Читать книгу Triple Trouble / A Real Live Cowboy: Triple Trouble - Judy Duarte, Judy Duarte - Страница 10

Jackie shrieked again and Charlene laughed out loud. “Yes, your royal highness,” she said teasingly, retrieving the pink blanket with Jackie’s name embroidered across one corner and passing it to Melissa.

“Isn’t that clever?” Melissa said admiringly, as Jackie hugged the blanket and beamed at Charlene. “I wondered how Nick planned to tell one baby’s things from another.” She ran a fingertip gently over the bracelet on Jackie’s wrist. “But everything has their names on it, including the little girls themselves.”

“I thought their parents came up with a brilliant solution,” Charlene agreed. “Though I assume they could tell their daughters apart.”

Melissa’s face sobered. “Such a terrible thing to have happened, isn’t it? How awful to lose both parents at such a young age.”

“Yes,” Charlene agreed, her heart wrenching as she looked at Jessie and Jenny tugging on their stuffed bears. So innocent—and thankfully, too young to grasp the enormity of their loss just now.

Nick strode into the room, pulling two large rolling suitcases and carrying a backpack slung over one shoulder, all stuffed to overflowing with the triplets’ clothing and toys. “I put your suitcase in the room across the hall,” he told Charlene, shrugging the backpack off his shoulder.

“Thank you,” she murmured, delighted to know the lovely room with the white wrought-iron bed and green carpet would be hers during her stay.

In the ensuing bustle of changing diapers and tucking away tiny clothing into dresser drawers, Charlene was too busy to dwell on the triplets’ orphaned status.

Melissa was a godsend, helping with the girls as Charlene and Nick fed and bathed them, then tucked all three into bed. The adults returned to the living room and collapsed, Nick in the leather club chair, Charlene and Melissa on the comfortable sofa.

“They’re wonderful,” Melissa told Nick. “But oh, my goodness.” She sighed, a gust of air stirring her normally smooth hair, where one of the triplets had rumpled and dampened it while the little girl splashed in her bath. “Talk about energy. What you two need to do is find a way to collect some of that for yourself. You’re going to need it.” She looked at Charlene. “Do they sleep through the night?”

“They did last night. I’ve got my fingers crossed, hoping we’ll have another quiet ten hours or so.”

“I hope they do too.” Melissa pushed herself up off the sofa. “I’d better get home. Ed will be wondering what happened to me.”

Nick started to shove up out of the chair but she waved him back. “No, no—don’t get up. I can see myself out. You should take advantage of this moment of quiet. Who knows how long it will last?”

“Good point,” Nick agreed, settling into the chair, the worn denim of his jeans going taut over muscled thighs as he stretched out his long legs. “We should make the most of this rare minute. It could be the last one of the night.”

“Exactly.” Melissa grinned at him, eyes twinkling, before she turned to Charlene. “I’ll see you in the morning—about eight?”

“Eight works for me. I’m looking forward to it,” Charlene replied with heartfelt warmth. After watching Melissa’s efficient, comfortable and unflappable handling of the babies over the last couple of hours, Charlene was convinced the housekeeper was going to be an enormous help in caring for the triplets.

“Goodnight, then, you two. I hope you get some sleep. I left my purse and keys in the kitchen. I’ll just collect them and let myself out the back,” she said. She moved briskly across the living room but stopped in the doorway. “I forgot to tell you, Nick, I left Rufus with Ed today so you could get the girls settled in before they meet him. I’ll bring him back with me tomorrow.”

“Good thinking,” Nick told her. “Dealing with the triplets was chaotic. Adding an excited hundred-and-twenty-five-pound dog into the mix would have made it crazy.”

Melissa chuckled and waved a quick good-night as she disappeared.

A moment later, the sound of her car engine reached the two in the living room.

“I take it you have a big dog?”

“Oh, yeah,” Nick said dryly. “Rufus is a chocolate Lab. Thankfully, he’s very mellow and loves kids, so he should be fine with the triplets.”

