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CHAPTER ONE SHELBY PAUSED just before her hand touched the doorbell. What if this was another dead end? What then? The information Michael and Garrett had given her was sketchy at best. A couple by the name of Jackson had given birth to triplets almost twenty-six years ago. Her brothers hadn’t been able to find out the exact date yet. The hospital where Mrs. Jackson had given birth had lost its records in a fire, but one doctor had remembered Mrs. Jackson and the triplets. He’d suggested they come here and try to find out if the Jacksons who lived on this ranch were any relation to the Jackson family with the triplets. It was a long shot. But it was a shot. The quest to find out what had happened to her birth mother had taken on a new urgency in the past few months. Shelby didn’t need a psychiatrist to tell her why. Almost everyone she knew had found someone to love, all in a matter of months. And most of them were already parents or expecting to be parents. Shelby couldn’t stop thinki
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO SHELBY PUT IT in gear. First, she assessed the situation. Gray was pretty hopeless. Not that he wasn’t trying, but he was as comfortable with the children as she’d be with wild badgers. And of course, the children sensed it and acted out. Jem in particular seemed determined to rattle Gray at every turn. She shouldn’t be amused by all the shenanigans, but she was. The twins were just too clever and adorable, and Gray? It was something to see a man like him completely discombobulated. Everything about his clothes, his hair, his manner told her he was rarely out of control. She could imagine him with presidents and movie stars. But when Jem stuck his finger in Gray’s ear, the man was shocked insensible. He stammered, blinked, his cheeks turned bright pink, and all in all he made her melt like ice cream in September. But she’d think about that later. Much later. When she was in the car. At home. At the diner. Oh, yes. If nothing else, this excursion was going to feed her fantas
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE SHELBY TURNED THE PAGE and put the edge of her dinner plate on the bottom of the book to hold it open. She hardly looked at her grilled salmon or the baby red potatoes, even though they were quite good. She’d been captured by a quiet cowboy on a mountain in Wyoming. Her eyes skimmed the pages hungrily, looking for the moment when he realized he was in love. She was the heroine. Just like always. Someone came into her peripheral vision, and she fought the urge to shoo them away with her hand. It was the waitress. Bella, her name tag read. A nice older woman, and Shelby smiled at her. “Would you like a refill on your iced tea?” “Please.” Bella nodded, but Shelby could see her strain to read the title of the book. She flipped it closed, showing the woman the cover. “Ah, that’s a good one,” she said. “I wish I could read it again for the first time.” “I know just what you mean.” “You let me know when you want me.” “Thank you.” Shelby watched until Bella stopped at another tab
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR SHELBY WHIRLED, sending the water in her glass flying in the semidark kitchen. “Oh, I didn’t hear you.” “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.” “I know. You would have said ‘boo’ if you had.” He grinned that perfect grin of his. God, with that dark stubble of a beard and his tousled hair, Gray looked even sexier. Like that was fair. “I thought you’d be asleep by now.” She shrugged, very aware of the shortness of her sleep shirt. If she wasn’t careful to keep it tugged down, he’d see the scars on the backs of her thighs. “I was reading. Then I got thirsty.” He nodded, shuffled barefoot to the fridge and opened the door. The light from inside illuminated the front of him. Every excellent inch. He wore loose striped pajama bottoms and a white T-shirt. On him, it worked. “Well, I guess I’ll be heading back.” She was anxious to leave, to be away from his pheromones, or whatever was making her so nuts. “Don’t. Not yet.” There wasn’t enough light to see his expression. All he
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE “‘NO, MISS PIGGY. I haven’t found your earrings. If I had found them, I would have given them to you.’” Shelby looked up from the book she was reading and glanced at the clock. It was almost two. Late for a nap, but with Lattimer’s surprise visit… Then she checked on the twins. Scout was out, and Jem was moments away. He was struggling, though. His eyes would close, jerk open, then drift closed again. Another page, and it would be all over but the sweet dreams. “‘But what am I supposed to do?’ Miss Piggy asked. ‘I can’t go back home without them.’” She heard a footfall. It was Gray. He tiptoed into the room. “Are you almost finished?” he whispered. She nodded. “About two more minutes.” “I’ll meet you downstairs.” He walked out again, and her gaze lingered on the door for a long moment after he was gone. She’d done well today. She’d helped him with the children. She’d helped him with his job. All in all, she had every reason to feel content. Yet… She’d never been more aware
