“The last thing I need is to start thinking about another man.” Yet she already had, and Matthew wasn’t helping her stop.
“All I’m saying is you could do worse.”
She sighed. “That much I know.”
He paused. In that moment, she was certain he saw how much she’d been hurt, because his jaw tightened. “Mother and Father were so blinded by that Nico fellow’s talent that they couldn’t see his real character. If I’d been around to have my say, he never would have gotten anywhere near my little sister.”
“Yes, well, you weren’t around. I don’t fault you for that. You have a life to live here.” Caroline gestured to her auburn-haired sister-in-law, who was kind enough to illustrate the point by already having one hand on her belly. “What’s more, it isn’t your responsibility to keep me from making a fool of myself. It isn’t our parents’, either. They might not have seen him for who he really was, but neither did I. I’m the one who let myself be taken in by a...a would-be bigamist.”
His brown eyes filled with worry and concern. “You didn’t make a fool of yourself. He wasn’t honest with you. That’s on him. Not you. And you’re right. It isn’t entirely our parents fault, either. Though, in my opinion, they should have been paying more attention. That doesn’t matter right now. What does matter is that you have to find a way to stop blaming yourself. You have to put this behind you.”
“That’s easier said than done, and it will be practically impossible to do if you keep bringing it up.”
“Then I won’t bring it up.”
She leaned forward to press her advantage. “It also isn’t helpful to have you pushing me toward a man I’ve only met once.”
“Fine.” This time the reluctance in his voice was almost palpable. “I’ll stop, but I hope you don’t rule it out.”
Caroline let out a huff of exasperation. Emma jumped in with a little distraction. “Caroline, I remember that the last time you were in Little Horn, you mentioned how much you enjoyed riding. Are you still taking lessons in Austin?”
“I had to stop the lessons after I started working at the music school, but I still ride as often as I can.”
Emma gave a satisfied nod. “Good. I was hoping you’d say that. About a year ago, Matthew bought me a beautiful palomino mare. Her name is Dulce, and she’s as sweet as they come. You’re welcome to ride her whenever you like.”
“Thank you. I’d love to ride her.” In fact, a ride was exactly what she needed to clear her head.
After they were finished eating, Caroline headed to the barn to saddle up. She intentionally refrained from asking Matthew about anything more than the basic layout of his land. She wanted to explore it herself as she hadn’t had the chance to do when she’d arrived for his wedding three years ago. She soon found herself alone on a landscape that was a mixture of open land and tree-covered hills.
With the sun bearing down on her and Dulce from a cloudless sky, she headed for the path that led through the trees. It brought her to a creek. The sound of water rushing steadily downstream over rocks and the occasional downed tree soothed her tattered nerves.
A barking dog dashed across the path. Caroline started, and Dulce spooked a little, shying away from the puppy that was now splashing into the shallow creek. Caroline almost had the mare under control when a little boy burst from the trees yelling, “Come back!”
Dulce bolted into a gallop. Heart lurching into her throat, Caroline automatically slouched into the saddle and held on for dear life. The ground flew by beneath them. Dulce dodged through the trees and careened into open land. A fence appeared in front of them. She braced herself for the jump. Instead the mare ground to a jarring stop and lowered her head. The world turned end over end. Caroline landed on the ground with a thud.
Staring up at the sky, she couldn’t move. She couldn’t breathe. She was dying.
“Breathe, Caroline. Just breathe. Take a breath.”
The voice was deep, soothing, commanding. She forced herself to obey it. She took in a small breath. Her lungs eased. She gasped in air.
“Calmly now. That’s it. Nice and deep.”
Slowly becoming aware of the strong hand holding hers, she lowered her gaze from the sky until she found David McKay’s. He offered her a reassuring smile that made her breath hitch again. She concentrated on the task at hand. Did she have enough air in her to speak? If so, she’d like to ask what was wrong with her.
“You got the wind knocked out of you. On top of that, you’re probably a little stunned. You’ll be all right in a few minutes.”
He was right. She was starting to feel better already. She tried to sit up. He pressed a hand to her shoulder to stop her. “Whoa now. Take it easy. Before you get up, tell me—does anything hurt?”
She paused to take inventory. Her voice came out a little breathlessly. “Everything hurts a little, but nothing vital seems injured. Just my pride.”
“Not much you can do when a horse decides to bolt other than stick to your saddle and try to calm her down.” He helped her sit up. “You did that pretty well until she decided to throw you.”
“Where is she?”
Approval filled his eyes. Apparently, the way to this rancher’s heart was through worrying about her horse. “My men will round her up for you.”
“Thank you.” She rubbed at the burning sensation on her arm.
He caught her hand and pulled it away to look at the spot. “Looks like you’ve got a pretty bad scrape there.”
“How?”
“Probably the fence. You flew right over it on your way down. You didn’t notice that?” After she shook her head, he placed a knuckle under her chin and lifted it slightly. “You’ve got another scratch on your chin. Come back to my ranch house. My ma will fix you up. Then I’ll escort you back home.”
“Oh, I’m sure that isn’t necessary.”
“Maybe not, but it’s neighborly, and that’s how we do things around here.” He stood, then reached down. “Shall we?”
