The Matchmaking Twins

by Christy Jeffries

  He almost grabbed one of Aiden’s crutches to steady himself as a sudden wave of lust nearly knocked him sideways. Where had that come from?

  When Carmen finally straightened up, Caden asked, “How can you drive your police car with those girl shoes on?”

  “I promise, the next children I sire are going to have better manners,” Luke joked as he forced his eyes up to meet her face. But she must have been purposely ignoring him, because she wasn’t looking his way at all. Instead, she was completely focused on his children and smiling. Was she wearing lip gloss? And where in the world had she been hiding all those inky black curls?

  “I’m not working tonight. I’m having dinner with some fr—some ladies...with some lady friends.” She waved at Maxine Cooper and Mia, who were already seated at one of the red vinyl booths. “What about you boys? I thought tonight was poker night?”

  Had she remembered the invitation he’d awkwardly delivered yesterday? Probably not, since she still wasn’t making eye contact with him. Maybe she was one of those females who related better to kids.

  “It is. But it’s Dad’s turn to bring the food. Hey, you should come with us. It’ll be more fun than sitting here and talking about lame girl stuff.”

  See. He wasn’t the only one who’d just assumed she’d be more comfortable hanging out with the guys. But before he could say as much, his sister-in-law breezed into the restaurant.

  “Aunt Kylie,” both of the boys squealed before throwing their arms around her.

  “Oh, you guys are getting so big!” Kylie said. “I’ve missed you two.”

  Luke felt a twinge of remorse. The boys had lived with her and Drew for several weeks and often stayed with them when Luke had to go out of town for trainings and recruitment seminars. But now that the couple had two newborns, Luke had tried to keep the boys away so they wouldn’t become too much of a burden.

  “Hey, Officer Carmen, in those boots, you’re almost as tall as Aunt Kylie.”

  Luke had never really noticed the cop’s height before, but in heels, she came to his chin. At least he guessed she would, if she ever got close enough to him to allow for an accurate measurement.

  “My dad and Uncle Drew are both six foot four,” Aiden volunteered. “But we might not grow as big as them because Grammie said our mom was only—how tall was Mom, again?”

  It took a second to realize his son was asking him a question. Then it took another second to figure out what that question was. But after half a minute, Luke realized that he didn’t have an answer.

  How tall had Samantha been? She was on the shorter side, but he couldn’t recall an exact height. He could remember the way she’d cried and threatened to leave the day he’d gotten his orders to go on a three-month overseas mission. He could even remember the defeated look in her eyes when she’d gone off that night to “have a few drinks with the girls.” But lately it was getting more and more difficult to focus on the rest. No wonder Samantha used to accuse him of being emotionally unavailable.

  Think, Gregson! Five foot four maybe? She was definitely shorter than the beautiful woman in front of him. He shook his head. What kind of man compared his dead wife to another woman? And what kind of father couldn’t keep his thoughts in check when his children asked him such a simple fact about their mother?

  “She was five foot four,” he finally said while silently appealing for forgiveness in the event he was wrong. As well as forgiveness for the way he’d been too focused on Carmen’s long legs.

  His career and dangerous deployments had not only taken its toll on his family, it had also driven a wedge so deeply between him and Samantha that she’d turned to a bottle of vodka to ease her burdens. Just because he hadn’t been the one behind the wheel on the night she’d died didn’t mean he wasn’t to blame.

  Yet here he was, staring at Carmen, shamelessly taking in every glorious detail about her. The boys barely remembered their mother, and it was up to him to keep her memory alive for them—not get all hot and bothered about some incredible-looking female cop who had a soft spot for his kids. A flood of shame weighed him down, making him feel like he was closer to two feet tall.

  Officer Delgado had her hands shoved into her jeans pockets and appeared to be reading the specials on the menu board several feet away. She obviously couldn’t even bring herself to look at him. His toes flexed inside of his hiking boots and he clenched his jaw in disgrace.

