“Well, you aren’t the only one. Maybe we all can take turns checking on him or taking him out to eat, that kind of thing,” Jenna said, closing her eyes and enjoying the breeze Callan was creating. They were quiet for a few minutes then Jenna opened her eyes and smiled. “Your arm will fall off if you don’t stop and you worked as hard as the men today.”
Callan put the magazine back on the coffee table and leaned back with a sigh. “Don’t tell the guys, but I wouldn’t want to do that every day for anything. I don’t think I’m ever going to stop itching, my arms are rubbery from trying to steer that old truck, and my hindquarters feel like they’ve been bruised beyond belief from bouncing around in the field. Driving the truck was kind of fun, but not enough I’d do this every day.”
Jenna laughed. “Cal, you are something else. Josh said you worked just as hard and did as well as any man would have done.”
“Well that is quite a compliment coming from my little brother,” Callan said, unable to hide her pleasure at what Josh said.
“I don’t think there is anything you can’t do if you set your mind to it,” Jenna said thoughtfully.
“There are one or two things,” Callan said, growing somber and quiet, thinking of the babies she would never have and the one she lost. There were definitely some things she could never do, which is why she didn’t let her thoughts linger there and moved on to a different topic. “There are two things I would really like to do if you’d allow me.”
“What’s that?” Jenna asked, sitting up. Callan had that intense look on her face she got whenever she was in the middle of planning something wonderful.
“I would like to help you decorate a nursery for the babies and I want to throw you a baby shower,” Callan said, already making lists in her head of the things they’d need to accomplish.
“Really?” Jenna said, grabbing Callan’s hand in her own, unable to contain her excitement. “You’d really help me decorate the nursery and throw me a shower?”
“I would absolutely love to.”
“Then yes, please!” Jenna said as they both got excited at the thought.
“Let me get the girls back in school and then we can start talking about details,” Callan said, standing up and then giving a hand to Jenna as she got to her feet and they slowly walked toward the back door and garage. “Are you going to find out if you are having boys or girls or one of each?”
“We haven’t decided yet. On one hand, I want to know, on the other I’d kind of like to be surprised. What do you think?” Jenna asked as she opened her car door.
“I think you and Josh should talk about it and decide together,” Callan said with a grin.
“Great answer,” Jenna said with a wave of her hand. “See you at the ranch.”
<><><>
Arriving at the ranch, Jenna and Callan found the men had parked the equipment and were at the house enjoying a glass of cold lemonade. Emma was bouncing around between Josh, Clay and Jake while Audrey sat next to Steve and told her Gramps all about her day.
“Mama!” Emma yelled as Callan walked out on the patio, launching herself into Callan’s arms. Callan swung her up and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “How’s my Sweet Pea? Were you good for Grammy today?”
“Yep, we had a marvelous time,” Emma said, using her favorite new word. Everything for the last two weeks had been marvelous.
Laughing, Callan set her down. “I’m glad to hear it.”
Draining their glasses and setting them in the kitchen, Josh and Jake thanked Bobbi for the lemonade and walked wearily out to Jenna’s car.
“Babe, I’m beat. Do you mind driving?” Josh asked as he held open the driver’s side door for her.
“I guess not. Are you two going to sit in the back and make me be the chauffeur?” Jenna teased as she slid behind the wheel.
“What a great idea,” Jake said, climbing in the back seat, sitting as regally as possible in his dusty, sweat and soot streaked clothes.
Josh jumped in on the other side, then rapped on the back of the front passenger seat with his knuckles. “Home now, if you please, Jamesette,” Josh said in a snooty tone with his nose in the air.
“Jamesette? What kind of a name is that?” Jenna asked, laughing at their antics.
“Well, we can’t very well call you James. Isn’t that what they always say in the movies, ‘home now, James?’ Isn’t the chauffeur always named James?” Josh asked, waving airily to Audrey and Emma as they left, making them break out in giggles as they waved goodbye.
