Page 41 of A Heart Falls Cowboy Christmas

“In a minute.” The nurses finished up, leaving them alone in the room. The three of them, Jaden nuzzling into Petra’s neck like a kitten.

Peaceful. For one sweet moment, it was so peaceful.

It felt odd.

Petra twisted her head and kissed Aiden’s cheek. “Why don’t you let the family in?”

“Already? You sure?” But he was on his feet, obviously eager as well.

“Jinx first, then the horde. Have at ’er.” Petra smiled down at her son. “Jaden’s got a lifetime of family ahead, all of whom want nothing more than to love him.”

Jaden wiggled his fists. His gaze met hers as if to say that was fine by him.

Jake and Tansy took turns holding baby Jaden, then it was Jeffrey’s turn. They propped him up on the hospital bed next to Petra, who helped Jeffrey cradle the baby in his lap.

Jeffrey examined his new cousin carefully, kissing him softly then uncurling the baby’s fingers and letting them wrap around his own little digit. Sweet, quiet. Peaceful.

That lasted all of twenty seconds. Then Jaden farted, and Jeffrey shouted and jumped off the bed. Petra easily caught Jaden before he could be tossed to the floor, but that was the end of cousin cuddle time.

“Does Jaden have any trucks?” Jeffrey asked, looking around the room now that he was safely on his feet.

A soft chuckle escaped Aiden. “He’s pretty tired still from being born. You’ll have to give him a little time to get to be big enough to play fun games with you, okay?”

“Okay.” Jeffrey’s nose crinkled. He turned to Tansy. “Can we go see Grampa now?” he asked. “I like Grampa. He knows how to play trucks.”

She smiled. “Grandpa Mal will be happy to know he’s a great truck player.”

It was time they gave up the room to the rest of the family waiting in the hallway. Petra had a ton of family who’d driven in from Winnipeg for the occasion.

After a kiss for Petra, Jake turned and pounded his brother on the back. “You take care of Petra and Jaden. We’ve got your chores covered for the next while, including the hall meeting tonight.”

“Thanks, bro.” Aiden offered Jake a hug, but he barely pulled his eyes off his family.

Jake got it. Jinx had slipped onto the bed next to Petra and was now cradling her baby brother. Joy shone on both women’s faces.

“Hey, Jinx?” Jake waited until she glanced his way to offer her a thumbs up. “I like your choice for his middle name. Seems a good fit for your family.”

She grinned wide. “Jaden Loki Skye. And Jinx Lórien Skye. People will know we’re siblings.”

“Absolutely.”

Outside, Tansy and Jake held Jeffrey between them, and he chattered about all the things he and Jaden would do someday.

“That one will take a little longer,” Jake told Jeffrey as he snapped him into the car seat. “Babies don’t ride horses, just big boys like you.”

Jeffrey sighed with extreme sadness. “Okay.”

Jake closed the door and exchanged a smile with Tansy. Before she could climb in herself, he pulled her against him. “You okay?”

She smiled brightly. “Hell, yeah.”

He waited.

Her smile turned to a glare. “Jake Skye, I’m fine. I’m excited as anything that Jaden is here safely. And yes, I know we’ve been trying to get pregnant, and yes, I know that Rose announced she’s expecting in October, but I really am okay. It’ll happen when it happens.” She lifted her chin. “In the meantime, we have a wonderful son who we’ll have to work hard to convince it’s not time to teach Jaden how to ride a bike.”

“The Jeffster is going to be very high needs for a while, isn’t he?”

“Yup.” Tansy lifted up on her toes and kissed Jake sweetly. “Let’s go drop kiddo with Grandpa Truckdriver Supreme, then you and I can sneak away to practice our baby making skills.”