Jingle Bell Babies

Lori, who held and cared for babies all day, couldn’t ignore the deep connection she felt with the triplets. Several times during the course of the evening, Nicki had commented on how comfortable they seemed to be with her.

It seemed unlikely they would remember her….

Lori glanced down and met Sasha’s solemn gaze.

If she didn’t know better, she’d think that Sasha was reminding her of the promise she made to God that day.

It wasn’t exactly a promise. More like an…offer.

A suggestion, really.

“I love my job at the hospital,” Lori murmured out loud. “They need me.”

Sasha, who’d been cheerful most of the evening, suddenly let loose a heart-wrenching whimper.

The timing of which had to be an absolute coincidence, Lori decided.

“Oh, no, you don’t. That’s not fair.” She lifted Sasha higher in her arms, nuzzling the rose-kissed cheek. Encouraged by the baby’s soft chortle of laughter, Lori closed her eyes and planted a trail of noisy kisses up the baby’s pudgy arm.

Sasha’s tiny feet began to pedal rapidly inside the flannel blanket.

“Oh, really? I can find little toes, too, so you better—”

A door to the nursery snapped shut and Lori’s eyes flew open.

And there stood Jesse Logan.

His sharp, blue-eyed gaze flickered over the infant seats near Lori’s feet where Brooke and Madison slept, before moving to Sasha, who recognized her daddy and gurgled happily, waving her arms to get his attention.

Lori gave Sasha points for bravery.

How—for even a split second—could she have entertained the notion that God wanted her to be Nanny Number Six?

Jesse didn’t look like a man who needed anyone’s help.

Although there was no getting around the fact that the man was extremely handsome, the set of his jaw didn’t look as though it allowed much movement—and certainly not on something as frivolous as a smile. The silky fringe of dark hair beneath his Stetson didn’t soften features that looked as if they’d been sculpted by the elements.

“Mr. Logan.” Lori rose to her feet, gently trying to disengage her shirt from Sasha’s grip.

There was a spark of recognition in his eyes.

A thought suddenly occurred to Lori, and she lifted her free hand to her hair for a quick, exploratory search. At one point during the evening, Kasey had clipped a pink elephant barrette on the end of Lori’s braid.

Yup. Still there.

Lori suddenly wished she hadn’t run home to exchange her scrubs for faded jeans and a sweatshirt. At the hospital, there’d been a professional boundary in place. Jesse Logan—patients’ father; Lori Martin—nurse.

But now? Now she was simply a Good Samaritan. A Good Samaritan whose hair was in a tangle from being tugged on by—count them—six little hands all evening. And then Kasey had added her own special touch.

“Where is Nicki?” Jesse’s loose-limbed stride carried him across the room in less than two seconds.

Now he stood close enough for Lori to pick up the subtle, earthy scent of wind and leather that clung to his coat.

Lori wasn’t petite by any standards, but she had to tip her chin up to look at him. His height was a little intimidating. And so was his expression.

Instinctively, she tightened her hold on Sasha.

“Nicki is talking to Reverend Garrison. My name is on the sub list for the church nursery, so she asked if I was free to help her watch the children this evening.” Lori wasn’t a babbler by nature, but there was something unnerving about being with a man who didn’t waste words. Not to mention a man who didn’t seem to like to use them, either. “I don’t know if you remember, but we met—”

“I remember you.”

Okay, then.

Lori tried again. “The girls have really grown.” She couldn’t prevent a chuckle. “But they haven’t changed all that much, have they?”

Jesse’s finger flicked the brim of his cowboy hat, pushing it up. The movement chased the shadows away, revealing the full impact of cobalt-blue eyes set in a face stained a deep golden brown from the sun.

“What do you mean?” Those eyes narrowed and Lori realized he’d taken her comment as a criticism. “Their pediatrician says they’re developing on schedule.”

“I meant their personalities,” Lori explained, wondering if she’d just witnessed the same look the five nannies had seen moments before they’d been fired.

No wonder he was having a difficult time filling the position!

“Brooke still lets you know that she wants something yesterday.” She smiled down at the baby, who continued to move restlessly even in sleep. “And you know Madison is going to be the peacemaker of the group. When Brooke started crying tonight, Madison offered her own thumb to calm her down. And Sasha’s quiet, but she takes in everything around her—”

“You can tell them apart?”

Lori blinked at the terse interruption. “Can’t you?”

“Of course I can.” Clearly offended, Jesse swept off his hat and tunneled his hand through his hair. “Maddie is bald, Brooke has a birthmark on her left shoulder blade and Sasha is the smallest.”

Lori stared at him in amazement. He’d zeroed in on some of the triplets’ physical characteristics.

Didn’t the man realize his daughters had three very distinct personalities? Temperaments?

Needs?

It suddenly became important for Lori to make Jesse understand.

“It’s not just what they look like on the outside. Madison loves to be cuddled but Brooke doesn’t have the patience for it. My guess is that she’ll be the first one to crawl. Sasha is attracted to color and motion….”

Lori’s voice broke off as Jesse dropped to one knee in front of Madison’s infant seat.

Conversation over.

She’d lost him. It suddenly occurred to Lori that Jesse Logan was probably the type of man whose entire life revolved around his ranch. A man who believed that providing food and a roof over their heads made him a good father to his daughters.

The second-shift nurses had all raved about Jesse’s devotion to his children because he’d shown up at the NICU every night. That didn’t prove anything to Lori. Sitting beside their cribs could have simply been one more thing for Jesse Logan to check off his to-do list. A duty instead of an act of love.