The Cowboy SEAL's Triplets

by Tina Leonard

  “So do I take that to mean that you and Daisy have agreed to get married?” Cosette asked.

  “We certainly would like to. But as you know, our getting to the altar has been—”

  “Difficult. Strewn with rocks. I know,” Cosette said, and he glanced at Daisy again. She looked as if her heart was in her eyes and in danger of melting away. “And you want it to work out between the two of you, anyway.”

  “More than anything.”

  Cosette was quiet for a minute. Then she said, “Do you remember the night we took you to the cavern?”

  “Yes. I do. I found Jane Chatham there that night after the storm.”

  “Then that’s all you need to know. Give Daisy my love. She’s such a sweet girl, you know. Always has been. Although I’m putting good money on the fact that those three boys of hers are going to be rootin’ tootin’ rascals.”

  She hung up, leaving John wondering what the hell had just happened.

  “What did she say?” Daisy asked eagerly. Sam remained motionless in his chair, his gaze hooded, waiting for the big pronouncement.

  John couldn’t talk about the cave. It was secret, sacrosanct. There was nothing to tell, anyway, because he didn’t know what he was supposed to have seen that night. It had been a wonderful underground place, nothing more. A hidden part of BC no one knew about. When Jane had misplaced herself after the blowout storm that had hit BC, he’d had a hunch and gone looking for her there. Sure enough, he’d located her at the mouth of the cave, but he hadn’t gone in it a second time. He hadn’t asked her what she’d been up to, and she hadn’t offered any information. With the town devastated the way it had been that night, he’d been only too happy to grab her, then call around to let everyone know he’d found Jane.

  The cave wasn’t his secret to share. He had no idea why Cosette brought it up now. He looked at Daisy, the woman he hungered for, the woman who’d driven him mad with desire and love and all the wonderful emotions a man needed to feel about a woman.

  He wasn’t letting her get away. Not if he could help it.

  “It’s okay if we get married,” John said.

  “Okay?”

  He nodded. “Cosette said nothing will happen if we get married.”

  “That’s the point. Nothing will happen.” Daisy looked worried. “The magic won’t happen.”

  His heart curled up a little as some concern sank in, but he couldn’t deny Daisy’s words. “I had a funny feeling that’s where Cosette was going with that.”

  “So basically you have to fix this on your own,” Sam stated. “Wouldn’t it have been better if you hadn’t gotten a leg cramp in the first place?” He laughed, and John told himself he was going to turn his buddy into a pretzel if he didn’t hush up and quit stirring up trouble.

  “It’s not all his fault,” Daisy said.

  “It’s not?” Sam asked.

  “No. It’s not.” She looked at John. “I deliberately didn’t win him in the second race. When I saw him on the banks instead of Cisco, I slowed down. Probably in the last fifty, I definitely wasn’t swimming faster than Suz.”

  “You slowed down on purpose?” So this was heartbreak. He’d always suspected—everyone had always suspected—Daisy hadn’t swum lights-out once she’d realized he was the prize, but it was still hard to hear coming from the only woman he’d ever wanted to win.

  “And then Cisco nullified the third race by winning and declaring himself already married,” Sam said. “That was a day that really set BC on its ear. The big dummy.” He sounded vastly amused by that.

  “I don’t need the magic, John. I don’t think it exists for me, or ever will, no matter what we do.”

  He studied Daisy. He could hear the despair in her voice. “Cosette didn’t seem all that hopeful.”

  “That’s that, then.” Daisy’s shoulders slumped. “Sam, you might as well go ahead and marry us. This way, at least it’s done. The babies will have their father’s name at birth, and I’ll—”

  John held his breath. “You’ll what?”

  “I’ll be married.” Daisy looked at him, and she smiled, but it didn’t look like a smile. More like a determination. A vow, to do the right thing.

  He didn’t want to be the right thing. Hell, he never had been in his life. Why should he start now?

  “Nope,” John said. “There’ll be no wedding today.”

