The Cowboy's Triple Surprise

by Barbara White Daille

  At the supper table now, he smiled, thinking of the photo shoot at the hospital that morning and wondering when the picture would appear. He glanced across the room to the portable playpen Shay had set up in a quiet corner. He could see Timothy stirring. The kids would soon outgrow that small space, and the boy’s strength could create a problem.

  Tyler considered. He’d have to...

  No, he would have to do nothing except give Shay enough money to buy a bigger playpen.

  “I’ll make corned beef and cabbage for you one night,” Mo said. “It doesn’t call for as much work as your dish. Still, it’s one of our favorites.”

  He could envision more nights around this table, with the babies a little bigger and sitting up in high chairs, spreading mashed-up peas on the trays with their fingers. A good thing the adults and kids were evenly matched.

  Once he was gone, the adults would be outnumbered.

  He couldn’t control that. But he could keep Mo—and Shay—from making plans around him. “I doubt I’ll be here for too many more nights.”

  Again, Shay’s gaze snapped to his, then moved away.

  Mo sent him an unreadable half smile.

  Timothy let out a little wail. Shay pushed back her chair and went to the playpen.

  He had no clue what Mo’s expression meant. He didn’t care to know. Not wanting to encourage her and grateful for the excuse to look away, he glanced over at the babies. “Sounds like that boy’s lungs are getting stronger by the day. You’re going to have yourselves a time when they all start yelling like that at once.”

  “We are, indeed,” Mo agreed.

  Shay lifted Timothy from the playpen. “I’ll take him upstairs. He likes me to rock him while he eats.”

  He watched her cross the room and walk through the doorway. He wondered whether she had left just to get some distance from him. The thought shouldn’t have bothered him. But it did.

  He looked back to find Mo staring at him from across the table. She smiled, a full smile this time. “You’ve been wonderful these past few days, Tyler, helping with the cribs and then bringing the babies home with Shay. I don’t know what we’d have done without you today, too. I’m grateful to have your help again tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow? I don’t—”

  She leaned forward and said in an urgent whisper, “Let’s turn off that baby monitor for a moment, shall we? It picks up sound from both directions, and I’d just as soon keep this conversation between us.”

  Nodding, he rose. What was this about? A prickle of unease made his shoulders stiffen. Once he had turned off the monitor, he went back to his seat.

  “You’ve been very giving of your time,” Mo said quickly, “and I would never ask this of you if I weren’t in a bind. But that’s exactly it, you see. I’ve run into some trouble. Our helper scheduled for tomorrow has had to cancel, too. And just the hour or so upstairs with Shay and the babies this afternoon wore me out.” She sighed. “Though I would never in a million years say this to Shay, I’m forced to admit it to you. Tyler, three babies are just too much for me to handle.”

  I need your help.

  She didn’t have to say it. He could see it in her eyes.

  Now a hint of mistrust blended with his unease. The woman looked spry enough to him. She sure seemed to have enough get-up-and-go to roam all over town. It sounded like she all but ran the women’s club and the knitting circle and a bunch of other groups. But despite her apparent energy and her clear green eyes, as he had already noted, her hair was as snow white as Jed’s. No doubt she came somewhere close to the man’s seventysomething years.

  He also had noticed how much those green eyes were like Shay’s.

  Unlike her granddaughter lately, Mo held his gaze. He couldn’t have looked away if his life depended on it.

  And he wouldn’t turn her down.

  It felt good to finally have someone willing to trust and depend on him.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Finished settling Timothy in his crib, Tyler turned to watch Shay. She stood at the changing table closing the snaps on Jamie’s pajamas, just as he had done a minute ago with Timothy. “I’m getting pretty good at this baby-changing business, don’t you think?”

  She threw him a glance. “Pajama changing, you mean. You don’t get credit for the full job unless you’ve changed the diaper, too.”