“As long as he likes them, they’ll probably think he’s wonderful.” Charlene yawned, suddenly exhausted. “I think I’ll head upstairs.” She unfolded her legs and stood, aware of aching muscles from the long car ride. “I could sleep for at least twelve hours straight. I’ve never understood how sitting in a car and doing nothing can make me tired.”

“It was a long trip,” Nicholas agreed, getting out of the chair. He rolled his shoulders and stretched. “Did Melissa show you where everything is—towels, coffee for tomorrow morning, et cetera?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“If you need anything, just ask. If I don’t already have it in the house, I’ll get it.” He eyed her, his gaze intent. “I’m damned grateful you agreed to take on the triplets, Charlene. I know it’s not an easy job. There’s no way I could do it by myself.”

“You’re doing very well for a man who’s never had children of his own,” she told him. “And I confess, I’m relieved Melissa will be helping. She’s good with the girls and nothing seems to faze her.”

“She’s pretty unshakeable,” Nick said. “I normally work long hours, and she keeps the house together and makes sure there are meals in the fridge.”

“How long has she worked for you?” Charlene asked, curious.

“Since a few days after I moved to Red Rock. The employment agency sent over three women and I hired Melissa on the spot.”

“Sounds like it was the right decision. Well…” She tugged her white cotton T-shirt into place, suddenly self-conscious. The room was abruptly too intimate in the lamplight and Nick loomed much too large, and much too male. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Sleep well. I have to go to the office for a meeting tomorrow, but I won’t leave until Melissa arrives.”

She nodded. “Good night.”

His answering good-night was a low male rumble. Charlene looked back when she reached the stairway and found him staring after her, his expression brooding. She hurried up the stairs, faintly breathless from the impact of the brief moment her gaze had met his.

He’s your employer, she reminded herself as she brushed her teeth in the white-and-green bathroom that opened off her bedroom, stop lusting after him.

Apparently, however, the emotional, hormonal part of her was in no mood to listen to the practical, rational command. She fell asleep and dreamed of making love with a man who looked very much like Nick Fortune.

Just as she stretched out her arms, her fingertips mere inches away from the bare chest of her dream lover, a loud wail yanked her awake.

Charlene sat bolt upright, disoriented as she stared in confusion at the dim outlines of bed and dresser in the strange room.

The sound of crying from the triplets’ room abruptly scattered the lingering fog of sleep and she tossed back the bedcovers to hurry next door.

“Oh, sweetie,” she soothed, lifting Jackie from her crib. “Sh.” She patted the little back while the baby’s sobs slowed to hiccups. “What’s wrong?”

Jessie rolled over in her crib and sat up. In the third crib, Jenny pulled herself to her feet to clasp the rail. Jackie chose that moment to burst into sobs once more and, as if on cue, Jessie and Jenny’s faces crumpled. They burst into tears as well.

The combined sound of their crying was deafening and impossible to ignore. Charlene wasn’t surprised when Nick staggered into the room.

“What’s wrong?” His voice was gravelly with sleep. He wore navy boxers, his broad chest and long legs bare.

Despite the earsplitting noise of three crying babies, Charlene still noticed that Nick looked as good undressed as he did in faded jeans and T-shirts.

“Jackie woke me, then her crying woke the other two.” Charlene crossed to the changing table, gently rocking the still sobbing Jackie while she took a fresh diaper from the drawer. “I think she needs a diaper change. Can you pick up Jenny and Jessie—maybe rock them for a few minutes?”

“Sure.” Nick shoved his fingers through his hair, further rumpling it, and lifted Jenny from her crib.

The low rumble of his voice as he murmured to the two babies was barely audible as Charlene quickly changed Jackie’s diaper. By the time she snapped the little girl’s footed sleeper and tossed the damp disposable nappy into the bin, their crying had subsided into silence. She tucked Jackie against her shoulder and turned, stopping abruptly.

Nick sat in the cushioned rocking chair, a little girl against each bare shoulder, their faces turned into the bend of his neck where shoulder met throat. His broad hands nearly covered each little back, fingers splayed to hold them securely. His hair was rumpled, his eyes sleepy.

