The Cowboy's Secret Twins

by Carla Cassidy

  “You don’t have to apologize. Just take care of yourself, Henry. My boys need their daddy.”

  “And I need them,” he replied softly, then with a murmured goodbye he hung up. By that time the boys were awakening and she changed diapers and fixed them each a bottle of formula.

  While they ate their breakfast she made a pot of coffee in the coffeemaker provided, then studied the menu she found on the desk from the diner next door.

  She was starving and she knew part of it was probably stress-related. She picked up the phone and called in an order for an omelet and toast. While she waited for the food to be delivered she got dressed for the day.

  The boys had just finished their bottles when her food was delivered. She sat at the desk to eat and kept one eye on the twins, who entertained themselves by playing with their fingers and toes and gurgling to each other as if sharing a secret language.

  The omelet was excellent and after she’d cleaned up the mess she stretched out on the bed and played with her sons.

  Maybe it had just been the spirit of Christmas that had her feeling so strongly about Henry. The days she had spent in his home had been like a fantasy of everything she’d ever wanted in her life. She didn’t care about the lavish gifts or the fancy mansion; she didn’t care about personal cooks and sterling silverware. She didn’t need any of that.

  It had been the warmth of family that had seduced her, the caring both Mary and Henry had offered to her and her children. It had been the shared laughter and the comfortable small talk.

  Henry was going to make a tremendous father, but he’d warned her all along that he wasn’t interested in becoming a husband. Still, somehow he’d made her want to be his wife.

  Instead of thinking of what would never be, she tried to focus on what she intended to do when she got home. She was more determined than ever to jump back into her decorating business. She’d contact old clients, solicit for new ones and hopefully the business would grow.

  Somehow she and Henry would work out a solution to the visitation issue, one that would allow each of them the independence to continue their own lives. Eventually perhaps she would find a man who would love her like she wanted to be loved, a man who would bind his life with hers. Although at the moment the idea of any man other than Henry filled her with repugnance.

  What she’d once felt for Tom was a pale imitation of her feelings for Henry. She realized now that she hadn’t loved Tom. She’d never loved like she loved Henry.

  The day passed achingly slow. When the boys fell asleep for their naps, she turned on the television and watched two soap operas that she’d never seen before.

  Around four o’clock she placed another order at the diner, deciding that an early meal and early bedtime would be the best thing.

  The sun had continued to shine throughout the day and she’d heard the rumble of street plows working, letting her know that she should be able to leave first thing in the morning.

  By five-thirty she’d eaten her dinner, fed the boys and the sun had gone down. She was considering changing back into her nightgown when a knock fell on her door.

  With the chain on the door she cracked it open a mere inch to see who was on the other side. “Charlie,” she said and quickly unfastened the chain to open the door. “Henry said you might come by to bring my car.”

  “Actually, Henry sent me here to take you and the boys back to the house,” Charlie replied as he stepped inside the room.

  “What?” She looked at him in surprise. “Has something happened?”

  Charlie nodded. “Tom Burke has been arrested and the danger is over. Henry wants you all back at the ranch.”

  “When did all this happen?” she asked, a wave of happiness sweeping through her.

  “Just a little while ago. I don’t have any real details. Henry just told me to come here and collect you and the boys and bring you home.”

  Melissa looked around the room. “It’s going to take a few minutes for me to pack everything up again.”

  Charlie smiled. “Take your time. I just know Henry doesn’t want you here another night since it’s safe now for you to be back at the house.”

  Melissa was thrilled by the news that Tom had been arrested and Henry was no longer in danger. Charlie entertained the twins with silly faces while Melissa scurried around and quickly packed her things.

  She was going to have to say goodbye in person. The thought broke her heart just a little bit. It would have been easier to take off in the morning without any long goodbyes to Henry. But she knew Henry probably wanted to spend time with the twins one last time before she left for home the next day.

  Tonight she would have to tell him about her decision not to move into the carriage house. It would be difficult but she was firm in her decision and he was just going to have to accept it.

  Finally she had her things ready to go. While Charlie carried her suitcase back to his SUV, she got the boys into their coats. “You’re going to see Daddy again,” she said, buttoning Joey’s coat.

  “I’ll carry this little guy,” Charlie said as he came back into the room and picked up James. “I’ve still got the car seats so everyone will ride safely.”

  Within minutes they were all packed in the car and Charlie started the engine. “Do I need to check out or anything?” she asked.

  “Nah, Henry will take care of it.” He put the vehicle in Reverse and backed out of the parking space.

  “So you don’t know what kind of charges have been pressed again Tom?” she asked.

  “No, but I’m assuming it’s attempted murder or something serious like that,” Charlie replied.

  “I’m so happy that it’s finally been resolved, that Henry is safe and can get on with his life.” She stared out the window and frowned. “Shouldn’t we be going the opposite direction?”

  “No, I’m going exactly where I need to go.” Charlie turned and smiled at her, but in the depths of his eyes she saw something cold, something calculating and the first whisper of fear edged through her.

  Her throat went dry. “Do you have an errand to run before you take us home?”

  “Yeah, an errand that’s going to change my life.” He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a gun. “And I suggest you sit back and enjoy the ride.”

