by Meg Maxwell
Since it was just past noon, the restaurant was crowded, but there were only two groups ahead of them in line. They stood, each holding a baby, Anna bouncing Noah a bit and pointing out all the pretty colors on the porch, Colt playing peekaboo with Nathaniel with one hand.
She loved watching him like this. He seemed to think he wasn’t this kind of guy, but he was in unguarded moments.
Suddenly, Anna heard a woman gasp, and she and Colt both glanced up.
A redhead, in her late forties Anna guessed, stared at Colt, her mouth open, her green eyes misty with tears. “Are you...?” she began, then paused, taking a step back. The man beside her put his arm protectively around hers. “Are you Colt Asher? I mean, of course you are. You’re Colt Asher.”
“I am,” he said. “I suppose you know that because I look a lot like my twin, Jake.”
The woman pressed her lips together and brought her hand up to cover her mouth. She composed herself, then said, “I’m Sarah Mack Ford.” She waited a beat to see if the name meant anything to him.
It clearly did. Colt’s eyes widened for a moment, then he, too, composed himself, and Anna could tell he wasn’t used to be being caught off guard. “You’re my birth mother,” he whispered.
Sarah nodded. “Jake told me you would be back sometime in November or December. I know you two only had a brief visit back in May. I hope we can spend some time together while you’re here. This is my husband, Edmund Ford.”
Colt shook hands with Edmund, a distinguished-looking man in his fifties.
“I’d throw my arms around you in a hug,” Sarah said, her eyes misting again, “but I don’t want to smush the sweet baby you’re holding. I didn’t know you had children,” she said, smiling at Anna and the baby in her arms.
“These rascals are my nephews,” Colt explained. “And Anna—Anna Miller—is the nanny I hired to help me out for the week I’m on babysitting duty. My sister and her husband had a sitter snafu and a cruise booked, so uncle to the rescue. Anna to the rescue, I should say.”
Anna shook hands with the couple. For a moment she waited for the barrage of questions that she often got in Grass Creek while tending the Amish market. Do Amish people really not use electricity? Have you ever used a cell phone? Do you have outhouses? Then she remembered she was dressed as an Englisher. Wasn’t wearing a bonnet. And her insanely long hair was up in a ponytail. She looked like everyone else in the restaurant.
“Are you staying in town?” Edmund asked Colt. “You’re welcome to stay with us.”
“We’re at the Blue Gulch Inn,” Colt said. “But thank you. I don’t think you want to be woken up by not one but two babies all night long.”
Edmund smiled. “I did just get past that stage with my grandson, Danny. He’s two and a half and sleeping like a champ these days.”
“Your table is ready,” the waitress said, smiling at Colt and Anna. “Right this way.”
“Perhaps you can come for dinner tonight or tomorrow night?” Sarah asked. “I’ll invite Jake, as well.”
“Tonight works for me,” Colt said. Anna watched him take in the woman, the way he had when he’d first come to her village. He was studying his birth mother’s features, her hair, her height, her mannerisms. She wondered if he was looking for himself in his biological mother.
They exchanged cell phone numbers and then the couple headed down the porch steps while the waitress led Colt and Anna to their table. Many friendly diners smiled and waved at the twins. This town sure was welcoming.
Once they were seated, Noah and Nathaniel in their baby seats with their beloved Cheerios and favorite pureed baby food on their trays, Anna studied the menu. Blackened chicken po’boy with a side of spicy sweet potato fries—yes, please. Colt also ordered a po’boy, his pulled pork with the house barbecue sauce and a side of coleslaw.
“Wow,” Anna said once the waitress left. “You just met your birth mother. For the first time.”
Colt only nodded, and then saved a Cheerio from being shot off the table by Noah. He turned his attention to Nathaniel, who was staring at a little boy at the next table. “That’ll be you in a few years,” Colt said, smiling. “Whoops,” he added, turning to Noah. “Maybe we’ll save these Cheerios for later. I think we have a hockey great in our presence.” He moved the Cheerios out of sliding range.
