Brandon met Lenore’s eyes and then carefully took the baby from her.
“We’ll probably be gone about a half-hour,” she said. “Mindi is going to stay here with you and make sure you’re warm enough and don’t have any problems.” Patty smiled at Lenore and adjusted something on one of the monitors. “Your job right now is to rest. Will you be nursing?”
“Yes,” Lenore said.
“I can have our lactation specialist come in and talk to you in a little bit,” she said.
Mindi slipped into the room, and she held a plastic cup. “Suck on this for a little bit,” she said. “And I’m going to go get you a heated blanket, because I can see you’re shivering already.”
Alarm passed through Brandon, and he looked back at Lenore. “You okay?”
“I just feel cold,” she said.
“It’s a little bit of shock is all,” Patty said. “Totally normal after giving birth. Mindi will get you a blanket, and we’ve got you on vitals.” She nodded to Brandon. “She’s going to be okay.”
He nodded too, and leaned over and kissed Lenore quickly again. “Thirty minutes, baby. I’ll be right back.”
He followed Patty out of the room and down a brightly lit hallway that had no idea it was almost midnight. He’d been receiving texts all night from Dawson and Duke, as well as his mother and everyone on the rancher group chat that he and Lenore belonged to.
He couldn’t wait to send them all the photo of him and Lenore and their new baby girl, but for right now, Brandon focused on being a dad as he gave Julia her first bath.
14
Finley Ackerman grinned at his phone as text after text came in. He should have known his ranch friends would be up before the sun, especially with how hot it had been this summer.
Finn felt loved every day of the year, but especially so on his birthday. He’d been given strict instructions by his wife, Edith, to stay in bed until the boys brought in his coffee and breakfast, something that his eldest, Theo, had put together with his brothers, Bubba and Dustin. Theo had just turned ten, and Edith had been teaching him a lot more in the kitchen.
Happy Birthday, brother, Alex said, and Finn realized that it was reallyAlexwho had been teaching his son to cook. Edith didn’t like the activity much, but none of them had starved in the past twelve years that they’d been a family.
Finn closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and as he exhaled, he said, “Thank You, Lord, for bringing me home and giving me such a great wife and boys, and friends and family.”
Then he opened his eyes and started answering his texts. His daddy had already sent him a birthday greeting on a group text with his momma and all of his half-siblings: Libby, Mike, and Sammy. He wasn’t surprised to see Libby’s response coming inquickly after their daddy’s, but neither Mike nor Sammy had replied yet.
Thanks, Daddy, Finn said.Libby, are you sure it’s okay if we have the party at the ranch tonight? Like super sure?
He and Edith had been planning it at their own place, but it had been so hot, and they didn’t want to do anything outside. Libby ran their family ranch, along with her husband, Rusty. Her new baby boy was almost two months old now, and she was mostly back to full-time work at Three Rivers Ranch.
I’ve got the air conditioning going already, she said.It’s going to be great.
Gratitude filled his heart, and he thanked her, and then moved over to his ranch owner’s text string. His cousin Henry had started it all atfour-thirtythat morning, and a scoff fell out of Finn’s mouth.
Happy birthday, Finny! Have the best day ever!
But Dawson had chimed in not much later, and then Link, Wilder, and Tate had followed. They sent various renditions ofHappy birthdaywith emojis or pictures, and Finn smiled at every one, thinking about each man and what he had going on in his life.
Tate and Clara Jean were about to have their first baby, and Finn knew what that was like, and how scared he’d been when Edith had gone into labor with Theo.
He’d been working with Dawson out at Brandon and Lenore’s homestead, though they’d been home for about a week now with their new baby, Julia. He knew Alex would be going there later this afternoon before coming to the party.
Henry and his wife, Angel, bore the constant pressure of running a huge boarding stable about forty minutes away from Three Rivers and where they lived. They had to balance childcare with family relationships and managing dozens of men and horses.
Paul’s text came in next, and Finn thought of him and Brielle and how badly they had wanted their baby. Spur was almost two now, and every time Finn saw him, he had the fleeting thought that he would like another child too.
Edith wanted a girl, and as Finn rolled onto his side, a twinge of pain ran through his back, reminding him why he didn’t want any more kids. He was turningfortyyears old today, and his youngest was only three. He’d be kept on his toes for many more years to come, and he really didn’t want to start over with a newborn.
Happy birthday! I hope you get everything you want, Gun said, and Rock followed it with an animated picture of a birthday cake with huge firecrackers on it. Finn chuckled to himself, thinking of the Glovers and their ranch south of town.
While sometimes it looked like everything was peaches and cream at Shiloh Ridge Ranch, he knew they experienced their fair share of trials, just like everyone else on this planet. He hadn’t heard any news from Gun and Camila about having a baby, but they’d only been married for a year. Of course, Rock and Clover had gotten married the weekafterthem, and they were having their first child in October.
