The Cowboy's Twin Surprise

by Stephanie Dees

  Her eyes met his and she nodded. “You’re right. I can do this. Let’s go.”

  As they followed the group toward the other end of the hall, Devin said, “Do you have any thoughts about an E name for a boy? The only one I can think of is Elvis, but I think maybe that’s a no?”

  “Definite no on Elvis.” As they waited to enter the maternity suite, her fingers tightened on his and she visibly focused on breathing.

  “Let’s go see where our babies are going to be born.” As the group filed out, he stepped into the maternity suite with Lacey. He wasn’t sure what he expected, but it was nice, set up kind of like a living room with warm wood tones and a sofa and chairs. The medical equipment was there but as unobtrusive as possible.

  Lacey’s grip on his hand loosened slightly as she looked around the room. “It looks pretty nice in here. We could bring one of the quilts from home and it would be even better.”

  Home. The word wound through his consciousness and came to rest somewhere in the vicinity of his heart, the feeling even more pronounced because he felt it, too. The farmhouse hadn’t been home since his family died, but now, with Lacey there, it was home again.

  She made it feel like home.

  Devin grinned. “I agree. A quilt would be perfect. And maybe we could bring in some wildflowers and one of the cows, a few piglets...”

  She elbowed him. “You are so annoying.”

  With a grin, he slung his arm around her shoulders. “Yeah, I know.”

  As they walked out to the car, she said, “What about Eli? It has a good solid sound. James Eli Cole?”

  “James Eli? It’s perfect. My mom would be tickled that we’ll have a Sweet Baby James.” He chuckled as he unlocked the truck and pulled open the door for her, holding her arm as she awkwardly got in. “Eli and Phoebe. It sounds right.”

  When she was fully in the truck, she turned to look at him. “Did we just name our babies?”

  “I think we did. We are such good parents.”

  She was laughing when he closed the door. He paused for just a second to acknowledge the enormity of what they’d just accomplished. He closed his eyes, winging a quick prayer of thanks to God because after two months of false starts, they’d finally attended a class at the hospital.

  And they had rocked it.

  Turning the key in the ignition and starting the air-conditioning blowing, he realized he hadn’t asked her... “So what exactly were you saying to yourself as you walked into the building?”

  A bemused smile crossed her face. “I spent last night reading stories about women who’ve done incredible things—hard things—and telling myself that if those women could do those amazing things, I could do this. So as I was walking in, I was saying their names to myself. Mother Teresa. Malala. Elizabeth Blackwell. Eleanor Roosevelt. Like that.”

  Devin leaned over the armrest and kissed her temple. “They can’t hold a candle to you. Let’s go home.”

  And he smiled. Finally things were starting to go right.

  * * *

  Lacey was still smiling when Devin pulled up to the farm. She hadn’t realized how alone she’d felt in her fear, but his easy acceptance had lifted that weight and made it possible for her to face it.

  Tonight, walking in the doors of the hospital had been uncomfortable, but she’d known she could do it. And when they’d walked through the hospital to the labor and delivery, she’d been nervous, but he’d kept her mind occupied talking about the babies’ names.

  She rubbed her belly with both hands. Phoebe and Eli. She loved them so much.

  “Why’s the house dark?” Devin’s eyes were on the farmhouse as he held his hands out and helped her slide out of the truck to the ground.

  “I don’t know.” At almost thirty weeks pregnant, she was feeling so unwieldy, more and more off balance as the twins grew heavier. Devin’s hand at her elbow steadied her as they started toward the house. “Did Tanner mention he had something to do tonight?”

  “He didn’t say anything to me.” Devin walked up the steps and stuck his key in the lock, but the doorknob turned easily, the door pushing open. “Tanner? You here?”

  Devin flipped on the lights. Tanner sat in the recliner, a pile of unread mail on the table beside him, an open letter in his lap, his face carved into lines that hadn’t been there when they’d left for the hospital. Sadie lay at his feet.

