by Deb Kastner
Felicity, Molly and Logan were setting up the table with sandwiches and chips, including Felicity’s specialty vegan courses. Felicity had become vegan during her college years, and though her siblings liked to tease her about it, they always made sure she had plenty to eat at family gatherings. A canvas chair had been set up for her grandfather, and he was happily snoozing in the shade. Sharpe was sitting on the cooler that held bottles of water, regaling the clan with a story about one of the recent customers to the tree farm. Frost had already pulled out his guitar and was strumming a tune.
Aaron helped Ruby out of the cab of the truck and then grabbed a canvas chair from the back and hurried to open it for her, not contented until she was comfortably off her feet.
“You’ve got a good one there,” Felicity teased. “Look how he takes care of you as if you were a china doll.”
“He’d better,” Sharpe said, tipping his bottle of water toward Aaron. “Unless he wants Frost and me to do a number on him.”
“Ooh, scary,” Aaron said, shaking his head.
“Be afraid,” Sharpe teased back. “Be very afraid.”
“Are we going to do the reveal before or after we eat?” Felicity asked excitedly. “I vote before, if anyone wants to know.”
“After,” said Sharpe and Frost at the same time.
“Now, why did I figure they’d say that?” Ruby asked. “Are you trying to make me expire from anticipation?”
“Better than expiring from lack of food,” Jake said, sitting down at the table.
“Men. Honestly. I think we’d better pass out the sandwiches,” Felicity said with a dramatic sigh.
As much as Ruby wanted to get to the good part, she knew she wouldn’t have the men’s complete attention until their stomachs were full.
She, on the other hand, couldn’t eat more than a couple of bites, she was so excited. She was always hungry these days, but this was an exception to the rule. She nibbled small bites of her sandwich and waited for the others to finish eating. Fortunately, with the guys, it didn’t take long for them to wolf down their lunches.
“Now can we do the reveal?” Felicity said, her hands on her hips. “And if anyone makes another excuse, I’m going to send them home without letting them get to find out the good news.”
And it would be good news—boy or girl.
Ruby was shaking so hard she wasn’t sure she could hold the cupcake in her hand when Aaron finally handed it to her.
“Mint-green frosting,” she exclaimed in delight, pressing her free palm to her heart. “You remembered.”
“Hard to forget. You had it in your hair.” Aaron and Jake burst into laughter, and the rest of Ruby’s siblings looked at them with interest.
“This sounds like a story,” Frost said.
“For another time,” Felicity said, waving a dishcloth at him. “Can we please focus on Ruby’s cupcake here?”
Ruby was all in agreement for that.
“Ready?” she asked, holding the cupcake to her lips.
Felicity squealed. “More than...”
“Let’s count ’er down,” Aaron suggested. “And three...two...one...”
Ruby took a bite of the cupcake and then stared down in surprise and confusion.
“Aaron?” she asked, glancing up at her grinning husband. “I don’t understand.”
She had been expecting blue filling inside the cupcake.
Or pink. She would have been equally happy with pink.
But it was neither.
Aaron pressed a gentle hand to her tummy. “Do you want to know why you feel so much activity in here?”
“Enlighten me,” she said, displaying the inside of the cupcake for all her brothers and sisters to see.
The filling was purple.
Aaron’s eyes were shining.
Purple.
Not pink.
Not blue.
But when Aaron had mixed the two together...
Despite her usual difficulty rising from her seat, she launched herself into Aaron’s arms, tears running down her face.
“What?” her grandfather said, suddenly coming awake. “What is it?”
“I’m not positive about this,” Felicity told him, “but I think Ruby and Aaron are having...”
A smiling, crying Ruby and proud papa Aaron finished the statement for her.
“Twins!”
* * *
If you loved this story,
pick up the previous books
in the Rocky Mountain Family series
from bestselling author Deb Kastner
The Black Sheep’s Salvation
Opening Her Heart
And be sure to check out
some of Deb’s previous books
The Cowboy’s Twins
Mistletoe Daddy
The Cowboy’s Baby Blessing
And Cowboy Makes Three
A Christmas Baby for the Cowboy
Her Forgotten Cowboy
Available now from Love Inspired!
Find more great reads at www.LoveInspired.com.
Keep reading for an excerpt from Her Hidden Legacy by Danica Favorite.
Dear Reader,
How wonderful to be at the midpoint of my series Rocky Mountain Family, starring the six Winslow siblings who live and work on a Christmas tree farm and service-dog rescue in the fictional town of Whispering Pines, Colorado. I’m so enjoying writing a happily-ever-after for each Winslow sibling located in my home state. I hope you enjoy these tales—or should I say tails?
In this book, you’ll meet Oscar, a black standard poodle with a teddy bear cut who is being trained to help grumpy Sergeant Aaron Jamison, who was injured in battle. He wants nothing to do with a froufrou dog and immediately butts heads with his trainer, Ruby Winslow. What a lovely story of redemption this turned out to be, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
I’m always delighted to hear from you, dear readers, and I love to connect socially. To get regular updates, please visit my website and sign up for my newsletter at https://www.debkastnerbooks.com. Come join me on Facebook at DebKastnerBooks, and/or catch me on Twitter @debkastner.
