The Rebel Cowboy’s Quadruplets

“Not me.” He peered at Justin. “I really hope this wasn’t too much for you, old buddy. I didn’t mean to bring you down. Figured some time in a small town with a real job would do you good.”

Justin put his hat on, too, because if he didn’t get out of there, people were going to notice that he couldn’t stop staring at his beautiful boss. “That’s what you get for thinking. See you at the house. Don’t get there too soon. I’m taking the boss lady shopping.”

Ty stared at him, stunned. “What’s happened to you?” he whispered. “You’re a shadow of your former self!”

Well, that was a question he didn’t care to ponder too much. Mackenzie came to stand beside him, smiling up into his face, and his poor stupid heart felt like it took the final dive into his stomach.

What had happened to him, indeed.

Mackenzie and four babies were happening to him, and they were going to require a great deal of consideration. This was a bad idea, this tiny woman with the big eyes and her sweet family. A very bad idea, because he wasn’t a family man; he wasn’t a staying man.

“You ready?” he asked Mackenzie, and she nodded.

“If you’re not going to chicken out,” she teased.

Oh, he might. He was thinking about it. Thinking about it hard.

But something told him he probably wouldn’t.

* * *

FOUR HOURS LATER, when Ty stopped by the house, Mackenzie wondered what her old friend was really up to. Ty had sent Justin to her, now he wanted him to hit the road?

It all seemed very convenient. As if Justin might have conned his buddy into helping him escape the Hanging H with a good reason.

“Anyway,” Ty said as the three of them sat at the wide wooden kitchen table, “the reason I stopped by is to get a game plan going with Mackenzie.”

“Game plan?” Mackenzie glanced at Justin. If Justin had been part of Ty’s game plan, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know what the next play was.

“I wouldn’t leave you here without backup,” Ty said. “I know that in spite of his knee—”

“My knee’s fine,” Justin said, clearly annoyed.

Mackenzie glanced at him. Occasionally she saw Justin favor his knee, but it did seem as if he’d been limping less since he’d arrived at the Hanging H. The doctor in town had given him a soft knee brace, which he wore without hesitation. Now there were days when Justin walked like he wasn’t in any discomfort at all.

“I know your knee’s getting better,” Ty said. “I’m just saying that in spite of your knee, you’ve been a big help here. I can see a lot of improvement.” Ty shook his head. “Still, I wouldn’t leave Mackenzie in the lurch, so I was wondering if you mind, Mackenzie, if I swap cowboys on you.”

Mackenzie hesitated. “Swap cowboys?”

“Replace Justin, in a manner of speaking,” Ty said. His words ceased entirely when the kitchen door opened and Jade walked in.

“Howdy,” Ty said. He stood up to greet the tall, sexy redhead, removing his hat for a moment. “Jade Harper, long time, no see...and clearly I’ve been missing out.”

Jade laughed. “No sweet talk from you, Ty.” She gave him a hug and he might have tried to pinch her bottom, but Jade was too fast for him. “Hi, Justin. Mackenzie, who are the three hunky guys who just pulled up in the black truck outside?”

Mackenzie got up to look out the window.

“That’s the game plan,” Ty said with a glance at Justin. “I don’t want you to miss my buddy Justin when I take him with me, so I thought I’d trade you, three for one.”

“Wow,” Jade said. “Grab this deal, is my advice, Mackenzie.” She laughed at Justin’s smirk.

“Ty, I don’t know if I need three—” Mackenzie began.

“You need help out here,” Ty said.

Justin didn’t say anything, and a bit of unease began to hit Mackenzie. Did he want to leave? Maybe he’d told Ty that he wanted to. She looked at his face, hazel eyes giving away nothing, his dark hair awry as he ran a hand through it. He looked distinctly uncomfortable.

As Ty had noted, Justin’s knee was better—not well enough to ride or run a fast race, maybe, but better—and the last place he wanted to be was stuck here with her and four little baby girls.

“I’ll get that,” Mackenzie said when knocking erupted on the front door. “Might as well give the candidates a grand tour, let them know what they’re getting themselves into.”

Justin glanced at her, his eyes widening like he was surprised by her comment. She went through the den, checking the babies quickly—still sound asleep, as was Mrs. Harper in the corner chair—and opened the front door.

Whoa. So much testosterone, so many muscles. “Hi,” Mackenzie said, a little startled by all the masculinity crowded on the front porch.

They took off their hats.

“Ty sent us,” the tallest one said with a rascally grin. “He said the Haunted H was looking for help to get ready for the county’s biggest haunted house and pumpkin patch for miles around.”

Mackenzie blinked. What had Ty meant by that? She was selling the place, not going back into business.

“Hello, fellows,” Justin said from behind her. “If you’re looking for Ty, you’ll find him in the side paddock.”

“Thanks.”

They tipped their hats to Mackenzie and left the porch. Mackenzie turned to look at Justin.

“I don’t want to get in the middle of things,” Justin said, “but if you want me to leave, just say the word.”

“I don’t want you to leave.” That was the last thing she wanted. “Do you want to go?”

“No. Not if you don’t want me to.” He shrugged as if he could go either way, whatever she decided. Still, she had the feeling her answers mattered. “I’m not going to say that I know everything about your town or your ranch. But so far things have been working pretty smooth. Or at least I thought they were.”

“Ty seems to think he needs you with him.” Mackenzie stepped off the porch.

“I’ll make that decision.” Justin followed her. “Or you will.”

Something about this whole thing felt like a setup. Ty’s story to the three hunks who’d come riding into town in their big black pickup, that she needed to restart the old family business, felt fishy. Never had she mentioned breathing life back into the haunted house to anyone. It was a dream she’d kept buried, knowing it wasn’t practical. She couldn’t run that kind of people-intensive business herself, and especially not with four newborns. The small remaining funds she had needed to go into their care—not the vague hope of bringing back the Haunted H.

And yet she had to admit restoring all her family traditions would be a wonderful way to raise her girls. She had had a storied childhood, full of wonder and magic and fairy tales.

But for a fairy tale, one needed a prince.

She looked at the five men leaning against the corral, studying her, waiting for something, some signal. Big, strong, handsome men. They all had rugged appeal, Justin most of all, in her opinion.

A prince had no reason to stay in Bridesmaids Creek—not unless there was a quest, something to make him stay and fight.

“So, Ty,” Mackenzie said slowly as Jade came to put her arm through hers for support, “maybe you’d like to explain why you’re offering me three cowboys for the price of the one I’ve already got?”