Her Secret Twins

by Janette Foreman

  Revealing the truth is not as simple as it seems...

  Bound by an inheritance...

  and two adorable little babies.

  Kallie Shore has just inherited her father’s ranch. The catch? She has to share it with her ex-fiancé, Grant Young—who’s about to learn he’s also the father of her infant twins! Now they’re working and parenting together, and Kallie might be falling for Grant all over again. But can she trust that this wandering cowboy has finally found his way home?

  “How long are you planning to stay, exactly?”

  “Oh, I’m not leaving.” Grant met Kallie’s stare. “I just found out I’m a dad to twins. You couldn’t drag me out of here with a crowbar.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Dead serious.”

  Everything she knew was changing.

  “You can’t hide from this, Kal.” His voice was soft. “We’re going to have to talk about hard things like custody at some point.”

  She whirled toward him. “Don’t you dare take my children away from me.”

  His gaze narrowed. “They’re our children, and who said anything about taking them away?”

  But how long until Grant’s wanderlust got the better of him and he took off? His sobering gaze met hers.

  “I’m not taking them out of your life. We need to be serious about coparenting and somehow making this family thing work.”

  Family? Kallie’s mouth ran dry.

  “Okay, Kal? You’re going to have to trust me on this.”

  But she had trusted him to stick around—after he’d asked her to marry him.

  He’d broken that trust. And with it, her heart.

  Janette Foreman is a former high school English teacher turned stay-at-home mom with a passion for the written word. Through her romances, she hopes people see themselves as having worth in God’s eyes. When she sneaks in time for hobbies, she reads, quilts, makes cloth dolls and draws. She makes her home in the northern Midwest with her amazing husband, polydactyl cat, bird-hunting dog and the most adorable baby twin boys on the planet.

  Books by Janette Foreman

  Love Inspired

  Her Secret Twins

  Love Inspired Historical

  Last Chance Wife

  Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com.

  HER SECRET TWINS

  Janette Foreman

  God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.

  —Psalm 46:1–2

  To James, for your constant love.

  To my own sweet twins...what a blessing you are!

  To the Lord, for being my refuge and strength every time the mountains are carried into the midst of the sea.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Epilogue

  Dear Reader

  Excerpt from The Amish Teacher’s Dilemma by Patricia Davids

  Chapter One

  That familiar Ford pickup rumbling up the long drive could only mean one thing.

  Grant Young had arrived.

  Lifting her hands from the sudsy dishwater, Kallie Shore braced herself against the kitchen counter as the rusty blue truck came closer and closer. Was she ready for this? Nearly two years ago, she had stood in this exact spot, watching through the flowery curtains as this pickup’s taillights left her South Dakota farm for what she thought had been the last time.

  Now he’d returned. Not because he wanted to—she was certain of that. But because he was summoned by the tragedy that would change both of their lives forever.

  Wiping her hands on a towel, she dropped her gaze to the envelope on the counter. At their last meeting, the attorney had given it to her while they had discussed the contents of Dad’s will. Inside the envelope was a typed note, composed at the end of Dad’s life when he had lost the use of his hands. It was his final wish to her, his only child, and it made her ache for him every time she recalled it. I love you, Kallie Bug. Carry on a better family legacy for the kids than I left behind for you.

  His opinion of himself was skewed, of course. Frank Shore had left her a wonderful legacy. He had been a gentle and hardworking man, who’d loved his farm and had loved his bird dogs. And most important, he had loved her and her thirteen-month-old twins, Ainsley and Peter.

  She would do her very best to leave behind a legacy for her kids that Dad would’ve been proud of—caring for this spread of land until her dying days, then leaving it to the kids. It’s what he would have wanted.

  A low growl sounded beside her. “Shh, it’s okay, Ruby.” Kallie reached down to rub her hand over her Llewellin’s silky orange ears. “It’s only Grant.”

  Except he wasn’t only Grant. He was her ex-fiancé. Dad’s best former employee. Father to her children.

  And unfortunately for Kallie, Dad had willed him half of Bitter Creek Farm.

  “He is not coming for us, Ruby. The sooner we remember that, the better,” Kallie whispered. “He’s only here to make arrangements for his half of our stuff.” Whatever he had meant by arrangements over the phone, she didn’t know. “Hopefully this meeting is quick and painless.”

  Ruby regarded Kallie with her coppery-brown eyes as if she didn’t believe a word Kallie said.

  “Truth be told, girl, I don’t believe me, either. Now that he’s here, we have way too much history to unravel and sift through.”

  Including the kids she’d never told him about.

  Taking in a deep breath, Kallie stepped through the screen door off the kitchen, Ruby on her heels. For this first meeting, Kallie had sent the kids to spend the afternoon and early evening with her friend Rachel in the town of Bitter Creek, a twenty-minute drive from the farm. It was best this way, Kallie reasoned. She needed to find the right time to tell Grant about them—and, truthfully, a part of her didn’t know if she should. Dad had introduced Grant to her as his employee, and they’d hit it off immediately. Fell into a whirlwind romance like nothing she’d ever experienced.

