The Christmas Triplets

by Tanya Michaels

  “You mean, while you leave me with the cute baby in the hopes he’ll win me over?”

  Will grinned shamelessly, handing her Tommy. “Any chance that might work?”

  Hell, she’d probably agree to his child-care proposition just to get assistance with the stupid Christmas lights. It felt like forever since she’d enjoyed the luxury of someone else’s help. Since the divorce, she’d shouldered so much alone. It had caught her off guard Sunday when Will offered to do the favor of taking Lily and Iris to see Santa. Even though she hadn’t taken him up on it, she’d been genuinely touched by the suggestion and found herself frequently smiling over the last two days at the memory of how he’d carried Iris on his shoulders and made her laugh.

  She pointed toward the living room. “The lights are in there. But we have to get them untangled and find which bulb is out before we can hang them up.”

  “On it.” He strode in that direction, exchanging greetings with the girls. Lily didn’t say anything to him, but she didn’t shy away when he waved to her, either. That was progress. It had taken her months to really warm up to her day-care teacher.

  Will turned the task of unknotting the lights into performance art, entertaining the triplets by pretending it took all his strength to pull the cord free. Megan was surprised to find herself amused by the very chore she’d been silently cursing ten minutes ago. Life is easier with a partner.

  At times like this, she could understand why her mother had fought against the divorce, believing Megan’s life would be simpler if she stayed with Spencer. But there were worse complications than uncooperative Christmas decorations. If Megan had stayed with him after his multiple betrayals, she would’ve grown to despise them both. She amended her earlier thought. Life wasn’t automatically better with a partner, only with the right partner. Spencer hadn’t been that for her, and it sounded as if Will’s ex had proven to be the wrong one for him.

  He certainly found a bright side in the breakup. If Will had lacked the “normal” young adult dating experiences, he was more than making up for missed opportunities.

  “All right,” he said. “Time to go make your house the envy of the neighborhood. You have tools and a ladder, or should I get mine from next door?”

  “In the garage. How about I order a large pizza while you work?” She’d been so preoccupied with decorations that she hadn’t given dinner much thought.

  “Sounds perfect. But so you know, I don’t show up here at suppertime just to mooch free food.” He winked at her. “I also come to mooch the free child care.”

  She laughed. “Oh, don’t worry, if I take your babysitting job, you’ll be getting a bill for my services.” And as far as the free pizza went? If he got those blasted lights working, she’d even spring for a side order of cheesy garlic bread. “What do you like?”

  A slow grin spread across his face, and for no good reason whatsoever, heat climbed in her cheeks.

  She gave him a stern look over the top of the baby’s head. “On your pizza, William.”

  “Anything but mushrooms. But I can pick them off if you want them.”

  “Actually, I hate mushrooms.”

  “Common ground, huh? Why, Miss Rivers, this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

  * * *

  ALTHOUGH WILL’S STOMACH rumbled appreciatively at the smell of pizza wafting upward, he told Megan that she and the girls should start without him. “I’m almost finished,” he called down to her, trying not to let his gaze linger on the enticing V-neck of her sweater from atop the ladder. Admittedly, she was beautiful, but his phone’s contact list held the numbers of a dozen beautiful women. Physical appearance wasn’t what made Megan special.

  He valued the unexpected, burgeoning friendship between them. Flirtatious banter and easy smiles were second nature to him, but if he crossed a line, would Megan return to her disapproving glances and curt, one-sentence conversations?

  The ladder wobbled as he shifted to watch her walk into the house, and he almost rolled his eyes at his own idiocy. Firefighters responded to a wide variety of 9-1-1 calls. How many accidents and home injuries had he seen that were caused by someone not focused on what they were doing? He knew better. Pushing aside thoughts of Megan, more or less, he concentrated on the job at hand.

