Straightening, she continued, “The name Smythe still carries negative connotations. Whereas ‘Lockhart’ will open a lot of doors for them.”
They moved slightly back, away from the well-separated cribs. Watched as the children’s lashes slowly closed. “So we’re agreed?” he asked softly.
Adelaide nodded, looking as relieved as he felt that the twins were finally asleep. “We are.”
* * *
UNFORTUNATELY, THE quiet didn’t last. Jenny woke at 9:00 p.m. and roused her brother. They got back to sleep by ten, only to have the reverse happen at eleven. Again, she and Wyatt were able to get both twins asleep by midnight.
The moment they tried to set them in their cribs, however, Jenny and Jake kicked up a fuss that continued for the next two hours.
Both were given bottles, burped, changed and held.
And absolutely nothing worked. The twins were determined not to fall back asleep. Finally, at two in the morning, Wyatt declared, “We tried it your way all evening. Now let’s try mine.”
He wasn’t exactly the expert here. She was. “They are not going to fall asleep.”
He oozed testosterone. “We’ll see.”
Her heart skittered in her chest. “Where are you going?”
“To set things up.”
Leaving her in the rocking chair, with both babies in her arms, he bolted up the stairs. She heard him moving around, back and forth, from one end of the loft to the other. From the sound of it, moving the cribs, too. Finally, he came back down. Clad—like her—in pajamas this time. The flannel pants fit loosely. The long sleeved dark T-shirt hugged every masculine muscle. The sight of him, ready for bed, made her mouth go dry.
Luckily, there would be no more lovemaking tonight. Not, given what they were dealing with. And that was a good thing. Wasn’t it?
Oblivious to her unexpectedly amorous thoughts, he eased Jake from her arms. Helped her to her feet. “Follow us, ladies.”
With Wyatt in the lead, they mounted the stairs.
Every pillow—and there’d been half a dozen of them—had been removed from her bed and piled against the headboard of his. The cribs had been repositioned, one on either side of his king, at the head of the bed.
Once again, he saw much more than she would have liked. He gazed indulgently down at her. “What’s wrong?”
“I was trying to approximate their nursery at home. The problem is, without walls separating the rooms, the acoustics are so different. They may not be able to see things are so different here, but they can hear it and feel it.”
And then, there was the lack of privacy she had, too. The feeling she was oh so vulnerable.
He sauntered closer. Leaned down to kiss her temple.
“Maybe what they need to see is Mommy and Daddy. Sleeping peacefully—or at least pretending to sleep—nearby.”
Aware he was going to be very hard to resist, if he kept up the charm offensive, she drew a breath. “So what’s the plan, Daddy?”
He grinned at the endearment. “We stop rocking and singing and walking the floor with them. Get into bed, relax and let them snuggle against our chests.”
She refused to get sucked in by the blatant sexiness of his gaze. “And then they will magically go to sleep,” she countered dryly.
He grinned, optimistic, his wishful thinking stronger than ever. “Probably not right away, but eventually.”
At this point, they had absolutely nothing to lose. Except maybe the last of the emotional distance between them.
Tossing a sassy look his way, Adelaide sat on the side of the bed. She swung her legs around and eased back onto the pillows, a swaddled Jenny still in her arms. Wyatt did the same with Jake. They lounged side by side, their legs stretched lazily out in front of them, shoulders, necks and heads nestled comfortably against the heap of pillows.
Unable to help herself, Adelaide let out a long, easy breath.
He nudged her arm playfully. “Feels good, hmm?”
You feel good, pushed up against me like that.
Plus, his sheets smelled like the masculine soap and shampoo he used. Well, that and him. And her pillows smelled like her perfume. The comingling of the scent brought even more sensual memories to mind.
It was a good thing they both held a baby in their arms.
Because otherwise...given the fact this was her very first time to ever climb onto his bed with him...
“Wyatt?” Adelaide lazily tracked the moonlight sifting through the loft.
“Hmm?”
She yawned, suddenly worrying. With sex out of the equation and her baby snuggled in her arms... “This is suddenly making me very, very sleepy.”
Wyatt nodded. “Jenny and Jake, too.”
Surprised, Adelaide looked down. Sure enough, the twins were nestled against Adelaide’s and Wyatt’s chests, their faces turned into their necks. Eyes closed, rosebud lips pursed, they were the picture of sweetness and innocence.
Adelaide yawned again, really struggling now. “It won’t last,” she predicted in a weary whisper, “once we put them down.”
He elbowed her lightly again. “‘O ye of little faith.’”
Rising ever so carefully, he eased off the bed and placed Jake ever so tenderly in his crib. Then watched as Adelaide reluctantly did the same.
Jenny barely stirred.
Jake slept on.
Adelaide stood there, looking down.
Wyatt took her hand. Drawing her back down, this time between the sheets. “They need to see us if they do wake up, remember?” he whispered in her ear.
Nodding, Adelaide relented. She turned toward Jenny’s crib. Wyatt climbed in and turned toward Jake. Spines touching from shoulder to hip, they watched and waited for the next interruption of restful peace.
