Single with Twins

by Joan Elliott Pickart

  “Well, you see,” Mack said, feeling a trickle of sweat slither down his back, “I’d never had a conversation with any little girls, or boys, either, for that matter, until I met you two. Just getting to know you has been a new experience and I’m enjoying every minute of it.”

  “Oh,” Melissa said.

  “So,” Mack went on, sliding a quick glance at Heather who was listening intently to what he was saying, “I decided to have another new experience in regard to you ladies.”

  “What was it?” Melissa said.

  “I went shopping for clothes for you, because I’ve never had a chance to do that before. If it wasn’t for you, I never would have known how much fun it is to pick out things for special little girls. I really appreciate the fact that…well, that you’re here.”

  “You bought…” Heather said, getting to her feet. “Mack, I wish you would have discussed this with me beforehand.”

  “To make certain that I purchased the right sizes?” he said, an expression of pure innocence on his face. “Well, I described everyone to the saleswoman and she helped me select things, but I have the receipts in case anything needs to be exchanged. I sure enjoyed myself and, like I said, I thank all of you for being my family.”

  Heather threw up her hands in defeat and sank back onto the rocker. “I’m glad we could make it possible for you to have such a pleasurable new experience. I mean, hey, what are families for?”

  “Are you mad about something, Mommy?” Emma said. “Your lips are skinny like they get when you’re mad.”

  “No, sweetheart,” Heather said, producing a small smile, “I’m not angry. I’m just used to making all the decisions regarding you girls, and new clothes from a mall are not what we…never mind.”

  “Then it’s all right?” Mack said. “I can bring in the clothes? I left them in my vehicle out front until I determined if this was acceptable to you, Heather.”

  “A question,” she said, looking at him pointedly, “that should have been asked before you shared your new experience with us.”

  “But there’s no such thing as having too many clothes, is there?” Mack said, raising his eyebrows. “I’ve heard women say that. You can never have too many clothes. Yes, sir, they say that all the time, so I figured I couldn’t be off base here. Right? Anyway, it was a terrific new experience and again I say thank-you to you all.” He got to his feet. “Come on, girls, you can help me with the shopping bags.”

  As the trio left the house, with the excited twins running ahead of Mack, Heather leaned her head back against the rocker and sighed.

  She was going to strangle that man, she thought. He had no right to buy her daughters new clothes. New. From a mall. With price tags she just knew would make her cringe.

  She and the twins wore used clothing that was perfectly adequate and…how dare that Mack Marshall be so pushy, so overbearing, so…thoughtful and dear, and willing to spend his leisure hours doing something for her daughters that had no doubt made him feel inadequate. But he had been willing to ask a saleswoman to help him, to put his male pride aside to accomplish his goal.

  How dare he? He dared because he viewed himself as Melissa’s and Emma’s uncle, a member of the family, someone who could afford to buy new clothes so he went out and bought them. He dared because he cared.

  If she refused to allow the girls to accept these gifts, she’d be eligible for the Mean Mother of the Year Award.

  Oh, heavens, her life was becoming so complicated, so confusing. Everything was changing so fast.

  For the first time in their lives, her daughters were going to have brand-new clothes to wear to school. She was happy for them, she was, but it wasn’t their reality. The next time they needed something to wear, they’d be back at the used-clothing store, looking for things that weren’t too stained, too faded, too stretched out of shape.

  Mack Marshall was changing their world, and the cold knot in her stomach said this was wrong, very wrong.

  Because Mack was going to leave soon.

  He was going to leave and take this fairy tale with him.

  Chapter Six

  It was Christmas in March.

  Despite her misgivings about Mack’s expensive shopping spree, Heather was soon caught up in the excitement, unable to keep from smiling as she watched Emma and Melissa nearly burst with joy over their treasures.

  Melissa received four pairs of jeans in bright colors—blue, red, green and yellow—each having a coordinating top. There was also a baseball shirt with the name Marshall across the back in heat-pressed letters.

  When Melissa hugged the baseball shirt tightly, Heather had to blink away tears as she saw the rapture on her daughter’s face.