  He might have helped her cross Christmas lights off her to-do list, but from his vantage point, he couldn’t help noticing other odd jobs that needed attending. There were some shingles on the roof that needed replacing, the gutters needed to be cleaned out and there was a decrepit tree far too close to the house that should probably be cut down before some spring storm knocked it over. None of which was any of his business, but this was Cupid’s Bow. Neighbors looked out for each other.

  That’s right, keep defaulting to the “neighborly” argument until it starts to feel convincing.

  He climbed down from the ladder and plugged in the cord to make sure the lights worked. Perfect. He turned them off, smiling in anticipation of showing the girls, and went inside, where he was greeted by the heavenly scent of sausage and tomato sauce and still-warm-from-the-oven pizza crust.

  “Success,” he told Megan. “We can have the great unveiling after everyone’s finished.”

  As a firefighter, he helped people daily, in capacities as minor as rescuing cats from trees to literally pulling people out of burning buildings. And yet it was the beaming smile Megan shot him from across the table that made him feel heroic. That kind of reaction could be addictive.

  He broke eye contact, clearing his throat. “Where do you, um, keep the glasses?”

  “Here.” She crossed the kitchen and pulled a tumbler from a cabinet. When she handed it to him, their fingers brushed and he couldn’t help wondering—if she hadn’t been holding a baby just then, if they didn’t have an audience of three little girls, would he have succumbed to the urge to tug her closer? To wrap his hand around hers? Maybe—don’t even think it—kiss her?

  Damn. You thought it.

  “Thanks.” He jerked away and filled the glass with cold water. “I, uh, noticed while I was out in the yard, there’s some other stuff you could probably use a hand with.”

  Her lips thinned. “Is this like when representatives from the neighborhood show up to say the lawn isn’t mowed well enough and I’m dragging down property values?”

  “Not at all. No criticism, I promise. But you’ve already done so much to help me with Tommy, and if you ever need my help... I mean, being on ladders is half my job, so cleaning out your rain gutter would be nothing. And I’m supposed to stay physically active. The county pays for us to have state-of-the-art workout equipment, for pity’s sake, and—” When he realized he’d started babbling, he stopped abruptly. Smooth, Trent. This your first day trying to talk to a woman? “So. Pizza!”

  He’d finished one slice and was reaching for another when Megan caught his gaze. “Sorry I got defensive when you commented on the yard. Guess you were right about me the first night you came over,” she said. “I can definitely be ‘prickly.’ Since the divorce, I’ve worked hard to be self-sufficient. I didn’t really have a choice. But somewhere along the way, I may have forgotten how to accept help gracefully.”

  “No apology necessary. Your yard is none of my business, and my family has a history of overstepping our boundaries. It turned out well for Cole, whose childhood habits of finding facts and being bossy work in the sheriff’s office, but for the rest of us...” Would now be the right time to warn her that his meddling, overstepping mother might try to fix Megan up on dates?

  “Mr. Will?” Daisy’s small face was crinkled with impatience, as if she couldn’t understand why no one’s attention was on her. “Guess what I saw today? Mr. Abe’s dog made a big poop on the sidewalk.”

  “Daisy! That is not appropriate talk for the dinner table,” Megan chided.

 
Will tried hard not to undermine her authority by laughing out loud. “I grew up with two brothers,” he reassured Megan softly. “I’m not easily grossed out.”

  “Still.” She shot one last stern look at the irrepressible Daisy. “I think a change of subject is in order.”

  “Are you busy Thursday evening?” he asked. “Because, as it happens, I don’t have a Christmas tree, either. We could go shopping together.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Sure. Why not?”

  “The girls are liable to be...excited. To put it mildly. Not everyone wants that kind of chaos taking up their free time.”

  The invitation had been sheer impulse, one he didn’t want to examine too closely. So he nodded toward Tommy, his tone nonchalant. “Until Amy gets back, my time’s not free anyway. Why not spend it with four lovely ladies, who I’m willing to bet have excellent taste in Christmas trees?”

  Daisy and Iris excitedly chanted, “Christmas tree! Christmas tree!” Lily grinned, her round cheeks covered in tomato sauce.

