The rest of the week passed blissfully, and on Saturday morning, Sam made his famous blueberry pancakes while they all lounged around in their pajamas. Not surprisingly, the boys picked up on the lack of urgency. As if realizing they would normally be rushing around, looking for shoes and getting dressed, Theo cocked his head. “Me. School?”
Sam knelt down so they were eye to eye. He was still in loose-fitting pajama pants and a short-sleeved gray T-shirt. Thick wheat-colored hair rumpled and standing on end, morning stubble rimming his jaw, he looked slightly on edge. Same as Lulu.
They’d made plans for that afternoon, but this morning it was going to be just the five of them again. That arrangement had not worked out well previously. They were hoping that the boys had been with them long enough that they wouldn’t need the distraction of constantly playing with other children to make them happy. That the five of them would be able to feel like the complete family they aspired to be.
Sam smiled down at their little charges. If he was disappointed the boys were already starting to feel restless and on the verge of being unhappy, he did not show it. “Not today, fellas,” he said soothingly. “It’s Saturday.”
Briefly, the boys looked as crestfallen as Sam and Lulu had feared they might be, upon learning there was no school that day. “But we can do other fun things,” Sam said cheerfully, rising.
Like what? Lulu wondered. They hadn’t discussed this. She moved close enough to feel his body heat. “What did you have in mind?” she asked.
The boys, already bored, wandered back to the play area in the reconfigured family room and began jumping on the sofa.
Keeping one eye on them, to make sure they didn’t get too wild, Sam lounged against the counter. “There’s a custom backyard play set company over in San Angelo. They’ve got an air-conditioned sales facility with all the different possibilities set up for kids and their parents to explore. I thought we all might mosey over there and let the boys run around and pick out a swing set for the backyard.”
It would sure beat having them jump on and climb all over everything inside the ranch house, Lulu thought. Still... “That sounds like a pretty big investment.” Were they getting ahead of themselves? They hadn’t even cleared the background check.
Sam glanced over at the boys. They had abandoned the sofa and were now doing somersaults on the rug. He grinned and shook his head in amusement, as the gymnastics turned to a poorly executed game of leapfrog.
He turned back to Lulu. “And a very necessary one, when you think about the fact the closest playground is a good twenty minutes away by car. Convenient to us only when we’re already in town.”
Winded, the boys collapsed and, lying on their backs, began to talk gibberish among themselves.
Relaxing, Lulu took up a place opposite Sam. She let her gaze drift over the rugged planes of his face. “True.”
He looked over at her, as protective as ever. “We’re not tempting fate, darlin’.” His gaze lingered briefly on her lips before returning to her eyes.
A spiral of heat swept through her, flushing her cheeks. “How did you know that was what I was thinking?” she asked, attempting to keep her mind on the mundane instead of the sizzling chemistry between them.
“That little pleat right here.” Sam traced the line between her brows, just above her nose. He caught her around the waist and drew her all the way into his arms. “It always appears when you worry.”
Lulu turned her head to check on the boys. Noting they were now calmly playing with their cars and trucks, and that it was safe to give Sam her full attention, she murmured, “I just wish I knew what the PI was still looking into.”
“Like Travis said, it’s probably nothing to worry about.”
She swallowed around the ache in her throat. Aware she thought she’d had it all, one time, only to lose it all, just as swiftly. She released an uneven breath. “But if it is...”
His gaze gentled. “Then we’ll fret when the time comes. Right now, we’re going to have fun,” he promised, a mischievous glint in his eyes. He flattened a soothing palm over her spine. “Otherwise the boys will worry, and we don’t want them getting anxious.”
She leaned into his reassuring touch, unable to help but think what a good husband and father he would be. “You’re right. We don’t.”
As Sam had predicted, the triplets loved the sales facility. They raced from one sample play yard to another in air-conditioned comfort while Sam and Lulu simultaneously watched over them and checked out the outdoor equipment. The more time went on, the more content she felt.
“You have a beautiful family,” the salesman said.
Looking as proud and happy as Lulu felt, Sam wrapped his arm around Lulu’s shoulders. Gave her an affectionate squeeze. “We do.”
Was this what their weekends would be like when it all did become official? Lulu wondered. Or would they be even better?
She only knew what she hoped.
And what Sam appeared to be counting on, too, she thought, tucking her hand in Sam’s.
Together, they went to round up the boys. Eventually, they picked out a sandbox with plenty of room for driving excavators and dump trucks around and an A-frame swing set that held three swings. It came with toddler bucket seats for now, flexible plank-style child seats for later. They agreed that the climbing fort and slide could come later when the boys were big enough to safely handle both.
From there, they went to have dinner with Lulu’s brother Matt, and his fiancée, Sara Anderson, and her son.