Charlene didn’t think she’d ever seen anything half as sexy as the big man protectively cradling the two sleeping babies. She felt her heart lurch.

Don’t go there, she ordered herself. Do not notice how sexy he is. Remember you swore to avoid men for at least six months after breaking up with Barry. That was only two weeks ago.

She couldn’t remember ever feeling this attracted to her ex-fiancé, but that didn’t change the fact that she was determined to never, ever, get involved with her employer.

She moved softly across the room and eased into the empty rocking chair. Jackie stirred, lifting her head from Charlene’s shoulder. Charlene quickly smoothed her hand over the baby’s silky black curls, gently urging her to lay her head down once more, and set the rocker in motion. Within seconds, Jackie was relaxed, her compact little body feeling boneless where it lay against Charlene.

“Is she asleep?” Nick’s murmur rasped, velvet over gravel.

“Yes,” Charlene whispered. “What about your two?”

He tipped his head back to peer down at first one, then the other, of the two little girls. “They seem to be.” He looked up at her. “Think it’s safe to put them back in bed?”

“We can try. Let me put Jackie down and then I’ll take one of yours.” At his nod, Charlene stood and crossed to Jackie’s crib, easing the sleeping baby down onto her back and pulling the light blanket over her before she returned to Nick.

“Which one do you want me to carry?” she whispered.

“Jenny.” He leaned forward slightly.

Charlene bent closer to lift the sleeping baby, her hands brushing against his bare skin. He was warm, his skin sleek over the flex of muscles as he shifted to help transfer the little girl to her, and a shiver of awareness shook her. She was aware his head turned abruptly, could feel the intensity of his stare, but she wouldn’t, couldn’t, allow herself to meet his gaze. Instead, she cradled Jenny in her arms and turned away to carry the little girl to her crib, tucking her in and smoothing the blanket over her sleeping form. Behind her, she heard the soft sounds of Nick tucking Jessie into the third crib.

Nick followed her to the doorway, waiting in the hall as she paused to look back. The room was quiet—no movement visible in any of the three cribs to indicate a restless child.

“I think they’re out for the count,” Nick murmured behind her.

“Yes, I believe you’re right,” she whispered, before stepping into the hall and easing the door partially closed. “Let’s hope they stay that way for the rest of the night.” She gave him a fleeting glance. “Good night.”

“Good night.”

Once again, she felt his stare as she walked down the hall and into the safety of her room. She closed the door and collapsed against it, the panels cool against her shoulders, left bare by the narrow straps of her camisole pajama top.

There was no way she would ever become involved with her boss. She’d sworn a solemn oath after she’d learned about her father’s affair with his secretary that had ultimately destroyed her parents’ marriage. She’d never forgiven him, but for the first time, tonight she had an inkling as to what may have caused her father to stray. If he’d felt anything like the sizzling heat that swamped her every time she got close to Nick Fortune, then maybe, just maybe, she should stop being so angry at him. Maybe he’d literally been unable to help himself.

Or not, she thought, still not completely convinced.

But in any event, she had to find a way to insulate herself against the powerful attraction she felt. Especially since it appeared Nick didn’t have to do anything, or even say anything, to make her nerves sizzle and her body heat up.

Apparently, he just needed to breathe in her presence.

Groaning, she climbed back into bed and pulled the sheet and blanket over her head.

The triplets were still fast asleep in their cribs upstairs when Charlene tiptoed down the stairs and into the kitchen just before eight the following morning.

Nick glanced over his shoulder and took down another mug from the open cupboard. “Morning,” he said. “Coffee’s nearly done.”

Charlene breathed in the rich scent filling the kitchen and nearly groaned. “Bless you.”

Nick’s grin flashed, his eyes lit with amusement. He poured the rich brew into their mugs at the same moment that a knock sounded on the back door.

“That’ll be Melissa,” Nick told Charlene. He grabbed his computer case and crossed the kitchen to pull open the door.

A huge chocolate Labrador retriever leaped over the threshold and planted his paws on Nick’s shoulders, whining with excitement, his tail whipping back and forth.

