Two Years Later
“Beckett Michael Morgan! What did I just say?” Hawk’s voice boomed across the living room.
His son—now a very mischievous and rambunctious toddler—was teetering precariously on the back of the sofa.
Beck was a climber. And Hawk and Jessie were having one hell of a time trying to keep him safe from his own curiosity.
But Hawk loved every minute of the chaos.
“Becky-boy… you heard Daddy.” Jessie walked down the stairs in a sundress that wrapped perfectly around her delicious curves and made Hawk’s mouth water.
Her fingers were in her hair, working it back into a sunflower clip.
Strands fell out mismatched and haphazard, and fuck if his heart didn’t skip a beat or two watching his wife walk into the room.
“You’re drooling a little bit there, Chief,” she teased as she walked over and scooped their son up off the sofa, plopping him onto the floor where he started running towards his favorite toy bronco.
Growing up on the Silver Ridge Ranch had its benefits.
Beckett was starting to ride, thanks to the sweet older gelding Jessie’s brothers surprised them with a few weeks before his second birthday.
Hayes handed over a tiny helmet and Beckett was all smiles when Colt threw him up onto the saddle.
The only thing that finally got him down was Gunner and Lily showing up with the girls for a play date.
Hawk had nearly had a heart attack watching Daniel walk the horse while Colt kept a hand on Beckett, but Jessie just wrapped her arms around his waist and laughed.
“That’s because my goddess of a wife came into the room, and every good and decent thought in my head went flying out our front door.”
His hand patted her ass as she walked by, picking up their son. Jessie groaned. “He’s getting so big. I can barely pick him up!”
“Mama! Mama! Big boy!”
“You are, Beckett. You’re Mommy’s big boy. Let’s go have breakfast and then, we’re going to go see everyone.”
“Noli?” Beck asked, his hands framing his mother’s face.
“Yes,” Hawk laughed, plucking him from Jessie’s arms. “Your girlfriend will be there, too.”
“Oh, stop.” Jessie patted his chest as they walked through to the kitchen.
“You know Beckett’s love for Magnolia is pretty much one of the best things that ever happened to me. The way I get to tease Gunner about them getting married one day…”
Jessie laughed as she opened the fridge.
Eggs, milk, peppers, and turkey all came out in a whirlwind.
Hawk set Beckett down in his chair, opening a coloring book and placing a container of crayons down in front of him.
Beckett hadn’t really gotten the hang of coloring on the page yet, so their kitchen table was covered in colorful lines.
Hawk asked Jessie if she wanted to cover it while he was still young, but she smiled at the lines with tears in her eyes, saying it was one of the special things that made their house a home.
“You know,” Hawk’s hands slid around her waist and he kissed her cheek. “Since they’re having a boy any day now, it’s only fitting we try for a girl. Could you imagine if another one of our kids fell in love with theirs?”
“You being a matchmaker for our child, let alone our non-existent children, is something I just can not wrap my mind around.” Her ass pressed back against his hip. “But I think I might be okay with exploring the idea of another baby.”
Hawk froze. He knew Jessie was serious when she was giving birth to Beckett. He would always be their only child. After what she went through the first time, he couldn’t imagine seeing her that sick again.
“Jess, no. I was just teasing. Our family is complete. Let Stone have a turn teasing Gunner with Quinn.”
“Oh my god,” Jessie smirked. “Can you imagine Mae if that happened? I mean, her and Lily would have a field day, but Gunner would never hear the end of it!”
“It would be fun to watch.”
“It would. But I was serious about what I said. I’ve been doing some research.”
His heart sped up.
“Research?”
“I don’t know. It’s silly.” The knife in her hand began slicing through the red pepper, hard cracks landing on the cutting board. Hawk moved from behind her, grabbing a large skillet from the drawer and setting it on the stove.
“It’s not silly. Tell me.”
“I just have this feeling that Beckett isn’t meant to be an only child. I can’t tell if that’s just my biology being cruel, or if that’s a feeling that someone else is meant to come into our family.”
Hawk nodded. “Our family is perfect just how it is, Jess. Only having one child doesn’t mean you’ve done anything wrong, or you’ve failed in any way. The way your pregnancy was…” He shuddered. “It’s okay to say you don’t want to go through it again.”
She nodded, adding the peppers to the pan and setting the burner to medium.
