“I don’t understand why it’s not working,” Wyatt said five hours later, when they again tried and failed to put the fed, changed and lightly sleeping twins down in their respective cribs, which had been moved to the right and left sides of his king-size bed.
Seven in the morning, he should be out working with his horses. Instead, he and Adelaide were still trying—fruitlessly—to resituate Jake and Jenny. So Adelaide, at least, could get a few more hours of much-needed sleep.
She sighed and ran her hand through the tousled strands of her dark hair. “I think it’s because it’s daylight and they can see they’re in a strange place.”
“You think they’ll go back to sleep if we put their cribs elsewhere?”
She drew a breath that lifted the soft curves of her breasts. “I think it’s a worth a try.”
He tried not to think how intimate it felt, to be standing there with both of them in their pajamas. Or how much he loathed moving furniture on a whim. “Where do you want them?”
Adelaide pointed. “Next to your office area.”
“Both cribs?”
“Separated by the changing tables, yes.”
Hadn’t they already tried that? In the middle of the open second floor, the previous night? Only to have Jake and Jenny continuously wake each other up?
Adelaide set Jenny in her crib. “Putting their beds next to the light-colored walls might make it seem cozier and more familiar.”
Wyatt put Jake in the same bed, next to his twin.
The two babies now sobbed in unison.
Together, she and Wyatt carried the other crib to the far end of the loft. “Here?” Wyatt asked, as the sound of the babies crying lessened the farther they got away.
Adelaide raked her lip with her teeth, surveying the space. “I think we should move both cribs in that corner, where it’s not so bright. But it means we’re going to have to move your desk a little bit.”
Wyatt moved one end of the heavy desk.
“It’s crooked.”
But there was now room. He waved off her objection. “Doesn’t matter.”
“But...”
“I don’t want to have to unplug everything,” he said tersely.
She stepped back. “Oh.”
Aware they were on the brink of having their first “marital tiff,” he softened his tone and suggested gently, “Let’s just move the cribs where you want them now. If it works, we’ll worry about finalizing the details later.”
Together, they moved one crib, and two changing tables to the corner. “Better?” he asked.
She nodded. Listening. Her brow furrowed as they locked gazes. “Did they stop crying?”
Not sure whether that was a good or bad sign, they both turned and moved to the side of the remaining crib.
“Well, what do you know,” Wyatt murmured, as they stared in disbelief.
Jake and Jenny had both wiggled themselves out of the top of their swaddling. Their little hands were outstretched to each other, fingers touching. Heads turned, they were cooing drowsily.
“Amazing,” Adelaide whispered proudly.
Wyatt wrapped his arm around her shoulders and tucked her against his side. He wanted to memorize this moment forever. “They really are.”
And it wasn’t just the twins.
This whole arrangement. Adelaide. It was all remarkable, too.
Jake and Jenny fell asleep shortly thereafter. Adelaide and Wyatt decided to take advantage of the quiet to shower and dress for the day. Adelaide showered first, then went down to the first floor, while Wyatt had his turn.
She had just finished drying her hair when she heard a car in the drive. A look out the windows had her opening the door to Lucille, Sage and Hope.
All three were carrying gifts. Lucille and Sage both had wind-up infant swings. Hope had a large basket of baby toiletries and toys.
“We figured it wasn’t too early,” Lucille said.
Glad to be welcomed so warmly into the Lockhart family, Adelaide ushered them in. “Not at all.”
Wyatt walked down the stairs to join them. His hair was damp, his shirt buttoned but untucked over his jeans. He looked sexy and approachable. Tired, but happy, too. “What’s up?”
“We brought you something to make your life a little easier,” Lucille said, as she and her only daughter set the swings down, side by side.
“All my friends with babies love them,” Sage added. “They tell me it’s a surefire way to ease crankiness and put a fussy infant to sleep.”
“I just wish I’d had one when Max was small,” Hope said.
“Of course, sometimes only rocking will do,” Lucille continued. She eyed the rocker-glider Adelaide had positioned on the first floor, then looked at her son.
“Don’t worry, Mom,” Wyatt said dryly. “I’m spending time there, too.”
Lucille paused, clearly worried. “If you need advice...”
Briefly, her son looked irritated. “We’ve got it covered, Mom.” He gestured amiably. “So if that’s all...”
“Actually,” Hope put in, suddenly looking very much like the crisis manager she was, “we need to talk to you.”
Adelaide recognized trouble when she saw it. Had another computer been surreptitiously hacked with remote log-in software? “Did something happen at the Lockhart Foundation?” she asked nervously.
Wyatt sent her a look.
“This time,” Hope said gently, “the scandal revolves around the four of you.” She handed over a multipage printout containing the recent headlines from Texas gossip and parenting blogs and websites.
