"You good, little man?" I chuckled as I rubbed his head briskly with a towel.

Seth's hand reached up, tugging off the towel, his little face beaming up at me. "Yeah, Daddy. Good."

"All ready for our day?"

"I hafta get dressed," he informed me seriously.

I laughed as I dragged a comb through his hair. "Yeah, bud. That's a good idea." I lifted his leg, shaking it a little. "Your leg okay? Did Daddy give it a good rub?"

Ever honest, my son looked up at me. "Not as good as Mommy, but you did your best, Daddy."

Lifting him off the counter, I dropped a kiss on his damp head. "Everything is better when Mommy does it, yeah?"

He nodded, looking down at his little fingers. "I love Mommy," he whispered. "She my angel."

I swallowed the lump in my throat and smiled at him. "She's mine too, bud. We're lucky to have her."

"I love you too, Daddy," he assured me. "And Kayleigh."

"I know. I love you right back. So does your sister— at least when you're not breaking her toys or stealing her cookies."

He giggled; the sound making me grin.

"I like cookies."

"Just like your mother." I set him on his feet. "Go get dressed and we'll start our day. Gramps is gonna meet us at the bar."

"Can I ride da bull?"

"Yep."

"Yay!" Turning, he scurried down the hall, his bad leg hardly slowing him up anymore. Bella had worked tirelessly on his limb and every day I helped him with his exercises. But he was right; no matter how much I practiced, my rubdowns were nowhere near as good as Bella's. She was amazing at it and we both preferred when she did it. My favorite rubdowns were the ones I got after the kids were in bed—they often led to a rubdown of a totally different sort—for both of us. Like the one I had last night.

Grinning, I made my way to the kitchen to get some healthy snacks for him, already missing Bella. Which was crazy—she'd only been gone a couple hours. She and Kayleigh were having a girls' day with Alice including a spa, afternoon tea and shopping at the big outlet mall down the highway. Seth and I were spending the day together. We'd go to the bar for a while so he could hang with his buds Jacob and Jasper, then when his favorite man in the whole world—aside from me—appeared we had a day of fun planned. All Seth's favorites:pizza, an afternoon movie, the park, ice cream and Charlie's tacos for supper. And of course, the promised bull ride with— no doubt—a challenge to Grandpa Charlie to see who could ride Bessie the longest. A challenge Charlie always lost, much to Seth's delight.

Rushed little thumps made me aware my son was ready. I waited to see what he'd chosen to wear today—he was in a stubborn faze where he refused our help to pick out his clothes and some of the combinations he appeared in were downright hilarious. Today was no different. Plaid pants, mismatched socks and a Superman shirt and cape were his ensemble of choice. My lips quirked, but I held my laughter in; grateful he hadn't come down in shorts since it was rather chilly out. I only hoped he remembered underwear. He stood in the doorway, his hands on his hips, striking his superhero pose, a stubborn set to his mouth as he waited for me to object.

"Good job, bud. Your colors match."

He looked down as if surprised, then grinned. "Take a picture and send to Mommy?"

"Sure." I slipped my phone from my pocket and snapped a picture, sending it off to Bella. She'd get a kick out of it, while Alice would roll her eyes mumbling something about buying him new clothes. and Kayleigh, our own little fashionista, thanks to Alice, would giggle, hiding the sound behind her chubby little hands.

Bella's response was fast.

Perfect outfit for his big day. Love you both. See you tonight!

"Mommy says good job, too."

His smile was wide. He liked it when Mommy praised him.

I held up his backpack, filled with all the necessary things for the day. Toys, crayons, books, snacks and water, as well as the clean shirt I knew Bella had tucked in. "You ready to go?"

"Ready!"

"All right, little man. Let's do this."

**BR**

I chuckled as I came down the hall, listening to my son's laughter. The bar was covered in half-colored pictures and the crumbs from a granola bar Seth had munched on in between arm wrestling with Jacob and practices on Bessie, with Jasper giving him pointers. The bar was now closed on Sunday and Monday, and we had the place to ourselves and no one was worried about disturbing customers.

"Faster, Jasper!" he commanded! "Faster!"

Jasper obliged, turning it up. The bull was barely moving, but Seth loved it. He was holding his little cowboy hat; the chaps Jasper had given him, now added to his unique outfit. "Yeehaw!" he crowed in delight. His face lit up when he saw me. "Daddy—come on with me!"

