Jingle Bell Babies. Kathryn Springer

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СКАЧАТЬ He’d always wanted a large family. When it came right down to it, what difference did it make whether there were years or minutes between the births of their children?

      And if he were honest with himself, he’d hoped that starting a family would ease the tension growing between them.

      During their courtship, Marie claimed she couldn’t wait to have children, but after the wedding she’d avoided the topic. Jesse hadn’t minded it being just the two of them for a while, but Marie’s reaction when she’d found out she was pregnant had disturbed him. Overwhelmed, she’d started to cry and begged him to take her home.

      He’d thought she meant the ranch.

      Now, seeing the anger and grief on his father-in-law’s face, Jesse was forced to admit the truth behind Philip’s claim: Marie had never considered the ranch her home.

      Jesse had lost his wife long before the tornado struck.

      The words stuck in his throat but he pushed them out. “I’ll talk to the director at the funeral home. The two of you can work out the arrangements.”

      Philip nodded curtly, pivoted and walked away without a backward glance. No thank-you. No mention of his granddaughters.

      The little energy Jesse had left drained away. On emotional autopilot, he took the elevator to the NICU. When he reached the nursery, he heard someone singing softly to the girls.

      But it wasn’t his sister.

      Sitting beside the crib where his daughters slept was Lori Martin, the young, auburn-haired nurse he’d met once or twice. Jesse hadn’t gotten to know her as well as he had the other nurses, because her shift ended before he arrived to sit with the girls every evening.

      The soft smile on Lori’s face and the expression in her eyes made Jesse’s chest tighten.

      It wasn’t right.

      Marie should have been the one singing to them. Loving them. And yet she’d left them…all of them.

      Jesse’s fists clenched at his sides.

      Marie was gone, but he had three reasons to live: his daughters. And Jesse decided to make sure no one would hurt them again.

      Chapter One

      December

      “You could have given Maya some hope.”

      Jesse stiffened at the sound of Clay’s quiet voice behind him.

      The memory of their sister’s stricken expression had seared Jesse’s conscience. He knew he’d been out of line, but the last thing he needed was his younger brother beating him up about it.

      He’d been doing a pretty good job of that all by himself.

      “Maya’s been worried sick since Tommy ran away,” Clay pointed out. “All she needed was to hear you say you’d find her son and bring him home.”

      “I did say that.”

      “‘I’ll bring him home either way, Maya.’” Clay’s voice deepened—an exaggerated imitation of Jesse’s low baritone—as he recited the words Jesse had spoken just before leaving the house. “In my opinion, you could have left two little words out of that promise.”

      “I don’t remember asking for your opinion.” Jesse tightened the cinch on Saber’s saddle before leading the gelding from the stall. “Is it fair to give Maya false hope?”

      “Now, are you asking my opinion?”

      Jesse scowled. Since Clay’s unexpected return to High Plains a month ago, his brother claimed to have changed. Jesse didn’t believe it for a second. Not when Clay still managed to get to him like a burr under a saddle blanket.

      “Maya needed encouragement. Would it have been so hard to give her some instead of being…Mr. Gloom and Doom?”

      Jesse felt the sting of the insult. “You’re telling me what Maya needs?”

      “I know I messed up by leaving.” Clay met his gaze. “But that’s all in the past now.”

      “How convenient.”

      Clay’s jaw tightened, the only outward sign that Jesse’s words had found their mark. “If I remember correctly, you were always the glass half-full guy in the family.”

      That was before his glass got tipped over—and stepped on.

      “I can’t tell Maya that Tommy’s all right if I don’t know it’s true.” Jesse wanted to believe they’d find Tommy safe and sound. The whole family—Jesse included—had embraced the precocious little boy. Even before Maya had married Gregory Garrison, and they’d started formal adoption proceedings, Tommy had become part of the family. As far as Jesse was concerned, signing the adoption papers was merely a formality. He’d been “Uncle Jesse” for months.

      But he had to deal with facts, whether anyone else wanted to or not. And the facts—that Tommy was only six years old and had been missing for three days—didn’t exactly tip the balance in their favor.

      When they’d discovered Tommy had run away, volunteer search parties formed immediately, to comb the area. Colt Ridgeway even arranged for a search-and-rescue dog to aid in the effort. But the ranch’s vast acreage—ordinarily a source of pride for Jesse—had worked against them.

      After Tommy disappeared, Maya had taken a quick inventory and found that he’d taken some food, his coat and a backpack. The discovery had eased their minds—for the first twenty-four hours. But as resourceful as the little guy had proven to be, a coat wasn’t enough to ward off the December wind penetrating the sheepskin lining of Jesse’s jacket. And food eventually ran out….

      Jesse decided to change the subject before he said something else he might regret. “Be sure to tell Nicki that I appreciate her willingness to watch the triplets again today, while I look for Tommy.”

      “She knows.” There was a glint in Clay’s eyes. “And don’t you mean while we look for Tommy?”

      Jesse stepped out of the barn and stopped short at the sight of Sundance, an ornery pinto mare, saddled up and ready to go. Her pinned ears let him know she wasn’t very happy about the situation.

      He hesitated, tempted to change his plan in order to watch Sundance send his brother into orbit. Maybe another time. “You remember the lay of the land. It would make sense for you to take another group out.”

      “It might,” Clay agreed. “But I’m going with you.”

      “I’ll make better time by myself.”

      A shadow crossed Clay’s face, but then he shrugged. “Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto.”

      “And Edgar Bergen had Charlie McCarthy,” Jesse muttered.

      “Do I need to remind you that I’m a grown man and ‘you’re not the boss of me’ anymore?”

      Hearing the familiar quip made Jesse’s lips twitch. СКАЧАТЬ