“Only when you’re involved.”
“Would you like to hold your babies now?” the nurse asked, interrupting their flirting.
“Absolutely!” Addie’s smile was wide and bright, though Cade could tell she was exhausted.
The nurse placed both children on her chest, their daughter still mewling a bit. Cade placed his hand on his daughter’s back, feeling her warmth and the beat of her tiny heart. She settled instantly.
“Ah,” Addie sighed. “She’s going to be a Daddy’s girl.”
“I have no doubt.” He nodded toward his son. “And he’ll be as quiet and gentle as you.” He kissed Addie’s temple. “They’re as beautiful as their mother,” he rasped through his pinched and achy throat. “I can’t wait to teach them how to ride and shoot and climb trees and—”
“Both of them, right?” Addie interrupted with a shrewd glance. “I won’t have him learning something that she can’t, and vice versa.”
His head jerked back a little. “Of course, I’ll teach them both. You think I wouldn’t?”
“No, I don’t think so, but I had to make sure.” She looked down at the two small heads on her chest, both covered in wisps of dark hair. “It’s important to me.”
He lifted her face with a finger beneath her chin. “It’s important to me, too, Addie. I’ll teach them whatever they want to learn.”
She smiled. “Good. I will, too.”
“You should get some rest, Addie,” the doctor said as he dried his recently washed hands on a paper towel.
Addie nodded. “Can my husband come with me? I’d sleep better with him beside me.”
“You have a private room, so I don’t see why not. As long as you rest.” His tone and raised eyebrows indicated he’d heard their earlier flirting and was gently reminding them to wait a while for Addie to heal before working on creating their next child.
“She will, doctor,” Cade promised. “After all this, I think we both could use a long nap.”
* * *
Twenty minutes later, the babies were fed and fast asleep in the nursery. Cade had stopped by the waiting room to give Joe and his brother the news to find a frazzled-looking Cord pacing with worry. When Cade explained that Bethany had two cousins, Cord had grinned proudly and wrapped his brother in a bear hug.
“Congratulations!” Cord had shouted exuberantly and Cade laughed, so filled with the love and joy of his family he couldn’t contain it.
“How’s Addie?” Joe had asked as he shook Cade’s hand and Cord nodded, wanting to know that as well.
“She’s good,” Cade told them. “Tired, but good. I’m going to stay with her tonight, if you guys want to head home. You can come by in the morning to see the babies if you’d like.”
“If we’d like?” Joe had chuckled, slapping Cade on the back. “We’ll be here.”
“Yeah,” Cord said quietly. “I can’t wait… I bet they’re just beautiful. Have you named them yet?”
Cade shook his head. “Not just yet.”
“Well, we’ll have a whole mess of options in the morning,” Cord said, giving Cade another hug—though a much tamer one this time. “I’m really happy for you, brother.”
Then he turned and walked down the hall to join Joe at the elevator.
“You’ll find a good woman, too, Cord,” he murmured to himself, “and someday, I’ll be congratulating you.”
Not two minutes later, Cade climbed onto the wide hospital bed beside his wife and gently pulled her against his side. Addie snuggled in close and sighed as his arm wrapped around her.
“Did I worry you?” she asked softly.
“A little,” he said, remembering their discussions about everything that could go wrong.
“I told you, I’d be fine. Even if you didn’t make it here.”
“I know,” Cade said, brushing a stray hair from her damp forehead, “but I wanted to share this with you, be here for you.”
She smiled. “I never doubted it.”
He kissed the top of her head. “Good.”
“So, shall we decide on the names?”
Cade smiled. “Caitlyn and Colton, Colt for short.”
“Colt? Really? You’re sticking with the cowboy name?” she teased.
“Of course,” he said, “just like his pa and uncle. What do you expect?”
She giggled. “And you’re okay with Caitlyn?”
“I’m sure your Irish grandma would’ve approved.”
“I’m sure she would’ve,” Addie said softly. “I guess it’s settled then. Caitlyn and Colton the new terrors of the West.”
Cade grinned at her joke and then they both lay silently, the soft sound of their breathing the only thing he could hear. Cade thought Addie had drifted off, but then she spoke again. “Did you think anything like this could happen when I stopped to give you a lift that day?” she asked, referring to how they’d met.
Cade chuckled. “No, I didn’t think any of this would ever happen.”
“Any of what, exactly?”
He hugged her close. “That I’d fall in love with the cute little blonde behind the wheel. That she’d give me a reason to love again. That because of her, I’d get my brother and my home back. That I’d actually have the family I always wanted.”
“You thought I was cute?” she asked and he read trepidation in her wide-eyed gaze. “Even back then?”
Cade laughed again. She had a way of making him laugh, even at himself. “Hell yes, even back then. You were so gorgeous with your hair up in that messy bun and that tank top showing off your…curves.”
“Really?” She tilted her head to pin him with a narrow-eyed look. “That’s all you were interested in?”
He shrugged. “Hey, I’m a guy. Of course, I notice your natural beauty, but I quickly learned how smart and strong you are, too. I don’t think I’ve ever told you that.”
“No, I don’t think you have.”
“Well, it’s true. I think I started falling in love with you when you slipped in all the oil on your garage floor and nearly smashed your head on the fender of your car.”
“My hero,” she said with a smile.
“Always,” he whispered, and then leaned in to kiss her waiting mouth. She sighed when he pulled back. “Now, close
