Triple Trouble / A Real Live Cowboy: Triple Trouble

Groaning, she climbed back into bed and pulled the sheet and blanket over her head.

The triplets were still fast asleep in their cribs upstairs when Charlene tiptoed down the stairs and into the kitchen just before eight the following morning.

Nick glanced over his shoulder and took down another mug from the open cupboard. “Morning,” he said. “Coffee’s nearly done.”

Charlene breathed in the rich scent filling the kitchen and nearly groaned. “Bless you.”

Nick’s grin flashed, his eyes lit with amusement. He poured the rich brew into their mugs at the same moment that a knock sounded on the back door.

“That’ll be Melissa,” Nick told Charlene. He grabbed his computer case and crossed the kitchen to pull open the door.

A huge chocolate Labrador retriever leaped over the threshold and planted his paws on Nick’s shoulders, whining with excitement, his tail whipping back and forth.

“Ouch.” Melissa stepped inside, moving sideways to avoid getting hit. “That tail of yours is a lethal weapon, Rufus.” She waved her hand at the travel coffee mug and leather case in Nick’s left hand. “On your way out to work, boss?”

“Yeah.” Nick rubbed Rufus’s ears. “That’s enough. Down, boy.” The Lab dropped back onto four paws but continued to wag his tail, pink tongue lolling as he stared adoringly up at Nick. “I’ll check with the employment agency today,” Nick said, looking over his shoulder at Charlene, “and find out if they’ve lined up applicants for a second nanny.”

“I’ll keep my fingers crossed that they have—then maybe we both can start getting more sleep.”

Nick grinned, his eyes lit with rueful amusement as his mouth curved upward to reveal a flash of white teeth. Charlene suspected she was staring at him like a hopelessly lovestruck teenager, but she couldn’t bring herself to look away.

No man should be that gorgeous.

“I’ll tell them we’re staggering from sleep deprivation. Maybe they’ll take pity on us,” he said.

“We can only hope,” Charlene said, tearing her gaze away from his smile. Unfortunately, she was immediately snagged by his glossy black hair, thick-lashed brown eyes, tanned skin with a faint beard shadow despite the early hour, handsome features…Were all the Fortune men this blessed by nature? she wondered. If so, heaven help the women who caught their attention—because females didn’t stand a chance against all that powerful, charming, handsome male virility. Perhaps she was fortunate that he was her boss and thus off-limits, not to mention he was also clearly far more sophisticated than she. Never mind the fact that he was also not interested in her. Because if he ever turned that undeniable charm on her, she’d give in without a whimper.

It’s a pitiful thing when a woman has no resistance to a man, she realized with wry acknowledgment.

“So long, boss,” Melissa’s voice yanked Charlene out of her thoughts. “Have a good day.”

“Good luck with the triplets.” Nick bent to give Rufus’s silky ears one last rub before disappearing through the door.

Charlene echoed Melissa’s goodbye before pouring herself another mug of coffee. “The coffee’s fresh,” she told Melissa. “Want some?”

“Sure, why not.” Melissa slid onto a stool at the counter.

Charlene handed her a steaming cup and took a seat opposite her.

“Are the babies still asleep?” Melissa asked.

“Yes.” Charlene glanced at the digital clock on the microwave. “They’re sleeping in, probably because they were awake several times last night.”

“I was telling my Ed about the triplets just this morning—” Melissa began.

Whatever she was about to say was lost as someone rapped sharply on the back door.

Charlene looked inquiringly at Melissa.

“That’s probably LouAnn,” Melissa said as she left the counter and crossed the room.

Charlene barely had time to wonder who LouAnn was before Melissa pulled open the door. She felt her eyes widen.

“Good morning, Melissa.” The throaty rasp seemed incongruous, coming as it did from a woman who Charlene guessed weighed at best a hundred pounds, maybe a hundred and ten at the most.

“Hi, LouAnn.” Melissa gestured her inside. “We’re just having coffee. Want some?”