“Ouch.” Melissa stepped inside, moving sideways to avoid getting hit. “That tail of yours is a lethal weapon, Rufus.” She waved her hand at the travel coffee mug and leather case in Nick’s left hand. “On your way out to work, boss?”

“Yeah.” Nick rubbed Rufus’s ears. “That’s enough. Down, boy.” The Lab dropped back onto four paws but continued to wag his tail, pink tongue lolling as he stared adoringly up at Nick. “I’ll check with the employment agency today,” Nick said, looking over his shoulder at Charlene, “and find out if they’ve lined up applicants for a second nanny.”

“I’ll keep my fingers crossed that they have—then maybe we both can start getting more sleep.”

Nick grinned, his eyes lit with rueful amusement as his mouth curved upward to reveal a flash of white teeth. Charlene suspected she was staring at him like a hopelessly lovestruck teenager, but she couldn’t bring herself to look away.

No man should be that gorgeous.

“I’ll tell them we’re staggering from sleep deprivation. Maybe they’ll take pity on us,” he said.

“We can only hope,” Charlene said, tearing her gaze away from his smile. Unfortunately, she was immediately snagged by his glossy black hair, thick-lashed brown eyes, tanned skin with a faint beard shadow despite the early hour, handsome features…Were all the Fortune men this blessed by nature? she wondered. If so, heaven help the women who caught their attention—because females didn’t stand a chance against all that powerful, charming, handsome male virility. Perhaps she was fortunate that he was her boss and thus off-limits, not to mention he was also clearly far more sophisticated than she. Never mind the fact that he was also not interested in her. Because if he ever turned that undeniable charm on her, she’d give in without a whimper.

It’s a pitiful thing when a woman has no resistance to a man, she realized with wry acknowledgment.

“So long, boss,” Melissa’s voice yanked Charlene out of her thoughts. “Have a good day.”

“Good luck with the triplets.” Nick bent to give Rufus’s silky ears one last rub before disappearing through the door.

Charlene echoed Melissa’s goodbye before pouring herself another mug of coffee. “The coffee’s fresh,” she told Melissa. “Want some?”

“Sure, why not.” Melissa slid onto a stool at the counter.

Charlene handed her a steaming cup and took a seat opposite her.

“Are the babies still asleep?” Melissa asked.

“Yes.” Charlene glanced at the digital clock on the microwave. “They’re sleeping in, probably because they were awake several times last night.”

“I was telling my Ed about the triplets just this morning—” Melissa began.

Whatever she was about to say was lost as someone rapped sharply on the back door.

Charlene looked inquiringly at Melissa.

“That’s probably LouAnn,” Melissa said as she left the counter and crossed the room.

Charlene barely had time to wonder who LouAnn was before Melissa pulled open the door. She felt her eyes widen.

“Good morning, Melissa.” The throaty rasp seemed incongruous, coming as it did from a woman who Charlene guessed weighed at best a hundred pounds, maybe a hundred and ten at the most.

“Hi, LouAnn.” Melissa gestured her inside. “We’re just having coffee. Want some?”

“Of course.” LouAnn followed Melissa to the counter, her bright blue gaze full of curiosity and fixed on Charlene. “And who are you, dearie?”

“I’m Charlene, the nanny.” Charlene tried not to stare, but the silver-haired woman’s attire was eyepopping. She wore a turquoise T-shirt with a bucking horse and rider picked out in silver rhinestones. The black leggings below the T-shirt clung to her nonexistent curves and hot-pink, high-top tennis shoes covered her feet. Skinny arms poked out of the loose short sleeves of the shirt, and both hands boasted jewelry that dazzled. Charlene was pretty sure the huge diamond on her left hand was real, and more than likely, so was the sapphire on her right. Not to mention the large diamond studs that glittered in her earlobes. She was tan, toned and exuded energy that fairly vibrated the air around her pixie frame.

“Nanny?” LouAnn’s penciled eyebrows shot toward the permed silver curls of her immaculate, short hairdo. “Why does Nick need a nanny?”

