The Rancher’s Surprise Triplets

“I left them at the doctor’s to have them checked out.”

David McKay stepped forward to speak. “Are you telling us the babies have something wrong with them? Is that why the mother left them? Three sick babies is a lot of work.”

His sister-in-law chuckled. “Sometimes one child is a lot of work.” That brought gentle laughter from everyone at the reference to eight-year-old Maggie, who kept her father on his toes as he tried to keep her out of mischief.

Casper waved them to silence. “Three sick babies who aren’t even part of our community. I don’t see that we have any responsibility toward them. Send them to the orphanage at New Braunfels.”

All three of the McKay brothers spoke at once, protesting that idea.

The discussion grew louder and more discordant.

Bo tried to get control of the meeting but Casper was not about to be silenced.

The tent flap parted and Louisa pushed the cart full of babies into their midst. Her father followed.

Bo released his pent-up breath, relieved that the doctor had seen the babies. As quickly as it escaped, his breath rushed in and stalled. What if the doctor had bad news about the three little ones?

No one spoke. Even Casper stopped yelling as they all stared at the matching babies.

Whatever Louisa and the doctor had done for them, the babies were no longer crying and sat up in the cart, looking around the circle of strangers. Theo’s bottom lip quivered and tears pooled in his bottom eyelids. Eli stared unblinkingly and Jasper lifted a pudgy little hand as if to say hello.

Lula May was the first to recover. “They’re darling. Oh, Edmund, can we take them home?”

Edmund’s mouth worked but nothing came out. Lula May nudged him. “I’m joshing.” Bo thought she looked dead serious. “Of course we can’t take them. Our hands are full with our own family.”

Doc Clark cleared his throat. “These babies are sick. Nothing serious. Colds and ear infections, but I think it’s best if they stay with us until they’re healthy. That will give me more opportunity to assess their development, though from what I’ve seen, they are sturdy babies. Louisa can look after them.”

Bo watched Louisa for her reaction but her expression gave away nothing. “Are you okay with that, Miss Clark? I seem to recall you mentioning how busy you were.”

She shifted from smiling at the babies to frowning at him. “They need medical attention at the moment.”

He took that as her agreement to keep the babies for as long as they needed medical care and turned back to the others in the room. “We need to come up with a plan for when they’ve recovered.”

Casper crossed his arms to consider Louisa. “You should find yourself a husband. Then you could keep the triplets for good.” He muttered under his breath, “We should find a way to marry the spinster off.” He squinted at Bo. “Seems to me that you and—”

Bo saw the man’s intent and held up his hand to stop him from finishing his troublemaking statement about Bo and Louisa.

But if he thought he needed to protest Casper’s unkind remark about Louisa being a spinster, she soon proved she didn’t need Bo’s defense. She faced Casper with a steady gaze. “Mr. Magnuson, you have a wife and a home. You should keep the babies until their mother is found.”

Casper sputtered, not used to being brought up short. “I have four children. I can’t afford to feed three more mouths.”

“Three babies are too much for one family,” CJ Thorn said. The local rancher and his wife, Molly, raised his brother’s twin daughters as well as their baby son. “It takes a lot of expense and hard work to feed three more mouths, but if we only ask for people to take one baby, it might be manageable.”

Bo observed the three McKay brothers squirm and their faces grow hard as the merits of splitting up the babies were discussed.

David McKay leaped forward. “I strongly oppose having them separated.” He glanced at his brothers. “I know firsthand how painful it is to grow up knowing you have brothers but they aren’t part of your life. It wouldn’t be fair to do that to these little ones.”

The meeting grew quiet at the intensity of his speech.

“We’ll find a way to keep them together,” Lula May said, and it seemed she spoke for the others as no one voiced any disagreement.

“The Cowboy League could provide financial support to any family that takes the babies,” Bo pointed out, and the others nodded.

“That way we can keep them in the community.” CJ Thorn seemed to like the idea.

Bo realized that he and the others had decided the triplets belonged here.

“If Miss Clark can care for them until we find a more permanent arrangement, that would be great,” CJ continued.

“Yes, of course.”

Lula May sidled up to Louisa. “Won’t this mean you’ll miss the fair? I know how much you were looking forward to seeing all the displays.”

She was? Bo thought she had no interest in the activities.

Louisa shrugged and smiled. “Responsibilities before fun. Isn’t that so?”

Lula May lifted one shoulder in resignation. “It often is.”

The babies began to fuss. Louisa turned the cart toward the door. “I’ll take them home and care for them.”

Lula May stopped her. “Do you need help? I could...”

Louisa gave the woman a serene smile. “You stay and enjoy the fair. I can manage them.”

Bo watched her depart. She’d wanted to attend the fair. Had willingly given it up to tend the babies. Somehow that did not fit in with how he had judged her. He shook his head. He did not like being wrong and certainly didn’t like the feeling that he’d been faulty in his assessment.

He took a step after her, intending to follow and apologize. But for what? A wrong opinion?

Instead, he turned his thought back to the fair. Time to see how things were going.

Maybe he’d think of a way to ease his mind about Louisa Clark before the day was done.

Chapter Three (#ulink_aa1ecfa7-3173-5f7f-b2e1-c93a592f6e58)

Louisa rushed home with the babies, her mind whirling as fast and loud as the creaky wheels of the cart. Apart from knowing the triplets were miserable with their colds and sore ears, she savored the idea of three little ones to hold and comfort for a time. It was like having her sister, Amy, back in her care. She smiled. More like three Amys.

The meeting had gone well. She chuckled, causing the babies to look at her in surprise. Jasper grinned and gurgled, his discomfort momentarily forgotten.

She leaned over and whispered, “You want to know why I laughed? Okay, I’ll tell you but you must promise not to repeat it to anyone.” Jasper gurgled happily. Theo sucked his thumb and regarded her solemnly. Eli leaned against his two brothers, content to be with them.

Louisa’s heart expanded with a love so intense that for a moment, she couldn’t find room to fill her lungs. This must be how mothers felt when they saw their offspring. Then she remembered her promise to tell them her secret and she glanced about as if to make sure no one spied on them. “I know I surprised Mr. Bo Stillwater and it felt good. Yes indeed, it did.” How did he feel knowing he’d mistaken her refusal to sign up to dance with him as meaning she didn’t care about the fair? She shrugged. Likely he’d not given it a second thought.

She glanced over her shoulder, a little disappointed she wouldn’t get to attend, then turned back to the three chubby boys. “It’s worth it to be able to play with you for a few days.”

They reached the doctor’s residence and she pushed and lifted the cart up the steps and into the house. “I don’t know where you’re going to sleep. This cart isn’t big enough.” There was a sturdy metal crib in her father’s office but he’d need it if anyone brought in a sick baby. “Are you used to sleeping together?” She looked from one to the other. “You’re not going to tell me? Well, fine. I’ll figure it out myself.”

Theo’s bottom lip quivered. Louisa recognized it as the precursor to his crying. Once he started, all three would cry. “I’ll have something for you to eat in a moment. But please don’t cry. It’s hard on the ears.” She had left oatmeal simmering on the back of the stove and it was now well cooked, suitable for babies. Father suggested they be introduced to foods slowly until it could be determined if they were used to eating solids yet.