Читать книгу The Texas Cowboy's Triplets - Cathy Gillen Thacker - Страница 12

Chapter Four

“A mistake?” Dan had been ready for this kind of reticence, given how high Kelly had her guard up. But he hadn’t really expected it until the end of the evening. He reached over and took her hand in his, wondering all the while what it would take to make her feel as crazy with longing and giddy with desire as he did at this instant. “Why is that?”

Color swept her cheeks. “Because I know that you’re looking to settle down and get married.”

He stepped even closer. “And?”

She kept her eyes on his a disconcertingly long time. “I’m not marriage material,” she evaded finally.

It wasn’t the first time she had told him this. He hoped it would be her last. “Who told you that?” he scoffed. “Your ex-husband?” If so, he’d like to wring the jerk’s neck.

Her teeth raked across the soft lusciousness of her lower lip. “How do you know I’m divorced instead of widowed?”

“I figure if you’d already been married to the love of your life and didn’t want to date for that reason, you’d just say so. Plus, there would likely be photos of the triplets’ daddy around the house. There aren’t. At least not that I’ve noticed. Or some mention of him, either from you or the kids.”

She retreated into scrupulous politeness. “I might have never gotten married at all.”

He wasn’t surprised to find her still holding him at arm’s length. Slanting her a sidelong look as they began to stroll in the direction of the town square, he noticed how the dwindling sunlight caught the shimmer of blonde in her caramel hair. “Was that the case?”

Another shadow crossed her face. Their eyes locked, providing another wave of unbidden heat between them. “No.”

Dan savored her nearness and the pleasure that came from being alone with her. “How long after you had the kids did you divorce?”

She shoved her hands in the pockets of her skirt. “It became final one week later.”

One week? He let his glance drift over her slender form to her spectacular legs. “After giving birth to triplets?” He couldn’t hide his astonishment. His gaze returned slowly to her face, pausing on her lips before returning to her long-lashed amber eyes.

Sadness came and went in her guarded expression. “It’s a very long story.”

“We’ve got at least three more blocks.”

She sent him a quelling look.

“More,” he added, curtailing his own rising emotions, “if we take the long way.”

Kelly smiled faintly. Sighed. “Okay, maybe you should know.”

Now they were getting somewhere. He studied the mixture of regret and longing in her eyes.

“I didn’t date when I was younger because of how chaotic my life was, so I was pretty naive when I met Grif right after college. I had a lot of student loan debt, so I was working weekdays at a preschool and then moonlighting on weekends at his family’s real-estate firm in Phoenix.” She took a breath. “Grif had just graduated from Wharton Business School, and he felt entitled to a bigger role in the family company. His parents wanted to see him married—to someone of an appropriate social standing—and settled down with kids first, before they gave him a part-ownership in their multimillion-dollar enterprise.”

Dan caught her hand in his, and this time she didn’t let go. “That didn’t go over well?”

Kelly sighed and looked down at their entwined fingers. “No. He quit working for them, took a job with their biggest competitor and eloped with me.”

“He was using you?”

Kelly’s jaw tautened. “To tick them off, yes.” She stared straight ahead.

“Did you know that?”

“No.” She frowned. “He was so charming I thought he was wildly in love with me. I probably would have gone on thinking that, at least for a while, had I not become pregnant right away. His family went ballistic. And when we realized I was carrying triplets, so did Grif.”

Curtailing his rising anger, Dan guessed, “He didn’t want the babies?”

“Of the child of an addict who spent half her life in foster care?” She smirked derisively. “No. So they sent the family lawyer to see me with a proposal. If I would not claim the children were legally Grif’s, they were prepared to set up a very generous general welfare trust that would provide for me and for the children, through college. All I had to do was agree to an uncontested divorce, pretend to the few people who knew about the pregnancy that I’d miscarried, leave Arizona immediately and settle elsewhere.”

“What would happen if you didn’t agree?”

“They were going to fight me for custody. And they promised me it would be very unpleasant. They’d bring up my unstable childhood and my family history of addiction. And with their money and influence, they might have won.” She released a pensive sigh. “So to spare my children that kind of ugliness, I said yes to their plan, agreed to an uncontested divorce and chose Texas.”

