Quade's Babies - Brenda Jackson [45]
One thing he had discovered about the Steele family during this crisis was that they were like his family. When times got tough, they all came together. Since that morning not only had Cheyenne’s four cousins been there for support, Vanessa and Taylor’s husbands, whom he had met for the first time, had stopped by, as well. Cameron Cody and Dominic Saxon seemed concerned and their sincere kindness and thoughtfulness touched Quade. He hadn’t had a chance to call his family to tell them anything, which would be quite a chore since no one knew about his babies other than Chase.
They stepped into the waiting room and Quade came up short. He caught his breath, surprised, when he looked across the floor and saw several of his cousins and two of his brothers.
He shook his head, grinning when the group crossed the room to him. “How did you know?” he asked them, in a voice filled with emotion.
It was his brother Jared who spoke. “Chase had these vibes about you being deeply worried about something and when he couldn’t reach you, he contacted us. He told us where you were, so we’re here. You can expect Chase, Thorn and Storm later tonight. Durango and McKinnon are arriving in the morning. Ian wanted to come, but with Brooke due to deliver any day, he thought he better stay put.”
Quade nodded as he glanced over at Clint, Cole, Reggie and Stone. “Thanks for coming.”
A grimace appeared on Reggie Westmoreland’s face. “Don’t thank us yet, there’s someone here that we haven’t told you about yet.”
Quade raised a brow. “Who?”
“Mom. She refused to be left behind, especially after hearing about the triplets.” Reggie paused a moment and then said, “Get prepared. She plans to box your ears for keeping that from her. I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes.”
Reggie then switched his gaze to Cheyenne, slowly looking her up and down in an appreciative glance, and said, “But then again, I do want to be in your shoes.”
“You certainly have a big family,” Cheyenne said to Quade hours later after she had returned to the hospital. She had gone home long enough to breast-feed the babies. While there, she had met Sarah Westmoreland, Quade’s mother. Her mother and Quade’s had relieved Vanessa and Taylor of babysitting duties and the two older women were getting along beautifully.
Cheyenne and Quade had met with the doctor and his update had brought smiles of relief. The tests had revealed that Venus had had a mild case of HMD, which had been treatable with the use of surfactant replacement. The ventilator had been removed a short while ago and their daughter was now breathing on her own. The doctor wanted to keep her in the hospital another day for observations and then she would be released.
Quade grinned as he settled back on the cot the nurse had brought into the room for him and Cheyenne to share for the night. They had decided they would stay at the hospital since they didn’t want to leave Venus alone. “Yes, there’re quite a few of us and like I told you that first day, we’re very close.”
“And you and Reggie are the only single ones left?”
He looked at her, smiled and said, “Yes, but I won’t be single for long if you agree to marry me.”
“Just to give me your name?”
Quade took her hand in his and decided now would be the perfect time to tell her how he felt. Whether she believed him or not was another matter altogether. She might feel that she didn’t know him well enough considering their history. His response to that would be she knew him in a way no other woman did. While making love he’d always bared his soul to her, as well as his heart.
“Yes,” he said, meeting her gaze. “To give you my name. But there’s something that goes along with my name.”
She lifted a brow. “What?”
“My heart.”
She stared at him with disbelief written all over her face. “Are you saying that you love me?” she asked quietly.
“Yes, I am. So what do you have to say to that?” he asked. He expected her to say a lot—most of which he preferred not to hear. Especially if she was going to argue with him about how long they had known each other. That didn’t matter