Although they had napped in the pickup truck, the boys were tuckered out when they finally arrived home and went through the usual bath time routine.
“Stories!” Theo shouted as they headed for the big leather sofa.
Lulu picked up the stack of favorites, as well as their own homemade book about the changes in the boys’ life. With her and Sam sitting cozily side by side and the triplets sprawled across their two laps, they took turns reading through the stack of familiar books. It all felt as comfy and family-oriented as usual, yet when they had finished, the boys looked surprisingly restless. “New. Story,” Andrew demanded.
Were they getting bored with the same old tales? Apparently so. Lulu looked at Sam, wanting his input.
“They might have a point,” he said, still snuggling close. “Since they do know all the endings.”
Aware their bright and lively little boys might need more intellectual stimulation, Lulu suggested, “We could hit the library tomorrow afternoon.”
Unfortunately, that did not seem to solve the immediate problem.
Ethan frowned in displeasure. “Story. Beauty.”
Not sure what the boys were talking about, although as usual all three seemed to be of the same mind-set, Lulu looked to Sam for help.
Taking her cue, he attempted to clarify. “You want to read a story about a doggy?”
“No. Beauty,” Theo insisted vehemently.
“Story. Beauty,” Andrew repeated.
Abruptly, it all clicked. “You want us to make our own storybook about Beauty, with pictures of her?” Lulu asked.
“Yay!” the boys shouted in unison.
She and Sam exchanged grins of relief. These were the kinds of problems they could easily handle. “I think we can do that,” she promised. Now that she had experience using the publishing software, it wasn’t hard at all.
Pleased their wish was going to be granted, the boys headed to bed. That night, they fell asleep easily.
“I think we’re getting a handle on this parenting thing,” Lulu mused happily as she and Sam tiptoed from the room.
“I think we’re getting a handle on a lot of things,” Sam murmured, taking her in his arms and dancing her back toward her bedroom.
Wishing more than ever that the two of them had never called it quits, Lulu asked coyly, “Got something specific in mind, cowboy?”
Lulu was looking at him that way again. The way she once had years ago, every time they were together. The way that said she was his for the taking. But she hadn’t been before, and wary of making the same mistake again by assuming too much too soon, he kept to the pace they had agreed upon and the deal they had made.
They were co-parents, first and foremost. Friends. And sometimes lovers.
Although the first time around, they had wanted to get married. Now she saw getting hitched as something to be avoided. He had to remember that.
Take it day by day, moment by moment. Night by night. So he pulled her into his arms. Bent his head to kiss her thoroughly. Showing her all he felt, all they could have, if only she would open up her heart.
Until she moaned deep and low in her throat, arching up against him, and kissed him back with even less restraint than he had shown.
“Beginning to get the idea?” he said. Taking her by the hand, he continued leading her down the hall to her bed.
Eyes glittering with anticipation, she swayed toward him, clearly wanting more. She pressed her lips to his. “Very much so,” she whispered.
Prepared to be as relentless as he needed to be in pursuit of her, he drew her flush against him, so she could feel his hardness. He wanted her to know how much she excited him, and he wanted to arouse her, too.
“Because I want you,” he ground out against her mouth. “So much...”
She hitched in a breath as they divested each other of their clothes. When they were naked, she murmured, “Oh, Sam, I want you, too...”
He laid her back on the bed, settling between her thighs, sliding lower. Caressing her with the flat of his palms, his fingertips, his lips. Studiously avoiding the part he most wanted to touch. Until she arched and made a soft, helpless sound that sent his desire into overdrive.
She caught his head between her trembling palms. He lifted her against his mouth, circling, retreating, moving up, in. Until at last she fell apart in his arms.
Burning with a need he could no longer deny, he took control of their mesmerizing embrace. Making it as hot and wanton as the kisses she was giving. Finding protection. Lifting and entering her with excruciating slowness and care, making her his in a way that had her surrendering against him. Reveling in the erotic yearning and sweet, hot need. Knowing that this night, this time, she was his, in a way she had never been before. And, if he had his way, always would be.
To Lulu’s delight, Sam had plans for their little family Sunday afternoon, as well. Regarding her fondly, he said, “I thought we might drive around the ranch and go see the horses, cattle and cowboys. Then head over to Monroe’s Western Wear to get tyke-size cowboy hats and comfy boots and jeans.”
“Sounds good to me,” she said, returning his affectionate glance. They were feeling more and more like a family with each passing day. So what if they hadn’t said they loved each other? She and Sam might not be a traditional couple, but they were a team. And a very good one at that. It was going to have to be enough.
That night, they had dinner with Lulu’s brother Cullen, his wife Bridgett and their son Robby. To Lulu’s relief, neither her brother nor his new wife inquired into the status of Lulu and Sam’s relationship. On the other hand, Beauty, who was back at Hidden Creek and absent from the gathering, was quite the center of focus. The Saint Bernard’s name came up a lot while the triplets and eighteen-month-old Robby played with their family dog.
