A Ranger for the Twins

by Tanya Agler

  No, he had that wrong—the mountains hadn’t been his mainstay. Lucie and her family had been that and now his family was suffering, the danger threatening to rip apart the best thing that had ever happened to him.

  Seeing the doubt and horror in Lucie’s face, he embraced her. “We’ll find them. We’ll bring them home and make it clear that if they ever pull this disappearing stunt again, they’ll be grounded until they’re eighty.”

  Her chuckles turned to sobs. “You can’t promise me we’ll find them before it’s too late.”

  “I promise you I won’t rest until we find them.”

  Yet he’d found no trace of them so far, no trace of the metal detector being dragged through the dirt, no sign of their footprints or other tracks that would lead to the twins.

  “Ethan! Matilda!”

  Voices came from behind, beams of light from LED lanterns. “Who’s there?” he shouted.

  “Owen Thompson!” His boss’s voice rang out as the beam of light on the ground became stronger and more concentrated.

  “And Mitzi!” Another voice echoed in the darkness as the two emerged out of the shadows. Mitzi wrapped Lucie in an embrace and whispered something.

  “How’d you get here so fast?” Lucie shifted her weight in an apparent effort to keep moving and, most likely, stay warm.

  “The sheriff called me and, since then, Harriet, the dispatcher, has been texting and organizing.” Owen held up the lantern and Caleb caught sight of Lucie’s relief that more people were on the trail.

  “Between the four of us, we should find them soon.” The quiver in her voice hit home.

  Caleb sounded so much more sure when he told her, “We’ll find them.”

  “Darlin’, don’t you know?” Mitzi stepped in and grasped Lucie’s hands in hers. “It’s not just the four of us. Mike and Georgie are searching the center with Tina. Natalie said to tell you she’ll check the shed, as well. Ashleigh has every high school student around driving up and down Hollydale, searching. Connie and Deb are bringing boxes of coffee for the volunteer station. And get this, Franklin Garrity is searching on the other side of the lodge. All of Hollydale will bring them home to you.”

  A sob escaped from Lucie’s throat and she launched herself into Caleb’s chest, her muffled tremors cutting to his core before a final shudder came along with a sniffle and she stepped back. “Hollydale cares.”

  It was a statement rather than a question, and Caleb wrapped her in his arms. “So do I. We’re family. Always.”

  That was his promise to her.

  Lucie met his gaze, and the beams from the lantern showed her acceptance of him. “I already searched the area where you found the coffee tin treasure with the twins. They weren’t there.”

  Treasure. Where had he heard that before? In the hollow over there. That’s where Miss Natalie said the treasure was. Bird eggs. Ethan’s voice echoed in his mind. Caleb knew where Mattie and Ethan were headed. His gaze met Lucie’s and the same idea must have clicked in her mind.

  “The woodpecker nest.” Her voice blended with his in the chilly March air.

  Caleb turned to Owen and filled him in on where they were heading. He and Lucie started off at a fast clip. He only hoped he was right.

  * * *

  LUCIE RAISED HER flashlight and there on the ground were two lumps huddled together. “Mattie! Ethan!”

  They were safe! Later on, she’d tell them how they’d scared her out of her mind and shaved five years off her lifespan. The first pellets of sleet hit her face as she broke into a full sprint, their shivering bodies her only priority.

  “Mom. Mr. Caleb.” Tears streaked down Mattie’s face. “Ethan’s not moving. I’m so scared. I want to go home.”

  Caleb was at their side in a second, removing two small rectangular packages from a pocket of his coat. “These are emergency blankets.” He handed one to Lucie while breaking open the other. “Wrap it around Mattie. Can you carry her?”

  “Of course. I can’t carry both of them, though.” The days of lifting both at the same time had ended when they were less than six months old.

  “I’ve got Ethan.” Caleb spread the silvery Mylar thermal blanket around Ethan, no response coming from her son.

