Rhett — 4
I liked to think that having owned a bakery and being married to a rancher had prepared me for the crazy hours that adding twins to the family would do. But it didn’t. Nothing can prepare a parent for having not one, but two little ones.
Don’t get me wrong, I adored our children already, and they were only two days old. I really honestly and truly did. I’d been doing so much better after my kidnapping, and I’d actually slept through the night. Until now. Ash and Abi didn’t sleep but an hour at a time.
“Come on, munchkin. It’ll be okay. Just think, we’re lucky,” Logan said to me as we packed the diaper bag and buckled the twins into their car seats, more than ready to leave the hospital and head home.
“How are we lucky? Other than the fact that we have two healthy babies and each other?” I asked as I snapped Abi into her car seat and tugged on the strap to tighten them. She was so tiny, and it became even more apparent when she was in her car seat.
“Because. We’re headed home and we have a huge support system. There are four grandparents that are just waiting to get their hands on these two for more than an hour or two. If we need time to nap, we can, and trust me, I know you’d love more than a forty-five-minute nap.” Logan picked up Asher, who he already had buckled and ready to go. Because the nurses had to remove the babies’ security bracelets before we could leave, we had to wait to add the covers to their car seats. It was January and Wyoming in January was cold. Single-digits cold.
“I thought with twins they would…you know…sync up or something. I never thought they’d be on different schedules.” I picked up Abi’s car seat and walked over to my husband, who was waiting by the door.
“I think part of that might be because we’re in the hospital and there are always nurses coming in and out of here at all hours of the day and night. That doesn’t help with the twins’ routine at all.”
“No, it doesn’t. Do you think they’ll start sleeping at the same time?” I asked, hopeful. Lord knew we could both use more than a catnap for a change.
“I do. Come on, let’s head home to the waiting chaos.”
I groaned at the thought. The last thing I wanted right now was a bunch of family around. But I couldn’t complain too much. The only people who had visited while we were in the hospital were our parents. Both of my brothers and their husbands had texted several times but had stayed away, as had Boone and Kait. I loved our family, but I just wanted sleep. Although, maybe Logan was onto something when he said we had a bunch of people that would be willing to watch the babies for a while why we rested.
I followed slightly behind Logan as we left the hospital room and walked down the hallway, stopping at the nurses’ desk.
“Aww, I’m going to miss you four,” Rosie, one of the daytime nurses, told us. I smiled at her; she was easily my favorite here. She had a soft spot for the twins, which gave her bonus points in my book.
“Well, we’ll be back, but only to the pediatric clinic,” I told her. I watched as she removed the bracelets with the bulky transmitters on them from Ash and Abi’s ankles. Once she was finished, I put on their booties and pulled down their pant legs. After they were deemed secure in their car seats, we waved goodbye and were finally able to leave through the doors.
“You know, I don’t know about you, but I’m starving and I’d love something other than hospital food or the lukewarm stuff our family brought us,” Logan said as we walked down the corridor and into the waiting elevator.
“Oh, hey, so drive-through? I’d love some hot fries and about a gallon of Diet Coke. Sorry, but I need caffeine.”
“Drive-through it is. I’m not sure I want to take the twins in anywhere yet.”
“I agree,” I replied as I smiled up at Logan. We made quite a sight if you thought about it. We both had a baby carrier and were walking through the hospital, a diaper bag slung over Logan’s shoulder.
“You wait here. I’ll go get the SUV,” Logan said as he stopped just inside the exit.
“You sure? I don’t mind going out with you.”
“No, you stay here and put on the covers. I’ll be back in a few, and the longer the twins stay in here, the longer the SUV has to warm up.”
I nodded and took the diaper bag from Logan as he sat a sleeping Abi down on the floor. I gently placed Ash beside her and pulled out the covers that slipped over the top of their car seats, effectively covering them. They both had lightweight blankets as well, but we weren’t taking any chances. It was cold outside and they were still tiny.
Several minutes later, I saw the orange SUV that Logan had bought for me and the twins pull up, and I had to smile. He drove the thing more than I did, which was comical since he’d bought it for me. Or so he said.
I had the sleeping twins covered and ready to go, but I still waited for Logan to return inside before heading out into the cold. I wasn’t quite ready to try carrying both car seats yet. Give me a few months and I was sure I’d be doing things I never dreamed I would, but we were only two days in.
“Let’s give the SUV a few more minutes to warm up. It’s nine degrees outside and it feels it,” Logan said as he came back inside. I nodded in agreement. Not only was I not eager to go out and sit in a cold vehicle, I didn’t want to take the twins out in that either.
“Do you think it’ll be okay to take them out?”
