Page 70 of A Heart Falls Cowboy Christmas

The oversized box in Cody’s arms was wrapped with a giant pink ribbon and bow. “Hello, Mama. I’ll come see the cutie again in a minute.” He grinned at Rose before kicking off his shoes and marching toward the bedrooms with his burden. “Hey, Dad. Got something for you.”

Rose lifted a brow at her sister as Fern hurried across the room to offer a kiss. “A pink bow? Why does that feel like a present for Lily, and not Chance?”

“Oh, it’s totally for Lily. Cody insisted we had to give it to you now,” Fern said as she settled on the couch and stole Lily. “It’s a walker thingy. Put the kid in it, toys in front, etcetera. Supposed to be a ton of fun and great for developmental skills.”

Too funny. “Lily won’t be able to use that for months.”

“I know that. Cody knows that.” Fern grinned. “He still wanted Chance to have it now. So happy baby gift, Lily.”

Lily nuzzled in tighter, her protests turning to outright wails as she failed to find what she was looking for.

“Oops.” Fern lifted a crying Lily from her chest. “I don’t have the equipment you need. Or at least, not filled containers. Time to see Mommy.”

She pressed a kiss to Lily’s forehead then passed her back to Rose and headed to the kitchen.

Rose shifted to a better position and worked to latch Lily on. The first pull stung, but Lily found her rhythm quickly enough and discomfort eased, replaced by a satisfaction that was all sorts of out of line with the simplicity of the act.

Her sister’s smile was tender. “You look like a Madonna. Perfect and innocent and pure.”

“That’s sweet. But you forgot terrified and so very, very happy,” Rose whispered.

“As you should be. Maybe not the terrified, because you look like a natural, but the happy is completely deserved.” Fern began chopping veggies for the salad, humming softly as she worked.

Rose watched Lily and let that happiness wash over her. These precious moments needed to be savoured. Sad times and scary times might come, but the good was there, as well.

She glanced up. “Time for a family catch up. How’s Cody really doing, and I’m sorry if the question is annoying, but we worry.”

“We get it. He’s good,” Fern responded quickly. “Really good, considering. The medication is helping. Exercise is helping.” She paused then met Rose’s gaze. “We know his Parkinson’s isn’t going away. We know hard times are waiting down the road, but we still wake up and hope for a good day. Or even a great day.”

Which was pretty much what Rose had been thinking a minute ago. “Yeah.” She considered then went for it. “Tansy and Jake are still trying to get pregnant. Right now, I don’t know how to be a support for her that doesn’t hurt.”

Fern stopped her work completely, expression slack jawed before she pulled it together. “Rose Fields-Gabrielle, you stop that right now. Tansy would be the first to tell you that she’s overjoyed that you and Chance have Lily. And all of us in this family know that if nature doesn’t cooperate, there are other ways to build a family than popping out a kidlet.”

“I know, I know.” Rose’s throat tightened as she stared at Lily. “I want this for her, though.”

Fern smiled softly. “Tansy knows that, too.”

Rose nodded. “Tell me something I might not know. What did I miss while distracted by baby brain?”

The salad was growing as Fern tipped the cut peppers on top of the other greens. “Ivy sent me a video of Carter’s last hockey game. He scored and then nearly skated into the boards while celebrating.”

“Ha. That’s Carter.”

“Chloe’s been singing with Walker and Emma. Apparently, she has zero stage fright, which Walker says is wonderful and really unfair.”

Rose smiled. “And Harper? What’s her newest thing?”

“Nothing specific. She said she was working on something for her new cousin, though, so be ready. It could be anything from a performance to a craft. I couldn’t get her to tell me.”

“She’s a sweetie.” Rose met Fern’s gaze. “I’m glad you’re here. You and Cody both.”

“Love you,” Fern offered in return.

By the time Lily had finished nursing and Rose had burped her, the kitchen smelled like heaven. Fern set the salad on the table as Chance and Cody stepped back into the room looking pleased with themselves.

“Walker is assembled,” Chance announced, heading straight for Rose to steal Lily from her. “Hello, sweet pea.”

“Walker is mostly assembled,” Cody corrected. “I’m pretty sure we put one piece on backward.”