Saved by the Rancher

chapter Sixty-Two

Six months later . . .

UNABLE TO SLEEP, Trixie, full-grown, engulfed the space at her feet, making Jenna uncomfortable. Jack lay at her back with his hand on her thigh and his breath soft in her hair at the back of her neck. Sally, completely healed and vibrant as ever, lay down the length of his legs. The two babies, that had been putting up a fuss for hours now, swelled her belly to capacity. A piercing pain in her lower back wouldn’t go away. Nervous and excited, she got out of bed to stretch and walk, hoping to calm the babies and ease the nagging pain.

She managed to get out of bed without waking Jack. He was used to her getting up several times a night to pee. Neither of the dogs stirred more than enough to cozy up to Jack. She knew exactly how they felt. Who wouldn’t want to be snuggled up against all that strength and warmth.

She headed to the bathroom to take care of her overtaxed bladder, and then went to the closet to dress. She settled on a loose-fitting turquoise dress and slid her feet into a pair of black flats. She went to the bed, leaned over, and shook Jack’s shoulder to wake him.

“Jack, honey, wake up. It’s time to go.”

Jack didn’t budge. She shook him harder, pressed a hand to the small of her back, and breathed shallowly through the pain as her abdomen contracted. “Jack. Wake up. It’s time to go.”

“What, honey? Time to go where?”

“To the hospital. Your babies want out.”

Jack sat straight up, eyes wide. “What? The babies. Now?”

“Yes, now.” To demonstrate they wanted out, her water broke in a gush down her leg. She stared at the puddle at her feet. Another painful contraction bent her forward, making her groan in agony. She held on to Jack’s arms as another pain overtook her body. “Oh God, Jack, it hurts.” The pains intensified and grew more insistent and the ache in her back turned to a real kick-ass sting.

Jack jumped out of bed and threw on his jeans and shirt. He helped her change her clothes again and put her in the car and rushed her to the hospital. The whole way, he held her hand, soothed her with calm, loving words, and hated every second she was in pain.

The babies were delivered several hours later and Jack and Jenna were happily holding them when Caleb, Summer, Lily, and little baby Jacob arrived. Caleb carried Lily, who was lost behind a huge bouquet of Stargazer lilies. Summer pushed Jacob in his stroller. The little dark-haired cherub of a boy slept soundly, sucking his finger. He resembled his father, Caleb, right down to his muddy brown eyes. Summer came over to the bed and hugged Jenna around the bundled in her arms.

“Oh, Jenna, they’re beautiful. Are you okay? Everything went all right?” Summer asked, probably remembering delivering Jacob only a few short months ago.

“Everything went well. I’m fine. The babies are fine. I don’t know if Jack will ever be the same again, though.” She smiled at her husband as he stood holding their other son.

“What do you mean? I held your hand and panted with you through the whole thing.”

“He turned a little green for a while. The nurse even put a chair behind him just in case he passed out. He held it together in the end. Once he saw the first one arrive, his fatherly pride kicked in.”

“They look just like Jack and Sam did when they were born.” Summer touched a finger to the baby’s soft hair. “I remember pictures of the two of them bundled with their little caps of almost white hair sticking out.”

“It’s uncanny how they look like their Dad already.”

“So, what are their names?” Caleb asked, holding Lily up so she could stare at the baby in Jack’s arms.

“I’d like to introduce Matthew,” whom Jenna held, “and Jack has Samuel.” Jack moved closer to Lily and Caleb, so Lily could get a good look at Sam.

“Does Sam know you named one of the babies after him? He must be so excited.” Summer beamed.

“I called him early this morning and told him. He’s on some assignment. Ever since they moved him to the San Francisco office, he’s been working like a demon. He’ll try to come for a visit soon. He said he misses us, but I think he just misses Jenna.” Jack smiled. “He’s still jealous.”

Jack winked at his wife. He couldn’t believe after everything ended, they’d finally been married. The image of Jenna in a white gown walking toward him was never far from his mind. They’d gotten married at the ranch with flowers, friends, and family surrounding them. Ben walked her down the aisle. Jenna’s mother attended and stayed for a month. Jack arranged for the visit as a wedding gift. Jenna cried that day. For the first time in a long time, they were tears of joy.

“They’re so cute, Aunt Jenna. Maybe they can play with baby brother, Jacob,” Lily said, handing over the flowers to Summer to put on the bedside table.

“I think it will be a little while before they can play together. When they get bigger, I’m sure you’ll all be good friends.”

“That’s right, honey. You’ll all grow up on the ranch and play together.” Jack couldn’t imagine anything better than the ranch with all these children, and hopefully more to come, running around and riding the horses. Thanks to Jenna, the children would someday have children, and they’d play on the ranch, too. He hoped the future generations would be as close as they all were today.

He thought of Sam back at work and wished he could have been there with them to celebrate the day the twins were born.

Jenna pictured the children growing up together on the ranch. It was a nice image, one she’d hoped and dreamed about for a long time. She looked around the room at all the faces of her family. She had everything she’d ever dreamed. Jack caught her gaze and held it. He mouthed I love you, their son in his arms. Her heart was so full. She was healed, home, safe and loved.