Her Triplets' Mistletoe Dad. Patricia Johns

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      THE ROSS RANCH was about forty minutes outside of Eagle’s Rest, out of the mountains and down in the snowy foothills. Seth was the ranch manager, and his little cottage was just up the road from the ranch hands’ bunkhouse and canteen. As he drove past the main house and around the bend, he came to another cottage—what used to be an in-law arrangement, from what he understood. This was where Billy Austin lived—a ranch hand and a good friend.

      Billy’s wife, Grace, had just pulled up to the cottage. She was a teacher in town, and their daughter—now in kindergarten—hopped out of the car and turned to wave at Seth’s truck as he came around the bend. He smiled and waved back. Poppy was a cute little girl, and he had a soft spot for the kid. But then Grace and Poppy both turned their attention to Gabby’s car following his truck, and Grace brightened and waved. Here was hoping that in the car, with only a coat visible, Gabby didn’t look too much like a bride…

      It wasn’t that he wanted to hide their arrangement, exactly, but he did want a few minutes with Gabby alone to adjust, at least. They didn’t have their story straight yet, and Grace and Gabby were good friends. What they decided to tell people was going to matter, big-time.

      The ranch manager’s house was a small affair with two floors, and it was located on the other side of the bunkhouse and canteen. The last woman to share this house with him had been Bonnie. Pregnant Bonnie, always knocking water glasses and towels off the counter with her belly. It drove her crazy, and the memory brought back the sad ache. They’d set up a nursery together, all decorated in yellow and green because they’d wanted to be surprised about the baby’s gender. When Bonnie and little Hazel Marie hadn’t come home with him, he’d shut the door on that nursery and hadn’t gone inside again.

      Seth parked in his regular spot and waited for Gabby to park next to him. The next few minutes were spent getting the babies out of her car and unloading a few necessities. They carried the car seats into the kitchen, and he glanced back at Gabby to see her appraising the place.

      “Grace saw you coming here,” Seth said. “How long until she drops by?”

      “She texted me already.” Gabby lifted her cell phone with a small smile. “I told her I’d give her a call later on, but I can’t tell her until I’ve told my mom. You and Billy are pretty good friends. He’ll require some explanations, too.”

      “Yeah.” Seth shrugged. “This is just the start.”

      Gabby bent down to uncover the babies, and she smiled down at them. All three were sleeping. Right now, the least of his worries should be the explanations. He now had three infants in his home—and their mother.

      “I’ve got two bedrooms upstairs,” Seth said. “I thought you might be okay sharing with the babies.”

      He hadn’t shown her the upstairs when he brought her here for dinner a week ago and they’d come up with this idea. That had still felt like private space.

      “Sure, that works.” Gabby nodded. “I need to be close by for those feedings, after all. Every two hours. Did I mention that?”

      “Yeah, I think you did.” Energetic, fun-loving, free-spirited Gabby was a mom on bottle duty all night. Hadn’t she sworn she didn’t want kids once upon a time? Kids are great, so long as they belong to someone else. You and Bonnie should have ten, Seth. Now she was the mom, and his daughter was gone.

      “Let me take that,” he said, removing the bouquet from her shoulder bag. He retrieved a vase from the cupboard under the sink and filled it with water. He used to do this for Bonnie when he brought her flowers. Every two weeks. That was one of the things a book advised about keeping a marriage strong—regular flowers. And he’d always been particular about maintaining his marriage. Thing was, marriage was a whole lot more complicated than he’d anticipated, and flowers every two СКАЧАТЬ