The Cowboy's Secret Twins

by Carla Cassidy

  It was still there between them, that crazy, wild attraction, that white-hot desire that had exploded out of control on the night of the snowstorm. She saw it in the depths of his eyes, felt the electricity in the air whenever he was near.

  She hung the ornaments and then James began to fuss. “It’s past their bedtime,” she said as she unbuckled James from his high chair and pulled him up into his arms.

  “I’ll get this one,” Henry said and picked up Joey.

  “I think I’m going to call it a night as well,” Melissa said to Mary. “Thank you for a wonderful evening and I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Mary kissed each of the boys on their foreheads and smiled at Melissa. “Sleep well, Melissa.”

  As Melissa went up the stairs she was conscious of Henry just behind her. She could smell the scent of him, felt a stir in the pit of her stomach. It was easier to be around him with Mary in the room. Being alone with him made her think of how his lips had felt on hers, how his eyes had burned electric blue as he’d taken her that cold, wintry night.

  She carried James into the bedroom across from where she’d slept the night before, where the two new cribs awaited. The boys were already dressed in their sleepers, but each needed a diaper change before going to sleep.

  “You can just put him in that bed,” she said. “And I’ll take it from here.”

  “What else needs to be done?” he asked.

  She smiled and unsnapped James’s sleeper bottom. “Diaper duty.”

  “Toss me one of those diapers and I’ll take care of Joey,” he replied. She looked at him in surprise. “I wrestle cattle. I think I can handle wrestling a diaper on a little bottom,” he said with a smile.

  Within minutes the boys were changed and half-asleep. Melissa kissed their downy heads then walked to the doorway and turned out the light. A night-light glowed from a socket in the corner as she and Henry stepped back out into the hallway.

  “That’s it? Now they’ll just go to sleep?” Henry asked.

  “If we’re lucky. If it’s a good night,” she replied.

  “And if it’s a bad night?”

  He stood so close to her she could feel the heat from his body radiating to her. Memories of the night they’d shared shot through her mind. She remembered the feel of his hand around hers as they’d raced through the blinding snow to the abandoned farmhouse, his gentleness as he helped her pull off her wet shoes and socks.

  He’d rubbed her feet between his hands, then had gotten a roaring fire started using a stack of wood that had been left by the fireplace.

  As crazy as it sounded, that night in the arms of a stranger she’d felt more loved, more cared for than she’d ever felt in her life. It was a pathetic statement on how lonely her life had been up until now. She suddenly realized that even with Tom she had felt lonely.

  She also realized he was looking at her expectantly, that he’d asked her a question she hadn’t yet answered.

  “If it’s a bad night then I usually walk them or rock them until they finally go to sleep,” she said. “Hopefully they won’t have a bad night while we’re here so they won’t wake up you or your mother.”

  “You don’t have to worry about them waking up Mom. Her rooms are on the other side of the house. And I don’t mind if they wake me up. I’d be happy to walk or rock a baby back to sleep.”

  She was quickly developing a crush on her babies’ daddy and she found it appalling. “Then I guess I’ll just say good-night,” she said as she backed away from him.

  “Good night, Melissa,” he replied then turned his attention back to the bedroom where the boys slept.

  It wasn’t until Melissa was in her nightgown and had slid beneath the blankets on the bed that the first stir of uneasiness filtered through her.

  The new cribs, the high chairs, even the ornaments on the tree suddenly took on an ominous meaning. She’d worried that Henry wouldn’t want to be a part of Joey and James’s lives but now her worry was exactly the opposite.

  What if those things hadn’t been bought to make her visit more pleasant? What if they’d been bought as the beginning to creating a permanent place here for the boys?

  Henry certainly had the money and the power to make a play for custody of the boys and Melissa was in no financial position to be able to fight him.

  Don’t jump to conclusions, she told herself, but she couldn’t stop the burning fear that somehow, someway, Henry intended to take her babies away from her.

  Chapter 5

  “Are we ready to take off?” Henry asked Melissa the next morning when they’d all finished breakfast. She looked so pretty in a bright pink sweater and worn jeans that hugged her hips, but she’d been unusually quiet since she’d gotten up that morning.

  She glanced at the boys still seated in their high chairs. “Go on, Melissa. I can take it from here,” Mary assured her. “Go enjoy a little shopping or whatever. It’s a beautiful day and we won’t see many more of them.”

  “I just need to get my coat,” Melissa said.

  As she ran up the stairs, Henry walked to the entry hall and retrieved his gun and shoulder holster from the drawer. He quickly put them on and then pulled on his winter coat.

  He didn’t want the presence of the gun to frighten Melissa, but he also didn’t intend to go out the door without it. Although he anticipated no trouble, he intended to be prepared if trouble found him.

  As she came back down the stairs he felt a tiny fluttering heat in the pit of his stomach. He was looking forward to spending some time with her, without the boys, without his mother as a buffer between them.

  She intrigued him. He couldn’t get a handle on her. He didn’t know if she was really what she seemed—a nice woman who had acted uncharacteristically the night she’d been with him, a loving mother who had come here to find a friend, or a schemer who was like so many of the other women who had drifted through Henry’s life.