  Melissa stared at him with a rising sense of horror. Charlie? Why was Charlie holding a gun on her and where was he taking her?

  Fear screamed inside her head, a fear for herself, but more important, a fear for the two babies who were in the backseat.

  It had been a busy day but no matter what Henry did his thoughts were on Melissa and the boys. It ached in him that he wouldn’t be able to give the boys a final kiss on their sweet cheeks before sending them back home, that he wouldn’t be able to fill his lungs with the sweet baby scent of them.

  He would have liked the opportunity to tell Melissa goodbye in person, too. One last look at that shine in her eyes, one more of her lovely smiles to end the holidays would have been nice.

  But he reminded himself that this wasn’t a permanent goodbye. Whether they liked it or not they were in each other’s lives for at least the next eighteen years.

  Etta hadn’t made it in because of the snow so at dinnertime he and his mother had a quiet meal of ham and cheese sandwiches. In fact, throughout the day the house had been far too quiet.

  He hadn’t realized how much Melissa and the boys had filled it up and brightened every dark corner. He told himself this was just temporary, that eventually they’d be back and the house would come alive once again.

  It was almost six o’clock when he sat down in his study and picked up the phone to call her. The phone rang at the motel room once…twice…three times. Henry frowned as it rang a fourth and fifth time.

  He finally hung up but stared at the phone with confusion. Surely she wouldn’t have taken the boys out anywhere. She didn’t have a car and it was frigid outside. Maybe she’s in the shower, he thought.

  Picking up a p
en, he tapped the end of it on his desk as a vision of Melissa in the shower filled his head. He could easily imagine her slender body beneath a steaming spray of water, visualize the slide of the soap across her full breasts.

  He threw the pen down, irritated with these kinds of thoughts. He’d believed that if he made love to her one more time she’d be out of his system. He thought that the crazy physical attraction he felt for her would wane, but instead of diminishing, it seemed to have grown stronger.

  He picked up the phone and tried her number again. It rang and rang and still there was no answer. How long did a woman spend in the shower?

  He got up from the desk and paced the room, a thrum of anxiety inside his chest. Moving to the window, he stared out in the direction of the carriage house. He still hoped to talk her into moving in there. It would make everything so much less complicated.

  They were going to work well together as a team in raising the boys. He was incredibly lucky that a woman like Melissa was the mother of his children.

  He returned to the desk and tried to call her once again. When there was still no answer, the anxiety that had whispered through him screamed with alarm. Racing out of the study, he headed for the coat closet in the foyer and yanked out his coat. He grabbed his gun from the drawer and stuck it in his pocket.

  “Henry? Where are you going?” Mary appeared in the foyer.

  “I can’t get hold of Melissa on the phone. Nobody answers and I’ve got a bad feeling.”

  Mary’s hand flew up to her heart. “Maybe she was in the bathroom, or stepped outside for a moment. Maybe she went to the office for something?”

  “Maybe,” he replied grimly. “But I won’t be satisfied until I go there and check it out.”

  “Should I call Jimmy?” she asked worriedly.

  “No, I’ll call him if I need him. It’s possible there’s a perfectly logical explanation for her not answering the phone.” He leaned over and kissed his mother on the cheek. “Don’t worry.”

  “You’ll call me?”

  “The minute I get there and know that everything is all right.” He didn’t wait for her reply, but instead braced himself and hurried out into the cold evening air.

  Minutes later as he pointed his truck toward town, he thought of all the logical explanations for the unanswered calls. Maybe she’d gone to get ice. Maybe one of the boys had been crying and she hadn’t heard the ring of the phone.

  There could be a dozen innocent reasons, but the possibility of those wasn’t what made his heart bang in his chest. And his heart was banging fast and furious. He felt as if a wild beast had been let loose in his chest.

  Fear. Rich and raw, it clawed at his guts, made him sick with worry. He’d never felt like this before. He’d never known this kind of fear.

  The going was slow as the roads were slick and nasty. His hands clenched the steering wheel tightly as he prayed that nothing was wrong, that nothing bad had happened.

  A lump lodged in the back of his throat. Had one of the boys gotten ill and Melissa had somehow taken them to a doctor? Surely if that had happened, she would have called him.

  By the time he reached the city limits he was almost nauseous with worry. Ed’s Motel was on the south side of town along the main highway. It was a typical one-story building with connecting rooms that faced the parking lot. The office was in the center, but Henry went past it. He knew Melissa was in Room 112 and it was in front of that unit that he pulled up and parked.

  He cut the engine and jumped out, his heart banging faster than he could ever remember it beating before. “Melissa?” He banged on the door. “Melissa, it’s Henry. Open the door.”

  Nothing. No answer, no door opening. Absolutely nothing. He hammered on the door with his fist, then tried the door. It opened into a dark room.

  He flipped on the light. The bedspread was wrinkled with pillows lined up against one side, but there was no suitcase, no babies and no Melissa anywhere in the room.

  Maybe he got the room number wrong, he thought, but even as he grabbed onto that idea, he smelled the faint familiar scent of Melissa lingering in the air. She’d been here. Oh, God, so, where was she now?

