Ten Acres And Twins

“Baloney,” he responded, with a confidence of his own.

And with that, the otherworldly Zuzu drifted out of the diner, and the astounded Jack returned to his town home alone for the first time in a number of weekends.

Always before, a barren weekend had been his choice—not theirs. He’d had no idea how spoiled he’d been. He walked around among his boxed possessions, wishing he hadn’t packed. Wishing the movers would come so he could get to the farmhouse and begin to put the next year behind him.

At least there the baby-care duties should keep him from being bored. It had been nice of Abby to offer to take care of the twins all weekend. He wondered if Wyatt had gone to sleep without a struggle tonight, and if Rosie had babbled nonstop all day.

After an hour of quiet, he called Abby to find out.

“Hullo?”

Her voice was low and throaty. She sounded tired. He checked the time and realized it was eleven o’clock. She’d probably been asleep. He could picture her lounging in bed with a pristine white sheet slipping down the front of her— Whoa!

An evening’s assorted discussions about the caliber of her assets must have gotten to him.

“Hullo? Is anyone there?”

“Abby, it’s Jack. How’s it going?”

“Fine. The babies have been asleep for two hours,” she said. “They wake up early, so I came on up to bed.”

Bed. There it was again.

No matter how hard he fought it, that image of her naked body kept popping into his brain. The only explanation he could think of was that his woman-filled weekend had been a complete washout.

“I’m sorry if I woke you. I just wanted to check on things there,” he said with his eyes closed, as if he could block the unwanted mental pictures.

“You mean you’re alone? Jack, are you slowing down at the ripe old age of…what, thirty-one?” As she grew more alert, she seemed to extend her talons again.

“There’s no need to start a fight now,” he said, opening his eyes again.

He should thank her, really. As soon as her tone changed from soft to sarcastic, her image transformed, and he saw her standing with her hands on her hips and her lips pinched together. Wearing plenty of clothes.