Cowboy's Triplet Trouble

“Let’s put the girls here on the floor,” Kerri said. “I’ll get them some plastic containers to occupy them while I finish getting lunch on the table and you and I can have a nice chat.” She smiled at Grace, a friendly gesture that took some of the sharp edge off Grace’s tension.

At least Natalie had been wrong about the person living here being a fifty-year-old pervert. “Where did Jeffrey go?” Jake asked as he gingerly set Bonnie on the red-and-white throw rug on the floor.

“I told him to see about the old high chairs in the shed,” Kerri replied.

“I’ll go see if he needs help.” He escaped out the back door, taking with him much of the energy in the room.

Within minutes the girls were all on the rug with a variety of plastic spoons, bowls and lids to keep them happy. Grace sat at the table while Kerri bustled around the kitchen to finish preparing the meal and laid another place setting.

“How on earth do you tell them apart?” Kerri asked as she placed bread and butter on the table.

“Even though at first glance they look identical, there are subtle differences. Bonnie wrinkles her nose when she laughs and Casey’s hair is just a shade lighter. To make it easier on everyone else, I just dress them in different colors. Abby is pink, Bonnie is blue and Casey is yellow.”

“It’s the same with Jake, Jeffrey and Justin,” Kerri said. “Most people insist they can’t tell them apart, but there are definite differences. Jake is definitely the alpha dog and his eyes are slightly darker than his brothers. My Jeffrey is thinner than the other two and sweeter tempered.” Her voice held a wealth of love. “And you know Justin.”

That was the whole problem. Grace didn’t know Justin at all. She was ashamed to admit that she barely remembered being intimate with him. What she did remember from that night was how good the champagne had tasted and how Justin made sure her glass remained full and his flirting attention remained solely on her. “Do you all live here?” she asked.

Kerri placed a large salad on the table and then eased down in the chair next to Grace. “This was the family homestead but their parents died twelve years ago when they were all twenty-two. Jake took over running the ranch.”

She laughed. “But that’s not what you asked. To answer your question, Justin lives in an apartment in Cameron Creek and Jeffrey and I are only living here for another couple of weeks or so. We have a house being built on the property. And once we get moved in I want one of those.” She pointed to the girls, who were gibbering and playing, perfectly content at the moment.

“Be careful what you wish for,” Grace said with a smile. “I always wanted a son or a daughter. Apparently that triplet gene is strong, and despite how well they’re doing now, they don’t always stay all in the same place.”

At that moment Jeffrey and Jake returned, carrying high chairs that looked as if they were from another era. “They’re old,” Jeffrey said, “but we cleaned them up and they will still serve their purpose. Thank goodness that old shed hasn’t been cleaned out in years.”

“Perfect timing,” Kerri said as she jumped up from the table.

She helped Grace get the girls settled in the high chairs and then they all sat down to eat. The little girls had bowls with a bit of the casserole and green beans. Grace had retrieved their cups from the diaper bag and they dug into their meal with their usual enthusiasm.

“You didn’t mention where you’re from,” Jake said as he passed her the bowl of green beans.

There was something about the directness of his gaze that she found more than a bit unsettling. Kerri was right. Now that Grace had spent a little time with him she couldn’t imagine how she’d initially thought he was the man who had fathered her girls.

The cowboy she’d met at the wedding had been fun and flirty, with a bit of wildness in his blue eyes. Jake looked harder, his eyes a midnight-blue. He definitely looked as if he’d never lose control enough to drink too much, let alone wind up in a bed with a woman he barely knew.

“Wichita,” she replied.

“Nice place,” Jeffrey said as he buttered a slice of bread. “What do you do there?”

“I’m a third-grade teacher.”

Grace was grateful when the conversation changed from her to the ranch and the work being completed on Jeffrey and Kerri’s house. As the meal and talk progressed it became evident to Grace that Bonnie was flirting with Jake.

