Page 93 of The Cowboy's Second Chance Bride

Tabby tugged her hand out of her father’s and gave her mom a questioning look.

“Yes, you can go over there, but we aren’t here much longer. Twenty minutes, and don’t get mad at me when it’s time to go.”

Tabby said nothing but ran off to catch up with the boys.

“Why did you let her go? She’s gonna terrorize them.” Fort bent down and scooped up Layla.

“Babe, she’s got a crush on Jonah. Let her be.”

Fort nearly dropped Layla. “She’s in third grade. She’s too young for a crush. And of the two, why did she have to pick the wild twin?” He caught sight of someone in the crowd and yelled, “Hey, Shepard, I want to have a talk with you!” before stomping off toward Jace and Cal.

I put my hand out for Simone’s. “Come on. Let’s go see Daddy and get a sleigh ride.”

She took my hand, and we followed Fort to the others, where he was giving Jace a hard time about his son.

“It’s not my fault I had boys and you had girls,” Jace said with a laugh.

“I have a son,” Fort said, pointing to Beau.

“Yeah, but those girls of yours are gonna kill you before you can enjoy him.” Cal picked up Simone. “Want to sit in the front of the sleigh?”

She nodded, and he placed her on the front seat and handed her the reins. “How about you, Layla?” When she nodded, he took her from Fort and set her next to Simone.

“Hey, Mama.” Cal snaked an arm around my waist and drew me near. “How ya feeling?”

I held up the elephant ear. “Fine. I have this.”

He laughed and took a bite. Then his hand gave a loving stroke down my arm and came to rest on my stomach. “And how about these guys?”

“They were kung fu fighting earlier, but now that I’ve had some food, they’re resting.” In four more months, we would meet our next two miracles. Our twins. Because, like Cal said, why do one when you can go big and do two? Of course, he wasn’t the one who was going to have to birth these giants, who already were weighing in at the top of the scale.

I took in my friends, my small family, and the town and felt the warmth of each surrounding me. Home wasn’t a house; it was people. It was community. It was the town throwing Rod an adoption party and telling him how happy they were he was not going anywhere. It was community of people rallying to build Brynna a new shop so she didn’t have to wait months for a contractor. These people were everything. I had so much, and the best way I could express it was by saying, “My cup runneth over.”

I wove a hand in Cal’s hair and kissed him once, twice, and a third time. “Thank you.”

There was no need to explain what I meant. He knew.

“Thank you.” He returned the kiss. “Oh, Paul’s staying through New Year’s, by the way. You wouldn’t have anything to do with that, would you?”

I looked at the dance floor, where Paul and Cricket were dancing. I wasn’t sure if she was over Deke yet or if she ever would be. But something seemed to be brewing between her and Paul that had potential.

“Mm, no. It’s not them that I’ve been giving my attention.”

I’d given up matchmaking as a profession after the smear campaign, not wanting to be away from Rod. I now worked for Cal’s company, helping with women’s and children’s safety education. One of my favorite jobs was talking to schoolkids.

“What do you mean? Who’s getting your attention?”

Past the dance floor, near the Christmas tree and the large ball of mistletoe hanging off a street lamp, sipping on mulled wine, were Brynna and Nick. She was laughing at something he’d said, and he was staring at her like he’d never seen anything more beautiful. Nick had been spending more time in Wolf River because the town acted like he was a nobody, and he loved that. But the real reason was Brynna. It had taken a while for these two to see each other, but now something real was happening that was healing for him and awakening in her.

I couldn’t wait to watch love happen. How could it not? So much of it was all around us.