Suddenly a Family

by Harris, Leann

  The only thing that had saved his hide this morning was having Toni there when the call came in about the trouble in the oil field. What he needed to do was hire a housekeeper to be with the girls and take care of them if another emergency occurred. And he needed to find a bigger place to live.

  But what he needed the most was to find out what really happened in field number one.

  He pulled out his wallet and paid for the coffee.

  As he drove home, he wished his reaction to Tom could be so easily dealt with as his housing problem.

  As for what happened in field number one today, he’d get to the bottom of that mystery.

  In the morning the girls’ laughter rang through the house as they played with Sam.

  “Throw the ball, Lori,” Lisa admonished her sister. “I’ll race Sam to get it.”

  Their laughter filled Toni with pure joy. A dream come true. Now if she only pressed her imagination a little, she could see a husband, who was tall, with brown hair and green eyes, who looked amazingly like—

  Whoa! she chided herself. She didn’t need the kind of grief that a strong man like Zachary Knight would bring to her life. She’d lived a lifetime with such a man, her dad, and wanted to avoid that trait in a husband, no matter how much he made her blood thunder.

  Sam barked and Lisa giggled as they raced into the kitchen chasing the ball. Lisa slipped and fell at Toni’s feet.

  Leaning down, Toni helped the little girl to her feet. “You need to be careful, or you’ll end up on crutches like Lori.”

  Toni saw the child blanch at her words. She hadn’t meant to remind the girls of the accident that killed their mother. “Aw, sweetie, I’m sorry,” Toni whispered, leaning down to hug Lisa.

  “We miss Mom.” Lisa’s voice cut through Toni.

  Glancing over Lisa’s shoulder, Toni saw Lori standing frozen in the doorway, her expression as sorrowful as her sister’s. Guiding Lisa toward the other girl, Toni hugged both of them.

  “I know you miss your mom. But that’s okay.” She wiped a tear from Lori’s cheek. “My mother was in a car accident, too. I still miss her.”

  Lori looked at her. “Really?”

  “My dad was in that accident, too, but every day I’m glad he’s here. And now you have a daddy.”

  Lisa pursed her lips, then scratched her thumb- “I want it to be different.”

  “I know, sweetheart, but sometimes things aren’t the way we want them. When I was sixteen, I was in a car accident and broke both of my legs.” Toni didn’t mention that her date had been killed.

  “Your dad told us about it,” Lisa observed.

  “And I didn’t like sitting around while my friends went to school. That’s when my dad bought me my first bird. His name was Sugar. I learned all about canaries. Then I went on to study about other birds. I found that I loved studying them. What you have to do is find something that you like and enjoy the situation.”

  They both carefully studied Toni until Sam sat down in the midst of them. Both girls reached out to him.

  “I like Sam,” Lisa offered.

  Lori agreed with a nod.

  Things weren’t going well. If Tom wasn’t careful, Zach would have to get a dog in addition to all the other changes in his life.

  “What’s that funny smell?” Lisa asked, wrinkling her nose.

  “The pancakes,” Tom yelled, jumping to her feet. Quickly she scooped up the burnt pancakes and threw them into the sink.

  She glanced at the girls.

  “Did you burn all of them?” Lisa asked, peeking into the sink.

  “I have more batter. I’ll make more.”

  “’Kay. But maybe you should watch them.”

  Toni wanted to laugh. Lisa was a pistol. When she looked at Lori, she appeared worried. The child needed to be reassured. “All right, let’s try again and this time we’ll all watch them.”

  “Yippee!”

  They were almost finished with their breakfast when Zach showed up. He looked far too handsome for Toni’s peace of mind. A strand of his thick hair fell onto his forehead, giving her the crazy desire to brush it back.

  “How’s your side?” Toni asked as they walked to the kitchen.

  “A little sore, but that’s to be expected.” He stopped by the table. “Good morning,” he greeted the girls.

  “We’re having pancakes,” Lisa informed him. She placed the last bite on her plate into her mouth.

  “They’re good,” Lori added.

