“He has that effect on people.”

“Thank you for him, Princess.” Her dad kissed her forehead. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Absolutely.”

He went downstairs, and she heard him talking to Joe on the way out. Then Joe whistled for the dogs, who came in from the backyard and headed straight upstairs to their beds. Janey took the time to give each of them some attention as they went into the room they all shared.

Joe brought up the rear. “Everything all right?”

“It’s better now.”

“What’d your dad have to say?”

“All the right things. As always.” She took a deep breath. “I’ve got a sister, Joe.”

“So I’ve heard. What do you think of that?”

“I haven’t the first clue what to think of that. He said my brothers liked her. That counts for something.”

“Sure does. Maybe you will, too. Have you considered that possibility?”

“It’s beginning to occur to me.”

“How about you sleep on it and see how you feel tomorrow?”

She closed the small distance between them and put her arms around him. “Do I get to sleep just like this? With your arms around me?”

He hugged her tightly. “Every night for the rest of your life.”

The baby monitor crackled to life as P.J. let out a wail. “Duty calls.”

He kissed her. “I’ll get him and change him.”

“I’ll be waiting for you.” She took advantage of the opportunity to change into a nightgown and prepare the bassinette for the baby. They were slowly introducing the crib for naps, but he still slept close to them at night. For the first month, he’d had wicked day-night confusion that had him up all night and wanting to sleep all day.

Thank goodness that stage was over, and they were sleeping at least part of the night, even with at least one middle-of-the-night feeding. Joe was always willing to help with anything he could do. By the time he delivered the baby to her a few minutes later, P.J. had worked himself into a full-on rage that immediately subsided when she guided him to her breast.

“Mommy has magic boobies, buddy. I’ve been telling her that for years now.”

Janey laughed, which dislodged the baby from her nipple. “Don’t make me laugh. It makes him mad.”

Joe ran a finger over the baby’s cheek. “Imagine having a child out there in the world that you didn’t even know existed.”

“I can’t. My dad has to be so spun up inside over everything he missed.”

“Yet he still made time to come here and make things right with you.”

“That’s because he’s the best daddy ever.”

“And he always will be. That’s one thing you can count on in this world.”

“That’s not the only thing.” She nodded at him, asking him to come closer so she could kiss him.

“Oh no?”