Searching her heart for their baby’s soul, she was warmed by the white light that filled her as she touched it. She knew that their son was going to be a good man—just like his father.
Epilogue
“Daddy, are you awake?” their little boy whispered as he tried to pry open his father’s eyes with his fingers.
Claire smiled as she lay on her right side facing her husband and watching their little boy resting on top of Jake’s chest. Their little girl was kneeling between them, covering her mouth and giggling softly.
“Jake Robert McKade, the third, do I have to remind you again that you shouldn’t wake daddy in the morning?” Jake grumbled softly as he reached up and snaked his arm around his son, pulling him against him and kissing his forehead.
“Daddy, how many times do I have to tell you that my name is Trey,” little Jake said in exasperation.
Jake chuckled softly, remembering the day that Deuce had explained to little Jake that he was called Deuce because deuce meant two and he was the second man named James in their family. Deuce went on to tell little Jake that he was the third Jake in their family so he was the third. When Deuce had said they should call little Jake Trey, little Jake had jumped on that name excitedly. He’d been Trey ever since.
Jake cracked his eyes open and looked at his four-year-old son, smiling at the indignation that looked back at him. He turned and looked at his daughter and smiled. Their little Connie was nearly three, and she was already breaking hearts. She certainly owned his.
He watched as Claire leaned forward and kissed Connie and tickled Trey then got out of bed and walked into the adjoining nursery. She came back with a sleepy Lisa, their two-year-old baby girl. Lisa launched herself onto the bed and snuggled next to her daddy, laughing sweetly as he kissed her cheeks sloppily.
“Good morning, sweet Lisa,” he whispered.
“Hi, Daddy,” Lisa said happily.
“Did you have a good sleep, baby girl?”
Lisa shook her head as she popped her thumb into her mouth and played with her foot as she lay beside him. Claire placed Lisa’s tiny teddy bear next to their daughter, laughing softly as Lisa grabbed for it and tucked it against her chest.
Jake pulled Lisa closer to his side then scooted Trey and Connie next to her so that their three kids were sandwiched between him and Claire. He pulled the sheet and heavy comforter over them and laughed softly as the kids cuddled under the warmth of the covers.
“I think we have little minions hiding in our bed, Mommy,” he said, laughing as he heard the kids giggling.
“I’m not an onion, Daddy!” Trey protested from beneath the covers.
Jake looked at Claire and saw the way her beautiful brown eyes were sparkling with happiness. He was sure that his own eyes were mirroring the same emotion. His life with Claire and their children was incredible. He couldn’t have ever guessed that he would find such incredible love. Claire and the kids gave him such joy. To wake up every morning and cuddle with his wife and kids was the best gift in the world.
“Mommy, do you have to work today?” Trey asked as he pulled the covers down so he could poke his head out over the top of them.
Connie and Lisa pulled at the blankets, each girl giggling as their hair covered their faces. Jake reached out and brushed the hair out of their eyes with a gentle hand, smiling at Claire as they looked down at their trio of little munchkins.
Claire was struck by the beauty of her little family. Each of their children had the black hair and the blue eyes that showed that they were definitely McKades. Seeing Jake looking at their kids with such joy and love made her love him even more. She didn’t know how that was even possible.
“No, Trey. Today is Saturday,” she said gently, reaching out and holding Trey’s hand gently. “I get to stay home with all of you all day and play.”
“What are we gonna play, Mommy?” Connie asked happily.
“Well, we have some games in the family room, or we can paint pictures or do puzzles,” Claire said thoughtfully. “I have three new books that I know you’re all going to love.”
“Are they about bunnies, Mommy?” Connie asked, excited about her new obsession.
“One of them is about bunnies,” Claire admitting, smiling when Connie squealed with pleasure. “One of them is about a teddy bear that looks just like Lisa’s teddy bear.”
“My bear!” Lisa said happily, hugging her tan bear tightly.
“Yes, baby. Your bear.”
“Do you have a book for me, Mommy?” Trey asked quietly.