“Have a seat, LouAnn, and we’ll fill you in.” Melissa pulled out a chair next to hers and across the island’s countertop from Charlene. “Charlene, this is Nick’s neighbor, LouAnn Harris.”

“Pleased to meetcha.” LouAnn hopped onto the tall chair, crossed her legs and beamed at Charlene. “You might as well know you’re likely to see a lot of me. I’m a widow. I live alone and my son and daughter live too far away to visit me often, so I tend to get bored. I was delighted when Nick moved in here and hired Melissa—we’ve known each other for at least twenty years. My, you’re young, aren’t you?”

“Uh, well…” Charlene looked at Melissa for guidance. The housekeeper grinned, her eyes twinkling. Clearly, she wasn’t bothered by the neighbor’s bluntness. “I suppose I am, sort of,” Charlene replied, taking her cue from Melissa.

LouAnn snorted. “No ‘sort of’ about it, honey. Compared to me, you’re a child. But then, I’m seventy-six, so most everyone is younger.” She sipped her coffee. “I have to get me a coffeemaker like Nick’s. Your coffee is always better than mine, Melissa.”

“That might be because I grind the beans. Nick has them sent from the coffee shop he used to go to in L.A.,” Melissa explained to Charlene.

“I thought it was the coffeemaker.” LouAnn leaned forward and lowered her voice to a raspy whisper. “It looks like it belongs on a space ship.”

Charlene laughed, charmed by LouAnn’s warm camaraderie.

LouAnn grinned at her, winked, and turned back to Melissa. “Now, tell me why Nick needs a nanny. I thought he was a confirmed bachelor with no interest in kids.”

“He is—and he doesn’t, or didn’t, pay attention to children,” Melissa agreed. “At least, he had no interest in children until recently. It’s a sad story, really.”

When she finished relaying a condensed version of the situation, LouAnn clucked in sympathy. “How terrible for those poor little girls. And how lucky for them—and Nick—that you were willing to step in and help,” she added, reaching across the marble countertop to pat Charlene’s hand.

“It was fate,” Melissa said firmly. “That’s what I think.”

“Three little ones—all the same age.” LouAnn shook her head. “How are you all coping?”

“Except for a serious lack of sleep, fairly well, I think.” Charlene looked at Melissa. “Sometimes it’s chaos, of course, but the girls seem to be doing okay. Jessie has an ear infection at the moment, so she’s a little cranky. But by and large, they’re very sweet little girls.”

“I can’t wait to see them. How old are they?”

“They’re a year—uh-oh.” The sound of one of the girls, chattering away upstairs floated down the stairway and into the kitchen. “I think you’re about to meet the dynamic trio.” Charlene slipped off her chair and headed for the door.

“I’m coming up with you,” LouAnn announced, joining Charlene.

Melissa brought up the rear as the three women left the kitchen.

Nick had a long list of priorities for the day, but as he backed his Porsche out of the garage and drove away, he wasn’t focusing on the work waiting for him at the Fortune Foundation. Instead, he was distracted by the memory of Charlene coping with the babies in the middle of the night.

The picture of her in the bedroom, lit only by the glow of a night-light, was seared in his memory. Her auburn hair had been rumpled from sleep, her long legs covered in soft-looking, blue-and-white pajama bottoms. Jackie had clutched the neckline of the brief little white tank top Charlene wore, pulling it down to reveal the upper curve of her breasts.

Even half-asleep, he’d been damn sure she wasn’t wearing anything under that top. He felt like a dog for looking, and hoped she hadn’t noticed.

He’d known having the beautiful redhead living in his house was bound to cause difficult moments, but he hadn’t been prepared to be blindsided by a half-naked woman when he was barely awake.

Which was stupid of me, he thought with disgust. She’s living in my house. I knew she’d be getting out of bed if one of the triplets woke during the night.

And as long as he was being brutally honest, he had to admit the pajamas she wore hadn’t come close to being blatantly suggestive. Nevertheless, Charlene’s simple pajama bottoms and tank top would stop traffic on an L.A. freeway.

