by Amanda Renee
Hannah wanted him to wrap her in the safety of his arms; she wanted to open her heart to him completely. There was too much at risk and she had to take their relationship slowly. The twins’ future depended on her and she couldn’t let her desire for Noah overshadow that responsibility.
He exhaled, opening his mouth as if to say something, then closing it. He glanced at the Christmas tree in the corner of the room and smiled. “The tree looks good.”
“The girls make a few ornaments every night. By Christmas Eve it will be full.”
Noah lifted the baby monitor from the end table and ran his fingers across the screen. “They’re so precious. I can’t believe I’m in the same house with them again. I was beginning to wonder if I’d been dreaming.”
“You can go up and see them if you’d like.” Even if they woke, Hannah was confident he’d be able to soothe them back to sleep. “They missed your chat tonight. They didn’t ask, but Cheyenne took the phone a few times. I think her little internal clock sensed it was past when you usually call.”
“You sure it’s okay?” he asked, halfway to the staircase.
“Of course.” She settled onto the couch, tucking her legs beneath her. “Just be forewarned, there’s a new gate at the top of the stairs requiring two hands and brute strength to open.”
“You’re not coming?”
“No, this is your moment with your daughters.” As he ascended the stairs, she closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth of the house. She heard him fumble with the gate, followed by a low thud. She figured he’d chosen to go over it instead of through it. The floorboards creaked overhead. She smiled and nestled down into the overstuffed pillows, comforted by the sound of his soft whispers to the children as they slept. Noah was home.
* * *
“GOOD MORNING, BEAUTIFUL.”
Noah sat on the edge of the couch and gently shook Hannah awake. She stretched languidly, arched her back, then bolted upright and looked around the room. He winked at Charlotte and Cheyenne, who waddled over and climbed up beside her.
“What time is it?” She gave both of them a hug and a quick kiss on the top of their heads while trying to see out the window. “It can’t be morning already. I have so much to do.” She attempted to scoot out from under them. Her legs wobbled as she stood.
“Relax.” He reached up and placed his hands on her hips to steady her. “The coffee is already made—although you really need one of those single-cup brewers. I had forgotten how to make coffee the old-fashioned way,” he teased. “The girls have been fed and dressed, in case you haven’t noticed. And I collected the eggs. I would’ve cleaned out the henhouse, but I didn’t want to leave the girls in the stroller for that long.”
Hannah’s adorable wide-eyed expression made him want to kiss her. If the girls hadn’t been in the room, he might have.
“For the record, I can’t afford those individual coffee cup things, plus they’re bad for the environment. I can’t believe you did all of that for me.” She looked down at the girls. “Where did those clothes come from? I’ve never seen them before.”
“I bought them.” Noah stood Cheyenne on his lap and tugged on the bottom of her bright green shirt with a large reindeer head on the front. “I couldn’t resist the candy cane striped pants.”
“Leggings,” she corrected. “And they’re adorable. How did you know what size to buy?”
“Between my mom and the store clerk, we had it covered.” The outfit was how he broke the news about the girls to his mom. He’d asked her to go shopping with him to pick up a gift for a friend. It hadn’t been his brightest idea. He’d forgotten to consider her reaction, which was a mix of elation and a safe sex speech. “I took so many photos of the girls when I was here, and they were able to guess their size.”
He’d already sent his mother a photo of them in their new clothes. She would have preferred to see them in person and had even hinted about joining him, but he didn’t want to spring his mom on Hannah just yet.
“You bought them socks, too?” Hannah smiled down at the little green toes. “I’m impressed. What did you make them for breakfast?”
“There was a bowl of cut-up fruit in the fridge, and I mixed them up that cereal I watched you make the day I helped feed them. That was the right thing to give them, wasn’t it?”
Hannah look shocked. “Absolutely. I hadn’t realized you were taking notes.”
“You shouldn’t have to do it all, Hannah.” He respected her strength and determination. A lesser woman would have faltered under the pressure.
“You give me too much credit. My mom helps out quite a bit.”
“I wondered if she would stop over this morning.” Despite their disastrous start on Thanksgiving, Noah enjoyed spending time with Fern.
“I told her not to bother, since I knew you would be here. I still don’t know what time it is.”
“Almost nine. What do you have planned for today?”
“I need to feed and turn out the horses and then muck their stalls. I’m usually done with that by now.” Hannah bounced her foot anxiously. “I promised the girls we’d take them to the Winter Festival and then to see Santa. I figured while we were in town I would stop in at the furniture store and look into some children’s beds. They’ve outgrown those cribs, especially since they insist on sleeping together.”
“I hope you’ll allow me to pay for the beds.”
Hannah opened her mouth to protest, then quickly closed it. “Thank you. That would be wonderful.”
“I owe these two a good deal of child support. I know the attorneys will figure it out, but until then please allow me to pay for whatever they need. Whatever you need, too.”
“I can take care of myself, but I won’t turn down help for them. I’m not that proud.”
“Then tell me what I can do to help you today.” He followed Hannah into the kitchen.
