POV Ivory

Morning light filtered through my curtains.

I woke slowly, disoriented by the warmth surrounding me. Kameron’s arm lay heavy across my stomach. Colt’s chest pressed solid against my back. Their breathing came deep and steady, both men still asleep.

I lay perfectly still, afraid to break the spell. Afraid to face what came next.

My mind churned through every possible outcome. Could this actually work? Three people raising three children together? The logistics alone seemed impossible. Schedules. Sleeping arrangements. What to tell the kids. And the town.

God, the town would never stop talking.

But lying here between them, I couldn’t deny how right it felt. Kameron’s reckless warmth balanced by Colt’s steady calm. The way they’d moved together last night—not competing, but complementing. Two halves of something I hadn’t known I needed.

Still. Fantasy was one thing. Reality was another.

Colt stirred first. His arm tightened around my waist, pulling me closer before his eyes even opened. Then Kameron shifted, his hand finding my hip, thumb stroking lazy circles against my skin.

They were awake. And the silence stretched heavy with everything unsaid.

I took a breath. If we were going to do this—really do this—there couldn’t be secrets between us. Not anymore.

“There’s something you need to know.” My voice came out steadier than I expected. “Something I should have told you weeks ago. One of you is the father of my children. I’ve never known which. The timing of the pregnancy, the triplets’ features, the fact that I was with both of you that night—it’s always been impossible to tell.”

Kameron propped himself up on one elbow, his ice-blue eyes searching my face. “Why didn’t you ever say anything—”

“When would I have told you?” I laughed bitterly. “You both vanished the morning after. By the time I knew I was pregnant, you were already gone. Kameron chasing rodeos. Colt building his empire in Texas. I had no way to reach either of you. And even if I had, what would I have said? ‘I’m pregnant, and I don’t know which one of you is the father’?”

Colt’s expression remained unreadable. His hand still rested warm against my hip, but I felt the tension coiling through his body. “Do you want to know now? The truth?”

“I do.” The words came easier than I expected. “I think we all deserve to know. I can set up a DNA test. There’s a lab in Marysville that handles paternity cases.”

Kameron sat up fully, running a hand through his dark curls. His face was complicated—shock and something that looked almost like hope tangled together. “I want to do it. I need to know, Ivory. These past weeks with those kids, watching them learn and grow, wondering every single day if one of them carries my blood—”

“Knowing the truth would be good for everyone.” Colt’s voice was measured, calm. He sat up slowly, his hazel eyes finding mine. “But I need you to understand something. It won’t change how I feel. About you or about those kids. Regardless of what the test says.”

Kameron nodded slowly. “Same for me. Whether I’m their biological father or not, I’m already attached. Lily’s laugh. Luke’s determination. Levi’s quiet way of watching everything. They’ve gotten under my skin in ways I never expected.”

Something loosened in my chest. I’d expected anger. Accusations. Instead, they offered exactly what I never dared hope for—acceptance without conditions.

The process proved clinical and uncomfortable.

That’s bullshit. I couldn’t hold back my tears.

I stepped back to let him inside. He moved past me into the kitchen, and his eyes found Lily’s drawing on the refrigerator. The family portrait with two cowboy-hat figures standing tall beside us.

His expression shifted. Understanding dawned slow and painful across his features.

“You love them.” It wasn’t a question. “Both of them. That’s what this is.”

“Yes.” The confession spilled out before I could stop it. “Your suspicion was correct. I’m done hiding, Ryan. I’m done pretending I don’t feel what I feel because it makes other people uncomfortable.”

He was quiet for a long moment. I braced myself for judgment. For lectures about reputation and propriety and what people would say.

Instead, he pulled me into his arms.

“I’m going to stand beside you this time.” His voice was rough against my hair. “And if those cowboys hurt you, I’ll kill them both. Slowly. With my bare hands.”

We laughed together—watery and relieved—and something broken between us began to heal.

I held onto my brother in my kitchen, Lily’s drawing watching over us from the refrigerator door.

Soon we will know which man fathered my children.

But standing there with Ryan’s arms around me, I realized the answer might matter less than I’d always believed. Kameron and Colt had both chosen to stay. Maybe that was enough. Maybe that was everything.