  Lacey didn’t know what was going on but it couldn’t be good. Tanner was not one for dramatics. He was the quiet, capable, reasonable one. If he was sitting in the dark, it had to be bad.

  Devin sat down in the chair beside him, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees.

  “I’ll go make some coffee.” Lacey started for the door.

  “Stay. This affects you, too.” Tanner’s voice was raspy and strained.

  She slowly turned around. “What’s going on, Tanner?”

  Devin’s brother lifted the piece of paper from his lap and let it flutter to the ground. “The bank is foreclosing on the farm. They’ve given us thirty days to come up with the full amount of the loan or they’re taking it.”

  “What! Why? We’ve been making payments!” Devin grabbed the paper from the floor and stared at it. “They can’t do this.”

  “Yeah, they can. They started sending notices about six months ago that they were calling in the loan because the payments had been erratic. I was hoping they’d give us some more time since we’re turning a small profit now, but they’re not. We’ve lost the farm. I lost the farm.”

  “No, Tanner, that’s not true. The farm is all of our responsibility. We let you down.”

  Devin’s brother stood, his face expressionless. “You didn’t let me down. Tomorrow I’ll go to the bank and try to talk to them one more time, but I’m afraid we’re out of chances unless we can somehow come up with ninety-seven thousand dollars.”

  “I have some money put aside and I can ask my dad if he could loan us the rest until the farm is profitable,” Lacey offered hesitantly.

  “No.” Tanner and Devin said it at the same time, turning identical brown eyes to her.

  “I figured that’s what you would say, but if you change your mind, say the word and I’ll make the call.” At Devin’s side, Lacey slid her hand into his.

  He cleared his throat. “I think we need to pray. I know we’re not really into talking about our faith—and that’s okay, I’m not knocking it. But this... It seems important to me.”

  Tanner shook his head. “I’m not sure prayers are gonna do a lot of good now, Dev.”

  “Humor me.” Devin held out a hand to his brother, who reluctantly took it. Lacey held hers out, and Tanner gripped it with his work-worn hand. She couldn’t imagine how he felt. He’d worked so hard.

  Devin bowed his head and took a deep breath. “Dear God, I’m not good at this kind of stuff. But this is about family. It’s about home. It’s about a foundation for our future. We need You, God, and we pray if it’s Your will that You would help us find a way to save the farm. Help us to trust You no matter what the answer is. Amen.”

  There was a sheen in Tanner’s eyes when they looked up. He cleared his throat. “Thanks, Devin. I’m going up to bed now.”

  His footsteps heavy, Tanner climbed the stairs, leaving Devin and Lacey still holding hands in the middle of the living room.

  “Hey.” Lacey wrapped her arms around Devin’s waist, holding on as he pulled her closer, looking into his steady brown eyes. “I just want you to know I love you. I’ve always loved you. I know I haven’t been fair to you, but I’m trying.”

  She wasn’t sure when things had shifted—it had happened so gradually—but she knew that he could do it. He wasn’t just acting like a victim of something that had happened to him. He’d consistently chosen the path that had brought him closer to the man that she had always known he could be.

 
He reached up and brushed her hair away from her face with a gentle hand. “You can have as long as you need. I’m not going anywhere. I want to be a husband and a dad. I love you.”

  Up to this point, their lives had been spent waiting for that eight seconds or fourteen seconds in the arena, and their lives weren’t better when they did that. They were always looking for that next record-breaking ride, the next high point. And yeah, they’d accomplished some amazing things, but they’d missed so many moments, looking into the future, just waiting.

  She didn’t want to miss the moments anymore.

  They were too precious.

  “Your prayer was perfect. It was the right thing to do.” She didn’t want to move from his arms. His hand rested on her belly where their babies were growing and she suddenly wanted her children to grow up in this house. To run in the fields and swing on a rope swing into the spring-fed pond.

