Page 80 of Bailey

“She’s okay.”

“I can’t believe she had to have a C-section,” Belle said from right at Harry’s shoulder.

“It’s just going to be a longer recovery,” Bryce said. “And that’s going to drive her nuts, but she did great, and both she and the baby are doing fine.”

Harry watched him with eyes that saw too much, and Bryce decided he didn’t need to hide from him. “I need to call my daddy and see if he can keep Matthew for a little bit longer, because she won’t be out of the hospital tomorrow.”

“When will they release her?” Harry asked.

“It’s three days for a C-section,” Bryce said. “They want to make sure that the incision is healing up right before they let her go. She’s on a round of antibiotics, and honestly, the nurse said she’ll be really tired for a little bit, because of the passing out and the meds and…yeah.”

Harry put one arm around Bryce and drew him into a tight hug, his six-week-old between them. Belle slipped Lyric away, and still Bryce held onto Harry.

“She’s going to be okay,” he said, but his own voice broke on the last word.

“Yeah, she just needs a lot of rest and sleep,” Harry said. “And she’ll be able to do both, because she has about fifty thousand people who would love to come help her and that baby.”

Bryce smiled and pulled away. “One hundred percent,” he said.

“Do you think we can go in and see her?”

“We’ll only stay for a few minutes,” Belle said. “We saw them delivering dinner down the hall, and we’ll leave as soon as she gets hers.”

“I’m sure she’d like it,” Bryce said, because Codi had lived a lot of her life isolated, and she’d told him that one of the best parts about their life at Rising Sun Ranch was how many people could show up at any given time. She claimed to love his big, loud family, and while he sometimes wanted to hide and needed silence, Codi didn’t mind having people around.

“You go in, baby,” Harry said, and he reached past Bryce to open the door. Belle slipped in with Lyric, leaving the two cowboys out in the hall.

“I bet you haven’t looked at the family text,” Harry said.

“No,” Bryce said.

“Kassie is organizing people to come help, not only with Codi and the baby, but at the farm too.”

Bryce nodded because he wasn’t going to turn down good help when it was offered. “I wouldn’t expect anything less,” he said with a smile.

Harry cleared his throat. “Bailey’s on it.”

Bryce’s eyebrows went up. “For which part?”

Harry frowned and pulled out his phone. “I can’t remember. Let me look.”

Bryce could just as easily look, though he’d likely missed hundreds of messages at this point. Once Samuel had been bathed and Bryce sat with him in the nursery while they waited for Codi to be given a room, he’d texted the Young family thread and told them everything that had happened with the birth.

He’d sent a picture of himself with Samuel, as well as the boy’s name, and then he tucked his phone away and cuddled his son close. Codi had been given a room only twenty minutes later, and Bryce had dedicated his time and energy to his wife, getting her ice chips, and then calling the lactation specialist when Samuel wouldn’t latch on.

Every hour seemed to bring a new milestone, and Bryce told himself that he’d been through hard things before—maybe not this particular hard thing, but others. He knew he just had to make it a little bit longer, and then he’d be able to find physical rest through sleeping and gain mental and emotional rest in the Lord.

Harry looked up. “It looks like she’s bringing dinner in a few days, which means she’ll stay to help with housework, and Codi, and the baby, and then she said she can also do whatever you need done on the ranch that night.”

Bryce nodded and swallowed.

“I’m sure Kassie can tell her that she’s not needed,” Harry whispered.

Bryce shook his head. “Bailey is who Bailey is,” he said. “And Codi and I are super secure. If she wants to come help, I’m not going to tell her no.”

Harry didn’t seem to like that answer, but he shoved his phone in his back pocket and didn’t say anything. That alone said so much, and he rolled his neck and lifted one arm above his head to stretch it out.

“I actually think it’s good for her,” he said. “To see Codi and me, and to see our babies, and see how we’ve built this family together.” He exhaled as his muscles stretched and pulled. “And she’s with Reeves now anyway.”