Jacob's Joy: Men of Crooked Bend Book 9

by Taylor Rylan

  “I’m glad everyone is all right,” Isaac said as he wrapped a hand around my neck and pulled me down into a kiss. I wanted to do so much more than just kiss him, but that would have to wait until later. We had things to do, starting with eating way too much food. I’d skipped lunch, thinking I’d be here in time for the huge feast. I should have known better.

  An hour after I’d arrived, we’d eaten and the kids finally opened presents. Mack was sitting on the floor in front of us, playing with his new Paw Patrol toys. I nudged Isaac and he nodded before getting up to retrieve our present to Sam and Cammie. He was back quick enough and placed the flat gift on Cammie’s lap.

  “What’s this?”

  “Just a little something we had made for you. Open it,” Isaac said as he sat back down beside me.

  We watched as Cammie tore off the paper and revealed the picture frame we’d put the pictures in.

  “Aww, that’s so cute. Look at this guy. He’s getting so big. Thank you. I know just where to put it,” Cammie told us.

  “We’re glad you like it,” Isaac said while trying to not laugh. I figured any moment now she’d catch on.

  “Wait…you don’t,” Cammie said as she held the picture frame up closer to her face.

  “Really?” Sam asked as he looked up at us.

  “No. Really? Seriously?” Cammie asked as she stared at us. Isaac and I both nodded at her, and Cammie screamed as she got up from the love seat she and Sam had been on. Isaac and I got up to get hugs and congratulations from his parents.

  “What is it?” just about everyone else in the room asked. I smiled at Isaac before he turned to the room and told the rest of the family.

  “Jacob and I are going to be daddies again in April,” Isaac told his brothers, cousins, and their spouses. We spent the next several minutes being hugged and congratulated and answering several questions. Logan offered us a wink, which I simply smiled at, having chosen to not tell Isaac that I’d caught his cousin and husband christening the back seat of their new SUV last month. There were just some things that didn’t need to be shared.

  After the news of our spring addition calmed down, we all settled in to simply relax, talk, and discuss all things family and Wild Creek.

  The peace of the evening was shattered when Rhett started shouting about water breaking or something. It took my brain a moment to translate what he was saying, and I realized he was talking about their surrogate and the fact that she’d obviously just gone into labor. I sighed, knowing those thoughts I’d had about spending the evening with my husband had just gone out the door.

  “Looks like we’re doggy sitting Scarlett for the next few days. Don’t wait up for me, okay?” I said into Isaac’s ear before I turned his head and swiped my tongue across his lips after I covered his mouth with mine. He opened immediately, and when he moaned and grabbed my biceps, I pulled back from the kiss.

  “You say that before kissing me like that? Really? You know I’m going to be waiting up for you. Be careful, okay?”

  “Always,” I told him before I got up to take the soon-to-be daddies to the hospital. Neither of them was in the condition to drive, and I had my cruiser and could use the lights to get us there faster. I let the expectant dads know I’d take them. I could tell Logan was anxious, but he was doing his best to keep Rhett calm. That’s why he was so perfect for the younger man. It was time to welcome the two newest Redfeathers into the family, so I ushered Logan and Rhett out the door and then we were off.

  Jacob — 1

  April

  You know those terrible twos they warn you about? Well, they’ve got nothing on what I’m dubbing the thunderous threes, and we were about to leave those twos behind and slide right into the threes, and Mack showed no signs of calming a bit.

  I adored our son. So much. But standing in the middle of the supermarket while he was having his tantrum was getting old. I glanced over at my husband, and he didn’t look amused.

  “Shouldn’t we do something?” Isaac asked as I gazed back at our son, who was on the floor, kicking and screaming.

  “I’m going with nope. He’s not hurting anything at the moment. He’s not destroying the shelves, and I’m not in the mood to be head butted again.” I rubbed my noggin where Mack had gotten me a few minutes before. That was why he was on the floor. All because we wouldn’t get him the cereal with the unicorn on it. I was all for unicorns; had no problems with them. But we were trying to cut down on Mack’s sugar to see if it helped with his mood. So far, nada.