Maybe he wouldn’t have felt as if he’d been hit by lightning when he saw her in those pajamas if she were a woman with fewer curves.

Or maybe, he thought with self-derision, if she’d been wearing a sack I’d still have been interested.

He knew he was completely out of line. He just didn’t know how to turn off his body’s response to her. Not only was she his employee, she was too damned young for him. His office assistant had telephoned with results of a preemployment background check before he’d left his hotel to drive to the triplets’ foster home. The report not only confirmed Charlene had a spotless employment record, it also told him she’d graduated from college only three years earlier.

A brief mental calculation told him that if she’d gone to college immediately after high school, then graduated after four or five years before working for three more years, she most likely was twenty-five or twenty-six years old.

And he was thirty-seven. Too old for her.

Unfortunately, his libido didn’t appear to be paying attention to the math.

He’d reached the office while he’d been preoccupied with the situation at home, and swung the Porsche into a parking slot. He left the car and headed for his office, determined to put thoughts of the curvy redhead at home, busy with his new instant family, out of his mind.

He quickly scanned the pink message slips the receptionist had handed him and tossed the stack on his desktop. He rang his brother Darr while he plugged in his laptop and arranged to meet him for lunch at their favorite diner, SusieMae’s. Then he closed his office door and tackled an inbox filled with documents and files.

Nick gave the waitress his and Darr’s usual lunch order and she bustled off. SusieMae’s Café was crowded, but he had a clear view of the door, and saw his brother enter.

Darr swept the comfortable interior with a quick glance, nodding at acquaintances as he crossed the room and slid into the booth across from Nick.

“Where have you been?” he demanded without preamble. “I left two messages on your machine. You never called back.”

“You didn’t say it was an emergency.” Nick shrugged out of his jacket and eyed his brother across the width of the scarred tabletop. “Was it?”

“Not exactly. I wanted to know if you’d talked to Dad or J.R. lately.”

“I haven’t.” Nick took a drink of water. “Why?”

“Because I called and neither one answered. Come to think of it,” Darr frowned at Nick, “none of you called me back.”

Nick grinned. “Probably because we all assumed you were too busy with Bethany to care if we called you or not.”

“Huh,” Darr grumbled.

Nick noticed his younger brother didn’t deny the charge.

“How’s Bethany doing?” he asked. He felt distinctly protective toward the petite, pregnant blonde, especially since Darr was in love with her. When the two married, she’d become Nick’s sister-in-law. As far as he was concerned, Bethany Burdett was a welcome addition to their all-male family.

“Good.” Darr leaned back to let their waitress set plates and coffee mugs on the tabletop in front of them. “She’s good.”

Nick didn’t miss the softening of his brother’s face. He was glad Darr had found a good woman. Bethany made him happy, and he seemed content in a way Nick hadn’t seen before.

“You didn’t answer my question, where have you been?”

Nick waited until the waitress left before he spoke. “I made a trip to Amarillo. I’ve been pretty busy since I got back.”

“Yeah? What were you doing in Amarillo?” Darr took a bite of his sandwich, eyeing Nick over the top of a double-decker bacon-and-tomato on wheat.

“I picked up Stan’s kids.” Nick saw Darr’s eyes widen. “Three of them,” he added, smiling slightly at the shock on his brother’s face. “They’re all girls—only a year old. Triplets.”

Darr choked, set down his sandwich, grabbed his coffee and washed down the bite in record time. “What the hell? Why? What happened?”

Nick lost any amusement he’d felt at his brother’s dumfounded expression. “He and Amy were in a car accident—neither one of them made it out alive.” Saying the words aloud didn’t make the truth any less surreal.

The shock on Darr’s face made it clear he was just as stunned as Nick had been at first hearing the news.

“Both of them?” He shook his head in disbelief when Nick nodded. “They were so young. You and Stan are the same age, right?”

Again, Nick nodded. “And Amy was a year younger.”

“And you have custody of their babies?” Darr queried,

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Because Stan’s will named me guardian if Amy’s sister Lana couldn’t take them.” Nick took a drink of coffee, hoping to erase the lump of emotion in his throat. He still hadn’t come to terms with the abruptness with which Stan and Amy had disappeared from the world. “So they’re with me until the attorney locates Lana.”