He loved it when I rode with him—he got to go faster, although it was still pretty slow. I had no desire for him to know just how fast it could go.

With a grin, I scooped up my own hat and swung myself up behind him, holding him tight. "Not past three, Jazz."

He nodded, knowing my rules. I'd never risk Seth falling off or being hurt. As it was, when he was coming for a visit to ride Bessie we added extra mats. With me holding him we could go faster, but I was still cautious.

Bessie started up, Seth's laughter ringing out, growing louder as Jazz turned it up to the fastest I allowed with him on it. He whooped and giggled, making us all smile.

The door opened and Charlie's voice boomed out the room. "Where is my favorite cowboy?"

"Here Gramps! Here!" Seth replied with exuberance.

And so the fun began.

**BR**

Jake laughed as he watched the Bessie showdown. Charlie had fallen off three times—Seth none, and currently he was on Jasper's shoulders being crowned the King Rider for the day. Charlie flung himself beside me, chuckling as he reached for the dark ale I had poured him.

"He's getting so big."

"I know. He's growing like a weed. Bella had to buy him new shoes again last week."

"When are Carlisle and Esme arriving?"

"Thursday."

"How long this time?"

I snickered as I leaned back in my chair, sipping my coffee. "Dad says two weeks, Mom says until she finds a place."

"They're really doing this?"

I nodded. "They insist they aren't going to miss the kids' entire childhood. Dad's semi-retired, he's got the right people in place for the clinic and the farm and Mom wants to be here more. Bella has a bunch of places to show them close by and they'll divide their time between here and Alberta. I suspect Dad will fly home more. Mom's already got herself pretty set here." I smirked, thinking of the women she'd met, the clubs she was already part of and the way she helped out at the clinic when she was here. My dad had taken to coming here when they were in town, and working behind the bar—he was a hit with the pretty girls and my mom teased him mercilessly. We loved having them here, and Bella was thrilled at the idea of them being around even more.

"How do you feel about that?"

"I love it. Having them close makes me happy. I want the kids to know them—to have the sort of relationship you have with them. They miss them so much when they leave." I exchanged a sad smile with Charlie. "And Bella loves having Mom around."

Her mother had visited only once, keeping her time short. Her lack of maternal instinct was obvious, and Bella seemed grateful when she left. She wasn't really interested in the kids, me, or Bella. The bar seemed to fascinate her more, and I was happy to drive her back to the airport, more grateful than ever for my own mother's presence in Bella's life.

He took a sip of his beer, brushing the foam off his moustache thoughtfully. "Your mom is everything Renee isn't. She's good for Bella. She's good to her."

"She loves her. So does my dad." I snorted. "Everyone loves Bella. How can you not?"

"Especially her husband," Charlie stated firmly. "A fact I'm more grateful for than I can say."

I studied my father-in-law, a man I greatly admired, someone I considered not only family, but a friend. "I love her more than anything, Charlie. She's my entire world."

"I know." He clapped me on my shoulder. "I know, Son."

Wanting to lighten the suddenly serious tone the conversation had taken, I smirked at him. "You trying to bribe me or something, Charlie? Why are you being so nice?"

He winked at me, smirking right back. "I saw the cases of dark ale in the store room. Hoping you'd part company with a few of them, Cowboy."

I threw back my head, laughing. "I got them in for you old man, so I guess I will."

"That's why you're my favorite son-in-law. You never let me down."

"I'm your only son-in-law, Charlie," I comment wryly.

"Still my favorite."

"Daddy!"

I leaned forward, opening my arms and catching the ball of excitement that was my son. "Hey, bud. You ready for lunch?"

He nodded. "Then da movie!"

"What are we seeing?" Charlie asked.

"Toy Story."

"Isn't that kinda old?"

"The local theatre has a children's series they play a couple afternoons a week. I take Seth to a lot of them." I sniggered. "Be grateful you weren't here a couple weeks ago—we stayed home and had a movie fest with Jacob." I groaned at the memory. "It was brutal."

Jacob slapped my shoulder as he went by. "I keep telling you, Edward. Frozen and Beauty and the Beast are classics." He ruffled Seth's hair. "Right, my man?"

That was all it took. Seth immediately began singing. I had listened to the songs from both movies for days—even Kayleigh warbled along in her little uneven tone, the words barely correct but sang with determination. Bella had only laughed, joining in at times. I wanted to rip off my ears.