  He sighed again, his arms tightening around her. “It’s all I know to do. We’ve worked as hard as we can work. We’re out of options. Now we have to believe that if God wants us to be here, He’ll provide a way.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  The sky was deep purple, with just a hint of orange in the west, when Devin headed to the barn with a bottle for Nemo. He found Garrett already in the barn feeding ravenous baby goats.

  Garrett looked up without a smile, eliciting an angry butt from one of the babies when the nipple slipped out of its mouth. “How’re you doing?”

  “Not good. You?”

  “Not good. Not since I talked to Tanner this morning. I put my house in town on the market a few hours ago but I doubt it’ll sell in time to make a difference. It’s worth a shot, I guess, but even then, it’s not going to bring in the kind of money we need to stave off the bank.”

  “I don’t have anything left to sell.” Devin paused, earning a firm nudge from Nemo for his inattention. “Unless maybe I could sell Reggie.”

  “No. We don’t sell family members.”

  “Without a farm, he won’t have a place to live anyway.” Devin paused, grief at the thought of losing their home settling like a weight on his shoulders. He’d imagined raising his kids here. Growing old with his brothers. It wasn’t just a house. Their future was on the line. “We could sell off the cattle, but it would take years to recover from the loss of the herd, which wouldn’t solve anything.”

  “We don’t need ways to make income now. We need an influx of capital. I knew money was tight, but this is bad. I can’t believe we didn’t know.” Garrett held the bottles up higher so the baby goats could get to the last little bit. “Okay, okay, here you go, you little beggars.”

  “I guess Tanner wanted to fix it so we didn’t have to worry about it. He’s always been that way. He tried to get me to come home after I hurt my ankle so he could take care of me. He was right, but I wasn’t having it.”

  Garrett sighed. “Well, you have to be ready to make a big change like that. And now you’re married to Lacey and about to have twins, so what would you do different anyway?”

  Devin turned incredulous eyes on Garrett. “Dude. So many things I would do different.”

  “Fair point.” The kids sucked the bottles dry and Garrett pulled them away, eliciting bleats from the little goats.

  Nemo was a slow drinker compared with the goats. One of them tried to jump up and steal the calf’s bottle. Devin nudged it away with one leg, amused at its tenacity when it immediately tried again.

  Devin was pretty sure he already knew what Garrett would say about his proposal, but he was going to talk to him about it anyway because they were all in this together.

  Still, he hesitated. He’d come so far in repairing the relationship with his brothers and the last thing he wanted to do was damage it again. “So...”

  Garrett looked up.

  “I got an email last night around midnight. There’s an invitational rodeo in Colorado Springs this weekend. The purse is a hundred thousand dollars.” He kept his eyes on the hungry calf, not quite able to make eye contact with Garrett.

  His brother sat back on his heels. “That sounds like a terrible idea if you’re thinking about it. You’re well past the deadline to enter anyway.”

  Nemo finished his bottle and Devin pulled the towel scrap from where it rested over his shoulder and wiped the foamy milk residue from the little calf’s face. “That’s the thing. It’s been booked for weeks, but one of the riders broke his shoulder blade in training yesterday and they want a full roster. They emailed me to see if I was interested.”

  “It’s not worth it.”

  “What’s not worth it?” Tanner’s voice broke into their conversation. He stood in the doorway to the stall, the keys to the ATV in one hand, a travel mug of coffee in the other.

  Devin shot Garrett a look. He wasn’t ready to talk about this with Tanner. Not yet.

  Garrett shook his head. “Devin’s thinking about riding in the invitational this weekend.”

  “That’s about the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.” Tanner walked closer. “You could lose your foot. You have a wife and two babies to think about. I suggest you put them first.”

  “How do I put them first if we lose the farm and I can’t support them?” He’d been trying to shove it down all day but the panic rose like bile in Devin’s throat.

  He did have a wife and two babies counting on him. How could he turn down a chance to save their livelihood? The livelihood of his older brother and the family home for all of them?