  “Well, you boys have fun at poker night,” Kylie said, probably trying to lessen the awkwardness. “I figure I have about sixty-three minutes to get a bit of sustenance before Drew is gonna need me to head back over and feed the girls. So if I don’t get some garlic knots and fettuccine Alfredo in me before then, there will be three very unhappy Gregson ladies.”

  Just then, a waitress walked up balancing four large pizza boxes and a couple of white paper sacks filled with Italian subs, and Luke had never been so glad for an excuse to get away. Even though he didn’t think he’d be able to stomach a single bite.

  “C’mon, monkeys,” he said, peeling some bills out of his wallet and putting them on the hostess stand before taking the food from the server.

  He maneuvered himself and the boxes out the door while the twins said their goodbyes and gave Kylie her usual three hugs, a ritual they’d started when she and Drew had been looking after the boys last year. The cool air felt great on his overheated face, so he decided they would walk the few short blocks to Maxine and Cooper’s apartment above the Sugar Falls Cookie Company.

  He liked his cabin out in the woods, but Luke couldn’t deny that the Victorian buildings lining downtown held their own appeal. If the boys didn’t need so much space to run around, he’d gladly move in to one and try his hand at renovation. It might also shorten his commute. But then he’d have to interact more with the townspeople.

  And, as he’d just displayed, he sometimes ended up looking like a complete ass when he did.

  His life certainly hadn’t turned out the way he’d expected. His training had conditioned him to always be ready to adapt and overcome—to put the mission goal first. However, just because he was ready to move on didn’t mean he knew the direction in which he was headed. Maybe he should focus on figuring out a new mission instead of standing there like a tongue-tied fool who had no business lusting after his children’s volunteer mentor.

  They climbed the stairs and Cooper let them inside before grabbing the pizza boxes, carrying them to the white kitchen and opening them up on the counter. “Okay, kids, grab a slice and head on back to Hunter’s room.” Their host handed them each a paper plate then pointed to his stepson’s bedroom down the hall.

  Setting the rest of the food down, Luke said hello to Drew, who was pushing his sleeping daughters’ double stroller back and forth, and to Alex Russell.

  Luke was still somewhat new to the group, but Drew and Cooper had been stationed in Afghanistan together, and Alex coached both Hunter’s baseball team, as well as Aiden and Caden’s.

  A knock sounded, and Coop grabbed a slice for himself as he walked to the door to let in the newcomer. Garrett McCormick had been Cooper’s knee surgeon at the nearby Shadowview Military Hospital before opening up an orthopedic clinic in Sugar Falls after his discharge. Garrett had married Mia a few months ago—or had it been longer than that? Hell, Luke could barely manage to remember details from his own marriage, let alone all these dudes in Sugar Falls who seemed to be drinking from the same Kool-Aid cup.

  “Sorry I’m late,” the doctor said. “I had to drop off Mia’s coat at Patrelli’s. Her hormones are all kind of whacked out and she’s been forgetting everything.”

  Alex, the only other single male present, covered his ears. “This is an estrogen-free zone, gentlemen. I do not want to talk about anything but baseball, beer and Clint Eastwood movies.”

  “Speaking of Clint Eastwood movies,” Drew s
aid as he piled food high on his plate. “Kylie and I were watching Bridges of Madison County the other day on TV and...”

  A collective round of “No” and “C’mon” and “Yuck” went around the room. Someone threw a plastic pouch of red peppers at Luke’s twin, who made the catch and then sprinkled some on his pizza.

  “Actually, speaking of estrogen...” Garrett paused when he saw several packets of parmesan cheese aimed his way. “Wait, let me rephrase that. I was gonna say that when I stopped by Patrelli’s, I saw Officer Delgado sitting with the ladies, and I hardly recognized her out of her uniform.”

  Luke’s ears buzzed as the rest of the guys settled back into their seats. This was his chance to find out more about her without bringing too much attention to himself.

  “Hey, Coop.” Alex took a swig of beer. “I was meaning to ask what her deal was.”

