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by Tina Leonard

  Chapter Twelve

  Nicole’s initial trepidation about feeling like an interloper, and her unspoken worry about residual hostile feelings between Adele and Brock, didn’t last any longer than the time it took to get past the foyer. Julieta Baron came forward to hug her soundly.

  “Nicole!” Her richly accented voice was warm and welcoming. “It is always so good to see to you.” Then Julieta turned to greet the original mistress of this house. She took Adele’s hand in both of hers and smiled with no trace of hostility or judgment. “And Adele. We are glad you could join us today.”

  Behind his wife, Brock Baron looked slightly less glad, but he gave a terse nod of welcome just the same. “Delia.”

  “Adele,” she corrected without rancor. “I’ve worked hard to put the woman I was—and her mistakes—behind me.”

  After a brief hesitation, he nodded. “We all make mistakes. I’ve made some I wish I could take back, too.” With that, he turned to one of the grandchildren who was barreling through the room and asked the child to demonstrate her new toy.

  Adele, who’d spent the drive here worried about a repeat of the shower confrontation, expelled a relieved breath and looked at Julieta. “Thank you for agreeing to have me here. And for taking care of him. I can tell you’re a good influence.”

  Julieta led them into a living room where chaos reigned. Lights and sounds from half a dozen different toys competed with laughter and stories being told about Christmases past; underscoring all of it, jazzy Christmas carols played through the speakers mounted in each corner.

  “Mom!” Carly spotted Adele first and came forward to hug her. “Merry Christmas.”

  “Thank you, darling. Merry Christmas to you, too. I have presents for everyone in the car, but I wasn’t sure if I should bring them in yet.” Her exact words to Nicole had been that the sight of gift bags to preschoolers was like blood in the water for sharks. Adele hadn’t wanted to cause a frenzy.

  “We’ll send Jet and Luke out for them in a bit,” Carly said. “Come meet everyone.” Her smile widened. “I can’t wait to introduce you to Rosie.”

  Across the room, Daniel sat on the arm of a crowded sofa. As soon as he saw Nicole, he got up and came toward her. The way his eyes locked with hers made her feel like the most important person in the room.

  He kissed her, then caught one of the curls that spilled over her shoulder, tugging gently. “Finally. Now that you’re here, my Christmas is perfect.”

  “Finally? You saw me just a few hours ago,” she reminded him. His method of waking her up was the best present any girl could ask for.

  “I’d like to see that much of you again.” He grinned, waggling his eyebrows in comic innuendo. “Very soon. But for today, I’ll be generous and share your company with other people.”

  They returned to the couch, where Jacob stood up to hug her and Jasmine offered to let Nicole have her seat. “The twins will love it if I’m sitting on the floor anyway,” she said. “They think anyone over ten years old is a jungle gym.”

  Chris wished her a merry Christmas and told her that Lizzie was upstairs trying to get a fussy baby to fall asleep. “Apparently, this much activity is overstimulation for a baby. Go figure,” he drawled, gesturing at the festive pandemonium around them.

  Once she was seated, she asked Jacob, “Did your brother show you what I got him for Christmas?”

  Jacob laughed, and Daniel held out his hand. When Jacob pulled out his wallet, Daniel explained, “I knew you’d have to boast about that. Bet him ten bucks that you’d bring it up in the first five minutes you were here.”

  Daniel affected a troubled expression. “How am I supposed to sleep with one of those winged beasts in the house?”

  She laughed, lowering her voice so the others didn’t overhear. “I’m just sorry I won’t be there to protect you.”

  “Me, too.”

  Spending the past two nights with him had been amazing, and not just because of the sex. They’d talked until the wee hours as they drifted to sleep, and he was so solicitous of her in the mornings, although her nausea seemed to be receding, thank God. Sleeping tonight in her room at the apartment was going to feel lonely. But his flight tomorrow was so early that it made no sense for her to go to his place tonight.