  “We can’t just leave him there,” Isaac said, looking over at me. We’d started drawing the attention of other shoppers, but until Mack was through screaming, he wasn’t going to give in. Unless… “Hey, I have an idea.” I went over to the shelf and picked up the box of Froot Loops that Mack desperately wanted. “Hey, buddy, here you go,” I said as I shook the box in front of our son.

  Immediately the kicking, thrashing, and screaming stopped. The tears were real because they were still running down Mack’s face, but he got up and reached for the box.

  “Horsie! Fank oo, Papa,” Mack said before he snatched the box of cereal that was almost as big as he was.

  “You’re welcome, bud. Now, you have to get in the cart, okay?”

  “’Kay,” Mack said as he held up his arms, cereal box still clutched in his grasp, and I was able to pick him up as if nothing had happened. Once Mack was buckled into the cart—something we’d failed to do before—I turned to find my husband glaring at me.

  “What?”

  “What? Really? What did that teach him exactly?” Isaac asked as we started walking down the aisle. We still had a few things to get before we could head home.

  “At his age, nothing. But you have to pick your battles, sweetheart. Besides, my plan is to get both boxes of cereal, toss the sugar-loaded one, and put the lower-sugar cereal in the box he wants.”

  Isaac stopped in the middle of the aisle and stared at me. “Why didn’t I think of that? Like, seriously. I could have used that idea two years ago when he threw fits.”

  I shrugged before I continued pushing the cart. “Not sure. Marie uses it all the time with her boys, so I thought I’d give it a try. Eventually it won’t work, but for now, I really want to get home. It’s been a long day.” I stopped the cart near the bread. I wanted something other than just regular bread, so I picked out some hoagie rolls and tossed them in the cart.

  “Jacob, those are going to be smooshed.”

  I looked at the rolls, back at Isaac, then shrugged and continued pushing the cart. We needed fruit and veggies, and then we’d be out of here. I wanted nothing more than to go home. My head hurt, my vest was getting to the point of uncomfortable, and I wanted my sweats.

  “Sheriff McCoy?” I turned at the sound of my deputy, Gavin Cruz, saying my name. What I didn’t expect to see was an adorable little girl and a very familiar young lady with him.

  “Gavin? Julia? What are you doing here?” I asked as the trio walked up to us. Julia was holding the little girl in her arms, and I knew my confusion was evident because Gavin gave a nervous laugh.

  “So this is Sofia, my daughter, and you obviously know Julia, my girlfriend. We’re just grabbing a few things for dinner tonight and tomorrow,” Gavin offered as explanation. That still didn’t explain why they were together.

  “Wait, does your file have Sofia on it?”

  “Umm, yeah, Dalton updated it for me when I got custody.”

  I glanced from Julia to Gavin, then over to Isaac before I rubbed my forehead. “Okay, we need to have a talk, soon. As in tomorrow because I don’t remember anything about that. Got it?”

  “I haven’t done anything wrong, sir. I updated the file immediately,” Gavin said defensively.

  “That’s not it. We need to discuss your shifts. Monday morning, my office, eight a.m. You’re not in trouble, but be there,” I said, doing my best to offer a smile to Julia and Sofia.

  “Yes, sir. I’ll be there,” Gavin said befor
e turning and walking the opposite direction. He was carrying a basket in one hand, and when he put his other on Julia’s back, I got the feeling they weren’t just casually dating.

  “Jacob?”

  I turned and offered my husband a smile before I pulled him into my arms. When I leaned down and put my forehead on his, I sighed. This was what kept me grounded. “Sweetheart?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Why does it seem like I’m the last one to know what’s going on with my deputies?”

  “I’m not sure. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen Gavin outside of the station. Honestly, I couldn’t even tell you where he lives.”

  “Dada! Go potty?” Isaac pulled away from me and reached for Mack. The fact that he let us know he needed to go potty was a step in the right direction. I just hoped he told us before he actually went and not after the fact.

  “Be right back. Get him some grapes, will you?”