  “Ready,” she said as she reached the landing.

  He’d already had Charlie bring his truck to the driveway and as he stepped out the door he was on alert. As Charlie got out of the driver seat, Henry helped Melissa into the passenger side.

  Once she was in he met Charlie at the driver door. “Thanks, Charlie,” he said.

  “No problem. You watch your back in town.”

  Henry nodded. “I’m sure we’ll be fine. You keep an eye on things here while I’m gone. Oh, and Charlie, tell Hank I’m giving him three weeks’ severance pay, but he’s fired. I warned him about his drinking, but he didn’t take my warning to heart.”

  Charlie’s expression didn’t change. “I’ll tell him, boss.”

  Within minutes Henry was in the truck and they were pulling out of the ranch entrance and onto the main highway that led into Dalhart.

  He cast her a sideways glance. “You’ve been rather quiet this morning.”

  She looked out the side window, making it impossible for him to see her face. “I was up most of the night. The boys were restless and fussy.” She paused a moment and then continued, “You know it’s not all fun and games, dealing with the boys. You’ve seen them on their best behavior, but they can be so difficult. They cry and fuss and keep you up all night. They spit out their food and make a big mess.”

  He frowned, wondering where she was going, what had brought on this little diatribe. “I’m aware that parenting isn’t all fun and games,” he replied.

  She turned to look at him. “How could you possibly be aware of that? You’ve only been around them for a day and a half.” Her eyes were wide and her lower lip trembled slightly.

  “Only a fool thinks it’s easy to raise kids, and I’m not a fool,” he replied.

  Once again she cast her gaze out the side window. She appeared at ease, but he could feel the tension wafting from her. Something had put a burr on her butt and he couldn’t imagine what had caused it. Maybe she was just one of those moody women who got mad at the world without any provocation. Maybe this was a negative cha
racter trait that he would have seen if they’d dated for any length of time.

  He figured eventually he’d know what had set her off. “Are you warm enough?” he asked as he turned the heater fan up a notch.

  “I’m fine,” she replied. She turned her head and he felt her steady gaze on him.

  They rode in silence for only a few moments, then she sighed, an audible release that sounded weary. “You’re obviously a man who is accustomed to getting what you want in life.”

  “I do all right,” he replied cautiously. They had entered the town and he pulled into a parking space in front of Nathan’s General Store. He unbuckled his seat belt and turned to look at his passenger. “Melissa, something is obviously bothering you. You want to tell me what’s going on?”

  Her eyes were filled with anxiety as she studied him. She raised a hand that trembled slightly to shove a strand of her long, pale hair behind her ear. “You scare me, Henry. Your power and your money scares me.”

  He looked at her in surprise. “It’s been my experience that most women find my power and my money exciting—even intoxicating.”

  “Then I’m not most women,” she replied. “Maybe those women had nothing to lose, but I do.” Her voice thickened. “I need to know if you intend to take the boys away from me.”

  “What makes you think I’d do that?” he countered.

  “Because you can,” she replied and her eyes flashed with a touch of anger. “Because it’s obvious you’ve already taken them into your life. You’ve bought cribs and high chairs and heaven knows what else and don’t tell me you bought those things in order to make my visit with you more pleasant.”

  “I have no intention of taking the boys away from you,” he said.

  For a long moment their gazes remained locked. He saw the internal battle going on in her eyes, knew she was trying to decide if she could trust him or not.

  “Melissa, I’m not going to lie to you. I want those boys living at the ranch. I want them to grow up here. I don’t want to just be a weekend dad. I want to teach them to love the land, to be a part of Randolf Enterprises, which will one day be their legacy.”

  Her eyes narrowed with each of his words and he watched her stiffen in protest. She was a mother bear, sensing danger to her cubs and he liked that she looked as if she were about to rake his eyes out.

  “I have a suggestion so that the boys will remain with you, but I also get what I want,” he said.

  “And what suggestion is that?” she asked dubiously.

  “There’s a carriage house behind the main house. It’s a two-bedroom fully functional unit. I’d like you to consider moving there with the boys.”

  “That’s a crazy idea,” she said immediately. “I have a life in Amarillo.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “A full life? From what little you’ve told me, it sounds like a lonely life.”

  “But it’s mine,” she replied fervently. “It’s my life, not yours.”

  Henry stifled a sigh of frustration. She’d said she was stubborn and at the moment that stubbornness lifted her chin and flashed in her eyes. “Look, I’d just like you to consider making the move. It would be great for the boys to have not just me, but my mother in their lives on a full-time basis. Just think about it. That’s all I’m asking of you.”

  Once again those beautiful eyes of hers studied him thoughtfully. “And you promise that you won’t try to take the boys from me. You won’t use your money to try to get custody of them from me?”

  “I promise,” he replied.

  “How do I know you aren’t lying?”

  He opened his truck door. “I guess you’re just going to have to trust me, just like I’m trusting that the story you told me about some mystery woman bringing you to my house is true. Now, let’s do a little shopping and let me show you the charms of Dalhart.”