  “What?” Sam demanded. “Listen, buddy, I don’t know if you heard, but your bride actually said she’d accept your dumb ass. If I was you, I’d hop on that offer.”

  John grinned, suddenly feeling on top of the world again. “Can’t do it.” He leaned down, dropped a kiss on Daisy that turned sexy in a heartbeat. Oh, his girl liked him fine. She wanted to marry him.

  She just wanted the magic, too.

  He was fine with that.

  After all, there wasn’t a prince in fairy-tale land that had ever stumbled upon his princess without having to go on an enchanted win-your-lady grail first.

  And if there was one thing he’d always been good at, it was life on the move.

  Chapter Twelve

  John got Daisy home under strict instructions from the doctor, who said she wasn’t to move. She had to stay on medication to keep the babies “in as long as possible,” which nearly gave John heart failure. Any man would be frightened by that kind of talk.

  And they still weren’t married. He didn’t know how he was going to manage that trick.

  “You lie right here and don’t move. Not a muscle,” John said, ensconcing her in a downstairs bedroom in the main house at the Donovan compound.

  Daisy looked up at him. “I can’t stand being away from all the action. I’ll go mad in here.”

  Barclay cleared his throat, and Robert shuffled from foot to foot nervously. Daisy’s gang had all crowded into the room, too, trying to be part of the welcome-home committee.

  “We could make a place for her in the den, which is closer to the kitchen and living room,” Barclay suggested. “Miss Daisy has always needed to be close by the action.”

  “And it would be easier to keep an eye on her,” Robert added.

  John decided he needed to give in gracefully. “But no excitement. I leave you in charge,” he told Barclay.

  “I’ll see that she doesn’t leave the sofa bed.”

  John felt that Barclay’s word was probably as close to gold as anyone’s could be. And Robert looked as if he was probably going to turn out to be quite a hoverer. “Okay, den it is. But the doctor scared the bejesus out of me, babe. You and I are going on autopilot until my sons are born.”

  “We’ll all help,” Carson Dare said.

  John thought that for once he was probably grateful for Daisy’s band of rowdies. If nothing else, they were loyal, and he valued loyalty and brotherhood. “We’ll take all the help we can get. You have to arrange all of that with Barclay, though,” he said, belatedly realizing he might be stepping on the butler’s domain. And Robert’s, too, for that matter.

  “I’m going to head out for a bit. I need to check in at the Hanging H. Are you going to be okay, babe?” he asked Daisy.

  “Do I look like these guys would let me be anything but?” Daisy asked, smiling.

  She was the center of attention, which she loved more than anything. John grinned. “Call me if you need anything.”

  “Take your time,” she said sweetly, and later on John would remember that his best girl had said that.

  He should have taken heed.

  * * *

  DAISY GOT ON the phone with Cosette as soon as John departed. She’d shooed everyone else away, too, claiming she needed a nap.

  But she had way too much to do.

  “Cosette, I’m ready,” she said when her friend picked up the phone.

&n
bsp; “Ready for what?”

  “Ready to start training as your apprentice.”

  Cosette didn’t laugh. “Are you sure?”

  If there was anything Cosette needed to get her groove back, it was someone to mentor—at least that was the conclusion Daisy had come to.

  She was pretty sure she’d hit on a winning idea. If she was right, she’d get everything she’d ever dreamed of.

  “Of course I’m sure. If you don’t accept me as an apprentice, how am I ever going to learn?”

  “I do need help,” Cosette said, her voice quavering a bit. “However, I’m not sure I’ll make all that good of a teacher. My magic wand no longer has any spark.”

  “We’ll worry about the wand later. We have to get cracking on this project. Otherwise, Bridesmaids Creek is going to really lack for marriage matches. Think about that for a minute.”

  “It’s too horrible to contemplate!”

  “I know. The guys meant well with their dating service idea. Whoever heard of a cigar bar in a matchmaking establishment?”

  “Not me,” Cosette said, her voice a little unsteady.

