Jacob's Joy: Men of Crooked Bend Book 9

by Taylor Rylan

  “Well, we can wait a few more minutes, but we’ll be back soon enough and Morgan can get better acquainted with Colt then if she wants.”

  “It’s okay, really. He’s so tiny compared to Mack. They’re both adorable though. But you guys head to your appointment. There were a few snowflakes in the air when I drove out, so be careful,” Morgan told us.

  “I’ll go start the truck and let it warm up a little,” I said. If Morgan saw snow, there was a possibility that we’d run into more as we got closer to Sulfur Springs. It was closer to the mountains, which meant slightly higher elevations.

  Isaac nodded at me, and I set off for the garage to start the truck. After I pulled on my coat, I left the house and opened the garage door on my way using the buttons on the wall. Once the door was completely open, I started the truck and backed it out of the garage.

  I found Isaac in the office when I returned inside. He was just fastening a diaper on Colt, something I probably wouldn’t have thought of doing.

  “Will my daddy brain ever recede?”

  “Huh?”

  “I was just thinking I never would have thought to change his diaper before we left.”

  “Sure you would have. Especially since he was in a sleep sack and we need him in a sleeper so we can buckle the straps. I had to change him anyway, so I figured a dry diaper was good. Could you go snap a picture of the feeding and diaper schedule for me?”

  “I’m on it. The truck is outside, waiting.”

  “Perfect. I’ll be there in just a few,” Isaac said as he snapped the onesie closed. I watched as he reached for a blue fuzzy sleeper with teddy bears on it, and then I went to get a picture of the schedule the doctor was going to ask about.

  “Papa go bye-bye?”

  “Yeah, bud. But you’re going to stay here and play with Morgan, okay?” I said as I got down on my knee to be at Mack’s level.

  “Go pway?”

  “Yep. You can go play with Morgan,” I told Mack and watched him run off back to the living room. “We should only be gone a couple of hours,” I told Morgan, who was watching Mack run around.

  “No rush. I’m here until four,” she said with a smile on her face. I thought again how lucky we were to have her. She made life so much easier.

  After I quickly snapped a few pictures of the schedule, I turned to find Isaac standing in the doorway, giving Mack a hug, Colt in his car seat on the floor beside them.

  “Be good, okay?”

  Mack nodded before Isaac gave his cheek a quick kiss and set him down.

  “You ready?” I asked.

  “As I’ll be, yes.”

  Isaac — 12

  I stared at Dr. Rockwell as she listened to Colt’s chest. He wasn’t exactly fussy, but he wasn’t overly happy either. She carefully held him on his chest and rolled him over, then proceeded to listen to his back. I guess she was listening to his lungs, but still. I was more than ready to have my little guy back.

  When she gently rolled him back over and placed him on the table, she looked up at us and smiled. “He looks amazing, guys. Whatever you’re doing, keep it up. His lungs and heart sound perfect, and I definitely hear his last meal being digested.”

  I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. “That’s good to hear,” I told her as I walked over and scooped our son up into my arms. I simply needed to hold him. I knew the doctor would never hurt him, but I needed to give him some cuddles. Luckily, he calmed down when I cuddled him to my chest. Jacob came over and tucked a blanket around his bare back, and I leaned down and gave Colt a gentle kiss on the top of his head.

  “Do either of you have any questions?”

  “Yes. We both freaked out a bit this morning because he’d slept for five hours last night. Is that normal? We thought we were supposed to feed him every four hours,” Jacob asked.

  “Was it the first time?” Dr. Rockwell asked as she typed into the computer at the desk.

  “Yes. But we’ve noticed we have to wake him at four hours to feed him,” I added.

  “Well, he’s growing well. He’s gained an ounce already. I know that doesn’t sound like a lot, but as a general rule, we like to see newborns back to their birth weight by two weeks. Your guy here is already up an ounce at five days. I’d say, don’t force the bottles. He’s doing fine. But don’t let him go longer than six hours.”

  Jacob and I both nodded at the doctor in agreement. We could do that. I carefully placed Colt down on the table and somehow managed to get his onesie over his head without him fussing. That was a first for me.

