The Cowboy SEAL's Triplets

by Tina Leonard

  “Why? The man isn’t quiet about his opinions,” Robert said. “He’d tell you.”

  “It’s a hard life. And he has restless feet.”

  “Says the woman who ran off to Montana after another man.” Ty grinned at her, holding up a hand when she began to protest. “I know, I know, that’s when you fell for my pal. But you can’t put all this on him.”

  Daisy shook her head. “Eventually he’d regret marrying me.”

  “Why? Because you’re such a good person?” Ty looked at her curiously. “Because you’re going to be an awesome mother?”

  Daisy felt tears well in her eyes. “I don’t know how.”

  The men stared at her.

  “Ah,” Ty said slowly. “Now we’re getting down to the truth. You don’t feel like you deserve John Mathison. You think you’re going to let him down. You’re afraid you’re not going to be a good mother.”

  Robert looked misty. “That’s not going to happen. You’re going to be a wonderful mother.”

  “Why? How?” She wiped at her nose. “I haven’t been a particularly good anything in my life.”

  They sat quietly, sipping their whiskeys. Daisy put a hand on her stomach as she looked out into the beautiful garden. Occasionally she could feel the babies move inside her. In time, they’d get even more active.

  Very soon she’d be bed bound.

  “Daisy, listen.”

  She glanced up at Ty, waiting.

  “We’ll all be here for you. If you don’t want to marry the man, you don’t have to,” he said softly. He reached out, touched her hand. “We’ve given you a bit of rough road over the years, sure. But the thing is, we’re going to take care of you, because that’s what Bridesmaids Creek does. We take care of each other.”

  Daisy felt giant tears leap to her eyes and threaten to slide down her cheeks. “Thank you,” she murmured.

  “There now,” Robert said. “It’ll all work out eventually. It always does.”

  Daisy shook her head, the words sounding a trifle incongruous from the man who had once been the most hated in the town. She felt a huge burden from that, too. Her parents—and Ty’s—hadn’t even had a happy marriage. How would she know how to make a happy marriage? And it wasn’t totally the way Ty said it was; they had given her a lot of rough road, but she’d deserved a lot of it, too.

  She’d feel better when she’d had time to make amends.

  She’d feel better when she had a better sense of who she was.

  Barclay reentered the room, and Daisy thought he was coming to refresh the tray. But then she realized there was a man joining their family gathering, and to her astonishment, she saw that it was John.

  What was even more astonishing was the giant leap her heart made inside her, as if it recognized the man of her dreams, and the only man for her.

  Chapter Eight

  “Sit down, sit down,” Robert said genially, pointing to a seat near him. He eyed Daisy’s gang who had followed John into the room. “Barclay, if we could have some more whiskeys and snacks, please.”

  They all seated themselves, her gang gazing at John like slightly uncomfortable combatants. He seemed immune to their displeasure.

  “It’s good to see you, man.” John reached over and slapped Ty on the back. “When did you return to BC?”

  “This morning. Went to see my wife and little girls, then came straight here. Have yet to pay a call to the Hanging H, but I hear you’ve been keeping everything in good shape.”

  “Not to cut the happy reunion short, fellows,” Daisy said, “but I’m glad you’re all here. I have something to say.”

  Her father and their guests turned to her in surprise.

  “Wedding plans?” John said.

  “No.” Daisy shook her head.

  “Ah. I thought maybe these gentlemen were going to offer to be my ushers or something.” John gave them a grin that said he was more than aware of their disapprobation with him, and really didn’t care.

  “John, we’re not discussing anything relating to a wedding,” Daisy said.

  John smiled at Daisy, and her heart jumped. The gleam in his eyes told her that he wasn’t about to give up on the idea of marrying her. In spite of everything she’d told her father and brother, didn’t she want to marry him?

  I’m just so scared. Marriage wasn’t a good thing for my father and mother. I’ve heard the stories, and they weren’t the stuff of dreams and fairy tales.