“Right you are, my good man,” Jake said affecting a British accent and nodding his head in agreement. “Hurry it up please, Jamesette. I’ve got an engagement this evening and if I don’t make haste I’ll be unforgivably tardy.”
“And this engagement, for which you can’t be tardy, is her name Bambi, Roxy, or Trixi?” Jenna teased, looking at Jake in the rear-view mirror.
“None of the above,” Jake said indignantly. That he couldn’t remember his date’s name at the moment was not important and beside the point.
“Let me guess, she is blond and petite with a small vocabulary and large… assets,” Jenna couldn’t help teasing Jake. She’d seen him out on a few dates before and it wasn’t hard to picture the type of girl he’d be meeting.
Now Jake was openly annoyed. How did Jenna know exactly the type of girl he liked to date? It wasn’t like he ever brought one of his dates to any family gathering. Well, he wasn’t going to let her unsettle him with her taunting. “For your information, she is in her third year of college.”
“Oh, that’s great. What school is she attending?” Jenna asked, sincerely interested.
“The community college,” Jake answered, realizing too late the fodder that was going to provide.
Josh laughed out loud. “Three years at a two-year college. That’s great Jake. Sounds like a real Einstein.”
“I… she… never mind,” Jake huffed, squirming a bit in the back seat.
Seeing his irritation, Josh nudged him with his elbow and wiggled his eyebrows, which got a small grin out of Jake.
“So, if you can give me a minute of your time when we get back to the house before your date with Bambi, I’ll run in and write you a check for today,” Josh said as Jenna turned down their lane.
“No can do, dude,” Jake said. “You don’t owe me anything for today.”
“Jake, we can’t let you do that. You worked too hard today for it to be for free. Besides that, if it wasn’t for you, who knows what would have happened with Pop and the fire,” Josh said seriously.
“Really, Josh, I won’t take more of your money. The last check you gave me was more than generous,” Jake said. “How about if we call it even today and the next time I have to run to the rescue, you can pay me off then?”
“Deal,” Josh said with a big smile, shaking Jake’s hand warmly as Jenna pulled into the garage.
“You’re welcome to come in for a bit if you want Jake, but if you hit the ground running for your date, we understand,” Jenna said, parking the car.
Leaning over the front seat, Jake pecked her cheek. “Thanks, Jen. I’ll stay for a visit next time. I’ll be ready to hear the baby names you have picked out.”
Jake jumped out of the car and ran to his pickup, creating a cloud of dust as he tore down the driveway and headed back toward town.
“There goes one really great kid,” Jenna said as she and Josh walked into the house.
“Yep, one really great kid with terrible taste in women,” Josh observed. “But then again, not everyone has my excellent taste.”
Jenna stood on her tiptoes and surprised Josh with a warm kiss. “You do taste pretty excellent.”
He started to pull her into a hug but Jenna twisted free and ran giggling down the hallway, Josh hot on her heels.
“Don’t get your itchy, nasty wheat chaff all over me Josh Carver.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Jenna settled into her new job and routine with relative ease. In her
second trimester, she was feeling better even though she was worried that she was getting way too big way too soon. Her doctor assured her it was normal considering the fact she was carrying twins.
As it was, she wondered just how much longer she could disguise the fact she was expecting before her supervisor said something. Following her friend Barb’s advice, she was pouring herself into her new job, at least during work hours. Once she left the building, it was easy enough to leave her work behind and think about the farm, Josh, the twins, and everything they needed to accomplish before the babies arrived.
Yesterday, her supervisor had given her a quick sixty-day review and everything she shared was positive. She expressed her pleasure at how well Jenna was doing the job and how valuable they were finding her to be. Jenna prayed that feeling would continue once they found out she was expecting. She was hoping to get through at least another month before she had to break the news around the office.
