Claiming Their Nanny: A Cowboy Ménage Romance (Montana Ménage Book 1)

by Lily Reynard

  But she hasn’t said no.

  Jim reached up and grabbed the engagement ring off her plate. He stuck it in his mouth and hastily sucked off the syrup and bits of flapjack before holding it out to her.

  "I suppose we should have thought about all that syrup when we decided to hide the ring there," Dan commented.

  His tone was light, but all his attention was focused on Abby.

  "I—" She finally looked Jim in the eye. His heart soared at the incredulous joy in her cornflower-blue eyes. "Yes." Her gaze swung to Dan. "And yes."

  Her fingers were ice-cold and trembling as Jim captured her hand and slid the ring onto her finger.

  "I don't care if I'm banished from respectable society for this…I’ll marry you both because I can't live without either of you," she said, holding onto his hand.

  She bent and kissed him on the mouth. "I love you, James Brody, and I want to be your wife."

  Then she turned to Dan and extended her other hand. "And I love you, too, Daniel Brody, and I want to be your wife as well."

  "Thank the Lord for that," Dan said, and drew her down for a long kiss. "And now I really am the happiest man in the Montana Territory…alongside my brother, of course."

  "Got that right," Jim said fervently.

  He couldn’t believe his crazy plan had actually worked, but he wasn't going to question it. Not when he was drunk with joy right now.

  Abby was going to be his! She was going to live with him and Dan for the rest of their days, and Jim couldn't think of a happier ending to his courtship of Miss Abigail Rose.

  When Dan finally let her up again, Jim saw that the color had returned to her cheeks, and she was wearing a smile that glowed like sunlight.

  "But how on earth are we going to hold a wedding without all of us being arrested for bigamy?" she asked, her eyes sparkling.

  "I figured we'll toss a coin to determine who stands with you in front of the minister, but let's exchange our real wedding vows right here and now," Jim suggested.

  "What, now? This very minute?" Abby protested.

  "Yes, this very minute. I don't want to let another minute go by without making you our wife." He gathered up Chris and rose to his feet.

  "I agree," said Dan. "Why waste time? We all know what we want. Why not make this a wedding breakfast? I'll even go fetch that bottle of champagne that Jim and I have been saving for a special occasion."

  "There were three bottles. Clara and Eddie drank one at their wedding breakfast," Jim said, with a sudden pang of melancholy. "She told us to save the other two for our own wedding toasts."

  Abby laughed. It was a joyful sound that brightened the room. "Diamonds and champagne? How can I refuse?"

  She rose from her chair and took their hands. "Let's go into the garden for this."

  When the three of them were standing hand-in-hand in front of Clara's beloved roses, with Chris perched on Jim's hip as their witness, Jim and Dan said together in one voice, "Abigail, will you be our wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, until death us do part?"

  "I will," she said. "And will you, James and Daniel, be my wedded husbands, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, until death us do part?"

  "I will," Jim said, with all his heart.

  "I will," Dan said at the same moment.

  The three of them embraced in the warm summer sun for a long moment.

  Then they returned to the house to enjoy their wedding breakfast, made decadent with champagne.

  Chapter 24

  Pronghorn Springs Ranch,

  Christmas Eve, 1885

  Outside, a thick blanket of glittering snow covered the garden and pastures, but inside, the living and dining rooms of the ranch house were warm and snug.

  The tall Christmas tree standing next to the fireplace was decorated with festive strings of popcorn and hung with red apples and peppermint sticks as well as ornaments crafted from colorful glass beads and feathers. A sweet fir scent perfumed the air, overlaid with the mouthwatering aromas of a beef rib roast issuing from the kitchen.

  Abby, Jim, and Dan were sitting around the fireplace, basking in the heat of the big cast iron stove and drinking mugs of mulled wine fragrant with spices and sweetened with the juice of oranges imported all the way from California.

  "If it's clear tomorrow, let's drive into town and celebrate with a nice Christmas dinner at the Hotel Bede," Jim said. "I'm sure it'll be fine if we bundle up the little nipper real good before we head out."

  "That sounds like a lovely idea." Abby gazed at her husbands with deep happiness.

  Her public wedding, with Reverend Kottinger officiating and Emma serving as her matron of honor, had been held in the middle of August. Dan had won the coin toss to stand at her side as her official husband, with Jim as his man of honor.

  They had celebrated with a picnic luncheon after the brief but heartfelt ceremony, complete with a lovely apricot cake that Emma had baked as her wedding present, and a case of French champagne that Abby's parents had ordered for the occasion and shipped to them by train.

  Nearly everyone in Twin Forks had joined in the celebration, and when dusk fell, there had even been fireworks.

  The months since had been passed happily and peacefully. Summer had turned to autumn in a blaze of scarlet and gold leaves, marked by the frantic harvesting and canning of the garden's last pears and apples.

  The busy cycle of daily chores on the ranch had calmed after the final delivery of horses and mules for the year had been loaded on the train and sent to their new homes at various army forts.

