Lexi was starting to show, so they couldn’t wait any longer to tell Caden the news.

  Tonight was the night.

  When he saw the headlights sweep over the yard, Max decided to stop being nervous and focus on the joy. He was so happy to see them both after a long day apart.

  Caden burst into the house, and Daisy ran to him, jumping into his arms to lick his face the way she did every night when they got home. Soon, she’d be too big for him to hold. He loved the way she made Caden laugh with everything she did. “Easy, girl. Give a man a chance to get in the door, will ya?”

  Lexi came in after him, carrying Caden’s backpack and the bag she took to work at the store. Her face was flushed from the cold and fuller now due to the pregnancy. She had never been more beautiful to him than she was carrying their child.

  Max hugged her and gave her a quick kiss as he relieved her of the bags. They were careful not to overdo the PDA in front of Caden. “Hi.”

  “Hi there.”

  He loved the way she smiled at him, the way she looked at him, the way she loved him. Being back with her again had made his already satisfying life complete in so many ways, it would take hours to list them all.

  “Are you guys hungry?” Max asked.

  “Starving,” Caden said, as he did every night.

  “Feed Daisy, and then you can eat.”

  Max was trying to get Caden in the habit of feeding Daisy twice a day, and so far, he was doing well, but sometimes he had to be reminded.

  While Daisy chowed down on puppy food, Max served up the stew he and Lexi had made. They’d discovered cooking was another thing they enjoyed doing together. In fact, he enjoyed doing everything with her and couldn’t wait until they lived together full time.

  She was at their house most nights for dinner and often helped Caden with his math homework, which was a relief to Max. She’d helped him with his math homework back in the day, too. He still sucked at it as badly as he had then.

  They had slowly started to feel like a real family, and he gave her credit for not forcing herself on Caden, but rather allowing their relationship to grow organically.

  As they enjoyed the stew and salad, Max glanced at Lexi.

  She gave him a hesitant smile that lit up her eyes, letting him know she, too, was feeling all the things about what they needed to tell Caden.

  Max cleared his throat and took a sip of the beer he’d opened. “So, um, Caden… Lexi and I wanted to talk to you about something.”

  “Are you getting married?”

  “Uh, well…” Max glanced at Lexi for help.

  “Hopefully, we will eventually,” she said, “but that’s not what we wanted to tell you tonight.”

  Caden’s questioning gaze darted between them.

  “We got you this,” Max said, handing Caden the gift bag they’d put together the night before after he was asleep.

  “It’s not my birthday or Christmas,” he said suspiciously.

  “Open it,” Max said, reaching for Lexi’s hand under the table.

  Caden pulled the tissue paper out of the bag and then the T-shirt they’d bought him that said Big Brother and the year the baby was due. His mouth fell open. “You’re having a baby?”

  “Yeah, buddy, we are, and we’re so excited to make you a big brother, because you’ll be the best one ever.”

  “A baby,” Caden said as tears filled his eyes. “I’m going to be a big brother.”

  “That’s right. Are you excited?”

  “Yeah. Of course I am. Is it a boy or a girl?”

  “We don’t know,” Lexi said. “We’ve decided to let it be a surprise.”

  “What do you hope for?” Max asked him. “A baby brother or sister?”

  “I’m fine with either,” Caden said as he put on the shirt. “Can I wear it to school tomorrow?”

  “Sure,” Max said, pleased with how happy his son seemed about the news.

  Lexi gave his hand a squeeze and smiled at him.

  “So why aren’t you guys getting married? You’re having a baby, Lexi is here all the time anyway, and she helps me with math.”

  Max glanced at her. They hadn’t talked much about that as they prepared for the baby and faced the hurdle of breaking the baby news to Caden. “I don’t know why we aren’t getting married yet. We haven’t really gotten there.”

  “Well, you should,” Caden said, folding his arms. “Why don’t you ask her, Dad?”

  “Like, um, now?”

  Caden gave him a challenging look. “Now would be good.”

  “It’s okay,” Lexi said with a nervous giggle. “You don’t have to, Max.”

  “Yes, he does. You’re having a baby. He loves you. I love you. You should get married.”

  Lexi stared at Caden. “You… you love me?”

  Caden shrugged. “Don’t make a big deal out of it.”

  “It’s a very big deal,” Lexi said tearfully as she leaned in to hug and kiss Caden, who tolerated her affection admirably. “And guess what?”

  “What?”

  “I love you, too.”

  Caden grinned at her.

  “Hang on just a second,” Max said as he got up and left the room.

  * * *

  “Where’d he go?” Caden asked Lexi. “Things were just getting interesting.”

  Lexi laughed as her heart pounded with excitement and anticipation. Was this really happening?

  “When will the baby come?” Caden asked her.

  “In the fall.”

  “That’s a long time from now.”

  “We’ve got a lot to do before then. It’ll be here before we know it.”

  Max returned to the room, looking as undone as she felt. He moved his chair out of the way and then dropped to his knees before her. “Cade, come here, will you?” Max held out a hand to his son.