  If anyone knew Carmen, it would be Chief Cooper, who was the woman’s boss and had previously worked with her before as an MP when they were both stationed stateside. Luke held every muscle still, not wanting to miss the scoop and not wanting to grab the coach by the shoulder and tell him to back off.

  There was that weird jealousy feeling again. What was up with that?

  “What do you mean?” The police chief arched a brow. Yeah, what exactly did Alex mean? Was he interested in the female cop?

  “I mean, does she do anything outside of work for fun? We have that intramural softball team we’re trying to put together for the Western Idaho League and, well, I don’t want to stereotype, but I’ve seen her out running and she looks like she’d be pretty athletic.”

  Luke let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

  “Oh.” Cooper got up and brought a foot-long Italian sub sandwich over to the table. “I thought you were asking about personal stuff, which you know I can’t give out.”

  “I’m not looking for a date, man,” Alex said, and laughed. “I’m just looking for a shortstop.”

  “Why wouldn’t you want to date her?” Luke felt the words coming out of his mouth before his brain could process them. Just a second ago, he’d felt like shoving Alex’s face into his pizza for even inquiring about Carmen. Now he was accusing the man of not finding her worthy enough of his interest. Get back on solid ground, Gregson.

  “I didn’t say I wouldn’t date her. I said I wasn’t looking for a date. Any date. At least not with anyone locally. Don’t get me wrong, I know love and babies and rainbow-colored unicorns are running rampant in this town—” Alex looked pointedly at Drew, Cooper and Garrett “—but that pile of marriage crap you guys stepped in isn’t for me.”

  “Amen.” The word was out of Luke’s mouth before he could stop himself. He tilted his beer toward Alex’s and they clinked their bottles.

  “Wait.” Drew held up his hand. “Luke, I can’t believe you just said that. Hello? You were married once, too.”

  “That was a one-time deal and it turned out I wasn’t cut out for it, either.” He didn’t want to talk about Samantha or the shame-inducing lapse of forgetfulness he’d just had at the restaurant in front of witnesses. He didn’t want to think about his marriage at all. He tried to keep all thoughts of that disaster hidden away in that footlocker in his mind and wasn’t sure why everyone else on this planet suddenly wanted to bring it up.

  “Don’t you think you could be happy with someone again?” Garrett asked him.

  A vision of Carmen’s long hair framing her face, her glossed lips smiling at his sons, was the first thing that ran through his mind. But an occasional smile wouldn’t be worth the inevitable heartache that would result from getting seriously involved with a woman again. Even if he could be happy, it wouldn’t be long before whoever he married wouldn’t be.

  “Nope, I’m good.” He realized he’d responded a little too loudly when he saw four pairs of doubting eyes staring at him intently. “Look, the boys and I are just settling into a routine and I’m still getting used to the new job. My plate’s pretty full right now. Besides, every time I see her, she pretty much shuts down, so I’m guessing she’s in the same boat.”

  “Who?”

  Luke looked up at Drew. “Uh, Officer Delgado? Wasn’t that who we were talking about originally when Alex and Garrett brought her up?”

  “Actually,” Cooper said. “That was the conversation before it got segued into you not looking for a relationship and Carmen not being interested in you.”

  “Did she tell you she wasn’t interested?” Luke raised his eyes like a hungry puppy looking for confirmation that there were no more pieces of pepperoni being thrown his way. “I mean, not in me per se, but... Stop staring at me like that, you guys. I thought we were talking about relationships and people not looking for them.”

  “Oh, boy.” Cooper retrieved a wooden game box off the television stand. “We better deal the cards while Gregson is still struggling to maintain his poker face.”

  “I don’t have a poker face because I don’t need one for this stupid conversation that you idiots steered me into.”

  “Well, to answer your question,” Cooper said, not trying to hide his smirk. “Carmen hasn’t said whether or not she was interested in you or in any other man at this particular moment. But I do know that she’s getting over some serious garbage she had to deal with in Las Vegas.”

