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Kip set his coffee down at the back of the countertop, away
from the baby's reach. He took Jamie and Robert in his arms and kissed Jamie,
sliding his tongue along Jamie's lips. Just as they were getting hot, Angela
wailed from the other room, interrupting them.
Kip stepped back and smiled. "Duty calls, but tonight,
when we get these little guys settled, your ass is mine."
Jamie smirked, "Good to hear. I'm ready for you, big
guy."
Kip strolled to the bedroom and opened the door. He froze,
shocked to see Angela sitting up on her own. "Jamie—Jamie come here. You
won't believe this. Our little girl is getting bigger. She's sitting up all by
herself."
Jamie rushed over with Robert still in his arms. "Oh my.
This is amazing. Wow." He sighed and leaned his head against Kip's
shoulder. "My life is so great."
Kip put his arm around Jamie and squeezed. "Yeah babe,
our lives are great. Okay, little Angela, what would you like now? Maybe you
want to see daddy sit on a horse who doesn't want to be ridden? I do know this,
little pumpkin. Whatever we do, it's going to be good because I have the best
family in the whole world."
He swooped in and picked Angela up, squeezing tightly. It
wasn't the Bahamas, and he wasn't a bachelor any more, but this was better than
living on his own had ever been. He had everything he needed right here at
Crazy Hills ranch and he wouldn’t trade it, ever.
*~*~*
Christmas morning dawned and Lane was surprised to feel so
good. He'd been dreading the day since Leigh took off but now with Matthew and
Lafferty living under their roof it wasn't such a daunting time. There were a
few missteps and a few hiccups along the way, but they were getting used to
each other.
Lafferty and Matthew took to having chores and loved being
with the other cowboys. They'd done a few stupid things, like take a beer from
the fridge. Lane had caught them drinking behind the barn. The punishment was
fitting and the boys agreed not to drink again. Of course the barn had never
been cleaner, even Jump's cleaning skills were challenged by the boys.
Cookie was making dinner and they were set to eat at noon.
Many of the cowboys had opted to stay on the ranch instead of traveling to see
family. He did his best to act happy all through opening presents and at the
beginning of the meal, but he couldn’t help but be depressed over the baby. Leigh
would be giving birth soon and Lane hated that he'd miss any part of the baby's
life. It made him so sad to think that he could miss the child's entire life if
they didn't find Leigh.
The food was delicious and he enjoyed watching Lafferty and
Matthew, but the missing piece of his life weighed heavily on him. Gresh's
phone rang and Lane groaned. He hoped Gresh wouldn’t take the call but they
still had a huge company to run. Jump and Bruce were doing the lion's share of
the work and he was glad for it, but they still needed to pitch in at times.
Gresh swiped his finger over the screen and answered. He
stood from the table and took two steps before turning back to the group. His
eyes were wide and his face white. Gresh waved Lane over, his gaze staying
locked on Lane. Gresh hung up the phone then looked around the table.
"Lafferty and Matthew, I need you over here."
The boys stood slowly, fear plastered across their features.
Everyone was watching and Lane feared that the boys would be taken away. He
couldn't stand the loss.
Lafferty stopped in front of Gresh and Matthew stood beside
Lane. Lane wrapped his arm around Matthew's waist. It was almost as if they
were his real kids. The love was there, now all they needed was time to be
together. He hoped they had that time.
"I just got off the phone with my lawyer. Lafferty and
Matthew, you know how we told you that we have a baby but the surrogate took
off."
"Yeah," Lafferty said.
"Well, you two are big brothers now."
"What?" Lane felt the world tilt and everything
went dim. Hands on his shoulders kept him upright. Then he was in Gresh's arms
and Lafferty was at his back, holding on to him. "Big brothers, they are
big brothers, how?"
"Let's get you into a chair." Gresh helped Lane
settle and then sat next to him. Gresh reached for Matthew and Lafferty's hands
and Lane held onto the boys' knees. "Leigh went to the hospital last night
in pain. The baby was born just after midnight. He was the first baby born on
Christmas this year. She's in New York City. The hospital got suspicious when
she started making strange demands. They checked with the police and they
alerted the hospital about the situation."
Lane glanced from Lafferty to Matthew. "Boys, you have a
baby brother now. I guess we're all going to New York this afternoon."
