His Plan for the Quintuplets

by Cathy Gillen Thacker

  Chapter Five

  “Why did you tell your mom you were going to be here tonight?” Susannah asked after his parents had left. She shifted toward him on the kitchen stool, invading his space.

  Gabe folded his brawny arms across his chest, and let out a sigh that reverberated through his six-foot-three-inch frame. Intuitive whiskey-colored eyes lassoed hers. “Probably because I am, unless you decide to kick me out. And I really wouldn’t advise that.”

  She wished he didn’t radiate such potent masculinity or look so ruggedly fit in whatever he chose to wear. Never mind have such a sexy smile and such firm, sensual lips...

  She could barely look at him and not wonder what it might be like to kiss him again.

  With a huff, she planted both hands on her hips and declared, “I don’t need a babysitter.”

  “Probably not. But your kids might.”

  Not if I can help it. Susannah shut her eyes briefly and rubbed at the tension in her temples. “They’re fast asleep.”

  Outside, there was a very distant rumble of thunder, a lightning flash against the blinds.

  He strode over to where her dog was standing by the back door. Gabe reached down to pet Daisy’s head and scratch her behind her ears. “And it looks like Daisy needs to go out,” he said.

  Was that what was bothering him? He looked more concerned than she would have expected him to be about her beloved pet. It was also a situation easily remedied and help she could use. “Would you mind snapping a leash on her and taking her out front? She’ll get down to business quicker that way. Then she’ll be all set for the night.”

  “Happy to help.” Gabe eased out the door, making pains not to make any sounds that might rouse the sleeping children upstairs.

  As soon as he was out of sight, Susannah grabbed her crutches again and hobbled across the kitchen. She was just trying to figure out how to pull the pizza box out of the fridge without dropping it when Gabe came back in. He let Daisy off her leash, then went to the kitchen sink to wash his hands. “You must be hungry,” he said kindly.

  She was. Worse, his inherent helpfulness caused her heart to pang in her chest. She knew it would be far too easy to begin to lean on him. And where would that leave her when he left, as he inevitably would? Clamping down tight on the floodgates of emotion that threatened to open up, she forced herself to concentrate on her growling tummy.

  Leaving him to retrieve the pizza, she perched on the stool again. Guilt flowed through her as she recalled, “Darn it! I meant to give your parents money for the pizza.”

  Gabe shrugged. “I’m sure they’re fine.”

  “I don’t want to owe them.”

  Gallantly, he brought another stool over and situated it so Susannah could prop her swollen ankle across the seat and still enjoy her meal. “I’ll find out what the cost was and let you know.”

  Susannah smiled her gratitude. “Thanks. I also need to pay them back for their kindness tonight. So, what can I do in return? So your folks will know I’m genuinely grateful.”

  Gabe arched a brow in consternation. “I think they know that already, princess.”

  Susannah thought about the years she had spent with her late aunt Elda, how bad she had always felt, upsetting the older woman’s life. She didn’t want to go back to feeling like a burden. Not if she could avoid it. “I still need to do something to show my appreciation. So, what do you think? Could I take them to dinner or...?”

  Gabe cocked a brow, considering. “They both love homemade cookies, and my mom hasn’t had much time to bake lately.”

  “I can do that in a few days when I’m feeling better. The kids can participate, too.”

  “They’d love that. They’re both really into grandparent mode.”

  “How many grandchildren do they have?”

  “My brother Noah has three daughters. They’re all in California. And my sister Faith is fostering an infant here.”

  “And the other six...?”

  “Are all single. And childless. For now. Much to my parents’ dismay.”

  And her children didn’t have any grandparents. Wondering what his future plans held, she asked, “Not planning to supply them with any yourself?”

  He offered a wry shrug. “Kind of hard to do when I’m constantly on the move and living overseas.”

  Before she could stop herself, Susannah inquired casually, “You don’t want to change that?”

  Gabe hesitated. Something indecipherable came and went in his eyes. “No. Not really.”