  In all honesty, he hadn’t really seriously considered going to court to take the boys away from her. They were babies, not some company he could buy or sell.

  Besides, he knew how important a mother was to children. He had a wonderful relationship with his own mother and would never deprive his children in that way. He hoped Melissa could put away her fears at least for the duration of their outing and she appeared to as she got out of the truck and offered him a tentative smile.

  “I’d like to pick up something for your mother while we’re out,” she said.

  “You don’t have to do that,” he protested. He knew that money was tight for her.

  “It’s something I want to do,” she replied, her chin once again lifted in that stubborn thrust. “She always smells like roses so I was thinking maybe some rose-scented soap or lotion.”

  He was surprised both by her observation about his mother and by her thoughtfulness. “Okay, I’m sure we can find something like that in one of the stores. I’ve got some things to pick up, too.”

  He gestured her toward the door of the store. Shopping at Nathan’s General Store was kind of like delving into a treasure hunt.

  The floor-to-ceiling shelves were stuffed full of items with no rhyme or reason for their placement there. Candles sat next to disposable diapers, jars of peanut butter next to boxes of cereal.

  “Wow,” Melissa exclaimed as they entered the store. “It looks like you could find whatever you need in this one store.”

  “If you can find what you need,” Henry said dryly. “Nathan has an unusual way of arranging things.”

  “I can see that,” she replied. “But that’s just going to make this fun.” As she drifted toward a shelf, he watched her and wondered what it was that so drew him to her.

  Granted, she was pretty, but it wasn’t the heart-stopping beauty that could make a man yearn. She was pretty in a girl-next-door kind of way. But she wasn’t a girl. She was a woman with lush curves that he remembered intimately. She also had an intriguing aura of a combination of strength and vulnerability. Certainly she had to be strong to take on the job of raising twins alone. But there were times when he saw a wistfulness in her eyes, a yearning for something that he had an idea had nothing to do with his money or his lifestyle.

  A blue sweater, he thought suddenly. That’s what she needed. A sweater the exact color of her eyes. He’d like to buy her several things, but he wasn’t sure if his gifts would please her or make her angry.

  He’d like to buy her a new robe to replace the one she’d been wearing yesterday morning. He’d like to buy her a new car to replace the junk on wheels that she’d driven to his house. But besides her strength and stubbornness he sensed more than a little bit of pride.

  He liked that about her and yet knew it was that very trait that might make it difficult for him to get what he wanted.

  Although he wouldn’t mind another night of pleasure with her, he certainly didn’t want to marry her. He didn’t even want a romantic relationship with her. All he had to figure out was a way to convince her that it was in everyone’s best interest for her to move into the carriage house. That’s what he wanted more than anything and he would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.

  Despite the anxiety that had weighed heavy in Melissa’s heart from the moment she’d opened her eyes that morning, she was enjoying the unexpected shopping time with Henry. The talk in the truck had helped ease some of her fear. He’d promised he wouldn’t try to take custody of the boys and she only hoped that she could trust that promise. She’d steadfastly refused to think about his offer of the carriage house. She might think about it later, but she didn’t want her ambivalence to ruin a perfectly good day out.

  They’d wandered in and out of stores and she’d been successful in buying rose-scented lotion and body soap for Mary.

  Dalhart was a charming little city that Henry explained got an influx of tourists each summer.

  In August there was a three-day celebration that included the largest free barbecue in the United States, a rodeo and three nights of live music and fun.

  “See that building over there?” He pointed to
a four-story brick structure on the corner. “That’s the Randolf Hotel. I bought it six months ago and it is currently undergoing massive renovations. I’m going to need an interior designer when the renovations are done. I’d hire you if you were living here.”

  “Sounds suspiciously like a bribe,” she replied lightly.

  He grinned. “Maybe a little one. But I have to hire somebody and it might as well be you.”

  “You don’t even know if I’m good at it,” she exclaimed.

  “I have a feeling you’re good at whatever you put your mind to,” he replied.

  As they continued to walk the sidewalks Henry pointed out other places of interest and eventually led her to a café where he insisted they go inside and have a cup of coffee before heading back to the ranch.

  She agreed. Although she was eager to get back to the kids, she was also reluctant for this time with Henry to end. He’d been charming, making her laugh with a surprising sense of humor and making her feel as if she were the most important person on the face of the earth.

  He’d introduced her to people that greeted them and she’d seen the respect, the genuine admiration Henry’s friends and neighbors had for him.

  In the café they were led to a table in the back where they sat and ordered coffee. “I thought you said you had things to buy,” she said once the waitress had poured their coffee and departed from the table.

  “I got them,” he replied.

  “But you don’t have any packages.” She reached for the sugar to add to her coffee.

  “I always have my purchases delivered to the house.”

  “I guess that’s one of the perks about being you,” she said dryly.

  He grinned and the charm in that gesture kicked her in the heart. “I’m not going to lie. There are definitely perks to being wealthy. For instance, I never go to bed at night and worry about how I’m going to pay the rent. You’d have that same luxury if you’d move into the carriage house.”