Lafferty glanced away then swallowed hard. "You mean you
don't want us to leave?"
"Hell no, you both are my sons too." Lane pulled
Lafferty into a hug and held him tightly. They rocked together, Lane quietly
crying. He had it all. Two older boys, a perfect husband and now he had his
baby. Life couldn't get any better, but he sure as hell would try to make it
better for his three sons.
Epilogue
Lane carried the turkey into the dining hall, spying Daniel,
Angela, and Robert with their heads bent together like they were planning
mischief. Kip saw their powwow and moved behind his daughter. He buzzed her on
the side and she shrieked with laughter.
"Hey, you three amigos, no funny business today,"
Jamie called out.
"Dad," Angela and Robert exclaimed together.
"Don't dad me. This dinner is special. Lafferty and
Matthew are going to be here in a few minutes and Lafferty is bringing his new husband."
Lane couldn't be happier. Ten years had passed since
Lafferty, Matthew and Daniel had come into their lives. Gresh still suffered
from a few effects from the crash, and they still had to watch his balance.
Other than the balance issue, you couldn’t tell that he'd ever had a problem.
The scars were still there, but they only made him look better in Lane's
opinion.
A car pulled up in the ranch yard. They only opened the dude
ranch during the summer now so the dining hall was theirs for most of the year.
They'd decorated the hall with four small Christmas trees, standing only seven
feet tall then placed a huge fifteen-foot tree on one end of the room. He was
proud of how the place looked.
Jump banged through the door, followed closely by Bruce. The
couple had moved to Houston full-time, both of them running Miller Enterprises.
Jump had made the company more profitable than ever and he'd started a charity,
giving tons of money to displaced youth and helping families out of tough
spots. Gresh hugged Jump and Bruce, talking quietly as Lane brought out more
food. Most of the cowboys had moved on and now they had a few younger guys
helping them out. Most of their cowboys had families in town and only
Christopher, their oldest ranch hand, had stayed on the ranch for the feast.
"Go be with your family. We only have three more dishes
to carry out," Christopher offered.
"Thanks." Lane took off his apron and joined Gresh
with Bruce and Jump. The door swung open and Erick and Sterling came in holding
hands. They'd moved to Dallas to run a charity for gay youth. Miller was their
largest backer.
"Lane, Gresh, good to see you. Hey Jump and Bruce, last
night was wonderful. These guys know how to throw a party."
Lane and Gresh had decided to skip the posh party for the
Miller executives. They'd wanted to spend Christmas Eve with Daniel and Kip and
Jamie's kids. Ten years ago he'd never imagined that life would be this good,
but everything had worked out.
The door opened again and Lane's breath caught. Lafferty and
Matthew strolled in, both looking so handsome. A young man walked in behind
them, his eyes wide as he took in the hall and the decorations. Lane tugged
Gresh's hand and lifted his brows, nodding toward Lafferty and his new man.
They'd not met Andries, Lafferty's Greek lover. Theirs was a whirlwind romance
that had turned to love so quickly it almost gave Lane whiplash but he would
support his son no matter what.
Gresh led them over to their two oldest boys. They were men
now, on their own and making a way in the world. They'd received excellent
education and Lafferty was working overseas for Miller. Matthew had gone into
the military for four years and for some reason ended up working on a ranch in
Colorado. Lane didn't understand why Matthew didn't come home, but he said he
loved Colorado and might be back in a few years, but for now he needed to stay
there where he was needed.
Lafferty smiled and raced forward. "Dads. God, I've
missed you." Lane was enveloped in a crushing hug by Lafferty first then
Matthew. Lafferty had taken Andries's hand, his cheeks dark red. "I want
you to meet Andries, my husband." Lafferty looked at Andries like the man
had brought the daylight up this morning and gifted us with the sun.
This is what he wanted for his children. Happiness. Lane
stared up at Gresh, knowing that all those years ago he'd made the right choice.
Gresh was the only man for him. He'd love Gresh until the end of time.
One thing he'd learned over the years was that you couldn’t
trust time. It was metered out, not controlled and if you were given an extra
day, you had to seize it, living life to the fullest, enjoying each moment
because you might not be given another chance.
The
End
Thank you for sticking with the Texas Soul Series. The
Colorado Heart Series with Grant Stoval, Duff, and the boys of Wild Bluff Ranch
will be out in the Fall of 2013.
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