Please know that I pray for each and every one of you daily.
Dare to Dream,
Deb Kastner
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Her Hidden Legacy
by Danica Favorite
Chapter One
The foyer in the main lodge at the Double R Ranch looked warm and inviting, but as RaeLynn McCoy looked around the room, all she felt was a sense of foreboding. Why had she come here? She knew better. Had spent her whole life hearing about how she should never set foot in this place. RaeLynn had a personal connection to this ranch, one that she’d promised to never reveal. She was the long-lost granddaughter of Ricky Ruiz, the owner of the Double R. She’d never had any intention of meeting him, but here she was, looking for someone to check her in and wondering if it was too late to turn back. At least none of them knew who she was.
If it weren’t for the fact that RaeLynn had a job to do, she’d turn around and walk away. No, she wouldn’t have even come to begin with. But the magazine she worked for, Mountain Lifestyles, had assigned her to do a story on the Double R Ranch, highlighting its contributions not only to the Colorado ranching community but also to the nearby town of Columbine Springs, which had recently suffered a devastating fire. Without the caring spirit of the Double R, the town wouldn’t have made it.
Listen to me. Already writing the marketing copy. But RaeLynn knew better than anyone
else about the dark side to the Double R Ranch and its owner, Ricky Ruiz.
Not that that was the story she was after. No, she would write a feel-good piece that would wow Gerald Stein, the publisher, enough that rather than selling off to the conglomerate that was trying to buy their small magazine, he would let her take over and run it. A corporation would ruin the magazine and its small-town feel.
Mountain Lifestyles served many Colorado communities, and more than that, the people who worked there were a family. They took care of each other, and their readers counted on them for good stories and uplifting news. She’d seen what the company that wanted to buy the magazine had turned other local publications into. Glorified ad circulars that cared more about making money than serving the people of the community. So if saving Mountain Lifestyles meant sucking it up and going to the one place she’d promised never to visit, RaeLynn would do it.
She’d banged the bell on the front desk multiple times. With such glowing reviews, you’d think the ranch would have someone staffing the lobby.
RaeLynn turned toward the hallway where the sign said Office, but as she did so, a small child came barreling past her, nearly knocking her over.
“Hey! Be careful,” she said.
The little girl stopped and stared at her. RaeLynn had probably spoken a bit too harshly to the kid, but she hadn’t expected to be run over.
“I’m sorry I yelled at you,” RaeLynn said. “But you do need to be more careful.”
“You gotta hide me,” the girl said.
RaeLynn looked around. As far as she could tell, they were the only people in the building.
“From what?”
“He’s gonna kill me,” the child said. She couldn’t be more than about four years old, and RaeLynn couldn’t see anyone wanting to kill the tyke. It wasn’t like that child had literally lived in fear. RaeLynn knew the look of fear. Had lived that life. And she was glad that these children didn’t actually know what it meant to be that kind of scared.
“Please,” the little girl said. “He’s gonna kill me.”
The child darted around and then opened the closet door. “Don’t tell no one you saw me.”
RaeLynn sighed. She’d barely set foot in the place, and already someone was trying to pull her into some kind of drama, and drama was something she was trying to escape in her life. It was almost like God Himself was saying Here, let Me give you a big fat plate of everything you hate in the world.
That wasn’t fair. She knew God didn’t take that level of interest in people’s lives. She also knew He wasn’t sick and twisted and wouldn’t torment someone like that.
A boy who looked to be a few years older than the little girl came running into the room. “Where did she go?”
This must be who the girl was afraid of. Likely a sibling. None of this was her concern. What was her concern was getting checked in so she could go to her cabin and collect her thoughts.
RaeLynn smiled at the boy. “If you’re talking about the lady at the front desk, I have no idea. Do you know any grown-ups who could check me in?”
There. She was saving the little girl, but she also wasn’t lying. She still didn’t know exactly what was going on, and she’d prefer not to.
“Sadie didn’t come to work today, and Hunter said that if she did it again, he’d fire her, so we’re all pretending like she’s here.” The boy slapped his hand over his mouth. “You won’t tell him, will you?”
Given that she was a paying guest waiting to be helped because this woman hadn’t shown up for work, RaeLynn would say there was probably a pretty good reason to fire this Sadie, especially since it sounded like this was a common thing.
“I do need someone to check me in. I’ve been driving a long time, and I just want to get settled in my cabin.”
The boy looked thoughtful for a moment. “I was supposed to tell my mom if I saw anybody come up the driveway. But Lynzee let my pet snake out of its cage, and now it’s gonna get eaten by a hawk or some other wild animal. My mom said I could only keep it if it didn’t get out. So even if I find it, my mom is going to make me get rid of it. Which means I’m going to kill Lynzee.”
“That seems a bit extreme, don’t you think?” RaeLynn asked. “She’s just a little girl. Surely you don’t want her to die?”