The rate she was expanding, though, she wasn’t sure how it couldn’t be obvious to everyone. Jenna was convinced she looked like a basketball was stuffed in her shirt although Josh assured her it looked more like a football. That thought really didn’t make her feel any better. At least as the weather cooled down, she could hide some of her increasing waistline with jackets, sweaters and artfully draped scarves.
Josh was doing his last round of custom haying and should be finished up by the end of the week. He promised when he was done, he’d take an entire day to do anything she wanted. She thought they should probably start looking at baby furniture, just to get some ideas. With the holidays approaching, she knew time would get away from them and the babies would be here before they knew it.
Thinking about their arrival still frightened and intimidated Jenna but she really was happy about the thought of having Josh’s babies. It had taken a lot of prayer and meditation, but she finally arrived at the place of acceptance and anticipation. Anytime she started to feel overwhelmed by the thought of it all, she reminded herself they had many family members and good friends they could count on to help them out. Jenna knew she would be relying on Callan quite a bit.
Callan was already doing so much to help her get ready for the arrival of the twins. True to her word, as soon as she had the girls back into the swing of school, she came over one Saturday with photos, catalogs, fabric and paint swatches and they started talking about the nursery.
Wandering through the upstairs bedrooms, Callan and Jenna agreed the twins would likely share a room for their first few years. Finally, they decided on the bedroom that offered a fabulous view of the backyard, the barn and a portion of the fields. Big windows let in plenty of light, yet the trees from the backyard provided welcome shade.
When it was time for the kids to have their own rooms, the other two bedrooms were nearly identical in size and shape, which Jenna hoped would keep any fights from erupting over “my room is bigger than your room.” She could then return the nursery to a guest room.
Standing at the window looking down on their farm, Jenna sighed. “Can you just picture them Callan, looking out the window? Little girls will enjoy the view of the yard and flowers or little boys can see the barn and the fields.”
“And no matter if you have boys or girls, they will be excited to watch out the window for daddy,” Callan said, putting her arm around Jenna and giving her a squeeze. “You know, it would be a lot easier to decorate if we knew what you are having.”
“I know,” Jenna said with a smile. “Josh and I agreed the next appointment we want to find out the sex. If it was just one baby, we might wait and be surprised, but I feel like two require a bit more pre-planning.”
“Well, as soon as you know, we can really start making plans for the nursery. When is your next ultrasound?” Callan asked, whipping out a notepad and taking some notes as she walked around the room.
“Two weeks,” Jenna said, absently rubbing a hand across her baby bump. “In two weeks we’ll know if Jake’s predictions of boys are correct.”
“That Jake,” Callan laughed. “You’d think he was a real uncle for as much as he has carried on about these babies. I wonder what he’ll be like when he can actually see them.”
“Probably a complete wonderful nuisance,” Jenna said, smiling. “Nearly as bad as their Uncle Clay, I’d guess.”
“Oh, Jen,” Callan said, looking pleased. “Clay is so excited and happy for you. We both are. You can definitely plan on having lots of extra hands to hold the babies if you need them.”
Jenna clasped Callan’s hand in her own. “You know I will. I just hope I can be as good a mother as you are to Audrey and Emma. I think you were born to be a mom.”
Callan let out a laugh, much to Jenna’s surprise. “I’d hardly say that. You know I used to be all about my career. Clay used to call me Ms. Business all the time. I was focused, determined, selfish. I didn’t have time or want to make time for a baby. Then when I got pregnant and lost the baby I felt like a part of me died as well. I can’t ever get that part of me back. You know the story, but I felt like God was punishing me. Those were a hard couple years until I got things figured out. Now I know I have been so blessed to have Audrey and Emma. I just try to be the best mom to them I can be. Clay and I both make a lot of mistakes, especially when we jumped into things mid-stream with the girls, but we are learning. I think the most important thing is to just love them. Love them all the time, no matter what with your whole heart. If you do that, you can’t veer too far off course.”