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX THE PLEASURE of her warm, soft lips hit him gradually. He hadn’t meant to kiss her. And he sure as hell hadn’t meant to like it so much. But as long as he was here… He closed his eyes as he stepped closer, still holding her, drinking in her scent and then, unable to help himself, tasting her. Instead of the sound thrashing he expected, her lips parted. Not much. Just enough for him to slip inside. He heard her sharp intake of breath, felt the air stir and an immediate tightening of his chest and all points south. Her tongue touched his. A jolt hit him so hard he jerked back, as if she was a live wire. She stood very still. Her lips still parted. Her eyes fixed and glassy. The color of her cheeks reminded him of pink roses. What he wanted to know was what the hell had just happened? His innocent little thank-you kiss had turned around and whopped him upside the head. It was much worse than he’d anticipated. A hell of a lot worse. Sure, she was nice and sexy, but he usually w
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN SHELBY LIFTED her face, parted her lips, then closed her eyes. She was ready for the bells and whistles. Gray wanted nothing more than to kiss the woman senseless. But something held him back. He didn’t want to hurt her, not for anything. As strong as she was in most areas, there was real vulnerability here. He had the feeling she’d been hurt before. That somewhere along the way some idiot had said something or done something…. On the other hand, if he backed away now, who knew what she’d think. He didn’t want to embarrass her, either. She’d been terrific, and damn it, he wanted her to stay. But— Her eyes opened. Her right brow lifted, and she shook her head in a very small move. The next thing he knew, she was on tiptoes, her arms went around his neck, and then she kissed him. It was a hell of a surprise. A nice surprise. He still didn’t understand what was going on between them, but at the moment, he didn’t care. All he knew for sure was that her lips were soft and welc
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT AFTER THE KIDS were tucked in, Gray followed Shelby into the living room. When they reached the couch, he sat down first, letting her decide how close she wanted to be. He marveled at his self-restraint. A few months ago he would have had her in his bed about ten seconds after the children were asleep. What had changed? This was the first time he’d been with a woman since he’d made the decision to straighten up. Could that be it? He’d always been a man to take what he wanted. It had never particularly mattered what he had to do to accomplish his goal. As he looked at her, sitting about six inches to his left, the irony of the situation hit him. He was with a voluptuous, delectable female who was ripe for the picking, and he’d just developed a conscience. Good one. She held the remote control in her small hand, pointing at the television as if it were a ray gun. She clicked and clicked until she saw Dennis Quaid. “Oh, yes. One of my favorite movies.” “What is it?” “The Big
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE GRAY TURNED ON the light. It was five in the morning, and he’d been up for an hour already. This, after getting to sleep well after midnight. Normally, he slept like a baby. But normally, he wasn’t a colossal schmuck. Okay, so maybe he sometimes was a colossal schmuck, but at least it never used to bother him. What the hell had he been thinking? She wanted it. She’d brought her own birth control. She’d practically thrown herself at him. But did he do what any normal, red-blooded American male would do? Oh, no. He had to be noble. He had to act like her friggin’ mother. His reward was a night of tossing and turning, his body letting him know that it didn’t appreciate his Dudley Do-Right impression. His body understood that when a woman asked if he’d like to have sex, he should say yes. He groaned as he climbed out of bed. His head hurt, his mouth felt like a cotton factory, and those were only his complaints above the waist. The shower beckoned so loudly that he put paste o
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN GRAY BROUGHT IN the last of the groceries from the car and put the bags on the kitchen table. He slumped in the chair closest to him and looked at Shelby. She was smiling as she put away the groceries. Smiling! It wasn’t possible. “How can you do that?” he asked. “Someone has to. The milk would spoil.” “I don’t mean that. I mean the smile. The energy.” “Come on, Gray, it wasn’t that bad.” “Ha!” “They’re just doing what four-year-olds do. At that age, they have a terrific urge to see everything, touch everything. They’re loud and insistent, and their imaginations are in full swing. It’s quite remarkable, really.” “Remarkable.” She came over to the table and peered in the bags. Then she turned to him. “It’ll be different when they’re your children.” “How? Other than the fact that I’ll be older and inherently less able to keep up with them.” “You’ll find energy you didn’t know you had. Trust me. As much as you love Scout and Jem, it can’t compare to what you’ll feel with your