Chapter Seven
“I don’t understand why it’s not working,” Wyatt said five hours later, when they again tried and failed to put the fed, changed and lightly sleeping twins down in their respective cribs, which had been moved to the right and left sides of his king-size bed.
Seven in the morning, he should be out working with his horses. Instead, he and Adelaide were still trying—fruitlessly—to resituate Jake and Jenny. So Adelaide, at least, could get a few more hours of much-needed sleep.
She sighed and ran her hand through the tousled strands of her dark hair. “I think it’s because it’s daylight and they can see they’re in a strange place.”
“You think they’ll go back to sleep if we put their cribs elsewhere?”
She drew a breath that lifted the soft curves of her breasts. “I think it’s a worth a try.”
He tried not to think how intimate it felt, to be standing there with both of them in their pajamas. Or how much he loathed moving furniture on a whim. “Where do you want them?”
Adelaide pointed. “Next to your office area.”
“Both cribs?”
“Separated by the changing tables, yes.”
Hadn’t they already tried that? In the middle of the open second floor, the previous night? Only to have Jake and Jenny continuously wake each other up?
Adelaide set Jenny in her crib. “Putting their beds next to the light-colored walls might make it seem cozier and more familiar.”
Wyatt put Jake in the same bed, next to his twin.
The two babies now sobbed in unison.
Together, she and Wyatt carried the other crib to the far end of the loft. “Here?” Wyatt asked, as the sound of the babies crying lessened the farther they got away.
Adelaide raked her lip with her teeth, surveying the space. “I think we should move both cribs in that corner, where it’s not so bright. But it means we’re going to have to move your desk a little bit.”
Wyatt moved one end of
the heavy desk.
“It’s crooked.”
But there was now room. He waved off her objection. “Doesn’t matter.”
“But...”
“I don’t want to have to unplug everything,” he said tersely.
She stepped back. “Oh.”
Aware they were on the brink of having their first “marital tiff,” he softened his tone and suggested gently, “Let’s just move the cribs where you want them now. If it works, we’ll worry about finalizing the details later.”
Together, they moved one crib, and two changing tables to the corner. “Better?” he asked.
She nodded. Listening. Her brow furrowed as they locked gazes. “Did they stop crying?”
Not sure whether that was a good or bad sign, they both turned and moved to the side of the remaining crib.
“Well, what do you know,” Wyatt murmured, as they stared in disbelief.
Jake and Jenny had both wiggled themselves out of the top of their swaddling. Their little hands were outstretched to each other, fingers touching. Heads turned, they were cooing drowsily.
“Amazing,” Adelaide whispered proudly.
Wyatt wrapped his arm around her shoulders and tucked her against his side. He wanted to memorize this moment forever. “They really are.”
And it wasn’t just the twins.
This whole arrangement. Adelaide. It was all remarkable, too.
* * *
JAKE AND JENNY fell asleep shortly thereafter. Adelaide and Wyatt decided to take advantage of the quiet to shower and dress for the day. Adelaide showered first, then went down to the first floor, while Wyatt had his turn.
She had just finished drying her hair when she heard a car in the drive. A look out the windows had her opening the door to Lucille, Sage and Hope.
All three were carrying gifts. Lucille and Sage both had wind-up infant swings. Hope had a large basket of baby toiletries and toys.
“We figured it wasn’t too early,” Lucille said.
Glad to be welcomed so warmly into the Lockhart family, Adelaide ushered them in. “Not at all.”
Wyatt walked down the stairs to join them. His hair was damp, his shirt buttoned but untucked over his jeans. He looked sexy and approachable. Tired, but happy, too. “What’s up?”
“We brought you something to make your life a little easier,” Lucille said, as she and her only daughter set the swings down, side by side.
“All my friends with babies love them,” Sage added. “They tell me it’s a surefire way to ease crankiness and put a fussy infant to sleep.”
“I just wish I’d had one when Max was small,” Hope said.
“Of course, sometimes only rocking will do,” Lucille continued. She eyed the rocker-glider Adelaide had positioned on the first floor, then looked at her son.
“Don’t worry, Mom,” Wyatt said dryly. “I’m spending time there, too.”
Lucille paused, clearly worried. “If you need advice...”
Briefly, her son looked irritated. “We’ve got it covered, Mom.” He gestured amiably. “So if that’s all...”
“Actually,” Hope put in, suddenly looking very much like the crisis manager she was, “we need to talk to you.”
Adelaide recognized trouble when she saw it. Had another computer been surreptitiously hacked with remote log-in software? “Did something happen at the Lockhart Foundation?” she asked nervously.
Wyatt sent her a look.
“This time,” Hope said gently, “the scandal revolves around the four of you.” She handed over a multipage printout containing the recent headlines from Texas gossip and parenting blogs and websites.
Scandal Rocks One of Texas’s Famous Families Again! stated Texas Weekly magazine.
Surprise—It’s Not Just a Decade-Old Elopement, but Twins! blasted the Dallas Morning Sun society page.
The popular Lone Star Mommies blog ran with, Parenthood with Both Feet Out the Door?