Scandal Rocks One of Texas’s Famous Families Again! stated Texas Weekly magazine.
Surprise—It’s Not Just a Decade-Old Elopement, but Twins! blasted the Dallas Morning Sun society page.
The popular Lone Star Mommies blog ran with, Parenthood with Both Feet Out the Door?
“And last but not least from the salacious but widely read Texas Grapevine Online,” Hope said, while Wyatt and Adelaide read with increasing dismay: Lucille Lockhart, disgraced former CEO of the Lockhart Foundation, had what she terms a happy surprise. Adelaide Smythe, the daughter of longtime family friend and embezzler Paul Smythe, former CFO of the Lockhart Foundation, secretly eloped with her son, Wyatt, nearly a decade ago. Flash-forward to a romantic—or was it preplanned?—rendezvous in Aspen last spring, and suddenly due to a snafu with the paperwork (where have we heard that before?) not only are Wyatt Lockhart and Adelaide Smythe still married, but thanks to the sparks that still exist between them, have given birth to twins.
Now, trying to figure a way out of this mess, the lucky—or prodigiously unlucky!—couple has decided to move in together.
Once the legal issues are worked out, an amicable divorce is predicted to occur. That is, if a property settlement can be reached. Our legal experts tell us that ten years together makes nearly everything fair game financially for the ambitious new Lockhart Foundation CFO, and only daughter of criminal-at-large, Paul Smythe. A fact that should encourage rancher Wyatt Lockhart to firmly stake his claim on his kids and bide his time, exiting the precarious relationship...
“Lovely,” Adelaide deadpanned, before she could stop herself. Even though neither she nor Wyatt had made a secret of their plans to become a family first, then consciously uncouple over the next year or so, it still stung to see it in print.
Hope frowned. “There are half a dozen more articles like this, and the news just got out a few days ago, when people started receiving their invitations to the party Lucille is giving on your behalf.”
Wyatt narrowed his gaze. “I thought you said embracing the situation would lessen the scandal.”
Hope smiled. “That’s the good news. It probably has.”
Adelaide sniffed miserably. “It doesn’t feel that way.”
“From a public-relations perspective, the real problem is Adelaide’s father,” Hope told them gently. “If Paul had been arrested and tried...”
“And were sitting in jail somewhere,” Wyatt theorized, his need for justice as strong as ever.
“...the case closed,” Hope continued, “then it would be old news. The fact he remains on the FBI’s Most Wanted list keeps the story alive.”
It was a good thing Wyatt didn’t know someone was either contacting her on her dad’s behalf, Adelaide thought with dread, or pretending to be Paul...
She swallowed. All the facts weren’t in yet. There was no point in borrowing trouble. They had enough already. “So what should we do?” she asked, wondering if this were going to impact her small salary as Lockhart Foundation CFO and the small accounting practice that kept her financially afloat.
“Well, you all know what I think,” Lucille said.
“We’re not staying married indefinitely, Mom,” Wyatt warned.
Lucille wrung her hands. “But as long as you are, even for a little while, couldn’t you just bow to public opinion, give this relationship your all and renew your vows to in some way lessen the talk?”
“No!” Wyatt and Adelaide said in unison. Thankfully, of one mind about that.
“We’re not going to let our emotions—or anyone’s else’s—regarding our situation overrule common sense!” he insisted.
Adelaide agreed. “I’ve let myself be pushed into saying yes too many times in my life, when I really should have said no.” She straightened to her full five feet seven inches. “This is one of those times.”
“I agree.” Wyatt wrapped his arm about her shoulders.
“It was just a suggestion,” Lucille huffed, “but I still think you should keep in mind giving this marriage a real try.”
“As much as I hate to differ with you, Lucille,” Hope said, tactfully taking on her mother-in-law, “I would advise the opposite to curtail this kind of loose talk and speculation, if Wyatt and Adelaide are indeed still planning to divorce.”
“We are,” Wyatt and Adelaide said again in perfect unison.
Wyatt dropped his arm.
Hope accepted their decision in a way Wyatt’s mom apparently could not. “The fact that the two of you have announced you intend to co-parent the children amicably and become a family is admirable. I haven’t seen a single negative remark in print about that. But, the fact you’ve moved in together and everyone knows your marriage is still legal muddies the waters considerably. It’s inviting speculation. Such as, how long will they actually all be under one roof? Will they or won’t they stay married? Is it going to work out? If not, why not? In situations like this, rumors can go wild.”
And with rumors came more embarrassment for Lucille and the rest of the Lockhart clan. “We really don’t want that,” Adelaide said quietly.
Hope understood. “Then, the sooner you wrap up all the legal details, as to the future plans of the two of you, and get those out there as a matter of public record, the better.”
