Jack's Baby

“Right! Now I’m going to give you dark, and Spike and I are going back to bed. You might as well go to sleep again. You can wake up when it’s light.”

The lamp went off. Jack scooted to his bedroom before the education brigade marched into the hall and to their bedroom. He listened for a while to make sure everything was all right. Silence reigned. He slid into bed and lay there with a huge grin on his face. Charlotte was definitely a champion kid.

Nina rolled against him and snuggled, sleepily mumbling, “Love you.”

“Love you, too,” he murmured, kissing her forehead.

He had a great wife, a smart daughter, a fast-learning son, an obliging dog.

What more could a man want?

Maybe another kid. When and if Nina felt up to it. After all, Patrick needed a younger brother or sister to pass the family lore onto. Fatherhood, Jack decided, was addictive. Especially with a family like his. On that contented thought, he closed his eyes and went back to sleep, serene in the knowledge all was well with his world.