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Melanie gave me a sympathetic grin. My parents were not as close to Aurora as Melanie and John. In part, it was because Trevor and I lived on the ranch, and his folks saw her so much more. They’d helped so much after we brought Aurora home and bonded with her faster than anyone besides me and Trevor. Maebh had also bonded with Aurora almost from the day we brought her home. She and Cord were actually talking about buying land down from the ranch and building a house. I was secretly hoping they would and had let it slip to Melanie, who made sure to bring it up at least once an hour while in Cord and Maebh’s presence.
“I’m going to grab Aurora,” Trevor said, standing and walking to our daughter. When she saw her daddy, she lit up like she was a Christmas tree, too. She loved him and had that cowboy wrapped around her little finger. Her favorite thing to do was ride up on Daddy’s horse each night. At first, it scared me, but I knew Trevor would never let anything happen to our little angel.
Chloe groaned in protest when Trevor took Aurora.
“She’s still too little for the free for all, Chloe.”
With a pout, Chloe nodded. “Grammy? Will you be Santa for the babies?”
“Of course, I will!”
Harley had grabbed Rose and Tripp had Max. Corina had already snagged baby Shep from Mitchell and was sitting next to Mitchell on the love seat, rocking him while he continued to sleep through the craziness.
“Merit, do you need help, sweetheart?” Mitchell asked.
“No, Daddy! I’m a big gwurl!”
Mitchell smiled and replied, “Yes, you are, princess.”
“Now listen up, little ones. No pushing, no shoving, and we take our time. What’s the number-one rule, Chloe?”
“No Patches in the house on Christmas morning.”
Everyone laughed.
“Yes, but what’s the other rule?”
Chloe looked up. “No kissing Rip anymore on the playground.”
“What!” Steed said, jumping up, only to have Paxton pull him back down.
“I was going to talk to you about that,” Paxton said, chewing on her lip.
Steed stared at his wife. “When?”
Paxton shrugged. “When I absolutely had to.”
I covered my mouth to keep from laughing too loudly.
Melanie did the same, then cleared her throat. “Chloe, what are the rules for opening a present?”
“Oh! After each present, you thank the person who gave it to you. Even Santa.”
Pointing to her granddaughter, Melanie chuckled. “That was the rule I was looking for.”
John walked up to Chloe and kissed her on the forehead. “I also second that other rule about Rip, by the way.”
Chloe giggled, and Trevor moaned next to me.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“That’s going to be our daughter in a few years.”
I chuckled. “I don’t think we have to worry about boys for a good while.”
“Max! You cannot pull the tree down, buddy!” Tripp said, jumping up and grabbing his son.
Rose laughed and clapped, almost as if she was cheering her brother on.
“I have a feeling those two are going to give you some stories,” I said to Harley.
She let out an exasperated sigh. “You’re telling me. I swear they sit up at night in their cribs and come up with things. Under one or not, these two are planners. It’s like their brains are connected, I swear.”
“Y’all thinking about more?” Trevor asked as Aurora snuggled into her daddy’s chest and started closing her eyes. She wasn’t the only one who felt safe in her daddy’s arms.
Tripp scoffed. “More? God, no. No more.”
I lifted a brow and looked at Harley.
“I’m with my husband. No more. These two are plenty. What about y’all?”
Trevor reached for my hand and squeezed it. My fears after we had Aurora had been strong, but as the months went on I got over them. Trevor and I had talked about another baby. In the end, we both decided for right now, we were happy with just the three of us. We would for sure try for another one, just maybe in another year.
“I think we want one more. Maybe in about a year or so.”
“Smart!” Harley, Waylynn, and Corina said all at once.
Glancing over to Maebh, I smiled when I saw her against Cord, sound asleep. It was only eleven in the morning, but she was passed out.
“Maebh feeling okay, Cord?” I asked.
His face turned bright red, and he couldn’t look me in the eyes. When he finally managed to look my way, I gasped, making everyone else turn and look at me.
“Oh. My. Goodness,” I whispered.
“What’s wrong?” Amelia asked, walking into the room with John sitting on her hip.
Cord pushed at Maebh, making her suddenly wake up.
“What! What’s wrong! Did me da call?”
“No, but I think our little secret is fixin’ to come out,” Cord said as he pointed at me.
“What secret?” Amelia asked, sitting on the floor next to Wade.
“Are we ready to open gifts?” Melanie called out, and half of the kids yelled out yes.