  Probably just as well. It would be too easy to fall into the habit of waking up next to him. She needed to remind herself that they were going their separate ways soon. This week, it might feel perfectly natural to start the day in his arms. But this time next week? Daniel Baron would be nothing more than a wonderful memory.

  * * *

  “I DON’T THINK it’s fair that you guys won,” Daniel complained to Chris and Lizzie. “Nicole was the best artist on your team, but she’s my guest. That’s like using my secret weapon against me!” She’d even maintained her composure when her word to draw was Bed and Daniel hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her. Boots had been another one that made her blush and made him want to drag her upstairs to an empty room.

  Lizzie was cheerfully unsympathetic about the last-minute defeat of the other team. “Tough Tater Tots, Danny.” She packed the board game into its box while Nicole and Chris high-fived their win. At another folding card table that had been moved into the living room, Brock and Julieta were playing Candy Land with some of the kids. Carly and Luke had announced they were going for a “walk” to the barn—then skedaddled before anyone could offer to join them—while Savannah and her mother worked a jigsaw puzzle at the dining room table. Barons were scattered throughout the house, a few of them napping.

  And, surprisingly, it was the best day Daniel could remember in a very long time.

  Nicole was ribbing Lizzie over the Tater Tots comment. “Is that what you say to whiny underlings at work, too? It sounds very executive.”

  “You laugh now,” Mariana said, “but you have to get in the habit of modifying your language. Otherwise, when a kid gets to be Cody’s age, they’ve already learned really interesting phrases to use in public places like the grocery store. Or church.”

  That explained why, when Jacob had banged his shin on the coffee table earlier, he’d let loose a nonsensical stream of words that included “holy shipyard.”

  Currently, Jacob was mock-glaring at his brother. “Don’t be a sore loser. Especially since it’s your fault we lost.”

  “How is it my fault?”

  “We were one point away! That last picture I drew was clearly a toucan.” He held up the pad of paper. “Check out the beak.”

  Daniel smirked. “I see. There were two teammates guessing, but only I’m getting blamed. If your drawing was so wonderful, how come Mariana didn’t recognize what it was?”

  Jacob slung an arm around his fiancée’s shoulders. “Because she’s blinded by love for me. And who can fault her for that?”

  “And also,” Mariana added in a stage whisper, “because his so-called toucan looked like a scythe.”

  Daniel chuckled, trying to remember the last time he’d had this much fun among his siblings and their significant others.

  “I put it in the tree so you’d know it was a bird,” Jacob said.

  “Sorry.” She gave him an apologetic smile. “It looked more like you were trying to chop a tree down.”

  “Maybe next time we should let Cody play with us,” Daniel suggested. “He might do a better job.”

  Nicole shook her head woefully. “Wow, look how they turn on each other. It’s painful to watch. I’m so glad I was on the other team. You know, the winning one.”

  Daniel started to playfully threaten that she should sleep with one eye open but then suddenly remembered she wouldn’t be sleeping next to him tonight. The thought bothered him more than it should. He liked having her there. What about her job? She had to go back to San Antonio sooner or later. She couldn’t stay simply because he
liked ending his day with her. But the bigger problem wasn’t geography. He was planning to leave Dallas, anyway. The bigger problem was that, in six months, it wouldn’t just be Nicole falling asleep and waking up each day. It would be Nicole and two babies.

  Almost as if underscoring his thoughts, the sound of Natalie crying came through the baby monitor. Lizzie poked her husband in the arm.

  “Your turn for diaper duty,” she reminded him.

  “Actually,” Nicole interrupted shyly, “would you mind if I gave it a try? I could use the practice.”

  Chris pumped his fist in the air. “Score!”

  “You should still go with her and show her where everything is,” Lizzie said.

  Mariana and Jacob had wandered over to the other table to cheer on Cody at his game, so Daniel and Lizzie were left alone. She watched Chris and Nicole leave the room, then turned back to Daniel.

  “I knew Christopher thought highly of her when they worked together, and the more I get to know her, the more I see why. She’s special.”

  “That she is.” No question about it.