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN GRAY SETTLED onto the couch, more tired than he’d been in a long time. Jem’s fever had finally broken, and he was able to keep down some juice. Scout had spent an hour complaining of an upset stomach, but Shelby determined it was more of a cry for attention that anything else. Especially since the little angel had wolfed down two cups of popcorn while watching Aladdin for the hundredth time. The kids had finally fallen asleep by ten. He hoped that meant they wouldn’t be getting up at the crack of dawn. Bless Shelby for staying one more night. Even though she assured him Jem’s fever was mild, Gray didn’t know how he could have handled everything without her. He glanced at her. She sat hugging the opposite end of the couch. “Did I remember to thank you for all this?” “Wait till you get my bill,” Shelby said, her tired gaze on the television. She sat with her legs curled under her, her bare feet peeking from beneath her butt. They were cute feet, and his gaze kept sliding t
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE “WHERE’S SHELBY? I want her to make us dinner.” Jem marched into the kitchen with Scout right behind him. He was back to his old self, throwing things, tormenting his sister and giving Gray a headache. “She’s never coming back.” Scout flopped on a chair, folded her small arms across her chest and stuck out her lower lip. “Uncle Gray made her go away.” Gray sighed. “How about cheeseburgers for dinner?” As soon as the words left his mouth, he was hit with another wave of depression. Shelby had known how he liked his cheeseburgers. He hadn’t told her. She’d just known. She was intuitive about a lot of other things, too. About the kids. She’d only been gone for three hours, and he already missed her like crazy. “Why did you make her go away?” Jem looked at him with large, wounded eyes. “We liked Shelby.” “I didn’t make her go away. She had to leave. She had to go to Dallas.” Gray tried to smile, but the truth was, he probably had chased her away. From the moment he’d met her
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN “UNCLE GRAY, do you like Ariel or Belle better?” Gray had no idea what Scout was talking about. “Ariel, definitely.” “Me, too.” She turned to finish watching her cartoon. She and Jem had been in the same position for the last hour—on their stomachs, heads held up by both arms, feet wagging behind them. He’d have cramped a long time ago, but they seemed very happy. In fact, nothing else had kept their attention like this movie. He looked at the newspaper in his lap, but the thought of reading didn’t appeal to him. He wanted to talk to Shelby. After putting the paper on the floor, he headed for the kitchen. He found her checking on a coffee cake in the oven. “Can I help?” “What? Oh, no. I’ve got it. This just needs to bake for another half hour, that’s all.” She wiped her hands on the towel she’d grabbed from the counter. “Gray, an odd thing happened last night after you went to bed.” “What?” He got the orange juice pitcher out of the fridge, poured himself a glass, then
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN HE MET HER in the living room. She pushed her hair behind her shoulder, just a casual move, one she probably made ten times a day. For some reason, the gesture made him want to kiss her, but he held back. Once he started, he wasn’t sure he would be able to stop. “Are they asleep?” “They are. But not without much complaining that I wasn’t reading the story right.” “I think that was just a ploy to stay up later, don’t you?” “Actually, I think they missed you.” She grinned. “Cool.” He took her hand and led her to the couch. “You know, it occurs to me that if we’re going to carry on this grand facade at Lattimer’s, we need to do some serious talking.” “What do you mean?” “I mean I have no idea if you have any nieces or nephews. Or a dog or a cat.” “Oh, right.” “So what do you say we tell each other all our secrets.” Shelby smiled. “We’ve been doing that for five days.” “Yeah, I suppose you’re right. Okay, so instead we’ll just fill each other in on our backgrounds.” “It’s
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN IT WAS DIFFERENT this time. As if she’d never kissed him before. As if she’d never been kissed. He caressed her with his lips, savored her as if she was rare and exotic. His hand moved to her arm, but his touch was tentative. She parted her lips, and with that, everything changed again. Now confident, he slid his hand up to her shoulder. As she melted into his arms, she knew exactly what she was doing and how much it was going to hurt to leave him. But it seemed absurd that she’d considered the alternative. Much better to be with Gray tonight and lose him than never to have been with him at all. The swing rocked, and he shifted, but the position wasn’t right. She wanted to be closer to him, to be free to stroke him everywhere and be stroked in return. She wanted him inside her. He pulled away and stood in front of her, holding out his hand. She took it, and he led her inside. They walked through the familiar kitchen to the hallway, his hand strong and sure, her mind at
