Do Not Disturb mode. That’s what normal people did. They set their phones on do not disturb or charged those things in another room. Stupid me, I had to have the blasted thing right next to my frickin’ head. It sounded like a horde of angry bees as it vibrated against the wooden end table. Performing a stretch, reach, grab that would make Olympic gymnasts proud, I clasped the phone and dragged it under the covers.
Wes had half of my body pinned, as was his way after a night terror. It was as if he used his entire body as a shield. Pushing him, attempting to move subtly, only made him cling tighter. I learned that the hard way. And since I wanted to be in that same bed with my man, I dealt with the weight and the heat and plain got used to it. I’d take his weight locking me down over him being left for dead in a third world country any day.
“Hullo,” I mumbled into the phone.
“Mia, sugar, he’s here!” Max’s ecstatic voice roared through the line. “He’s so big. A brute, my boy! Check your phone, darlin’. I sent you a picture.”
I laughed and blinked a few times pushing the phone out, going to the text messages and opening the first of twelve messages from Max.
The weight pushing me into the mattress changed. Wes leaned back, pulled the covers off my hidey-hole, and burrowed his face into my neck so he could see. The scruff that had grown overnight grated along my neck pleasurably. I hummed as I scanned each picture. The newest more beautiful than the last.
“That Max?” Wes asked, his voice a low rumble.
My throat was clogged up, filled to the brim with emotion as I stared at baby Jackson. Only it wasn’t the cherub mini-giant that caught my attention. Well, first it did. However, one of the images showed a picture of him swaddled, lying in his clear plastic hospital bassinet. There was a card over his head that had “BOY” in big letters. That wasn’t what had tears trailing silently down my cheeks. No, it was the name.
Maxwell and Cyndi had given me and Maddy a gift today. One that I knew would connect us for life. Above the most adorable baby’s head was his name. In neat, perfect script the card clearly said:
First Name: Jackson
Middle Name: Saunders
Last Name: Cunningham
Weight: 10lbs, 7 oz.
Length: 22.5 inches
“Max…” I said his name, but I think it came out as a garbled cough.
Wes traced the name on the screen and kissed my cheek. “Good guy,” he whispered to me as I stared at my namesake.
“The best,” I croaked to Wes and then brought the phone to my ear.
“Did you see it? Did you see your surprise?” Max asked with more pride and love than I could handle. My heart was filled to bursting.
I licked my lips and wiped my runny nose on the sheet. Good thing Ms. Croft changed them regularly. Though she probably did that because she knew how much sex we were having in them.
“Max I don’t know what to say…” And I didn’t. No person had ever given me such a gift.
“Aw, Sis, you don’t have to say anything aside from that he’s perfect.”
I stared at Jackson’s little face, the blond tuffs a halo around the crown of his head. “Oh, he is. So perfect. And his name…thank you.”
Max breathed heavy into the phone. “Mia, having you and Maddy in our lives now, I can’t tell you what it means to me. I was so lost after my dad…” His voice deepened. “To find you’re my sister, and Maddy. Shoot, sugar, this is just one way Cyndi and I can show you that we’re in it for life. You hear me? For life. You women are my sisters and Saunders is a part of you. I want there to be nothing between us. This is my way of saying nothing ever will be again.”
“I love you, Max. You really are the best big brother. And Jackson Saunders Cunningham is an impeccable name. Strong, handsome, just like his dad. I can’t wait to see him.”
Max chuckled. “Fancy you mention that. Cyndi and I figured all of you could maybe come out to the ranch for Thanksgiving. If, uh, you’re not workin’?”
Thanksgiving. The holidays. Things I’d never worried about until right then. We were closing in on the holidays. What would the show demand? If they kept me on for November, which was a big if, I could still bust ass and do a segment in a few days so I could head to Texas for the holiday.
A real family Thanksgiving. Then again, Wes might want us to be with his family. Shit, I didn’t know. These were things one usually worked out with their mate.
“Um, it sounds fun, but no promises, okay? I need to hash it out with Wes and see what happens with the show. Is it, uh, okay if I say I need a little time to figure out where we’ll be?”
Max laughed. Not one of those simpering little chick laughs, but a full-bellied laugh that rumbled through the phone and straight into my chest. “Of course, sugar. You need to work it out with your fella and Maddy. I imagine she’ll have to figure it out with Matt’s family. They’re good people. Maybe I’ll see about inviting them all out.”
“Easy, killer. You all just had a baby. Cyndi might not want a house full of people just over a month after having a child.” I thought that was important to mention. Not that I knew what all was involved with a new baby, but all the TV shows and movies I’d watched made it seem like the first few months were exhausting.