“And…” Alley dragged out as all eyes turned toward her. “You never know. Maybe she’ll find a mountain man and stay close forever.”
Brinley corrected our friend. “It’s not a mountain man she’s looking for, remember?” She wagged her brows suggestively. “She wants the hot schoolteacher with the body of a football star.”
“Tomato, tomahto.” Alley made a pfff’ing noise. “Either way, it would be a hot man that could convince her to stick around.”
Everyone made comments on how awesome that would be. I just wanted my friend to find a good man. And thinking of men…
My gaze drifted across the room from where I sat gossiping on the enormous couch that Jett insisted we needed with our continuously growing group. Happy tears pooled in my eyes as I took in the picturesque scene that unfolded in front of me.
Jett stood with the guys, his eyes downcast, taking in our beautiful daughter. He had a hard time taking his gaze off her—ever.I didn’t really blame him. I might be biased, but Amelia Blu Adams was absolutely perfect.
My husband smiled at our little one, who had come a few days ahead of schedule. I found myself wondering if she’d inherit his dimples, which he was currently flashing at her. Then his nose wrinkled, and his voice drifted across the room.
“Wow, pretty girl, you stink.”
I giggled, and Jett’s gaze lifted, meeting mine. As he began walking toward me, my belly fluttered as it always did when he got near. The other guys also drifted across the room along with him. Huntley had his and River’s sweet girl against his chest, and Bodie’s arms were full with a baby boy in each.
It was crazy how many kids were running, crawling, laying, and being held—you name it—in our home at that moment. My gaze shifted from Jett to the room. Every single little one was so darn special and having them all in our home was to me, a miracle.
There was even a group pestering Gramps, which he fully loved. The man was in his element when children were around. Knowing that his daughter—Ruby and Jett’s mother—had taken off and was living a hard life was just sad. She was the one who missed out on spectacular parents, but his grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and many others were not.
“I’m going to go change this stinker,” he advised as he stood in front of me. “Your daughter clearly took a shit if my nose has anything to say about it.”
Clearly sleep-deprived, he wasn’t thinking before he spoke. Not that many of the guys seemed to learn from their mistakes; it was a win for the money-grubber who didn’t miss a beat when it came to collecting more.
“Your freebies are up,” Embry informed him, popping out of thin air, Alley’s daughter Noelle hanging onto her hand. “You owe me.”
“Don’t you have enough money? You probably won’t have to work a day in your life,” my husband told her.
Embry made a cute scoffing noise. “But I want to. I want to work with my daddy.” She flashed Braxton a bright smile, which he returned, clearly humbled by her statement.
Well, that was sweet, but what came next was even more adorable, along with hilarious.
“I want to write smut like my mommy,” the shy cutie chimed in, causing everyone to freeze. “That’s what my daddy calls it.” Noelle looked at Landon. “Right, Daddy?”
Landon had a sheepish look on his face but couldn’t do anything but agree with the sweet girl—something I totally understood when I looked at my kids. “That’s right, baby.”
He looked at his wife, who had the biggest smirk on her face. Those two were a fun pair and so perfectly different. It was hilarious that Noelle was quiet like her dad but wanted to be like her mom when she grew up.
Noelle looked at her dad like he’d hung the moon, but the spell was broken when Embry said, “About the money…”
It was like our own comedy show brought to life right in front of my eyes.
Jett groaned. “Put it on my tab, and I’ll pay you at the end of the day.”
She gave him a thumbs up. “You got it.” Then she narrowed her eyes at him while also giving him a saccharine smile—the girl was talented. “Don’t think I will forget.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” my husband said. “I just have more pressing matters to take care of at the moment.”
Embry plugged her nose and said, “I can tell,” in a nasally tone, causing deep chuckles from the men and crazy laughter from the ladies.
Just then, Griffin raced across the room and skidded to a stop next to his dad. “I’ll help,” he told him enthusiastically.
“I’m out of here!” Embry exclaimed before disappearing, with Noelle following her.
Griffin watched his friend run off. “She’s scared of a smelly diaper.” He slapped his leg while laughing.
Jett and I looked at each other, smirking, clearly both remembering when our son had laid down the rules; one that was very clear he would not be participating in changing any poopy diapers.
