He wanted Jared most of all, and because he did, Bryan wished for him hard, every night. Somehow, whatever he wished for hard almost always came true.
On the farm, the sun was bright, warming ground that was damp from the night's rain. The early-morning fog had burned off and left the air clear and moist. He was happy sitting on the dirt with the dogs and Connor, with the sound of adult voices never far off. They were going to have Sunday dinner at the MacKades'.
The men were cooking, which Bryan thought was a little weird, but interesting.
'Do you think Fred and Ethel'll have babies?'
Connor continued to stroke the golden fur of the dog nearest him as he considered the question. 'They probably will. That's what happens when people are married. It's the same for dogs, I guess.'
Bryan gave a snort and delivered a punch to Connor's shoulder. 'People don't have to be married to have a kid. They just have to be stuck on each other.'
If anyone else had made the comment, Connor would have flushed. But because it was Bryan, he only nodded wisely. 'Then Fred and Ethel can have pups, because they're stuck on each other.'
Bryan looked toward the farmhouse. Through the kitchen window came the sound of mixed laughter. 'I think Jared's stuck on my mom.'
Connor's pale gray eyes went wide. 'Are they having a baby?'
'No.' Bryan hooked an arm around Ethel's neck. It was a possibility he'd given some thought to. 'It'd be cool if they did. I mean, you like having Emma around, don't you?' 'Sure.'
'A brother would be neater, but even a sister would be okay. I think if there was one—you know, a baby— Jared would hang around. Like live with us.'
'Sometimes it's bad,' Connor said quietly. 'Sometimes when a man lives with you, it's bad. They argue and fight, and they get drunk and... things.'
The idea of that had Bryan's brow furrowing. 'But not all of them.'
'I guess not.' But Connor was far from sure. 'I don't want a man to live with us ever again.' Connor's voice was low and fierce. 'Not ever again.'
Understanding, Bryan shifted his arm from Ethel's neck to Connor's. 'If your father tries to come back after he gets out of jail, you'll be ready. We'll be ready,' he added with a dazzling smile. 'You and me, Con.'
'Yeah.' Connor almost wished he had a chance to prove it. 'You and me.'
* * *
'Looks like they're talking big talk,' Savannah commented from the kitchen window.
'Connor's never really had a close friend before.' Hadn't been able to, Cassie thought, with the way Joe hassled everyone who came to the house.
'Neither has Bry. They're good for each other.' She grinned when the boys started wrestling each other, and the dogs. All four would be filthy, she was sure, by the time dinner was ready.
'That looks familiar.' Devin stepped up behind the women, tucked his hands in the back pockets of his jeans. Savannah did her best not to stiffen. 'We spent a lot of Sunday afternoons kicking up dirt.'
'We spent a lot of every afternoon kicking up dirt,' Rafe said.
'Remember that Sunday Mom turned the hose on us?' With a sigh, Shane popped a radish into his mouth. 'Those were the days. She was so ticked because Gran and Pop were coming to dinner, and we'd gotten into a fight wearing our best clothes.'
'You started it,' Jared remembered. 'Swiped my baseball and lost it in the cornfield.'
'I borrowed your baseball,' Shane told him. 'And Devin lost it in the field.'
'Rafe lost it,' Devin said mildly. 'He was supposed to catch it.'
'You hit it wide. Pulled it,' Rafe explained in disgust. 'He could never pick his spot.'
'Hell I couldn't.'
Before Devin could take the argument any further, Regan held up her hands. 'Time-out. I believe, with this obvious example of family solidarity, it's an excellent time to make an announcement.' She smiled at Rafe. 'Don't you think?'
'I think.' Rafe took her hand, brought it to his lips before pulling her close. His grin was quick as lightning. 'We're having a baby.'
There was a moment of utter silence before the explosion. There was a quick whoop from Shane, who took it upon himself to scoop Regan off her feet. She had to be kissed, Rafe had to be punched and pummeled.
'Give me my wife,' Rafe demanded.
'In a minute.' Shane kissed her again, heartily, then started to pass her to Rafe. Jared intercepted, gave her a quick swing. Regan was still laughing when she found herself in Devin's arms.
'Damn it, give me my woman.'
As they tussled and argued over the expectant mother, Savannah leaned back against the counter. 'The MacKades—the next generation,' she murmured to Cassie. 'Scary thought.'
'She'll handle it.' Cassie blinked back tears. 'She can handle anything.'
Because everyone else was busy, she scooted over to check on the pot roast herself.
Savannah stepped forward, leaned in to kiss Jared on the cheek. 'Congratulations, Uncle Jare.'
He couldn't stop grinning. 'Rafe's going to be a daddy.'
With one brow arched, Savannah glanced over to where Regan was still being passed from brother to brother. 'And this, I take it, is the way you guys celebrate—tossing women around.'
'We don't have a precedent. It's our first baby.'
When he swung an arm around her shoulders, Savannah realized he'd just said it all. It would be a MacKade baby, and would belong to all of them.
It was something she thought about quite a bit as the celebration continued through dinner with constant, and often ridiculous, suggestions for child care, baby names and fatherly duties. It was odd for her to fully realize now, when she was finally settled into a home of her own, finally confident that Bryan had the best she could give him, that neither of them had ever known the fullness of family.
They had each other, and that was important. Vital. He was a happy, well-adjusted child. She could see that as he sat beside her, shoveling in food, giggling at Shane's idea of Lulubelle MacKade if the baby was a girl. There was no doubt in her heart that her son was exactly as he should be.
And yet.
He had never known the joy, or the problems, of having uncles, aunts, grandparents. Siblings. Those were things she couldn't give him. She hoped it was only she who had suddenly come to sense the lack.
'Are you feeling all right, Regan?' Cassie's voice was quiet amid the chaos of male-dominated conversation.
'Wonderful. I don't think I've ever felt better. No queasiness, no fatigue, not any of the things the books warn us about.'
'I had them all.' Running an absent hand over Emma's curls, Cassie smiled. 'Not too bad, really, just enough so that when it came around the second time I knew what to expect. How about you, Savannah?'
'Sick as a dog for three months.' Before Bryan could reach over her plate, she passed him the bowl of roast potatoes he'd aimed for. 'It was almost worth it, though.' She winked at Bryan.
'Three months?' Regan gave a heartfelt shudder. 'Every day?'
'Rain or shine,' Savannah said cheerfully. 'Bry, if you opened your mouth just a little wider, you could probably fit three potatoes in at once.'
He managed a sloppy grin with a full mouth. 'It's good.'
'Just like Mom used to make,' Devin put in, and heaped another helping of potatoes on Bryan's plate. 'We used to have contests to see who could eat more of them. Jared usually won—right, Jare?'
'Yeah.' But he'd stopped eating, and he was looking at Savannah oddly.
'The kid's going to break your record.' Shane tossed a biscuit that Jared was just quick enough to catch.
Intrigued with the maneuver, Bryan snatched one and aimed it at Connor, who nabbed it before it hit the floor.
'Good save,' Rafe commented. 'Sign him up. You gonna play ball next year, Con?'
'I don't know.' Connor broke off an end of the biscuit and shot a look at his mother under his lashes.
'Con's a better pitcher than any of our starters.' Bryan cheerfully helped himself to another biscuit and buttered it lavishly. 'He can drill it right in the pocket.'