  He wouldn’t have thought his heart could beat any faster, but it did, thundering in his chest with painful intensity.

  He left the room and ran across the parking lot to the diner. Maybe she’d decided to take the boys there for dinner. Although he couldn’t imagine her packing them up and carrying them across the way when the diner would deliver whatever she needed, he clung to the hope that this was the explanation for her absence.

  Although on a normal evening at this time the diner would be packed, the weather conditions had the place nearly deserted. Henry took two steps inside the door and instantly knew she wasn’t there.

  His heart crashed to the floor. He stepped back outside and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. His fingers trembled as he punched in Jimmy’s phone number.

  “Jimmy, it’s me,” he said when the sheriff answered. “I need you to meet me at Ed’s Motel. Something has happened to Melissa and the boys.”

  With Jimmy’s assurance that he’d be right over, Henry walked back to the motel and into the office. Maybe he’d gotten the room number wrong. Maybe he’d only imagined the scent of Melissa in the room.

  The owner, Ed Warren, was at the front desk and greeted Henry with a friendly smile.

  “Henry, didn’t expect to see you tonight,” he said.

  “Ed, that room I rented from you by phone. What room number was it?”

  “112,” Ed replied without hesitation. “I know because it’s the only room I’ve rented in the past couple of days. This damned weather has practically closed me down. Why? Is there a problem?”

  “Have you noticed anybody around the room? Have you seen a car or anything parked in front of it?”

  “No, to be honest I haven’t moved from behind this desk all day. I know a pretty lady came in for the key last night and that’s all.”

  “The pretty lady isn’t there now and she had a couple of babies with her. You haven’t seen them this evening?”

  Ed shook his head. “Sorry, Henry. I can’t help you.”

  Henry reeled back out the door, almost blinded by the sickness that welled up inside him. Where were his babies? And where was Melissa?

  Chapter 12

  Melissa had never known such terror. There was no escape. She couldn’t open the car door and jump out, not leaving Joey and James still in the car with Charlie. She was trapped and she had no idea why this was happening, what Charlie had planned for them.

  As they left the city limits and began to travel on dark, lonely country roads, the terror clawed up the back of her throat and twisted her insides.

  Joey and James had fallen asleep, unaware of the drama taking place. “Where are you taking us?” she finally asked, her voice reed thin.

  “Don’t you worry about it,” Charlie replied. “If you do what I tell you to do then there’s no reason anybody has to get hurt and you and your kids will be fine.”

  “What do you want, Charlie? Why are you doing this?” She needed to make sense of it. “Is this because of your sister? Because Henry didn’t want to marry her?”

  Charlie laughed, the sound not pleasant. “I don’t give a damn about Hilary. That stupid bitch dated Henry for over a year and couldn’t close the deal. If she’d gotten Henry to marry her then I would have been on easy street. As Henry’s brother-in-law I wouldn’t have been shoveling horse crap anymore. I could have worked a respectable job with all the perks. Now I have to take matters into my own hands.”

  Henry had believed that somebody on the town council was responsible for the attacks on him. But he’d been wrong. “You were trying to kill Henry?” she asked.

  Charlie glanced at her and laughed once again. “Trust me, if I’d wanted Henry dead, he’d be dead. I just wanted to disrupt his perfect little life, make him go to bed at night a little nervous.”

  “But w
hy? What’s he ever done to you?”

  “I hate him!” Charlie exclaimed with vehemence. “I should be living his life. I should have his money. All he did to earn it was be born. I’ve been working my ass off for all my life. I came from nothing, but those babies in the backseat are my ticket to something.”

  It all crystallized in Melissa’s mind. Kidnapped. Charlie was kidnapping her and the boys and was going to demand a ransom.

  Henry had spent his entire life worrying that some woman might try to take his money from him and now because of her and the boys his fear was coming true, except it wasn’t a woman about to take him, but a madman.

  What if he didn’t pay? Even as the possibility entered her mind she dismissed it. She’d only spent a couple of days with Henry, but she knew the man he was, she knew what was in his heart. He’d turn his bank account inside out to assure the safety of his children.

  But what if something went terribly wrong? What if Charlie snapped or things didn’t go as he planned? There was no question that to Charlie she and the boys were expendable. Nobody knew where they were, nobody would suspect Charlie of wanting to hurt Henry or having anything to do with her disappearance.

  They were in mortal danger and at the moment she saw no way out of it. Maybe when they arrived to wherever he was taking them she’d be able to do something—anything—to get away. She grabbed on to that hope, that somehow, someway, she’d be able to figure out a plan.

  She glanced at her wristwatch. It was just after six. Henry had said he’d call her sometime this evening. Had he tried to call? Did he even know they were missing yet?

  It seemed like they drove forever before Charlie finally pulled to a stop. In the glare of the headlights stood a small shanty. It was dark and isolated, surrounded by trees laden with snow. There wasn’t a light from a neighbor or a sign of civilization anywhere.

  A shudder worked through Melissa, a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold as Charlie opened his car door. “Get the kids and don’t try anything stupid. You’re worth nothing to him or to me and I won’t hesitate to kill you if you give me any trouble.”