“And last but not least from the salacious but widely read Texas Grapevine Online,” Hope said, while Wyatt and Adelaide read with increasing dismay: Lucille Lockhart, disgraced former CEO of the Lockhart Foundation, had what she terms a happy surprise. Adelaide Smythe, the daughter of longtime family friend and embezzler Paul Smythe, former CFO of the Lockhart Foundation, secretly eloped with her son, Wyatt, nearly a decade ago. Flash-forward to a romantic—or was it preplanned?—rendezvous in Aspen last spring, and suddenly due to a snafu with the paperwork (where have we heard that before?) not only are Wyatt Lockhart and Adelaide Smythe still married, but thanks to the sparks that still exist between them, have given birth to twins.
Now, trying to figure a way out of this mess, the lucky—or prodigiously unlucky!—couple has decided to move in together.
Once the legal issues are worked out, an amicable divorce is predicted to occur. That is, if a property settlement can be reached. Our legal experts tell us that ten years together makes nearly everything fair game financially for the ambitious new Lockhart Foundation CFO, and only daughter of criminal-at-large, Paul Smythe. A fact that should encourage rancher Wyatt Lockhart to firmly stake his claim on his kids and bide his time, exiting the precarious relationship...
“Lovely,” Adelaide deadpanned, before she could stop herself. Even though neither she nor Wyatt had made a secret of their plans to become a family first, then consciously uncouple over the next year or so, it still stung to see it in print.
Hope frowned. “There are half a dozen more articles like this, and the news just got out a few days ago, when people started receiving their invitations to the party Lucille is giving on your behalf.”
Wyatt narrowed his gaze. “I thought you said embracing the situation would lessen the scandal.”
Hope smiled. “That’s the good news. It probably has.”
Adelaide sniffed miserably. “It doesn’t feel that way.”
“From a public-relations perspective, the real problem is Adelaide’s father,” Hope told them gently. “If Paul had been arrested and tried...”
“And were sitting in jail somewhere,” Wyatt theorized, his need for justice as strong as ever.
“...the case closed,” Hope continued, “then it would be old news. The fact he remains on the FBI’s Most Wanted list keeps the story alive.”
It was a good thing Wyatt didn’t know someone was either contacting her on her dad’s behalf, Adelaide thought with dread, or pretending to be Paul...
She swallowed. All the facts weren’t in yet. There was no point in borrowing trouble. They had enough already. “So what should we do?” she asked, wondering if this were going to impact her small salary as Lockhart Foundation CFO and the small accounting practice that kept her financially afloat.
“Well, you all know what I think,” Lucille said.
“We’re not staying married indefinitely, Mom,” Wyatt warned.
Lucille wrung her hands. “But as long as you are, even for a little while, couldn’t you just bow to public opinion, give this relationship your all and renew your vows to in some way lessen the talk?”
“No!” Wyatt and Adelaide said in unison. Thankfully, of one mind about that.
“We’re not going to let our emotions—or anyone’s else’s—regarding our situation overrule common sense!” he insisted.
Adelaide agreed. “I’ve let myself be pushed into saying yes too many times in my life, when I really should have said no.” She straightened to her full five feet seven inches. “This is one of those times.”
“I agree.” Wyatt wrapped his arm about her shoulders.
“It was just a suggestion,” Lucille huffed, “but I still think you should keep in mind giving this marriage a real try.”
“As much as I hate to differ with you, Lucille,” Hope said, tactfully taking on her mot
her-in-law, “I would advise the opposite to curtail this kind of loose talk and speculation, if Wyatt and Adelaide are indeed still planning to divorce.”
“We are,” Wyatt and Adelaide said again in perfect unison.
Wyatt dropped his arm.
Hope accepted their decision in a way Wyatt’s mom apparently could not. “The fact that the two of you have announced you intend to co-parent the children amicably and become a family is admirable. I haven’t seen a single negative remark in print about that. But, the fact you’ve moved in together and everyone knows your marriage is still legal muddies the waters considerably. It’s inviting speculation. Such as, how long will they actually all be under one roof? Will they or won’t they stay married? Is it going to work out? If not, why not? In situations like this, rumors can go wild.”
And with rumors came more embarrassment for Lucille and the rest of the Lockhart clan. “We really don’t want that,” Adelaide said quietly.
Hope understood. “Then, the sooner you wrap up all the legal details, as to the future plans of the two of you, and get those out there as a matter of public record, the better.”
* * *
WYATT AND ADELAIDE called their respective attorneys and set up an appointment for the following afternoon, while Molly and Sage babysat the twins.
“We think it might be better if we go ahead and set our divorce in motion,” Adelaide said, as she and Wyatt met with their lawyers in the conference room at Gannon’s office.
Wyatt didn’t know if it was the fact that the two of them hadn’t made love again since learning of the new scandal, or just the fact they’d been really busy with the twins, but there was definitely renewed tension between him and Adelaide. He didn’t like it. He also suspected it might disappear when they had the legalities wrapped up. At least for now. “So how long will it take?” he asked impatiently.
Claire McCabe explained, “Texas has a mandatory sixty-day waiting period. Which means the earliest the divorce can be granted is on the sixty-first day after the petition is filed.”
The Texas Valentine Twins Page 8