  When Caden stood next to his dad, Max put an arm around him and then looked up at Lexi with his heart in his eyes. “My son and I were doing fine for years, but since you came back into my life and into his, we’ve discovered there’s a lot of ways to improve on ‘fine.’ You bring the light and the laughter and the love. So much love.” Max seemed to falter for a second before he found his composure again. “In all the years we were apart, I was looking for you, for what I have with you, and it took seeing you again to realize there’s only one you, and no one else will ever do. Will you marry me?”

  “And me?” Caden added, making them laugh through tears.

  “Yes,” Lexi said, reaching for them. “I’ll marry you both.”

  They hugged for the longest time as tears spilled down her cheeks. This was really happening. She was going to marry Max Abbott—and his beautiful son. Dreams did come true. She was living proof of that.

  “I forgot the best part,” Max said, pulling back to reach for her left hand.

  Lexi held her breath as he slid a diamond solitaire onto her ring finger. “It was my grandmother’s engagement ring. Gramps gave it to me to give to you when the time was right.”

  “Oh, Max, it’s beautiful! I’ll treasure it always because it was hers.”

  “Why do girls cry when they’re happy?” Caden asked, making them laugh.

  Max used a napkin to wipe away her tears and then kissed her.

  “We cry when we’re happy because our hearts are so full, they overflow with tears,” Lexi said.

  “That’s weird. Can I go watch TV?”

  “After you clear the table.”

  Caden made fast work of clearing the table, while Max and Lexi lingered, still in happy shock over how this evening had unfolded.

  “So,” Max said to her after Caden had left the room, “that happened.”

  Lexi held up her hand for another look at the gorgeous ring. “It sure did.”

  “Are you happy, love?”

  “You really have to ask? I’ve never been so happy. Not only do I get you, but I get your wonderful, adorable son and a new baby to love and your big family and this town I love so much. I spent a decade in and out of the hospital dreaming of the life I have now. Yes, Max, I’m happy. Are you?”

  “God, yes. I never knew this kind of happy was possible. It’s even better than it was the first time around.”

  “Because we know now how precious it is.”

  “Yes, we do. When do you want to get married?”

  “Can we wait until after the baby so I’m not pregnant in the pictures?”

  He gave her hand a gentle tug, brought her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. “Whatever you want, sweetheart.”

  “I have everything I’ve ever wanted—and then some.”

  “Me, too,” Max said, kissing her. “Me, too.”

  * * *

  Later that night, Max tucked Caden into bed. “Thanks for your support earlier. It meant a lot to me and Lexi.”

  “You wouldn’t be engaged if it wasn’t for me,” Caden said with a grin.

  “That’s true. Thanks for giving me the push.”

  Caden shrugged. “It’s what you wanted. I just helped you get it.”

  “You know that if you weren’t happy about Lexi and the baby, I couldn’t be either.”

  “I know. Grammy told me that you couldn’t be happy unless I was.”

  Max tipped his head as he gazed at Caden. “She said that?”

  “Uh-huh. She said you really loved Lexi and that it was important to you that I do, too, or you wouldn’t be happy. I want you to be happy.”

  “Grammy is very wise.”

  “She’s the best grammy.”

  “She sure is.” Max bent to kiss his forehead. “Get some sleep, pal. I love you.”

  “Hey, Dad?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Will you love the baby more than you love me?”

  Max shook his head. “I’ll love the baby differently than I love you. You and me… We’ll always be special friends because of the seven years we were a team. Nothing and no one could ever change the bond we have. You know that, right?”

  He nodded.

  “I’ll love the baby so, so much, but you and me…” Max held up his hand for a fist bump. “Best friends forever.”

  Caden smiled and returned the fist bump. “Best friends forever.”

  “Night, buddy. Sleep tight.”

  “Night, Dad.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  “To love abundantly is to live abundantly, and to love forever is to live forever.”

  —Henry Drummond

  Max joined Lexi in the living room, where she was curled up on the sofa under a blanket, e-reader in hand. He sat next to her and reached for her free hand, linking their fingers. “We need to call the parents and tell them our news.”

  “You go first,” she said, handing him the phone from the end table.

  Max took the phone and dialed the number at the barn.

  “Hi, honey,” his mom said. “How was the stew?” She’d shared her recipe with them.

  “Excellent.”

  “Good.”

  “So, we told Caden about the baby over dinner.”

  “How’d that go?”

  “Really well. He’s excited, doesn’t care if it’s a boy or a girl, and the fall is too long to wait.”

  “That’s great,” Molly said with a chuckle. “He’ll be the best big brother ever. He has so much experience with his younger cousins.”

  “Yes, he will. He wanted to know when we were getting married.”

  “What’d you tell him?”

  “That we hadn’t really got there yet, and he said why not, and one thing led to another, and now Lex and I are engaged.”

  “Oh, Max,” Molly said on a long exhale. “That’s wonderful news! He and Lexi are engaged! Dad and Gramps are thrilled, too. Congratulations, Max. We couldn’t be happier for you guys—and for us.”