  I nodded and waved at Isaac as he rushed to the front of the store where the bathrooms were located. Mack had been doing great with potty training, but he wasn’t quite three yet, so we weren’t pushing the issue. That and we’d been warned by the pediatrician that it was possible he’d start having tons of accidents once the baby arrived. It was common with older siblings.

  I picked up a bag of grapes, and after inspecting them, I put them in the cart. I added bananas, apples, clementines, tomatoes, bagged salad, cucumbers, and some potatoes into the cart by the time Isaac came back with Mack.

  “Did you make it?” I asked, hopeful he’d gotten there in time.

  “Yes. He really had to go too. Did you get onions?”

  “Not yet. I thought we had some?” I turned the cart around to head back toward the potatoes and onions.

  “We did, but the last few were a little squishy, so I threw them out,” Isaac said as he walked beside me. Once a bag of onions was found and with the rest of the groceries, we were on our way to the checkouts.

  “Did you happen to see if the lines were long?”

  “They didn’t appear to be,” Isaac replied as we walked to the registers. I found one with a short line and hopped in, waiting our turn.

  “Look, Mommy. He has a gun!” I heard a little kid say from behind us. Isaac and I both turned to glance behind us, and the mom appeared embarrassed for her son’s comment. I offered a smile, hoping to let her know it was okay. The little boy continued to talk about my uniform and all of its various parts as they walked off.

  “Did you want to grab something to eat on the way home? It’s already really close to Mack’s dinnertime.”

  “I’d love to. It’s still cold enough outside that the food will be fine in the back of your truck. But I’m good with fast food somewhere,” I told Isaac as I started loading the items onto the belt.

  “Well, you know Mack loves Wendy’s. And we’re going to drive right by one on the way home. Maybe then you’ll tell me what’s bothering you?”

  “Honestly, it’s nothing. I’m just tired. I did a ton of paperwork today, and my head still hurts from where Mack smacked it with his. I’ll be fine as soon as we get home and I can get out of this uniform and relax.”

  We watched as the cashier started ringing up our items. Once everything was bagged and paid for, we started the trek out to our vehicles. I pushed the cart while Isaac carried Mack.

  “You sure you’re okay with stopping for dinner?” Isaac asked as we approached the vehicles.

  “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be? Normally we’d be home, but I appreciate you meeting me over here. It was a great ending to my otherwise craptastic day,” I said as I started loading the groceries into the bed of Isaac’s truck. Isaac put Mack in his seat, and by the time I had everything secured, he was taking the cart back to the return.

  “So I’ll follow you,” I said as Isaac walked back up to me.

  “Sounds good,” he said, reaching for me. I eagerly leaned down and gave Isaac the kiss he was asking for. If I lingered a little longer than was probably what one would consider decent for public, oh well. I honestly didn’t care.

  When Isaac gave my gun belt a yank, I pulled away and smiled at him. “I won’t apologize.”

  “I wouldn’t want you to. I love that you kiss me anywhere.”

  “I’m not ashamed of us, sweetheart. You and Mack, you’re my family and I’m proud to be your husband. But get in the truck. I’ll be right behind you.” I gave his ass a quick pat, and he smiled over his shoulder at me as he climbed into his truck. I got in my squad SUV as Isaac was starting his truck, and within minutes, we were stopping at Wendy’s to treat our son to chicken nuggets and fries.

  In no time we were on our way home, and then Mack had an hour to run around with Ivan and Nanuck while we put away groceries and prepped the fruit for the next few days.

  “Why don’t you go upstairs and get out of your uniform and I’ll do this?” Isaac suggested as I tried to help with the groceries.

  “No, it’s not fair to leave you to do it all. You worked just as hard as I did today. Maybe harder,” I argued as I put the bananas in the fruit basket on the counter. I spotted the apples and was going after them when Isaac stopped me.

  “That’s not the point. You’re tired and you’re still in uniform. You’re even still in your vest. Go take it off. Besides, then I can feel your sexy body,” Isaac said as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

  “You sure? Because that’s a great incentive. Especially if you think my body is sexy.” I peered down at Isaac, and his eyes were so dark they seemed black. Oh yeah, I loved that look on my husband’s face.

