Page 42 of A Heart Falls Cowboy Christmas

This day got better and better.

Jake slipped away for a couple hours in the afternoon to meet with the hall committee on Aiden’s behalf.

He parked outside Buns and Roses, then paused to get ready. The old bomber jacket he’d found at the thrift shop had gone light grey with age, but it was the matching bonnet with new bright yellow flowers on the brim—courtesy of Tansy’s sister Rose—that made the outfit.

Suitably attired, and with nothing serious on the agenda to discuss, Jake stepped into the café.

He made eye contact with Lisa, Maddy, and the others, then grinned. “I’m pleased to announce the safe arrival of Jaden Loki Skye. Mom and baby are doing great. Both father and big sister are giddy.”

Cheers went up from the entire room.

He sat at the table, heart full and head full.

On paper it seemed the Skye family had been in Heart Falls for such a short time, and yet…

There was something. Something big about the way he felt inside.

When Jake returned to the warmth of High Water a short time later, that thread of a thought still tickled softly.

Familiar comfort enveloped him as he walked in the door. Tansy stood at the counter with Sydney, little Jeffrey on a step stool between them. Petra’s mom was setting the table, while Zachary Senior had something electrical pulled apart on the coffee table. Beside him, Jinx and Logan watched carefully as Zachary pointed to bits and pieces then guided them in replacing the parts properly.

At the hospital still, Petra and Aiden would be savouring the first moments with their son.

Declan stepped beside Jake, passing him a beer. “You’ve got a thinking expression on your face.”

“It’s really home.” The words burst out, but it was what he’d been feeling all day, Jake realized. “We came to Heart Falls and built High Water to make a home for those who needed it and⁠—"

“And we made a home for ourselves in the process,” Declan finished. He nodded, a small smile curling his lips. “Nice it turned out that way.”

“Lots of work and a bunch of luck,” Jake offered.

Declan looked thoughtful for a moment. “Yup. Work and luck for sure, but I think Jeff would have told us it needed one more thing to really work. And we got that part, too.”

Jake considered as he looked around the room. Family, gathered together in heart if not bodies. Yup, their stepdad, Jeff, had been a wonderful father, and he’d taught them exactly what it took to get ahead in this world. “Love, right?”

“Yup.”

Good thought, Jake decided. “Jeff would have approved.”

“Jeff does approve. And so does Mom, and Sarah, and all those who have gone before us. Love doesn’t leave when they die. It keeps on going in us.” Declan nodded, then a snort escaped him. “Lord, I’m waxing poetic. Don’t tell Aiden.”

Amusement welled up. “Deal.”

Family. Home.

It worked.

10

Sasha paced.

Her nerves were jangling far too hard, and the only way to keep from shouting at someone who didn’t deserve it was to wear off her edgy energy.

Still, tomorrow’s Biology 30 departmental exam would arrive whether she’d finished reviewing or not, so a creative compromise had to be found.

Which was why instead of being curled up in the family living room, wiggling in place and biting her tongue to keep from snapping at her innocent little brother, she was doing a contained marathon.

Her textbook lay open on the stack of hay at one end of the long aisle outside the horse stalls. She’d read the headings, or a few paragraphs if necessary, then walk herself down the entire length to the far side of the opposite building while reciting everything she could remember based on the prompts.