  “Would you like something to eat, Zach? Or maybe a cup of coffee?” Toni asked.

  “Just coffee,” he replied, sitting down at the table.

  “Have you eaten?” Toni persisted.

  “I can get something later.”

  “This batter will just go to waste if I don’t cook it,” Toni informed him as she gave him a cup of coffee.

  He appeared reluctant, then nodded.

  “Good.” She turned on the grill again.

  “But don’t talk to her,” Lisa piped in. “She might burn them.”

  Toni knew she was turning beet red.

  The corner of his mouth twitched. “But you ate yours,” Zach noted, looking at Lisa’s empty plate.

  “That’s ‘cause she cooked some more after she burned ’em.”

  “But she didn’t burn those, did she?”

  “She did okay, but the bad ones are in the sink.” She wrinkled her nose. “Can’t you smell ’em? They were icky ”

  Well, so much for her adventure into motherhood, Toni thought. The girls were warning their dad about her cooking.

  “I’m willing to try,” Zach reassured his daughter.

  His confidence touched Toni’s heart. When her eyes met his, he smiled and lifted his coffee cup to her.

  “She makes good coffee,” he added.

  “Ick,” Lisa replied. “I’m done. So’s Lori. Can we go play with Sam?” She looked at Toni.

  Toni nodded.

  Lisa raced from the room, then stopped at the door to wait for her sister.

  “Did ya know that Toni broke her legs just like Lori?” Lisa added.

  Zach looked at Toni, who was pretending to concentrate on the pancakes on the grill. “Yes.”

  “Well,” Lisa continued, “her daddy bought her a bird, so she wouldn’t be lonely. Lisa and I like Sam. Could we keep him?”

  Toni whipped her head around to face the others, her eyes wide. It appeared her worries about the dog were well-founded. Before she could answer, Zach spoke.

  “Sam’s a great dog, but he belongs to Toni’s dad.”

  “We could ask him if he would give us Sam,” Lisa logically offered.

  “Toni’s dad would miss him,” Zach told her.

  “Lisa, honey,” Toni said before Zach said anything else. “I bought Sam for my dad when my mother died. We can ask him, but Sam helped him when he missed my mother. They are good friends. How would you feel if your best friend went away?”

  Lisa pursed her lips, moving them from side to side. Finally, she nodded. “’Kay.” She dashed out of the room. Lori followed.

  Still stunned, Toni turned back to the grill and flipped the pancakes. She heard Zach’s chair move, then felt his presence behind her. Wishing her nerve endings wouldn’t dance every time the man was close to her, she glanced over her shoulder and tried to smile. “I’m sorry about that. The girls were missing their mother, and I tried to help, but things got confused.”

  Zach leaned back against the counter. “I’m glad to hear that it happens to someone else besides me. I’ve found myself in that situation several times over the past two days.” He shook his head. “Damn, you’d think after leading a team of special commandos, that two four-year-old girls wouldn’t be a problem.”

  “No, I wouldn’t think that. Little girls are formidable for any male to deal with. Just ask my dad.”

  Zach laughed.

  “But he survived having three daughters.”

  Zach nodded. After taking a big gulp of his c
offee, he said, “I talked to the landlord in my complex. There’s a two-bedroom furnished apartment available. I moved my things into it this morning.”

  “Oh.” Her response popped out of her mouth before she thought. “You certainly have been efficient.” Toni placed the pancakes on a plate and handed it to him.

  He stood studying her. “Is there a problem?”

  She refilled her coffee cup, then sat at the table. He joined her.

  “What’s wrong, Toni?” His voice was soft and intimate, making her want things that couldn’t be.

  She shrugged. “As I told you before, I just think that apartments aren’t the best place to raise children.”

  “I don’t have a choice. I knew I was coming to get the girls, and we need a bigger place immediately.”

  “You’re right.”

  She watched as he buttered and drowned his pancakes in syrup. Did he have any idea how to meet the complex needs of four-year-old girls?

  “Since I know nothing about children, I wanted to ask you what I need to do for them.”