  Daisy took a deep breath. If it was the last thing she did, she was going to get Cosette and Phillipe back in their old establishment. She should never have sided with her father on taking over those spaces. “Okay, then. The doctor has me on bed rest, so I can’t move. You’re going to have to teach me by phone.”

  “I can do that. But I may drop by, just to make sure everything’s sticking.”

  “Even better. If you have time, that is.”

  “My dear, I always have time to take on an apprentice. My first! This is a happy day!”

  “I’ll try not to let you down.”

  “Impossible! Who’s our first victim?”

  “I’ll tell you when you get here.”

  She hung up, smiled when her father came in the room.

  “How are you feeling?” Robert asked.

  “Like a million bucks. I’m going to be Cosette’s new matchmaking apprentice.”

  Robert hesitated, then grinned. “Who are you practicing on first?”

  “What if I said it was you?”

  He shook his head vehemently. “Absolutely not. I was a terrible husband.”

  Daisy took that in. “Then we’ll start with Carson Dare.”

  “He’s been in love with you forever. Won’t he be a tough nut to crack?”

  “It’ll be a good test of my skills. If I can get Carson matched, the rest should fall in line.”

  “I don’t know,” Robert said, sounding worried. “This could backfire.”

  “It could,” Daisy said, “but it won’t.”

  * * *

  WHEN JOHN RETURNED, he was surprised to find Cosette and Daisy peering at some kind of flowchart and what looked like pieces of paper they’d tossed in a frilly pink hat with a huge red feather on it.

  “Hello, Cosette. Daisy, darling, shouldn’t you be resting, beautiful?” He realized they were paying him little attention beyond a cursory greeting. “So I’ll just go find your father, okay?”

  “Dad would love that.” Daisy favored him with a huge smile, and John felt a warm glow run all over him. Okay, he was good and smitten, and she wasn’t going to listen to him about relaxing, anyway.

  Even he’d known that was going to be the impossible dream. Daisy’d always had too much energy to just sit on a sofa and nest like a bird. He was going to have to ease off a little.

  He went and found Robert hanging out in the kitchen. “Evening.”

  Robert nodded. “How is everything in town?”

  “Slowly getting put back together.” He glanced back toward the garden room. “How long has Cosette been here?”

  “Thirty minutes.” He shrugged. “I think they’re planning the nursery.”

  With a hat with a huge feather on it straight out of Cosette’s eccentric closet? “I don’t think that’s what the girls have up their sleeves.”

  Robert poured him a whiskey. “Well, then, it’s probably nothing we need to be involved in.”

  “That’s it? You’re going to cave that easily?” John was dying to know what the ladies were up to. He had a feeling his wife-to-be was getting into something more exciting than she should be for a woman who was supposed to be on strict bed rest. “Cheers,” he said, lifting his glass to Robert. “I’m going to head back and check on them for a second.”

  “You do that. I’ll be here.” Robert stared moodily at a map of the town, but John decided he’d worry about that later. Back in the garden room, the ladies gave him a quick glance and went back to their flowchart, which appeared to be filling out nicely.

  He had an uneasy feeling about what was going on here.

  “Daisy, babe, is there something I can help you ladies with?”

  “I don’t think so, darling. Unless you want to become an apprentice to Monsieur Unmatchmaker, in which case we would have a lot to do together! Wouldn’t that be fun?”

  He hesitated, caught by Daisy’s bright smile. God, he loved it when she smiled like that. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. Become a what kind of apprentice?”

  “I’m working with Cosette now.”

  He sank into a chair. “You’re going to become a matchmaker?”

  “Yes, I am.” She smiled so proudly he felt himself get hard, which caught him by surprise. It was Daisy, everything about her, that made his heart fire up in his chest and burn like red-hot coals. He adored her, he loved her and he had absolutely zero desire to become Monsieur Unmatchmaker the Second, learning the ropes of BC from Phillipe. And then one day ending up chanting and practicing yoga with strings of beads hanging from every doorway and incense permeating his domicile.

