Oh Jesus H. Christ. I wanted Ari to forget all about that. “Keep your voice down, Gun. I don’t want to remind Ari. I’m paying Dewey to take Scarlet on a little ride once we get home with Grace.”

“A ride?” Gunner asked.

I looked back over toward Ari. She was now holding Maegan and talking to Amanda, Ellie, and Brad.

“Yeah…I arranged for Scarlet to go to a doggy boot camp for a week. They’re going to train her to do all kinds of shit she should already know how to do. Sit, heel, walk, roll over—whatever the fuck they do at those places. I bought myself at least a week.”

Gunner shook his head. “Motherfucker. Why didn’t I think of that?”

I shrugged my shoulders and smiled. “I’m smarter?”

Gunner just looked at me. “Hardly.”

“Jeff?” Ari called out.

I turned and smiled at her. “Yeah, babe?”

“Before I forget to tell you, I told Dewey to cancel that whole doggy boot camp thing. Scarlet needs to be home to meet Grace,” Ari said with a shit-eating grin on her face.

How in the hell does she know these things?

Gunner busted out laughing as he gently slapped me on the back.

“Damn…I love your wife.” He walked over to Ellie and kissed her.

I stared over at Ari. She gave me a wink before she raised her eyebrow at me.

I shook my head as I looked down at Grace. “Remember this, baby girl. Nothing gets by your mama.”

I peeked up and just watched as Ari laughed and talked to our friends.

Yep, I love her more than life itself.

Chapter Fifty-Two

As we pulled up to the house, I saw my mother and father standing on the porch with Luke. He started jumping up and down while clapping his hands.

Jeff parked the truck and let out a sigh as Scarlet came running up to the truck. “If that damn dog makes a move, I’m gonna kick the shit out of her.”

I snapped my head to him. “You will do no such thing, you ass!”

Jeff shook his head and got out of the truck. When I looked back toward the house, I noticed Luke was wearing a T-shirt that said, I’m a Big Brother. I smiled as Jeff opened the door for me before getting the back door to get Grace.

“Oh!” was all my mother said as she walked up to the truck.

My father picked up Luke, and they were coming toward Jeff and Grace. I stood there as everyone tried to get a peek of the baby.

Luke kept saying, “I want Macy…I want Macy!”

“Jeff, may I?” my mother asked as she held out her hands.

I looked down at Scarlet, who was just sitting there, like the good girl she was. I knew my mother would shove the baby right in the dog’s face, and Jeff would freak the hell out.

“Of course, Sue.”

After Jeff handed Grace over to my mother, she walked up to the front porch and sat down with Grace. Sure enough, Scarlet came up, and my mom had her sniffing the hell out of the baby. It took everything out of me to not start laughing.

After Jeff got the baby bag out of the car, he turned around. “Oh no. Oh shit…no, no, no!” he said. “Um…Sue? I don’t really want dog slobber on the baby…you know, germs and all. Maybe Scarlet can sniff Grace’s butt or something…but not her face!”

My mother looked at Jeff and smiled as she stood up. She started to walk into the house but not before she turned around. “Like the great Katharine Hepburn said, ‘If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.’” She winked, and then she went inside.

Jeff looked at me with his jaw hanging open. “What in the hell did that have to do with dog slobber on my child?” He walked past me and up the porch steps.

My father walked up to me and gave me a hug. “Oh, ma belle fille!”

“Bonjour, Papa!”

“Quel beau nom Grâce est.”

I smiled as I nodded. “Yes, Grace is a very beautiful name, Papa.”

As we headed into the house, my father looked at Jeff.

“Jeff, avez-vous obtenu malade?”

I let out a laugh as Jeff spun around to my dad. “No! I didn’t get sick!”

My dad laughed and slapped Jeff on the back. “Way to keep going with the French, son. I’m impressed as hell.”

Jeff smiled and wiggled his eyebrows up and down.

I bent down, scooped up Luke, and gave him a big kiss. “Hey, my big man! I missed you so much. What do you think about your baby sister?”

Luke smiled and pointed to Grace. “Macy!”

“Grace. Can you say Grace?”

“Shit!”

Wait. What?

I looked up at Jeff. “Did he just say…shit?”

Matt rounded the corner with his iPad as he yelled out, “Oh shit! I lost again.”

Luke laughed. “Shit.”

I almost fell over. My mother spun around and looked at me with that expression only a mother could give.

“What? Why do you automatically look at me?”

“Wow. I’m impressed at how clearly he says it,” Jeff said.

My father walked up and hit his head from behind. “Assmole.” My father winked at Matt.

Oh my god. What in the hell is happening? My child just said, “Shit,” and…and…

“Did you just call Jeff an assmole, Dad?”

Matt looked up from his iPad. “Jeff is an assmole. Everyone knows that.”

