She’d given Cole her heart and he had stomped on the gift, offering her a bunch of meaningless rhetoric that, loosely interpreted, said I had a great time. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
She’d always been the smart one in her family; at least, that was what Aunt Kate had always told her. But Aunt Kate found her crying in her room. Stacy had tried to pretend that nothing was wrong, but her aunt hadn’t been fooled. Then Kate put two and two together, and just like that, the idea for the European vacation had been born.
Stacy had attempted to demur, but Aunt Kate wouldn’t take no for an answer. She’d said that she always wanted to travel abroad and felt that this might be her last chance.
Little did either one of them realize that she would be right, Stacy thought sadly.
In hindsight, Stacy didn’t regret taking off the way she had. Hurt, she hadn’t thought that she owed Cole a single word of explanation, or even the courtesy of a goodbye since he had distanced himself from her right after their night together.
And, looking back, she was glad she’d had that time with her aunt.
What was hard was finding a place for herself now that she was back.
Well, that wouldn’t be a problem for the time being. Thank heavens she’d been in the right place at the right time. Any possible future money problems, at least for now, were on hold.
“When would you like to get started?” Rebecca asked her.
Stacy shrugged. She hadn’t even been thinking about this half an hour ago.
“Now would be fine,” she finally told the hotel manager.
“Now?” Rebecca echoed, surprised. “You don’t want a day to wind down and get used to the idea?”
Stacy saw no advantage in that. At least if she was working, she’d be doing something to occupy her mind, although she had to admit it didn’t exactly look extremely busy around here.
“Why?”
The question took the hotel manager aback. “Well, when you walked into the lobby this morning, I know you weren’t thinking about being able to get a job as a receptionist.”
Stacy laughed.
“I wasn’t not thinking about it, either.”
Pleased, Rebecca put her arm around Stacy’s shoulders and gave her a quick squeeze. “I do appreciate this, Stacy. It saves me the trouble of having to look for someone to take Elsie’s place. You are a lifesaver. You know that, don’t you?”
“It goes both ways, Rebecca.” When the taller woman looked at her quizzically, Stacy decided not to tell her that she needed a job or would need one eventually. Instead, what she said was, “I need to keep busy.”
“Well, we don’t exactly have so much business that we have to turn people away,” Rebecca told her honestly. “This is still Forever. But slowly we are getting outsiders passing through, especially ever since the Healing Ranch was written up in that magazine. That put us on the map, so to speak. Before then, except for the occasional lost person who found themselves in Forever by accident, looking for the right way to get back, I don’t think anyone ever came to Forever on purpose. Not unless they already lived in the general area and were just coming into town for supplies.”
Rebecca was not telling Stacy anything that she didn’t already know.
“All things considered,” Stacy said honestly, “I’m kind of surprised that someone actually built a hotel in Forever.”
Rebecca smiled. “Just between us...me, too,” she told Stacy with a broad wink. “There’s not much to this job, really,” she went on. “I can train you in an hour. Half that time if you’re as smart as I remember.”
They’d attended the same high school together—everyone in Forever did—where Rebecca had been three years ahead of her. But since the classes at each grade level were rather small, it felt as if the students were more like one large family than the typical rivalry between the different grades.
Stacy blushed a little. Compliments were a rare thing in her world. Not that Aunt Kate had been belittling. She just had a way of taking everything over, silently indicating that she didn’t feel that her niece was competent to do things as well as she herself could do them. For a while there, Stacy had begun to believe her.
“You’re being kind,” Stacy responded.
“I’m being accurate,” Rebecca corrected. “Remember, I’m your boss for now. Bosses don’t get anywhere by being just kind. They have to be accurate. I think you’re going to be good for the hotel.
“Okay, let me go over some of the key duties, and then you can get started by going to the diner and getting some breakfast for the two of us.”
Stacy looked at her, curious. “I thought the hotel had that little restaurant on the premises.” She recalled walking by it yesterday.
“It does,” Rebecca told her. “But unfortunately, it’s still closed for repairs.”
“Repairs?”
The other woman nodded. “It seems that yesterday, just before end of day, we had a grease fire. There was some damage done. We’re keeping it closed for now. Just one thing after another,” she said with a sigh. “You don’t mind going, do you?” she asked after seeing the slightly unhappy expression on Stacy’s face.
“Oh, no, no problem.”
Which was a lie. She hadn’t ventured out to see anyone except for Olivia since she’d returned.
But she knew that she’d have to face people eventually and field questions. There was no such thing as “mind your own business” in Forever. But she had really thought that eventually wasn’t going to arrive so soon.
Obviously, she’d thought wrong.
So, after a very brief review of her new duties, which, Stacy felt, anyone with an ounce of common sense could have easily figured out, she found herself walking to Miss Joan’s Diner.
She knew she could have driven there, giving herself a quick avenue of escape once she’d placed and picked up her order, but that was only putting off the inevitable. She had to face the people of Forever who would have questions for her.