  Toni felt an odd sense of relief. He was serious about taking care of the girls. He’d asked for her help, and at least he didn’t pretend that he knew what to do.

  “The first thing I would do is see about enrolling the girls in a preschool. There are several close to the office that take four-year-olds. Are you planning to leave them there all day?”

  “I hope to hire a housekeeper.”

  At least the man was making plans for his daughters. “In addition to a preschool, Lori is going to need to see a doctor about her leg. I have the name of a good orthopedist that I could give you. She’s the partner of the doctor who took care of me when I broke my legs.”

  Leaning back in his chair, his gaze focused on her. “Your story about your accident seemed to impress the girls.”

  “I wanted them to know I understood how they felt.”

  “That was the accident where your date was killed, wasn’t it?”

  Toni gave him a surprised look.

  He shrugged. “Your dad told me about the tanker broadsiding your date’s car when you were going to your junior prom.”

  “Oh.” She fell silent, then whispered, “I never got to dance a single dance at that prom or my senior one, since I couldn’t walk well my senior year, either.”

  The words tumbled out of her mouth before she thought. With a blush staining her cheeks, she glanced at Zach. He stared down into his coffee mug.

  After her initial embarrassment faded, she admitted that maybe the knowledge of her struggle would help him with Lori and some of the things the little girl would go through. “My legs were broken in several places. I spent a lot of time in bed. I had good days and bad. Sometimes I would dream about the accident and wake up screaming for Bobby Ray to be careful, but we were always hit.”

  She bit her bottom lip, not wanting to reveal all her demons, but she was sure that Zach would need the knowledge. “There were some days I felt guilty for surviving the accident and cried. And there were days when I was mad that I lived, and Bobby Ray died. I’m sure Lori will go through something like that. It will help her if she has someone she can talk to about her feelings.”

  “So, you’re telling me that Lori might need counseling.” His tone was quiet and thoughtful.

  “Yes.” She braced herself, thinking that he might ask her to take Lori to counseling for him.

  Nodding, he said, “I’ll check into seeing who is the most qualified to talk with Lori. Do you think Lisa will also need help?”

  His question amazed her. That he would even think about Lisa gave her a warm feeling. “Good question. Lisa was in the car with her mother and Lori, so it couldn’t hurt to check into it.”

  “All right.”

  She waited, expecting him to ask for more advice or shift his responsibility for the girls onto someone else.

  “Thank you for your help.”

  When he stood, she blinked at him stupidly, amazed at his actions. He walked into the living room. “Girls, it’s time to go.”

  The girls glanced at Toni, then their dad. They looked like two convicts going to their execution. As Zach opened the door, Lisa ran to Toni and hugged her leg, then hugged Sam’s neck.

  As they drove away, a tear ran down Toni’s cheek, and in her heart there was a sad emptiness.

  Zach had had easier days. Facing terrorists with M16s or bombs made with plastic explosives seemed like a cakewalk to him after spending the day with his four-year-old twin girls. Logic could be used with a terrorist. Passion, hatred, greed could also be used. Those were all emotions that he knew and could deal with. But what drove a little girl’s mind? For that matter, what drove any female’s mind?

  Why aren’t there any mountains? Who’s going to take care of us? I have to tinkle. What’s for dinner? I hate broccoli.

  They lucked out with the doctor that Toni had suggested. She had a cancellation that afternoon and was able to see Lori. The doctor had been very reassuring to Zach, telling him that Lori should be out of the cast soon. She could discard the crutches.

  But there his luck had ended. Signing them up for preschool had been a hellish experience. The woman who ran the center must have taken lessons from his old drill instructor. She cut him no slack.

  “Hurry up, Daddy. I’m hungry,” Lisa commented from the back seat. “’Sides, I want to see Toni again.”

  Zach glanced at Lori by his side. “Are you eager to see her, too.”

  Lori smiled shyly. “Yes. I hope Sam’s there, too.”

  “Sure he will be,” Lisa said with the confidence only a child could manage.