“Of course.” LouAnn followed Melissa to the counter, her bright blue gaze full of curiosity and fixed on Charlene. “And who are you, dearie?”

“I’m Charlene, the nanny.” Charlene tried not to stare, but the silver-haired woman’s attire was eyepopping. She wore a turquoise T-shirt with a bucking horse and rider picked out in silver rhinestones. The black leggings below the T-shirt clung to her nonexistent curves and hot-pink, high-top tennis shoes covered her feet. Skinny arms poked out of the loose short sleeves of the shirt, and both hands boasted jewelry that dazzled. Charlene was pretty sure the huge diamond on her left hand was real, and more than likely, so was the sapphire on her right. Not to mention the large diamond studs that glittered in her earlobes. She was tan, toned and exuded energy that fairly vibrated the air around her pixie frame.

“Nanny?” LouAnn’s penciled eyebrows shot toward the permed silver curls of her immaculate, short hairdo. “Why does Nick need a nanny?”

“Have a seat, LouAnn, and we’ll fill you in.” Melissa pulled out a chair next to hers and across the island’s countertop from Charlene. “Charlene, this is Nick’s neighbor, LouAnn Harris.”

“Pleased to meetcha.” LouAnn hopped onto the tall chair, crossed her legs and beamed at Charlene. “You might as well know you’re likely to see a lot of me. I’m a widow. I live alone and my son and daughter live too far away to visit me often, so I tend to get bored. I was delighted when Nick moved in here and hired Melissa—we’ve known each other for at least twenty years. My, you’re young, aren’t you?”

“Uh, well…” Charlene looked at Melissa for guidance. The housekeeper grinned, her eyes twinkling. Clearly, she wasn’t bothered by the neighbor’s bluntness. “I suppose I am, sort of,” Charlene replied, taking her cue from Melissa.

LouAnn snorted. “No ‘sort of’ about it, honey. Compared to me, you’re a child. But then, I’m seventy-six, so most everyone is younger.” She sipped her coffee. “I have to get me a coffeemaker like Nick’s. Your coffee is always better than mine, Melissa.”

“That might be because I grind the beans. Nick has them sent from the coffee shop he used to go to in L.A.,” Melissa explained to Charlene.

“I thought it was the coffeemaker.” LouAnn leaned forward and lowered her voice to a raspy whisper. “It looks like it belongs on a space ship.”

Charlene laughed, charmed by LouAnn’s warm camaraderie.

LouAnn grinned at her, winked, and turned back to Melissa. “Now, tell me why Nick needs a nanny. I thought he was a confirmed bachelor with no interest in kids.”

“He is—and he doesn’t, or didn’t, pay attention to children,” Melissa agreed. “At least, he had no interest in children until recently. It’s a sad story, really.”

When she finished relaying a condensed version of the situation, LouAnn clucked in sympathy. “How terrible for those poor little girls. And how lucky for them—and Nick—that you were willing to step in and help,” she added, reaching across the marble countertop to pat Charlene’s hand.

“It was fate,” Melissa said firmly. “That’s what I think.”

“Three little ones—all the same age.” LouAnn shook her head. “How are you all coping?”

“Except for a serious lack of sleep, fairly well, I think.” Charlene looked at Melissa. “Sometimes it’s chaos, of course, but the girls seem to be doing okay. Jessie has an ear infection at the moment, so she’s a little cranky. But by and large, they’re very sweet little girls.”

“I can’t wait to see them. How old are they?”

“They’re a year—uh-oh.” The sound of one of the girls, chattering away upstairs floated down the stairway and into the kitchen. “I think you’re about to meet the dynamic trio.” Charlene slipped off her chair and headed for the door.

“I’m coming up with you,” LouAnn announced, joining Charlene.

Melissa brought up the rear as the three women left the kitchen.

Nick had a long list of priorities for the day, but as he backed his Porsche out of the garage and drove away, he wasn’t focusing on the work waiting for him at the Fortune Foundation. Instead, he was distracted by the memory of Charlene coping with the babies in the middle of the night.