It was better to get it over with than to stress over the anticipation of what those questions might be.
You can do this, you can do this, Stacy told herself over and over again, like some sort of a mantra meant to give her strength as she made her way down the streets of Forever to the diner.
You can do this. You can do this.
Finally reaching the diner’s front door, she pulled it open and walked inside. Several people at the counter looked up in her direction. She saw recognition ricochet back and forth on their faces.
You can’t do this.
Chapter Three
The babies had both been fed and, thanks to the resourcefulness of Jackson and Garrett’s housekeeper, they had been changed as well, so their whimpering, at least for now, had stopped. The twins had fallen asleep.
Cole took the opportunity to call home. It took several rings before anyone picked up on the other end.
“Hello?”
Cole could tell by the way the greeting had been barked that Connor was in less than good spirits. “Connor, it’s Cole. I’m going to be late.”
“You’re already late,” his older brother informed him.
“I know,” Cole said, an apology implied in his voice. “But it can’t be helped.”
“Everything can be helped,” Connor said impatiently. And then Cole heard his older brother sigh. “Okay, well, what’s the problem?”
Looking at the sleeping twins, Cole moved farther away from them, afraid that if he accidentally spoke loudly he’d wind up waking them up. “You know how Cody came across Devon pulled over on the side of the road and she was about to give birth?”
“Yes?” Connor sounded perplexed.
“And then Cassidy helped save that baby out of the river?”
“I’ve got chore
s to do, Cole. For both of us, it appears. I know all this you’re telling me. What I don’t know is where you’re going with it.”
Cole took a deep breath. “Well, it seems that it happened again.”
“What happened again?” Cole sounded as if he was coming to the end of his patience.
“I was about to leave the ranch when I found these two babies on the doorstep.”
“Two babies,” Connor repeated incredulously.
“Yeah. They’re twins.”
Connor sighed. “Of course they are. Whose are they?” he asked.
“Haven’t a clue,” Cole admitted. “They were just there, tucked into this huge wicker basket like laundry—breathing, moving laundry.”
There was a long pause on the other end of the line and then Connor finally began to ask, “Cole, did you by any chance, um...”
Cole knew what was coming and immediately headed it off before Connor had the opportunity to finish the sentence. “No, I didn’t, Connor. Those babies are not mine.”
“I’m just going to ask this once, and then we’ll put this to rest,” Connor promised before he pressed, “You’re sure?”
“I am positive,” Cole said with finality.
There was no mistaking the relief in Connor’s voice. “Okay. Then you’ve got to find out who those babies belong to.”
“I know,” Cole answered. “I’m taking them into town to see if anyone there knows anything. I’m sorry about this.”
Connor’s voice took on his customary understanding tone. “Don’t be. This isn’t your fault. Give me a call when you find out who abandoned them like unwanted puppies.”
“The second I find out,” Cole promised just before he terminated the call.
Returning to the living room, where Rosa was sitting next to the sleeping infants, Cole began to pick up the basket.
Rosa stopped him with a look. “Where are you going?” she asked.
“I’m taking them into town to see if anyone there knows who these little guys really belong to.”
“Only one of them is a little guy,” Rosa reminded him.
Rosa had been right. One of the twins was a girl.
“I know,” Cole answered. With that, he walked toward the front door with the basket in his hands.
Rosa was on her feet and wound up beating him to the front door. Her agility was rather impressive for a woman her age. “You cannot put them on the seat next to you in the truck,” she warned.
He smiled at this protective side of the woman. “I don’t intend to, Rosa. Don’t worry,” he told her. “They’ll be safe.”
“Safe” involved some clever work with the wicker basket and a length of strong rope. Securing the latter around the former, then tying the basket to the seat, Cole was able to drive into town.
Forever had a medical clinic as well as a sheriff’s office, but there was no question in Cole’s mind what his first stop with the twins was going to be.
He drove straight to Miss Joan’s Diner.
If anyone would have a clue as to who the twins’ mother was, it would be Miss Joan. Like most of the town’s other citizens, Cole was of the opinion that nothing happened in Forever and its outlying territory without Miss Joan knowing about it. Half fairy godmother, half hard-as-nails taskmaster, Miss Joan seemed to know everything about everyone.
And, if she didn’t know now, she would before the end of the day. No one doubted that the woman had her finger on the pulse of the entire town.
Cole himself had an exceedingly soft spot in his heart for the woman. Miss Joan had been there for him and for his siblings when their dad died, and although she could be blustery and demanding, and had been on more than one occasion, he knew that beneath all the tough talk, Miss Joan had the proverbial heart of gold. Even though she would be the first to deny it.
However, that didn’t change anything.
Cole parked his truck right in front of the diner. His vehicle was blocking the entrance to some degree, but he thought that, just this once, given the circumstances, he’d be forgiven.
Undoing the ropes that were holding the basket and its precious cargo in place, he picked up the twins and made his way into the diner.
The moment he walked in, Cole knew he had Miss Joan’s full attention, even though she was behind the counter and on the far side of the diner.