Jeff just shrugged his shoulders and took Luke out of my arms. “Hey, big boy. That’s a bad word. We don’t say shit.”

“Shit! Shit! Shit!”

“Ah shit, Ari. He keeps saying it.”

I just stood there and looked at him. I swear if I didn’t love him so damn much…

“Nice, Jeff…swear at him while you tell him not to swear,” my father said as he walked up and took Grace from my mother.

“I didn’t swear at him…I…um…Ari?”

“Don’t Ari me. You dug the hole, baby.” I walked by and gave him a wink.

I fell onto the bed and let out a sigh. Jesus H. Christ, I don’t remember being this tired after Luke. I can’t move.

Jeff and Josh had been helping Gunner tag cattle all day. I reached over and picked up the phone to call Heather.

“Hello?”

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. You sound like how I feel.”

“Oh my god. I’m so tired. I’d give anything to get, like, a good solid three hours of sleep.” Heather yawned.

“You haven’t slept for a solid three hours yet? Oh my god, Heather.”

“How old are the babies?”

“Um…I sat up and looked around. Five days old now?”

Heather started laughing. “I thought it was six.”

“Is Elizabeth still there, helping?”

Heather yawned again, which caused me to yawn. “Yes! Thank God, too. I don’t know what I would have done if she weren’t here. Josh got out of the house today for the first time since we brought the babies home. He’s helping Jeff and Gunner.”

“Yeah, Jeff told me. Have you heard from Ells?”

“Not today. Have you?”

“Nope. She’s up to something though. She looked…different to me.”

Heather sucked in a breath of air. “Amanda and I thought so, too! Like she might be—”

“Pregs?”

“Yes!”

“I wanted so badly to ask her, but if she hasn’t told Gunner yet, I figured she wouldn’t tell us until he knew.”

“Ari?”

I yawned. “Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For calling me. You have no idea how wonderful it is to hear your voice. I love you, sweets.”

I felt tears building up in my eyes. “Ah hell, Heather. You’re going to make me cry, you bitch!”

She let out a laugh. “I’m serious. Thank you so much for calling!”

“Same here, sweets. I love you, too. I can’t believe we all have kids now…and hell, we’re not even twenty-one yet!”

“Speaking of, I want to throw one hell of a party for our twenty-first birthdays. I’ve already got Greg and Elizabeth reserved for that weekend.”

I started laughing as I lay back down. “Oh, hell yes. I can’t wait to get legally wasted!”

I could hear one of the babies crying in the background.

“My free time is over! Elizabeth is napping, so I better grab him…or her…or both!”

“Alright. I love you, Heather.”

“Love you, too.”

I hung up the phone and closed my eyes. Oh god…it’s so quiet. I started to drift off to sleep when I felt someone get on the bed. Either Luke learned how to climb out of his crib, or I’m about to be kissed by a stranger.

When I felt his hot breath next to my ear, I smiled and let out a giggle.

“I can’t wait six weeks to be inside you.”

I opened my eyes and looked directly into Jeff’s. They were filled with so much passion.

“Me either, but we have to.”

Jeff pulled away and winked at me. “But we can do other things.” He raised his eyebrows.

He slowly pulled off my shorts, and then he started to kiss the bottom of my leg, making his way up. When he kissed right above my panty line, I let out a soft low moan. He moved up to my stomach.

He looked up and smiled at me. “Sit up, Ari, and let me take off your shirt, baby.”

I did what he’d said. I lay back down on my side as he began to take off his pants and shirt.

“Jeff…there ain’t no easy way to say this, honey, but…you stink.”

He laughed as he used his fingers to gently run along my panty line. I closed my eyes and bit down on my lower lip. I grabbed on to him and started to move my hand up and down…feeling him getting harder by the second.

“Ari…” he whispered in my ear.

He slid his hand down into my panties and gently touched my clit. I bucked my hips into his hand and let out a moan. I moved my hand faster on his dick, his breathing got heavier. The moans coming from his mouth were turning me on even more. All he had to do was move a little faster on my clit, and I would be sure to come.

“Oh god, Ari…faster, baby.”

I went faster and squeezed him tighter, and the moment he started to say my name, I came. Jeff captured my cries with a kiss as he rolled on top of me. Just to feel his body on mine was pure heaven.

He pulled away and smiled. “Four weeks?”

I laughed as I nodded. “Four weeks.”

Jeff leaned down and kissed me gently on the lips. He whispered, “I love you, Ari. So damn much.”

When I heard Grace starting to whimper, I let out a small laugh.

“My sweet baby girl…giving her mommy and daddy their time together,” Jeff said with a wink.

He jumped up and headed into the bathroom. As he turned on the shower, he called out, “Close your eyes, babe. I’ll be two seconds, and then I’ll grab her and take care of her while you get some sleep.”

“Oh, thank you, Jeff!” I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep, dreaming of quilts, oak trees, and making love to Jeff. Pure heaven.