Page 10 of Birchwood Burn (Black Timber Peak Hotshots #2)

LARISSA

Seven Months Later

My friends force me to settle in a chair they decorated to be like a queen’s throne, with crepe paper everywhere. My in-laws and my parents are running around the Barlow family home, getting everything set for all the guests coming.

It turns out they’ve been planning a surprise baby shower for me, and I’m thrilled even though I’m a little worried about Jace.

He has a lot on his plate, but I love being around everybody.

I’m pregnant with twins, which Jace and I are over the moon about.

Both of us admitted to being a little overwhelmed having more than one baby at a time, especially out of the gate with our first pregnancy, but we’re still excited.

We want a big family, so why not start with twins?

However, the last month has been a little risky, and my doctor put me on bed rest. I haven’t been doing much of anything.

Jace has gotten our families involved with sitting with me, so I’m never at the house alone.

Which can be a bit much, but when he found out my blood pressure was extremely high, he wouldn’t hear anything else about it.

He even called my parents, and they were here within a few days.

To make matters worse, we’re remodeling the cabin to add more bedrooms before the babies come, and well, it was too much, too.

So we moved into my in-laws’ house temporarily, along with my parents, and as amazing as they are, I miss having my husband walk around naked.

Jace comes in, and I relax. From the moment I met my husband, if he’s not around, I’m not as calm as I should be. He just settles something inside of me.

Moving into his cabin was instantaneous, and we had a small ceremony a month after I moved in.

When we said our I do’s, I was already pregnant, but we waited until my first trimester was over before we told a soul.

Which almost killed both of us, as we were bursting to tell somebody, but it was also wonderful for us to share in our little secret.

All my friends moved to Black Timber Peak after meeting their special someone when they kept coming back to visit both Beth and me, and so now all my favorite people are in one place, and I can’t be happier.

“Hey, Trouble. Are you feeling okay? Do you need anything?” Jace kneels in front of me, rubbing my belly and giving me a kiss.

“I’m doing good. I can’t believe you had all of this planned. I thought we decided to do this after the babies are born?”

“I know, but you need a little fun. I hate how you’re in bed or on the couch all day.”

“Babe, you need a breather, too. With work, the house, the babies, me, I don’t want you giving yourself a heart attack.”

“I’m good, trouble. As long as you are happy and healthy, I’m golden.” I eye him suspiciously. “I swear it. I’ll relax more once the babies are here and you’re all healthy.”

I pucker my lips, which is my demand for a kiss, and he smiles and gives me one. “Can I have another?”

“So greedy.” He smiles again and gives me another.

“I want a lot of those later.”

“Promise.”

“You better deliver.”

He wiggles his brows. “Don’t I always?”

That he does. Every single time.

My life hasn’t turned out how I thought it would.

My business never got off the ground because I got pregnant so fast, but I still fiddle with it from time to time, to get it ready for when I can do it part-time while the babies are growing up.

But most importantly, I have my hero who always has my back and lets me know I never have to go through things alone again.

I love my husband. I love my babies. I love my life. Damn, I’ve even learned to love this mountain.

Until wildfire season at least, then we have a minor issue. But Jace always makes it home to me.