Chapter Two

Jessie pulled Daisy’s hat and mittens into place. “Where to?”

Chase inclined his head toward the exit. The hint of a grin tugged at one corner of his mouth. “My rig is in the side parking lot.”

She hesitated for a split second. Good instincts. Gut reaction. Years ago, an offer to accompany this guy to his truck could have easily meant something entirely different. Back then, she didn’t accept the dare. Or invite. Or whatever it was. But now? How times had changed. Diapers and babies and infant seats…and Chase? She had to check it out for herself.

“Lead the way.”

“Are you headed to a job interview?” he asked.

Why did he need to know that? “Awfully nosy, aren’t you?”

“Maybe I can save you some time.” He pulled open the front door. “I might have a better offer for you.”

“I doubt that. I’m an attorney.” Stepping outside into the biting winter air, she raised a hand to shield little Daisy’s face from the cold blast. “Brrr! How far?”

“Right around the corner.”

The noisy wind whipped over them as she hugged the child close. Within moments, Jessie had climbed into the extended cab to strap Daisy into her infant seat while Chase struggled with Poppy’s diaper change on the front seat. With the engine running, warmth soon flowed freely.

“Hey, can you put this on the rear floorboard? There should be a bag to stick it in.”

He passed the pee-soaked diaper back, and she stuffed it into the lone grocery sack she found on the floor. “You can’t leave plastic bags around where the girls could get their hands on them. Too dangerous. Here, keep that up front.”

“Good point. Sorry.” He took the sack. “As you can tell, I’m not used to having them full time.”

“No, no, no,” Poppy declared suddenly.

“That must be your favorite word, babe,” Chase remarked. “One of your only words right now. Okay, little girl, let me adjust your diaper, and you’re ready to go into the back with your sister.”

“Give her to me over the seat. I can fasten her in back here.”

He handed off the squirming child.

Jessie snapped the buckle into the harness. “Pretty soon you’ll miss the days of single syllables and wish for some peace and quiet.”

“And I might be missing clean diapers tonight. That was the last one in this bag, and I don’t know how many packs are left at the ranch. I need to stop at the store.”

“But there’s a snowstorm coming.” Why did he seem to be so completely on his own?

Where is the mother of these kids? Doesn’t the woman care he isn’t really doing a great job?

“You need to get these children home out of this weather. Can’t your wife pick up diapers somewhere rather than you hauling these babies in and out of a store?”

“Wife?” He chuckled. “Maybe, if I had one.”

“Wait…you have these beautiful twins and no partner?” Too surprised by his response to even think of an appropriate question, she simply waited for his explanation.

“That’s why I’m looking to hire some help. Interested?”

“Chase?” She wanted to stomp her foot in frustration, but there was no room. Too much baby stuff everywhere. “How can that be? Where is their mother?”

“Remember Charlotte? My sister? The twins are hers. She kinda left them on my doorstep.”

Jessie’s hand flew to her mouth. Their mother had abandoned them? “You mean, literally?”

“Damn near.” His forehead creased in a frown. “Charlotte and the babies were staying at the ranch with me. Suddenly, she announced she couldn’t handle motherhood anymore and walked out.”

“How could she do that? These poor children!”

“She ran off with some guy she’d just met. Man of her dreams, I’m sure. They always are for a while.”

Just as Jessie pushed on the back door, a strong gust of wind caught it, blowing it wide open. She climbed out, tugging her coat closer, and shoved hard to shut the door tightly, nearly losing her balance in wobbly high heels.

I should’ve bought those new boots I saw yesterday instead of waiting for today’s sale.

Bad decision, Jess.

Once steady on her feet again, she hurried around the truck and climbed into the warm cab. “Are the girls okay?”

“Doing fine,” Chase assured her as he settled onto the driver’s seat.

Jessie shook her head, still mystified by Charlotte’s actions. These little darlings have no mommy in their lives? Unimaginable.

“So what about the father? Is he in the picture?”

“No, he doesn’t have a clue. She wants to keep it that way.” Chase looked skyward. “That storm is rolling in. Do you have time to wait in the truck with the girls while I run into the grocery and grab a few things?”

Jessie glanced out the window. With no job prospects from the employment agency and no place to be at the moment, why not? “Sure, it will keep them out of the cold, at least.” She took a glimpse at the babies, who were babbling back and forth to each other. “That’s adorable. Do they do that very often?”

“Yeah, a lot.” He put the truck in gear. “The store isn’t far from here.” He glanced at her and gave a sheepish grin. “Guess I’m treating you like a first-time visitor when you know exactly where it is.”

“Same place it was when we were kids?” She peered down the street as he headed in the direction of the market.

“Sure is. Not much has changed since you’ve been gone. Except, remember Old Man Taylor, the attorney on the corner of Oak and Main?”

“I always thought of him as Mr. Taylor. A little more respectful,” she added, shooting him a deliberate look of displeasure.

“Unfortunately, he’s the late Mr. Taylor, now. He died a few months ago. His widow has their home up for sale and his law office was—”

“I had no idea he’d passed away! Oh, I hate to hear that. He was such a good man. His office was right there in his house. I did secretarial work for him when I was in high school. Typing, filing, general stuff.”

“I remember.”

How did he know that? She scrunched her brows together. “Why would you know anything about my part-time job when I was a teenager?”

“When we were kids, I worked at my Uncle Dalton’s lumber mill on the edge of town after school.” He shrugged. “Once in a while, I’d take a break at the café for a burger. Sometimes you’d come in to buy coffee for your boss.”

Tapping her chin thoughtfully, she studied his profile. “Were you stalking me, Chase Tanner?”

He chuckled. “Just enjoying the scenery. That’s all.”