She hesitated only for a moment before placing her hand in his. He pulled her up. The world tilted before settling in place. She instinctively caught his free arm to steady herself, then let go. “I’m sorry.”
“Dizzy?”
“A little.”
He took hold of her elbow. “You didn’t hit your head, did you?”
“No. My equilibrium needed to catch up. That’s all.”
He gave a reluctant nod. “Let’s get you to the house.”
She grew steadier by the minute as he guided her through the tall, yellowing grass toward the two-story house in the distance. “Thank you for coming to my rescue yet again. I promise I’m not usually this much trouble.”
He smiled. “No trouble at all. Do you have any idea what made your horse spook like that?”
“A dog ran across the path with a little boy chasing him.”
“A little boy?” His eyes narrowed as he scanned their surroundings. “That’s mighty interesting. I don’t suppose you got a good look at him?”
“Nothing more than a glimpse.”
He opened the door for her. An acrid smell reached her nose. Since she was a horrible cook, it was one she knew all too well. “Something is burning.”
“Uh-oh. Why don’t you wait in the parlor while I take care of this?” David rushed away, presumably to the kitchen.
Left alone in the foyer, Caroline caught a glimpse of the parlor through the half-open door on her right. Her eyes widened as she stepped inside. She crossed the room to where the upright piano stood against the wall. She pressed middle C. The note filled the room until a discordant cry drowned it out. Was that a baby?
As though in confirmation, the cry seeped down through the ceiling above her head. Hadn’t Matthew said David had been a widower for five years? What on earth could
he be doing in possession of a baby? She was halfway up the stairs before realizing it was bad manners to explore someone’s house uninvited. Still, she couldn’t ignore the baby. Not when she was so close and willing to help. She followed the cries to the nursery, then stopped short when she discovered there were three babies and that they weren’t alone after all. An older woman with a cloud of white hair sat in a rocking chair. The baby in the nearby crib caught sight of Caroline and stopped crying in order to watch her attentively.
She gave a little gasp. “Oh my! How adorable! Are they triplets?”
The woman blinked in surprise, then offered an amused smile. “Why, yes, they are. And who might you be?”
“Caroline Murray. I promise I didn’t just walk in here off the street...or range. David invited me in.”
“Did he?” Surprise filled her warm brown eyes, followed by a speculative look. “Well, then, welcome to our home. I’m Ida Winthrop.”
Not David’s mother, then. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Winthrop. Are you the triplets’ caretaker?”
Ida laughed. “I’m everyone’s caretaker. I’m David’s mother.”
“Oh, I—”
“It’s confusing, I know. My late husband and I adopted David when he was only a little tyke. We knew that David had been separated from his two brothers. We tried to find them. When we couldn’t, we decided we’d better keep David’s last name McKay in case his family came looking for him.”
“Eventually they did,” David chimed in as he stepped into the room and immediately lifted the baby from the crib into his arms.
Ida’s face lit up with love for her son. “Yes, they did. They were both grown with families of their own and living in Little Horn. We decided to sell our old ranch and move nearer to them. And so here we are.”
“Yep, here we are.” David stole a quick glance at Caroline before turning back to Ida. “I took our lunch off the stove, but I think it was too late to save it.”
“Oh, no! I completely forgot I had something on the stove when I came up here. Maggie could have gotten burned.” Ida shook her head in dismay when David tried to reassure her. “No. It isn’t fine. I can’t believe I did that. It’s just that I don’t know if I’m going or coming these days.”
It was obvious that David’s mother was overtired and in need of a break. Caroline stepped forward to take the drowsy baby. “Why don’t I take the triplets for a little while?”
Ida looked relieved. “Would you mind? I really do need to figure out what I’m going to do for lunch.”
“I wouldn’t mind at all.” Caroline carefully laid the baby in the crib.
Ida sighed. “Thank you, dear. I’ve tried rocking them, but it doesn’t seem to be doing much good.”
“Are they sick?”
“No.” Ida handed Caroline the baby with the little green booties. “They aren’t sleeping. Not on any kind of schedule anyway. I think that’s what has them so fussy.”
Caroline held the sweet weight close to her chest. “Well, I can understand that. I’d feel grumpy, too, if I was in their shoes.”
“Louisa—she cared for the triplets before us—said they like to sleep touching each other, but when I put them down, one will inevitably start moving around and awaken the others. I’ve done everything I know how to do—rocking, pacing, singing and praying. We need to put them back on their schedule. They need their naps.”
“Caroline and I will work on it, Ma. You go on and do what you need to do.”
“Thank you.” Ida gave them both grateful looks before hurrying out of the room.
David whispered, “Thanks for helping out, Caroline. Hey, I can’t tell. Is this one sleeping?”
She met the baby’s large brown eyes. “Not even close.” She laughed at David’s small groan. “How on earth did you end up caring for triplets?”
His brow furrowed into serious lines as he told the story, and that as a member of the Lone Star Cowboy League, he felt he should step up to care for the triplets. His answer was short, succinct, to the point and hardly revealing.
“What made you offer to take them in?”
