The last thing Lulu wanted to do was tell Sam her folks’ doubts about her ability to make wise decisions in her life. On the other hand, he was involved, too, if only by circumstance.
She knelt beside the wooden toy box emblazoned with the triplets’ names. He knelt on the other side. Wearing a washed-till-it-was-soft cotton shirt, much the same as the one she had borrowed and was still wearing, and faded jeans, he was every inch the indomitable Texan.
Trying not to notice how sated and relaxed he looked post-lovemaking, she forced a smile and an attitude of nonchalance. “My mom and dad cornered me.”
Handsome jaw tautening, he regarded her. “And?” His voice dropped another husky notch, in a way that sent heat flashing through her.
She flushed under his scrutiny. As always, his ultramasculine presence made her feel intensely aware of him. “Bottom line? They’re concerned I’m getting too involved with you and the kids.”
Something flickered in his gold-flecked eyes, then maddeningly disappeared as he watched her drop more toys into the storage container.
“Is that what you think?” he asked, his expression closed and uncommunicative.
No, I think I’ve had the brakes on for way too long. But maybe that was the old Lulu talking. The reckless, restless, impulsive Lulu who once fell in love with Sam and ran off with him and then panicked and made the biggest mistake of her life...
The Lulu who was ruled more by emotion and the fear of disappointing anyone than logical, practical thought.
The Lulu who just gave in to the buildup from the most emotional four days of her life and recklessly made love with Sam again.
And worse, she couldn’t quite bring herself to regret it. Much as the practical side of her wished that she could.
Not that he looked as if he were lamenting it, either...
Even though, as he said, none of this had to change anything between them.
When to her, it already had...
Oblivious to the conflicted nature of her thoughts, Sam persisted, “What did you say to them?”
Feeling a little unsteady, she drew a deep breath, glad to have someone to confide in about this. “I told them they were wrong,” she said softly, lifting her chin. “That the kids need us both.”
“They do.” Finished picking up, he lifted the box and carried it over to the corner where it usually sat. Taking her by the hand, he led her to the breakfast room table. The corners of his eyes crinkled. “Which is why I’ve been thinking, you shouldn’t just be their nanny, Lulu. Or a concerned friend helping out.” He waited for her to take a seat and then settled opposite her.
He paused to look her in the eye, then said, even more resolutely, “You should be their legal guardian, too.”
Legal guardian!
She caught her breath, feeling thrilled and stunned. Still, this was awfully sudden. Too sudden, maybe?
Swallowing, she lifted a halting hand. “Sam...”
He reached across the table to take her hands in his. “I’m serious, Lulu. Your parents were right. It isn’t fair for you to be so involved if you’re not a guardian. So why not be a co-guardian with me? It’s obvious I can’t do it alone.”
Lulu sighed. “Neither could I.”
Sam nodded his agreement, all matter-of-fact rancher now. “Even more important, you love the kids and they love you. They need a mom.” Warmth spread throughout her body as his fingers tightened on hers. “I need a partner...”
Aware his grip felt as masculine and strong as the rest of him, she withdrew her hands from his. “Are you saying that because I just put the moves on you?”
A look of hurt flashed in his eyes, then disappeared. “Our lovemaking just now has nothing to do with this.”
“Doesn’t it?” she returned.
He kept his gaze locked with hers. “No.” His expression sobered, becoming all the more sincere. “These are two separate issues.”
For him, maybe. But for her?
Her desire for him seemed an integral part of her. Aware she could fall way too hard for him if she wasn’t careful, she folded her arms.
“You say that now.” She drew a deep breath, wishing he weren’t so sexy and capable and kind. So tender and good with the kids. “But what happens if you and I start down that road again and then don’t work out as a couple again?” she challenged, feeling self-conscious, as he zeroed in on her nervousness. “How would you feel about sharing guardianship duties with me then?”
“If that happens, and I don’t think it will, we’ll do exactly what we’re doing now and figure out how to continue to make things work—as friends,” Sam said firmly. “But instinct tells me that we will work out, Lulu. And if you listen to yours, I imagine you’ll be convinced of the same thing.”
He was right about that. Only it wasn’t her feminine instinct doing the talking. It was her heart that wanted to be with Sam and the kids...
“So what do you say, darlin’?” he proposed softly, gripping her hands again and looking deep into her eyes. “Will you be their co-guardian with me?”
Lulu might still be confused about what she wanted when it came to Sam, but there was no doubt at all about what her heart wanted in regard to the three little boys. Or what would be best for them. They needed both a mother figure and a father figure in their lives.