  “Anyway,” Daisy said, “I have a lot to do in a small amount of time, so I have to be really organized. I hope you won’t mind me springing this on you all at once, but I’m hoping that you’ll consider giving up your lease so that Cosette and Phillipe can have that space again for their shops. Madame and Monsieur Matchmaker need to be back where they belong. They’re an important part of the magic of BC.”

  Dig, Clint, Gabriel, Red and Carson stared at her, as did John and her father. “I’ll help you find another place for your dating service and business.”

  “We were just about to think about franchising,” Red said, unhappy.

  “Franchising?” Daisy stared at her “gang,” stunned. “Are you even profitable yet?”

  “You’d be surprised. Cigar sales are booming,” Gabriel said.

  “I thought your core business is a dating service,” John said.

  “It is,” Clint said. “But we’re finding that cigars are where it’s at. Especially high-end cigars.”

  Daisy and John glanced at each other. He shrugged, clearly not sure what to make of the new “business” in town. Daisy looked at her father, who also shrugged.

  “Would you consider moving your cigar bar?” Daisy asked. “So that we can get some equilibrium back in BC?”

  Red shook his head. “That’s a primo location. Easy for out-of-towners to find.”

  Daisy considered that. “So your customers are mostly from surrounding towns?”

  “Yes, that’s right,” Dig said. “But honestly, we’ve got a whopping mail-order business, too. And sometimes folks come in from the big city.”

  Daisy shook her head. “I had no idea.”

  “You haven’t been here,” Gabriel said gently. “You’ve been in Montana and other places.”

  “And when you are here, your attention is divided.” Clint slid a glance at John. “You haven’t been hanging with us like you used to, Daze.”

  She sighed. “This is all my fault. I got Phillipe and Cosette out of their comfortable space, because I was being selfish. But I didn’t understand what I was taking from them, what I was taking from BC.”

  She was really, really sad about that. And now there was no way to fix it, which was not good for the older couple. Their marriage had suffered because of the financial distress she’d helped cause.

  “But you’ve done a lot of good, too,” Carson pointed out. “You’ve changed so much, Daze, we hardly recognize you anymore.”

  The lights flickered. Daisy glanced out toward the garden, realizing it had gotten very dark outside. The sky was steel gray. She looked at John, and he smiled at her. She felt instantly better.

  “I agree with your friends. You’ve done good things lately, Daisy.” John glanced at Robert. “And you’re not the only one who’s turned into a productive and upstanding citizen.”

  Robert raised his glass to the gathering. Ty and everyone raised their glasses back.

  “Here’s to remaking BC,” Robert said. “I would like to say that Daisy’s idea of moving the Haunted H to the creek was brilliant.”

  “Remember when the Haunted H was a liability?” Ty grinned at Robert. “We were convinced you were deliberately trying to kill people out there to run off business.”

  The lights flickered again and Daisy looked to the window. “I’d better make this
quick so you guys can hit the road.”

  “Take your time.” Carson held up his glass. “We’ve got no place better to be than right here with our nearest and dearest.”

  She said with a little apprehension, “Those days of taking over businesses aren’t over, Carson.”

  “What do you mean?” Her gang gazed at her from their comfortable chairs, lulled into complacency by her father’s good whiskey. Carson shot her a quizzical look.

  “I’d like to buy out your dating service.” She looked at all of them in turn.

  “But we haven’t gotten it off the ground yet,” Dig said. “We’ve been so busy with the cigar bar.”

  Daisy went to sit by John. “Name your price. We’re in the market for a dating business.”

  John caught her hand in his. “I like it when you wheel and deal. But not so much that you don’t get enough rest for my boys.”

  Every eye in the room bounced to her stomach and then over to John.

  “Heck, we’d let you have it for free, Daisy,” Gabriel said. His friends nodded. “Friends don’t charge friends. We’ll incorporate you into our business.”

  “I’ll take you up on that.” Daisy glanced at John. “You’re now the proud owner of a dating service.”