  A snowstorm ushered in November, and Abby quickly discovered that the winter clothing she had brought with her was inadequate for temperatures forty below zero. She found herself grateful for the heavy buffalo robe she had inherited from Clara and wore it anytime she ventured outdoors.

  With the coming of snow, most of the ranch hands had departed to spend the winters with their families. Dan and Jim still had plenty of work to do with feeding and caring for the horses and other livestock, but they found time to build Abby a wonderful Christmas present—a bed large enough to hold all three of them comfortably.

  To Abby's relief, no one in Twin Forks seemed to suspect that she was living in wedded bliss with both Dan and Jim, and she hoped to keep it that way.

  "Perhaps we could ask Emma and Reverend Kottinger to join us for—" Abby began. She broke off with a gasp. "Oh, look! Christopher is walking!"

  Sure enough, he had pulled himself up on his Uncle Jim's armchair. Wearing a determined expression, he was now wobbling in the direction of the Christmas tree's tempting edible ornaments.

  Jim whooped and swept him up. "Look who's a big boy now!"

  Chris let out a happy shriek as his uncle swung him around.

  Abby smiled, happy to see her new nephew growing so quickly, but also aware that his newfound mobility meant the end of her peaceful days of being able to put Chris down on a blanket with a couple of toys while she read or sewed.

  From now on, she would have to keep a sharp eye on him, and probably chase him down all over the house.

  Then she heard the jingle of horse's harness and the crunch of snow and gravel under wagon wheels approaching the house.

  "Now, who on earth could that be?" she asked, with a pang of dread.

  Whoever it was, the fact that they had braved the wintry weather to drive all the way out to the ranch likely meant bad news.

  She rose and made her way to the foyer. She had just reached it when a knock sounded at the front door. She hurried the last few steps forward to answer it, trying to brace herself for whatever grim tidings awaited.

  Two bulky figures, swathed in layers of warm clothing, scarves, hats, and fur-lined mittens stood on the porch. One of the figures carried a large wicker basket filled with furs and blankets.

  "Emma? Reverend Kottinger?" she asked.

  She ushered her two unexpected guests inside before hurriedly closing the door behind them to bl
ock the frigid blast of air. "Is everything all right?"

  "Abby! Merry Christmas!" Emma gave her a hug and a smile before reaching up to push back the fur-lined hood of her thick winter cloak. She began unwrapping a colorful woolen scarf from around her neck. "Everything's fine. We came to deliver a very special gift."

  "Mrs. Brody," Reverend Kottinger greeted her. "Merry Christmas."

  He carefully placed the large wicker basket onto one of the foyer's benches before beginning the process of unwinding his own scarf and unbuttoning his winter coat. "I believe your prayers may have been answered."

  A soft whimper issued from the bundle of furs inside the basket.

  Hardly daring to hope, Abby stared at it. "Is—is that a baby?"

  "Indeed!" Emma told her, smiling. "She appears to be only a few days old. We found her on our porch a couple of hours ago, all bundled up in that basket. Albert and I decided to bring her to you as quickly as we could."

  "She's probably the child of one of the town's fallen women," Reverend Kottinger said in a severe tone. "Though I hadn't heard that any of them were pregnant." He sighed. "I only wished they'd come to me in person, and not endangered a newborn babe like that. We would have taken in both mother and child and ensured a delivery in safe and warm surroundings."

  "But what about you?" Abby forced herself to ask, despite desperately wanting the baby. "Weren't you both hoping for a child as well?"

  Emma and her husband both broke into huge smiles.

  "We have received a Christmas blessing of our own," Reverend Kottinger informed her.

  Emma's cheeks flushed, and she patted her belly.

  "Oh, Emma!" Abby turned from the basket to hug her friend. "I'm so very happy for both of you!"

  "If it's a little girl, I hope she becomes best friends with your daughter," Emma murmured, returning the embrace.

  "Abby? Everything okay?" Jim's voice sounded from the hallway behind her.

  "Yes!" she replied. "Better than okay! Emma and Reverend Kottinger have brought us some good news and a wonderful surprise: a baby girl who needs a home."

  She waited, holding her breath, for Jim's reaction.

  He and Dan had both repeatedly assured her that they were willing to adopt as many children as she wanted, but this was the true test.

  They've never let me down before, she thought.

  And they didn't this time.

  "That's great news!" Jim said immediately. He entered the foyer, smiling broadly, his hand outstretched. "Reverend, Mrs. Kottinger. Come on in and warm up with a hot drink while we meet our newest family member."

  His footsteps retreated down the hall as he called, "Hey, Dan, the reverend and Mrs. Kottinger are here, and they've brought someone special to meet us. Ladle up another couple of mugs of that mulled wine!"

  Abigail bent over the basket. “Can I see her?” she asked eagerly.

  "Of course," Emma said, hanging her cloak on one of the foyer's hooks.

  "But perhaps we should bring her further inside before exposing her to the air," added Reverend Kottinger.

  He had shed his own coat, scarf, and knitted hat and wore his usual sober wool suit. His gray hair was rumpled from the hat, and strands stuck out at odd angles.