Huh. Colt had completely avoided her comment. Avoided further discussion. She wondered what that was about. He seemed so...nonchalant. He’d just met his biological mother. A woman who recognized him, albeit because he had a twin who looked a lot like him, but still, she knew him the moment she saw him. That had to mean something to Colt.
“Have you always wanted to find your birth mother?” she asked.
“No,” he said. “My sister was always curious about her biological family and began searching at eighteen. She was very disappointed at what she found. Anyway, my parents were my parents and that was all I needed to know.”
That didn’t sound like an FBI agent. Colt struck her as the kind of man who’d turn over every stone for the smallest detail. But his biological family and his thoughts on the matter were not her business.
The waitress brought over their drinks, homemade lemonade in small mason jars, and Colt seemed grateful for the break in conversation. He’d planned on visiting his twin and meeting his birth mother, so he certainly wasn’t closed to the idea. But Anna could tell he had a wall up, and so she wouldn’t pry.
* * *
After forty-five minutes in Hurley’s, Colt had to get out of there. He had no idea that so many people would come to him and say, “You must be related to Jake Morrow. You look just like him!” At least ten had.
Before he’d even finished his po’boy he’d gotten a text from Jake himself. Heard through the grapevine that you’re in town. Glad you’re here. Let me know when we can get together. Then five minutes later, another. Sarah just called—see you tonight at her house at six thirty.
Small towns were like this. Half of him liked the idea of people knowing another, checking in, having community. But the other half was more comfortable in Houston, where he would walk down the street anonymously. Where he wouldn’t run into anyone. Where he’d decide where and when to meet someone. Where he could prep. Colt believed in prep. Never walk in cold was another of his many mottos.
His birth mother had rattled him. There’d been no prep. He should have assumed he’d run into her in a town as small as Blue Gulch. He also should have assumed that, given how alike he and Jake looked, people would comment. He’d wanted to meet Sarah Mack on his terms, when he was ready. Then again, sometimes, there was no ready. It wasn’t as if he could possibly know how he’d feel when he met his birth mother. So what was there to prepare for? He’d done a basic background check on her and had seen a photograph, so the sight of her hadn’t been a complete surprise. They—she, Jake and he—all had the same green eyes. She was tall, too. He’d planned on setting up a get-together with Sarah while he was in town, but had figured he’d get to know his twin a bit first before meeting his birth mother. Colt had never liked not knowing what to expect, so maybe it really was better that they’d run into each other. The notion of meeting her wasn’t going to gnaw at his gut. It was done.
Finally, the plates were cleared and Colt settled the bill, politely smiled through a few rounds of “your babies are so adorable! You are so blessed!”
He and Anna had stopped correcting people a half hour ago. At first, he would explain that they were his nephews, and Anna would mention that she was the nanny. But after a while, they realized they’d never get through their po’boys if they didn’t stop talking, so they just smiled.
Each carrying a twin, they headed down the porch steps toward the inn.
“Aww, your twins are so cute!” a woman said.
He smiled and nodded. “It’s amazing to me that so man
y people could mistake me for a father,” he whispered to Anna. “I’m the least dad-ish guy there is.”
“Well, either you have everyone fooled or...”
He glanced at her. “Or what?”
“Or you seem dad-ish to people. You dote on the twins. You look at them with love in your eyes. Dad-ish.”
“You mean uncle-ish,” he said. Definitely uncle-ish.
She had a sly smile on her pretty face. “I suppose.” As they reached the inn and headed inside, she added, “Well, I’ll get the boys settled for their naps.”
It was clear from her expression that she knew he needed some time to himself. He liked that she could read him, and he knew he wasn’t an easy guy to read.
Except Noah started screaming his little head off as they walked down the hall to their rooms.
Anna tried rocking him in her arms. Didn’t help. Gave him a good burp. Didn’t help. Sang him a song he’d loved on the ride to Blue Gulch this morning.