A lazy smile teased the curve of his mouth, and alarm bells went off in her head. There was just something about this guy. He could still too easily set her heart hammering against her ribs. And she hated it. Most of the time.

“Hey, a guy has to eat. Lucky for me, I had the early dinner break, so occasionally I got to see the pretty assistant walk from that office to the café and back again.”

“Hmm… A little creepy, maybe, but interesting.” She’d noticed him there, too. Plenty of times. But this guy did not need a bigger ego. He’d hit on her in the past. No need for him to think it was acceptable behavior.

“Did your office work with Mr. Taylor tip the scales toward your decision to become a lawyer?”

He seemed genuinely curious, although he probably wanted her help desperately enough to act attentive to every detail, no matter how boring, to win her over. Not that it was necessary. The two needy little souls in the backseat had already accomplished that, along with her bleak unemployment situation. Working for him could be a good temporary solution for both of them. But she wouldn’t tell Chase just yet.

“That job did make the difference. I really admired him.” She loosened the blue and white scarf around her neck before looking back over a shoulder to check on the girls. Daisy had one shoe removed and her bright pink sock partway off. Jessie unfastened her seatbelt and leaned to tug the sock back on. “It’s too cold for bare toes today, little one.” She settled back into her place. “I loved everything about that work. And Mr. Taylor helped everyone he could. The whole idea of being a lawyer seemed so purposeful back then. So full of promise.” But that was a very long time ago.

“And now?” He eased into a parking spot in the grocery store lot.

She sighed wistfully. “Not so much.”

“You sound discouraged. What changed your view?”

“A holiday movie.” Even though it was January, she smiled with a renewed sense of Christmas spirit sweeping over her.

Chase tilted his head a bit to the side with a mystified look clouding his expression. “Really?”

“Yes. I watched one of those stories where the main character finally realizes she needs to change her ways completely to make life more meaningful. She does and finds her happy ending. I guess I kind of identified with her. I knew I’d made wrong choices and had to change something. Maybe everything. Drastically.” And, boy, did I.

Drawing in a quiet breath, she let it out slowly, and then glanced toward the back seat. Could it be fate? Those lovable babies need someone, and I need them, too. This will be good practice for me. A refresher course. A quick one.

Her cell cut into the moment of silence. Whew. A good diversion. This conversation had become far too personal, far too fast.

She pulled the phone from her purse and looked at the number. “It’s my sister, Jade. Go ahead. We’ll wait here.”

He nodded. “I’ll leave the engine running.”

Chase opened and closed the door quickly, but frigid air still rushed inside. She tugged her scarf a bit closer and turned up the heat as she glanced back at the twins.

“Jade, how are you?” The sweet jabbering of babies forced her to talk loudly over the noise. “Congratulations on the new husband! What a whirlwind romance! I can’t wait to meet him.” She pressed the phone tighter to her ear. “What did you say? You got a promotion at the agency? That’s wonderful! You always wanted to be a social worker. I’m so glad for you. Yes, sure, I’m fine. No job yet, but I am doing some impromptu babysitting at the moment.”

“No! No! No!”

Jessie jumped at Poppy’s sudden outburst. “Hang on.” Leaning over, she adjusted another shoe that had been nearly kicked off a tiny foot. “There you go, little girl. No, Jade, I’m sorry,” she replied quickly into the cell. “I was talking to one of the twins. I’m watching Chase Tanner’s nieces. His sister took off and left her kids with him. And they’re just babies, around a year old, at most. The poor guy is really struggling. There’s no way he’s going to be able to handle them on his own.” Not a chance in the world. She shook her head. “Lunch soon, maybe? Sure, Jade, just give me a call.”

Jessie slid her phone back into her purse and tucked some hair behind an ear. Her sister sounded genuinely happy. Good news, all around. She glanced back at the babbling babies, considering their plight. “I know your uncle is trying, but he’s really going to need some help for a while.” She blew a soft puff of air, moving bangs from her eyes as she pondered possibilities.

Serendipity? Or just common sense? She put a hand to her stomach, a smile pulling at her lips. Either way, I think I have the perfect temporary answer for all of us.

****

Diapers.

Baby food.

Apple juice.

Coffee.

Tea bags.

Sugar.

Bananas.

The list of needed items scribbled on the back of an envelope seemed longer now than it had when he’d jotted things down. As the automatic doors swooshed open, Chase stepped into the warm grocery store, relieved he wasn’t lugging the girls in there with him. Shopping with babies? He hadn’t tried it yet, but he sure couldn’t imagine it ending well.

Visions of ugly scenarios plagued him. Packages of bread pulled off lower shelves, boxes thrown from the cart by tiny hands, maybe broken pickle jars, juice and glass everywhere. Anything could happen. And, of course, the inevitable dreaded moment would likely arrive requiring…“Clean-up on aisle three, aisle four, aisle five…” The store manager would wish he’d followed the trio around with a mop and bucket by the time they reached checkout.

Chase cringed. The outing could easily culminate in a total meltdown of two adorable children—girls he’d give his own life for in a heartbeat.

But, man, he did not want to take them shopping.

Grabbing a cart, he headed for the primary target: a display of diapers at the front of the store.

How lucky he’d been to run into Jessie. Unbelievably so. If only he could convince her to sign on with them as temporary nanny.

Maybe even go the distance until Charlotte returns?

“Yeah, right,” he mumbled aloud, tossing a box of tea bags into the cart. “I’m gonna invite this woman to move in with me…the same gal who just asked if I was stalking her when we were teenagers.” And they both knew she’d accused him of worse in earlier days.

What were the odds she’d accept a job working for him?

Zip. Zero. Nada.