  Luke remembered his sons telling him she had worked as a cop with the Las Vegas Metro PD before moving here, and he wondered what might’ve happened to cause her to leave such a large department, which probably had a lot more options for upward mobility than the tiny Sugar Falls Police Department. Maybe a cheating boyfriend on the force?

  “Apparently she’s taking out whatever the last guy did to her on men in general.” Luke took another drink, holding himself back from asking for more information. “She treats us like we’re all IEDs she needs to go out of her way to avoid.”

  “Hmm.” His brother adjusted his gold-framed glasses. “She doesn’t act like that around me.”

  “I’ve never gotten that impression from her, either,” Garrett said, grabbing more pizza.

  “Okay, so it’s just me she can’t stand to be around. Anyway, I’m not trying to get Carmen to like me.” Oops. Had they heard Luke slip and use her first name?

  “You could do worse,” Drew said, and the other men chuckled. “In fact I’ve seen you do way worse back in the day. Maybe that’s why you’re so attracted to Officer Delgado. Because she isn’t throwing herself at you.”

  Yep. They’d caught the slip.

  “Don’t try to psychoanalyze me, bro. Why can’t I just be attracted to her since she’s a beautiful woman who looks absolutely amazing in jeans and... Oh, shut up,” Luke finally said when he realized Alex and Garrett were giggling behind their beer bottles like a couple of teenagers.

  An infant let out a wail, and Luke wanted to kiss his sweet niece for coming to his rescue.

  “I will say this for Carmen Delgado,” Drew said. “She sure can put up with those adorable nephews of mine, so your battle to win her is halfway fought.”

  “Just a word of advice,” Cooper said as he picked up plates to clear off the table. “You might want to take it slowly once you decide to finally bite the bullet and pursue her.”

  “Who says I want to pursue anything with her?” Luke would’ve kept arguing, but he saw all the men double over in laughter.

  What he didn’t see were his two blond curly-haired twins, standing on the other side of the door and giving each other a thumbs-up.

  * * *

  The following Saturday afternoon, Carmen pulled into the long driveway of the small riverside cottage she’d rented when she first moved to town. Her new home was on the southern border of Sugar Falls, and a little far from downtown, but she liked her privacy.

  It was her third day off in a row, and she’d driv
en to the mall in Boise to stock up on makeup at her favorite department store. And to buy another pair of the jeans she’d been wearing Thursday night. It might’ve been just her imagination, but she could’ve sworn that Luke Gregson had been staring at her legs. At least until she’d knelt down to sign Aiden’s pretend cast and he’d leaned over to stare at something else.

  He was probably just curious as to how she signed her name or what kind of message she’d written. Still. She’d experienced the heady rush of flattery for a split second. And, during that moment, she’d remembered that even though she’d had an emergency hysterectomy a year ago, the rest of her lady parts were still alive and well.

  Then his words about his future children had turned her butterflies into blocks of concrete and her stomach had felt like lead when she’d tried to stand up.

  She also recalled how pensive and eerily quiet Luke had gotten when Caden had brought up the boys’ mother, the love of Luke’s life. The man had completely shut down. His grief must be immeasurable to keep that kind of pain bottled up so tightly. A man that stuck on his dead wife was most likely not checking out Carmen in her civvies.

  That was why she didn’t do butterflies anymore. It was also why she shouldn’t have wasted so much money at the mall earlier today.

  As she parked her compact SUV next to her cottage, she caught sight of an empty canoe floating down the river behind her house. Uh-oh. That wasn’t good. She hopped out and ran toward the bank to see if she could spot the riders who’d possibly fallen out of their boat. The river was fairly gentle here because of the bend a few hundred yards ahead, which tended to slow its current.

  If the rowers had lost their craft farther up north, and closer to town, where the rapids were stronger, she might not see them for a while. But if they’d somehow tipped over near here, then they were obviously novices—most likely tourists—who would be in way over their heads when the flow picked up speed half a mile down.