He let out a long, dramatic sigh. “No. I’m not really going to kill her.”
She smiled at the him. “What’s your name?”
“Sam Bennett.” A wide grin split the little boy’s face.
Great. She knew exactly who he was. And while she knew she’d inevitably have to interview his parents as part of her article, she’d hoped to get her bearings before dealing with them. Not every member of the Double R family had a happy ending to their story.
Ricky’s son, Cinco, had died tragically in a bull-riding accident nearly thirty years ago. Because Ricky and Cinco were estranged, Ricky never got to meet the grandchild Cinco’s wife had been carrying. Wanting to right the wrongs of his past, Ricky had gone in search of the grandchild. In his search, he’d found three other children Cinco had fathered as part of his extramarital affairs—Rachel, Alexander and William.
But Ricky hadn’t found the child he’d been looking for. And that was because that child, RaeLynn, hadn’t wanted to be found.
After everything RaeLynn’s mom had been through with Cinco and Ricky, RaeLynn wasn’t willing to risk getting hurt by her biological father’s family.
As far as anyone here knew, RaeLynn was just a regular reporter with a story to write. And she planned on keeping it that way.
RaeLynn smiled at Sam, hoping to convince him to get his mom. “Well, maybe if you explain to your mom that a little kid who didn’t know any better let your snake out, she’ll let you still keep it. Maybe, instead of trying to find the girl to hurt her, you should try to find your snake and get it back into its cage before it causes any trouble.”
The boy looked thoughtful for a moment. “That’s a good idea,” he said. “You sound like you’d be a good mom. You got any kids? Especially one that’s about my age? I mean, I have my friends, but my best friend, Katie, is on a vacation with her mom and dad, and my other best friend, Ryan, has a new baby at his house, so he can never play. So if you have a kid I could play with, I wouldn’t have to play with Lynzee all the time.”
RaeLynn tried not to laugh as she shook her head. “Afraid not. I don’t have any children, and I don’t want any.”
The little boy gave her a funny look. “What do you mean you don’t want any? Everybody wants children. My poppa says that children are blessings from God.”
This little kid was quite the character. She kind of liked him.
RaeLynn shrugged. “I had a lot of brothers and sisters, and I had to practically raise them. I’m done with kids.”
She didn’t know why she’d just told the boy that, since he probably didn’t understand. RaeLynn had helped raise her siblings and helped with their babies when they’d had them. It was a fluke that she’d earned a scholarship to college when no one in her family was pregnant or had a newborn.
No, she wasn’t going to let having children stand in the way of her dreams. That meant being here, writing the story and getting back to Denver so she could convince her boss she was worthy of running the magazine.
She smiled at Sam. “Listen, I’m sorry I don’t have a kid for you to play with. And I get that you’re trying to help this lady not lose her job, but do you think you could find someone to get me checked in so I can go to my cabin?”
Sam shrugged. Then he turned, walked to the door and yelled, “Mom!”
Finally. RaeLynn had to admit the kid was kind of cute and funny. She’d reluctantly agree that she liked her siblings and their children. She’d probably like them more if she hadn’t been obliged to raise them. RaeLynn had eventually realized the healthiest thing for her was to step
away from them and create her own life.
A woman came into the lodge, looking a bit frazzled. RaeLynn recognized her as being Janie Bennett, Sam’s mother. “Sam! You know better than to play in the lodge. You’re supposed to be at Ricky’s with Lynzee.”
Sam looked sheepish. “The baby was taking a nap, and Grace said we had to be quiet. But we were bored, so I asked if we could go outside.”
Janie gave him a stern look. “This doesn’t look like outside to me. And it’s definitely well outside the fence. You know you’re supposed to stay inside the fence.”
“Yeah, but Lynzee ran out, so I had to come after her.”
RaeLynn bit back a grin as she remembered what coming after her had actually looked like.
“You should have gotten a grown-up, or at least told someone where you were going. Grace is worried sick.”
Janie looked around. “And where is Lynzee?”
RaeLynn gestured at the closet door. “I believe she’s hiding in there. She was afraid someone was going to kill her.”
Janie looked at Sam. “We’ve talked about this. You go on back to the ranch house and let Grace know you and Lynzee are okay.”
Janie walked toward the closet. “Lynzee, it’s safe to come out now.”
She turned to RaeLynn, almost as if it were an afterthought. “I am so sorry. It’s usually not this disorganized here.”
When Lynzee didn’t come out of the closet, Janie opened the door and gave a small chuckle. “Sound asleep. She’s just at that stage where she kind of needs a nap but won’t take one. It’s a weird age to manage. She was dropped off so early this morning that I’m sure she’s wiped out.”
She picked up the sleeping child, held her in her arms for a moment and then gently laid her on one of the couches. “Like I said, it’s usually not like this. So tell me, what brings you to the Double R? We aren’t open to guests until next week.”
Janie walked behind the registration desk and typed a few things in the computer. Then her face fell. “Oh no. You’re from that magazine, aren’t you? I am so sorry. We’ve already made a terrible first impression. I didn’t think you were getting here until tonight.”