  “Which will become Madame Matchmaker’s Premier Matchmaking Services once again?” He grinned at her.

  “We’ll see how it works out.” The lights flickered again, and then went out altogether. Five lighter flames instantly sparked to life in the room.

  Daisy looked at her gang, their faces glowing in the dim light. “Really? I feel like I’m at a concert.”

  “Can’t have a cigar business without fire. Where’s your candles, Robert?” Red asked.

  “There are some decorative ones on the table there you can use,” her father replied. “The generator will be on in a moment. And Barclay will no doubt be in with news.”

  John’s phone buzzed. Daisy turned to him as he pulled it out, scanned it.

  “The sheriff says a tornado has touched down in town,” he said, reading further. “He wants everyone to stay inside in safe locations.” He looked at Daisy. “There’s no warning siren out here, I take it?”

  “None this far out. In fact, there’s really not anything like that in town, is there, Dad?”

  He shook his head. “Not to my knowledge. Even if there was, it wouldn’t reach us or the Hanging H. We should probably have one put in.”

  “Hang on,” John said, looking at his phone again. “Dennis says...” He stopped. She saw his face tighten with concern. “There was a direct hit on the creek. The Haunted H is gone.”

  Daisy gasped. The whole room went still. It was a strange tableau with everyone staring at each other by lighter and candlelight. Barclay strolled in with a huge flashlight to set on the table. It threw a wide beam on the ceiling, relieving the darkness.

  “The generator will come on any minute,” Barclay told Robert. “The foreman and the groundskeeper are checking it over now.”

  “Thank you.” Barclay left and Robert looked at John. “My phone isn’t working. Do you still have cell service?”

  “It’s weak, but I have it,” John said. “Of course, out here in the county cell service can be spotty at the best of times.”

  “My phone’s working.” Daisy turned to John. “Dennis’s text says nobody was hurt. But I feel like we ought to go see what we can do to help out at the Haunted H.”

  “No,” her father said. “My advice is you stay right here.”

  “Your father’s right.” The lights came on, and John stood. “The sheriff said he wanted everyone to stay put, in case of another tornado. To relieve your mind, I’ll drive to the creek and see what needs to be done immediately.”

  “I’ll ride shotgun,” Ty said, rising.

  “Bring anyone here who needs shelter,” Daisy said, and Robert nodded.

  “Absolutely. It’s safer here than anywhere in town,” he said. “We have plenty of room.”

  Barclay came in with another tray of food and drinks. Daisy looked at him. “Barclay, would you mind packing up some food and first-aid items for John to take to town with him?”

  “I’m coming with you.” Daisy rose, and every man in the room said, “No!”

  “All right!” She sank back down. “It’s going to be a long pregnancy for all of us.”

  Her gang rose. “We’ll follow him. We’ll keep a close eye on John, and make sure he gets back to you in one piece.”

  “Watch out,” she told John. “Once they appoint themselves your good friends and protectors, you’ll always have your own squad looking out for you.”

  John looked at the five men doubtfully. “I’m used to traveling alone.”

  “Not anymore, you’re not. If I can’t go, you can’t go alone,” Daisy said.

  “Fair’s fair, I guess.” He looked at Robert. “I don’t have to ask if you’ll make sure she rests.”

  “We have it under control.” Robert waved them on. “Let us know what we can do to help.”

  * * *

  AS SOON AS the seven men left, Daisy turned to her father. “Are you sure this isn’t going to be too much for you?”

  “I’m not doing anything, except maybe giving a few people shelter.”

  “I just don’t want you taking on too much. One of the reasons I came back was that I was worried about you. You’re still not exercising.” She gazed at her father. “It wasn’t that long ago that you gave us all a scare.”

  He hmmphed. “I’m fine. Barclay makes sure I get all kinds of vegetables. Very little red meat, no cakes or treats after every meal. Special occasions only. It’s giving him the chance to boss me around, which he enjoys.”