“I sure do.”
“You do?”
“Yes. Daddy helped me pick it out,” Claire said, reaching out and ruffling her fingers through her husband’s hair as he scooched closer to their kids. The brilliant smile that he gave her before he turned in to her hand and kissed her palm lightly made her heart beat faster.
“You did, Daddy?” Trey asked, turning to face his father.
“Yup. I found a book about a little boy who has special powers,” Jake told him, loving the wonder in his son’s face as he looked at him.
“He has special powers just like me and Connie and Lisa?”
“He sure does, Trey, but his powers aren’t as awesome as the powers that you guys have,” Jake told him, shaking his head. “The little boy in the book built things by just thinking about them. You three can sense what other people are feeling just like Mommy can. Your power is special because you can help so many people all the time. You can even tell me when my horse isn’t feeling good. I wish I had your powers.” He looked at them and saw how happy they were at his words.
“You have a power, too, Daddy,” Trey insisted.
“I do?”
“Yes. You can make all of us disappear,” Trey said very seriously.
The corner of Jake’s lip twitched as he thought about what his son said. He grabbed for the blankets and pulled them over their kids.
“I call upon the Great Spirit to help me make my kids disappear!” he called out loudly, trying not to laugh as he heard the sweet giggles coming from beneath the blankets.
He pulled back the covers and looked at Claire, winking at her as the kids held very still. He looked at them and pretended not to see them.
“The kids have disappeared, Mommy,” he said dramatically. “Do you know where they are?”
“I don’t know, Daddy. I don’t see them anywhere,” she said, playing along. “Please bring them back home, Daddy. I miss them and I want them with us.”
Jake threw the blanket over the kids and leaned over to take a quick kiss from his angel. “Great Spirit, please help me to make my kids appear in our bed. Mommy and Daddy miss them and want them to come home!”
He pulled the comforter off the kids and gasped in surprise. The three of them tackled him and Claire immediately.
“We’re here, Daddy,” Connie said happily. “We didn’t go away. We were disappeared.”
“You sure were, honey,” Jake said, kissing each child gently as he hugged them. “Mommy and Daddy are so glad to have you home.”
“I think it’s time to get up and have some breakfast,” Claire said, laughing softly. “Who’s going to help me make breakfast?”
“Me!”
Jake and Connie chimed in together as they stood up and climbed down from the bed with their father’s help. Lisa laughed sweetly, as she wiggled her little body off the bed. Claire was certain to get off the bed and help her littlest baby slide to the floor.
Claire laughed as she saw Lisa’s little diaper butt run after her older brother and sister. She turned to face Jake who lay in bed smiling at her.
“I’ve always told you that you make beautiful babies, Jake McKade,” she said softly, walking over to him and kissing his lips lightly. “Thank you.” Her words of thanks were whispered against his lips. She slid her fingers through the hair at her man’s temples and pulled lightly to bring him closer to continue kissing him.
He intensified the kiss, growling softly a
t the pleasure that raced through him. His angel gave him so much joy. He loved her more and more each day. How that was even possible, he didn’t know. He just knew that every moment of his life was richer because of her.
Claire laughed softly as Jake reached around her and pulled her back into bed until she was settled on her stomach and he was lying on top of her. She loved the feel of his body covering hers.
“I absolutely adore you, angel,” he whispered against her shoulder, nuzzling her hair and pushing it aside with his nose so he could kiss the mating mark on the nape of her neck. He loved looking at the mark that claimed Claire as his. He also loved each of the little golden links that hung from their joined links that represented the children that they had created with their love. He kissed each link, smiling as he saw the newest link that had just appeared after they had made love the night before.
“Claire,” he whispered, kissing their newest baby’s link.
“What?”
“You’re pregnant, angel.”
Claire turned over quickly, looking up at him in shock. Seeing the happiness and love sparkling at her from his eyes, she couldn’t help but be happy, too.
“You’re happy about it,” she said softly.
“Very happy. Are you?”