  Which was, Susannah reminded herself sternly, yet another reason why she shouldn’t give in to the attraction brewing between them.

  Changing the subject, she pulled the pizza box on the counter toward her. “You want yours heated?”

  A single shake of his handsome head. “Actually, I prefer it cold when it’s leftover.”

  “Me, too.”

  Rising and leaning on her good foot, she brought out two bottled waters from the fridge. “Sorry, I don’t have any beer to offer you.”

  His eyes twinkled. “What makes you think I want beer with my pizza?”

  “Back in college, you always ordered a pitcher whenever you got a pie.”

  “I’m surprised you remember that.”

  She remembered everything about him. But figuring he didn’t need to know that, she shrugged. Then hobbled over to get two plates from the cupboard. He was instantly at her side, his shoulder nudging hers. “You should let me do that.”

  “I’m not helpless.”

  “No one said you were.”

  Their eyes met. And just that suddenly, she wanted to kiss him again. Not good. Figuring the more distance between them, the better, she relented. “Okay, Doc, if you insist...”

  She moved around the island and sat down. He brought the napkins from the table. She told him where the silverware was. A companionable silence stretched between them. As they began to eat, he tilted his head at the wall of paintings in the breakfast area. They were all of Daisy, starting at eight weeks, and tracking her progress until the quintuplets were born. “Did you do all those?”

  Susannah savored the crisp crust, flavorful tomato sauce and spicy toppings. “Kept me busy when I was going through the preimplantation process and waiting to see if the IVF took, and then during the months I was pregnant. The latter three months of which I was on bed rest. But I still managed to paint.”

  Gabe helped himself to another slice and continued admiring the art. “They’re incredible. They seem to really capture her.”

  Others had said so, too. Susannah dabbed the corners of her lips with her napkin. “I worked hard to capture the essence of her personality as she grew.”

  Gabe’s eyes twinkled. “I think you succeeded.”

  “Thank you,” Susannah said, not knowing why his approval mattered so much to her, just that it did. “I’m glad you like them,” she admitted.

  He looked past the adjacent mudroom, to what had once been a screened-in porch and was now a sunroom, fully decked out with a tall drawing table, two easels, canvas and paint supplies. “This your studio?”

  “Yes.” The depth of his curiosity paired with his quiet admiration had her offering, “You can look around if you like.”

  While she finished her second piece, too, he stepped inside, in front of a half-finished painting on an easel of an exuberant Jack Russell terrier, catching a tennis ball in midleap. He studied it for a long moment. “Is this for someone else?”

  “Yes. I have a pet portrait business now. People bring me their favorite photographs of their pets, and I paint them.”

  He came toward her. “Nice.”

  Her heartbeat picked up for no reason she could figure. Finished with her dinner, Susannah cleared her throat. “It allows me to stay at home with the kids right now, which is what I need.”

  He st
epped in to clear the dishes. “You don’t miss graphic design?”

  “Not. One. Bit.”

  He laughed. Lounging against the opposite counter, he indicated her current work in progress. “Well, you’re certainly capturing that little guy’s personality.”

  “I take it you like dogs?” Susannah noted Daisy had joined them and was now gazing up at Gabe adoringly.

  He petted her golden retriever on the head, gently rubbing behind her ears. “Oh yeah. We grew up with a lot of them on the ranch. We got a new puppy every year, until all eight of us kids each had a dog, and then a few more, for good measure.”

  Susannah couldn’t help but be impressed. “Sounds...lively.”

  “It was.” Gabe’s expression turned wistful. His hands cupped the counter edge on either side of him. “It’s the one thing I miss having now,” he admitted ruefully, “but in my line of work, with me traveling, the places I go, I can’t have a pet, either.”

  Outside, the lightning flashed. The thunder was getting closer. With a look of concern, he got out his phone to check the weather.

  “How big a storm is it?” she asked.