Dan hated the way the bastards had treated her. He was also glad they were permanently out of her life. “So Grif’s name isn’t on the triplets’ birth certificates?”

“I left the space blank.”

He saw the good and bad in that, too. Extricating their hands, he wrapped his arm about her shoulders and drew her closer. “Have the triplets asked about their father?”

Their paces slowed. “Only in a general sense.”

His protectiveness toward her grew. “What did you tell them?”

She leaned into him, her voice soft. “That they were my very own little miracles, sent from heaven so we could be a family.”

So true.

“And that not all families have daddies, or mommies, for that matter.” Her voice caught slightly. Embarrassed, she averted her gaze. “And it’s okay, as long as children have at least one parent who loves them.” She swallowed, composing herself, as their steps slowed even more, then stopped. “And I do love them, very much.”

“You’re a wonderful mom, Kelly.” He grasped her shoulders, and turned her to face him.

She sighed with a mixture of sadness and frustration. “And yet, I can’t give them what they should really have had all along. A complete family.”

Maybe not with her ex-husband. But there were other possibilities, too.

He searched her face, not really all that surprised by the depth of her concern. Or his. Kelly and the triplets were fast filling the empty corners of his heart. Gruffly, he observed, “Don’t be so hard on yourself. Your kids are all doing great.”

With a faint smile, she tipped her face up to his and conceded cautiously, “For now, yes, because so far they’ve accepted my version of events. Although—” she inhaled sharply, looking worried again “—as you noticed, Matthew and Michelle are fixated on my finding a husband.” Another even longer, more heartfelt sigh. “That way, they figure, they’d have a daddy.”

“Michael...?” Dan prodded.

Kelly made an exasperated face. “Also wants a daddy. But he doesn’t want me to have a husband.”

“Complicated.”

Kelly lifted her eyes heavenward before finishing wryly, “Oh, yes, my life is most definitely complicated.”

As was his. Now that she and her kids were in it.

“And it’s about to get even more complicated,” Kelly fretted as they resumed walking once again.

“Because...?”

Dan turned the corner with her, aware if they went any slower they’d soon be going backward. He didn’t mind. He was in no hurry to get to the concert, either. He much preferred simply spending time with her.

Kelly turned her gaze back to his and lamented softly, “In two weeks, the preschool is hosting the Father’s Day picnic. And I know all of these questions, and more, are likely to come up then.”

* * *

KELLY DIDN’T KNOW why she had confided so much in Dan. Usually, she kept her personal feelings about things locked away inside. But there was just something about being with the big, strapping lawman that made her feel it was okay to let down her guard a little. Enjoy life again.

“So who knows about what you’ve gone through?” he asked with the trademark McCabe compassion.

Kelly pushed away the desire roaring through her and forced herself to respond rationally, “The entire story? Here in Laramie? Just you.”

His blue eyes filled with understanding. “What does everyone else think?”

If she strained to listen, she could hear the sounds of the concert in the distance. Kelly turned to look up at him. She knew it was reckless, but the romance-starved part of her did not want their time alone together to end.

“They think,” she said, “that I had a brief, unsuccessful marriage in Arizona to a man who decided he did not want children, and because of that, I have sole custody of my triplets.”

Giving her no chance to protest, he drew her back into his arms. “Why did you tell me?”

She drew a breath. And, knowing they were possibly on the brink of even more heartache, forced herself to look into his eyes. “Because,” she said softly, pragmatically, “I can see how interested you are in me. Or think you are, anyway. And I don’t want you to be left with the impression that any of this is going to go anywhere.”

She saw the indecipherable emotion flash briefly in his eyes and plunged on. “I owed you a date because you helped me set my mind at ease about Shoshanna. And...”

He lowered his head to hers and delivered a kiss. Short, sweet and utterly seductive.

“What was that for?” Kelly gasped, so dizzy it rocked her world.

He rocked her world.

Dan grinned and kissed her again. A little more slowly and deliberately this time. “Because,” he responded tenderly, “I didn’t want you to have to wait until the end of our date to stop fooling yourself and realize I’m not the only one feeling something here.”

