Kaden & Keegan (The Walkers of Coyote Ridge #9) - Nicole Edwards Page 0,136

Bristol and Kaden sleeping soundly beside him, the three of them crowded on her queen-sized bed.

A smile was immediately on his lips as he opened his eyes and peered up at the ceiling of the dark room. He didn’t move, not wanting to wake Bristol. He had no idea what time it was, but since his stomach wasn’t rumbling, he figured it wasn’t quite morning.

His thoughts shifted to the ranch, to the morning chores that needed to be done before they headed to the shop. They had Cassius to handle them for now, but it wouldn’t be long before he would be up with the sun, taking care of things. Him and Kaden.

Bristol would be there, too. And in the not-so-distant future, a son or daughter, as well.

It had been a long time in the making, but they were finally living their dreams. A ranch in Coyote Ridge and a sweet woman at their side. What more could they ask for?

“You awake?”

Keegan turned his head at the sound of his brother’s voice. “Yep.”

Neither of them said anything more and Keegan wondered if Kaden was thinking the same thing he was: they should be in a bigger bed.

As it was, his feet were hanging off the bottom, his shoulder hugging the edge. It would’ve been irritating if it weren’t for the fact Bristol was naked between them. That was enough to forgive any discomfort he might’ve found with the bed.

But they would be getting a new one. One big enough for the three of them to sleep comfortably with Bristol between them every night.

Keegan would start looking online immediately.

But first he was going to wake up their sweet woman.

Using only his mouth.

Epilogue

Two years, eight months later

Saturday, August 12, 2023

“Okay, Princess P,” Keegan called out when he stepped into the living room. “It’s time for lunch.”

He heard sweet girl-giggles and then Kate’s head poked out of the blanket fort.

“Which one?” she asked. “There are two Princess Ps in this castle.”

Keegan grinned. “Both of ’em.”

More giggling.

“You think you can wrangle them, Kate?” Keegan asked when he perched on the arm of the couch, waiting patiently.

“Can anyone?” she countered then ducked back inside.

“All right, ladies,” he said to the two-year-old twins who were still hiding in the elaborate blanket fort they’d convinced him to build.

Okay, fine. Maybe they hadn’t really convinced him. He’d come up with the idea all on his own. It was something he did often when Bristol and Kaden left him alone with the girls. Since Bristol wasn’t all that fond of him stealing the blankets and pillows, not to mention the barstools, for his works of art, he had to wait until they were alone, which was generally on Saturday mornings when Bristol and Kaden ventured out to the grocery store.

“Hey, Kate,” he called out.

Once again, she poked her head out.

Keegan relied on Kate, just a few months shy of turning nine, to be the leader of the rambunctious duo who had learned early on that they could run roughshod over him. Well, he let them believe they could because, come on, they were just the cutest kids on the planet.

“Think you could do me a favor?”

One little head poked out beside Kate’s, then another identical one on the other side.

“Sure.”

“I’m gonna need to feed the chickens in—”

“Chickie!” Paisley squealed as she launched herself out of the fort, getting to her feet and darting over to him.

Payton wasn’t far behind her, both girls banging a little fist on his knee while staring up at him with wide, hopeful eyes that were the same blue gray as Keegan’s and Kaden’s.

“What? You wanna feed the chickens?” he asked.

They both nodded enthusiastically.

Kate crawled out of the fort, got to her feet, and smiled. She knew how this worked because she’d been around the ranch plenty as of late. She often came over to help with the twins, and now that Bristol was nearing her fourth month of this pregnancy—only one healthy boy this time, according to the doctor—Kate continued to offer to lend a hand.

Keegan couldn’t deny they needed as much help as they could get. Luckily, they had it. His parents were always offering to help out, as was Eve, who had taken to her nieces more so than anyone had expected. And the rest of the Walker clan was always around to pitch in, paying them back for all the times Keegan and Bristol had volunteered to babysit over the years.

“Okay, so here’s the deal,” he told the girls in a