Peter nodded, unable to speak past the sudden lump in his throat. He finished his coffee in an attempt to wash it away, then said in a choked voice, “I’m sure Maxi and Marli are smiling down from heaven right now, alongside your parents. I don’t think you could’ve picked better names.”
“It was Jenna’s idea,” Dillon said.
“Course it was,” Peter said hoarsely before smiling at her. Then he got up and went to put his cup in the dishwasher, standing with his back to them for a few moments though they pretended not to notice. When he turned around his eyes were red, but they ignored that too. “I best get to work.”
“We’ll be leaving around eleven thirty,” Cole said. “We’re taking the Denali into town so Jenna can surprise Meg for lunch. Then we have an appointment with Doc.”
“Something wrong?” Peter asked, his eyes going to Jenna with some alarm.
“No, everything’s going really well, Peter,” Jenna assured him. “Since we’re gonna be in town anyway, I’d like to get some of these stitches out if possible. I’m tired of feeling like a Raggedy Anne doll.”
“I don’t blame you there,” Peter said, relieved. Then he gave Cole and Dillon a stern look. “You boys drive carefully, ya hear? And watch out for pot holes.”
“Yes sir,” Dillon said with a grin, barely managing to restrain his laughter until he heard the front door close.
“That was…amazing,” Jenna said softly.
Cole and Dillon immediately turned their attention to her. “What’s the matter, baby?” Cole asked when he noticed more tears welling in her eyes.
“Nothing,” she said. “Nothing bad, anyway. It’s just that not so long ago I was looking forward to having these two hungry hippos and raising them on my own, alone. I didn’t mind because I’ve been alone so long it’s normal for me. Then I got it in my head that it would be nice if Meg would be their grandma since I don’t have any family and she loves me, so I asked her and she was really, really happy about it. A lot happier than I ever dreamed. And then Hank and Jack wanted to be grandpas, and now Peter does too, and you two actually want to be fathers which still surprises me sometimes. Now it feels almost like Max and Marli are gonna have a real family when they’re born. I never imagined that was even possible.”
“Not almost, baby,” Cole said. “They will have a family. They do have a family. And so do you.”
***
Jenna was surprised at the sheer luxury of the Denali. It was dark gray on the outside, with a light gray interior. The lights and controls were mind boggling, and the computer screen in the front seat was even more surprising than the individual built in DVD players in the back. The seats were covered in leather so soft she wondered if it was real. Cole and Dillon put the seats down and made up a bed for her with a small mattress so she was comfortable enough to actually sleep most of the way into Sparx.
When Dillon carried her into Meg’s during lunch time the entire place fell quiet, then exploded with sound as everyone got up to see her and speak with her. After her initial shock, she was happy and animated, answering questions and letting everyone know she was doing well, but her eyes kept searching for Meg. She finally spotted her, hanging back a little, waiting for everyone to return to their seats. Then she approached and gave Jenna a big hug before patting her tummy gently.
“You look good, Sugar,” she said. “This is the best surprise I’ve had in a long time.”
“Can you sit and have lunch with us Meg?” Jenna asked. “If not, that’s fine. I know now’s not the best time.”
“I already ate, but I’ll sit with you,” Meg said. “You go on and take a seat. I’ll be with you soon as I turn my tables over to Tish.”
Dillon chose a big booth in the corner and slid Jenna into it. She scooted around to the back, then Dillon and Cole slid in on either side of her, leaving room for Meg and anyone else who wanted to stop by for a quick word or two. When Meg approached their table a few minutes later her eyes narrowed on Cole and Dillon.
“Forget it, cowboys,” she said. “You got her all to yourselves out there on the ranch, so when she’s in here, I get to sit beside her. One of you needs to scoot.”
Dillon and Cole grinned, then Cole slid out of the booth, kissed Meg on the cheek, and stepped back so she could slide in. She moved close to Jenna and gave her another hug.
“What’s got you fit to burst, Sugar?” Meg asked, her eyes crinkling in a smile.
“We’ve named the babies,” she said.
“You have?” Meg asked in surprise. “Oh I can’t wait to hear.”
“Our son will be Maxim James,” Jenna said, then frowned. “I should probably tell you that Dillon and Cole had twin sisters whose names were Marline and Maxine, Marli and Maxi for short.”
“I knew they had sisters, but not their names,” Meg said, smiling warmly. “The James part I get of course. That’s a wonderful name. What about the girl?”
“Marline Meghan,” Jenna said, then held her breath waiting for Meg’s reaction. She’d expected happiness, but not the stunned disbelief that she got.
“Seriously?” Meg asked.
“Of course,” Jenna said gently. “Our daughter will be named after one aunt, and her only grandmother.”
Meg’s lips trembled as she fought to hold back her tears. She reached over and hugged Jenna tightly. “Thank you so much,” she said between sniffles. “I can’t tell you what this means to me.”
“You don’t have to,” Jenna said. “It means the same to me.”
After lunch Cole and Dillon got up together to pay the bill and have a chat with Jack and Hank, but mostly to give Jenna and Meg a little time alone. “You’re so happy,” Meg said. “It’s practically rolling off you in waves. But at the same time, I see a bit of something else.”
“How do you know me so well?”
“Because you live in my heart, Sugar,” Meg said, causing quick tears to burn Jenna’s eyes. She dabbed at them with a napkin, her smile saying all the things she couldn’t.
Once she’d pulled herself together Meg asked, “Do you wanna share?”
“Yes, I do,” Jenna said. “They keep telling me they love me, Meg, and I feel it, I really do. But there’s something inside of me that’s scared of believing it completely. Whatever it is, I can’t make it go away. I’m starting to think there’s something really wrong with me.”
“There’s nothing wrong with you,” Meg said gently. “It just means you’re not ready yet, that’s all. You’ll open your heart to them when you’re ready, and you’ll tell them how you feel when you’re ready, too. When you’ve got it settled deep inside of yourself that they’re gonna stick with you no matter what. After all you’ve been through that might take some time, so don’t try to push it. If you do, you’ll regret it and that’s not something you want to regret.”
“They want me to marry them,” Jenna admitted in a voice so soft Meg had to lean closer to hear it. “They said it was the right thing to do.”
“That was a dumb ass thing to say.”
“Yeah, that’s what I said, only with different words. They said they’d wait for me to answer in my own time, and they’ve kept their word. I’m worried, though. Am I being unfair to them? Or to the babies?”
“The last thing you wanna trouble yourself about when you’re thinking of getting married is what’s right or fair to someone else.” Jenna frowned at the utter seriousness in Meg’s voice. “Shall I tell you a story?”
“Yes, please,” Jenna agreed at once.
Meg nodded. “When I was eighteen I ran off with my high school sweetheart. We got married, I got pregnant, I miscarried, and instead of consoling each other, we blamed each other. We both got real mean there toward the end. I got divorced, then married again, then divorced again. Not long after that I decided the third time was gonna be the charm. Of course, marriage and luck have nothing to do with one another, but I was still young and hadn’t learned a damn thing from my mistakes. I got pregnant, lost it, got pregnant
again, lost it again. The marriage fell apart and I got divorce number three.
“About a week after number four proposed he started talking about how many kids he wanted. So I finally took myself to a doctor and found out that there was something wrong with me inside that meant I’d get pregnant easy enough, but I’d never carry. I should’ve done that after the second or third miscarriage but I was stupid about it. Anyway, I had a tubal ligation. Now that was the right thing to do. When I told number four, before the wedding, he got cold feet and ran. You can’t believe how happy I was, still am, that I went to a doctor before we took that stroll up the aisle.
“I waited a few years before finding another number four and I still didn’t get it right. He turned out to be a drunk, and a mean one. All the men I’d known in my life and I’d never picked one like that before, so it really threw me there for a while. I fell into the same trap most women fall into. Believing him when he said it was my fault, I drove him to it, and if I’d stop being all the things he didn’t like, everything would be fine. That’s all bullshit, of course, and I figured that out before too long and filed for divorce number four. Oh boy howdy did that ever make him mad! I came to Sparx, well, it was Pikes then, to stay with my friend Nancy, you know, Doc’s nurse.” Jenna nodded. “To hide out is more like it, but that’s another story.
“That’s when I met Hank and Jack. I worried, of course. What would people think? What would it look like? Could it really work? All of that. But here’s the point of this story, Sugar.
“When I met them, not from the first moment but not too long after, I started to understand that I’d been bouncing from marriage to marriage and back again without ever knowing what marriage meant. What it was supposed to be. What it was intended to be. Later on I had to admit to myself that, if I’d understood what marriage really was, I probably wouldn’t have married any of those other men, which is pretty damn sad.
“Marriage isn’t a convenience, or an adventure, or a safety net, or a piece of paper, or even a partnership. Marriage is a promise, Jenna. But not just any ordinary promise. It’s a bright, shining pillar of a promise to love and honor each other, to believe in and trust each other, and to stick it out and stand together no matter what.
“But if one of you doesn’t truly understand and sincerely mean that promise, or if one of you breaks that promise by sleeping around, or getting a little too free with the fists, or whatever the case may be, then the promise becomes a meaningless jumble of empty words. One person can never hold up a marriage alone and it don’t matter how many people are involved or what sex they are.
“My advice to you is to take your time, don’t rush, and don’t let yourself get pressed or pushed by anyone. Not even yourself. You make damn sure that you’re ready to make that extraordinary, bright, and shining promise and keep it forever, and you make sure they are, too.”
***
Jenna slept all the way home, exhausted after so much activity. It embarrassed her how quickly she got tired, but Doc said it was to be expected. He was very happy that she’d actually gained two pounds after only two weeks of bed rest and a week on the supplements, and that her color was better than it had been for quite some time. He told her that if she continued on as she was, her stamina would eventually increase, which was encouraging. He also removed all of her stitches, much to her relief. While Doc began setting up her ultrasound, Cole told him that they’d all agreed she’d have a C-section.
“Jenna,” Doc said after listening to Cole. “Is this your decision?”
“Unless you tell me that I can have a normal labor and delivery, I know it’s the only smart thing to do.”
“No, Jenna, I can’t tell you that, and I’m not going to be able to tell you that. I’m sorry.”
“Doc, getting pregnant at all wasn’t supposed to happen. Carrying past a few weeks wasn’t supposed to happen, either. I know exactly what my med records say. Having these babies is a miracle to me, and you are the person making that possible. Don’t think I don’t know that. There’s nothing to be sorry for.”
“Thank you Jenna,” Doc said quietly. “I’ll do what I can to minimize the scarring in your uterus, of course. Considering how well you heal, it's entirely possible that the next time around will be a different story.”
Jenna smiled, then took a deep breath as Doc squirted the cold gel on her stomach before using the scanner to spread it around. “By the way,” he said as he checked the data on the screen. “Tomorrow puts you at twenty-six weeks, so congratulations.”
“Thanks Doc,” Jenna said, smiling.
“That reminds me of something I keep forgetting to ask,” Dillon said to Jenna. “When is your due date?”
“January seventh,” she replied. “Only fourteen weeks more to go.”
“That’s right,” Doc said, not wanting to spoil the moment by talking about the dangers ahead. “Let’s see how these babies are doing today.”
“We named them, Doc,” Jenna said.
“You did?” Doc asked smiling at her before turning his attention back to the monitor.
“Max and Marli,” Jenna said happily.
“That’s firm?”
“Yes,” Jenna said while Cole and Dillon both said, “Absolutely.”
“Are those the full names?” Jenna looked up at Cole and Dillon.
“Maxim James,” Dillon said proudly.
“That’s a fine name,” Doc said. “I like it. I like it a lot. And the girl?”
“Marline Meghan,” Cole said with equal pride.
“Those are good strong names that they can go through life with and not be embarrassed by,” Doc said, nodding. “One of the things I don’t miss about my old practice is the increasingly odd names people hang on their children. I had one patient who went into labor a month early. She was so mad at her husband for going on a fishing trip that weekend that she named her new baby boy Gone Fishin’. Wrote it on the damn birth certificate. It was downright tragic. I’m not joking, either. I never joke about anything tragic.”
“Damn Doc, that’s a real sad story,” Cole said, struggling to maintain a somber expression.
“Ain’t it though?” Doc said, shaking his head as he turned back to the monitor. “Now these two are anything but sad. Max and Marli are doing very well.”
“Doc, can you tell us which is on which side?” Dillon asked.
“Right now Marli’s on the left and Max is on the right.”
“Right now?” Cole asked. “You mean to say they can switch sides?”
“Sure they can,” Doc said. “They’re not identical of course, so they’re in separate amniotic sacks, but they can do a surprising amount of maneuvering considering the limited amount of space they have.”
“But they’re both doing well, right Doc?” Jenna asked, focusing on what mattered most to her.
“They’re doing real well, Jenna. You just keep on as you are, and continue to let Cole and Dillon take care of you. It’s only been thirteen days since the bombing, and I see results already which is encouraging. I think we can cancel next week’s appointment. Let’s move it back two weeks.”
“Okay Doc,” Jenna said. “I may lose my mind by the time Max and Marli are born, but as long as they’re healthy, it’ll be worth it.”
***
Jenna woke up when Dillon lifted her out of the Denali and carried her into the house. Cole opened the front door and turned on the lights and Dillon carried her in, pausing in the living room. “Where do you wanna go, angel?”
Jenna covered her mouth and yawned. “Sorry. Bathroom, then kitchen, please. It’s feeding time in the monkey house.”
“You got it,” he said, chuckling as he turned up the hall. “Can you get the doorknob?”
Jenna automatically reached for it, turned it part way, then stopped. “Why is the door shut?” Dillon started to answer, then frowned. “It was open, Dillon. I remember seeing it as you carried me out just before we left, and Cole was already outside. He locked the front door
right behind us, so it couldn’t have been him.”
Dillon nodded. When it came to visual imagery, Jenna’s memory was never faulty. They’d learned that much watching her draw over the past week. He turned around and headed back up the hall, meeting Cole in the living room.
“What’s wrong?” Cole asked after one look at their faces.
“The bedroom door is closed,” Dillon said. “Jenna remembers it being open when we left.”
Cole immediately pulled out his cell while leading the way back to the front door. “You calling Peter?” Dillon asked. Cole nodded opening the door for Dillon as he spoke quietly into the phone.
“Peter’s on his way,” he said, giving Dillon a significant look that Jenna didn’t miss. When Dillon nodded slightly in return, she didn’t miss that either.
“All right you two, enough with the silent twin talk. Tell me what you’re not telling me.”
“Peter’s bringing over some weapons,” Dillon said reluctantly.
“Okay, yeah, maybe I didn’t wanna know that,” she said, then sighed. “I grew up in the country, so I know guns are necessary on a ranch for a variety of reasons. But I’m not a big fan, especially now that I have a copy of the Grand Canyon on my arm.”
“We know, angel, and we’re sorry,” Dillon said. “But it’s really not that bad.”
“Not that bad?” she demanded. “I’ll never get to model bikinis in the future.” The shocked expressions on their faces were priceless. “Of course, I never modeled them in the past, either.”
“It’s a good thing you’re so cute,” Dillon said with a grin, crossing the front porch.
“Are you saying you can be swayed by a cute face?” she asked archly.
“No, I’m saying we can be swayed by your cute face.”
“You guys needed to smile,” she said. “Where we going?”
“We’re going to put you in our brand new, armored and bulletproofed, overkill Denali where you’ll be safe until we make sure there’s no one in the house that shouldn’t be there.”
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