  Zach wondered if he was gambling on a losing hand by hoping that Toni would be home. When the girls had asked for pizza for dinner again tonight, he’d relented, as their lives so suddenly had been turned upside down. When they asked if they could share the pizza with Toni, he welcomed the excuse to see her.

  It’s for the girls’ sake, he reassured himself. But the words didn’t ring true in his brain.

  When he turned down her street and spotted her house, an odd feeling flashed through his brain. Home. No, that wasn’t it. It had to be relief.

  As soon as he stopped the car in the driveway of Toni’s home, Lisa was out of the car, running up to the door.

  “Tom, Toni, are you home?” She pounded on the door. A dog’s bark greeted her words. Lisa squealed with delight. “Toni, this is Lisa. And Lori and our dad. Hurry up and answer the door.”

  Zach was helping Lori out of the car when the front door opened. The woman who stood there was a little shorter than Toni, with blond hair and intense eyes.

  “You’re not Toni,” Lisa clearly stated.

  “That’s right. I’m her sister, J.D.” the woman offered.

  “Oh.” Lisa’s disappointment rang in her voice.

  “Hi, Lisa,” Toni said as she stepped to her sister’s side.

  “You’re here,” Lisa cried. “We brought you some pizza and ice cream.”

  Toni stepped outside, and Sam followed her. He eagerly greeted Lisa. Toni’s gaze settled on Zach as he helped Lori with her crutches.

  “We didn’t mean to barge in,” he began, “but the girls and I wanted to share our dinner with you. If you have company—” He shrugged. “We should’ve called.”

  The look of disappointment on both girls’ faces made Toni face him. “J.D. just stopped by for a visit. She’s flying back to Dallas tonight, so I’ll have to eat alone if you don’t stay.”

  Both girls looked at their father with pleading eyes. Zach never knew what a sucker he was for those glances until he encountered the twins. “If you’re sure we won’t put you out...”

  “You’ll be doing me a favor. I didn’t get to send Sam home, and he’s been whining, wanting someone to play with.” The dog took that moment to drop a tennis ball at Lisa’s feet.

  Against the tide, he didn’t stand a chance. “All right.”

  “Yippee,” cried Lisa. Lori grinned, a
n expression that Zach hadn’t seen before this moment.

  Zach gathered up the pizza box and the sack containing the ice cream and walked to the door. J.D. continued to hold the glass storm door open for him. He could hear Lisa and Lori talking to Toni in the living room.

  “Did you have a busy day?” Toni asked the girls.

  “Yeah. Lori saw a doctor about her leg, then we went to the place where we’re going to play and learn our letters.”

  Zach walked into the kitchen and set the pizza on the table. When he opened the sack with the ice cream, he looked around for the refrigerator.

  “I’ll take that,” J.D. offered, then put the container in the freezer. Turning, she studied Zach. “So, you’re the head of security for my dad’s firm.”

  Zach felt like a felon, being grilled. Her voice had that lawyer quality, stern and no-nonsense. “Yes, that’s what I do for your dad.”

  “I’ve heard a lot about you,” J.D. said. “Even seen you a couple of times when I’ve been here in Midland. When Toni told me about your problem, I’ll admit I was surprised.”

  Zach had a feeling that J.D. wasn’t simply making small talk. “Your sister has been a big help.”

  “Did my father ever mention that I’m married to a detective with the Dallas PD? My sister in Saddle is married to a deputy sheriff. And we have a half brother who’s a Texas Ranger.”

  Zach heard the warning in her voice. She was showing her hand and letting him know she had firepower in her corner.

  “Yes, he’s mentioned it several times. In fact, your dad introduced me to Rafe when he came here the first time.”

  J.D. studied him for several moments, then nodded. “Good. I just wanted you to be aware of all the members of this family.”

  “And why is that?”

  “Protection, Mr. Knight, for you.” And Toni. She didn’t say it, but he read the warning in her eyes.

  “What’s going on in here?” Tom asked from the doorway, taking in both her sister and Zach.