  He showed her the large green area on the radar map. The fifty-mile radius was peppered with isolated red and yellow storm cells. He hit the time-lapse button that predicted the next eight hours of activity and showed her that, too.

  Susannah sighed. “Looks like it will last all night.”

  He glanced up, his expression inscrutable. “Will the kids sleep through this?”

  Funny he’d even think to ask.

  “They usually do, unless the thunder gets really loud. Or there is a power outage and the air-conditioning switches off and it starts to get really warm or something.”

  He walked over to the bay window and stood there, staring out at the rain beginning to come down. Then turned back to her, his expression more concerned than ever. “Are you going to be okay here tonight without help?”

  Another peculiar thing to ask! “Of course.”

  Gabe frowned. “I really think I should stay. Just in case,” he added hastily. “I don’t mind.”

  Taking his savior complex to new heights, wasn’t he? Aware the last thing she needed was to impose on him further, Susannah said, “First of all, I’m fine. Second, I can still comfort them with a sprained ankle.”

  Another flash of lightning appeared, followed thirty seconds later by a clap of thunder.

  He challenged quietly, “But could you get them out of the house in an emergency if you’re not able to move quickly?”

  What in the world was going on with him? “Actually,” Susannah returned just as confidently, “I could. We’ve practiced both in-school and at-home emergency drills. Their preschool requires it, and I need them to obey me quickly and quietly in an emergency, too, since as you just pointed out, it’s usually just me taking care of them these days.”

  He came back to sit next to her and finish his bottle of water. “Was it always like that?”

  “The first year, I had lots of volunteers coming to help diaper and feed and rock them. Now it’s mostly just Millie and Mike and the occasional teenage babysitters. Although I always have to hire at least two sitters, so it gets kind of expensive and hard to schedule.”

  “I can imagine.” Finished, he tossed his bottle into the recycling container and came to stand before her, Daisy still at his side.

  “So. Back to your plans for the rest of the night... Princess, you really need to get some sleep.”

  As if she didn’t know that! She met his level look with one of her own. “So do you, Doc.”

  “Except I never sleep during a storm.”

  “Why not?”

  His lips twisted thoughtfully. “Just don’t. The point is, I could be here, make sure you’ve got enough ice to get through the night. Set up a bed for you on the sofa.”

  “I’m planning to sleep in my bed upstairs. That way the kids will know where to find me if they need me, and I’ll be near them, as usual. But if you’re in a mind to help, you’re welcome to fill a cooler from the garage with ice and the gel packs I have in the big freezer out there and carry that upstairs.”

  By the time he’d done that, she was halfway up the stairs, scooting stair by stair on her bottom. Crutches at one side. Leg straight out in front of her. Daisy bringing up the rear. It worked fine until she reached the second floor. Momentarily nonplussed, she tried to figure out how to get back to a standing position from where she was.

  “Allow me,” he murmured. Tucking his hands around her ribs, he lifted her to her feet, and she stumbled into his chest.

  Gabe looked down at her. And suddenly she could tell he was thinking about kissing her again. The only problem was, she wasn’t sure that if they started, they would be able to stop. And with the kids sleeping nearby, Daisy sitting there, looking up at them quizzically as if wondering what was going on, she knew there was only one thing to do—put an end to this before they did something they would both likely regret. So she whispered instead, “I’ve got it from here, Doc. There’s a spare key in the kitchen. You can see yourself out and leave it in the faux frog holder slash planter on the front porch.”

  He paused, then regretfully bid her good-night, and did as she asked.

  * * *

  “Still in another time zone?” Cade asked the next morning, while making a smoothie with protein powder, fresh fruit, juice and yogurt.

  Gabe scraped a hand beneath his jaw. Feeling the stubble, he went to pull his electric razor from his bag. “Why?”

  “Heard you roaming around most of the night.”

  Gabe looked out the window. The rain had stopped and the sun was coming out. Looked to be a pretty day dawning. Gabe felt the relief he always did when thunderstorms ended. He switched on his razor. “Sorry.”