  But after one passionate night where they’d gone too far, Grant had left. He’d confessed he wasn’t ready for commitment or for life on the farm.

  His leaving had felt like betrayal. Like he’d never loved her like she’d loved him.

  Kallie descended the porch steps, a breath of summer wind warm on her skin. Maybe she’d only loved him with the excitement of young love. If she had been realistic at the time, maybe she would’ve realized it never would have worked. He didn’t want kids, and his wanderlust would have driven him crazy if he’d lived here—the place that had captured her, heart and soul.

  But honestly, what scared her most was the possibility of rejection. What if she told him about the kids and he only rejected them like he had her? Then would it have been better if they’d never met him at all?

  The pickup rolled to a stop in the front yard and the driver’s-side door opened. She faltered as her foot met gravel, and she clutched the railing.

  A boot and pant leg showed beneath the pickup’s door, and then a second boot and leg. Grant stepped into view and Kallie’s eyes traced the length of him. Faded denim knees. Trim waist and a button-up Western shirt. Lean muscular arms beneath sleeves rolled to the elbows
. Short dark hair framing angular cheeks and green-brown eyes that appeared fierce and wild even if he smiled.

  Not that he was smiling yet. He stared back at her with an unreadable expression that made her toes curl inside her slip-on shoes. Inhaling, Kallie tucked a strand of her long blond hair behind her ear. Now or never.

  The breeze teased the hem of her sundress as she took the gravel walkway. A backdrop of South Dakota pastures waved green beyond the yard, long-forgotten dog kennels and outbuildings.

  “Hey,” she said, feeling a little silly sounding casual when she hadn’t seen him in so long. If only her voice didn’t sound so small.

  Grant had one thumb in his jeans pocket, head tilted to keep the sun from his eyes. “Hey, Kallie.”

  Oh, that voice. Sounded even better in person than it did over the phone. “How was the drive?”

  “Not too bad.”

  “Well, hopefully this trip won’t take much of your time. I’ll try to keep things brief. Who would’ve thought we’d end up owning property together? I guess Dad forgot to update his will after we split.” She was rambling now—why couldn’t she stop? “I guess I just, I don’t know—”

  “Kallie?”

  Pausing, she met his gaze.

  “I’m sorry about your dad.”

  The past two years’ struggles came over her in waves and she barely managed to keep eye contact. Pressing her lips together, she finally glanced away. “Thanks.”

  “What happened?”

  “Wait—the attorney didn’t tell you?”

  “No.”

  “Well, Dad was getting worse every month. I mean, sharp as a whip mentally. But his body was giving out on him—”

  “But what was it? Cancer? Parkinson’s?”

  “ALS.”

  Grant fell silent, closed his eyes, knit his brows together.

  A dreaded weight pushed down on Kallie’s shoulders. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to spring the news on you the moment you got here.”

  “I was only gone two years.” His voice sounded scratchy all of a sudden.

  “He was diagnosed two Christmases ago.”

  She could see his jaw muscles working. He looked around as if for an escape, then turned his attention to Ruby, who intently sniffed his tailgate. “Hey, there,” he murmured. “You smell my dogs, do ya?” Two kennels stood in his truck bed. Grant worked his fingers through Ruby’s hair, his movements showing both his fondness and familiarity with her breed and his intense effort to come to terms with Dad’s diagnosis and death.

  Truthfully, she hadn’t come to terms with it, either. Though she trusted in God’s goodness, she didn’t understand why He’d allowed such an ugly disease to consume her own father. Dad had been all she’d had. Mom had traveled so much for work as a medical sales rep when Kallie was a kid, and she saw even less of Mom after her parents’ divorce. Mom hadn’t even come to the funeral.

  Sure, she’d tried calling Kallie a few times lately, but Kallie couldn’t bring herself to listen to the excuses anymore.

  Dwelling on all of that now, however, wasn’t going to solve the dilemma she and Grant faced together. They needed to sit down and figure out what to do about the farm.

  “So, um...” Kallie swallowed the lump in her throat and jutted her thumb back toward the house. “You’re probably beat from driving all day. Why don’t you come inside and I’ll make up some coffee? We can sit down and discuss everything.”

  Grant gave Ruby one final rubdown, then stood. “Thanks, but I should get settled in town. My dogs need to eat, and I still need to stop at the dog park to let them release some energy before going to the hotel.”

  “You’re not staying at your parents’?”

  Hesitating, he glanced down the road. “No.”

  She heard the meaning in his voice, his implication that the house was just a shell now that his mom wasn’t there.

  At four hundred people, Bitter Creek wasn’t exactly a metropolis. People’s business was often out in the open. She knew his dad—who’d never been able to hold down a job—had drifted off somewhere shortly after Grant left town, and then his mom had moved to Norfolk, Nebraska, to live with Grant’s sister, Jill.

  “How is your mom?” she asked.

