One year later
“Mommy, can we take Beauty to court with us?” Ethan asked.
Lulu wasn’t surprised the triplets wanted their beloved pet to accompany them. It was going to be an exciting day.
“No, honey.” She knelt to help him clip on the tie he had insisted on wearing, because he wanted to be just like Daddy. Who was looking mighty fine, in a dark suit, pale blue shirt and tie.
Sam assisted Andrew with his neckwear. Theo had figured his tie out on his own and didn’t need any assistance.
“How come?” Andrew asked, gently petting the top of Beauty’s head.
“Dogs aren’t allowed in court,” Sam explained. “Unless they’re service dogs. Like the ones some of Uncle Matt’s friends have.”
“That wear the special vests,” Ethan said. “And help the old soldiers.”
“Ex-soldiers, and yes, that’s right.” Sam grinned.
The boys thought about that for a minute. “Then could we take some of Mommy’s bees with us?” Ethan asked.
Sam shook his head. “They need to stay on the Honeybee Ranch.”
“So they can make more honey,” Andrew said.
“Right.” Lulu smiled.
“How many hives do you have?” asked Theo, who was always counting something.
“About three hundred and ten.”
Sam had not only created an auxiliary membership that allowed her and other ranchers who did not specialize in cattle to join the Laramie County Cattleman’s Association, he had also convinced her she could do more than one thing. So she’d brought the colony back from Wisconsin, nurtured them through the stress of post-travel and added a few more boxes in the spring.
She’d also hired an assistant beekeeper to stay on the property and do a lot of the day-to-day work for her business, so she could concentrate on caring for Sam and the boys, who altogether were quite the handful. Especially now that the triplets had gone from two-word sentences to nonstop chatter and endless questions.
As they prepared to leave, Beauty followed them to the door.
“Ahhh,” Ethan pouted. “She’s going to be lonely without us!”
“Are you sure we can’t take her?” Andrew asked.
“She was in the wedding!”
“That was outside, on Grandma and Grandpa’s ranch, and she had special permission to be there.”
“Yes, but she was really good.”
She had been. As had the boys. And it had been a glorious day, full of the promise of a lifetime of love ahead.
Sam got out a dog biscuit for each boy to give the Saint Bernard. “She’ll be waiting for us when we get back,” he said.
“And we’re going to have a huge party!” Andrew spread his hands wide.
“Yes, we are,” Lulu promised.
All the McCabes were going to be there in court to witness the big day. And all of Sam’s sisters, as well.
Outside the courtroom in the marble-floored hallway, Lulu and Sam paused to speak to the boys. “This is very important,” Lulu said gently.
“So you all need to be on your best behavior,” Sam continued. “Do you understand?”
The boys nodded.
Sam and Lulu escorted them into the courtroom and took a seat at the table. The clerk announced the adoption procedure.
Hearing their names, all three boys jumped up onto the seats of their chairs, unable to contain themselves.
Andrew yelled, “Do we take this Mommy? Yes!”
Ethan shouted, too. “Do we take this Daddy? Yes!”
Theo clapped his hands. “You may kiss!”
The courtroom full of family erupted in a flood of laughter and tears. Sam and Lulu shot to their feet, too. Together, they lovingly contained their three little charges.
“Sorry, Your Honor,” Sam said with as much solemnity as he could manage, “they have wedding and adoption formalities mixed up.”
“Well.” The judge cleared her throat, looking a little teary-eyed, too. “It’s understandable. The depth of commitment is the same.”
It absolutely was, Lulu thought.
“So, if y’all think we can continue...?”
Sam and Lulu bent and whispered a new set of instructions to the boys. They nodded solemnly, raised their hands and when called upon, said, “Sorry, Your Honors. We’re going to be quiet until we’re allowed to cheer.”
And they were.
Afterward, they gathered outside the courtroom in the hallway. Hugs and congratulations were exchanged all around.
Hours later, when their company was gone and the kids were finally asleep in their beds, Sam and Lulu met up on the back deck for a glass of champagne in the starlight.
He clinked glasses with her and smiled victoriously. “We did it.”
She linked arms with him, sipped. “We sure did.”
They took a moment to ruminate on all they had accomplished in coming together. Sam slanted her a deadpan glance. “Think we’ll ever get that honeymoon?” he teased.
“Oh, maybe twenty years from now,” Lulu joked.
They both laughed.
“Seriously.” She rose up on tiptoe and kissed him, sweetly and tenderly. With a contented sigh, she drew back just enough to be able to see his face. “It feels like we’ve been on one since we got back together.”
Bliss flowed between them.
Sam gave her waist an affectionate squeeze. His gold-flecked eyes sparkling with joy, he mimed writing in the sky. “Hashtag. Best Life Ever.”
Watch for the next book in Cathy Gillen Thacker’s Texas Legends: The McCabes miniseries,
coming soon,
only from Harlequin Special Edition!
Keep reading for an excerpt from His Unexpected Twins by Carrie Nichols.
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