  “Well, that’s where I have to draw the line. But my tucking skills aren’t bad, either. Here, give Jamie to me. I’ll put him back in his crib.”

  He had given in to Mo’s request for more help. Since his return this morning, he and Shay had tiptoed around each other—and not solely because they didn’t want to wake the kids.

  She had been careful to keep out of his reach ever since he’d kissed her yesterday. Obviously, she regretted that kiss as much as he did. There was nothing he could do about his actions except apologize. The opportunity for that conversation had never arisen, and he felt reluctant to bring it up now.

  When he walked up to her, she nearly shied away. Just as obviously, she was still being careful, choosing not to get too close to him again. She had the right idea. They seemed to have reinstated the truce that had been broken after they’d brought the babies home from the hospital. He didn’t want to say anything to damage that again.

  He lifted Jamie, holding the baby’s head the way the nurse had taught him. “Doc Grayden’s going to be impressed when he sees this big guy. He’s put on weight since we brought him home.”

  “They all have.”

  Rooting for the underdog, he had already starting encouraging the smaller of the two boys to be more active. “He’s getting to be as strong as Timothy already, too. Watch this.” Carefully, he touched his little finger to Jamie’s fist. The baby spread his tiny fingers, then latched them around Tyler’s pinky. “That’s the way, buddy,” he murmured. Grinning, he told Shay, “He did that yesterday for the first time. Now whenever I touch his fist, he grabs on. He thinks it’s a game.”

  “Does he?”

  “Sure he does.” And every time those little fingers wrapped around his, Tyler felt his chest constrict. “I bet he’ll be great with a lasso.”

  “I doubt he’ll ever have his hands on one.”

  “Why not? This is cowboy country. Ropin’ needs to be on every kid’s list of skills.”

  “No, it doesn’t. Not if he doesn’t plan to be a cowboy. And he won’t. Neither will Timothy.”

  Frowning, Tyler returned Jamie to his crib. After a deep breath, he turned to face Shay again. “The babies aren’t a week old yet. How can you know what they’ll want to be when they grow up?”

  “I’m their mom.”

  “That’s a heck of a reason. And a crazy one. You can’t plan your kids’ entire lives when they’re still in the cradle.” Too bad nobody had told his parents that. “But I guess some people don’t care. You and my folks would get along just fine.”

  “They don’t like having a rodeo cowboy for a son?” she asked coolly.

  “I think sometimes they don’t like having a son at all. But no, they don’t like the fact I’m a cowboy.”

  “Because they probably want more for you than that.”

  “Why do I need more?” Her words and expression made something click in his mind. “The afternoon we came back here with your shower gifts, you told me you appreciated the reminder I was only a rodeo cowboy. What did that mean?”

  “Nothing. That’s what you are, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah. But why did you need the reminder?”

  She shrugged. “No reason.”

  He didn’t buy that answer for a minute. She had a reason, all right, and though he was only a rodeo cowboy, not a rocket scientist, he had figured it out. “You’re not going to let the kids make up their own minds. You’re going to keep them from becoming wranglers because I’m one, aren�
��t you?”

  “Don’t flatter yourself.”

  He clenched his jaw. Clearly, she wasn’t any more impressed than his parents were by his choice of career. Like them, she felt cowboys didn’t amount to much.

  * * *

  SHAY WATCHED ANXIOUSLY as Dr. Grayden went to each crib in turn, checking the triplets’ eyes and ears and testing their reflexes. When he touched Jamie’s hand, she couldn’t help but smile as she recalled Tyler grinning with pleasure over Jamie clutching his finger. Over Jamie playing their game.

  At the thought of the rest of that conversation, her smile slid away.

  Once, her dad’s broken promises had broken her heart. Tyler’s refusal even to make promises hurt so much more. She would cope—she would always survive, even without him. But how could she have fallen for a rodeo cowboy just like her dad?