Claire nodded. Her heart ached with the amount of love that filled her. “Looks like you might want those eight kids after all,” she teased him.
“Well, I don’t know about eight, but I’m not overwhelmed by the thought of that many kids anymore,” he admitted.
Claire sighed as he kissed his way down her body, pushing up her sleep shirt and touching her belly tenderly. He rubbed his face across it, making her laugh softly at the roughness of his morning beard.
“Hello, baby. Welcome to the family,” he whispered, kissing her belly tenderly and resting his head against her, loving the warmth of their child as it radiated through Claire’s body to kiss his cheek.
Claire slid her fingers through his hair, content to stay exactly where she was. She loved every moment of her life with Jake and their children. With each day of their life together, she had been shown how tender and loving her husband could be. There wasn’t a day that went by that he didn’t tell her that he loved her and their kids. What was more important was the way that he enjoyed them all. He loved every aspect of being a husband and a father. He was fiercely protective of all of them.
When she had watched Jake and his friends and family ride by her mother’s home all those many years ago, she would never have thought that she would be so lucky to have found herself a part of the McKade family, mated to Jake McKade, and sharing a happy home with their children.
Since she had been pregnant with Trey, Claire had been given a permanent barrier to the outside world. Her empathic ability was still there, but she wasn’t bombarded with feelings. She chose when to seek them out, and they didn’t cause her any pain when she did so. When she had told Jake about it, he had joked that he probably should continue to fill her with his seed every day to make sure that the buffering continued. Then he got very serious and told her that he was thankful that he could do that for her. He wanted her to have a peaceful life filled with happiness and love.
With each of her pregnancies, Claire had been given more of the protection through each of their babies. It had reached a point where she was able to protect herself with minimal shields when she wasn’t pregnant. She secretly thought about the eight kids that she wanted, and she had a thought that by the time their eighth child was born, Jake would have probably gifted her with a permanent ability to be shielded from the thoughts and emotions of the outside world. He was truly her miracle.
Loving Jake McKade was so easy. He was a true friend, a loving husband, and a terrific father. She adored him. She desired him. He was sexy as hell.
They loved each other often. The red silk scarves and blindfold had been used many times during their romantic interludes. She especially liked it when he used the rabbit fur restraints. Jake continued to surprise her with toys, and she often wondered who would think up such things.
“You’re thinking very hard, angel,” Jake said as he moved so that he could lie by her side and draw her into his arms.
“I’m thinking about you,” she told him.
“Oh, yeah?”
Claire nodded, leaning in and pushing up his white T-shirt so she could kiss the angel tattoo on his chest. She heard the hum of happiness that left him at her touch.
“I love you, Jake McKade,” she whispered. “My life is good because of you.”
“Angel, you’re the one who has brought happiness into my life,” he corrected her. “I love you. I love our kids. I love the baby you’re carrying. Every day is a blessing because you’re in my life.”
Claire hugged him gently, kissing his neck lightly. “Life is good,” she whispered.
“It is,” Jake agreed.
He thought about his life and thanked the Great Spirit for the blessing of his sweet angel. Every day he was reminded of her love and the gifts that she brought to him.
When he returned home from work each day, he always looked up at the window of the loft and smiled. The electric candle was always on and shining brightly in that window—guiding him home to his angel’s love.
THE END
WWW.LYNNETTEBERNARD.COM
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lynnette Bernard is a fan of Broadway, the ocean, science fiction, romance, music, movies, books, and babies. She has two babies of her own that were the perfect children, who have turned out to be outstanding adults. She is a staunch advocate of “happily ever after” and changes the endings of any movie that she sees or book that she reads that doesn’t follow that rule. She has the hots for cowboys, shifters, vampires, and really nice guys and lives her fantasies about them through her writings. The cowboys of Colorado will always hold a special place in her heart.
E-mail her at [email protected].
For all titles by Lynnette Bernard, please visit
www.bookstrand.com/lynnettebernard
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Jake's Angel [Cowboy Mates, Psychic Connections 4] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 44
