Page 49 of Before You Can Blink (Rust Canyon #4)

Jett

August

I rapped my knuckles on the front door, but with the sound of squealing children on the other side, it was doubtful that anyone had heard my knock, so I pushed inside without an invitation.

Stepping into the entryway, I chuckled at the sight of my favorite blond hellions chasing each other from the living room to the kitchen and back again.

The younger of the two stopped dead in her tracks when she saw me, a smile splitting her adorable face. “Papa!” She was the only one who called me that, instead of Grampa, but I didn’t mind. I loved having something special between just the two of us.

“Princess Paisley!” I scooped her up and tickled her belly, delighting in the sounds of her sweet giggles. “How is the birthday girl? Ready for a party? ”

Our youngest granddaughter was turning two. Mac had set the standard for birthday blowouts when Reagan turned one, so not a single one of the grandkids’ birthdays passed without us celebrating to the extreme.

“Cake!” Paisley cried excitedly.

Matching her enthusiasm, I added, “And presents!” I turned us around so she could see the brightly wrapped gift Daisy held.

Cash had the Sullivan blue eyes, but his younger sister had her mama’s Livingston green ones, and they widened when they landed on the giant package sure to contain a toy. “Oooooooh.”

We had a tendency to spoil the grands, the memory too fresh of how lean birthdays and holidays were for our own children when they were growing up.

It drove Tripp up a wall, their house having become an obstacle course where he had to carefully navigate the scattered playthings, but I had no intention of reining it in—neither did Wade or Caroline, or my ma, for that matter.

Bringing my mouth to the two-year-old’s ear in a show of secrecy but making no attempt to lower my voice, I said, “Should we open it now?”

“Yes!” Paisley clapped.

Daisy shook her head, shooting me a look that said I should know better. “We’ll have to ask your mama if that’s okay first.”

As if summoned by the mention of her name, Penny called out from behind us, “Might as well give the wild things something to occupy them while we finish setting up outside.”

I bounced the toddler on my hip. “You hear that, Pais? Mama said yes!”

My wife tried and failed to hide her smile, stepping past us to place the present on the living room floor.

When I set Paisley on her feet, she took off like a shot, racing toward the offering and tearing through the wrapping paper to reveal the gift underneath .

A shrill scream cut through the air when the dollhouse came into view, and I winced.

“I think she likes it.” Daisy leaned into my side.

“I’d hate to hear what it would sound like if she didn’t.” I tugged on my ear.

“Say thank you to Gramma and Grampa, Paisley,” Penny prompted.

Green eyes sparkling, the sweet girl hugged my knees. “Tank you Gamma. Tank you Papa.”

Reaching down, I gave her shoulder a squeeze. “You are very welcome, sweetheart.”

“Jett?” My daughter-in-law drew my attention to her. “Mac and Aspen are on their way over. Do you think you could keep all the kids busy in here for a bit so they’re not underfoot while we get the party ready?”

“Sure.” Moving to where she stood, I gestured to our newest grandbaby, three-month-old Sawyer, on her shoulder. “Might as well take this one too.”

Her eyes searched mine. “You sure? I’ve got the carrier. I can strap him to my chest if it’s too much trouble.”

“He clean and fed?”

Penny nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Then hand him over.” I gently eased the baby into my arms, tucking him against my chest.

Unlike his older siblings, Sawyer had a shock of dark hair, almost as if he was daring the universe to let him get lost in the shuffle of a crazy household that boasted three kids, aged three and under.

My son and his wife definitely had their hands full, but I’d never seen the pair of them look happier than when they were caught in the chaos of their growing family.

Daisy trailed her fingers along my forearm as she gestured toward the kitchen. “If you’re good here, I’m gonna go see where I can help. ”

Pressing my lips to the top of the baby’s head, I breathed in his scent with a hum. “Nowhere I’d rather be.”

“Careful, Jett,” she teased. “Someone catches you taking hits from the fountain of youth, and they might discover your biggest secret.”

I arched an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah? And what’s that?”

Her mouth curved up at the corners. “That your gruff exterior is all for show. When the truth is that you’re the biggest softie.”

Leaning in, I gave her a soft kiss, murmuring, “Only for you and this family.”

With her forehead pressed to mine, she sighed. “That’s all that matters.”

“Oh no, they’re kissing again!”

And there went the tender moment with my wife.

Spinning around, I came face-to-face with Reagan, her button nose wrinkled in disgust.

“You tellin’ me your mama and daddy don’t ever kiss?” I challenged the four-year-old.

