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I’ve slept through the night since they moved in. I wake up calmer. I’ve even caught myself whistling.

And last night, after we made love—that’s another thing, now I say things like make love—Iris fell asleep on my chest with her hand flat over my heart. I’ve never felt so content.

The wranglers and my brothers have promised to cover for me so I have some weekends off now. They want to help me do everything I can to hold on to Iris and not be a grumpy bastard, and as they said, that means not working twenty-four hours a day.

I make it to the kitchen in time to see Linc standing on a chair, digging through a cabinet like he’s lived here his whole life. Iris has her hair up in a messy knot, wearing one of my old flannels.

I love it.

She turns and hits me with a sleepy smile.

God, I love her.

“Morning,” she says.

I walk over and kiss her forehead. “Morning.”

Linc clears his throat in the loudest, most dramatic way possible.

I pull back and look at him. “What?”

He gestures vaguely between us. “PG.”

Iris snorts. “Oh my God.”

“You’ve been listening to my brothers, haven’t you?” I lean on the counter, pretending to consider. “Do we need to review the difference between PG and R?”

His eyes widen. “Nope. Never mind. Forget I said anything.”

I grin, pleased with myself, especially when Iris snorts.

I’m pouring coffee when a knock sounds at the door.

“That’ll be Evelyn and Jennifer,” Iris says.

They asked if Linc could come to the big house today to make cookies, and I think Iris asked them to stop by here first to make sure Linc was fully comfortable before seeing Jennifer.

I open the door and hold it wide for them to walk in.

“Hey, Mom. Jennifer.”

I kiss them both on the cheek as they walk in. Linc hugs my mom and then ducks his head, saying hi shyly to Jennifer, like he’s not certain if he should hug her or not. She stands with her hands clasped in front of her, her mouth tight with nerves.

“Hello,” she says.

Linc opts for a little wave instead of a hug.

“We were thinking about making some cookies,” Mom says. “Would you be up for that today?” she asks Linc.

“Yes!”

Jennifer smiles, relieved.

“Good.” Mom clasps her hands. “Because wait till you see all the goodies we’ve got.”

Iris exchanges a look with Linc, and he nods slightly. She smiles and shakes him gently by the shoulders.

“I wouldn’t complain if you brought some home for me,” she says.