“Where is she?”

“No one knows.” Nick stared broodingly at his plate, holding a sandwich and chips. “She and her husband work in Africa and Amy seems to have lost track of them a few months ago.”

“Damn.” Darr eyed him. “Who’s taking care of the kids while you work?”

“I hired a nanny,” Nick replied. “And Melissa’s working longer hours while I’m at the Foundation during the day.”

Darr stared at him. Nick took a bite of his sandwich.

“And?” Darr prompted when Nick didn’t elaborate.

“And what?”

“Don’t give me that. You’re stalling. What else aren’t you telling me?”

“The nanny I hired works full-time. Her name is Charlene. She’s a redhead and she’s great with the triplets.”

Darr lowered his coffee mug to the table without taking his gaze from Nick’s face. “She’s a babe, isn’t she.”

It wasn’t a question. Darr knew him too well to be fooled.

“Yeah. She is.” Nick shoved another bite of sandwich into his mouth.

“Full-time,” Darr said consideringly. “What hours does she work?”

“She’s pretty much on call twenty-four hours a day.”

“So…he’s living at your house?”

“Yeah.”

“Sleeping down the hall from you?”

Nick nodded, saw the glint appear in Darr’s eyes and bristled. “Yes, down the hall. She has her own bedroom. What the hell did you think, that she was sharing mine?”

Darr shrugged. “It did cross my mind. Face it, Nick, you’ve never been slow with the ladies. You said she’s pretty—and she’s living in your house…” He spread his hands. “Sounds like a no-brainer to me.”

“Well, it’s not,” Nick snarled, restraining an urge to wrap his hands around his brother’s neck and choke that grin off his face. “She works for me. Have you heard of sexual harassment? She’s off-limits.”

“Too bad.” Darr lifted his coffee mug and drank. “So,” he said, setting the mug down and picking up his sandwich, “just how good-looking is Charlene?”

Too beautiful. Nick bit back the words and shrugged. “Beautiful.”

“On a scale of one to ten?”

“She’s a fifteen.”

Darr’s eyes widened. “Damn.”

“And she’s too young,” Nick continued.

“How young?”

“She’s twenty-five.”

“Thank God.” Darr pretended to wipe sweat off his brow in relief. “I thought you were going to tell me she’s underage and jailbait.”

“Might as well be,” Nick growled. “She’s twelve years younger than me. That’s too damned young.”

Darr pursed his lips. “Let me see if I’ve got this straight. You’re cranky because you’ve got a nanny you can’t make a move on because you’re her boss and she’s younger than you.”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Nick conceded.

Darr grinned. “Maybe you should fire her. Then you can date her.”

“I can’t fire her—and I don’t want to,” Nick ground out. “She’s good at her job. If she wasn’t helping me take care of the girls, I’d be screwed.”

“So hire someone else—and then fire her.”

“Yeah, like she’s likely to go out with me after I’ve fired her.” Nick rubbed his eyes. They felt as if there was a pound of sand in each of them. If he didn’t get some sleep soon, he’d need more than the saline eyedrops he’d been using in a vain attempt to solve the problem. “There’s no solution that’s workable. Believe me, I’ve considered all the angles.”

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

“Stop being so damned cheerful,” Nick growled.

“Aren’t you the one who told me there’s always another girl just around the corner? Wait a week and there’ll be another corner, another girl. If things don’t work out with the redhead, why do you care?”

Because I’ve never met anyone quite like her.

Nick didn’t want to tell Darr that Charlene was unique. He was having a hard enough time accepting that he’d met a woman who broke all the rules he’d spent thirty-seven years setting.

“Maybe you’re right,” he said with a slight shrug, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. “Have you heard anything new about the note Patrick got at the New Year’s Eve party? Or about the ones Dad and Cindy received?”

“No.” Darr didn’t appear thrown by Nick’s abrupt change of subject. “That’s one of the reasons I wanted to talk to Dad and J.R.—to ask if they’ve learned anything more.”