  By contrast, Emma looked as perfectly composed as ever as she came over to Abby's side.

  "Of course! Why didn't I think of that?" Abby carefully lifted the basket. "Please follow me."

  She led the way down the hall to the living room, where Dan and Jim awaited them.

  Dan was holding a squirming Chris on his lap, and Jim had two steaming mugs of spiced wine in his hands, which he promptly offered to their guests. Reverend Kottinger accepted the mugs and handed one to his wife.

  The twins both peered eagerly down at the basket.

  "I heard you might have a little daughter for us?" Dan asked, as Abby, with Emma at her side, carried the basket over to the carpet in front of the fireplace.

  "We were hoping that you and Mrs. Brody here might be willing to take on such an important responsibility," said Reverend Kottinger, as he entered the living room behind Abby and Emma.

  Dan went to Abby's side and slid his arm around her waist. "We've been hoping and praying for a chance to grow our little family," he told the reverend.

  "And bless you for being so charitable towards a foundling," Reverend Kottinger said, beaming.

  "Go on," Dan urged softly. "Let's meet our new daughter."

  Feeling so happy that she thought that her heart might burst inside her chest, Abby bent to fold back the layers of woolen and soft rabbit-skin blankets, revealing a baby wearing a miniature knitted cap. She was fast asleep.

  With exquisite care, Abby lifted the tiny newborn out of the basket. She seemed impossibly delicate and weighed no more than a kitten.

  "She's perfect," she breathed, brushing a gentle kiss over the baby's forehead before putting her in the beautiful crib that stood next to the hearth.

  "We've got a milk cow and a nanny goat in our stable, so we'll have plenty of fresh milk to feed her," Dan assured the reverend.

  "Do you have an idea of what you're going to name her?" Emma asked.

  "Oh yes!" Abigail beamed at her friend. "I composed a whole list of names for boys and girls while waiting for a child to come along," she confessed. "And we agreed that if it was a girl, and she didn't already have a name, we would call her Clara Emmaline Brody."

  Emma's beautiful gray eyes widened. An instant later, tears welled in them. "You…you're going to name her after me? And Clara too?"

  Abby embraced her friend. "Of course! And thanks to you, we are going to have the happiest Christmas ever!"

  "We want you to become little Clara's godparents," Dan said. "Since we don't have a lot of kin living in this area."

  Reverend Kottinger and Emma exchanged a long, loving look. "We would be honored," the reverend said softly. "Especially if you do us the honor of returning the favor next summer."

  "Congratulations! And I do hope that you'll stay to have dinner with us," Jim said, smiling. "Because it's a family meal, and we're all family now."

  ◆◆◆

  It was New Year's Eve, and Abby was upstairs in the nursery, putting little Clara to bed in the brand-new cradle that James and Daniel had finished building on Christmas Day.

  It was colder than ever outside, the windows thickly rimed with lacy patterns of frost.

  As soon as Jim and Dan returned from running errands in town, Abby eagerly anticipated retreating to her big new bed with its enormous, down-filled duvet (courtesy of the ranch's resident flock of geese). There, she looked forward to welcoming the new year in the arms of her husbands.

  She heard Jim and Dan enter the house below, stamping the snow from their boots.

  A few minutes later, they came upstairs, their faces reddened with cold, to bid the children good-night.

  As they leaned over little Emma to give her a kiss, Christopher pulled himself up on the edge of the cradle to look at his new baby sister. He gave her a big toothy grin reminiscent of his Uncle Jim’s.

  “Don’t we have a beautiful family?" Dan asked, his tone filled with wonder.

  "Our Clara would have loved giving Chris a baby sister,” Jim added.

  Abigail nodded, unable to speak because her heart was overflowing with joy, as it had so often in the past week.

  Then Jim handed her a packet wrapped in plain brown paper and covered with stamps and postmarks. "It's a few days late, but Dan and I have one more Christmas present for you."

  "What is it?" Abby asked as she accepted the package from him.

  It was light, but stiffer than a length of fabric would have been.

  He grinned at her. "Open it and see."

  She tore open the paper, to find a carefully folded copy of the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin dated December 15.

  Puzzled, she glanced up at her husbands. "I don't understand."

  "Go ahead and read the Public Notices section," Dan urged her, swinging Ch
ris up onto his shoulders.

  She opened the paper and quickly paged to the section he had indicated.

  What she saw printed there made her gasp in disbelief.

  …I trifled with the affections of a virtuous and respectable maiden. For no other end than to secure my own selfish ends, I hired two men, Edward Brothers and Cecil Laville, with funds from my own pocket, to spread vile and utterly false rumors about my betrothed so that my own actions in breaking off our engagement might not reflect badly upon me. In the spirit of making amends for my abominable behavior, I do swear that my former betrothed, Miss Abigail Rose, daughter of Dr. Frederick Rose in this city, was blameless and most foully slandered by me. I furthermore confess that I am no gentleman, and that I have forfeited my place in respectable society through my despicable scheme to blacken the name of an innocent woman.