Her high chair was next to his chair at the table, and she fluttered her long, thick eyelashes as she cast him one toothy grin after another. He didn’t pay attention until she managed to grab his arm, grin and offer him a slightly smooshed green bean.

Kerri laughed. “Looks as though you have a little admirer, Jake.”

He eyed the green bean as if it was something he’d never seen before in his life and was highly suspicious of where it might have come from. Bonnie gibbered to him and pressed the bean closer.

“Uh … thanks,” he said as he finally took the bean from her and placed it gingerly on the edge of his plate.

Bonnie clapped her hands together in happiness, her button nose wrinkling as she smiled, then fluttered her eyes, making her long dark lashes dance.

Jake focused back on his plate and Grace was thankful he wasn’t the father. He obviously had no interest in children and didn’t appear to have any softness inside him. She definitely wanted more than somebody like him to be a part of her girls’ lives.

She wanted a man who would be unable to resist the flutter of Bonnie’s lashes, the sweetness of Casey’s smiles and Abby’s infectious giggles. She wanted a man who would be unable to resist loving them with all his heart.

The food was good and the conversation was light and easy with Kerri filling most of the awkward silences with friendly chatter. Still, Grace decided if Justin hadn’t shown up by the time lunch was over and she helped with the cleanup, she’d go on to the motel and get settled in there for the night.

She’d intruded enough on these people. Granted they were Abby, Bonnie and Casey’s aunt and uncles, but there was no way to know what part they’d play in each other’s lives until she spoke to Justin.

In the best of worlds, no matter what happened with Justin, these people would want to stay involved with the little girls. But Grace was realistic enough to know that life didn’t always work that way. In fact, in her experience life rarely worked out the way it was supposed to.

The meal was just about finished when Grace’s cell phone rang. It was in the opposite pocket from the gun in her blazer. She recognized the number of the caller and excused herself from the table.

“Natalie,” she said as she answered. “I’m so sorry. I forgot to call when I got here.”

“So, what’s happening? Are you at the right place? Is he wearing a dirty undershirt and tighty whities?”

Grace laughed. “Yes and no. Yes, I’m at the right place, but I’m still waiting to meet with Justin.” She quickly explained about the men being triplets and that she was waiting for the father of the girls to show up at the house. Promising to stay in touch, she ended the call and hurried back into the kitchen.

“I’m so sorry,” she said to the others still seated at the table. “That was my younger sister. I’d promised to call her the minute I arrived here and then promptly forgot to do so. She was worried.”

“You only have the one sister?” Kerri asked.

Grace sat back down in her chair. “Thankfully yes,” she said with a touch of humor. “Natalie is twenty-four, almost ten years younger than me, and some days it feels like I have four children instead of three.”

“What about your parents?” Jeffrey asked.

“We were raised by a single mother and she passed away nine months ago,” Grace replied. She was acutely aware of Jake’s gaze on her. Dark and unreadable, the intensity made her slightly uncomfortable.

“Jake, what’s up?” A familiar deep male voice called from the living room.

Grace’s stomach clenched tight as she realized Justin had arrived. Certainly the friendliness toward her and the children by the people around the table had given her hope, and that hope now surged up inside her.

She wasn’t expecting instant happiness from Justin, but what she was hoping for was some sort of acceptance of the situation and the happiness would come later.

He came into the kitchen. In that first instant of seeing Justin again, Grace couldn’t imagine how she’d mistaken Jake for him. Justin looked younger and his hair was longer and slightly wild with curls.

His blue eyes widened at the sight of her, and then he looked at the three girls in the high chairs. “Oh, hell no!” he exclaimed and then turned and ran out of the kitchen.

Jake watched Grace’s lovely face pale as she jumped up from her chair. “Please excuse me,” she said, her voice trembling as she left the kitchen, obviously in pursuit of Justin.

There was a long moment of silence around the table.

“Mama?” Bonnie said, but didn’t seem upset by Grace’s absence.

“She seems really nice,” Kerri said.