Cowboy's Triplet Trouble

“All I really wanted was for him to know about them and maybe spend some time with the girls, be a positive role model in their lives.” She shifted positions and hissed in a breath, as if any kind of upper body movement caused her pain.

“You must have hit the ground pretty hard.”

“I did. I have a gun in my pocket, and even though the safety was on, as I was falling I was afraid I’d hit the ground so hard it would pop off and somehow I’d shoot myself, so I twisted to make sure my shoulder and not my side took the brunt of the fall.”

“A gun?” He looked at her in stunned surprise. She definitely didn’t look like the gun-toting type. “Why on earth would you have a gun in your pocket?”

“I didn’t know what kind of people you were. I wasn’t even sure I’d find Justin here. I wasn’t about to drive into a place where I’d never been before without some sort of protection for me and my girls. Besides, I got your address from a cyberfriend and my sister was afraid I might wind up at the home of some pervert sitting around in his underwear and stalking women over the internet.”

“I’m definitely not a pervert, but if Jeffrey and Kerri weren’t living with me, there might be times I’d sit around in my underwear,” he replied with a wry grin.

He felt himself relaxing a bit, some of his irritation passing. None of this was her fault, and he’d be a jerk to punish her for his brother’s actions or inactions.

He was rewarded with her smile, and her beauty with that gesture warming her features struck him square in the gut. He quickly focused his attention back on the road.

Okay, he could admit it to himself, he felt a little burn of physical attraction for Grace Sinclair. He shouldn’t be surprised. She was a beautiful woman, and it had been over a year since Jake and the woman he’d been seeing for almost six months had called it quits. Just because Grace attracted him didn’t mean there was a chance in hell that he’d follow through on it.

She was Justin’s issue, not his. And the very last thing Jake wanted in his life at this moment or at any time in the future was anyone who might need him. The last thing he needed was another issue to solve. He was totally burned out in that area.

He slowed his speed as they entered the city limits of Cameron Creek. Unlike a lot of the small towns in Oklahoma that were dying slow, painful deaths, Cameron Creek was thriving and growing. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason for the anomaly other than the fact that the city council of Cameron Creek worked hard to make it a pleasant place to live. It also helped that on the south side of town was a large dog food factory that employed most of the people in the area.

“Hopefully I’ve just bruised it and it will be fine in an hour or two,” she said as he parked in front of the attractive little hospital’s emergency room entrance.

“You still have that gun in your pocket?” he asked as he shut off the engine. She nodded. She used her right hand to reach in her left pocket and pulled out the revolver. “It would probably be best if you didn’t carry it into the emergency room. Do you mind if I lock it in the glove box?”

“You promise me you aren’t a pervert?” she asked with a touch of teasing in her voice.

An unexpected burst of laughter escaped him. “I promise,” he said as she offered him the gun. With it safely locked inside the glove box, they left the truck and headed through the emergency entrance.

Thankfully there was nobody in the waiting room and Grace was immediately whisked away to be seen by the doctor. Jake lowered himself into one of the waiting room chairs and tried to tamp down his aggravation with his brother.

There were times Jake dreamed of selling the ranch and leaving Oklahoma. There were days the thought of being on a deserted island all alone was infinitely appealing. But the vision was only appealing for a minute. He loved the ranch and would probably never leave.

Still, he’d thought that once he survived his childhood years life would get easier, but the death of his parents hadn’t changed anything. His responsibilities had only gotten heavier.

He was tired, and the only thing he wanted now was for the doctor to fix up Grace so she could be on her way home. He’d encourage his brother to do the right thing and then Jake would wash his hands of the whole mess.

He wouldn’t mind spending a little time with his nieces, eventually. But before that could happen Justin and Grace were going to have to figure things out. And that had nothing to do with him.

He’d spent most of his life shouldering responsibilities to make life easier on everyone else around him. Now what he wanted more than anything was just to be left alone.

It was almost an hour later that Dr. Wallington came out to greet him. Jake stood and shook the older man’s hand. Dr. Wallington had been their family doctor for years.

“Grace wanted me to come out and let you know she’s fine. X-rays showed no break, although her shoulder is severely sprained. I’m putting her in a sling to immobilize it for a couple of days and I’ve given her some pain medication. In the meantime she shouldn’t do any driving or lifting and I’ve told her if it isn’t better in three or four days she should come back in.”