  “Any other questions or concerns?”

  “How long should we keep hats on him?”

  “I’d certainly recommend hats when you take him out. It’s still a bit chilly temperature-wise, and sudden gusts might not bother you, but they will him.”

  “I didn’t get custody of Mack until he was three months old, so these first few months are new to both of us,” I told her. She offered a friendly smile before she went back to typing notes on the computer.

  “If you’re in the house, I’d say he probably doesn’t need a hat. Especially if you keep it warm in the house. A general rule is if his hands feel cold, put a hat and blanket on him,” Dr. Rockwell told us as she clicked the keyboard one last time and the screen went dark. She turned and stood up before walking over to us.

  “Anything else? Don’t feel bad about asking anything. These first few weeks we all have to deal with not enough sleep and not being able to think about things clearly. When I had my little girl, I couldn’t remember how often to change her, I was that tired.”

  I looked at Jacob, who had a surprised look on his face. “Can we take him out? What I mean is, we need to go to the store. Is it okay to take him with us?”

  “You can. But remember, other than his HepB vaccine, he won’t get any others until his two-month checkup. There aren’t any breakouts that I’m aware of, but we don’t always know when someone is sick either.”

  “Got it. We’ll probably just take him home and one of us can run back out later,” Jacob told her. I’m not so sure that was her intended outcome because she slightly shook her head but didn’t say anything.

  “I think those were pretty much our only questions,” I told her while snapping up the sleeper I’d put back on Colt.

  “Well, you have the number to the office. Dr. Williams is taking some time off, but you can leave any questions you have with Amy at the front desk and I’ll get back to you by the end of the day. If it’s urgent, be sure to let her know. But it seems as if you have the hang of things, so I’m not worried,” Dr. Rockwell told us. Jacob and I nodded in agreement again. It was time to head home, and then one of us would need to go back out to the store. Fun times.

  “Okay, I want to see him at a month old, so around the ninth of May. Amy can get that scheduled for you on your way out. All right?”

  “Sounds good,” Jacob and I replied in unison.

  I crouched down and carefully placed Colt in his car seat and then strapped him in. Jacob took the carrier while I opted for the diaper bag. We left the exam room and walked down the hallway toward the exit sign. Once we reached the elevators, Jacob pushed the Down button and the car behind us opened immediately.

  “That’s convenient,” I joked as we entered the elevator car. I pushed the button for the ground floor, causing the doors to close and the car to start our short trip down one flight. “You okay?” I asked Jacob, who seemed to be lost in thought.

  “Fine. What do you think about asking Morgan to watch Colt for a few hours? Or maybe your parents? I’d ask Momma, but she’s still worried about her cold. Last I heard, she was going to the doctor to see what was going on. But I’d like to treat you out to lunch if at all possible.”

  “That actually sounds like heaven. Let me call Mom and see if she and Dad are up for a little Colt watching.” I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. Yes, Colt was only five days old, but the thought of spending a meal with my husband withou
t one of the boys was incredibly tempting. He’d worked such long hours in the weeks before Colt’s birth that we’d hardly spent any time together.

  “Wait here and give your mom a call, and I’ll go get the truck. The snow is coming down steadily now,” Jacob said as we walked up to the door. I nodded and veered right to the seats just inside the hospital entrance and sat down with Colt.

  We didn’t have a cold-weather car seat cover for Colt because we assumed we wouldn’t really need one with him being born in April. It wasn’t a requirement though, and we’d brought a warm blanket to cover him with while outside. I smiled at our little guy as I pulled out my phone to call Mom. She picked up before it even finished ringing the first time.

  “Hello, Isaac. Is everything okay?”

  “Hi, Mom. Everything’s great. We just left Colt’s five-day checkup, and he’s gained an ounce. Dr. Rockwell said he’s doing really well.”

  “That’s good news. Is Mack still taken with him?”

  “Oh yeah. So far, he hasn’t shown any signs of jealousy at all. He’s stopped using the toilet, but we expected that. Hopefully he’ll pick it back up quickly.”

