Authors: Patricia; Potter

Perfect Family (49 page)

BOOK: Perfect Family

7.96Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

Read Book Download Book

ads

epilogue

Jessie had never been so tired in her life.

Nor as content. Happy.
Euphoric
.

Her arms went around the tiny bundles. Twins. Both alive. Both well. Both with ten fingers and ten toes each.

Twins run in the family
.

Ross had been in the delivery room with her, his hand holding hers throughout labor, breathing with her, encouraging her. Sharing the pain. She even felt that his was greater than hers, because he'd felt so helpless against it.

He'd hated feeling helpless. She knew that about him. And now so much more. She knew how big his heart was, how fine his mind, and especially how loving his soul.

She heard the door open and looked up. She saw Ross standing there. He'd left after the delivery to make a few phone calls and now he was beaming at her, grinning like the proverbial cat who ate the canary.

She relished the smile on his face. It came so easily now. He came over to her, and together they looked down at one red face, then the other. Both had fuzzy knobs of dark hair. And dark, dark blue eyes. She was told that might well change but she hoped not. She loved dark hair, their father's hair.

The twins were not a surprise. They'd known for months, just as they'd known it would be a boy and girl. But the reality was something else, something so profound and glorious that she could scarcely contain the joy inside her.

She'd never known she had a maternal streak. But ever since she discovered she was pregnant, she'd felt a fierce protectiveness she'd never imagined possible. These children would never know a moment's insecurity. Not if she could help it.

Nor her husband.

She smiled as she recalled how many times he'd touched her stomach with such awe, such reverence.

Jessie only wished that Sarah had not died two months earlier, one month after Haldenâher last brotherâdied. But at least she'd known. She'd known about the twins, and she'd rejoiced with them. They'd shared a bottle of sparkling juice and watched the sunset together.

Ross had announced then they planned to name the twins Sarah and Harding.

They'd discovered Sarah the next day. She'd died in her sleep with a smile on her face.

Ross leaned down and kissed Jessie. “They're wonderful,” he said. “Little miracles.”

“Take one,” she challenged.

He hesitated, but then he had taken child-care classes with her. He'd learned to hold babies. “I take it this is Sarah,” he said as he picked up the pink-blanketed baby, holding her gingerly. He'd practiced with dolls, and the remembrance brought a smile to her face. He'd been so big, so awkward, yet so tender.

“Hi, Sarah,” he said in a soft voice. “We did all right, you know, your mother and me. And your great-aunt. You wouldn't be here without her.”

Then he turned back to Jessie. “Alex has called the rest of the family. Marc is delighted. And not only with our news. Our new senator just got his first bill passed.” He hesitated. “Alex said that both Heath and his brother send their best wishes.”

“Good,” Jessie said softly. “Perhaps they'll come to the christening.”

“Alex believes they will.” The twins hadn't attended their wedding ten months earlier, but had sent a congratulatory note. Alex explained that they felt guilty about their father's actions and thought they wouldn't be welcome. Sondra had taken what was in Cullen's account after he died and disappeared, leaving the twins to clean up their father's mess. They had inherited half of Halden's share in the ranch and sold it to Jessie in exchange for her portion of the bonds; that money and their own share allowed them to pay off Cullen's debts. She'd never wanted the bond money anyway, and this way she ensured the future of the Sunset.

Now Hugh managed the Quest, and Cullen's dream had survived after all. As had Sarah's to keep the family together â¦

Ross replaced Sarah into a nook under her arm, and he sat on the bed, his fingers touching her cheek. “You are so incredibly beautiful,” he said softly.

She was no such thing. She'd been in labor for the last six hours. But she knew he believed it, and that was all that mattered.

“I love you,” she said.

His eyes glistened, and she wondered how she'd even thought him aloof. He had filled her with love.

She looked down at the twins again. For a split second, she remembered the photo of five brothers and a sister: the laughing faces, the affection that had been so obvious before the war.

“He would be happy, wouldn't he?” she asked.

His mouth creased into a tender smile. He didn't have to ask who. He knew. It was part of the knowledge between them.

“Yes, love, he would,” he said. “We've all come home.”

About the Author

Patricia Potter is a
USA Today
âbestselling author of more than fifty romantic novels. A seven-time RITA Award finalist and three-time Maggie Award winner, she was named Storyteller of the Year by
Romantic Times
and received the magazine's Career Achievement Award for Western Romance. Potter is a past board member and president of Romance Writers of America. Prior to becoming a fiction author, she was a reporter for the
Atlanta Journal
and the president of a public relations firm in Atlanta. She lives in Memphis, Tennessee.

All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Cover design by Mimi Bark

ISBN: 978-1-5040-0410-7

This edition published in 2015 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

345 Hudson Street

New York, NY 10014

www.openroadmedia.com