The Bachelor's Twins

Why had she agreed to this?

Over the past few days, she’d tried to come up with a reason to bow out of their upcoming canoe trip gracefully, but the twins had been talking about it nonstop since the fund-raiser on Saturday afternoon. And in those rare moments of silence when they weren’t talking about the outing, they’d been preparing for it. Studying the map that highlighted their projected route and memorizing the list of safety tips Sunni had emailed to Anna on Monday morning. Filling out the detailed questionnaire used to determine their level of experience.

On the last page of the information packet, Sunni had added a personal note: “Happy Birthday, Anna! Enjoy the peace and tranquility of a day on the river!”

Peace and tranquility?

Not when Anna’s stomach tilted sideways at the thought of spending those hours with Liam.

Regret coursed through her, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. Words Anna had spoken in anger the night of their senior prom had formed a wall between her and Liam that remained intact even after she’d returned to Castle Falls. Strengthened by time and distance and a silence neither one of them had attempted to break.

But Anna could still see the flash of hurt in Liam’s eyes, a sign her words had hit their mark.

What makes you think that my relationship with Ross is any of your business? You don’t know the first thing about him...or me. And from what I’ve heard about your family, you don’t know anything about love, either.

How ironic, that she was the one who’d proved to be blind when it came to that particular emotion.

A mistake she wasn’t going to make again...

“Morning, ladies!” Aiden called out cheerfully. He could have passed for a modern-day river pirate in faded jeans and a black T-shirt with the sleeves cut off at the shoulders. A red do-rag matched the flames painted on the side of the canoe jutting from the back of his pickup truck.

Still, the knot in Anna’s stomach loosened a little. She wasn’t sure if it was because Aiden was the youngest in the family or because a perpetual gleam of mischief danced in his cobalt-blue eyes, but Anna had always found him to be the most approachable of the three brothers.

Cassie and Chloe obviously didn’t share her opinion. They bailed out of the backseat and sprinted across the lawn toward Liam, their copper braids streaming behind them like the tails on a pair of kites.

Anna dragged in a breath, afraid the girls were going to bowl the man right over. But at the last possible second, they skidded to a stop directly in front of him, chattering a mile a minute about their upcoming adventure.

As Anna made her way toward them, she managed to catch every third word or so. Photographs. Sunflowers. Pins and journals.

The average person would have been hard-pressed to make sense of the lilting duet, but instead of clapping his hands over his ears or running for cover, Liam bent closer and gave the twins his undivided attention. A swatch of silky dark hair slipped over his eye and for a moment, Anna saw a lanky adolescent boy slumped in his desk in the back of the classroom.

Rumors had started to run rampant even before Liam and his brothers moved in with the Masons. Some of the kids said they’d been living on the street. Others claimed that Liam’s parents had been sent to prison and the boys would have disappeared into the foster-care system if Rich and Sunni hadn’t stepped in and offered them a home.

Anna figured the real story lay somewhere in between, but it was difficult to separate fact from fiction when the people in question refused to speak up on their own behalf.

Brendan, who’d been a sophomore when they arrived in Castle Falls, regarded everyone with barely veiled hostility. He’d stalked the narrow hallway between the middle and high schools with a grungy backpack hooked over one shoulder and a pretty good-sized chip on the other.

Aiden, at ten, didn’t sport an attitude, but Anna had overheard Mrs. Harris, the fourth-grade Sunday-school teacher, refer to him as “an active body.” A tactful way of saying that Aiden was everywhere at once. Anna had witnessed him crawling under tables and climbing over chairs in the church fellowship room like he was competing in an obstacle course.

And always in the center, like a blue-eyed fulcrum meant to balance the chaos, was Liam. Coaxing a smile out of his older brother. Making sure Aiden’s energy was channeled in a positive direction so he wouldn’t bump, break or burn something down.

It suddenly occurred to Anna that she’d noticed a lot of things about Liam Kane...

Her heart stuttered like the engine in her cantankerous minivan when her gaze unexpectedly locked with the very grown-up version of the boy she’d been remembering.

“You kids have fun now.” Aiden’s rumble of laughter broke the silence and he thumped Liam on the arm. “And make sure you do everything I taught you, bro.”

Liam rolled his eyes and gave his brother an affectionate shove toward the driver’s-side door. “Be safe.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Aiden winked at Anna before he vaulted into the cab of the pickup.

Cassie and Chloe obviously saw Aiden’s departure as the beginning of their own adventure, because they linked hands and began to hop up and down.

“Can we get our stuff out of the car now, Mr. Kane?”

“Sure, that would be—” Liam stopped.

Because the girls were already gone.

“They can teleport,” Liam said.

He sounded so amazed that Anna couldn’t help but smile as her daughters began unloading their backpacks from the back of the van.

“Among other things.” Life with twins wasn’t for the faint of heart. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”

* * *

Was he ready for this?

Ha. Not even close. Not when Anna’s smile sent his pulse skipping like a rock over the surface of the water.

Liam reminded himself it had been meant for her daughters, not for him, as he forced himself to meet her gaze.

“Did you have any questions about our itinerary for the day?”

“No.” The smile faded. “I think the information Sunni emailed on Monday covered everything.”

“Good.” So far, so good. “I’ll be right back. There’s a waiver you’ll need to sign—”

“It’s in the kitchen.” His mom jogged up to them, her pink hiking boots leaving heart-shaped stencils in grass still misted with morning dew. Lily and Brendan’s overweight basset hound, Missy, chugged along at her heels. “Right next to the fresh pot of coffee I put on for you and Anna.”

Liam reached down to pat the dog, pretending not to see the questioning frown Sunni tossed in his direction.

Given the fact that Brendan ran Castle Falls Outfitters from an office in their mom’s house, it wasn’t unusual to do business at the kitchen table, but Liam was anxious to start the four-hour countdown.

He wasn’t worried that lingering over a cup of java with Anna in the tiny kitchen would feel awkward. Just the opposite.

He was worried it would feel too good.

One more reason to keep his distance.

“Happy birthday, Anna!” Sunni reeled Anna in for a quick hug. “Are you looking forward to spending the day on the river?”

Since Liam already knew what the answer to that question would be, there was no point in hanging around.

“If you have Anna sign the liability waiver, Mom, I’ll make sure everything else is ready.” He pivoted toward the riverbank, familiar territory where everything made sense.

Where he could breathe air that wasn’t laced with the scent of Anna’s perfume, a delicate but tantalizing fragrance that reminded Liam of the wild roses that bloomed outside the window of his workshop every summer.