Heather tossed her purse on the kitchen table and sank onto a chair. My god she was exhausted. Dropping forward over her thighs, she let her arms hang for a second and then straightened.

Life the past couple of days had been hectic and nonstop. She was caught right in the middle of everything.

First, the men returned from their overseas mission. It was a time of happy reunion. She smiled, remembering Roman and Kelly’s emotional embrace when he stepped out of the car.

Second, Sophie gave birth. That blessed event produced a gorgeous baby boy and a hole to fill at the family center that she gladly took over. Sophie’s joy was a sight to see and helping out when needed was what families did. Two reasons why she’d been eager to help.

Then, because that wasn’t enough, the twins came a whole month early. At that point, Family Justice shifted into overdrive. Three newborns in four days!

At the refrigerator, she made a quick inventory of things on hand, grabbed a handful of grapes, and thought about all the things she had to do. Dinner was just part of it.

Bella was at the stable with Stephanie. They wanted to give Snowflake a good brushing and get her spruced up for some photos Meghan planned to take. Besides pictures of the twins in a cowboy setting, they were all told a family group shot was on the agenda.

Meghan. Heather smiled. The woman she was once jealous of was now her closest friend.

She looked around and sighed. So many babies, so much excitement. When she had a private moment with her friend, Meghan said something in her uniquely Lady Mama way that resonated with Heather. She told her it was okay to be envious and a little bummed but to embrace the wonderful energy and amplify the joy given off. The positive vibrations would surround Heather and Brody. In other words—think positive and feel the love.

She was trying. My god was she ever trying. They had sex at every opportunity. Quick sex. Dirty sex. Staged sex. When she wasn’t working, Brody came home for lunch sex.

There was also Sunday morning sex. Date night sex. In the car sex. He sent her on some crazy errand to pick up a package delivery for a safety harness she imagined was for the dogs only to discover it was more of a leather bondage and punishment rig. Now that had been fun. She wasn’t sure what to call that kind of sex because the term kinky was so overused.

It wasn’t a good day at the Jensen household when she got her period, but she pulled it together quick and put her grown-up knickers on. Getting pregnant wasn’t like ordering takeout. Her mom kept insisting they should just chill and give nature a chance.

A sticky note on the side of the refrigerator reminded her that tomorrow was Kelly’s birthday. She missed her new friend. Shortly after Roman’s return, they headed off to New York and missed the twins’ arrival. It was understandable that they couldn’t linger. Kelly and Roman had lives somewhere else, but that didn’t mean she was happy to see them leave.

Bella’s solution was to FaceTime daily with Matty. They had a standing call on their schedule that could not be changed. It was cute how instantly the two kids bonded. Brody and Roman questioned whether they’d be in-laws someday. Everyone laughed, but she and Kelly exchanged looks.

Well, she thought as the last grape plopped on her tongue, I’d better go fetch my kid. Georgie was also at the compound for a doggie spa day. No really, she snickered. That was happening.

A quick bathroom stop and a decision to make hot dogs for dinner was all she had time for. Changing into sensible shoes rather than the chic sandals she’d worn to work, Heather looked in the mirror and checked to be certain she looked human. Then she grabbed her purse and headed out for the day’s second round.

* * *

Brushing her hand down the pony’s flank, Stephanie gave Snowflake a thorough once-over. She was excited about the staged baby pictures Meghan wanted to take. The twins were too damn cute for words, and the new mom’s idea for their first portrait was fantastic.

She was closing the stall door when a thunderbolt hit her. Crying out, her hand clutched the top of the stall door so hard her knuckles turned white. A pain blew her center apart, and she doubled over with another sharp cry.

“Oh, no. No. This can’t be happening.”

Hanging onto the stall door, she tried to pull herself along but another lightning bolt struck, and she went down with a strangled yelp.

“Help. Oh god. Jace!” she tried to yell.

Seconds passed and she started to panic. Her leggings were drenched, meaning her water had broken.

Then Jace stuck his head out of a room at the far end of the long stable and yelled, “Someone call for me?”

She waved from her knees and doubled over in agony. He was on top of her a heartbeat later.

“Jesus Christ,” he muttered.

“The baby’s coming. I can feel it.”

He picked her up and moved to an empty stall. Kicking the door open, he somehow reached for a stack of clean horse blankets and threw a few over a mound of straw. When he eased her down, she cried out again.

He stood and looked at her—panic on his face. He scraped his head with one hand and looked around.

“Shit. Stephanie, look, I have to run down to the office. Two minutes. That’s all. Can you hang in there?”

She nodded and tried to control her frantic breathing. “Hurry, please.”

Jace was back before she knew it with a stack of the big thick towels they use on the animals and several water bottles.

“I need Calder. Get Calder,” she moaned.

He took off her leggings and covered her with a big towel then he ran to the intercom system out in the stable. She heard him yelling.

“Get Calder down to the stable. Call an ambulance. Send help.”

Another voice entered the picture. It was Finn. He had taken Bella down to the kennel to check on Georgie and FiFi. He started yelling instructions and ran into the stall.

“Stephanie, talk to me, lady. What’s going on?”

He knelt at her side and drew the towel back.

“Finn,” she groaned as panic overtook her.

“It’s okay. I’m an EMT, remember? I’ve done this before.”

She nodded and tried to stay still as he assessed the situation.

“Stephanie? We don’t have a lot of time, okay? Whatever you do, don’t push. Not yet. Let me get things ready. Jace!” he yelled. “Get in here.”

Their fast conversation was nothing more than a blur. She could feel the baby coming.

Before long, Finn encouraged her to push like a motherfucker. She grabbed the backs of her knees and pulled back as she pushed with every ounce of strength she had.

