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“I’ll get you something. You’ll be nursing?”
Hannah looked down at her son, and she wanted to connect to him in every way possible. “Yes,” she said.
The nurse smiled at her and looked at something on the monitor behind her. “You can eat any time. If you’d like, I can bring in a lactation specialist to go over some things with you.”
“Sure,” Hannah said, glancing at Luke. “How long have I been out?”
“Oh, honey, just an hour or so. Maybe less,” the nurse said. “Your husband here said you’d want to feed the baby first, and he’s been such a perfect angel.” She gazed at the baby with fondness. “But he should be fed soon.”
“Okay,” Hannah said, though she had no idea how to feed her baby. She knew, though, that she could figure it out.
“Let me check your bandage, and we’ll give you some meds. You should have a few swallows of broth or gelatin, and then you’ll be ready.” The nurse smiled at her, and she took the baby from Hannah before she could even blink. “Here you go, Daddy.”
Luke took Robbie, and Hannah marveled at how easily he settled the infant in his arms. She fell in love with him all over again as he did, and she held very still as the nurse pulled down her sheets and looked at the bandages that Hannah couldn’t see.
“I had a C-section,” she said, finally understanding the pain she’d felt.
“Yes,” the nurse said, glancing at Luke. “You didn’t tell her?”
“I sort of thought it was obvious.” Luke glanced at Hannah. “Sorry, love.”
Hannah tried to see her wound, but she couldn’t. “How will I do the cooking classes now?” she asked.
Luke chuckled, but the nurse said, “Oh, honey, you’re not doing cooking classes for at least three weeks.”
* * *
Eight days later,Hannah stirred the gravy with a whisk until it was perfectly smooth. She felt miles better with every passing day, despite her guilt at not being able to help Jill with the Howdy Holiday Festival this year.
She’d found someone else on the ranch to do the cooking classes, and Hannah had sat on the couch and gone over her plans with Sarah, the cowgirl who’d worked on the stable with her last year.
She glanced to the end of the island, where she and Luke had put Robbie’s swing. The baby slept, his head practically sideways, and a rush of love moved through her.
Only Emma and Jill had arrived in the West Wing, and the three of them had been cooking for hours. Well, Jill and Emma had been. Hannah had taken care of the toddlers and babies, only getting up to help with the gravy, because she wanted to feel useful.
Plus, she was an excellent gravy-maker.
The back door opened, and a wave of chatter filled the house. Hannah smiled at it, because she loved having people in the West Wing. She and Luke had been living here since their wedding, because Ginger wanted someone to take care of the West Wing, and Luke would have to build another cabin for them as all the others were full.
“We’ve got the turkey,” Nate said, and he and Ted lifted two roasted turkeys onto the counter.
“Good,” Emma said. “Everyone take a name tag and go put it on a place at the table, please. No arguing about where you sit.”
Luke came to Hannah’s side, his hand slipping along her waist. “How are you, angel? You’re not working too hard, are you?”
“The doctor said I can lift anything lighter than the baby,” she said, lifting up the whisk. “I think this qualifies.”
He grinned at her and pressed a quick kiss to her mouth. “Love you, baby. Should I get Robbie out?”
“Only if you want me to miss dinner.” She glanced over to their baby. “Let him sleep. When he wakes up, he’ll be hungry, and I can feed him then.”
“Okay.” He turned, and Emma immediately put him to work filling glasses with ice cubes. Emma moved from person to person, giving them each a task.
Five minutes later, Emma looked at Slate, who whistled. Everyone protested, Hannah too, her gaze flying to Robbie. The baby hadn’t even flinched, and her heart swelled with love for the tiny boy.
“Time to eat,” Emma said, gazing around at everyone. “Ginger?”
Ginger stepped forward, and Hannah loved her too. “We’re so glad to have everyone at Hope Eternal Ranch for Thanksgiving this year. It’s been such a good year, and none of us can do what we do and accomplish what we accomplish here without each other.”