“Waaaahhh!” Noah screeched.
“Before the entire inn hates us, I’ll get him in the room,” she said.
He followed her into the room. “What do you think is bothering him?”
Anna peered at Noah. His face seemed a bit red to Colt, but maybe because he was screeching. “Maybe gas. Let’s try some bicycling.”
“Babies can ride bikes?”
She raised an eyebrow and brought Noah over to her bed and laid him on his back. He continued to squawk. Then she raised up his legs and began to pump each in a pedaling motion.
“Ah,” Colt said. “Biking with no bike.”
“Sometimes it works to propel gas from the tummy.” She continued to pedal Noah’s legs and soon enough, the crying stopped. He flipped over onto his stomach and then sat up, his eyes drooping. “Let’s get you down for your nap, sleepyhead.” She scooped up the baby and changed his diaper, then settled him down in the crib. He fussed a bit, and she sang to him until he quieted.
Colt felt guilty just standing around while she did all the heavy lifting, even if she was the twins’ nanny. He took Nathaniel over to the changing table and set him down, unsnapped his little bodysuit and untaped his bulky diaper. “Ooh, that couldn’t have been too comfortable,” he said. He turned to Anna. “Uh, do I put baby powder on him?”
“You can keep him exposed to the air for a minute or two, then sprinkle some powder on him.”
“Don’t pee on me,” he said to Nathaniel. “That wouldn’t be nice to do to Uncle Colt.”
Anna laughed. “I’ve been peed on a time or two.”
He sprinkled the powder and managed to get a fresh diaper on the baby. “That wasn’t so hard.”
Anna was looking at Nathaniel in Colt’s arms. “They’re lucky. You’re lucky. I always wanted a sibling. They have each other, twin brothers. You have a sister and now these beautiful nephews growing your family. Plus you have a twin of your own.”
“I’ve always been something of a lone wolf,” he said. “I mean, I’d do anything for my sister. Obviously. But before the twins were born, I rarely saw her. Maybe every few months for a quick check-in call, and I’d see her on holidays that she insisted on making a fuss over.”
Anna reached for Nathaniel, and Colt handed him over. “And since your nephews were born, you get together more often?”
He watched Anna lay down the baby in his crib. “At least once a month. I make it a priority. If I know I’ll be away on a case, I’ll try to get more time in before I go.”
Anna turned on the lullaby player. For a moment they watched the babies’ little mouths twitch, their heavy eyelids lower and raise, then lower. Maybe he wasn’t as much as a lone wolf as he thought. The birth of the twins had meant something to him; the family connection, the promise of a future generation meant something to him. Otherwise, he would have continued on as always.
“But family must be important to you, Colt. You’re also here in Blue Gulch right now. However you and your twin came together, you were part of that.”
“I suppose. As I said, I didn’t even know I had a twin until this past May. I received an email at my work account from a guy named CJ Morrow. He said he and his brother—my twin—found my name among some papers in his father’s old trunk and that Jake had wanted to meet me since he discovered I existed five years ago, but that CJ had been uncomfortable with it. Apparently, CJ still didn’t like the idea of his big bro having a twin out there, but CJ didn’t think it was fair to let his insecurity stand in the way of Jake meeting me.”
“Wow, that was generous of Jake’s brother. Sounds like it wasn’t easy for him to write that email, let alone mail it.”
He smiled. “You mean ‘hit Send.’”
“Hit Send,” she repeated with a grin. “Got it.”
“I thought so, too. I found myself undercover a couple towns away on a gunrunning case, so I just stopped by Jake’s ranch. I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m not the drop-in type.”
“Sometimes, when dealing with something new and the brain hasn’t caught up to the heart, one acts first, thinks later. Sometimes that’s good. In this case, it sure was.”
“I think so. Otherwise, I might have just emailed CJ back a couple lines about how I was busy on a case and let it go. But something did make me respond—in person. Suddenly, standing right in front of me was my twin brother. We were both pretty blown away by the sight of each other.”
