The Rancher’s Surprise Triplets

Who would help her? She pictured Bo with babies on his knee. They had settled for him. But he would assume they were in her capable hands and turn his feet toward the fair. Already she could hear sounds of the animals coming to life and the people who had camped nearby awakening and calling to each other. The scent of their campfires teased her nose.

The babies stirred. Theo breathed easier but Eli did not.

She abandoned them long enough to get dressed and boil more water. They protested at her departure but she had no choice even though their crying further compromised their ability to get in enough air.

She desperately needed another pair of hands. Lord, please put it on someone’s heart to stop by and offer help. Maybe Brandon would check on the babies and she could ask him to send Annie.

It wasn’t Annie she wanted to show up or Brandon she wanted to knock on the door and offer to help. It was his brother. But she understood that Bo had no reason to call. He had other things on his mind that precluded Louisa. Too late, she reminded herself she should have thought the triplets not herself.

* * *

Leaving his capable foreman Clint in charge of the ranch, Bo left early for town, anxious to supervise day two of the fair. His heart overflowed with gratitude for the success of day one. Peaceful with the knowledge of how well the day had gone, he’d expected to sleep soundly, but a riot of images troubled his rest. A man sneaking into the bank and finding the safe left open. The money gone. Another scene of wind blowing away the tents and leaving nothing but the shivering figure of a lone woman. Mixed feelings as he realized it was the mother of the triplets. Three babies struggling to climb into his lap. Memory of the latter dream brought a smile to his lips.

There was something mighty appealing about the idea.

A hard frown quickly replaced the smile. He would never be a father. He couldn’t trust himself to be what a child deserved.

He leaned forward in anticipation as he approached Little Horn. Families and groups of people camped along the side of the river and in the shelter of the trees, staying the entire three days of the fair. Everyone moved about, preparing breakfast and visiting with those around them.

Bo waved a greeting to those he passed, happy to see how many stayed for the second and, hopefully, the third day. He didn’t stop even though several invited him to join them for coffee or breakfast.

Something urgent pressed to his mind and he rode directly to the bank. Two men—different than the two from last night—held their positions, one at the back and one at the front of the building. Both waved to him. The man at the front called, “Everything is as it should be.”

Those words sang a refrain in his head as he continued on his way to the fairgrounds. Again, people were up and about, feeding their animals and taking care of business. No tents had blown away. None had fallen down. Edmund McKay rode over to his side. He was a responsible rancher, a founding member of the Lone Star Cowboy League. He’d recently married Lula May, a widow with several children. It appeared the man had found happiness with the newly-acquired family. Bo wished him all the best but wouldn’t allow himself to think he’d like the same things.

“See you’re checking on things,” the man said.

“See you are too.” They grinned at each other.

Edmund’s brother David joined them in time to overhear their remarks. “How are the babies?” he asked.

“I’m headed that way to check on them now,” Bo answered. “No one has heard anything about the mother?”

The sheriff sauntered over. “I asked around. She had to arrive by some means, so I asked Mr. Crenshaw at the train station if he’d noticed anything unusual. He chuckled and said with so many people coming and going about, all he took note of was whether or not they had a ticket.” Jeb shook his head. “He wasn’t any help.”

Bo thought of how much he and Brandon had relied on their mother’s love and care. It had gone a long way to balancing out the way their father treated them. He wished the same steady presence for the triplets. “I sure wish we could find her.”

“We’ll keep looking,” Jeb reassured him before he patted Bo’s horse and moved on.

Bo moved on as well, heading down the street toward the doctor’s house. Everything as it should be. The words sang through his head again. When he realized he thought of Louisa and the babies in the same song, he silenced it. He would check on the triplets. Only out of concern for their well-being. Not because he enjoyed the warmth of their little bodies against his chest or because he liked the way they accepted him. And most definitely not because watching Louisa with them soothed his soul. No, it was simply his duty to make sure they were okay. When people asked him about them he wanted to be able to answer them with the latest information.

He arrived and took his time draping the reins over the post and looking about as if taking stock of the early morning activities. Anyone observing would come to the conclusion he wasn’t in a hurry to see the occupants of the house before him. He wanted to convince himself of the same.