  “Don’t worry. I can do this and rest, too,” Daisy told him. “Cosette and I think you’re the perfect man to become Phillipe’s apprentice.”

  He swallowed hard. Stared at that bright smile. Told himself that sometimes a man just did what he had to do to win the fair damsel.

  “I’m really better with rodeo. Stuff like that,” he said. “I’m a traveling man. I don’t think I know much about marriages. Or un-marriages. I’ve got enough trouble trying to figure out how to get my own bride to the altar.”

  “It’s just a different kind of race.” Cosette smiled at him. “You see what I mean?”

  He held his breath, not wanting Daisy’s smile to disappear. They were hardly asking him to sit in the desert and pray he didn’t get nailed by enemy sniper fire. “Not really, but I guess I could give it a shot. I mean, what the hell, right?”

  Daisy beamed. “We’ll make a great team.”

  He loved the sound of that. “Sure. Of course we will.”

  “So I’ll tell Phillipe it’s all set.” Cosette rose. “In the meantime, you work on those matches, Daisy. It’ll be your first test. I just know you’re going to do wonderfully!”

  Daisy’s smile could have lit the sun. “Thanks, Cosette. It means a lot to me.”

  He got it suddenly: this was the pinnacle of Daisy’s dreams. Far from being the town bad girl, she’d be the woman to whom Cosette passed the mythical magic wand.

  Damn, it was a lot to live up to. He was proud of her, and scared as hell for himself.

  He knew nothing, and wanted to know nothing, about what an Unmatchmaker did. All he wanted was to be a different kind of family from the one he’d grown up in, set in reality and grounded in practicality, in one place, one home, or at least only moving when they wanted to, not when the rodeo circuit moved on. Not when the military said it was time to move.

  “I’ll walk Cosette to the door, doll face.”

  “Thank you. Good night, Cosette.”

  Cosette flopped a hand Daisy’s way. “I’ll be back tomorrow to check your progress.
”

  “Cosette,” he said, his voice low as they walked to the front door, “I’m not sure about this.”

  “You’ll be fine. Phillipe specifically mentioned you by name.”

  “Me? Why me?” John couldn’t have been more astounded. “I don’t even know what he does.”

  Cosette patted his shoulder as she went out the door. “Did you find what you were looking for tonight?”

  “You mean when I went to the cave? No, I didn’t. I’m not sure what I’m looking for. You keep hinting that that’s where I’ll find answers, but I don’t think so somehow.”

  “Where do you think the answers are?” She gazed up at him curiously.

  He stared down at the pink-frosted-haired woman watching him patiently. Like a benevolent grandmother but with a spicy and unpredictable twist. “All I know is that I’m in love with Daisy, I have been forever, she’s having my children and I want to marry her. You’re supposed to be the keeper of the magic flame on that topic.”

  “I’m teaching everything I know to Daisy. Much good may an old matchmaker’s wand do her.” Cosette sighed, downcast.

  This wasn’t good. John and Daisy needed a matchmaker with spark. Wasn’t that why they were going through the charade of Daisy becoming a matchmaker’s apprentice, and he apparently now would become an unmatchmaker’s apprentice? To put the mystical spark back into Cosette, make her believe in herself again?

  Once a long time ago, he’d taken a helluva fall from a bull. His head had hurt for ages, and he’d felt as if his brain wanted to come unglued from his cranium. The doctor had said he had a concussion, but it felt more like a devil’s rock band playing in his skull. Time had been the healer, but time couldn’t be rushed. Worse, he’d lost his faith in his skills, and the confidence that a man needed to face the depth of his worst fears and challenge himself.

  After he’d recovered he’d gone into the military and learned quickly that a concussion was better than getting one’s body parts blown off. He’d learned to hang on, stay focused, develop extra senses.

  That was the place Cosette had to reach. Back in the saddle, back on her horse, dispensing fairy tales and magic with grandmotherly dynamism.