Joy bubbled up inside her. She’d imagined she would have to fight to make this happen. Instead, once again, she and Sam were on the exact same page.
She returned his searching gaze and said, ever so softly, “Yes, I’d love to be legally responsible for the triplets, too.”
Their new deal would inadvertently solve another problem she had not been looking forward to contending with. She pushed back her chair and rose, aware it was time for them to wake the children for dinner. “This way, you won’t have to pay me for caring for them.”
“I’ll still owe you...”
“No,” she cut him off, feeling vaguely insulted by his insistence, although she wasn’t sure why, “you won’t.”
Their stare-down continued.
“This isn’t about the money, Lulu,” he warned.
“I know it isn’t,” she agreed. “For you.” But for her...the thought of him being her boss...giving her a paycheck... Well, that might have been their initial agreement, the only way she’d gotten herself in the door to help. Yet from the first moment the children arrived at Hidden Creek Ranch, she hadn’t felt like his employee so much as she’d felt like his comrade in arms.
“But I still prefer it this way,” she reiterated, “with us equally responsible. And absolutely zero money changing hands.”
“I owe you...”
“And you’ve paid me,” she stated, just as vehemently, “in room and board.”
His eyes glinted, the way they always did when he let her have what she wanted. He exhaled, his gaze drifting over her with lazy male appreciation before finally returning to her face. “I’m not going to win on this. Am I, darlin’?”
“No, cowboy,” Lulu shot back sassily. Knowing the only way they would ever truly be able to come together was as equals. She whirled on her heel and marched off. “You are not!”
As for the rest...
She sighed.
Sam was right. They could figure it all out later. In the meantime, the first thing they needed to do was take care of the legal formalities.
“I think that’s wonderful,” Hiram said when Lulu and Sam called his office the following morning, just after breakfast.
Sam looked over at Lulu, who was smiling from ear to ear. He felt relieved and happy about their new agreement, too. As far as it went, anyway. They still had a lot to work out about their own relationship, but he could be patient on that front. In the meantime, as far as the caretaking went, he and Lulu were in this together. And as they’d already more than proved, he thought, returning her excited grin, they made a very good team.
As unaware as Lulu of the romantic nature of Sam’s thoughts, Hiram concluded, “I’ll send the appropriate papers to Liz and Travis. You can go to their law office to sign them.”
“Thank you, we will,” Lulu replied.
They all signed off.
And just in time, too, Sam thought. Behind them, a cacophony of toddler voices sounded.
“Horsey!” Theo yelled.
“Me ride!” Andrew insisted.
“No! Doggy,” Ethan disagreed. Not sure what was going on, since the boys had escaped to the living room while they were on the phone, Sam and Lulu headed off in their direction. They found Beauty standing parallel to the big leather sofa. Ethan was standing just in front of her and petting her face gently while Theo and Andrew tried to simultaneously climb on her back and ride her like a horse.
“Oh dear!” Lulu rushed to rescue the remarkably patient Saint Bernard.
Sam plucked both little cowboys off her back and deposited them on the far end of the sofa, out of harm’s way. “Fellas, Beauty is not a horse,” he scolded. “So you cannot climb on her back.” He gave his dog a consoling pat on the head, then lifted Ethan out of the way, too. With a beleaguered sigh and the way now clear, Beauty lumbered down the hall, over to her cushion in the corner of the kitchen, and sank into the bed.
All three boys began jumping on the sofa, as hard and high as they could. “Want friends,” Theo shouted loudly.
“Play now!” Andrew agreed.
“Go car,” Ethan explained.
Lulu went to her phone. “I’ll see if I can arrange a playdate,” she called over her shoulder.
She came back five minutes later. The triplets had given up jumping but were now attempting to climb onto and slide down the bannister. Every time Sam plucked one off, another climbed on.
“Everyone is at preschool,” Lulu informed him, lifting her brow at the boys. Like magic, they all stopped climbing on the stair railing. Only to resume jumping and shouting from the sofa. Lulu shouted to be heard above the bedlam. “Kelly said the triplets could be visitors in her three-year-old class today, which in the summer runs from nine to one o’clock.”
Knowing the only thing that ever entertained the boys for long was other children, Sam replied, “Sounds good.”
The boys were even more delighted.
While they drove to town, Lulu called their attorney and arranged to visit their office to sign the guardianship papers Hiram had sent.
“You sure you don’t want to think about this?” Liz and Travis asked them, after they’d dropped the kids off.