He shrugged. “I felt responsible. After all, I encouraged the league to keep the boys together. Splitting them up into different homes would have made it easier for the community to help them. You heard my story from Ma. I was separated from my brothers for most of my life. We’re reunited now, but we can’t get those years back. They’re gone. I didn’t want these little ones to go through that.”
“That’s beautiful, David.”
He gave her a quick smile. “Well, I don’t know about that, but it was the right thing to do. Of that, I’m absolutely certain. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been easy—especially now that they no longer have a nanny.”
She frowned in confusion. “Oh? What happened to the nanny?”
“Pa!” A little girl yelled from downstairs. “Pa, come quick! I think I killed somebody!”
Their eyes caught and widened simultaneously. David tensed. Caroline jerked her head toward the door. “Go. I’ll handle the triplets.”
That was all the encouragement he needed to lower the baby into the crib and rush out the door.
Chapter Three
There was no way Maggie could have killed someone—leastwise, not on purpose. Even so, someone might need help. Right now that person was his daughter. As soon as he descended the stairs, Maggie launched herself into his arms. He caught her close. Over her shoulder, he exchanged a worried look with his mother, who stood at the kitchen door holding a scouring pad and a burned pot. David shifted Maggie in his arms so that he could see her face. She looked downright terrified. “What happened?”
“I spooked a lady’s horse. It ran off with her. She was barely hanging on. She probably fell off and died like Ma did.”
He glanced at his mother. They both knew this wasn’t anything like the way Maggie’s mother had died. Laura’s horse hadn’t bolted. It had tripped because Laura had been galloping through the night in a storm—running away with another man. Of course, David couldn’t tell Maggie that. He hoped she’d never find out, either. Better that she think Laura’s death had simply been a tragic accident than that her mother had been willing to abandon both of them.
Tears filled Maggie’s eyes. “Oh, Pa, I killed her.”
“Baby, you didn’t kill anyone. That lady is alive. I found her myself.”
She searched his face. “You did? She is?”
“Yes, and she’s fine. A little shaken and scratched, but fine. In fact, she’s upstairs right now.”
“Oh.” Maggie’s blue eyes widened. “Is she mad?”
Caroline hadn’t seemed angry when she’d mentioned the boy darting across her path, but she hadn’t known then that boy was actually his daughter. He’d had a vague suspicion it might be, since the incident had taken place near his property. The part about the dog had thrown him off because they didn’t have a dog for Maggie to be chasing after. He’d have to talk to her about staying clear of strays. First things first, he needed to deal with the task at hand. “I’m not sure, honey. I don’t think so, but—”
She began to wriggle. “Can you put me down now, Pa? I’ve got to apologize.”
“Of course.” He set her down and exchanged a look with Ma—one that was a mix of relief, concern and pride. Then he followed Maggie up the stairs. He really hoped Caroline’s reaction would be appropriate to the occasion. After all, this truly had been an accident. Maggie certainly should have been more careful, but there were rarely ever any riders in those woods for her to look out for.
Maggie tugged at his wrist. She placed a finger over her lips, then whispered, “Listen.”
The simple melody of “Hush, Little Baby” drifted down the hall. The soprano was bright and warm and pure. Yet its tone was so soft and soothing th
at he could feel the tension easing from his shoulders. Maggie moved stealthily toward the partially open nursery room door. She leaned against the doorjamb, her head cocked as she listened with a look of wonder.
He quietly stepped up behind her to peer inside. The yellow curtains infused the room with warm, muted light, outlining Caroline’s willowy figure as she swayed in time to the song with a babe in her arms. She gently laid the child in the crib, lingering until the boy settled onto his stomach. She stilled. Her lashes slowly lifted until her gaze met David. She’d felt his stare. That much was obvious. He ought to look away. He had every intention of doing so when a tendril from her mussed chignon broke free to swing near her lips. His hand landed on Maggie’s shoulder to ground himself in the reality of his life rather than the vision before him.
Caroline’s soulful gaze mercifully lowered to Maggie. With a single sweeping glance, she seemed to take in the chopped-off caramel curls beneath Maggie’s hat, her dirt-smudged cheeks and, most condemning of all, the collared shirt and worn pants Maggie had begged off her seemingly endless supply of boy cousins. Caroline’s eyes lit with realization. Her mouth fell open slightly, then curved into a smile. She winked, which prompted an answering bashful smile from Maggie before the girl ducked her head.
Caroline finished her song, then tiptoed toward them. They moved out of the doorway so she could exit. She closed the door behind them softly and tipped her head to prompt them farther down the hall. Once they were out of hearing range of the triplets, she knelt in front of Maggie and gently caught hold of the girl’s arm. “Are you all right?”
Maggie must have been holding her breath, because she let it out in a rush. “I’m fine. Are you? I thought I killed you.”
“I’m right as rain. Even if I had been hurt, you shouldn’t have blamed yourself. We scared each other. That’s all.”
“What about your horse?”
Caroline sent a questioning look to David over Maggie’s shoulder. The palomino had seemed fine to him when he’d sent his men after it. “She looked fine to me, but I’m sure my men are making sure of that as we speak.”
The Nanny's Temporary Triplets Page 3