  “You boys did that as well. It was frustrating, but as you said, it’s expected.”

  “I didn’t know that. Huh. Anyway, I wanted to ask if you and Dad maybe wanted to watch Colt for a few hours for us. Jacob wanted—”

  “Yes. Absolutely. When?”

  I laughed at Mom’s excitement. I didn’t have too many worries about her and Dad watching Colt. He basically just slept, ate, and pooped. Mack, though, he was a little bundle of energy.

  “We’re getting ready to leave the hospital in Sulfur Springs, so we should be there within an hour. Does that work? The diaper bag is stocked with three bottles and about a dozen diapers thanks to Jacob’s overpacking,” I told her as I looked out the window. I was watching for the truck to pull up, but so far, nothing.

  “That’s a good man you have there. There’s nothing wrong with being prepared. I’ll have your dad bring the bassinet down from your old room. We cleaned it up the other day in case you decided to bring the boys over.”

  “We’ll do that. I promise. We’ve just been trying to make heads or tails of what day it is.”

  “Give it time. Colt is only five days old. Have you heard from Kristy?” Mom asked, and that reminded me that it had been a few days since I’d talked to her. I needed to do better about calling her regularly.

  “We have. She’s doing well and is enjoying the extra attention she’s receiving from Matt. I heard from Simon yesterday and the paperwork and final payment was submitted. Our adoption papers are also submitted, so now we just wait for the birth certificate from the state.”

  “That’s good news. I can’t say how happy I am for you both.”

  “Hey, Mom, I’ll see you soon. Jacob just pulled up in the truck.”

  “Sounds good. I can’t wait to see the little guy again.”

  “Perfect, see you soon,” I told her, but she’d ended the call. She was obviously excited about watching Colt. Which was a good thing. Without my parents, I’m not sure I would have made it through the first year with Mack.

  I stood up, and after making sure Colt was covered, I picked both him and the diaper bag up and headed out the door. Jacob was standing at the back door, holding it open for us.

  “Sorry it took so long. I had to scrape off the windshield. It must have snowed pretty good while we were in the hospital.”

  “No rush. Ever. I called Mom while I waited,” I said as I leaned in, and when I heard Colt’s car seat snap into the base, I uncovered his face and made sure the blanket was far enough down that it wouldn’t cover him.

  “Yeah? What did she have to say?” Jacob asked hopefully. I put the diaper bag on the floor of the back seat and closed the door so as to not let the heat out of the truck.

  “She said yes. So it looks like you have yourself a lunch date, Sheriff,” I told Jacob as I wrapped my arms around his waist.

  “Yeah? My mind definitely shouldn’t be going where it’s going at the moment, but I can’t help it. We have unfinished business from this morning, Mr. McCoy,” Jacob said as he leaned down and gave me a soft kiss. It didn’t matter whether it was soft or harsh, Jacob’s kisses always made me tingle.

  “Shall we head back to Wild Creek?” I asked when Jacob stood back up from the kiss. He cleared his throat before answering.

  “Sounds good. That’ll give you time to decide where you want to go for lunch,” Jacob said as he opened my door for me. I quickly climbed in, and once the door was shut, I pulled my seat belt on and buckled it. I watched as my husband rounded the front of the truck, and then he climbed in behind the wheel. After his seat belt was on, we were on our way.

  “We need to call Momma later and see how she’s doing,” I said once we were back on the road.

  “Yeah, we do. Marie said she’d let me know if it was anything serious. You know how she is about Momma though, and she’s pissed that she wasn’t told she was sick earlier.” I watched Jacob as he navigated through the snowy streets of Sulfur Springs. I knew he wasn’t happy with the fact that his mom had kept her cold from them either.

  “Do you think it’s something other than a cold?”

  “I’m not sure. Lately it just seems that if she gets sick, it takes longer for her to get better. I worry. I can’t help it. She’ll be seventy this year. I realize that’s not old, but it’s not exactly young anymore.” Jacob had a serious look on his face, like he was concentrating much more than he really needed to be.