To Sam’s relief, Lulu shook her head, looking prettier and more determined than ever. “No. Sam and I agree they need both of us.”
They walked out of the office building into the late-morning sunlight. For a moment, they just looked at each other. He studied the rosy color in her cheeks and the shimmer of excitement in her eyes. He was happy she was finally getting the children she had wanted, too. They were all lucky to have each other.
Her gaze swept over his form, making him glad he had taken the time to iron his shirt instead of just shave and shower and put on the first set of clean clothes he pulled from his closet.
Instead of going to the passenger side of his pickup, she remained in the sunlight. “You know,” Lulu mused, “this is the first time we’ve been without chaperones in almost five days. I almost don’t know what to do with myself.”
He had to fight not to reach out and touch the silky strands of her honey-brown hair. “I know.”
An awkward silence fell. He observed the pulse throbbing in her throat.
She raked her teeth across the lush softness of her lower lip. “I don’t want to go too far, though, in case the triplets suddenly decide they don’t want to be at preschool after all.”
“No kidding,” Sam said, wishing it were appropriate to take her in his arms and kiss her.
She cocked her head to one side, as if thinking the same thing. He was about to reach for her, figuring they could at least hug each other in congratulations, when Lulu’s phone rang.
“Oh no,” Lulu said, plucking it from her purse.
“Don’t tell me it’s the school already,” Sam said. Which in one sense would not be surprising, since the drop-off had been almost too easy to be believed, with the kids going right in without batting an eye.
“No.” She exhaled, looking distressed. “It’s not them. It’s Dan.”
To Lulu’s relief, Sam was happy to accompany her to the sheriff’s station.
Her brother ushered them into a conference room and, as usual, got straight to the point as soon as she and Sam sat down. “We found your bees.”
Lulu had figured as much, when he’d said he had news. “Where are they?”
“A commercial melon farm in Wisconsin. The owner thought it was a legitimate lease. When he saw your brand listed as stolen on the state agricultural website, he notified authorities there immediately. They, in turn, contacted us.”
“Thank goodness for that,” Lulu said as Sam reached over and squeezed her hand. “How are my hives doing?”
Dan looked down at his notes. “Apparently, there was some loss, but the majority of the hives seem to be doing well. The question is what to do now. The farm owner still needs your bees for his crops, but he understands if you want them shipped back immediately.”
Her heart racing, Lulu asked, “Do you have his contact information?”
Dan handed her a piece of paper.
Lulu called the melon farmer. They talked at length. Finally, she hung up. Her brother had gone off to attend to other law enforcement business. But Sam was still there, waiting. Patient and calm as ever.
“Everything okay?” he asked, his handsome face etched with concern.
Her emotions still in turmoil, Lulu nodded and led the way into the hall. She waved to the front desk and, aware it would soon be time to pick up the triplets, headed out into the summer sunshine. “The farm owner is going to pay the going rate, which will be negotiated through our lawyers, and keep the hives until late August.”
Easing a hand beneath her elbow, Sam matched his steps to hers. “And then what?”
“I’ll either ship them back home or sell them outright to a beekeeper where they are now.”
Sam stopped in midstride. “You’d really do that?”
Not willingly. She also knew she had to be practical here, now that she was co-guardian to the triplets. “It might make the most sense.”
“Those bees are your life’s work,” he reminded her, clearly disappointed.
Lulu tensed. She didn’t like him judging or second-guessing her. Shifting her bag higher on her arm, she returned in a cool tone, “That’s true. They were.” She paused to look him straight in the eye. “But things are different now I’m going to be raising the triplets. Already, I’ve had to ask beekeeping friends to install a new queen for me, and tend my remaining hive on an emergency basis, because I just don’t have time to get over to the ranch. That being the case, it might be better for me to pocket the cash from the sale and concentrate on the kids for now. Worry about resuming my beekeeping career later.”
Sam stared at her. Feeling like he had gone back in time to their college years, when Lulu had flitted from one thing to another, changing her major almost as often as she changed hairstyles. A pattern that had continued for at least three years after the two of them had broken up.
In fact, to date, beekeeping was the one thing, the only thing, she seemed to have stuck with.
Her lips slid out in a seductive pout. “You don’t approve?” she challenged.
He rubbed his jaw, considering. The last thing he wanted to do was make an emotional situation worse. “I know it’s hard now, but I think if you give it all up you might regret it, darlin’.”