“Beauty. Play,” Theo explained, petting the top of Riot’s head.
“Beauty. Friend,” Andrew added helpfully.
“Play. Fun,” Ethan stroked the beagle mix’s silky tricolored fur.
In frustration, Theo turned to Sam and Lulu. “Beauty. Here?” he asked.
Abruptly, Lulu realized what the boys were asking, in their abbreviated way.
“I think they want the two of them to meet,” Sam said.
Bridgett smiled. “We can probably make that happen.”
And that swiftly, a new canine friendship was arranged.
That evening, the boys listened raptly to the new story about Beauty that Lulu and Sam had pulled together the previous night. They were delighted and insisted on hearing it not one but three times before Lulu finally called a halt.
“More,” Andrew demanded earnestly, pointing to the storybook. “New.”
His two brothers nodded. “Sam-Daddy,” Ethan said, affectionately patting Sam’s chest.
“Lulu-Mommy,” Theo added, snuggling close.
“You want us to make a story about us?” Lulu asked.
The boys responded by getting up to give them great big hugs and smacking kisses. “Yay!” they shouted. More hugs followed. And then they reared back and said the words to both of them that Lulu had never expected to hear, at least not for a very long time.
Wrapping their arms around Lulu’s and Sam’s necks, in turn, they chorused, “Me. Love. Sam-Daddy. Lulu-Mommy.”
“You can stop crying now,” Sam teased two hours later. He and Lulu were putting the finishing touches on the story about themselves, complete with pictures from their current ranches and of themselves and the boys.
“Oh hush, cowboy! You’ve been welling up all evening, too.”
He grinned, guilty as charged. He folded his arms across his broad chest. Tilting his head, he said thickly, “It was pretty great, wasn’t it? To hear them try to tell us they loved us?”
Lulu’s happiness increased a million fold. “It sure was.”
A brief, contented silence fell. Aware she had never imagined being so happy, she reached over and took his hand. “Oh, Sam, I love them so much.”
His eyes glistened once again. Using the leverage of their entwined hands, he brought her closer. “Me, too. More and more each day.”
The joyful tears Lulu had been holding back rolled down her cheeks.
“Ah, darlin’.” Sam stroked a hand through her hair and pressed a kiss to her temple.
Her spirits soared as he shifted her onto his lap and went about showing her that the affection in the Thompson-Kirkland-McCabe household did not end with the kids and the family’s adorable Saint Bernard.
For the first time in a very long time, Lulu felt her life was really and truly complete. Or at least very, very close to being so. Now, if only they’d get the go-ahead from their attorneys, so they could get the adoption process started!
“You want me to drive the kids to school this morning?” Sam asked her the next morning. Since the triplets had adapted to the new routine, it was no longer necessary for both of them to do the drop-off and pickup. They were now alternating.
But the rest of the day, they were still together. Or at least they had been for the last two and a half weeks. Lulu knew that, too, was going to have to end. They both had work responsibilities to honor. Speaking of which...she hadn’t been doing as much as she should with hers.
Lulu bit her lip. Sighed. And felt warmth pool through her as she watched Sam’s gaze devour her head to toe.
Trying not to think how much she’d like to spend the morning making love with him, Lulu said, “If you don’t mind, I’d like to head over to the Honeybee Ranch this morning and tend my remaining hive.”
“No problem,” he said, his gold-flecked eyes twinkling.
Telling herself he couldn’t possibly have known what she was wishing, Lulu said goodbye to everyone, made sure the boys had their backpacks and lunches and then headed out herself.
As she drove onto her property, what had once been her sanctuary felt slightly alien. Definitely overly quiet, now that she no longer had honey to sell and customers coming in.
Even her food truck sat idle inside the locked barn.
It was funny, she thought, suiting up and putting on her beekeeper’s hat and veil, how much her life had changed since she had first learned about the orphaned boys and began helping Sam care for them. In fact, she was pretty sure it was her most eventful June ever.
Thanks to the help she had received from her beekeeping friends, the bee colony was making progress. The new queen had been accepted by the hive. The brood combs looked healthy. There were adequate honey and pollen stores.
She added water, then replaced the lid on the hive. Picking up her smoker, she headed for the gate. She was just emerging from the mostly empty apiary when Sam’s familiar truck drove up.
Alarmed, because he was supposed to be at his ranch checking on things with his crew, she ripped off her hat, veil and gloves and strode toward him. “Everything okay?” she called out.
Sam opened up the door, his cowboy hat slanted sexily across his brow, a fistful of gorgeous flowers in his hand. “It will be,” he drawled, heading for her with a seductive grin, “if you’ll agree to go on a date with me.”