“I don’t see why not. They’re bundled up, and people have been taking newborns out in the cold a lot longer than we’ve been parents.” Logan smiled at me. He had a good point. We waited a few more minutes to give the SUV a little more time to warm up before we made the dash to it just outside the door.
Once the car seats were clicked into their bases and the openings on the seat covers unzipped, Logan and I climbed into the front of the SUV. I moaned when I sat on the seat. I expected the leather to be cold and hard, but nope, it was nice and warm. It was then that I noticed the heated seats were on.
“You’re the best, you know that?” I asked as I reached over and pulled on the front of Logan’s coat. He leaned over the middle console and gave me the kiss I was seeking.
“Not that I’ll complain, but why do you think so?”
“You turned on the seats. It’s nice and warm.”
“I turned on the back seats as well. I figured the cold would eventually seep up into the car seats, but if the seat warmers are on, there shouldn’t be an issue.”
“Now, see, that right there is why you’re already an amazing daddy. I never would have thought about that. My Jeep didn’t have heated seats. I regretted that once I moved here,” I told Logan. He smiled at me before he put the SUV in drive and pulled away from the hospital.
“Well, I guess it’s good that we got you something with heated seats, then, huh? And would that possibly be why you always wanted to take my truck in the winter when we went places?”
“Honestly? Not completely. I just don’t care to drive much. It doesn’t seem to bother you, and I know you don’t like driving the Jeep, so that’s really why.”
“I don’t dislike it, it’s just not as comfortable for me. Where did you want to get lunch from?”
“Anywhere that has fries. Hot fries because they’re not good reheated or cold,” I said because I really wanted some fries.
“Well, it’s cold outside, so you’ll have to eat them first. Unless they lose all of their heat between the window and in here,” Logan said as he gave me a grin.
“Yeah, I don’t see that as happening. Now, there’s McDonald’s and that’ll do. They have good fries and Diet Coke, so I’m set,” I said as I pointed to the infamous yellow arches. It wasn’t the greatest food at all, but it was cheap, pretty fast, and they did have good fries.
Logan pulled in and after placing our order, he quickly raised his window before pulling around to the drive-through window. I dug out my wallet and handed Logan a twenty, and after exchanging the bill for two large drinks, a bag of steaming food, and change, we were off.
“Oh. My. God. You can smell the fries. Do you want yours first or your sandwich?” I asked as I dug inside the bag. Yeah, we’d only had the SUV for a few weeks and probably shouldn’t be eating greasy, salty fries in it, but we’d already had sex in the back seat and I’d come all over the back of the driver’s seat and the floor mat as well as Logan’s pants that day, so who cares. It was ours anyway; we weren’t going to be getting rid of it anytime soon.
“As if you need to ask. I want my fries, too.”
I smiled at Logan because I knew he wanted his fries. My hubby loved his carbs, and if those carbs came in the form of potatoes, he was there. I laughed as I handed him his fries and placed a few napkins on his thigh. We both groaned when the greasy, hot goodness of McDonald’s french fries hit our mouths.
Yep, this was what we were being reduced to. Hitting the drive-through as we headed home because we were sleep-deprived parents to two-day-old twins. We snarfed down our food in no time, and I was pleasantly dozing off when we drove over the cattle guard at the end of the driveway. Damn things.
I jerked awake, thinking the twins would wake up, but nope, not a peep from them. I craned my neck to look, but I couldn’t see anything with the covers over them, so I sat back into my seat and stared at Logan as he slowly drove down our drive.
“What?”
“Nothing. I’m not allowed to look at you?” I asked as I laid my head against the seat back. I could certainly go for a nap. Who was I kidding? I could go for about eight hours of sleep, but I knew I wouldn’t be getting that anytime soon.
“You are, but you’re looking at me funny?”
“Really? Funny how? I just thought I was looking at you like I loved you. Must be because I’m so damn tired.”
“Possibly. You ready to curl up and sleep?”
“Do you know something I don’t?”
Logan simply smiled at me. “I know no more than you, other than what I said earlier. We have grandparents and uncles that want to say hello. I’m sure we could pass out on the couch and sleep for a few hours. You know my mom is waiting to fuss over the twins.”
I sighed at that thought. Sleep sounded heavenly. But the question was, would we actually get it? I adored Fiona and Joe just as much as I loved my own dads, and I trusted each and every one of them with the twins. But did they really want to feed and change babies again? Did grandparents do that? Cammie did for Mack. She doted on him, and you could tell the love was mutual, so I guess it was possible.
When the house came into view, I expected to see a bunch of vehicles parked outside it, but we were met with none. So much for a nap.