  “I know you worry. I do too. We’ve already talked about it. Mack wears my parents out. They love him, but he’s a handful.”

  “Sweetheart, Mack can wear us out and we’re a lot younger. I think the last time might have been a combination of Mack being his rambunctious self and your parents not expecting to have him as long as they did.” Jacob glanced at me before reaching over and giving my hand a quick squeeze before he put his hand back on the wheel.

  Jacob carefully drove through the streets, and in no time, we left the town limits and headed toward Crooked Bend and then back to Wild Creek. Once we left Sulfur Springs, the snow picked up before it slowed down. So much for spring.

  “You know, it would be nice to just once not have a spring snowstorm. I thought the chances were low?” Jacob asked as we drove through the countryside.

  “Well, when have they ever been able to successfully predict the weather?”

  “True,” Jacob said and laughed. Such was life in the foothills in Wyoming.

  Just under an hour after I’d called Mom, we were pulling up to my childhood home. I saw my parents standing just inside the door, and I chuckled at their enthusiasm as we got out of the truck. Jacob reached into the back for Colt, and I grabbed the diaper bag. Our little guy was still asleep, but he had started wiggling, letting us know he would probably wake up soon.

  “Oh goodness. Look at him. He looks even tinier in the car seat,” Mom said as we entered the house.

  “He was fed around six thirty this morning, so he’ll be waking up for his next feeding soon,” I told Mom, who nodded at me. She was already unbuckling Colt to get him out of his seat. Dad reached for the diaper bag, and I smiled as I handed it over.

  “You’ve made her day, so you boys go out and enjoy lunch and some time without worrying about the kids. We’ll call if we need anything,” Dad said to us. I watched as Mom walked off with our newborn with a megawatt smile on her face.

  “We will. And thanks, Sam,” Jacob said as he grabbed my hand and pulled me out the door. I laughed at his excitement, but I didn’t blame him. I was looking forward to a little time out without the kids as well.

  Jacob — 13

  I couldn’t wait to get Isaac alone. Yeah, it wasn’t as if Colt was going to care if we talked or even had sex. I wasn’t exactly quiet this morning when we were trying to get reacquainted. I still felt bad about the fact that my husband was left hanging. That was so
mething I planned to remedy quickly, and I knew just the place to do so.

  “You decide where you want to go for lunch? I figure with the snow, we should get to Sulfur Springs or even Jackson right around lunchtime.”

  “Sort of. I’ve narrowed it down to two choices. You feel like pizza or burgers?”

  I glanced over at Isaac quickly before looking back out the windshield. We weren’t on the road yet, and I didn’t want to take a chance and get stuck while still on Wild Creek because I was too busy looking at my husband. I thought about the choices, and really, pizza was great, but garlicky, and that could be bad for what I had planned.

  “Burgers. Is that okay?”

  “Sure is. Then I’d like to go to The Bourbon Barrel. I’ve been craving one of their burgers so bad.”

  I let my foot off of the gas and looked long and hard at Isaac. Why hadn’t he said something before now?

  “Sweetheart, why didn’t you say so? You know I’ll take you there anytime you wanted. All you had to do was say something.”

  “We’re busy. We have Mack, and The Bourbon Barrel isn’t really kid friendly. We’re both tired by the time suppertime rolls around that it’s just easier to eat at home.”

  I peeked at Isaac again as I stopped at the highway, waiting to turn onto the road and leave Wild Creek. “That’s all true. But we do have days off. I’m happy to take you there. They have great steak fries, and a bacon cheeseburger sounds heavenly.” Isaac smiled at me, and that made me happy.

  I turned left onto the highway and headed back toward Crooked Bend and beyond, Jackson. My hubby wanted a gourmet burger, and that’s what he was going to get. Hopefully, he would be up for what I had planned for dessert later.

  Even with the snow, we made it to Jackson in just over an hour’s time. I pulled into the parking lot of The Bourbon Barrel, and it looked as if the weather was going to work in our favor. The lot was over half-empty, and on a Monday at lunchtime, it should have been full.