“About the job?”
“Yeah.” Jesse stopped, shaking his head. “Toughest damn decision we’ve ever had to make, and yet in the end, so simple.”
Everything in Blake tightened. “Oh?”
Before Jesse could speak, his phone went off. He blinked in surprise, hauling it out of his pocket even as he glanced up at the sky. “We have reception up here?”
Joel’s phone went off as well, and suddenly Blake had a bad feeling.
Or maybe a good one because Jesse’s eyes were widening as he took the call. Joel had abandoned his fishing gear beside Matt and was running hell-bent for leather toward where their picnic was arranged.
Jesse hung up, eyes a little on the wild side, but a huge grin in place. “Dare’s in labour. I gotta go.”
Panting heavily, Joel arrived. “Vicki just called. Dare’s—”
“We heard.” Blake went to aim them both toward Jesse’s truck then paused. “Either of you capable of driving without going off a cliff?”
“Where are my keys?” Jesse demanded, hands digging in his pockets frantically. “And hell yes, I can drive. Now where are my goddamn keys?” he shouted.
Joel swung the key ring in question on a finger as he winked at Blake. “I stole them when we got here. We’ll be okay.” He danced away from Jesse, who made a quick grab at his hand. “Nothing doing. Dare made me promise to take care of you. Said something about how she doubted you could keep it together this time. Let’s go.”
By the time the twins were driving away, the rest of the family had gathered ’round, shouting good wishes after them.
“Isn’t it early for the baby to arrive?” Lance asked with a hint of worry.
“Babies usually arrive when they’re ready,” Blake reassured him. “Except if it’s really inconvenient. Then they’ll come early or late, depending on what causes the most chaos.”
Lance blinked. “Babies don’t really do that.”
“No, they can’t deliberately do it. But in any family, there’s at least a couple stories like that.” Mike turned his grandson toward the lunch. “Your aunt had one of those oops babies. Lisa, from Whiskey Creek.”
“Tamara,” Matt corrected him. “Lisa’s still expecting.”
“Right. Tamara.” Mike nodded then grabbed a plate and pushed it at his grandson. “Either way, we’ll hear soon enough from Jesse and Dare. In the meantime, we should carry on with our day. There’s extra fish to catch now that Joel and Jesse aren’t tangling up our lines.”
They still had a big group with the seven of them. They laughed and shared stories, and Blake treasured time with his immediate family.
But having the twins gone only emphasized that knot in Blake’s gut. He wanted Jesse to do what was right for him and Dare, but what he wanted even more was for Jesse to stay close.
Jesse and Joel had been gone for four hours. The rest of the Six Pack fishermen were closing in on the time to pack it up and head home. The picnic had been tucked away, and the group was out on the dock casting a few final times.
The instant his phone buzzed with a text message, Blake hauled it out. They must’ve all been on high alert, because every other Coleman standing with him did the same, peering down eagerly to read the announcement.
Jesse: Dare is doing great. We are very excited to announce the arrival of a healthy baby boy. Ryan will be ready for visitors tomorrow morning.
Tension slipped away, at least part of it. “Good to hear,” Blake said sincerely. “Although I hope, for his sake, he offers a little more detail when he messages the ladies.”
“Bigger than a breadbox doesn’t cut it?” Matt grinned.
“Dear God, don’t say things like that in reference to the size of babies. It makes me hurt,” Mike said with a groan.
They were nearly packed up, headed for their doors, when their phones went off again.
“Here come the details,” Daniel suggested.
Only the message made them all stop before shouts rang out, echoing against the mountain behind the lake.
Jesse: Dare is still doing great. We are very excited to announce the arrival of another healthy baby boy. Royce would very much like his Grandpa to drop in to say hello. He’ll see the rest of you tomorrow.
Blake casually slipped an arm around his father’s shoulders, because it was clear that his dad was getting choked up. “Well, then, Grampa. Looks like you and me have somewhere we need to go.”
Mike nodded briskly, even as he blinked hard. “Twins. Damn, I had no idea.”
And judging from the expression on Dare’s face when Blake led his father into the hospital room an hour later, joining Marion and Jaxi, who were already there, his sister-in-law was pretty damn proud of having kept the secret.
“You Colemans are a dangerous lot,” Dare said with mock seriousness. “Twins. He got me pregnant with twins. That’s it. He’s cut off.”
Jesse was cuddled up beside her, a baby cradled in his arm, but he paused to kiss her cheek. “You’ve just gone through a traumatic event, so I’ll forgive your poor choice of words. I don’t think you really want to cut off anything.”
She tilted her head and eyed him. “I just pushed out two six-pound footballs. You really want to get into an argument about semantics?”
Jesse winked then curled himself upright and marched toward his father. “I hope you don’t mind we borrowed Grandpa’s name for this one. Figured with my genes and Dare’s, he needed something to give him some solid roots.”
Mike took the baby from his son with a grin of delight. “Your genes are solid,” he insisted. “And your roots as well. Never doubt that.”
Jesse watched his father for a moment, gaze dropping to his son then sliding over to meet Blake’s eyes. “Those roots are important. I know that, and so does Dare. But the best way to grow strong is to be planted in the right spot. We’ve got that here in Rocky.”
They were staying. Blake got the message loud and clear.
Even as his concern vanished on one level, another level of truth arrived. It wasn’t worry but a clear, concise understanding.
His brother staying required as much of a commitment on Blake’s part. All the things he would’ve done if Jesse and Dare had chosen to live hours away would be so much easier to do with them close.
Those family-connecting things still needed to happen. He still needed to make the time.
Blake dipped his head at Jesse before sliding around to where Jaxi waited for her turn to take little Ryan from Marion. Slipping an arm around Jaxi was the most natural thing in the world.
She squeezed him tight. “Have fun fishing?”
“Yep.” He held on as she leaned in closer, head resting on his chest. He whispered, careful to make sure no one else overheard, “You a little bit sad?”
She shrugged but then shook her head. “If it’s right for us to have another, we will. I’m not worried one way or the other.”
“But you’re gonna cuddle everybody else’s babies as much is possible, ain’tcha?”
Her eyes danced with laughter. “Of course.” She leaned in and bumped their noses together. “Same way I catch you sneaking baby cuddles every chance you get. You big old softy.”