  Dr. Grayden tucked his wire-rimmed glasses into his breast pocket and turned to her. “I’d say they’re thriving, Shay. Amazing what a steady diet and a little love can do, isn’t it?”

  “A lot of love, Doctor,” she corrected. “Grandma and I and...well, the two of us just can’t get enough of them.”

  “That’s good. Sometimes with multiple births, a new mother is too tired to interact with her babies except during feedings. Physical contact is critical, especially in these early days.”

  “No problems there.” Even Tyler had done his fair share of holding the babies. Connecting to the babies. But not for much longer. She sighed.

  “Something worrying you?”

  She started, not realizing he had heard her sigh. She shrugged. “I have to admit to being tired.”

  He patted her arm. “That’s almost a given with one baby. With three it’s impossible to avoid. I gather you’re having no trouble sleeping when you have the opportunity?”

  “Oh, no,” she assured him as they left the bedroom. “I nap every chance I get.” Guiltily, she thought of waking up in the rocking chair. She had been truthful with Tyler—she didn’t know what she would have done if he hadn’t been there.

  Downstairs, Dr. Grayden repeated the results of the babies’ checkup for the benefit of Grandma and Layne. Once he had left, Grandma gestured to the teapot on the coffee table.

  “A cup for you, Shay?”

  She nodded and reached to take her Mom mug from the tray. Grandma must have noticed that she had started to use it. The mug had already become her favorite...because she was a mom now, multiple times over, and not because Tyler had been the one to give it to her.

  After Grandma had poured the tea, she said, “I think I’ll just go up and check on my great-grands.”

  Shay and Layne looked at the baby monitor on the end table beside the couch, then exchanged smiles.

  As they watched Grandma move out of sight up the stairs, Shay murmured, “She hasn’t had as much time as she’d like with the babies. She’s been so busy, even more than normal.” She frowned. After a moment, she realized Layne hadn’t responded. She looked over to find her friend eyeing her.

  “And...?” Layne asked.

  “And what?”

  Layne rolled her eyes. “Mo might be busy, but I hear you’re not all on your own with the babies. She tells me Tyler was here all day yesterday, and today, too, until he left just a while ago. What’s up?”

  “I don’t know. It’s very odd. Every person on our list of mother’s helpers has let us down.”

  “That’s not what I mean, and you know it.”

  Shay pulled the afghan from the back of the couch and settled it in her lap as if it could shield her from Layne’s question and from thoughts she didn’t want to have. The action again made her recall waking up in the rocking chair to find Tyler had draped an afghan over her. He looked after her as well as he did the babies.

  When Grandma had arrived home this afternoon, followed a few minutes later by Layne, Tyler had announced he was off to run errands. He hadn’t been gone five minutes when she found herself missing him. Since yesterday, she hadn’t been able to get through more than ten minutes at a stretch without thinking about their kiss.

  Flushing, she settled back against the couch. “I don’t know what’s up,” she admitted. “I’m surprised Tyler didn’t stay to find out the results of the checkups. He takes as good care of the babies as I do. Better, even. He’s a natural, Layne.”

  “That’s great. So why do you look like you’re about to lose your best friend?”

  No, she was about to lose something much more than that. “Whether he’s got the knack or not, he’s still not ready to be a daddy.”

  “Then make him ready.”

  She shook her head. “I can’t. Besides, I don’t want him around the babies.”

  “Yeah,” Layne said drily, “I can see that, all right.”

  Again, Shay flushed. Layne had hit on the one thing that had bothered her since Tyler had first come to the hospital. She did want him around the babies—permanently. Except...how did that old saying go?

  If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.

  She wasn’t about to beg him to stay. Or to accept handouts he offered only because he felt pressured into giving them. She couldn’t let a few tender moments with the kids and a heart-stoppingly hot kiss make her give in. “He’s still a cowboy,” she said bitterly.

