“This is my bedroom?” Nancy asked, standing in the doorway of a room with white furniture, a pink canopy on the bed and pink lacy curtains. “All by myself?”
Hannah entered and turned to face the seven-year-old. “Yep. Every square inch of it. What do you think?”
The little girl clapped her hands and twirled around. “I love it! I’ve never had my own room.”
Hannah’s gaze found her husband’s, and a smile spread through her as she basked in the warmth of Jacob’s regard. “We have a lot of bedrooms to fill.”
Jacob placed his hand over Hannah’s rounded stomach. “I don’t think we’ve done too bad in a year’s time. Two children and one on the way.”
“Just think what we can do with a little more time,” Hannah said with a laugh, thoughts of their wedding exactly a year ago producing a contentment in her that she had never thought possible until Jacob.
Terry skidded to a halt outside the bedroom and poked his head in. “Welcome to the family, Nancy.”
The little girl beamed from ear to ear. “Thanks.”
“Have you checked out the backyard?”
Nancy shook her head.
“C’mon. I’ll show you the doghouse Jacob and I built for Abby.”
As their new daughter raced after Terry, Jacob pulled Hannah back against him and ringed his arms about her. “We need to start working on the adoption papers for Gabe.”
“And Susie.”
His breath fanned her neck as he nibbled on her ear. “And then another of our own.”
“We’re gonna run out of bedrooms at this rate real quickly.”
“Then we’ll add on. We have the room, thanks to Peter.”
Hannah swept around to face him. “Living in our own home on the ranch is the best of both worlds. I’m near my job as manager of the refuge and we have plenty of room for our children.”
“Not to mention the pets they will have.”
“Peter probably will never have to go out looking for homes for his animals.”
“Especially with Terry as our son. With the addition of Abby we now have a cat, rabbit and two dogs.”
“Just so long as we never have a snake as a pet. I draw the line at that.”
“Sure, Mrs. Hartman,” he murmured right before planting a kiss on her mouth. “Of course, you’re going to have to tell Gabe he can’t bring his garter snake with him when he comes to live with us.”
She pulled back. “When did he get one?”
“He found it yesterday when Andy was visiting the refuge.”
“Which reminds me, I’d better get downstairs and start lunch. Lisa and Andy should be here soon for Nancy’s party. She’s coming early to help me set up.”
He draped his arm around her shoulder and started for the hallway. “You still don’t trust me in the kitchen?”
“No, but I trust you with my heart.”
Keep reading for an excerpt from The Christmas Bargain by Mindy Obenhaus.