“Just watch the girls.” She scanned the room. “I can’t believe you even did the dishes. I’ll finish up as fast as I can so we can get there before the Christmas parade.”
A little after noon, Noah drove his newfound family into town. A few weeks ago, he was a happily single man with no responsibilities outside of work. Today he had a family. All he needed was a dog and cat to complete the picture.
The streets of Ramblewood were brimming over with Christmas. Hand-painted window displays enticed shoppers to step inside while flags adorned with holly and candy canes swung in the gentle breeze outside their doors. Banners were strung across the street, wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and reminding visitors to attend the Mistletoe Rodeo.
“Are you competing in that rodeo?” Noah asked.
“Yes. All the proceeds go to the Ramblewood Food Bank, so the competitors don’t win any prize money. Instead, local businesses donate prizes. Most of my students will be there. For some, this is their first competition. They’ll have a chance to win saddles and horse tack. The rough stock competitors—the ones riding the bulls and the bucking broncs—are competing for everything from boots to a horse trailer this year. This is the second year they’ve held the event. I’m super excited to see my students out there. I was glad to get back to work last week and see them all.”
“Where are the girls when you teach?” Noah winced. He hadn’t meant his question to sound so accusatory. “Let me rephrase that.”
“It’s okay.” Hannah smiled up at him and he wished she’d slip her arm through his as they walked down the street. “I understand your concern and you have every right to ask. This time of year I only have one class in the afternoon, after my students get out of school. My mom comes over and watches the girls. I’m not gone long.”
“Based on what I’ve read about your career, you’re one of the top barrel racers in the country. Weren’t you supposed to go to Las Vegas for some competition this week? What hap
pened with that?”
“The National Finals Rodeo. And yes, I was supposed to be there. Barrel racers compete the entire year in order to qualify. That prize money at the end of the year makes it all worthwhile.” Her smile slid from her face. “But life happens and it wasn’t the best time for me to leave the girls with my parents. They would’ve happily watched them, but I didn’t feel comfortable with it. You have to make sacrifices when you have kids.”
Noah hadn’t realized how much Hannah had given up for the children. And she didn’t complain. She cared for them as if they were her own. It touched him that somebody could love a child that wasn’t theirs. He was probably more jaded than most, considering he grew up without a father.
They decided to eat lunch at the Dog House, where servers with puppy ears and tails served them Christmas hot dogs decorated red and green with ketchup and relish.
“I wish you could have been here for the tree lighting ceremony last night.” Hannah cut up the girls’ food. “These two had a blast. We sang Christmas carols and had hot chocolate with marshmallows. And the grade school—” her face brightened “—they put on an amazing show with more singing and dancing. I can’t wait to see the twins up there in a few years.”
“It’s sounds wonderful. I’m sorry I missed it.” Noah chose to ignore her comment about the girls staying in Ramblewood. Of course, she would still feel that way. She hadn’t been to Aurora yet and they hadn’t settled custody. The girls had been assigned a guardian ad litem, but they were a long way from a resolution. Besides, once he found a ranch for Hannah in Oregon, she’d realize how dedicated he was to making their coparenting relationship work. Of course, he wanted more, but he’d settle for that to begin with. He still didn’t know how to broach the subject of the ranch to her. Once she saw where he lived, met his mom and friends, and saw how much he loved his job, how good he was at it, she would understand why he couldn’t move to Texas. “Hey, you two.” Noah turned his attention to the girls. “Have you written your letters to Santa yet?”
“Not yet.” Hannah wrinkled her nose. “I still don’t think they understand who Santa is. I hope once they see him today they’ll be more excited about writing him a letter. There are a few Christmas specials on tonight we can watch. They saw Frosty the Snowman the other night and they cried when he melted, which made me cry. Then again, I still cry when the spider dies in Charlotte’s Web.”
“You?” Noah wiped the ketchup from Cheyenne’s face. “The same woman who armed me with a broom and told me to take out the spiders in the henhouse?”
“Those spiders aren’t cute. Charlotte is.”
“Speaking of Charlotte.” He ruffled the girl’s hair. “Do their names have any particular significance? How did she choose them?”
“Lauren didn’t even know the answer to that question.” Hannah turned away from him and stared out the window. “I went with her to her first ultrasound.” Her voice softened at the recollection. “That was the day she found out she was having twins.” She inhaled sharply and swiveled back to him. “On the way back to our apartment, she began talking to her stomach and called the girls Charlotte and Cheyenne. She never had any other names for them. She didn’t even know if they were boys or girls or one of each. She just knew that they were a Charlotte and a Cheyenne. Cheyenne can go either way and if both of them turned out to be boys, she would have named the other Charlie.”
“I like the name Charlie. Does anyone ever call Charlotte that?”
“Not yet.” Hannah shook her head. “We talked about nicknames and figured the kids would decide what they liked once they were in school, much the same way you did with your name.”
It surprised him whenever he heard that Lauren’s thoughts were similar to his own. He had barely known her, and here he had two beautiful girls with the woman. They probably would have coparented together very successfully.