  “And he’ll probably always be a cowboy,” Layne said in a soft tone, “just like nine-tenths of the men in Cowboy Creek. If you’re holding out for someone who doesn’t wear boots and a Stetson to work, you may be waiting a very long time.”

  “Stop. You know what I mean.” She and Layne had long ago shared the stories of their childhoods. “I won’t get involved with a cowboy.”

  Layne laughed. “Too late for that, girlfriend. Once you’re sharing children, you’re already as involved as you can get.” She sobered. “Look, I know it was rough for you, not having your dad around and, most of the time, not your mom, either. But there are worse things than absentee parents.”

  Yes, like falling for a man she couldn’t trust.

  “You’re right,” she said. Layne and Cole had grown up with parents who were there physically but didn’t support them in any way. Tyler seemed to think his parents were made from the same mold. She couldn’t see his situation from that perspective. To her, what he had said made it clear his mom and dad cared about his future. What more could a child ask of a parent?

  Seeing how Tyler cared for her and the babies, what more could she ask of him?

  * * *

  AFTER HIS TENSE conversation with Shay, Tyler had been glad when Mo and Layne showed up at the house within minutes of each other. It gave him the excuse he needed to walk away. He might only be a rodeo cowboy, but he had smarts enough to know where he wasn’t wanted.

  And when a rodeo cowboy felt his presence wasn’t welcome, he...

  ...went shopping?

  Swallowing a laugh, he shoved the paper sack under his arm. The boys at the ranch in Texas had better not hear about this.

  He rang Shay’s doorbell, feeling eager to get back inside the house. In this short time away from the kids, he had missed them.

  Suddenly, he realized his eagerness came from more than just missing the babies. Now that he had seen and held them, changed their pajamas and watched them smile, he had grown to care about them. His obligations had become much more personal.

  These were his kids. He needed to provide for them.

  As for Shay...well, she’d been right all along. Despite the family they’d begun, he wasn’t the man for her.

  And considering the way she felt about his being a cowboy, she sure wasn’t the woman for him.

  The door opened. Shay stood looking up at him, one hand gripping the door. The lowering sun made her squint. The light turned her eyes into sparkling emeralds. Her long hair had fallen forward over her shoulders and trailed down the front of h
er shirt, the blond strands looking like pure gold in the light.

  He cleared his throat. “How are the babies doing?”

  “They’re still sleeping.”

  “All good, then.” Her face was pale with faint shadows below her eyes. Before he could think twice about it, he raised his hand to her face and traced his thumb lightly along her cheekbone. “Did you get any rest?”

  She shook her head. Her hair brushed the back of his hand. They weren’t meant for each other, and yet he couldn’t keep from running his fingers down the long strands of her hair. He settled his hand at her waist. She had filled out since last summer, and the knowledge that her lusher curves and thicker waist had come from carrying his babies filled him with a need he couldn’t name or describe or resist.

  He slid his hand around to press it against her back and tilted his head closer to hers. For the life of him, he couldn’t recall why he’d been irritated when he had left here or why he’d taken so long to come back. For his pride’s sake, he only hoped she wanted to kiss him as much as he wanted to kiss her.

  To his undying relief, she tilted her chin up, willing, but waiting for him to make his move. A growl rose inside his chest, like the building roar of a lion preparing to defend his jungle.

  He didn’t want to raise any defenses with Shay—he wanted her against him, willing and warm and his.

  When Tyler tightened his arm around her waist, Shay nearly melted into him. As always, his mouth was sure on hers. This time, his kiss was immediately hot and hungry, as if he were too impatient to give her the slow and easy buildup she had learned to love.

  She discovered jumping straight to hot and hungry could satisfy her as well.

  She curled her fingers in the fabric of his shirt and pulled him closer. When he raised his hand to the back of her head to hold her steady, to deepen his kiss, she wrapped her arms around him. The crackle of paper and the sudden stab of a hard protrusion into her milk-swollen breast—from well above his waistline—made her grunt in surprise.