She let out the cutest scoff, crossing her arms. “’Course they do. But you’re old.”

A huff of laughter burst from my chest. “You hear that, Daze? Reagan says we’re too old to be kissing.”

“I did.” Crouching before our granddaughter, Daisy said, “The day we stop kissing is the day you have to put me in the ground, so you’d better hope that’s not anytime soon, sweetheart.”

“Fine.” Reagan let out an exaggerated sigh, rolling her eyes. “You can keep kissing.”

Ooh, she had so much sass, and I secretly loved it.

Easily distracted, our girl caught sight of Paisley’s gift, and she abandoned us to play with her cousin .

Giving Daisy a hand up, I tapped my lips. “Better give me another one if that’s what’s keeping the Grim Reaper at bay.”

My wife cringed. “You think that was too much? She is only four, after all.”

“With the attitude of a teenager. But don’t fret too much; it looks like she’s already forgotten about it.”

She pursed her lips and hummed. “Suppose you’re right. Well, I better get a move on before I’m of no help at all.”

“I’ll hold down the fort here.”

With the warm weight of the baby on my shoulder, I sank onto the couch to watch the children play.

There was no doubt in my mind that I got the better end of the bargain.

“You ready, Pais?” I jostled the birthday girl on my hip as we pushed through the back door to where her party was set up.

But the second we crossed the threshold onto the deck, I froze as more people than I expected to see shouted, “Surprise!”

“Um.” Confused, I cocked my head. “Do ya’ll need me to explain how a surprise party works? Pretty sure she’s known about this for weeks.”

Aspen stepped forward, throwing her hands up in exasperation. “That’s because this party is for you , Daddy.”

Rearing back, I pointed a finger toward my chest. “Me? No, it’s Paisley’s birthday.”

“Which made it the perfect cover for throwing you a surprise 60 th birthday party,” my daughter explained, as if that should be obvious .

Granted, my birthday and my granddaughter’s were only five days apart, but I’d much rather the celebration focus on her than me.

I shook my head. “Birthdays are just another day when you get to be my age. I don’t need or want all this fuss.”

“Well, tough.” She grabbed my hand, dragging me toward those gathered. “Because everyone came all this way just for you.”

Snorting, I muttered, “All this way. We’re a ten-minute drive from town.”

“Be grateful,” she hissed under her breath.

“You better do as she says, Jett,” Mac chimed in as we drew closer. “It’s shark week, and she’ll bite your head clean off.”

Eyes bulging, my daughter lunged at her husband, but I was quick enough to loop my free arm around her waist in the nick of time.

“See? What did I tell you?” Mac flashed me a smug smirk.

“Better sleep with one eye open tonight, Blaze,” Aspen gritted out.

“So spicy.” He booped her nose. “I dig it.”

Lord, the man had a death wish.

Voice low, I said in Aspen’s ear, “If I make a good show of my appreciation, can you promise me you won’t kill him until later when the two of you are in private?”

Glaring at the target of her rage, she countered, “Only if you agree to help me bury the body.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle as I released her. “All right. You have yourself a deal.”

“Down, Papa! I play!” Paisley wiggled in my arms, and I set her down.

Taking a moment, I glanced around the gathering. If I didn’t know any better, I would have guessed that every soul who called Rust Canyon home—all six hundred of them—was in attendance.

Heat rose up my neck as I tugged on the back of it, offering my guests a polite smile.

“Days like today force me to count my blessings, and I can honestly say this community is among them. So, thank you all for coming out to celebrate with me and my family, and if it’s not too much to ask, make sure to wish my granddaughter, Paisley, a happy birthday as well. ”

Aspen gave me a nod of approval, speaking to the crowd. “Food and drinks are in the tent. Everyone feel free to help yourselves and enjoy!”

The mass of bodies dispersed, and I breathed a sigh of relief. My enjoyment over being the center of attention died along with my rodeo career, thirty-six long years ago.

Daisy rushed over, clasping my hands. “Were you surprised?”

“That’s putting it mildly.”

“Oh, stop pouting about it.” She swatted at me playfully. “The kids put in a lot of work for this.”

“Where was all this when you turned sixty? Doesn’t sit right that I’m getting something you didn’t.”

Lifting her eyes to the sky, she shook her head. “Did you forget that, when I turned sixty, they threw my retirement party?”

Oh yeah. I kinda did.

But in my defense, that also happened to be around the same time when all the grandkids started showing up, one on top of the other, and life got hectic with trying to set up Tripp and Penny to take over the ranch.