Her eyes turned dark and heated. “Exactly why I’m putting off the decision for a couple of months, so I will have time to think about what I want to do.”
With a scowl, she pivoted and continued on to the parking lot, walking briskly ahead of him. “I’m not going to lean on you financially, if that’s what you’re worried about. Whatever I decide to do, I’ll have enough to pay my share of the kids’ expenses. And of course all my own, too.”
He caught up with her, sliding his hand beneath her elbow once again. “That’s not what I’m worried about and you know it.”
She whirled, coming close enough he could inhale her tantalizing floral scent and feel her body heat radiating off of her. “Then...?”
His gaze drifted over her pretty turquoise sundress and silver necklace. It was all he could do not to touch her.
Aware this was something they did need to discuss, even if it was unpleasant, he stuck his hands into the back pockets of his jeans instead. “I just wouldn’t want you to change your mind about other things down the road, too.”
“Like...?”
He shrugged. Was she really going to make him say it? Apparently, she was. “The kids.”
Color swept into her high, sculpted cheeks. “Did you really just say that to me?”
“Look, I wasn’t trying to insult you—”
“So you did accidentally?”
He tracked the silky spill of hair across her bare shoulders. Figuring if they were going to be co-guardians, they ought to be able to talk everything out together, he shrugged. Given what she’d just said about the business she’d spent the last seven years building...which was also the one thing, the only thing, he’d seen her feel maternal toward, up to now. “It’s a legitimate worry.”
Hurt sparked in her gaze. “No, it isn’t, Sam,” she disagreed quietly. “And if you really feel that way...”
What he really felt was the intense urge to haul her close and kiss her until the tension between them went away. The fact he’d been brought up a Texas gentleman kept him from doing so, but—
Her phone pinged to signal an incoming text.
She paused, brow furrowing, and read the screen. “It’s Kelly,” she said in concern. She looked up at Sam. “She said there may be trouble at the preschool. She wants us to come now to get the kids.”
Fortunately, they were only a couple of minutes away. Sam climbed behind the wheel and Lulu settled in the passenger seat. He stretched his arm along the back of the seat and looked behind them as he backed his truck out of the space. He paused before he put it in gear. “She didn’t say anything more?”
She shook her head. “Nope.”
Sam drove through the lot and turned onto the street. Hands gripping the wheel, he asked, “You don’t think they caused some sort of ruckus, do you?”
Lulu sighed, and put a hand over her eyes, looking like a harried mother. She pressed her soft lips together ruefully. “I wish I could say no, but you know how they are when they’re overtired.”
He did, indeed.
It seemed to take forever to make it to the school, a fact hampered by the number of cars lining up in the driveway and down the street. They bypassed the drop-off and parked. Still not speaking to each other, they headed inside.
There were no sounds of crying or wild behavior as they moved through the hall.
When they cleared the doorway to Kelly’s classroom, the boys were huddled together anxiously, watching the portal. Other kids were being escorted out by their moms and dads.
“Hey, guys.” Lulu knelt down to say hello. Sam hunkered down beside her. “How’s it going?”
“Want Mommy,” Theo said fiercely.
Andrew folded his arms militantly. “Want Daddy.”
“Go home,” Ethan said, his lower lip trembling.
Too late, Sam realized it might have been a mistake to bring them to a setting that so closely mirrored the place where they’d been when they’d received the news that something terrible had happened and their parents weren’t coming back.
Sam started to engulf them in a reassuring hug. “We’re going to take you home, fellas,” he said.
“No!” Theo shouted, pushing him away. “Want Mommy!”
“Want Daddy,” Andrew agreed, wriggling free.
“Me scared,” Ethan collapsed to the floor in a limp heap and sobbed outright.
The hysteria spread. Within seconds, other preschoolers were welling up. Some sobbing. Others loudly demanding their own parents take them home. And so it went, well after the classroom was cleared.
The triplets, it seemed, weren’t going anywhere. Not willingly, it seemed.
Kelly disappeared, then came back a few minutes later. “I called the head of grief counseling over at the hospital. She’s on her way over now.”
“Thank heavens,” Lulu whispered, moving closer to Sam as if for protection while the boys clustered together on the play rug on the floor, stubbornly waiting.
Kate Marten-McCabe breezed in.
The silver-haired therapist had a small cooler and a big bag of books and toys. “I’ve got some things for us to do,” she announced with soothing candor. She glanced at the three adults remaining. “Could y’all could give us a little time to talk? Maybe wait for us on the playground, where we’ll have Popsicles later?”