A couple of the waitresses, Eva and Rachel, reached him first, oohing and aahing over the infants in the basket.
But it was Miss Joan whose attention he was after. The moment the red-haired owner reached him, Eva and Rachel immediately, albeit reluctantly, stepped aside, giving the older woman unobstructed access to both the babies and the young man who had brought them in.
Deep hazel-green eyes swept over the scene, assessing it. “I assume that there’s an explanation why you brought these babies into my diner,” Miss Joan said to him.
He nodded. “I was hoping you could tell me who they belonged to.”
Miss Joan’s austere expression never changed, and neither did her piercing gaze. “You’re the one who brought them here, not the other way around. Something you need to get off your chest, boy?” Miss Joan asked him pointedly.
He thought it best if he gave Miss Joan a quick summation of events. Beating around the bush never got anyone anywhere with Miss Joan.
“I found them on the doorstep this morning. Almost walked right on top of them,” he told her, giving her all the facts he had to offer. “I’ve never seen them before and I thought if anyone would know who they belonged to, it would be you.”
There was only the barest hint of a smile on the woman’s thin lips. “I think you’re giving me a little too much credit here, Cole.” She looked from one tiny face to the other. “Have they eaten yet?”
“Rosa fed them. I’ve got a couple of baby bottles all ready to go in the truck,” he told her with a hopeful note. Garrett had returned with the bottles from the general store in record time. “So if you or one of your girls want to feed them later—”
“Back up, boy,” Miss Joan ordered. “I run a diner, not a nursery.” She paused, scrutinizing the expression on his face and putting her own meaning to it. “If you need help later, we can talk. But right now, you’ve got to find out where these babies came from.”
Jeb Campbell, sitting at the counter, raised his hand. “I know where babies come from,” he volunteered in all seriousness.
“Eat your eggs, Jeb,” she ordered in a no-nonsense voice. “We know where they come from. What we need to know is where they belong. Anyone know of someone who recently gave birth to twins?” she asked, her gaze sweeping over all the occupants of the diner.
It was at that exact moment that the door opened and Stacy walked in.
Silence descended over the entire diner as all eyes turned in Stacy’s direction.
As for Stacy, she felt as if she had just walked into one of her nightmares. It was surreal.
Her heart accelerated the second she saw Cole.
And then it all but stopped dead when she saw the babies in the basket. The basket was on the counter, but from its proximity, she assumed that the tiny inhabitants had to belong to Cole.
She’d only been gone from Forever a little over eight months. He certainly didn’t waste any time, did he?
Or had he been seeing someone else the entire time he had been seeing her?
Disappointment washed over her like a giant tidal wave. She needed to get out of there, needed to get some air because she could hardly breathe.
Turning on her heel, Stacy was about to push open the door she’d just entered when Miss Joan called out to her.
“Welcome back, Stacy. I was sorry to hear about your aunt.”
Stacy froze.
It wasn’t her nature not to be polite, no matter how much
she wanted to flee. And Miss Joan had just said something nice about Aunt Kate. Stacy couldn’t just ignore the woman.
She forced herself to turn around and look at Miss Joan.
How did the woman know? she wondered. No one knew about her aunt except for Olivia, and she was certain that Olivia wouldn’t have said anything. Olivia was a lawyer and prided herself on being discreet.
“Thank you,” Stacy finally murmured.
“Park yourself on a stool,” Miss Joan instructed. There was no room for argument. “I think Cole here might need some help getting these two little ones over to the clinic.”
Cole felt all but numb, seeing Stacy walking into the diner. He’d envisioned this scene a dozen different ways in the last eight months.
More.
Envisioned seeing Stacy walking toward him, tears in her eyes, saying she’d made a mistake leaving. And each and every time, he forgave her. Forgave her because he didn’t want to dwell on what had been but rather what could be.
Forgave her because he wanted her in his life.
And now, here she was, back. Back the same day that he had found babies on his doorstep. He looked down at the infants, then up at Stacy.
This couldn’t be a coincidence—could it?
Could the babies be hers? And if they were, did that mean...?
Oh, lord, he thought, that would explain so much. Explained why she’d left without a word. Guilt had made her come back, he realized. Guilt because these babies were not only hers, but his, as well.
The thought created elation and panic, and they both vied for equal space within him.
Slowly, the last thing that Miss Joan had just said penetrated the fog around his brain. She was recruiting Stacy to help him take the babies to the clinic.
“The clinic?” he repeated, looking at the woman. “You think they need to be seen by a doctor?”
“You said you found them on your doorstep, right?” Miss Joan reminded him. “It wouldn’t hurt to have them checked out—just in case.” Miss Joan turned toward Stacy. “Don’t you think so?”
“Um, sure.” Stacy felt as if she was trying to talk with a tongue that had suddenly grown two sizes. “I don’t have any experience with babies and all,” Stacy said, pausing uncomfortably between each word. “But that makes sense. I guess.”
Twins on the Doorstep Page 3