  Megan smiled fondly at them and then turned back to Will. “Looks like you’ve got yourself a date.”

  “Excellent. Now, who wants to go outside and see the lights?” he asked.

  “First, you have to wash hands and faces,” Megan said over her daughters’ delighted squeals. They scampered out of the room in a rush of footsteps that were surprisingly heavy for such little girls.

  Will laughed. “Would you be offended if I said I’d witnessed cattle stampedes that were quieter?”

  “See what I mean about the chaos?”

  “I don’t mind.” His own childhood had been full of stomping feet and muddy boots.

  “Then you’re a better man than their father.” Immediately, she straightened in her chair, her expression appalled. “I didn’t mean to say that. It’s just, Spencer will be here in two weeks, and part of me is dreading it. The girls need a father, so I’m glad he’s coming, but his visits are always so strained. He spends his time in the grown-up world, golfing at country clubs or wining and dining clients. He’s palpably uncomfortable around sticky hands and occasional tantrums.”

  “Is that why you two divorced?” Will asked, filled with an extreme dislike for the unseen Spencer.

  “I—”

  “Mommy! All clean!” The triplets raced into the room, their socks skidding a little on the tile floor. Will stood, planning to intervene if it looked like anyone was going to crash into the kitchen island.

  Megan rose, too, instructing the girls to grab their shoes and coats. Then they all tromped outside. Will took the baby so that Megan could have the honor of plugging in the display. He couldn’t help chuckling at the heartfelt oohs and aahs, which would have been more suited to the aurora borealis than a few measly strands of multicolored lights.

  “If you guys want to see something really impressive,” he said to Megan, “go by Brody Davenport’s ranch this month. They do an annual light display to raise money for the hospital’s children’s center. We’re setting up this Saturday, and it covers a hundred acres. Admission is whatever small donation visitors choose to make, and Brody gives it all to the center.”

  “I’ll definitely put that on my calendar, thanks. Do you have someone to watch Tommy while you’re helping with that Saturday?” At his nod, she said, “As for someone to watch him while you’re at work, I’ve decided I can use the cash. So you’re covered, as long as we can make our work schedules match up.”

  Relief washed over him. He’d known when he picked up Tommy at Marie’s earlier that he was running out of options. “I’ll trade some shifts if necessary. Thank you so much.” Despite how glad he was to have found a solution, his conscience demanded he ask, “Are you sure this won’t cause too much trouble for you?”

  “It could make things a bit more hectic, but hectic is where I live.” She shrugged, giving an endearingly lopsided smile. “Might as well embrace it.”

  Too bad her husband hadn’t been able to do that. It was a shame her marriage had ended. She talked about the girls needing a father, but what about her? Did she ever want a husband to hold her hand and brave the chaos with her? To tease her until her harried expression melted into that sweet smile? To take the garbage to the curb for her after she’d had a punishingly long day or carry a Christmas tree into the house? Will’s mother was right—Megan deserved a good man.

  In the meantime, she’s got me.

  Chapter Eight

  Like most of the other admittedly biased citizens of Cupid’s Bow, Will believed that the Smoky Pig had the best barbecue in the state of Texas. The tantalizing scent that greeted him as he walked into the restaurant nearly made him groan in pleasure.

  “Will!” Leanne Lanier set a couple of iced teas down on a table in the corner and hurried toward him. “It’s a relief to finally see you, sugar. My sister almost had me convinced I was getting the patented William Trent brush-off, but she’s always had an overactive imagination.”

  “William Trent brush-off?”

  “Never mind that, now that you’ve come to see me.”

  He experienced a small but sharp bite of guilt, like a paper cut. When he’d told her they needed to reschedule their movie date, it probably would have been more honest to say they needed to postpone indefinitely. But since he’d had no idea how long Tommy would be staying with him, he’d opted for vagueness. “It’s always nice to see you. But I’m actually here to pick up a to-go order.”