“That’s what I thought.” Linking her arm with mine, she practically dragged me toward the open-air tent. “Come on, you’re the man of the hour. Gotta go circulate.”

Greaaaaaaaat.

Socially exhausted after making the rounds, I found myself seated at a large table, surrounded by my immediate family, their spouses, and our closest friends.

While we were beneath the tent, we were close enough to the edge that I could see the kids running around on the lawn.

Although we officially had only five grandchildren, there were several others we’d brought into our fold and cared for as deeply as our own.

Against all odds, Tucker Grant and Bex Crawford had found their way back together and had gotten married not long after Aspen and Mac. Together, they had a boy, Bowen, who was just shy of seventeen months old, and twin girls, Oaklynn and Saylor, who were two months old.

And you couldn’t forget about the Winfield kids. Aubree was now practically a teenager, and her younger brothers, Barrett and Grady, were always eager to help out whenever they visited the ranch.

If you added all those surrogate grandkids to our biological ones, the count came in at eleven.

With my arm slung around the back of Daisy’s chair, I jerked my chin in the direction of the playing children we loved dearly before leaning in to whisper in her ear, “Eleven’s not twelve, but it’s pretty darn close.”

Dropping her head onto my shoulder, she sighed. “Best family we could ever ask for.”

She wouldn’t hear an argument from me.

Penny cleared her throat gently, drawing our eyes to her. Standing like she was about to give a toast, she began, “So, I know this is Daddy Jett’s day . . . ”

My eyebrows shot sky-high as several of the ladies fought to stifle laughter, while across the table, Tripp dragged a hand down his face, muttering, “Jesus.”

Looking down at my son, his wife huffed, “What? There’s a lot of daddies around here these days, so I didn’t want there to be any confusion.”

From my left side, Mac leaned in, chest puffed up with pride as he declared, “Daddy Jett. I started that.”

“’Course you did.” The words were uttered under my breath. To Penny, I said, “You’ve called me just Jett all your life, darlin’. No need to change it up now.”

Pink crept onto her cheeks, and she ducked her head. “Right.” Sucking in a deep breath, she went back to the beginning. “While I know this is Jett’s day—”

“And Paisley’s,” I was quick to add, not wanting to forget the actual birthday girl.

“And Paisley’s,” she agreed with a smile. “Tripp and I”—she reached down to grasp her husband’s hand—“thought that since we were already celebrating, now would be a good time to share that we’re expecting.” The pink hue on her cheeks deepened to an even darker shade of scarlet. “Again.”

That stunned the table silent, everyone’s eyes going to Sawyer, tucked to Tripp’s chest. Sure, none of their children were very far apart in age, but it didn’t take much mental math to figure out the next baby would be born before Sawyer turned one.

Mac was the first to recover, folding both arms over his chest and pouting. “Everyone gets a new baby but me.”

“Here, you can take this one.” Aspen transferred a sleeping Saylor into Mac’s arms .

Only mildly pacified by holding their friend’s baby, he whined, “But I have to give her back.”

Tucker chuckled. “I mean . . . if you’re feeling so inclined as to keep her, we have an extra.” He dipped his chin toward Oaklynn, which caused Bex to elbow him in the side playfully.

Aspen patted her husband’s shoulder. “Only way you’re getting another one is if you carry it yourself, buddy.”

“That’s not fair,” Mac cried. “I can’t physically do that!”

“You know,” Tripp broke in. “The usual response when someone tells you they’re having a baby is ‘congratulations’.”

Ma had been a silent observer this whole time but chose now to speak. “You’re right. Let’s give the boy a big ole round of applause for having so much unprotected sex that his wife’s never not knocked up.”

“Fuck my life,” Tripp groaned.

“Watch your mouth!” Mac whisper-hissed. “Baby ears over here.” He placed a protective hand over Saylor’s tiny head in an attempt to muffle her hearing.

Aspen rose from her chair to pull Penny into a hug, directing an exaggerated “congratulations” over her shoulder toward her little brother.

Everyone followed suit, but before I could stand, Daisy leaned in, a smug satisfaction in her voice. “That makes twelve.”

Yes, yes, it did.

Pressing a kiss to the side of her head, I murmured, “Was a fool to ever doubt you, honey.”

It only took four decades to get there, but we finally had the big, beautiful family Daisy had always dreamed of, and I’d gotten us to a place where we could provide them with stability and security for the future.

Now it was time to sit back and enjoy everything we’d worked so hard for.