“I’ll bet. What’s he like?”
“Seems like a good guy. He married a woman—Emma—who was pregnant when she began working at his ranch as the cook. Now, they’re very happily married with a newborn. We’ve emailed a bit over the past several months. But I said I’d come back in November or December when my case was finished. So here I am.” He smiled, watching the twins sleep. “I did think I’d have a week to myself between that rough case and coming here, but that wasn’t to be, thanks to these little scamps.”
“Life is like that.”
“Sure is,” he said.
“Maybe one day I’ll be lucky and find my cousin,” Anna said. “It’s nerve-racking leaving home and I’m twenty-four. Mara was only seventeen when she left. And that was twenty-five years ago. I don’t even know if she’s still in Texas.”
“I can do some poking around if you’d like,” Colt said.
Her eyes lit up. “It’s good to know an FBI agent.”
“Unless you’re a bad guy.”
She laughed and Noah stirred, so she put a finger to her lips. Lips he’d kissed the night before and hadn’t stopped thinking about.
He’d tossed and turned on his very comfortable bed, remembering how she’d driven him wild by just sitting there beside him, looking beautiful and sexy. A not-family guy who’d be checking out very soon to devote himself 24/7 to the organized-crime-syndicate case? Not for Anna Miller. She’d been wise to stop him before things could get out of hand. And try as he had last night to not fantasize about her and what they’d do in this bed, he couldn’t get her off his mind.
And now she was all “up in his business,” to use a favorite phrase of perps. She knew about his twin. She’d met his birth mother when he had, for God’s sake. She’d been in his condo, stayed the night there. He rarely brought women home, wanting to keep his place his sanctuary.
A text pinged on his phone. Would love for you to bring Anna and the twins to dinner. Jake and Emma will bring their baby. See you at 6:30. 100 Thornton Lane.
Talk about a family affair. Anna was getting more and more enmeshed in his life. He didn’t like it. But he needed her round the clock for the babies.
“My birth mother extended the invitation to you and the babies for dinner tonight. If you’d like to come,” he whispered, glancing at his napping nephews. “Jake’s wife and their baby are coming, too.”
Maybe she’d be happy
to stay at the inn or wheel the babies around Blue Gulch. Why would she want to come to his awkward not-family dinner?
But she beamed. “I’d love to!”
And he wasn’t sure how he felt about walking into a room full of his biological family all at once. Granted, he’d already met Jake, albeit for five minutes back in May. And he’d met Sarah and her husband for two minutes this afternoon. He would have preferred spending time with each one-on-one, easing into this new territory.
He didn’t like new territory, aka emotions that he’d never experienced before. Colt liked to know what to expect. No surprises.
Now he was going to have dinner with two couples who were a fundamental part of him, his past, his history. How could there not be surprises?
Chapter Six
“Whoa. Your birth mother lives here?” Anna asked as they arrived at 100 Thornton Lane.
Was this even a house? Made of stone, the three-story building looked like a castle. The grounds were beautiful with a huge front yard and a gorgeous barn, the traditional red, and a pasture, which indicated there were horses.
Anna glanced down at her outfit. She’d changed from jeans into Colt’s sister’s black pants and had paired it with a beaded silver sweater and pretty suede boots with heels. At first she’d been worried she’d be overdressed; now she was glad she’d spiffed up.
Colt parked next to a silver pickup, and they each scooped up a baby from the car seats and headed to the stately front door.
Anna wondered if a butler would answer. One did!
A man in a uniform like a tuxedo smiled and opened the door. “Good evening. My name is Lars. May I have your names?”
“Colt Asher and Anna Miller,” Colt said, one eyebrow raised.
“And Noah and Nathaniel,” Anna added, shifting the baby in her arms.
The butler nodded and smiled at the babies, then resumed his stiff posture. “Very good. Please follow me to the library.”
The library. How fancy! Anna had never been in a mansion. And had never followed a butler.