In fact, she was really enjoying herself. She had loved spending time in the kitchen with the women as they prepared dinner and snacks for the evening. Having other women to talk to was something she’d missed since moving back to the Circle W.
After graduating high school, she had moved two hours away to go to college, met Seth’s father and lost touch with most of her girlfriends. Then, when she came back home to live after her fiancé was killed, she discovered that all of her friends had either moved away or they no longer had anything in common. But sitting in T.J.’s family room, she felt like one of the girls again.
“Heather, how old was your little boy when he started walking?” Bria Rafferty asked as she reached for another handful of homemade trail mix. “I’ve caught little Hank standing alone without holding on to anything several times, but he hasn’t tried taking steps yet.”
“Seth did the same thing for a few weeks,” Heather said, smiling. “Then one day right after he turned eleven months old he just took off.” She laughed when Seth ran around the sectional sofa where they were sitting, then ran back toward T.J. and his brothers gathered around the bar. “And he hasn’t stopped since.”
“He’s adorable,” Summer McClain commented as she rejoined the group after wiping off her husband’s shirt because their daughter missed the burp cloth again. “I love his copper-colored hair. It reminds me of your hair, Taylor. Maybe one day you’ll have a little red-haired boy or girl.”
“Maybe.” Taylor Donaldson smiled as she sipped her glass of ginger ale. “He really is a very sweet little boy, and so cute, Heather.”
“Thank you,” Heather answered, her chest swelling with pride.
When T.J. walked over to the couch with Seth perched atop his shoulders, Summer smiled. “T.J., you seem to be having fun this evening.”
Heather looked around at a couple of the brothers, who were making faces as they tried to get the baby girl in Ryder McClain’s arms to smile. The others were letting little Hank try on their wide-brimmed hats. “I think all of the men are having a good time with the kids.”
“Of course they’re having a good time,” Bria agreed, laughing. “These guys are all just large children themselves.”
“Hey, I resemble that remark,” T.J. said, grinning.
“We know,” all four women said in unison.
As their laughter died down, Taylor’s husband, Lane, walked over to join them. “Are you ready, babe?”
“I suppose so,” she said, smiling as she rose to her feet.
“You aren’t leaving, are you?” Bria asked.
“Nope,” Lane answered, grinning. “Hey, could you sorry excuses for cowboys stop propping up the bar and come over here for a minute,” he called to his brothers.
“What’s up now, Freud?” Sam asked, walking across the room with his giggling son wearing his hat.
“He’s probably going to try to analyze all of us,” Nate said, laughing.
“If he hasn’t figured out by now that your elevator doesn’t go all the way to the top floor, he might as well set fire to that psychology diploma of his,” T.J. said dryly.
“So what’s up, Lane?” Ryder asked, handing his baby daughter to his wife.
“Taylor and I wanted to let you all know that in a little less than eight months we’re going to add another member to the family,” Lane said, gazing lovingly at his wife.
“God help us,” Ryder said, laughing. “Another little Freud.” He stepped forward to shake Lane’s hand, then hugged Taylor. “Just a word of advice. Get as much sleep between now and the baby’s due date as you can.”
“Yeah, after the baby gets here, sleep won’t be much more than a fond memory,” Sam said, tickling his giggling son.
“You know who to call for babysitting,” Nate Rafferty said, raising his beer bottle in salute.
“Yeah, anybody but you,” Jaron Lambert said, smiling. The most reserved of the brothers, Heather decided he could be the poster child for the phrase the strong, silent type.
Heather continued to watch the genuine joyful response of all the family members to the news of a new baby on the way and she couldn’t help but envy them. As boys, the men had been brought together as strangers by the foster care system and sent to the Last Chance Ranch. But because of their shared experience and the memories they made together as adolescents, they had bonded and become a family that was closer than some who were related by blood.
As the evening wore on, Heather and the other women got their children down for the night, then returned to the game room to talk for a while before they turned on T.J.’s huge television to watch the colorful lighted ball drop at midnight in Times Square. Just before the big event, the men wandered over from the bar to join the ladies.