“All finished,” I murmur as I set the bottle on the side table and help Eli burp. He’s six months old today and still has that sweet baby smell. He blinks rapidly, trying to stay awake. But with his full tummy and the long nights he’s been having, he drifts to sleep against my chest quickly.
I linger with him for a few minutes, finishing up the chapter of the alien book I’m reading. The heroine just found her happily ever after with her alien guy. My heart swells as I read the epilogue, thinking about the discussion I had a few years ago with the girls about being vulnerable in love. Opening myself up to love was the best thing I ever did.
When Eli is deep in sleep, I close the book and walk from the nursery through my semi-quiet house. There’s a soft hum of chatter coming from the kitchen and I follow it to find Zac loading the dishwasher.
He made the kids grilled cheese for lunch. They’re obsessed with his cooking lately. No matter what’s going on, he’s never too busy to stop and make them something to eat.
He looks up from the dishwasher when he hears me come in. His eyes crinkle at the corners. We’ve been married for six years and there are more lines on his face now, but he’s still just as handsome as ever.
“How’s he doing?” Zac asks.
I rub Eli’s back. “He doesn’t seem as fussy today.”
The circles under his eyes testify to his love for his son. Eli has been teething for the past week, and Zac has been up every night, walking the floors with him. I offered to trade off shifts, but he told me to go back to sleep.
He shuts the dishwasher and starts the load before turning off the parenting podcast that was playing on his phone. He probably listens to a dozen of those a week. He wakes me up every morning telling me how much he loves me and our kids. Those are the first words out of his mouth, even when we’ve spent the previous night arguing.
“Where are the other two?” I ask when he hands me a warm cup of my favorite decaf coffee. I take a sip, savoring it. He’s made it just the way I like it.
Zac can’t always be home with our family. It’s not practical to take three kids five and under on the road. But when he’s gone, he video calls the kids throughout the day and at night, he reads them a story over the phone.
When he’s home, he gives one hundred percent. Actually, I think he does more than me around the house. He does everything he can to make sure our lives are comfortable and easy. He’s an amazing father and an incredible partner. Sometimes, I still can’t believe that this is my life.
He gestures to the window over the kitchen sink. “On the front porch.”
“Let’s go see what trouble Missy has stirred up,” I tell him, and he chuckles. Our five-year-old is a force to be reckoned with. She’s all sass and has her father completely wrapped around her little finger.
Charlie also has his dad wrapped around his finger. He’s not quite as loud or sassy as Missy. He’s like Zac in a lot of ways, someone who always seems to be taking in the world around him. He loves to learn and spends his days asking questions. His favorite one is “What’s that?” while pointing to something on the farm.
Zac will chuckle and gently explain that he’s pointing to a cow and discuss the different types of animals that he and his brothers care for.
Outside on the porch, the late summer breeze smells of honeysuckle, and sunlight dapples through the branches of the big oak trees on our front lawn. I settle on the porch swing with Eli still sleeping soundly. Thanks to Missy’s constant antics, he could probably sleep through a hurricane at this point.
My big, burly husband settles next to me, his thigh pressed against mine. He wraps an arm around my shoulders, a soft hum of contentment going through both of us. It’s been six years, and things are different now. There’s a gentle contentment that comes with growing together and knowing each other’s hearts.
Missy and Charlie are both drawing with crayons on yellow sticky notes. She rushes up to him, excitement coloring her tone, “I wroted a song!”
Zac glances at the sheet which is only a scribble. “It’s beautiful! Can you sing it for me?”
She squeals with delight. She loves to be the center of attention. It wouldn’t surprise me if she follows in Zac’s footsteps and becomes a singer herself. She starts singing loudly then stops and snaps her mouth shut.
She marches across the porch and tugs on Charlie’s arm. He scowls at her but passes her the pink guitar. She got a new one for her birthday recently. It’s pink with rhinestones, and she squealed so loudly when she saw it.
She launches into her song, strumming her guitar while Charlie starts drumming on pots. The two of them are making a loud ruckus, and I can’t help snuggling deeper into Zac’s embrace. “We live an amazing life.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” he whispers as he presses a kiss to the top of my head.
I never expected to find love when I was out there chasing a story about a runaway cow. But I’m so grateful for the cowboy who wandered in front of my car. Together, we’ve built a strong marriage and a beautiful family. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us.
***
Thanks so much for reading Zac and Dotty’s bonus scene! If you want to read about the rest of the Maple Brothers, here are the couples and their books:
Book #1: Big Bossy Cowboy (Greer + Evie)
I just met the bossy cowboy and he demanded I marry him!
Book #2: Big Gruff Cowboy (Noah + Lizzy)
I literally fell into the arms of the gruffest cowboy in Courage County!
Book #3: Big Filthy Cowboy (Barrett + Sadie)
I accidentally told the hot cowboy that I’m in need of some good Os!
Book #4: Big Rowdy Cowboy (Zac + Dotty)
I hit the hot cowboy with my car…now he’s making me be his fake girlfriend!
The Maple Brothers have a little sister named Ginger who fell in love with a grumpy mountain man. You can read her story in Kidnapped by the Mountain Man!