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN SHE OPENED HER EYES to the first hint of daylight. And Gray. It was wonderful looking at him like this, when he couldn’t see her. She took her time, blessing the light that fell across his face. He was so beautiful. Like no one else she’d ever known. Perfect, but in his own way. Even now, with his hair tousled, in need of a shave, he made her heart flutter. That he was so sweet inside was even more remarkable. She wanted— Oh, God, she wanted him. Forever. She wanted to wake up next to him every day for the rest of her life. It came as no surprise. In fact, she’d already known on some level, but the plain bald truth was that she was in love with him. For so long now she’d watched her closest friends fall in love and she’d wished and wished that it could happen to her. She should have been more specific. If only he wasn’t so set on getting the job with Lattimer. If only she didn’t love her diner so much, and her life in Austin. If only he wanted the kind of committed rela
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN GRAY THREW the softball, an easy lob right into Jem’s glove. Jem dropped it, but it wasn’t the little guy’s fault. The glove was too big, his body not quite mature enough to play catch with ease. “Good one, Jem. You had ’er.” Jem picked up the ball, which was bigger than his hand, and tossed it to Gray in a wildly uncoordinated overhand throw. Gray dashed right, but he wasn’t fast enough. The ball landed with a thud on the green rye grass. He scooped it up in his brother’s mitt. His was in a box in storage along with his other sports paraphernalia—skis, pool cue, basketball and a jersey once worn by Michael Jordan himself. After he tossed another one to Jem, Gray looked at the house. At the porch. Shelby had gone inside. Probably just to get a drink or something. But then Scout came running out, a mitt on her hand, too. It was just as large as the one Jem used, and Gray decided that tomorrow, he’d go pick up a couple of junior mitts. Scout nearly tripped in her effort
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN GRAY CHECKED on the kids. They were still sleeping, but he knew that wouldn’t last. They never slept more than an hour in the afternoon, and even though he’d worn them out, they weren’t going to break the pattern today. He softly closed the door then went to the guest bathroom and gathered his toiletries. He’d showered there, not wanting to disturb Shelby. Actually, he had wanted to disturb her. He’d almost joined her in the bathroom. Twice, he’d put his hand on the doorknob. But in the end, he realized he needed to let her be. She was leaving. That was all there was to it. So what if he didn’t want her to go? It was just another example of his selfishness. Never mind what was right for Shelby. She should leave her home, her business, her life and come with him because he wanted her to. Jeez. He really was a selfish bastard. A sound from downstairs told him Shelby was in the kitchen. He hurried down the stairs, made a quick detour to his room to drop off his things, th
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN GRAY PARKED his Z-3 in front of Lattimer’s house, but he didn’t get out. The place was huge, a mansion more than a home. A large expanse of perfectly manicured lawn dotted with stately trees led up to an antebellum porch, complete with colonnades. Silhouettes at the windows showed him a much larger crowd than he’d anticipated. Shelby had been right to make so many hors d’oeuvres. He wished she was here. It would have made everything easier. Not that he didn’t think he could do a good job with Lattimer, but being with Shelby automatically gave him points. Her restaurant must have lots of regulars. He’d like to see her there, floating from table to table, making her patrons feel at ease and welcome. It was time. He climbed out of the car and got the big box of food from the back. It was a short walk from the gravel parking area to the front door. Just as he balanced the box on his knee to ring the bell, the door swung open. A young woman smiled at him. “You must be Gray
CHAPTER NINETEEN
EPILOGUE One year later SHELBY HAD TO sit down. She didn’t want to. The party was just getting into full swing. But she wasn’t the only one making the decisions these days. Three little ones, eight and a half months old and still inside her, had the biggest vote. And they wanted her to sit. She put her hand on her belly, so big it seemed impossible. She felt them move, but that wasn’t new. At least one of them was going to be a flamenco dancer. She just wished he would stop using her bladder as his practice floor. Maybe it wasn’t a he. Maybe the dancer was their little girl. It didn’t matter. They were all three healthy, and in a very short time they would be in her arms. She felt a cool hand on her shoulder. “Are you all right?” She looked up to see Gray, concern forcing his brows down. “Yes. I’m fine. Go on. I’ll be up and about soon.” “I’d rather stay here with you.” “It’s your party.” He sighed, then pulled a chair close to her. His gaze traveled the hotel banquet room, decorated t
EPILOGUE
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