  Leanne pouted. “You’d rather go home and eat dinner all by your lonesome than sit in my section? Or...will you not be alone?”

  “As a matter of fact, I won’t be. There will be five of us, plus the baby.”

  Her eyebrows rose. “You mean you’re still babysitting for that friend you mentioned?”

  “Yeah. The woman who lives next door to me lends a hand while I’m at the station. In return, I’m taking dinner to her and her daughters and helping them with their Christmas tree.”

  “That’s right neighborly of you.”

  Neighborly. He tried not to grimace at the word.

  “Hey, Leanne,” a customer called, “when you get a chance, we could use refills back here.”

  She nodded over her shoulder, then said to Will, “Don’t be a stranger. I’d hate to tell my sister she was right about that brush-off.”

  Will didn’t know what to say, but he wouldn’t make false promises. His enthusiasm for taking her out had waned inexplicably in the last week. “Leanne, I...”

  “Damn. I guess even my sister’s crazy imagination gets something right once in a while.” She put a hand on her hip. “At least tell me I’m still your favorite waitress?”

  “Unquestionably. Next time I come in, I’ll leave the tip to prove it.”

  “You’d better,” she said as she spun away.

  Relieved that there were no hard feelings between them, he resumed his path to the take-out counter. “Order for Trent,” he said to the cashier.

  Will paid and was gathering the bags when the phone in his pocket rang. No doubt his mother. She’d called twice today about the tuxedo fitting with his brothers tomorrow, then texted him on top of that to remind him he needed to wear his dress shoes for the fitting. Not my first rodeo, Mom. The closer they got to the wedding, the more manic she became. Gayle Trent was usually the picture of composure. He couldn’t help wondering if she’d become a touch superstitious, after Cole’s divorce and Will’s abruptly canceled nuptials, about everything going exactly right this time.

  Holding his phone between his ear and shoulder, he unlocked the car door. “Hello.”

  Instead of his mother’s purposeful “William...” as she launched into her latest set of instructions, there was a long pause.

  “Hello?” He stared at the screen to make sure the call was connected, noting that the u
nknown number was outside the Cupid’s Bow area code.

  “Will? It’s Amy.”

  He had a dozen things he wanted to say to her all at once, and he closed his eyes briefly, counting to five so that he didn’t demand to know what the hell she’d been thinking. If she’d told Will how desperate the situation was, he could’ve helped without the last-minute scramble for child care. She should have been honest with him.

  “Is...” Her voice trembled with emotion. “Is Tommy okay?”

  Her worry for her son dissolved his momentary flare of temper. “He’s fine. I’m sure he misses you, God knows I’m no substitute, but he’s healthy and well cared for. How are you?”

  “Better. Shaky. Scared you hate me for what I did. I was sleep deprived and not even close to being in my right mind.”

  “I don’t hate you.”

  “Thank you. The counselor here is wonderful. She’s helped a lot, but I didn’t think I could make any more progress without talking to you first. I needed to check on my boy, and I needed to tell you I’m sorry for how I left him. I knew he’d be safe with you, but I was afraid that if I asked you outright, you’d say no.”

  Would Will have refused? He had genuinely wanted to help, but taking care of the baby was so daunting. It took him, Megan and Kate, with occasional assistance from others, just to make sure Tommy was covered around the clock. He was starting to understand how overwhelmed Amy must have felt. “When you come home, my mom wants to talk to you about possibly finding a better job so that you can cut back on your hours. And, just so you know, my soon-to-be sister-in-law completely adores your son, so maybe she can periodically lend a hand instead of your mother.”

  Amy sniffled. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you in my life. You’re like a guardian angel.”

  “Let’s not go overboard, kiddo. I’m no angel.”

  “Are you with Tommy? Could you hold the phone up to him so he can hear my voice?”

  He hated to disappoint her. “Sorry, he’s with Megan—you remember the nice lady who gave you the chocolate? She watches him sometimes while I work.”