  Lucie stopped the moan before it escaped. Fear already ringed Mattie’s eyes, and Lucie wouldn’t escalate that fear. As much as she wanted to carry Ethan to safety and make sure he’d be okay, Caleb could carry him that much faster and surer. “I’ll call Mike and carry Mattie to the center.” She couldn’t help it as tears edged her eyes. “Thank you.”

  “Always.”

  Caleb scooped up Ethan while Lucie reached into her coat and pulled out her cell phone. Removing her right glove, she swiped the screen and delivered the news to Mike. Lucie swaddled the blanket around her daughter before cradling her close and setting off for the center.

  * * *

  A CHEER ERUPTED as Lucie straggled into the center. Mike and an EMT rushed to her side, taking Mattie for observation. Hollydale residents embraced each other, giving Caleb a moment of respite before he turned his attention to Ethan, who was being monitored by another EMT. As much as he wanted to be a part of the celebration, he couldn’t, the pain from his herniated disc overbearing. He’d be heading to the emergency room next.

  The EMTs went over and spoke with Lucie. She nodded, then joined Caleb and laid her hand on his arm. “They want to take Ethan and Mattie to the hospital for further checking, but they’re both going to be okay.” Hesitation lurked in her eyes before she raised her chin and inhaled. “I don’t know whether to ground them or hug them.”

  Before he could answer, Connie made her way over. “Hug them. Like I said, you make your mama proud. If you need anything, day or night, you call me.” She extended her hand. “Agreed?”

  Lucie shook Connie’s hand. “Got it. Thank you—we’ll talk later.”

  Connie nodded and walked away.

  “I wish they’d let me be with the kids, but the EMT told me to wait here.”

  “Part of me is over there, too.” He met her gaze, which was full of love and worry.

  “My running ends now. The scars of the past can only fade if I let them.”

  “How do I know you won’t run the next time something bad happens?” The pain in his back magnified and he clenched his hands.

  She offered a slow smile. “I’ll work on it day by day. When we celebrate our fiftieth anniversary together, you can tell me if I’ve gotten any better.”

  “Fifty years, huh? That’s a long time.” Caleb unclenched his fists and massaged his lower back. “I haven’t even filled out my change of address form yet.”

  “Good. If you play your cards right, you might get to move again. Ethel and Ladybug will fight me for you, too.” Her sense of humor was back.

  “Shouldn’t we go out on a second date first?”

  “When was our first date?” Lucie wrinkled her brow and playfully shrugged.

  “The memory of you in that pink dress will help me through many a hard time in my life.” He had to share what was going on with his back, in case she didn’t want to commit to seeing him through more surgeries. “Speaking of hard times...”

  “I’ll be there in the hard times and the good. Come with me to the hospital and help me take them home.” She met his gaze, her blue eyes burning bright and beautiful.

  He longed to reach for her and embrace her, but the pain was crippling. “I’m going to the hospital with you, but I’ll be heading straight to the ER tonight. I might be facing surgery.”

  Alarm spread across her face. “Your back? You sacrificed your back for Ethan?”

  “It wasn’t a sacrifice.”

  Her lips silenced him as she kissed him with the intensity of a thousand Coleman lanterns lighting their way. The pain didn’t entirely disappear, although it did fade for a millisecond.


  She pulled back and stared into his eyes. “Whatever you go through, we’ll go through together. If you have surgery, I want to be the first face you see, not the third. If you have to find another job, you have one here if you want it. I love you.”

  An EMT walked over to tell Lucie they were ready for her to join them.

  “I have to go,” she told Caleb, her gaze hopeful.

  “I’ll meet you there.”

  She nodded and squeezed his hand.

  With Lucie at his side, he could endure this surgery. He’d done it once before, and he could do it again.

  Lucie was his home, and there was no other place he’d rather be.

  EPILOGUE

  IN A FEW HOURS, the ballroom would bustle with people waiting for Lucie to walk down the aisle. It was only fitting that her wedding would take place here at the events center, the site where her parents had presided over so many happy occasions. Even the drenching rains of the past week couldn’t stop the festivities, although she and Caleb were now set to marry inside rather than outside.

