granddad was having problems,” he said, weakly. “Somebody had to run the ranch.”
    “ But why you? You have brothers, right?”
    “ I was the only one free. Jack has three businesses to run and the others are all married with kids and couldn’t pull up stakes. I had to go because…. Your dad said a broken heart was better than a shattered life. And he was right. You weren’t ready. You had things left to do.”
    “ You talked to my dad? He never said anything.” She’d known how afraid her father had been of her getting too involved with Sam, or anyone, and ruining her life. He’d said that to her, too, that a broken heart was better than a shattered life. He must have gone to Sam and made the decision for her.
    “ I should have called back,” Sam said. “Talked to you and set things straight, but…. Hell, it was easier not to.”
    She shook her head and looked off, her mind spinning, her emotions darting wildly between anger and regret. And an odd sense of acceptance of all her father’s faults now that he was gone. “It doesn’t matter. It wouldn’t have changed anything. Probably.”
    “ It would have if I’d known you were pregnant,” he said. “I would have come back. I wouldn’t have turned my back on you.”
    Jenna looked off, her stomach burning. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”
    “ So what do you want?” he asked with the same tight voice. “Why are you telling me now?”
    She turned and looked out at the corner light, shining a golden circle onto the grass. What did she want? She couldn’t remember. “I don’t know. I wanted you to know. Ethan will wonder someday soon.”
    After a long, tense silence, Sam leaned to the side, stretching his neck. “C’mere,” he whispered. “Look at this.”
    She moved up beside him and saw what had caught his attention. Flying squirrels scurrying all over the tree with the bird feeder. Screeching and making a racket with their claws against wood. She’d grown used to their presence.
    “ They’re out almost every night this time of year,” she told him, feeling brave enough to sit beside him, grateful for the distraction. “They live in a big bird house the park rangers built out in the woods. Last year we had eighteen but this year I’ve only seen twelve at any one time.”
    Sam stood up and walked to the railing for a closer look. Pepper sat at the base of the tree, staring up at the activity, watching the squirrels fight and run and play, waiting for one to finally fall. Pepper wouldn’t have given a burglar a second glance, but the squirrels he found incredibly interesting. One little squirrel stood upside down on the side of the tree boldly staring back at the dog.
    “ Go on up,”