  “And she’s good for you. You’re—don’t take this the wrong way—friendlier when she’s around. Not that you were unfriendly before, exactly, but you certainly smile a lot more now.”

  True. And he didn’t think it was just because Nicole rounded him out, making him half of a couple so that he finally fit in with his married and engaged siblings. When she was happy, he found himself relaxed and at peace with the world around him. When she was stressed, as she had been the day she’d talked to the Barons about Adele’s return, Daniel was too worried about her to focus on himself and whether he fit in.

  “She told me the two of you are only casually dating,” Lizzie said, her tone disappointed. “That’s a lovely necklace you got her. Can’t say I ever got jewelry from someone I casually dated for a couple of weeks.”

  “Well, she likes it, and that’s the important part.” He stood. “If you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to see if there are any of Anna’s sugar cookies left in the kitchen.”

  Lizzie let him go without further comment, but he couldn’t stop thinking about that necklace, about the hearts he’d given Nicole for Christmas. How much different would the situation be if he’d found the courage to give her his heart?

  * * *

  DECEMBER IN COLORADO was a hell of a lot colder than December in Texas. Daniel found himself grateful to his friend Bodie not only for picking him up at the airport and buying him lunch, but for loaning him a jacket more appropriate to the weather than the one Daniel had brought with him. Between Bodie’s coat and Daniel’s own gloves and boots, he managed to keep his teeth from chattering while talking to his potential future employer, Garrett Frost. To get a sense of Daniel’s skills and rapport with animals, Garrett had taken him out on the Double F to tackle chores.

  “I appreciate your agreeing to meet with me the day after Christmas,” Daniel told the other man. “I hope I’m not intruding on your holiday.”

  “You know how it is on a ranch. There aren’t many true days off. The banks and post offices may close, but animals still need to be fed, precautions against bad weather still need to be taken. Which is why we really need to find someone. Mom’s convinced Dad to more or less retire. The physical work is starting to take a toll on him, especially in the winter. If Bodie and I try to make up the slack, we end up busy from sunup to sundown. And I need more time at home right now. My wife, Arden, recently had a baby. Our oldest daughter just turned one a couple of months ago, so you can imagine how busy they keep us. Sometimes, when I’m knee-deep in diapers, I wonder if this is what it feels like to have twins.”

  Daniel’s mind drifted from the workings of the Double F Ranch back to Nicole. He’d sent her a text when he landed in Colorado, but he hadn’t talked to her all day. If ever there was a woman capable enough to successfully handle twins, it was her. But he hated that she had to do so alone. For too much of her life—waiting for her mother to come back for her, not fully bonding with her foster families—she’d been alone. She deserved a partner, someone who loved and cherished her.

  “Daniel?” Garrett paused, eyeing him curiously. “Did I lose you?”

  “No. Sorry. I was just thinking of a friend of mine who’s pregnant with twins.”

  “Well, good luck to her. I adore my daughters, but, man, they are a handful.”

  They’d reached the stables, so Daniel made an effort to put aside thoughts of Nicole and demonstrate his familiarity with horses. He talked about his training of Sugarhoof and several others in the past year, then switched to discussing his work with cattle.

  “I’m definitely at my most comfortable working with livestock,” he said. “I just don’t want to ride them in the rodeo ring anymore.”

  After the tour and errands were completed, Garrett invited him into the main house for some hot coffee. A lovely brunette sat on a couch, cradling a sleeping infant. The woman waggled her fingers hello at Daniel.

  “I’d get up to shake your hand,” she said softly, “but she just fell asleep.” To Garrett, she said, “Hope’s in the kitchen with your mom, who, unless I’m mistaken, is letting her dig into the leftover icing from those gingerbread houses we made.”

  Garrett rolled his eyes. “Now that Dad’s retired, I’ve got to talk them into some travel. If they’re here all the time, they are going to spoil the girls rotten.”