  Daisy stood. “I’m going to call Cosette and Jane. Make sure they’re all right.”

  “Those two will outlive us all.”

  Daisy laughed. “Probably. I’ll be right back.”

  She went up to her room for some privacy. “Cosette? It’s Daisy. Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine. Phillipe’s fine.” Cosette sighed. “Did you hear? The Haunted H is gone!”

  “I heard. It’s terrible. But as long as no one was hurt, it can be rebuilt.” She looked out the window at the dark skies, still too gray and bruised-looking for her comfort. The faster John came home, the better she’d feel.

  Home? When did you start thinking of this as his home?

  It wasn’t. John would be more comfortable on the road than here. This would never be home for the father of her children.

  She would never be home on the road. She wasn’t like Mrs. Mathison, who could raise three boys in a trailer, following the rodeo circuit.

  I’m having three boys. He’s going to want them to be rodeo people. Why wouldn’t he? It’s what he knows. And there’s nothing wrong with that at all.

  “Are you there, Daisy?” Cosette asked. “I asked how you’re feeling.”

  “Oh. I feel fine.” Daisy sank onto her bed. “I’m just worried about Mackenzie and Suz and you guys. I feel terrible about the Haunted H. It was my idea to move it to Bridesmaids Creek.” And now it was gone.

  “Daisy, you couldn’t have known. You were trying to help. Frankly, the creek was a very successful location for the Haunted H. Visitors really liked it being in a wooded area, too. Especially a place where we have often held our charmed swims.”

  “I’m in shock that it’s gone.” She felt almost adrift by how her idea had affected Suz and Mackenzie’s business, and the town itself, now leveled, almost extinguished.

  “Every town has to grow or it dies. Daisy, don’t blame this on yourself. You didn’t cause the tornado.” Cosette was silent for a moment. “Did you hear that mine and Phillipe’s old shops, and the jail, are gone, too?”

  “Gone?
” Daisy was horrified.

  “Every last stick and twig.” Cosette sighed. “Check your phone when we get off. I’m sure you got the text, too.”

  Tears jumped into Daisy’s eyes. “We’ll rebuild Bridesmaids Creek, Cosette. We’ll put our town back together.”

  “I know.” Cosette sniffed. “We have a lot to be grateful for. No one got hurt. As far as I know, not even a cow was injured.”

  “Okay. That’s the best news of all. I’ve got to get back to Dad. I’ll check on you and Jane and Mackenzie and everybody in a little bit.”

  “Be sure to rest. The best thing to do is keep yourself healthy. We’ll all get through this. Together.”

  They hung up and Daisy went back to her father.

  “The jail is gone, and the fellows aren’t going to be too happy to learn that their new cigar bar has been lost.” Daisy sat near her father. “All these years nothing so much as a tornado sighting, and then suddenly the town takes a direct hit.” She burst into tears, finally overcome by what she’d been trying so hard to hold back. “If I hadn’t insisted that Suz and Mackenzie move their business to the creek, it would still be operating. I’m too embarrassed to call.” She took a deep breath, wiped her eyes. “Of course I will, just as soon as I have a grip on myself.”

  Robert shook his head. “You can’t blame this on yourself. And no one else will, either, Daisy.”

  “I wish I hadn’t always been such a negative spirit in BC.”

  He sighed heavily. “They say the sins of the fathers visit on the children. To be honest, I started us off on the wrong foot here. I didn’t take care of your mother, and I’ve always regretted that. I wanted to be king of all I surveyed, but in the end, it never made me as happy as my family does. It’s a lesson that came late, I’m afraid, and that it’s affected you, too.”

  “I don’t know, Dad.” She reached over to touch his hand. “We can do our best going forward to build the town up, and help people.”

  “It’s really all we can do. But it’s a plan I like.”

  They sat looking out at the garden, the dark skies seeming to bring night on even faster than usual. “The sheriff isn’t going to know what to do without his jail.”