  “I heard you might’ve helped things along for us.”

  “How so?”

  “You talked to Caden about me and Lexi?”

  Lexi gave him a questioning look.

  “We talked ages ago, the day you guys got home from Texas.”

  “I think that made a very big difference for us, Mom, so thanks for doing that.”

  “All I wanted was for you to have a real chance with Lexi, because I knew she was the one you wanted. I was sensing some pushback from Caden, so I thought it might help if he and I talked about it.”

  “It helped a lot.” Max had another thought all of a sudden. “The day we got back from Texas… That was why he stayed with Lexi while I went to return the truck. Because you’d talked to him.”

  Lexi placed a hand on her heart, letting him know what she thought of what his mother had done to help them.

  “Yes, I suppose that might’ve been why.”

  “I get it now, and I’m very thankful for that and ten million other things since the day I was born and especially since the day he was born. I never would’ve survived single parenthood without you and Dad and the rest of the family.”

  “Every one of those days has been a joy to me and us, Max. Every one of them.”

  “Well, thanks. For everything.”

  “You got it. When can I look forward to a wedding?”

  “Probably later next fall, after the baby. Lexi doesn’t want to be pregnant in the wedding pictures.”

  “Can’t say I blame her. Tell her we said congratulations.”

  “Thank you, Molly,” Lexi said.

  “Love you, Lex. Thanks for making my boys so happy.”

  “It’s my pleasure.”

  “We’re going to call her parents now.”

  “They’ll be over the moon.”

  “See you tomorrow.”

  “See you then, son. Love you all.”

  “Love you, too.”

  * * *

  Molly put down the phone and did a happy dance across the family room where her husband and father were trying to watch Jeopardy! Who cared about the Daily Double when Max Abbott was engaged?

  “This right here is what victory looks like, boys! Ten kids, married, engaged or happily cohabitating.”

  “And you were responsible for exactly one of them,” Linc said.

  “Is that what you think?” Molly asked, brow raised.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Do you honestly think you two were the ones making all this happen?”

  “We were,” Elmer said indignantly.

  “No, you were not.”

  “I brought Cameron here to build the website, and she met Will,” Linc said.

  “Six months before she came, I talked to Patrick about how we should get her and Will together. We came up with the idea of her coming up to pitch a website to you.”

  “You did not!” Linc said.

  “Did so! And I told Patrick that he ought to meet our Mary Larkin when he came for the wedding, and we all know how that worked out. Not to mention me suggesting Colton and Lucy come to dinner with us after the website presentation because I saw a spark of something when they met in the conference room that day.”

  “Well, I sure as hell know that you didn’t buy the diner to keep Megan in town,” Elmer said.

  “No, but I told Brett about the job in France to clear the way for Megan to take over the diner and suggested that she ask Hunter for help with the accounting.”

  “You’re diabolical,” Elmer said.

  “You have no idea,” Molly said with a smug grin.

  “What about Lucas and Dani?” Linc asked. “That happened because I brought Amanda here, and that caused a rift with him and Landon.”

  “The night Lucas met Dani, he called and asked me to vouch for him with her. I gave him such a glowing review that she couldn’t help but fall in love with him.”

  “Did you also push Charley off a mountain so that Tyler would have to come to her rescue?”

  “Nope, but when Vivienne Westbrook called me in England to tell me what’d happened and that Tyler had stepped up for Charley, I extended our trip by four days to give them more time together.”

  Linc’s mouth opened in shock. “You… You were so mad when you got home and found out what the kids had kept from you!”

  “I was thrilled. I thought Tyler was the perfect man for our Charley for years before they got together. Vivienne and I had talked many times about how we might get them together.”

  “Can you believe this?” Linc asked Elmer.

  Elmer eyed his daughter with amusement and pride. “She’s her mother’s daughter.”

  “What does that mean?” Linc asked.

  “Why do you think I didn’t kill you that first week you came home to Butler holding my Molly’s hand like you had some right to? Because my Sarah knew true love when she saw it and told me in no uncertain terms to butt out and leave you two kids alone.”

  “Aw, I never knew that,” Molly said, smiling at the memory of her sweet mother. “She was the best.”

  “She sure was,” Elmer said.

  “What about Gavin and Ella?” Linc asked. “And Hannah and Nolan? I messed with Hannah’s car myself, so I know you didn’t do that.”

  “I’ll give you that one, but I was the one who told Nolan to keep asking everyone about her so it would get back to her that he was checking on her all the time. I told him I felt like that was having an impact on her and eventually it would matter when he finally got around to asking her out.”

  “This is unbelievable,” Linc said.

  “You boys were so cute thinking you were the ones making it all happen, when the great and powerful Oz was working ten steps ahead of you,” Molly said with another happy dance that had her hips swinging and her arms over her head. “As for Ella and Gavin, Amelia and I had been working on that one for years. Gavin wasn’t ready yet, but once he was, well, let’s just say Amelia and I made sure things worked out for them.”

  Linc sat back in his recliner, clearly stunned.