  “Positive. Besides, this won’t take me long, and tomorrow is Saturday and we’re both off. Go get changed. I’ve got this,” Isaac told me before kissing my chin and then giving me a gentle push.

  I nodded before I turned and left the kitchen. I peeked in on Mack, who was throwing a rope bone for Ivan and Nanuck and then giggling when they both dove for it right in front of him. I watched for a few minutes while the dogs tugged on opposite ends of the rope as they brought it back to Mack and dropped it at his feet. He laughed again before picking it up and throwing it to watch the dogs chase after it.

  I was an incredibly lucky man, and I knew it. Not only was my husband perfect for me, he was an amazing father. He didn’t always see it, but Mack was lucky to have Isaac as his dada. How I got lucky enough to be papa, I’m not sure, but I was thankful every day.

  I gave Mack and the dogs one last glance before I headed for the stairs. By the time I reached our bedroom, my shirt was unbuttoned and it went into the dry-cleaning basket first. The vest and gun belt were next, and I sighed as I unstrapped my vest and removed it. I loved my job—it’s what I always wanted to do—but at times it wore on me both mentally and physically.

  After I secured my Glock in the biometric safe on top of my dresser, I decided to jump in the shower and wash the day away. Once naked, I climbed into the shower and moaned as the steaming water hit me. That was just what I needed to help relax me, but I knew I had to get out of the shower if I wanted to help Isaac with Mack. It wasn’t fair that I’d already taken longer than just changing.

  I quickly washed up and rinsed, then turned off the water and got out. I pulled my towel off the rack and dried myself before rehanging it and walking into the bedroom.

  “There you are,” Isaac said as I walked into the bedroom naked.

  “Here I am. Sorry, I felt a shower was needed.”

  “Don’t be. Mack is waiting for his good-night kiss from Papa,” Isaac told me as he walked to the closet. I scrambled to find a clock, hoping I hadn’t been in the shower longer than intended.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize…”

  “Jacob, stop. You weren’t in there but twenty minutes from the time you left the living room. Mack is simply worn-out. It’s been a long week, and Morgan wore him out today.”

  I sighed, relieved I hadn’t been longer than expected. I took the shirt Isaac was handing to me and quickly pulled it over
my head. I grabbed a pair of sweats from the drawer and pulled those on while Isaac walked out of the room. Once I had socks on my feet, I left the bedroom and made the short walk to our son’s room.

  It broke my heart a little when I walked in and he was already asleep. That wasn’t my intention, but I understood how he could and often went from awake to sound asleep in moments.

  “He was so tired, I decided to skip his bath tonight. I figured we could give him one tomorrow morning,” Isaac said from the doorway. I walked into the room and got down on my knees to run my fingers through Mack’s hair. We’d had it cut once already, but it would need trimmed again. I placed a gentle kiss on our son’s forehead before I straightened his blankets and then got up to join my husband.

  He was smiling at me from the doorway, and when I met him there, he took my hands and led me to our bedroom.

  “It’s too early to go to bed.”

  “Yes, but we’re not going to sleep. Take your shirt off and lie down,” Isaac told me. I gave him a questioning look before relenting and did as he instructed. He offered a small laugh before he yanked on the blankets, and I got the hint and helped fold them down.

  “I thought we weren’t going to bed?”

  “We aren’t. Roll over,” Isaac said as he leaned down and pulled off his boots. I once again did as I was told, and then I moaned in heaven as Isaac crawled on top of me and started massaging my back.

  “Oh…mmm…yes…heaven,” I mumbled into the pillow my face was squished into. I heard Isaac chuckle above me, but that was the last thing I remember because I passed out from exhaustion.

  Isaac — 2

  Something had to give. We didn’t even have a newborn yet, and already Jacob was exhausted. It had been almost two weeks since I’d gotten to touch Jacob’s dick. I knew he was trying to save any and all days off for after the baby arrived, but I was tired of taking a back seat because of it, and I was going to do something about it. I’d already given Morgan the day off, Mom and Dad had Mack and the dogs until tomorrow morning, and I had a plan. I glanced at Ty, who was chewing on a pencil at his desk.