  Lucie ran her hand over the woodwork she’d labored over only a few months earlier. She glanced at the windowsills and breathed a sigh of relief that no surprise bats lay in the nooks and crannies. Instead, pink roses and white ribbons decorated the space.

  The soft swish of the taffeta that lined her champagne-colored, floor-length wedding dress rustled, and she soaked up the scene, one of the few times silence had presided over the area in the past three months. Since the night of the kids’ impromptu treasure hunt, the center’s calendar had been full. Surveys invariably revealed the spa was everyone’s favorite amenity, followed by the yoga and the nature walks.

  “There’s the bride.” Mitzi’s buoyant voice came from behind, and Lucie turned, her full skirt sweeping the ground. “Your mother would have loved seeing you so happy.”

  Happy at last. This marriage felt different, lighter, right. A commotion came from the foyer and she glanced at Mitzi before hurrying toward the noise.

  Tina’s voice issued from the reception area, and Lucie spotted her future mother-in-law and father-in-law all dressed up for the main event. When Tina met Lucie’s gaze, she waved a paper in front of her face. “What’s the meaning of this?”

  “Exactly what it says. That each family involved in the Ponzi scheme can go to my attorney, who will reimburse you half of what you lost.” Lucie was glad Mattie and Ethan wouldn’t hear any of this. They were in the basement playing a board game with Mike, Georgie and Rachel, along with Aunt Rosemary, who’d flown in from California. Lucie treasured the long talk they’d had last night.

  Tina’s face blanched. “You didn’t sell the corporate center to the Whitleys, did you?”

  “Hear me out...”

  Frederick Whitley had made a generous offer to purchase her business and incorporate it into the nature conservancy. He wanted to make the center the cornerstone of a new environmental preserve that would monitor the woodpecker population along with other protected species in conjunction with the Park Service. But she’d only accepted part of his deal because she wanted to keep the events center intact.

  “Remember how we talked about our new nature trail and our plans for keeping the back acres off-limits? I sold them that land, not the lodge. They won’t build on it, and the Park Service checked to make sure the woodpeckers and other animals who make their homes there are protected.”

  And the money from the sale of the land went toward repaying some of the wrongs from the past. She and Caleb had talked about that, and so much more, as he’d recovered from his most recent back surgery.

  Drew placed his arm around his wife’s shoulders. “We talked about it. We’ve come a long way in the past few years. Except for airline tickets and a deluxe suite for a long vacation, most of our share of the settlement should go toward our grandchildren’s futures.”

  “I’m getting my month in the sun and grandchildren in one swoop.” Tina’s excitement touched Lucie. “If my boss will let me have the time off, that is.”

  One of the best parts about accepting Caleb’s proposal was Mattie and Ethan’s gaining a set of grandparents, although Mitzi insisted she’d known them first and had claimed the honorary title, which Lucie had only been too happy to bestow.

  “I think we can arrange a leave of absence. And about Mattie and Ethan, thank you, but Caleb and I had a long talk...”

  Before she could say anything else, muffled barks came from the entrance and Pita and Ladybug emerged. Pita bounded forward and shook the rain off her long coat while Ladybug trotted in. Drew and Mitzi made a human wall before either dog could get too close to her wedding dress.

  “Caleb Andrew, what are you doing? You can’t see the bride before the wedding, and you can’t bring dogs in here,” his mother exclaimed.

  Caleb stopped at the doorway, his jaw slack when his gaze drank in the sight of Lucie. Then his eyes brightened, and the widest smile graced his face. “Today is the best day of my life, seen or unseen.” He whistled and the dogs came to sit at his feet. “I’ll compromise and wait until Lucie leaves to bring in Fred and Ethel.”

  “Caleb Andrew Spindler, you can’t bring all these animals to a wedding.” Tina huffed.

