Twins For Christmas. Amanda Renee

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СКАЧАТЬ style. She was the ‘sweet tea on the front porch, date a few times before a first kiss’ kind of girl. Then you happened. Her life was just beginning and she didn’t want anything serious. She regretted her decision.”

      Noah appreciated Hannah’s honesty. Inside the house, he followed her through rooms in various stages of disrepair. “Pardon the mess. I’m in the middle of renovating.”

      He appreciated a work in progress, but practically every area was under construction. And he wasn’t sure how that made him feel. Were his daughters safe here? The baby gates gave him some sense of security, but this uneasiness was unfamiliar to him. When they reached the sunroom on the back of the house, Hannah blocked his way forward.

      “I’m sure you’re anxious to get to know them, but I’m serious when I say I don’t want them to know who you are yet.” She kept her voice low. “They’re still looking for Lauren. They know she’s gone, but they also know she’s in town and keep asking to see her at the cemetery. I’ve tried to explain it to them. So has my mom and Abby—she’s my sister-in-law. The social worker in Boston explained it will take a while for them to adjust.”

      Noah adored the way Hannah protected his children. His children. That was going to take some getting used to.

      Hannah stared up at him, as if trying to read his mind. He was all too aware of their physical closeness. At six foot three, he stood a solid eight inches taller, if not slightly more. Her crystal-blue eyes were the clearest he’d ever seen of any eye color.

      She was pretty, even with messy hair and paint-splattered clothes.

      She inhaled deeply, sadness replacing her curious expression. She climbed over the baby gate into the large sunroom. It was spotless, freshly painted sunny yellow. Crisp white curtains framed the windows that overlooked a long row of horse stables and a riding area. There were four horses in one corral and two miniatures in another. In the distance, he saw more horses and dark soil-covered fields. He hadn’t realized her property was this extensive. It was deceiving from the front.

      Noah zeroed in on the two sleeping figures curled up together on the white, slip-covered sofa at the far end of the room. He hadn’t anticipated that it would physically hurt to see them. There were two little lives less than fifteen feet away that he had helped create. Hannah reached out to wake them.

      “Don’t.” His whisper cracked in the silence. “Let them sleep. I need to process this.”

      “There’s a lot of that going around.” A bittersweet smile graced her lips. “Would you like to sit down?” She gestured to a pair of oversized beanbag chairs on the carpeted floor. “This is their playroom.”

      Noah sank into a chair, letting it envelop him. He chuckled, unable to remember when he’d last sat in something so ridiculously comfortable and fun. They remained silent for a few minutes, watching the twins sleep. His nerves began to fade as the girls’ rhythmic breathing relaxed him. He may have known Lauren for only one night, but her face had been ingrained in his memory. Where the girls had his eyes, they had her dark hair and rounded nose. All children were beautiful, but Noah felt as if his were extra special.

      “I know they look identical, but they’re fraternal twins,” Hannah said. “Cheyenne is an inch taller than Charlotte. And Charlotte has a tiny birthmark under her left eye.”

      One of the girls stirred and sat upright before he had a chance to ask any of the millions of questions swirling through his brain. As Hannah rose, the little girl climbed off the sofa and toddled to them. “Charlotte, this is a friend of your mommy’s. His name is Noah and he came to meet you.”

      Charlotte’s sleepy eyes blinked at him, still waking up from her nap. He had been right. Their irises were rimmed in black, the same as his were. “Go see Mommy?”

      Hannah sucked her lips inward and looked toward the ceiling before answering. “Maybe tomorrow. You’ve already been twice today.”

      Charlotte reached for Noah’s outstretched leg and pulled herself onto his lap. He held his breath. This little person was his child. His child was touching him. He stared down at her. She had little bits and pieces of him floating around inside her. It was a miracle—she was a miracle. And he couldn’t wrap his head around it.

      “It’s okay to breathe, you know.” Hannah smiled warmly at the two of them.

      He wanted to hug her for welcoming him into her home and allowing him to be there. He wanted to hug his daughter, but he didn’t know what was appropriate and what wasn’t. It felt surreal and natural at the same time.

      “So this is what twenty-one months feels like.” Charlotte played with the silver cross around his neck. “They’re smaller than I th—” Noah shook his head. “I don’t know how big I thought they would be. I’m still overwhelmed by this. I can’t even begin to imagine what they were like when they were born. I don’t even know when that was.”

      “Valentine’s Day. Which couldn’t have been more appropriate considering Lauren called them the greatest loves of her life.” A faraway look overshadowed Hannah’s smile. “They were good-sized babies for twins. I was in the delivery room when they were born. Charlotte was 7 lbs. 2 oz. and Cheyenne was 7 lbs. 6 oz. Between my parents and me, we have a ton of pictures.” She began to speak, then cut herself short. Tears filled her eyes. “Um, my mom and I weren’t able to take much from her house in Boston when we picked up the girls the other day. The company she worked for has someone packing her belongings and sending them to me. When they arrive, I’d be happy to share them with you. I think it’s important the children keep her memory alive, although at this age, how much can they possibly remember? Excuse me.”

      Hannah stood and climbed over the baby gate, disappearing down the hall. Tiny fingers touched the side of his face, rubbing the rough stubble. She giggled loudly, waking Cheyenne on the other side of the room. When Hannah reappeared, two pint-size angels were playfully attacking him with their stuffed animals.

      “I apologize.” She rejoined them in the sunroom. “Lauren’s dea—Her not being around any longer still doesn’t seem real.”

      “Neither does this.” Noah smiled down at his daughters happily playing on his chest. “Did you and Lauren grow up together?”

      “Play gently, Cheyenne,” Hannah said to the bouncing toddler. “We met in college and became best friends. Lauren didn’t have any family, so she came home with me on weekends, holidays and summer break. My parents thought of her as one of their own, so even though I was only a part of her life for six and a half years, she felt like a sister.” She scooted closer to the girls on the floor. “The twins strengthened the bond with my family even further. They call my parents Nanny and Grandpop.”

      Now Noah understood who Nanny was. “When did Lauren move to Boston?”

      “September.” Hannah stared into the distance. “Her leaving was hard...for all of us. My mom watched the girls during the day while Lauren went to work. Let me tell you—” she smiled, visibly fighting back tears “—my mom loved every second of it. These two have her—heck, all of us—wrapped around their fingers. But then it happened.” She sighed as the joy she’d expressed only a moment before slid from her face. “A pharmaceutical company in Boston offered Lauren a research scientist position. She was a biochemist—I don’t know if you knew that or not. Anyway, the job had incredible medical benefits, plus on-site day care and a relocation allowance. She would have been foolish to turn it down. Their new life had so much promise and it was hard to do anything other than wish them well.”

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