He sauntered casually up the steps and rapped on the door.

Louisa threw back the door, grabbed him and pulled him in. She held Eli, the baby’s eyes glassy, his nose running.

The other two wailed at being left. He took in the rumpled quilt and white sheet on the floor. The scattering of pillows. The wooden-back chair in the middle of the room. A very marked contrast to the peaceful scene of last night.

“You need some help?” He didn’t wait for her answer but went to the big chair and pulled the pair from the floor to his knees.

Louisa stood in the middle of the room. Dark shadows curled below her brown eyes. Eyes that had a hollowed-out look to them.

“A rough night?”

She scraped a hand over her brown hair. “I know I look a mess.”

She certainly looked worn-out and frazzled but a mess? No. There was something appealing about her looks...like a woman who put the needs of the triplets ahead of her own. “You look like a woman who spent a difficult night with three babies.” How would she react to that observation? It didn’t sound complimentary though in his mind, it was.

Her chuckle made him blink.

“If you intended that to make me feel better then thank you, but I have to tell you it missed the mark.”

He grinned at her. “Believe me, it was meant as a compliment.”

Her gaze searched his. “How is that?”

No reasonable explanation came to mind but he did the best he could. “To see you willing to give of yourself for these little fellows...well, it reminds me of my own mother.”

A sweet expression smoothed her face. “That’s a very nice thing to say.” She sat in the chair facing him and lifted Eli to her shoulder, patting his back.

On his knee, Jasper and Theo seemed content to lean listlessly against him. “I thought they were on the mend.”

“All three of them developed coughs in the night. They took turns having a croup attack.” She leaned her head against the back of the chair. “I think they’re improving this morning.” Slowly her gaze came to his, full of warmth. “Now that you’ve compared me to your mother, I think I deserve to hear more about her.”

He shifted to accommodate the restless babies. “She was the most patient woman. She tried to protect us from our father by sending us to the nurse as soon as he came home, but Father knew that’s what she did, so when we turned seven he said we no longer needed a nurse. That’s when we really got to see him for what he was. Before that whenever we saw him and Mother together she smiled and looked happy. But we soon learned it wasn’t real. She tried her best to hide how hurt she was but she couldn’t all the time. He would tell her she was useless. Nothing but a pretty useless ornament. She’d never be able to survive without him. So often she was reduced to tears.” He stopped speaking as his throat tightened. He’d never before told anyone how he’d felt but now the words poured forth. “I wanted to protect her but soon learned if I intervened it only made things worse for her. I can’t tell you how often I was ashamed because I couldn’t help her.” His insides grew brittle as he recalled the cruel words and taunts. “He tried to turn Brandon and me against each other but he couldn’t succeed.”

She shifted Eli to her other shoulder. “I’m so sorry. No one should have to endure such treatment.” Her eyes softened around the edges so that she looked like she smiled although her mouth did not curve. There was something soft about the way she held her lips. As if comfort came naturally to her. Perhaps it was the product of being a doctor’s daughter.

Something about that look, whether it be sympathy or pity, he couldn’t say, but it dripped into his heart like honey. He didn’t even try to reason why he should think such a thing, though perhaps it was because she didn’t judge or condemn or offer solutions. Merely said it shouldn’t have happened. “I couldn’t agree more,” he said after a moment of consideration.

“You said she died when you and your brother were sixteen. What happened after that? Did you boys leave home?”

“We both thought of it and discussed plans. But one thing stopped us.”

“Tell me what it was.”

“Our mother.”

She blinked. “But... I don’t understand.”

“We stayed to honor her and the sacrifices she’d made for us.” He could see the confusion in Louisa’s eyes and continued with an explanation. “I remember early on when we first realized how cruel Father was. I thought she should leave. She told me she would never do so because he would not let her have her boys. She would suffer any kind of agony to be with us. Brandon cried at her answer. I squished my fists into balls and told her I would never stay if it wasn’t for her. She held me and told me to remember I was responsible for my actions, not his. And God said we should honor our parents. She eventually convinced me that I would be happier doing things God’s way rather than my own. It’s why we stayed.”

“That’s very decent of you.”

He shrugged. “We both knew it was what both God and Mother would want.”