  Arden grinned, looking relatively untroubled by that possibility. “They’re the only grandparents. They’re trying to squeeze in enough love for two sets.” As if remembering they had company, Arden looked back at Daniel. “My parents died when I was young.”

  “Sorry to hear that.” Missing his own mother had taught him that time eased the wound, but the ache never fully disappeared. No matter the months or years that passed, there would forever be bittersweet moments when you wished a loved one was there to share good news or milestones. But obviously the pain of losing her parents hadn’t stopped Arden Frost from falling in love or building a happy life.

  The two men stopped in the kitchen to collect cups of coffee, Garrett sparing a hug for his daughter, then went into the study, where the senior Mr. Frost joined them to discuss the recent expansion of the Double F and future plans. When they finished talking, Daniel was surprised to see that it was already growing dark outside. The Frosts invited him to stay for dinner, and by the time they finished, Daniel was reasonably certain they were going to offer him the job.

  He spent the night on Bodie’s couch, then met Garrett Frost for breakfast in town before his return flight.

  Garrett smiled from the other side of the booth. “You passed the wife-and-mother test. They both liked you. And my father likes anyone who’s good with the animals. He said he defers to my judgment there. If you want the job, it’s yours.”

  Daniel was glad to have accomplished something outside the Baron sphere of influence, where his adopted name opened doors. He thought the ranch was well run and that the Frosts were nice people. This was exactly the kind of opportunity he’d hoped for when he made the decision not to return to rodeo. So...why was he hesitating?

  “Can I have some time to think about it?” Daniel asked. “I’ll call you with an answer no later than Monday.”

  “Fair enough,” Garrett agreed.

  Two hours later, as Daniel’s plane powered down the runway and ascended into the air, he took a long look at the view below. Colorado was beautiful. But, deep down, he knew he wouldn’t be returning anytime soon.

  * * *

  TRAFFIC MADE IT difficult to get from the airport to the wedding rehearsal in time, but since Daniel was only an usher, he figured they could get started without him. Hopefully, he was capable of escorting honored guests to their seats without too much practice. He slipped in the back of the church in time to watch Alex and Rosie practice
walking down the aisle. They were truly adorable, and he experienced an unfamiliar pang at the sight of the solemn five-year-old and rambunctious toddler, who seemed to think it would be more fun to pirouette in forward-moving circles than walk a straight line.

  Carly and her soon-to-be stepdaughter were well matched. He could almost imagine his stepsister deciding to spin in exuberant circles instead of taking the more orthodox route. However the bride got to the front of the sanctuary, Daniel imagined that Luke’s expression of love would be the same. The Roughneck’s ranch manager had loved Carly for a long time, and despite Daniel’s usual cynicism, he was glad life had given them a second chance at their relationship.

  Although, their relationship wasn’t simply a quirk of fate. That sounded passive. They’d had to actively work through their past history and overcome emotional obstacles to get where they were today—grinning in front of the altar, knowing that by this time tomorrow they’d be man and wife.

  “Hey.” At the back of the church, Lizzie poked him in the shoulder. “Are you all right? For a second there, I could have sworn you were getting misty-eyed.”

  “Please.” He made a dismissive sound. “Manly cowboys don’t get misty.”

  She laughed, pointing. “Tell that to Daddy.” Brock Baron stood off to the side of the pews, sniffling loudly. This was his last daughter to settle down, his youngest. Wild child Carly would soon become the respectable Mrs. Luke Nobel.

  Carly’s other parent was not present for the rehearsal, but tomorrow, Daniel himself would escort Adele to a seat of honor, marked by one of the dark green pew bows. He knew it meant the world to Carly to have all of her parents present.

  Finally, the rehearsal ended. People headed for their assorted vehicles, all eager for the dinner being held in the private room of an upscale steak house. Daniel found himself lengthening his stride, eager to cross the parking lot and reach his truck. Nicole was meeting him at the steak house, and he couldn’t wait to see her.

  While Mariana buckled Cody into the truck a few spaces away, Jacob came over to his brother. “How’d the interview go?” he asked quietly.