  Cade added a couple of handfuls of spinach and kale. “No big deal. I assume that was why you couldn’t sleep.”

  Gabe rummaged through his clothes, pulling out a clean shirt and another pair of jeans. Straightening, he turned the tables on his brother, asking, “The real question is, why weren’t you asleep?” If Cade had been, he wouldn’t have heard Gabe pacing while studying the storm on the weather radar most of the night.

  Cade fit the lid on the pitcher. Punched Blend. “I was texting with all three of our sisters.”

  Gabe waited until the concoction was mixed. “What about?”

  “Dad’s Father’s Day gift. We went all out for Mom for Mother’s Day, so we have to do the same for Dad, only no one knows what to get him. We can’t exactly get him diamond jewelry, too.”

  Finished, Gabe switched off his razor and dropped it back in his bag. “He’s not exactly a bling kind of guy, is he?”

  “No, but he is sentimental.” Cade poured half the blender’s contents into another tall glass and handed it over.

  That he was. As was their mom. “Any ideas?”

  “The girls were talking about maybe doing a family portrait of all the kids. But that just seems so...” Cade frowned.

  “Hard to arrange?” Gabe guessed, wondering how early was too early to appear on Susannah’s doorstep, to check on her and make sure she’d made it through the night okay.

  “Well, yeah, since half of us don’t even live in Laramie anymore.” Cade took his glass and stepped outside into the lavishly landscaped backyard, with the Jacuzzi and waterfall pool, and took a seat beneath an umbrella table. “I was thinking it should have something to do with the ranch, but Mom’s already given him fancy framed photos, including an aerial view of the Rocking L Ranch.”

  Deciding he needed to wait until at least 9:00 a.m. before visiting Susannah and the quints, Gabe settled opposite his brother.

  Cade exhaled. “Travis suggested we get Dad a new horse, but we already have a stable full and you know how much he loves Chestnut, so...” He rubbed the place
just to the left of his right shoulder, as if it were hurting him again. Then dropped his hand.

  “Actually, I might have an idea, but I need to talk to someone first,” Gabe said as Susannah’s beautiful face came to mind. “Make sure it’s even doable.”

  Cade grinned. “That sounds mysterious.”

  “Provident, actually,” Gabe corrected with another sip of the remarkably unsweet concoction. Since he needed to live up to his obligation and keep an eye on Susannah and the kids—at least while he was in the country—this would give him plenty of excuse to see her.

  Assuming she agreed to his request, anyway. Gabe exhaled and put his glass aside. “In the meantime, I’m going to go check on Susannah Alexander, see if she needs anything.”

  Cade shifted his upper torso to the right and gently flexed his injured shoulder, as if testing it for pain. With a lifted brow, he reminded Gabe, “She’s got friends, you know. Plenty of them.”

  Gabe finished the last of his smoothie. “I feel responsible. If she hadn’t been so distracted talking to me, she wouldn’t have tripped and fallen.”

  “Ahhhh.” A wealth of innuendo in the single word.

  Gabe tensed with irritation. “Don’t read too much into it. I’m just being a Good Samaritan.”

  Cade chuckled. “Keep telling yourself that.”

  Gabe did as he made a stop in downtown Laramie. And then again, on the way to Susannah’s place. He didn’t see any other cars parked in front of her house when he shifted his gift to one arm and rang the doorbell. Susannah’s melodic voice rang out in the sweet silence of early morning. “Come in!”

  He eased the door open. Saw Susannah sitting on a dining room chair, her ankle propped up on another, a cold pack draped over it. The easel had been lowered to her height. She had a palette of paints in one hand, a brush in another.

  He scanned her, taking in the healthy color in her cheeks, the denim shorts riding up her thighs and the oversize pink button-up shirt that covered her curvaceous breasts. He eased closer, unable to help but admire her long, lissome legs and bare, silky skin. Drinking in her wildflower scent, he repressed a sigh of pure lust and nodded at the canvas in front of her. “Working?”