“I know I’m probably asking this question too soon, but did Lauren dream of their pursuing a certain profession, like a doctor or a lawyer? My mom always figured I’d be a pilot because I was fascinated with planes, even when I was younger than the girls.”
“Not really. She used to say that whatever Cheyenne grew up to be, she hoped she made a lot of money because she’d probably have to repeatedly bail Charlotte out of jail.”
“I can definitely see that.” Noah laughed. “They have two very distinct personalities.”
“That they do.” Hannah rose from the table and gathered their food wrappers. “We need to get going. People are already beginning to line up on the sidewalk.”
Noah enjoyed pushing the twins’ stroller down Main Street with Hannah by his side. If he had known having a family would feel this good, he might have done it sooner. But then it wouldn’t have been this family. Hannah, Cheyenne and Charlotte made it special. He’d always be a family with his daughters. Hannah made the picture complete.
As the parade made its way down the street, Noah and Hannah lifted the girls onto their shoulders for a better view. The girls cheered and shouted, clapping their hands in excitement. For a small town, Ramblewood sure didn’t skimp on Christmas. The high school marching band was the biggest he’d ever seen. People dressed as reindeer and snowmen handed out candy canes to all the children as they passed by. Parade horses and even some of Clay’s alpacas dressed in ugly Christmas sweaters ambled past. Hannah was right, he needed to steer clear of Abby or else he’d be wearing one of those things.
Noah had seen quite a few parades in his day, even marched in some during his time in the air force, but none had compared to this one. He felt as if he’d stepped inside the pages of a storybook. He just hoped it had a happy ending.
* * *
WHEN THEY REACHED the firehouse, Charlotte and Cheyenne were barely awake. It was midafternoon and Hannah’s plan had been a huge success so far without much effort. Since scaring him off didn’t seem likely—not that she truly wanted to anymore—convincing him to move to Ramblewood looked more promising. Noah had repeatedly commented on how much he enjoyed the festival and how they didn’t have an event this large in Aurora. Good. One more reason for him to change his mind about trying to take the girls there. Hannah shook the thought from her mind. She didn’t want their custody issue to ruin her fun. She needed this break from the drama and so did the girls.
“I almost hate to disturb them.” Hannah gazed into the stroller. “But they have to have their picture taken with Santa this year. They were both sick last year, so this will be their first time.”
“I’m glad I’m here to share it with them.” Noah wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. “And I’m glad I can share it with you.”
She rested her head against his shoulder, feeling a sense of peace for the first time in weeks. “You’re proving to be a really great father. I’m glad I got to share today with you, too.”
“The day isn’t over with yet,” he whispered against her hair.
“Hello.” An elf approached them. “I’m Wendy, Santa’s helper. Who do we have here?”
The girls both lifted their heads when they heard Wendy’s bell-tipped slippers.
“This is Charlotte and Cheyenne.” Hannah rocked the stroller back and forth. She was happy to see they were both extremely interested in Santa’s workshop.
“And can I have the last name for the photos?”
“Elgrove.”
“Knight.”
Hannah barely managed to control her surprise when Noah answered along with her. Wendy tilted her head in confusion.
“The girls’ last name is Elgrove.” Hannah reiterated, punctuating each letter. “E-l-g-r-o-v-e.”
Wendy’s eyes widened at her tone. She hadn’t meant to direct her annoyance at the woman. She hadn’t even meant to direct it at Noah. She was stating a fact. Hannah spun to face him. “Please tell me you’re not planning to petition t
he court for a name change.”
“My attorney has already done it,” he answered.
“What?” She fought to maintain her composure. “You can’t take Lauren’s last name away from them.” She kept her voice low, hoping no one in line behind them would overhear the conversation. “They are her children.”
“They are my children, too.” He sighed heavily. “If I had been in their lives from the beginning, they would’ve had my last name.”
“I wouldn’t bet on that.” Hannah’s body tensed. “Many unmarried women don’t automatically give their children the father’s last name. I don’t know what Lauren would’ve done, but I do know they were born with the last name Elgrove and it’s going to stay Elgrove.”
If she expected a fight from Noah, she didn’t get one. He pressed his lips together and looked away. She hated hurting his feelings, but he couldn’t just sweep into their lives and change everything. Lauren’s death had done a good job of that on its own. She wouldn’t let him erase Lauren. Hannah already questioned how much the girls would remember of their mother. They had to at least have her last name.
“Santa will see you now,” the elf said cautiously.
Without a word, Noah and Hannah unbuckled the girls from their stroller and sat them on Santa’s lap. Charlotte immediately became fascinated with Santa’s beard, which thankfully was real or she would’ve torn it off. Hannah felt bad for Mr. Hanson. He owned and operated the hardware store down the street and had played Santa since she was a kid herself. She wondered how many children tugged at his face over the course of the day. And Cheyenne was just paralyzed, somewhere between shock and amazement.
“Ho ho ho. What would you like Santa to bring you for Christmas?”
“Mommy!” Cheyenne yelled out.
“I want Mommy!” Charlotte followed.
Hannah gripped Noah’s arm. She never imagined that the girls would ask Santa for Lauren. Mr. Hanson’s eyes met hers.