* * *

IT WAS JUST one embrace. One short, sweet, incredibly tender and evocative embrace. Yet Kelly couldn’t stop thinking about it and remembering just how wonderful it had felt to be caught up against Dan McCabe’s tall, strong body.

And she was still thinking about it two hours later, after the concert ended, when he was walking her home. As well as thinking about how to phrase what she knew she had to say.

When they were one street away, she took an enervating breath and began. “You know how we agreed to just one date...?”

His eyes crinkled at the corners. “I recall you wanting to limit it to that.”

Kelly swallowed, already tingling all over. “Because I thought that, if, at the end of our night out, either one of us just wasn’t feeling it.” Or shouldn’t be feeling it. “Then...”

He stopped walking abruptly, caught her hand. And looked deep into her eyes. “Except, Kelly, I am.”

With a great deal more difficulty than she imagined, she ignored his soft, sexy declaration and pushed on as if he hadn’t spoken. “...the two of us might decide we would be better off as friends.”

Just as he had done with the dozens of other Laramie County women he had dated.

To her consternation, he rejected the notion, again. “Or friends and more,” he murmured persuasively, lowering his head.

She barely had time to catch her breath, and then he was pulling her all the way against him, kissing her again. And again, and again. Inundating her with so many sensations at once. The hard warmth of his body. The delectably minty and masculine taste of his mouth. The clean masculine fragrance of his skin. Heavens, the man knew how to kiss. How to make her want and need and feel, how to draw her into the promise of more, so much more, before letting that same kiss come to a slow and oh-so-sensual end.

When he finally pulled back, he rasped, “I don’t think we were meant to be ‘just friends.’”

Her body didn’t think so, either.

Frazzled, she moved a slight distance away from him and propelled herself forward, in the direction of her home.

With difficulty, Kelly reminded herself that it was a man only half as charming as Dan who’d broken her heart before. Could she really go through that again?

The common sense side of her said no, she could not. “Well, I do,” she countered stubbornly, folding her arms in front of her.

He fell into step beside her, matching her step for step as she hurried home. “Okay,” he said.

Kelly spun on him, echoing in disbelief, “Okay?”

It didn’t help that the sky was velvety black now, with a brilliant quarter moon and a sprinkling of stars. Or that the warm summer air was blowing gently over them. The town streets just as quiet and deserted and serene as they had been before the concert.

Dan shoved his hands in his pockets as they rounded the corner. “We don’t have to agree on everything, Kelly.”

That soothed even as it disturbed. “Meaning you won’t pursue me?”

He offered her his killer smile and gave her a lazy once-over before returning ever so deliberately to her lips. “I didn’t say that. Exactly.”

She ignored the low insistent quiver in her belly. Resolved not to let him know just how much he was getting under her skin, Kelly huffed, “Then what are you saying?”

He delivered a slow, heart-stopping smile. “That you might need some time to think this over before you officially deem us ‘one and done.’”

She wished he would quit behaving like the conquering hero, quit fueling romantic fantasies that had gone too long unexplored. She didn’t need him to remind her—with every request for a date—what a rut she had been in. Didn’t need him to charge past her carefully built defenses. Or make her realize how lonely she had been for just this kind of companionship. She looked at him defiantly when they reached the street lamp on the next corner. “Just so you know, cowboy, I’m not going to change my mind.”

His eyes were dark and unwavering on hers. “Okay.”

She swallowed. “Okay you believe me?”

“Okay.” Chuckling, he tugged her close and dropped a string of kisses along her temple to just behind her ear. “I’ll let you reserve the chance to change your mind.”

She splayed her hand across the center of his chest, pushed him away and kept right on walking. Marching, really. As quickly as she could. “You really are the most maddening man!” she called over her shoulder.

So much so that if it were Christmas, he would have to be put on the naughty list.

He caught up with her on the sidewalk in front of her home. “And you’re the most maddening woman. But you don’t see that discouraging me, do you?”

Kelly swung around to face him. She trembled at the raw tenderness in his gaze. She had the strong sensation—or was it hope?—that he was going to kiss her again.

And that she was going to kiss him back...

He moved toward her. She moved toward him. And just before their lips met, an excited rap on the windows of her home captured their attention.