Charlie stared at me, then at Seth, with his arms outstretched and Let it Go being belted out—loudly and way off key. Little did he know, this was only the start. Wait until we went home later and Kayleigh joined in. That was all it took—one of them to start singing and we were toast.

"I'm gonna need another beer."

I nodded. I might have to join him.

**BR**

I lowered Seth into bed, kneeling next to him. Gently, I stroked the hair back from his forehead, brushing a kiss on the skin. He'd had a great day—and was so exhausted he'd fallen asleep mid-sentence while telling Bella all about his day.

One hand clutched his taco, bits of it flying everywhere as he described beating Gramps on the bull, his other hand showing her how he lifted his cowboy hat high. Then he launched into the movie retelling and the massive sundae covered in sprinkles he'd devoured. She listened to it all with a smile, widening her eyes at the right moments and calmly urging him to eat some of his dinner. I held Kayleigh, enjoying some cuddles with my girl as she blinked up at me, happy to be held by Daddy after her big day, too. Charlie beamed at all of us, eating more tacos than anyone his age should, and washing them down with more of his dark ale. When Seth finally stopped chattering at his mom and drew in a breath, I stood up, holding Kayleigh.

"Our girl is out. I'll tuck her in."

Bella thanked me and by the time I came back downstairs, my little man was asleep in her arms, his unfinished taco abandoned. Even Charlie looked drowsy. He wasn't used to keeping up with a child whose main goal every day was to cram as much living into the time his eyes were open as possible—God knew I was exhausted most days. Leaning down, I brushed a kiss on Bella's head and took Seth. "Make your dad some coffee and I'll settle him."

"He had a good day."

I kissed her again. "We all did. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if we'd all been together. But I'm glad you had a nice day with Alice."

She smiled up at me, cupping my face. "I did. But I agree, my favorite times are with my family. Especially my times with you."

Charlie made a strange noise, and I mock glared at him. "The ale isn't in your truck yet, old man."

He smirked at me. "If it isn't there before I leave, I'm happy to start Seth off singing when I leave"—he winked—"Diggetydawg."

Groaning, I conceded a win. He so would do that.

"I'll load it up."

"Thought so."

**BR**

Charlie was passed out on the couch, his snores filling the air. I glanced over at Bella, amused. She met my gaze with a smirk and stood up, draping a blanket over him and snapping off the light. She held out her hand, smiling. "Come to bed with me, Cowboy."

I didn't have to be asked twice. I followed her upstairs, stopping in to check on our children, dropping kisses onto downy cheeks, straightening the blankets and tucking a wayward limb back into the warmth. I watched my wife caress their faces, a smile so full of love as she did, it took my breath away.

In our room, we came together, no words needed as our bodies aligned, both of us instantly soothed at the closeness of our skin pressed together. It was the feeling of coming home—of reconnecting with the one thing that made each day perfect: us.

Under the twinkling of the stars overhead, we swam in a deep sea of blankets, our mouths and hands seeking and finding, our bodies fusing together as one. Nothing would ever compare to being buried deep inside my Bella. The feel of her in my arms, the taste of her skin on my tongue and the scent of her wrapping around us, completed me. As our passion soared and crested, I buried my head into her neck, whispering her name in reverence. Her hands tightened on my neck, her whimpers and declarations of love breathed into my skin.

Keeping her near, I kissed her with all the love within me. The same way her love seeped into my heart. Long, slow, deep and utterly compelling.

"I love you, Cowboy."

I pulled her closer.

"Always, Cupcake."

I watched as her eyes fluttered and she drifted to sleep. I lay in the warmth of her embrace, listening. The sounds of my life were all around me. My children's soft snuffles over the monitor, Charlie's snore— discernable even a floor away. The creaks of the old house as it settled for the night. The whistle of the wind rustling the leaves in the trees, and the muted noises from a city gradually ending its day in the dark.

The very center of my world was in my arms, Bella's breath hot against my skin as she slumbered, a smile curving her lips even in sleep.

Unable to resist, I lowered my head and kissed her softly, bestowing one last caress to her lips for the day.

Then I shut my eyes and drifted to sleep.

And that my friends, is a wrap. Thank you for reading. Thank you for your kind words and telling people about this story. I read every review and treasure them all. My next story is called The Harvest Table and will begin posting on May 10th. I hope you join me.

Thank you again to my prereaders, and my beta. They make the words so much better, and the story flow. I am grateful for them, and for you.

See you soon!