Sam and Lulu nodded.
They walked to a bench beneath a shady tree in silence. “Well, you were right,” Sam admitted ruefully as they took a seat side by side.
Lulu slanted him a questioning glance.
He cleared his throat. “Maybe we’re both going to have to step back from our jobs for a while.” He paused to look deep into her eyes, intensifying the intimacy between them. He took her hand in his and squeezed it affectionately. “And I’m sorry I didn’t realize that as quickly as you did.”
Lulu knew it was a big step, and an important one, for Sam to say he was wrong when they differed. He had never done so in the past. Instead, had just expected her to come around to his way of thinking or accept he wasn’t going to change his opinion and deal with it.
She looked down at their entwined fingers. Realizing she could have done more to intuit the reason behind his worry and reassure him on the spot that she would never ever abandon him or the kids, rather than simply go on the defensive.
“Apology accepted,” she said quietly. She turned to face him, her bent knee nudging his thigh. “But as for your work, running Hidden Creek... Could you really step back for more than a week or two?”
The reservation was back in his eyes, along with a lingering desire she felt, too. “My foreman and the other ranch hands can handle everything day-to-day until the boys are really settled.”
“That could take a while.”
He exhaled roughly. “I know.” But seemed prepared to make the sacrifice nevertheless.
Silence fell between them.
“What do you think is going on in there?” he asked finally.
Lulu turned toward the school, saw no sign of anyone coming outside. “Kate’s probably explaining to them that their parents aren’t coming back.”
His expression turned brooding. “You think they’ll accept that?”
Recalling the raw grief the triplets had exhibited, their emotional expectation that their parents would magically appear to take them home, Lulu drew in another jagged breath. She looked down at her and Sam’s entwined hands. Realized they really did need each other to see the boys through this rough patch. “At their age? I don’t know.”
Another silence fell.
This time they didn’t talk.
Finally, Kelly came out of the school with two sets of triplets, hers and theirs. All six had Popsicles. As she neared, Sam and Lulu disengaged their hands and stood.
Kelly gave them a smile. “Kate would like to talk to you inside.”
They found the grief counselor in the classroom, packing up. She gestured for them to have a seat. “I explained to the boys that their parents are in heaven, but they don’t really comprehend what that is yet. They just know their parents won’t be coming to pick them up today.” She brought a notebook and pen out of her bag. “How have the kids been doing at home?” she asked kindly.
“Better every day,” Sam said.
“Is there any hyperactivity?” Kate asked.
Reluctantly, Lulu admitted, “Pretty much all the time.”
“Their sleeping?”
“Fitful at best,” Lulu said.
They went on to explain about the night terrors and their inability to get them to lie down in their own beds.
“In fact,” Lulu added, “the only way they will rest at all, for any length of time, is if we’re holding them.”
Kate did not look surprised. “How is their eating?”
“They like sweets,” Sam replied, “but when it comes to anything else, they’re pretty picky.”
Lulu nodded. “They’ll ask for something, like pancakes or scrambled eggs, but then they don’t really eat much of it.”
“Have they had any temper tantrums?”
Sam and Lulu nodded in tandem. “At least once a day.”
“These are all signs of toddler grief. Healing is going to take time. But the good news is, we have programs at the hospital for all of you that will help.”
Sam and Lulu exchanged relieved glances. Feeling more like a team than ever, Lulu asked, “What can we do in the meantime?”
“Reinstate as many familiar routines from their old life as you can, including preschool. Get them on a schedule and sleeping in their own beds. Help them remember their parents and the love they received in a way that is comforting and heartwarming rather than grief-provoking. And...” Kate handed them a storybook for orphaned children and a packet of information with her card attached “...bring them to the children’s grief group at the hospital on Saturday morning. The two of you can attend the one for guardians and caretakers.”
“Thank you.” Sam and Lulu shook her hand, promising in unison, “We will.”
Kate smiled. “Call me if you have any questions or concerns.” She slipped out of the classroom.
Sam and Lulu turned to face each other. Aware what a sticky situation they had found themselves in, it was hard not to feel completely overwhelmed. Especially when the two of them were still privately mourning the loss of their friends, too. “Looks like we have our hands full, cowboy,” she murmured in an attempt to lighten the mood and dispel some of the grief they were both feeling.
He returned her quavering smile. “And then some.” His gaze stroked her features, every one, ending with her eyes. With his customary confidence, he promised, “Together, we’ll make it all work out. But first things first. You’ve got to move in.”