  “I’m sure she’s doing well—she’s a tough cookie.” His gaze dimmed a bit. “I don’t get down there to see her as much as I’d like.”

  One of his dogs barked, which seemed to wake Grant from his thoughts.

  “Shouldn’t even have their house still,” he said, rounding the pickup bed to check on his animals. “It’s old and falling apart. Probably more expensive to keep than to sell. But you know Mom—can’t let go of anything. And my sister isn’t helping.” The twinkle in his eye showed he was obviously not as annoyed as he pretended to be. He and Jill had always teased each other, and both loved their mom. Anything of hers would be hard to sell, even if no one lived here anymore. “I’d better head out.”

  “Wait.” Kallie couldn’t postpone until later. Rachel only had the kids until their bedtime. “What about discussing the will?”

  “It’s been a long day. We can do that tomorrow, can’t we?”

  “But you’re already here. You might as well stay. Feed your dogs and let them run.”

  “Well—”

  “It’s a farm, Grant. There’s plenty of space. And half of it is yours, remember?”

  “Kallie, come on.” He silenced her with his words, and suddenly she understood.

  He’d intended to stay and talk things out, but being here overwhelmed him. She saw it in his eyes, the way he kept glancing at the road. Was he remembering how they’d left things? Or was thinking about Dad so painful that he needed to do it alone? Dad had been more like a father to Grant than his own had ever been.

  Kallie glanced at her watch. Half-past four o’clock. She raised her gaze to meet his, hoping she could instill him with courage. “Please, Grant? Can you come inside for just a minute? It shouldn’t take long to figure things out. Then tomorrow, you can be on your way back to Iowa, if you’d like.”

  Hands in pockets, he worked his jaw muscles again. The telltale sign he was thinking things through and was uncomfortable with the situation. Kallie wanted to scoff at the irony. Whatever tension he felt right now, she was pretty sure she could top it.

  Finally, he conceded. “I guess it would be good to get it done tonight. I have some business in Bitter Creek tomorrow, and then I need to get on the road.”

  He freed his dogs from their kennels, allowing them to roam while he followed her to the house. The screen door closed against its frame with a knock as they entered the kitchen, where the aroma of slow cooker chicken thickened the air.

  Grant’s gaze wandered. “The place hasn’t changed much, I see.”

  “No, it hasn’t.” At least, not the house itself. And she’d stashed away all the baby memorabilia for the time being—until after she knew what Grant was all about.

  “I keep thinking Frank’s going to come around the corner, though.”

  At Grant’s words, Kallie felt her throat begin to close. If this had been years earlier, she would have sought refuge in his arms. But things were different now. Turning to a cabinet, she took down a coffee mug. “Still like it black?”

  “Yep.”

  She reached for the fresh carafe of coffee.

  “Do you still train Llewellins during the summer?” he asked.

  “No, we quit when Dad’s health worsened. All we have left now is Ruby.”

  “Oh.” She heard him take a seat at the table.

  Honestly, it was fine by her that there weren’t a bunch of dogs on site all summer anymore. It added a lot of extra work—Dad enjoyed it, and for that reason, Kallie had been happy to help. But for her, Ruby was the only Llewellin setter she needed. A loveable couch potato who occasionally wanted to
run and explore the fields. Nothing complicated or high-maintenance. And right now with the kids so little, Kallie couldn’t afford any more painstaking tasks.

  “I saw you in Bird Dog magazine.”

  He chuckled, sounding a little embarrassed. “Yeah, well, you’d better frame that because it’ll become a limited edition. You’re not going to see another one.”

  “I’m sure with your growing popularity you’ll get into it again.” Crossing her arms, she leaned a hip against the counter. “Honestly, I’m surprised you came out here, rather than finalizing things over the phone. Your life is busy. And being the first of June, surely you have a whole schedule of training clinics to get to, right?”

  Her moxie surprised her. As a general rule, she avoided confrontation at all costs. But having Grant here put her on edge, which apparently caused her to lose control of her words.

  He traced his finger along the rim of his mug, taking a second to answer. “I’m on my way to a clinic this weekend, actually. In Wyoming. Figured the farm was on the way.”

  “Sure.”

  She should have known that’s why he’d stopped by. It was on the way to something else.

  Time to get ahold of herself and remember he’d only come to discuss the will. Grant had a successful life outside this place. According to the magazine interview, he’d been living in Iowa all this time as the executive director of a nonprofit rescue dog facility dedicated to helping setters in desperate need. And when he wasn’t at the facility, he was on the road putting on bird dog training clinics. Traveling a lot, and loving every minute of it, the article clearly pointed out. He obviously worked hard living his dream, and becoming so successful in a matter of two years was likely the reason behind his publicity.

  And it wasn’t a career sustainable for a family man. Grant wasn’t a family man.

  “At any rate,” he continued, “I’ll be out of your hair as quickly as possible. I just wanted to come out here and tell you I’m sorry about Frank and that I’m not going to accept the inheritance.”