  “I’ve got to get out of here.” Devin gave Nemo a final scratch behind the ears, grabbed his cane and started for the house, Garrett right in step with him. Devin cocked a glance at his brother. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “I’m going in the kitchen with you because I’m hungry and because I want to make sure you tell your wife about this craziness.”

  “I’ll tell her, but I’ll tell her when I’m ready. Now get out of my way. I’m going to cook some supper.”

  When he entered the living room, Lacey was just coming out of the kitchen. She had her hair in one of those loose bun things. Tendrils fell around her face, which was pink from the warmth of the stove. His heart filled to overflowing with love for her. It stopped him in his tracks—the inexplicable, overwhelming feelings he had for this woman.

  “I just stuck some corn bread in the oven and I got the greens Tanner picked simmering. I have cookies to make tonight, so I thought I’d put my feet up for a few minutes while the corn bread is in the oven. What are you guys up to? Feeding time?”

  Garrett gave Devin a pointed look. “What’s going on, Devin?”

  “Devin?” Lacey turned toward him, concern in her eyes. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. I got an email asking me to compete in the invitational in Colorado Springs this weekend. They had a late withdrawal and they want to fill the roster.”

  “You’re not going to do it, though, right?” She’d gone very still, one arm curving around her belly in a protective gesture.

  “I...”

  Garrett interjected. “Why are you even considering this? The only sane answer is ‘No, I’m not going to do it.’”

  “Devin?” Lacey’s eyes were steady on his. “Why would you risk it? You’ve come so far.”

  Garrett turned his gaze to Devin, as well. “Why would you risk it, Devin?”

  Devin closed his eyes and sucked in a breath, counting to ten so he wouldn’t yell at his brother. He gave up before he reached six. “Garrett, get out. Go fix yourself a sandwich at your own house and let me talk to my wife.”

  “There’s no food at my house.” With a scowl, Garrett turned and stalked toward the front door.

  “You should’ve thought of that before you tried to pick a fight between me and Lacey.”

  The door closed behind Garrett, who was still muttering. “Try to do the ri
ght thing by your brother and what do you get? Nothing. Not even a crumb of corn bread.”

  “Sometimes I wonder how I have the same DNA as those two. We couldn’t be more different.” He walked into the kitchen. “Do you want to have some tea and talk?”

  She nodded and he pulled two glasses out of the cabinet and poured sweet tea over ice. He set her glass in front of the chair she’d settled into at the kitchen table and got the lemon out of the refrigerator for her.

  Hashing out the offer with Lacey about competing in the invitational was not high on his list of things he wanted to do. In fact, he couldn’t think of many things he wanted to do less, but he was learning. Hiding from issues and problems didn’t mean they didn’t exist. It just meant putting off the pain until later. And sometimes waiting meant the pain was going to be a whole lot worse than it would’ve been if he’d just dealt with it in the first place.

  “So tell me about the offer.” She looked down to where her hands cupped the cold glass, her lashes hiding her eyes.

  “Any other time, I wouldn’t consider it. I know you’ve had your doubts, but I’ve made my peace with retiring. I’ll leave that to you and our kids, if they want to rodeo, but... This invitational has a grand prize of one hundred thousand dollars.”

  She nodded slowly. “That money would save the farm.”

  “It would.”

  “If you won.”

  “Yeah.” That outcome was far from a given. He hadn’t been on a bucking horse in months. He was the current titleholder and he could assume with some degree of certainty that he had the muscle memory to pull it off, but even in top shape, sometimes the best riders still got thrown. “There’s no guarantee.”

  “I don’t want you to do it. I’m scared. And it’s not just me being scared for you. I’m scared for what it means for our kids.”

  He nodded, hoping Lacey didn’t notice his fingers clenching around his glass. “I know.”

  “I understand if you feel you have to, but I’m begging you not to do it, Devin. Please don’t take that chance. There has to be another way to save the farm.”