Jake smiled, nodded and thanked the doctor while inwardly cringing at the news. There was no way he could put Grace in her car with three babies to return home. She was going to need help, and plenty of it.

A weary resignation rose up inside him. All he’d wanted from life was a little peace and quiet, but any hope for that flew out the window. His life was about to be turned upside down with the invasion of three little girls and a woman who disturbed him in a way no woman ever had before.

Chapter 3

“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” Grace muttered to herself as she waited for the nurse to return to the room to fit her with a sling. She’d been stupid to chase out of the house after Justin, and even more stupid to be so angry she’d managed to miss the first porch step and fall on her shoulder.

Now she was in a mess. The doctor had said she couldn’t drive and she couldn’t lift. How was she going to manage? The last thing she wanted to do was to ignore the doctor’s advice and exacerbate the injury.

Tears suddenly burned at her eyes. This whole trip had been a nightmare. She’d been stupid to believe that there was a possibility of a happy ending for her babies, that she’d somehow walk away from here with a loving, caring man committed to being an integral part of their lives.

In her very first encounter with Justin she’d thought he was charming and hot, but now she realized he was just an immature hothead.

She wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. She wanted to believe that once the initial shock of the whole situation wore off, he’d step up and be a man. Be the father she wanted for her girls. But her first impression of him had definitely been a bad one.

In the meantime, she was going to have to leave this examining room and ask Jake, with his dark blue eyes and that edge of aloofness about him, if she could stay at his place for a couple of days until her shoulder healed enough that she could make it back home.

There was no way she could take the chance of trying to drive home alone, no way once she got there that she could take care of the girls. She certainly couldn’t depend on Natalie. Her sister might be good for an hour or two of help here and there, but not the kind of care it would take for the next couple of days.

She’d have to depend on the kindness of virtual strangers and she hated that. The tears threatened to fall and she wasn’t sure if they were caused by her situation, by Justin’s reaction or the pain that radiated down her arm from her injured shoulder. She quickly swallowed against the tears as the nurse reappeared in the room.

Within minutes her arm was immobilized, and she’d called Natalie to let her know what was going on. Afterward she walked into the waiting room where Jake stood staring out the window. For a moment she didn’t make a sound, just stared at his broad back.

He looked so solid. For a fleeting moment she wished he would have been the handsome cowboy at the wedding that night. It was a ridiculous thought. She knew no more about Jake than she did about his brother Justin. But what little she did know led her to believe that Jake would never find himself out of control, drunk in bed with a stranger. And he would have never torn out of a driveway after screaming to some woman that she’d ruined his life.

He whirled around as if he’d heard her thoughts, and he couldn’t quite hide the scowl that had apparently ridden his features before he’d turned.

“Ah, there you are,” he said smoothly as he approached her. “It looks as if you’re going to be our houseguest for a few days. I’ve already called Jeff and Kerri to get things arranged at the house.”

“I’m sure after a good night’s rest I’ll be fine to go home in the morning,” she said as they left the hospital and walked outside.

“We’ll see in the morning.” He didn’t sound too sure about her being capable of leaving that soon.

“I’m so sorry about this,” she said when they were both back in his truck.

“You really have to stop apologizing.” He smiled then and unexpected warmth fluttered in her chest. He had such a nice smile. “Accidents happen, Grace. We’re all just going to have to figure out how to make the best of things.”

“That’s what I was trying to do by coming here. I’d hoped to take a difficult situation and somehow make it work in the best interests of my daughters.” She paused for a long moment, and then continued, “I was a fool to come here.” A touch of bitterness laced her voice.

“I’m hoping by tomorrow you and Justin will be able to sit down together and work things through.”

“If today was any indication of the way one works things through with Justin then I don’t think my body can take it,” she replied drily.

He shot her a quick glance. “We’ll just have to make sure you stay on your feet tomorrow.”

“Tell me about him,” she said. “What does Justin do for a living?”

Jake hesitated a minute. “He works for me at the ranch part-time.”

That didn’t sound great. She wondered what he did with his other time. “I’m assuming he isn’t married. Does he have a girlfriend?”

Jake shot her a tight smile. “Justin dates a lot, although he’s been seeing Shirley Caldwell for the last couple of months. She works as a waitress at a café in Cameron Creek.”