The Fortune family had gone through a series of mysterious events over the last few months, starting with the cryptic note left in Patrick Fortune’s jacket pocket during a New Year’s Eve party. The strange message—“One of the Fortunes is not who you think”—baffled the family, even more so when they learned the same message had been left anonymously with Cindy Fortune and William, Nick and Darr’s father.

Patrick had called a family conference at Lily Fortune’s home on the Double Crown Ranch in February, on the very day Red Rock had been hit with a freak snowstorm.

Darr hadn’t been present at the gathering, since he’d been snowed-in with Bethany in her little house. But Nick had brought him up to speed on everything that happened, including the family’s assumption the notes were the precursor to a blackmail demand. So far, however, no such demand had been made. But two subsequent fires—one that burned down the local Red Restaurant, and a second that destroyed a barn at the Double Crown—were suspicious. And potentially connected to the mysterious and vaguely threatening notes.

“Let me know if you reach Dad and J.R.,” Nick said. “Meanwhile, I had a message from Ross Fortune when I got back to the office today. We set up a meeting to discuss the notes and fires. Has he contacted you?” Nick and Darr’s cousin was a private investigator with an agency in San Antonio. His mother, Cindy, had convinced the family they should hire him to check into the cryptic threats.

“Not yet,” Darr said, “but I heard he’s in town. The Chief said he called and asked for copies of the department’s report on the fire at Red.” Darr pushed his empty plate aside and leaned his elbows on the tabletop, his voice lowering. “This isn’t for public knowledge, but I’m sure my boss agrees with us—he has serious reservations as to whether the fire was accidental.”

“What about the barn that burned at the Double Crown?”

“He didn’t want to talk about that one—I suspect he believes I’m too close to the subject, since it happened on Lily’s ranch.”

“Do you have a gut feeling as to his opinion?”

“Yeah. I’m convinced he believes the Double Crown fire wasn’t an accident, either.”

“I hope to hell Ross’s investigation gets some answers,” Nick said grimly. “You or someone else could have died in those fires.”

“Bethany damn near did,” Darr said darkly, his features hardening. “She was barely conscious when I found her on the bathroom floor at the restaurant. She could have died of smoke inhalation.”

“We have to find out who’s behind these threats to the family before someone loses their life,” Nick said. “I hope Ross is good at his job.”

“When are you talking to him?”

“Tomorrow afternoon at one.” Nick glanced at his watch. “I have a meeting in a half hour. Gotta get back to the office.”

Darr nodded and both men dropped money on top of the check.

“Thanks, guys,” their waitress called after them as they left the booth and headed for the exit.

Nick shrugged into his jacket as he stepped outside, a brisk breeze cooling the air, although the sun beamed down, warm against his face.

“Let me know what Ross has to say tomorrow,” Darr said, pausing on the sidewalk. “I have the day off, but I’m not sure what Bethany’s plans are or if I’ll be home, so call my cell phone.”

“Sure.” Nick stepped off the curb. “Tell Bethany hello from me.”

“Will do.” Darr headed down the block to his vehicle.

Nick climbed into his Porsche, the powerful engine turning over with a throaty, muted roar when he twisted the key. The low-slung car had only two seats—room for the driver and one passenger.

“Too small,” Nick murmured as he backed out of the slot. “I need to get an SUV.” Or a minivan. He shuddered. He didn’t think he could bring himself to drive a minivan—even for the triplets. Minivans were mommy cars. For a guy who loved fast cars and powerful engines, a minivan was a step too far, vehicle-wise.

He made a mental note to go SUV shopping on his lunch hour tomorrow. Charlene could use it to drive the babies during the week and he’d use it on the weekends if he needed to take the little girls anywhere.

If anyone had told him two weeks ago that he’d be contemplating buying a vehicle to transport babies, he would have laughed at the sheer insanity of the idea.

He didn’t do kids. Never had. And kids hadn’t been part of his plans for the future.

There was some kind of cosmic karma at work here. Nick couldn’t help but wonder what fate planned to hit him with next.