Which was true, yet Jaxi made a mental note to ask a couple of the quieter Coleman ladies to keep an eye on Julia when she arrived. It didn’t matter how brave somebody was, getting tossed into a gathering of strangers you wanted to impress was never going to be a walk in the park.
Jaxi’s oldest sister-in-law, Beth, could calm a raging storm. Partly it was her teacher training, and partly the woman just oozed Zen-like vibes. Jaxi appreciated her for many reasons but was especially grateful one of their more immediate family members had no problem being the peacefulness to counter Jaxi’s admittedly high-energy leanings.
She caught herself smiling. Her sister-in-law Ashley, who lived next door, was possibly an equal match in enthusiasm and energy. Jaxi had never imagined back when Travis had first brought his partners home that his wife would be so much fun to be around.
Ashley was the master of everything crafty, with an artistic flair that left Jaxi in awe. Most recently, the other woman had designed a snugly cloth to swaddle her babies that could be done up with one hand—a miracle in any mother’s books. Add in that the blankets were sinfully soft and made of the brightest, happiest fabric their sister-in-law Hope could bring into her quilting store, and everyone in the community wanted one.
Sitting in the cozy living room, Jaxi gazed around at the comfortable home she’d made with Blake. The signs of children were everywhere, and while the furniture might be a little worn, it was still bright and pretty.
“It’s a wonderful place,” Marion said firmly.
Jaxi glanced up, amused. “Can you read my face that clearly?”
“Probably because I’ve seen that expression on my own face so many times,” Marion returned. “We’ve had things good overall, haven’t we?”
“Better than good. Pretty much everything I’ve ever hoped for.” Jaxi played with the cup in her hands. It was true, but there’d been one thing twisting inside her over the last while that she’d been wondering about, hard.
After Justin had been born, she’d told Blake they were done having babies. It wasn’t until Ashley’s most recent had arrived in September that something had changed. Holding their newest nephew had woken up a part of Jaxi that she’d thought was ready to be done.
But that was a conversation to put aside until at least after the party this weekend.
It wasn’t until the afternoon that the gathering officially started. The family met in the front yard of Blake and Jaxi’s then broke into two. The men scooped up the older kids and hauled them across the coulee to Ashley, Travis, and Cassidy’s place.
Blake came and gave Jaxi a final hug, a trio of little blond girls and one four-year-old boy bouncing around his legs like jumping beans. He leaned in. “Have fun making mischief.”
Jaxi pressed a hand to her chest. “Us? A choir of angels couldn’t be more innocent.”
Becca tugged on Jaxi’s leg. “We’re going tobogganing. Uncle Jesse said he once slid down the hill in the coulee and…”
“…went right over the river and up the other side,” Rae finished.
Jaxi’s gaze snapped to Blake’s face. “Uncle Jesse sometimes has a problem remembering the rules.”
“We’re going to the other tobogganing hill,” Blake informed the girls firmly before offering Jaxi a quick wink. “The one that Uncle Jesse doesn’t know how to slide down nearly as well as you guys. You’ll probably have to teach him.”
“Uncle Jesse is silly,” Lana pronounced with the wisdom of a six-year-old. “We’ll teach him the right way.”
“Wight way,” PJ agreed.
“You do that,” Jaxi encouraged.
Happiness bubbled in her chest as Blake gave her another quick kiss. “I promise they’ll return with all body parts intact.”
“You as well. I like all your body parts,” she said with an utterly straight face. “Ohh.” She slapped a hand over the spot on her butt where he’d pinched her.
Then she hurried over to greet Ashley and take the car seat from her. “Ready to share your babies?”
Ashley grinned, twisting to the side to display one-year-old River peeking over the side of the backpack. He blinked huge dark eyes as he clutched strands of Ashley’s hair as if they were reins on a pony. “Anyone who can get this kid to let go of me for more than thirty seconds is welcome to try.”
Blonde-haired Daisy toddled over to Jaxi, her riotous curls poking out from underneath her knitted toque.
“Auntie J., up,” she ordered, arms held out demandingly. With three adults in her house willing to offer hugs at the drop of a hat, the little sweetie was a wee bit of a tyrant.
Jaxi got the two-year-old balanced on her hip, then, between her and Ashley, carried the car seat about five feet before Trevor and Becky from the Moonshine clan showed up.
“I’ve got him,” Trevor insisted, pulling the car seat away and peeking inside. “Hey, dude. You want to come hang out with the big boys?”
“Sure, Trev. Just remember Forest will need to be burped and probably changed. After you nurse him, that is,” Ashley teased.
Trevor made a face. “Too bad, little guy. Tell you what. This time you keep an eye on your mom and your cousin-to-be.”
He stood, carrying the car seat in one hand and wrapping the other arm around Becky to stabilize her. “Come on, Rodeo. Let’s get you inside where it’s warm.”
Becky’s smile was patient. “I’m plenty warm, Trevor. I have this internal heat system helping.” She glanced at Jaxi. “I don’t know how anybody stands being pregnant in the summertime.”
Then they were in the house and coats were being pulled off. Trevor actually got Forest out of his car seat and was cradling the three-month-old with a far more experienced air than Jaxi had expected.
He grinned when he caught her staring. “With my little brother and his wife having two kids rapid-fire style, the entire Moonshine clan has gotten a lot of practice lately holding babies.”
Everyone moved into the living space, and once the dust settled, Becky cradled Forest, staring down at his dark hair with a secretive smile on her lips. Ashley still held River, and everywhere else, Jaxi’s sisters-in-law and the women of the other Coleman clans were settling into chairs and beginning to catch up.
The Whiskey Creek Coleman girls entered the house to loud hellos. The newest member of the family, Julia, stood beside them, her cheerful grin shining out.
Lisa gestured toward their group. “I’m pleased to present the now complete Whiskeyteer four-pack. Everybody, this is Julia. Julia”—Lisa swung her hand as if she were a game show host—“this is everybody.”
Julia wiggled her fingers. “I don’t see any name tags.”
“Just call us Ms. Coleman, and you’ll be mostly right,” Marion said dryly as laughter bloomed again.
The next hour passed in sweet pleasure as everyone visited for a while then rotated and moved to a new group of family. Babies were passed around with joy and love.
Rachel from the Moonshine clan sank back on the couch with a contented sigh as she breast-fed two-month-old Ava and watched her one-year-old, Liam, take toddling steps toward Lisa. “There’s something in the water, isn’t there?”