Letting out a sigh, Jenna squeezed Callan’s hand as they walked toward the stairs. “How did you get so smart and wise beyond your years?”
Suddenly Jenna gasped and looked at Callan with her eyes round in surprise.
“What is it Jen?” Callan asked, hoping nothing was wrong.
“I think I just felt the babies move,” Jenna said, beaming. As they stood half-way down the stairs, not moving, waiting to see if Jenna could feel another flutter. “There, there it goes again.”
Callan gave her a hug and wiped away a tear. “Oh, little mama, this is going to be marvelous.”
<><><>
By the time the next ultrasound appointment rolled around, everyone was anxious to find out if the two Carver babies were going to be girls, boys or one of each.
Josh took the day off and drove Jenna into work, met her for lunch then drove her to the appointment. The technician didn’t have to ask if he wanted to come closer. He was standing right behind her when she brought up the image of the babies on the screen.
“Well, Mrs. Carver, look at these babies. They are growing right on schedule, doing very well. Do you want to know the sex?”
“Yes,” Josh and Jenna said in unison.
The technician laughed and continued moving around the wand, trying to get the very best look at the two babies. They weren’t being terribly cooperative, slowing off arms and legs but not much else. The technician then turned up the sound so they could hear the heartbeats.
“Can you hear them?” the technician asked, smiling at the look of wonder that swept across both Jenna and Josh’s face. Holding Jenna’s hand, Josh gave it a squeeze as they listened to the faint whooshing sound of their babies’ heartbeats. Jenna felt a tear roll down her cheek and sent another prayer heavenward, thanking God for His wisdom and grace, blessing them with these babies.
“That is amazing,” Josh whispered, wiping away Jenna’s tear with his thumb as he smiled down at her.
“Well, let’s see if we can get a better look at these two and figure out who we’ve got in there.” The technician pushed gently on Jenna’s belly with the wand and they watched as one baby came into full view.
“There is a boy,” the technician said with a laugh, pointing to the screen and outlining body parts with her finger. “All boy, that one. How about baby number two? Come on baby, give us a sneak peek.”
They looked and waited, finally their patience paid off. “Score, that definitely looks like a boy as well. Twin boys. Th
at should keep your hands full,” the technician teased as she printed off a photo for them while Jenna got cleaned up.
“Two boys,” Josh said, barely able to think of little else as he stared down at the photo. “Wow, two boys!”
“Thank you,” Jenna said as they left and walked down the hallway. “I guess Jake was right after all.”
“Jake? Huh?” Josh said, functioning on auto-pilot, intently focused on the idea of bringing home twin baby boys. He knew he shouldn’t have been, but he was really hoping for boys. He and Jenna didn’t care what sex the babies were as long as they were healthy, but he was thrilled at the idea of having two boys to carry on the Carver name. He couldn’t wait to tell his dad.
“Jake. Our hired hand, good friend, sometimes like a pesky younger brother. That Jake? The one who said we would be having boys. Remember?” Jenna teased as they got off the elevator and entered the parking garage.
Coming back to reality, Josh smiled down at her. “Yeah, I remember. I can’t believe we are having boys. You are okay with boys, aren’t you?”
Jenna laughed. “Doesn’t really matter if I am or not, that is what we are getting. I don’t care as long as they are healthy.”
She had hoped for at least one girl, if not two, but knew Josh would be elated to have two boys. At least now she and Callan could start plans for the nursery décor.
“Two boys,” Josh said again, as he held Jenna’s door and then walked to the driver’s side of her car. Her appointment was late enough that afternoon, she didn’t have to go back to the office, so Josh drove out of town toward home. When he pulled into the garage, he popped the trunk then helped Jenna out of the car. She walked around to look in the trunk, filled with bags of a variety of sizes.
“I wondered what you did all day while I was working,” she said, picking up a few bags that didn’t look too heavy or large.
“I found a few things I thought we might need for the boys,” Josh said, immensely enjoying the way it sounded to say “the boys.”
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