In frustration, Kelly pivoted to see all three of her children with hands and faces pressed against the living room windows. Tessa standing behind them.

Dan laughed. “Quite the welcoming committee.”

No kidding. Kelly muttered, “They’re supposed to be asleep!”

The front door opened. The triplets and their sitter came barreling out. “You’re back!” Michael noted happily.

“Hi, Deputy Dan!” Matthew said.

Michelle asked, “Did you get married yet?”

“No,” Dan said with a wry chuckle.

Michelle pouted. She placed her hands on her hips. “Well, when?”

Never, Kelly wanted to say. Given how much Dan McCabe had turned her life upside down in just what, a matter of three, four days? Making her want and need and feel. Instead, she said, “It’s past your bedtime. Why aren’t you all asleep?”

Three shrugs. Tessa apologized. “Believe me, I tried, but they couldn’t settle down tonight.”

Kelly knew why. She hadn’t had a date with anyone since they’d been born. So this was definitely a new situation.

“Well,” Dan said, reading the situation correctly. “I can see you have your hands full...”

‘Say good-night to Deputy Dan,” Kelly told her children.

“Good night,” they chorused, gathering around the handsome lawman for a group hug that was just as warmly returned.

“Night, kids.” Dan looked at Kelly. “I’ll call you tomorrow.” Grinning and whistling, he sauntered to his vehicle.

In an aside only Kelly could hear, Tessa said, “Wow, he is hot!”

Very hot, Kelly thought, still tingling from all the kisses she had received and the one that had been interrupted. Not that it would make a difference. She had already made up her mind which way this was going to go, and it wasn’t into anything romantic—and potentially heartbreaking.

* * *

WHEN KELLY ARRIVED at school the next morning, she had a message that the director, Evelyn Winters, wanted to see her. “What’s up?” she asked as she entered the senior administrator’s office.

“We’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback on the talk Dan McCabe gave to the three-year-old classes. The kids were enthralled with the photos of his miniature goats, and the idea of naming them, too. Assuming that was a real suggestion and not just a misunderstanding?”

Kelly knew better than to throw anything out there, even casually, since preschoolers were very literal.

“The kids wanted to know the names of his goats, and he didn’t have any, which was upsetting to them, so I mentioned that maybe we could all think about coming up with names for them. I was thinking it might be something to do on a rainy day.”

“So you weren’t serious?”

Kelly hedged. “He’s planning to rehome the herd as soon as possible. He just hasn’t found places for them yet.”

Evelyn clapped her hands with enthusiasm. “All the more reason to put the goats on the ranch field trip next Monday, then.”

Kelly blinked. “What?”

“We’ve already got horses, cattle, alpaca, sheep and chickens for them to go see. Pet goats would be a nice addition.”

Pushing the memory of their recent kisses out of her mind, Kelly swallowed. “I’m not sure Dan McCabe would be up for that.” Me, either.

The director waved. “I know his family, and I have a feeling he wouldn’t mind. In any case, I’d like you to ask. And if he says yes, you’ll also need to drive out to his ranch and work out the logistics of having the buses on his property, safely unloading the children and so on.”

Kelly gulped. “Today?”

“Yes. I’ll even take your class for a couple of hours if you can arrange to do it this afternoon so we can get it on the permission slips going out tomorrow afternoon.”

* * *

“FEEL FREE TO SAY NO,” Kelly said blithely when she got Dan on the phone.

“It’s no problem.”

Darn.

“But I can’t meet you out at Bowie Creek Ranch until around six this evening.”

Yet another problem. She gave him another opportunity to bail. “Well, that’s the thing. I’d have to bring all three kids.”

“It would give me a chance to show them around. You, too, actually.”

Kelly rubbed her temple. Why were the fates conspiring against her? Tempting her repeatedly with something she knew she could never have? Not for long, anyway.

And it wasn’t just she who would be getting hurt here. Her kids were already becoming attached to him.

Oblivious to her worries, Dan said, “In fact, plan on having dinner out here, too.”

Yet another objection eradicated.

“And we’ll make a night of it.”

Exactly, Kelly thought as her heart sped up even more, what she was afraid of.