“I just think maybe it’s something we should talk to my doctor about.”
He ran his fingers over the small of her back. “Okay. So it’s something we talk to your doctor about. Just as long as you know there’s no pressure from me.”
“I know, handsome. I promise.” Jessie turned, smiling as she pressed a kiss to his jaw. Hawk’s hands steadied her waist for a second before he lifted her. A squeal filled the kitchen as Jessie landed on the counter next to the veggies.
“Hawk!”
He wedged himself between her legs and felt his skin pebble as her fingers raked through his hair. “Call one of your brothers. Tell them breakfast is on me if they can watch Beckett for… hmm… twenty minutes?”
“We can’t…” Jessie laughed. “I’m not doing that while one of my brothers is in this house.”
“That’s why I was factoring in time to take you out to the springs.”
She clicked her tongue and laughed. “Hawk Morgan.”
“Yes, Jessica Morgan?”
Her eyes rolled as she sighed, her face moving towards his until their foreheads were pressed against each other’s.
“I love you.”
“Love you too, Pretty Girl,” he sighed. “Now, are we calling one of your brothers, or not?”
“Sully, it’s your turn!” Mae called from the nursery as he pulled his fresh shirt over his head. His hair was still damp from the shower, but that could wait. His dad-duties were calling.
Stone walked across the hall to where his girls were, an uncontrollable smile painted on his face. Mae sat in the rocking chair, Quinn held lovingly at her breast.
“How our teeny, tiny, sixteen-week-old daughter can make such a mess of herself while eating is still a mystery to me.” His wife laughed as she moved Quinn from the nursing pillow to her shoulder. The telltale sign of a critical diaper failure now seeping through their daughter’s outfit.
“I think we might need to put her in the sink,” he chuckled as the cutest burp filled the nursery.
“Good one, Quinny!” Mae cooed. “It’s going to have to be on you, handsome. I still need to get dressed and then I have some finishing touches to put on the gift. Oh sugar-farts! You still need to sign the card.”
Stone laughed at Mae’s attempt not to swear.
“Cap and Emma won’t care—”
“We’re all signing it. You, me, even the baby! This is their special moment and we’re celebrating them properly.”
“Fine. But I’m still firmly in camp ‘I can’t believe they eloped after all the shit we gave Gunner and Lily.’ At least they’ve slowed down enough that we can celebrate the baby…”
“It was right for them,” Mae scoffed. They’d had this conversation more than once since Cap and Emma came back from Colorado and shared that they were married. “I mean, look at us. We got married here and it wasn’t a big event.”
In some ways, she was right. Stone and Mae had gotten married at their house, in a small ceremony that was absolutely perfect.
Mae was six months pregnant at the time, her bump highlighted so beautifully in the dress she picked.
The second he’d seen her turn the corner and start walking towards him—one hand holding a beautiful bouquet Lacy arranged, the other pressed over their daughter—Stone started crying.
And the tears didn’t stop until they were tucked in bed hours later after all the guests had left, enjoying more of the cake that Emma made for them.
It wasn’t extravagant, but it was incredibly special to have everyone they loved there with them.
“That’s where you’re wrong, Mae. It was the biggest event of my life.
Before this little one came into the world.
” He scooped Quinn out of Mae’s arms, pressing a kiss to his daughter’s forehead as he walked her to the changing table.
“But our friends and family were here. They got to celebrate with us.”
“Sully. We’re getting to celebrate with them now.”
“I know,” he sighed. “It’s hard when we lost that year together, and I know how precious every memory is. I’m happy for them. Actually, thrilled. But I’m still sad we didn’t get to support them in that moment.”
“You’re a good man, Stone. A great friend. The best husband and father.” She stood from the rocking chair, her hand gently gliding over his arm as she kissed his cheek.
“I love you, Michaela.”
“I love you too. Have fun cleaning up our stinky girl while I go get ready for this shindig.”
“Embrie Caldwell, don’t you go running off too far!
” Nash watched Lacy call after their daughter as he worked to grab everything out of the SUV.
Sebastian and Emma’s driveway was already packed full of cars, the owners milling about on the property.
The only place that rivaled the wide open land of Silver Springs for him was the beautiful property he and Lacy had purchased that was between his family’s ranch and The Trident II project in Montana.