Page 102 of A Cowboy's Trust
Tansy muttered something softly before nestling back into his body. She tucked his hand against her belly and let out a contented sigh.
Sydney wiggled her fingers in farewell then closed the door behind her.
Jake was asleep before the door clicked shut.
Waking up with Tansy alive and laughing softly, her torso wiggling against him, was a sweet heaven.
“Did I miss something funny?” Jake asked quietly.
“No.” Tansy patted his hand. “Just thinking how nice it was to be here and then realizing this is a terrible place to be happy about. I’m happy to be alive but not thrilled to be in a hospital.”
“Situation normal then, all fucked up?”
“Pretty much,” she agreed.
It wasn’t until they were home that Jake felt he could take a full, easy breath.
Tansy seemed the same. They paused on the porch, and she met his gaze straight on, leaning on her crutches. “I love you.”
“Convenient, since I love you too.”
Which meant she was laughing as they stepped into the house.
A second later, Jeffrey leapt on Tansy like a feral kitten, clinging tightly as tears poured out of him.
Tansy patted his back, a slightly watery look in her own eyes as she smiled at Jake. She teetered slightly, but somehow kept her balance, one crutch held as an anchor.
“He was fine a minute ago,” Jinx insisted, joining them at the door. “We were playing a game, and he was okay.”
“He’s okay now, too,” Tansy assured her. Jake wrapped his arms around Jeffrey and Tansy, and the three of them swayed gently in the front foyer.
“I’m glad you’re safe, Tansy,” Jinx offered.
“Thanks. It’s good to be home.”
“Thanks for all you did to help,” Jake told Jinx. “It made a difference.”
The girl’s chin rose. “Good.” She dipped her chin and made eye contact with Jeffrey. “Hey, buddy. Come give Auntie Jinx a hug so Tansy can get off her feet. You can cuddle with her once she’s sitting down.”
Jeffrey unlatched himself from Tansy before clutching tightly to Jinx. “Tansy?”
“Yes, Jeffster?” Tansy asked politely.
“I live here now.” The words came out as a whisper, but most definitely a statement, not a question.
“You live here now,” Tansy affirmed, smiling at him and bopping him on the nose with a finger. “That okay with you?”
His chin dipped up and down like a bobblehead on a bumpy road. “Yup.”
Jake wrapped an arm around Tansy’s shoulder and hugged her briefly. “Come on. Time to make some plans with the family.”
She grinned at him. “Breaking out the notebook, are you?”
“You’ll see.”
He kept quiet, his heart in his throat as every member of the family came and greeted Tansy with a hug or a kiss or some kind of outpouring of love. Tansy fussed over Declan’s head bandage. Petra squeezed Tansy so tightly he thought they’d be stuck together like abest friends foreverstatue.
Even Logan made his way over and offered Tansy his hand. “Glad you’re only partly broken.”