“Holy god,” Jace muttered when the pushing produced a popping sound. She felt a rush and then several heartbeats later heard a cry.

Loud shouting followed by the sound of thundering footsteps made her look toward the stall door. Calder came rushing in with a frantic wild-eyed look. His chest was heaving as though he’d run the whole way from the main house.

“Duchess?”

Finn looked at Calder and grinned. “Congratulations. It’s a boy. Now get over here and help me cut the cord.”

Her husband’s face went blank, and then he saw the bloody proof that they had a son. Finn held up the baby for them to see. Then the two of them worked in tandem until her baby was carefully laid on her chest. She touched her son and looked at Calder. He sank to his knees beside her and stared, open-mouthed.

Jace quietly called out that an ambulance would be here in five minutes.

She looked at her husband and smiled.

He ran his fingers up and down the baby’s back. “A boy,” he murmured. “Is he okay?” he asked Finn in an anxious voice. “Is my wife okay?”

Keeping her discreetly covered, poor Finn was doing his best to manage the weirdest situation of all time.

“Well, he breathed right away and a ten-minute labor was all we got, so I don’t know what to say beyond that.”

He took a brand-new Justice t-shirt that Jace had thought to bring and wrapped the baby up.

Handing the baby to Calder, he told him to keep his little head covered and warm.

A slow smile spread on her husband’s face. “Um, was my son just born in a manger?”

Finn chuckled. “Yep, and he was delivered by a saloonkeeper!”

Jace laughed from his post outside the stall.

“Yeah,” Finn said with a hearty laugh. “We need a picture of this ‘cause ain’t nobody gonna believe it.”

He made sure she was covered before calling Jace in. Handing him his phone, he and Calder with the baby in his arms crowded in on either side of her. The absurdity hit her, and she started laughing. Pretty soon, everyone was in hysterics.

She and Calder had a son.

And he was literally born in a manger.

And the icing on the cake? Finn O’Brien—the poor guy everyone, especially Calder, loved to hate? He was the hero of the moment.

Nicely done, Karma, she thought. Well played.

She was in the back of an ambulance with the baby still in his Justice covering and Calder right next to her when he said, “He needs a name.”

A smiling EMT closed the door, and a few seconds later, she felt the vehicle begin to move.

In eight days, her hunky husband had a birthday. She certainly didn’t need to get him a gift, but a gesture would be nice.

“You name him and then we’ll blow out the candles and make a wish. Okay?”

Calder touched their son’s face. “Wolf Marcus Dane.”

What wasn’t there to love about the name? She smiled. “I love it.” Kissing her son’s brow, she cooed, “Hi, Wolf. You made quite a debut, little guy.”

“Who the hell else would this happen to?” He chuckled. “I mean, come on! A manger?”

“Not technically a manger—Father Eduardo might prefer we use the term stall.”

“Eh, screw him. And don’t worry, Ed will get the joke. Hell, if I know him at all, this story will get passed around the priests’ monthly get-together at Applebee’s.”

“Since you mentioned the good Father, I’d like to suggest something.”

“Whatever you want, Duchess.”

“Good because I’ve been thinking that as older parents, we should be smart with how we handle the godparent issue. I want two of each. So just in case they’re called in, Wolf will have adequate support.”

He shrugged. “Sounds good to me.”

“And I want Finn to be one of his godparents.”

“Say what?”

“Finn O’Brien. You’ve met him, right? He’s the guy who just saved the day and delivered your son without any assistance. I want him to be one of Wolf’s godparents.”

He started and stopped several replies. She watched him, and every time he looked at her, she just arched a brow.

“Shit, Duchess. I fucking hate that guy.”

“Oh, well. You can remind him of that fact every year on Wolf’s birthday.”

“Okay, fine,” he grumped with an adorably manly harrumph.

Their stay at the hospital was counted in hours. She was fine. The baby was perfect. Her doctor had a good laugh—so much for a high-risk pregnancy. Hers had been a boring nonevent—until the final half hour.

They let them both leave, and by the end of the evening, she was at home, resting with a new baby in her arms.

* * *

The picture was something straight out of a Western documentary.

With the old barn as background, a scene was set with hay bales and wagon wheels. Mom and Dad Justice sat on chairs with a baby on each of their laps. Sophia was on a low stool in the space between Alex’s legs and Meghan’s. In her arms, Teo was watchful and calm. Stephanie cradled Wolf in her arms with Calder’s arm draped over her shoulders. They stood at Meghan’s side. Lacey was next to Alex with an adorably dressed Lily. Everyone else crowded in however they could. Cam and Drae hoisted the boys on their shoulders.

The whole gang was there. Betty, Carmen, Duke, Ria, Ben. Even Jace and Remy agreed to be in the picture.

Bella wore one of her signature cowgirl outfits. Brody held her on his hip, and she put an arm around both her parents.

Parker insisted on slinging a guitar down his back while Angie donned a Desert Thunder tank top, Daisy Duke style shorts and cowgirl boots.

The ‘rents stood in a row at the back. Matt and Wendy Sullivan. Paddy and Maggie O’Brien. Cristián and Ashleigh Marquez.

Raven, Zeus, and Georgie didn’t give a crap and curled up on the dirt. Finn had FiFi tucked in his hand.

Meghan held the Bluetooth shutter remote and snapped pictures at random. Some would be hilariously representative of the unconventional family group. Others an emotional reminder of what it was all about.

Family Justice endured

Junior Justice began.

As pages in the story of this unique group of memorable individuals turned, new characters appeared and adventures started.

Summer was starting in Bendover.

Life went on.

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If you missed Roman & Kelly’s story:

If you need to read Liam & Rhiann’s story: