Jacob's Joy: Men of Crooked Bend Book 9

by Taylor Rylan

  “Thank you,” I said as I glanced up at her. She smiled back at me before turning and leaving.

  “Can you believe it? We have another son,” Jacob whispered. I reached out and ran a finger down his tiny cheek before I turned my eyes upward to Jacob’s. His were on me, and I couldn’t help but feel content.

  “I love you,” I told him again. I didn’t know that I could ever express the depth of my feelings for him, but I’d happily spend the rest of my life trying.

  “Love you. You want to hold him?”

  “Not yet. You enjoy it for now. I’m going to wake everyone up with a text,” I told him as I walked over to the bassinet and pulled out the card. “It says he weighs nine pounds even and is nineteen and three-quarters inches long. Not bad for being nine days early.”

  “Not at all.” Jacob took Colt and sat down with him on the love seat while I typed out a group text to send to everyone. Not so surprisingly, I got a reply from Logan almost immediately.

  “Logan and Rhett say congratulations. Logan says you look good with a newborn in your arms.”

  “They’re up?”

  “I guess. He seems too responsive to have been woken up by the message.”

  “Well, it’s a little after three. I imagine they’re up feeding the twins,” Jacob said as he stared at our son.

  “Hmm, yeah, probably so. He’s cute, you know that? I just love his little nose.” I ran my finger over Colt’s little button nose. He was adorable as he slept in Jacob’s arms, and my heart was so full at the moment that the only way it would have been more perfect was if Mack was there with us.

  “Why don’t you lie down and try to get some sleep?”

  “I would if I was tired, but I think I’m too excited. I know I should, trust me, I do. But I’m too hyped up right now. How about you?”

  “Same, so I guess we’re in trouble later,” Jacob said as he leaned over and gave me a sweet kiss. I squeezed my arm around his waist and put my chin on his shoulder, simply enjoying the moment with him.

  Jacob — 5

  Lack of sleep obviously caught up with me. That and the added stress I’d put myself under in the past few weeks leading up to the birth, because I woke up lying down on the love seat. I didn’t realize it folded out into a super tiny bed, but it did and Isaac had obviously opened it for me. He was asleep on the bed, and if the noises were any indication, Colt was back in his bassinet and starting to wake up. Thankfully, Isaac had left the lights on super low and I could see enough that I wouldn’t take out a knee while trying to move around the unfamiliar room.

  I got up and peered into the plastic bed, and sure enough, our little guy was there getting ready to fuss. A glance at my watch told me it was just after five in the morning, but the little cat nap we’d had was exactly what was needed, it seemed, because I was feeling much better.

  Once I went to the tiny-ass bathroom and emptied my bladder, I washed my hands and then went back into the room. I carefully picked up Colt and grabbed a diaper, wipes, and an alcohol swab and took him to the end of the bed. Once I had him unbundled from his swaddle, I got my first look at our son. He had tiny little feet and toes, but his thighs were chubby.

  After I used the alcohol swab to wipe his cord, I opened his diaper and immediately covered it again, having learned that trick when Joshua was a baby. Marie and Heath’s three boys had given me plenty of practice with baby boys even before Isaac and I had gotten together.

  I leaned to the side, and after I peeked and saw no stream, I opened the diaper and quickly removed it. A quick wipe and then I was fastening the diaper and pulling down the onesie before I snapped it in place.

  “You want me to hold him while you wash your hands?”

  “Sorry. I was trying to be quiet.”

  “I think it’s safe to say we both have daddy hearing and I was actually just about to get up when you did,” Isaac said as he sat up on his elbows and watched me.

  “If you want to feed him, he’s ready.”

  “Nope. You can feed him first. Go wash your hands and I’ll get him ready,” Isaac said as he scooted down to the end of the bed and picked Colt up. I quickly disposed of the wet diaper and washed my hands before returning to the room. Isaac was standing now, and Colt was starting to fuss. He was obviously hungry finally, and that was a good sign. I walked over to my husband and took the receiving blanket he’d pulled from the stack under the bassinet, tossing it over my shoulder before taking Colt from him.

  Isaac handed me the bottle, and with a little coaxing, Colt opened for it and started sucking. Isaac smiled and gave the baby a quick kiss on his fuzzy head before he went to the love seat and pushed the pull-out back in. Once the cushions were back in place, he went to the bathroom and I sat down to feed our son.

  “He didn’t fuss. Should we have let him I wonder?” Isaac asked as he came back into the room.

  “I’m not sure. We can next time I guess? I mean, he’ll fuss when he’s hungry or wet, right?”

  Isaac shrugged before he started playing with Colt’s feet. “Mack sure did. But I know all babies are different. I can’t imagine not having an incredibly fussy baby though, you know? I mean, Mack is still cranky.”

  “Sweetheart, Mack is almost three. I haven’t met a toddler yet that wasn’t a troublemaker at some point throughout the day.” I leaned back on the love seat and realized that as a bed, it was much more comfortable than it was as a seat.

  Isaac shrugged again before his eyes met mine. “Until Mack, the only ones I’d ever been around for any length of time were Boone and Kait’s girls. They’re angels compared to Mack.”

  “Well, maybe he’s just high-strung. Doesn’t matter, we love him anyway.” I leaned over and gave Isaac’s head a quick kiss.

  “Do you think Colt will be calmer?” Isaac laid his head on my shoulder as he sat there, tickling Colt’s feet, a trick he was taught with Mack. Although, it seemed to work because Colt kept squirming and continued to drink his formula.

  “Not sure. Probably though. I mean, Mack is a younger you, and Colt a younger me and technically, they have different egg donors, because that’s really all I consider Jessica to be to Mack. And Mack is almost nothing like you, sweetheart. You’re probably the quietest, calmest person I know, and our toddler is the complete opposite. I think we’ll have to wait and see once they’re older.”

  Colt had decided he’d had enough and turned his head a little before he started to fuss. I carefully placed him on my shoulder before gently rubbing his back. The small burp I got out of him sounded wet, and when Isaac reached for the burp cloth, I knew it wasn’t a dry one.

  “Not much. Just a little.”

  I nodded and then simply sat there, enjoying holding our new son. “You want to hold him now?”

  “I can wait until later. I like seeing you hold him. We should probably burrito him up again though,” Isaac said, getting up from the love seat and walking over to the bed. He pulled out another receiving blanket from the stack, and after he had it prepped, I got up and slowly walked over to the bed and placed Colt in the middle of the blanket.

  “He looks so tiny,” Isaac said. I had to agree. Compared to Mack, he was. But compared to Ash and Abi when they were newborns, he was huge.

  “I seem to have lost his hat somewhere,” I told my husband as I started swaddling Colt up. Isaac looked around the room before walking to the other side of the bed. The hat was located in the blankets, and when it was once again on Colt’s head, I picked our son back up and placed Colt back in his bassinet.

  Once he was situated and sleeping, I climbed into the narrow bed and motioned for Isaac to join me.

  “You sure?”

  “Well, since my favorite place is right beside you, of course I am. Besides, we only use about half of our king-sized bed to sleep at home. Why wouldn’t I be sure?” Isaac finally joined me, and when he was in my arms again, I sighed with relief.

  “Should we go back to sleep? I mean, at home we’d be getting up.” />
  “Are you tired?” I asked before kissing Isaac’s forehead.

  “Actually, a little,” he said just before yawning.

  “Then sleep. I’m almost positive we’ll have visitors as soon as we’re allowed to. You know as well as I do that Momma is going to be here the minute visiting hours start.” And she would too. I lay there with Isaac in my arms as I ran my fingers through his hair. I’d loved the fact that he’d started wearing it down again, but with the new baby, it was probably going to be pulled back all the time now. Something I wish wasn’t necessary but knew was.

  I listened to Isaac’s breathing, and as it evened out, I knew he’d fallen back asleep. Thankfully, visiting hours didn’t start until eleven, so I knew we had several more hours before the visitors started arriving. I snuggled in with Isaac, and in no time, I felt myself start to doze off as well.

  We were woken by the sound of both of our phones vibrating on the table that was beside the bed. There was light peeking through the curtains at the window, so I knew we’d slept for at least another couple of hours. Isaac was the first to sit up, and when he did, I glanced at my watch and saw it was almost eight.

  “Wow. I can’t remember when we slept this late before. Maybe our honeymoon? Or perhaps when Mack was teething and kept us up all night?”

  “What time is it?” Isaac asked as he looked at me over his shoulder.

  “Ten till eight.” Isaac’s eyes rounded before he got up from the bed and walked into the bathroom.

  I joined him, but I wasn’t kidding when I said the thing was tiny. There was hardly any room at all in the bathroom, and that meant I had to stay back against the shower while he went pee. Once he was finished, we traded places and it was my turn while Isaac washed his hands. Isaac left the tiny bathroom while I washed my hands, and he was putting his boots on when I reentered the room.

  “You want coffee?”

  “When don’t I want coffee? Are you leaving the hospital?” I asked as I sat down and pulled on my own boots once I located them. Isaac had completely put me to bed around three, and I hadn’t even noticed.

  “I wasn’t planning on leaving. Not unless you wanted something from somewhere in Sulfur Springs. There’s a coffee shop down on the ground floor. I figured I could get us coffee and something to eat that would tide us over until we had visitors.”

  “Coffee would be great. You sure you don’t want me to go? Colt is going to need to be fed again soon.” Isaac shook his head before he stood up.

  “I don’t mind going. You can certainly handle feeding the baby, and I won’t be gone long,” Isaac said before he walked to the table and picked up his phone and wallet. He brought my phone back to me, and when he leaned down and gave me a quick kiss, I was sad that he didn’t linger a little longer.

  “Isaac?” I said as he turned to leave.

  “Yeah?”

  “Everything okay?”

  “Everything’s fine. I’m just getting coffee, and then I’ll be back. Call Momma because I’m sure she’s at least one of those texts. I’ll send out another group text letting everyone know all is good here before I call my parents,” Isaac said. He offered me a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. There was definitely something going on. I just had to find out what.

  I nodded and then watched as my husband left the room. When I glanced down at my phone, I saw that I had twenty-six missed texts and groaned. I also had a missed call from the department, and I panicked as I called Dalton’s direct line.

  “Why are you calling me? Don’t you have a new baby to be cuddling?” Dalton said by way of greeting as he answered the phone. I sighed in relief that he knew where I was and why.

  “Did Isaac text you?”

  “Yeah, sometime around three this morning. So, what’s the little guy like? Is he fussy like Mack?”

  “So far no. But he’s only a few hours old. We’ll see in the next several days as his personality develops. Obviously, I won’t be in for a few weeks,” I told Dalton as I got up from my spot on the love seat and walked over to the bassinet and peeked at Colt, who was still asleep.

  “Nope. Wrong. You won’t be in for the next eight weeks. Don’t worry, we’ll handle everything here. You know I can run this place if needed.”

  “I know and I appreciate it. I just don’t want to leave Isaac alone too quickly. It’s not fair to him.”

  “We’ve been over this. I’m not worried about it. Enjoy your boys, and we’ll see you soon because you know that we’ll all eventually make our way out to Wild Creek.”

  “Yep. You’re always welcome,” I told Dalton.

  “See you soon, Jacob, and be sure to get rest when you can.”

  “Yeah, we’ve already started that. Call me if you have any questions or problems,” I said, but Dalton chuckled before he hung up. Yeah, he probably wasn’t going to call if he needed something. I knew he was more than capable of taking care of everything, I simply couldn’t help but worry. I was who I was.

  I read through my texts and tried my hardest to not laugh at the one from Momma.

  Momma: Congratulations. He’s beautiful. I’m not coming to the hospital to see him. I’ll be out at the ranch in the next day or two for a short visit. Love you all!

  If she thought I believed for even one moment that she’d be out for a short visit, she really was trying to be a comedian. Isaac and I both knew that Momma would be out as soon as she was able, and her visit wouldn’t be short. Thankfully, Isaac more than welcomed her to Wild Creek because she was always happy to help when we asked.

  I looked up when the door opened and was a little disappointed when it wasn’t Isaac.

  “Good morning. I’m Mary and I’m one of the day nurses today. I’m here to take your little guy for his checkup and have him circumcised.”

  That had me flying to my feet in an instant. “Yeah, checkup is okay, but no on the circumcision. We’re not doing it.”

  “Hmm, that’s your choice as parents. I’ll put it down in his chart that you don’t want that,” she said as she started tapping on the tablet in her hand.

  “Don’t want what?” Isaac said as he walked back into the room carrying a large bag in one hand and a cup holder with two extra-large coffees in the other.

  “Circumcision,” I said and watched as Isaac cringed. Yeah, it was certainly something we’d agreed that we weren’t doing.

  “All right. Has he been fed? Changed?”

  “Not since around five,” I told her.

  “It’s better that way. He can be fed after his vaccine to calm him. Do you do those?”

  “Yes. Our toddler is up-to-date on all of his vaccines, and we will be immunizing Colton as well,” I replied. I missed Sally. Mary wasn’t one of my favorite nurses already.

  She offered a curt nod before she walked over to the bassinet and wheeled it out of the room. I followed her and watched as she walked down the hallway and disappeared into another room on the left.

  “I don’t like her,” Isaac said from behind me.

  “Trust me, sweetheart, the feeling is mutual,” I replied as I walked back to him and took the cup of coffee he was holding out to me.

  Isaac — 6

  Fifteen minutes later, a quite fussy Colt was wheeled back into the room by someone who wasn’t Mary. But she was someone we recognized.

  “Dr. Rockwell?” I said as I saw Mack’s pediatrician pushing Colt’s bassinet into the room.

  “Hello, Sheriff, Isaac. You got yourself an upset little man here,” she said as she stopped the bassinet beside the bed and locked the wheels. “He’s hungry, so a bottle should calm him right down. I’d suggest burping him every ounce though, just to be safe.”

  I tossed a receiving blanket over Jacob’s shoulder and gently shook the bottle while he picked up our son. Colt immediately quieted when Jacob put the nipple in his mouth. He started to eagerly suck, which was certainly a good sign.

  “Is he okay?” Jacob asked Dr. Rockwell.

  “He’s fine. He di
dn’t care for his vaccination though. I’ll need to see him in my office on Monday, next week. But he looks really good, guys. His hearing checked out, his lungs sound great, and he’s a good-sized baby.”

  “Yeah, that’s all Jacob,” I said jokingly. It was obvious that Jacob was the larger of the two of us and I was the smallest of me and my two brothers, but when he sent me a glare, I had to wonder what I’d done wrong.

  “No matter, he looks really good. I’ll start the discharge paperwork. I see no reason why he can’t go home this afternoon.”

  “Really?” Jacob and I asked at the same time. He’d sat down with Colt, and I went over and sat beside them.

  “Did you want to stay? You’re welcome to, but really, there’s no reason for it.”

  Jacob and I looked at each other before we turned back to the doctor. “No, we’d like to go home actually,” Jacob told her, and I nodded in agreement. We’d both be so much more comfortable there. And when family started visiting, home would just be better for everyone.

  “Then it’s settled. I’ll get the paperwork going, and you can take your little one home this afternoon. I placed the birth certificate paperwork, as well as the social security form, on the shelf beside the blankets. You’ll have to have your lawyer finish the adoption paperwork, but otherwise, all is good.”

  “Thanks, Dr. Rockwell. I know Simon was waiting for the delivery and the form from the hospital so he can get the adoption papers finalized for us. Kristy has already filled out and signed her portion,” I told her. She smiled at us before she turned and left.

  “Did you know Dr. Rockwell was doing rotations here at the hospital?” Jacob asked as soon as she’d left. He pulled the bottle out of Colt’s mouth, put it between his knees, and put our son on his shoulder to burp him.

  “I hadn’t really given it much thought, honestly. I guess maybe they all do. I’m not sure though.”

  Once Colt let out a burp that shouldn’t have been possible for a baby so young, Jacob cradled him back in his arms and put the nipple back in his mouth.