Gabby closed the book in her lap, the words inside still stirring in her heart as she traced her fingers over the scrolling font on the cover. The Legacy of Falcon Ridge. About a month after Cade’s wake, a heavy, unwieldy box was delivered to them. Stacked inside were two dozen hardback books with Cade’s picture on the back, the pages inside filled with all his captivating stories and a chapter dedicated to each family member, recounting his favorite memories with them. She hadn’t read her chapter yet. The wound of his passing was still too raw, but the laughter and joy the other chapters had inspired was helping her heal a little more every day.

She glanced up at the urn sitting on the mantle, still in awe that something so small could contain the man Cade was. She’d been touched by the multitudes who’d come to his wake to say goodbye: every one of their neighbors, the townspeople from Grassland, many of his former colleagues, and people who’d worked with and for him throughout his years in both government and his private security business ventures. Even Connor and Carson’s maternal grandparents, whom she hadn’t seen in ages, came to pay their respects. Cade may have been a private person, but his life had been full of people who were proud to have called him a friend.

Tears stung her eyes at the memory of Daniel’s heartbreaking eulogy, and she plucked a tissue from the box on the end table. He’d left Falcon Ridge after Christmas and spent the New Year holiday in Utah with his daughter and her family. He’d asked them to keep the urn until his return a few weeks ago, when he’d announced his decision to go back to Grant and Thalia’s soon after Dani’s wedding. Although he’d assured them his leaving was only temporary, she could see the sadness growing in his eyes since he’d come home.

She’d wanted to protest, but she understood his need to put some distance between himself and Falcon Ridge, and that there was a good chance he may decide to move away permanently one day.

The thought spurred more tears and she reached for another tissue. Daniel was the only father she’d ever known, and she’d miss him tremendously, but hoped he’d find the healing he needed. But he was home for now, and now that winter was over, they could scatter Cade’s ashes over Falcon Ridge as he’d requested. Maybe then Daniel would find the closure he needed.

They’d decided to take a hike up to the ridge after Dani’s wedding, but when Dani told Clay of their plans, he’d offered to rent a plane and release Cade’s ashes from the air, as he’d done with his mother’s ashes over their ranch. Both Gran and Daniel agreed that Cade would love the idea. She did, too.

A high-pitched wail crackled over the baby monitor and Gabby grinned, the sound soothing her sadness. She set the book on the coffee table and climbed the stairs to their new nursery, only to find Grey already there, their granddaughter cradled in his arms.

Johanna Cadence McLendon, born a healthy six pounds and fourteen ounces on Christmas Eve, cooed up at Grey. Gabby leaned against the doorframe and watched them in the soft glow of the pink unicorn lamp beside the crib. She hadn’t thought anything could compete with the feeling of holding her own child for the first time, but the second she laid eyes on her first grandchild, she felt an indescribable joy like none she’d ever known before.

Grey caught her watching and his perpetual grin widened with his wink. She paced into the room, shaking her head. “You do know we have to give her back when they get home, right?”

Grey made a goofy face that made Jo cackle. “I told Jonah we’d keep her overnight if they wanted to stay at the party.”

Gabby pressed her lips together to suppress her giggle but one bubbled out anyway.

“What?” Grey asked innocently. “It’s Clay’s bachelor party. I’m sure they’ll want to stay late and drink.”

Gabby’s grin grew wider, her cheeks hurting from her effort not to laugh. Bachelor party or not, it was only the second time Chloe, Pryce, and Jonah had left Jo for any length of time. If the number of times Chloe’d called her the first time was any indication, she expected her daughter-in-law home from Dani’s bachelorette party any moment with Jonah and Pryce at her side, completely sober and as anxious as ever to see their baby.

“Are you sure you don’t want another one of these?” Grey asked, the blissful glint in his eyes testing her resolve not to have another baby.

And oh, how she’d been tested. Three times over and then some. Mason, Matt, and Grey were insatiable after they’d first discussed the idea. For a short time, they’d all been swept up in the fantasy, acting like careless teenage lovers, but doubts had crept in after Chloe’s scare. The risks began to weigh heavily on them all, and they’d decided it would be wise to be careful until they saw her doctor.

The day Cade passed away, the pendulum swung the other way. Her heart had nearly burst at the idea of another sweet, beautiful child waiting in some special place, eager to become theirs. The next day, her thoughts had been consumed by the possibility. She’d been at Connor and Carson’s, preparing for Cade’s wake, when she’d inadvertently opened a drawer in the bathroom containing several of Breezy’s unopened pregnancy tests. After so many years, she’d felt silly even opening the box, but her heart raced as she waited for the results, the pendulum swinging wildly with both anxiety and hope. When the second line failed to appear, she’d admit there had been a spark of disappointment, but there’d been definitively more relief. She’d known then that that part of her life was over. Now, looking down at her grandchild lying peacefully in Grey’s arms, she was more than eager to embrace the next chapter.

In that perfect moment, a stench wafted up between them, a choking odor only an infant could create. Suppressing her grin, Gabby held Grey’s gaze, and her breath, as he stubbornly tried to ignore it, waiting for her reply. She had to hand it to him. His will was strong, but whatever awaited them in Jo’s diaper was stronger. His eyes watered. His face turned a mottled red. His smile wavered, until finally he cracked, his last breath whooshing out in a choked cough.

“Na, me neither,” he croaked as he paced to the changing table.

Laughing, she fanned the air as she followed him across the room. “Let me,” she offered, snagging a fresh diaper from the hutch beside the changing table.

“I’ve got it.” Grey took the diaper and tucked it beneath his arm. “I’m sure you have your hands full with last minute wedding stuff.”

“Nope.” She plucked a couple of wipes from the dispenser and handed them to him. “Everything’s ready.”

She’d been secretly glad Dani and Clay had decided to postpone their wedding. Dani had been pushing herself way too hard, trying to graduate early, build a house, and prepare to move her entire life to Texas, all in a matter of a few weeks. She’d needed time to grieve, and being home, surrounded by her family, had been the best place for her to heal. It had also given her fathers more time to prepare themselves for this new phase of their lives.

She placed a tender hand on her husband’s back, feeling the hidden tension in his tight muscles. “Are you ready for tomorrow?” she asked as Grey snapped Jo’s onesie closed.

He smiled and kissed their granddaughter’s forehead, barely meeting Gabby’s gaze as he lifted her back into his arms. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”