heart melted at the sheer joy on Jacks' face when she hugged Colette. I'd gathered from listening to Cam talking about Brody's mother and his ex-wife, that Jacks didn't have a lot of affectionate women in her life.
It seemed that had changed now that Cam and Brody were married.
When Colette released her, Jacks came to me and gave me a careful hug. Then, my melted heart and had no chance of ever recovering because she whispered to my belly, "Hi, baby! I'm your cousin. I can't wait to meet you."
I managed to hold back my urge to cry when she looked up at me and grinned, her two front teeth missing.
I smiled back at her and blinked rapidly when she scampered off into the house.
"Oh, my God, she didn't say something rude, did she?" Cam asked as she approached and saw my tears.
I sniffed and shook my head, unable to speak because I knew I would burst into tears if I tried. I waved a hand at Colette, who seemed to understand what I wanted.
"She said hi to her cousin and said she couldn't wait to meet her."
Cam's eyes welled up. "Well, shit. That was sweet."
"Cameron McClane, language," Colette corrected.
"Cameron Murphy now," Brody said as he approached our group. He leaned in and gave Colette a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "You're beautiful as always, Colette. What did my wife do now and why are the three of you crying?"
Cam pinched Brody's side when he curled an arm around her shoulders, but he didn't even flinch. "It's your daughter's fault. She's too damn sweet and now the three of us are trying to shut down the waterworks."
"What'd she say now?" Brody asked, his expression worried.
"She said hi to the baby and told her she couldn't wait to meet her," I managed to choke out right before the tears started in earnest. "It was the sweetest thing ever."
It was at that moment my brothers decided to arrive.
I tried to get my tears under control as mass chaos descended on the front yard in the form of two rambunctious little boys, a surprisingly un-sullen teen girl, my four brothers, and Jacks, who came back outside when she heard the noise.
The two boys immediately joined forces with Jacks since they were all close in age and Corey, my thirteen-year-old niece and Robert's only child, waved at us before she followed them toward the backyard where the swing set and slide were set up just for the grandkids.
Letitia approached me and gave me a hug, ignoring my tears. She'd had two babies and she knew that the hormones were the real thing and could hit at any time. After saying hello to Colette, Cam, and Brody, she went back to the car and started unloading food and bags. D.J., the oblivious butthead, didn't help her but came toward me warily and gave me a quick hug.
"What's wrong?" he asked, his expression saying he was afraid of the answer even as he spoke the words.
"Brody's little girl is sweet and these aren't sad tears," I managed. "Now, go help your wife, dummy. She's got her hands full and you just walked off and left her."
He whirled around and cursed under his breath. "Oh, man, she's gonna be mad at me now."
"You deserve it," I muttered, but it wasn't loud enough for him to hear. Cam and Colette heard though and they both grinned.
"We'll help," Cam said, grabbing Brody's hand and following D.J.
I looked around and realized D.J. was the only one who'd brought his wife. Clayton had arrived with Robert, Corey, and Scott and he was solo. He also looked really sad.
They all came over and gave me hugs before drifting inside. Clayton was the last one.
"Hey," he greeted me with a tight hug. "So, a little girl, huh?"
I smiled and nodded. "Where's Danielle? Is she sick?"
He shook his head and opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, then closed it. He looked so sad and defeated that I hugged him again.
"She couldn't come," he whispered in my ear as he held me. "She wanted to but we've been trying for a year now and nothing. She's scheduled to go in for tests in a couple of weeks and it's killing her wondering what's wrong and why she can't get pregnant."
My eyes welled up again. "I understand. You tell her that it's okay and I will absolutely not hold it against her."
He released me and nodded, blowing out a sigh.