Wyatt and Adelaide called their respective attorneys and set up an appointment for the following afternoon, while Molly and Sage babysat the twins.
“We think it might be better if we go ahead and set our divorce in motion,” Adelaide said, as she and Wyatt met with their lawyers in the conference room at Gannon’s office.
Wyatt didn’t know if it was the fact that the two of them hadn’t made love again since learning of the new scandal, or just the fact they’d been really busy with the twins, but there was definitely renewed tension between him and Adelaide. He didn’t like it. He also suspected it might disappear when they had the legalities wrapped up. At least for now. “So how long will it take?” he asked impatiently.
Claire McCabe explained, “Texas has a mandatory sixty-day waiting period. Which means the earliest the divorce can be granted is on the sixty-first day after the petition is filed.”
Adelaide looked anything but relieved about that. “Does it ever take longer?” she asked.
“The average time is three to six months in an uncontested divorce,” Gannon said.
Wyatt resisted the urge to reach over and take Adelaide’s hand only because he sensed comfort was not what she wanted from him. “Is there anything prohibiting us from living together once the papers are filed? Like there was if we had wanted to go for an annulment?” he asked.
Gannon shook his head. “Not if it’s an uncontested divorce.”
Adelaide paled. “Can we pursue the dissolution in a way that doesn’t assign fault to either of us?”
“Yes,” Claire replied, “as long as you both swear under oath that the marriage can no longer continue because of differences that can’t be resolved.”
Gannon warned, “You will also have to agree on child support, visitation schedule and parenting times. Who gets the children on which holidays. And the division of any property.”
Wyatt looked at Adelaide who seemed as overwhelmed as he was. She blew out a breath. “The property is easy enough.”
Wyatt read her mind. “We’ll both keep what’s ours.”
“As for the rest...” Adelaide relaxed slightly. “Can’t we just tell the court we’ll decide on a day-to-day basis?”
Both lawyers shook their heads firmly. Claire said, “The court wants it all agreed upon—in writing—at the time the divorce petition is filed.”
“And that’s good for you all, too,” Gannon chimed in, “since you will have a set of rules to follow if and when any disagreements do come up.”
Which meant they couldn’t go forward with anything until decisions were made. Wyatt swore silently.
Claire soothed, “We’ll give you each work sheets to fill out. Take the time to think about what you each want. Then call us, and we’ll all sit down together and hash out a final version that works for everyone.”
“What are you thinking?” Wyatt asked when he and Adelaide left and headed toward the parking lot.
Her lips twisted ruefully. “That I don’t think I’ll ever be able to split up our time with the kids the way it sounds like we’re going to be required to do...at least on paper.”
He followed her to his pickup truck. “Me, either.”
Adelaide leaned against the side of the vehicle while he unlocked it and opened the door for her. “But, I see the point. It’s not as if we intend to stay married.”
He caught her hand before she could slip inside. “Do you want to date anyone?”
She gave him a shocked look. “What?”
“Do you want to date anyone else?”
“No.” She sounded affronted. “Do you?”
“No.” He flashed her a reckless grin, continued wryly, “So, that being the case, why do we have to divorce at all? Why not just stay legally married indefinitely, the way we first thought we would? Until we both feel the time is right for us to split up. Taking care of infants is a lot of work. Even with both of us, we’re exhausted.”
She clamped her arms in front of her, as if warding off a sudden chill. “That’s true.” Worry clouded her eyes. “But there’s still all the gossip to be quieted. Much as I’d like to just ignore it, we can’t. We need to protect your mom and our families’ reputations.”
Wyatt studied her closely. “And that means no more scandal.” He exhaled roughly. “The question is how? We can’t do what my mother would prefer and recite vows we don’t mean.”
“I totally agree. We already did that once.”
You did that once, Wyatt thought bitterly. I meant mine then with all my heart and soul. The question was, would he ever be able to mean them again if they did ever find themselves contemplating entering into a real marriage? Not just one that was continuing out of expedience.
“And we can’t divorce.” Oblivious to his thoughts, Adelaide rushed to add, “At least any time soon. So what do we do?”
Wyatt gave her a hand up as she climbed inside the cab. He watched her tug the hem of her skirt down to her knees. The glimpse of silky thigh filled his body with need. Deliberately, he pushed the desire away. “Let’s talk to Hope. See if she has any more ideas.”
Luckily, the crisis manager was available when they stopped by her office. “There must be another way that doesn’t involve renewing our vows or getting a divorce,” Adelaide said.
“Some middle ground,” Wyatt persisted with a terse nod.
“Well, actually, there is one thing you can do.” Hope rocked back in her desk chair. “You can always fight fire with fire.”