  The basement door flew open and Mattie and Ethan rushed to her, the commotion undoubtedly too much for them to resist. For a few seconds, at least, they appeared to be proper angels, with Mattie resplendent in her pink dress and Ethan handsome in his miniature tuxedo. They looked at Caleb. “Mom said yes? Hooray!”

  All eyes went to Lucie, who shrugged. “Okay. Fred and Ethel and Ladybug and Pita are family, after all. Weddings are about family.” And rainbows and promises and slow kisses. All things she’d believed happened to other people, not her.

  She’d been wrong to lose sight of herself.

  With Caleb as her partner, she wouldn’t be sidetracked like that again.

  Caleb hugged his parents and pointed to the piece of paper Tina still held in her hand. “I see you received the notice about Lucie’s decision.” He moved to Lucie’s side and bent his head, his lips brushing hers with the promise of more to come. “This is the best time, then, to also tell you guys that Lucie supports my decision to leave the Park Service.”

  She leaned into him as he wound his arm around her waist. The news shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone, his recent back surgery and subsequent physical therapy bringing about a change in his classification.

  Drew stepped forward, the concern in his eyes real. “If you need a loan...”

  Caleb shook his head. “We’re fine, Dad. I already have a new job. You’re looking at the new director of the nature conservancy. I’ll be busy, especially with overseeing the mapping and tracking of several species in this area and working with Owen instead of for him.”

  Lucie’s heart filled with joy. This was the future meant for Caleb—the best of nature with the promise of home waiting for him every night. Sharing it with him was all the sweeter.

  Caleb turned toward her and grasped her hands. “No matter how much is going on around us, I will always find my way home to you, Lucie.”

  The minister popped his head in. “Excuse me. Did I see a pair of miniature pigs in the car?”

  Everyone laughed as Lucie hitched up her dress, her pink heels a perfect complement for the creamy satin. “That’s my cue to go upstairs with Mattie and Ethan until I become Lucie Spindler.”

  “Before you do, one more kiss?”

  “Always.”

  Caleb’s lips met hers and the sweetness in that kiss brought promises of love and a treasure beyond compare.

  * * *

  If you missed Mike and Georgie’s sweet romance in The Sheriff’s Second Chance, or for more enchanting stories from Harlequin Heartwarming, visit www.Harlequin.com today!

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  Montana Dreams

  by Anna J. Stewart

  PROLOGUE

  “YOU MISS HIM.”

  Peyton Harrison ducked her chin to hide the sad smile spreading across her lips.

  The gentle hand on her shoulder was, as always, one of comfort and understanding. A hand that had guided and supported her most of her eighteen years. A hand that had never once wavered or abandoned her. A hand that was always there when she’d needed it. A hand that with one gentle squeeze offered her the comfort she hadn’t realized she’d needed.

  Rudy Harrison, navy admiral and stepfather extraordinaire. From the moment he’d married their mother more than ten years before, he’d been their rock. Solid. Understanding. Loving. Most of all, he’d been present if not a bit...overprotective. The word made Peyton’s lips twitch. There was very little Rudy Harrison wouldn’t do for his girls.

  He also had the uncanny ability to know when one of them was in trouble or hurting.

  Amid the celebratory laughter and cheers, beneath the swirling streamers and bouncing balloons and Congratulations, Peyton cloth banner stretched across the backyard, he knew today, the day she’d graduated high school, not only opened doors to her future but also turned an overly bright spotlight on her past. And the man—the father—who wasn’t there.

  She reached up, placed her hand over her stepfather’s gentle one and gave it a squeeze, buying herself an extra moment before facing him. “Not really,” she lied, then let out an uneasy laugh at Rudy’s chiding expression. “It’s silly, I know.” The tears no longer burned at the thought of Thomas Blackwell, the man who had walked away from his wife and children when Peyton was only six. But the longing... She didn’t understand it. After all this time, all these years, how could she still miss him?