  For Emma there were four dresses. One was a bouquet of pastel flowers, another was pale pink with lace on the collar and the edges of the short, puffy sleeves, a white one had a border-print of tumbling, prancing and sleeping kittens, and a sunny yellow creation had a satin sash around the waist. With each dress was a pair of matching socks with lace on the cuffs.

  Mack had brought his camera and moved around the room, taking pictures as the twins revealed the wonders in the shiny silver shopping bags.

  Sitting in the rocking chair, Heather shifted her gaze from the girls to Mack as he hunkered down to snap more pictures. Her heart fluttered as she saw the material of his slacks pull taut against his muscled thighs and his shirt stretch across his broad shoulders.

  Mack moved with ease and masculine grace; he was obviously a man who was very comfortable in his own body. And her body was going nuts just watching him doing what had gained him world-wide recognition.

  Heather frowned.

  The last time he’d used that camera with the intensity she was now witnessing, Mack had been shot and nearly died in a country on the far side of the globe.

  A chill swept through her as she envisioned Mack bleeding, lying on the ground, each second that help didn’t arrive bringing him closer to death. No! Dear heaven, she couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to Mack. He had become very important to her very quickly, and was an intricate part of her life.

  Calm down, she ordered herself. Back up. Get this right. Mack had become very important to her and the twins. He was the uncle, part of the family. No one with any compassionate feelings would want harm to come to a member of their family. Her fears for Mack’s safety weren’t borne of a woman worried about her man, but of her concern for a member of the family. Okay. She had that straight now.

  “Mommy,” Melissa said, “will you wash our new clothes so we can wear the one we pick to school on Monday? Please, Mom?”

  “Honey,” Heather said, “you don’t have to wash clothes from the mall before you wear them.”

  “Oh,” Melissa said. “I didn’t know that.”

  “That’s because,” Heather said, then sighed, “because you’ve never had clothes from a mall before. This is a very special event and…and it won’t happen again, so it’s time for you girls to thank your uncle Mack for your wonderful presents.”

  Mack was bending over, still taking pictures when the girls flung themselves at him, nearly causing him to topple backward. Heather’s breath caught as she saw Mack wince with pain as the twins hugged him tightly, chorusing their thank-yous over and over.

  “You’re very welcome,” Mack said, managing to stand erect. “Remember, if something doesn’t fit, we can take it back and exchange it.”

  “Can we try on our stuff, Mom?” Melissa asked.

  “We’ll have a fashion show,” Emma said. “A real fashion show.”

  “That will be fun,” Heather said, smiling at them. “But let’s eat dinner first, then have the fashion show.”

  “Wait,” Mack said. “There’s one more shopping bag to open.”

  He retrieved the glittering bag from the side of the sofa, then crossed the room and handed it to Heather.

  “This one is for you,” he said. “I hope you like it and I hope it fits, but…hey, it can go
back for something else if…what I mean is…well, look at me…I’m a nervous wreck. I’ve never bought a dress for a woman before in my life. Open it, Heather, before I turn into a complete blithering idiot.”

  “Open it, Mommy,” Melissa said, jumping up and down. “Hurry.”

  “But…” Heather started, then shook her head. “I can’t accept a…”

  “Heather, please,” Mack said quietly. “Let me have this moment, these memories. Going shopping like I did, buying these things, was a totally new experience for me and it was really special. Just enjoy your gift. Please?”

  Heather met Mack’s gaze for a long moment, then nodded slowly.

  “Yes, all right,” she said softly. “Thank you. Thank you very much.”

  “Open it, Mom,” Emma said, hopping from one foot to the other.

  Heather removed the tissue from the top of the large bag, then reached in and grasped material that felt butter-soft in her hand. She stood, the bag falling to the floor as she revealed a dress that was the color of a sun-kissed peach.

  Tears filled her eyes as she held the dress against her shoulders, the skirt floating in soft folds below her knees, the lacy, camisole top blousing at her waist.

  “Oh-h-h,” Emma said, awe ringing in her voice. “That is so beautiful. It’s a dress for a princess.”

  “Wow,” Melissa said. “You will look like a princess in that dress, Mom.” She paused and frowned. “But you don’t go anywhere that princesses go.”

  “There’s a thought,” Mack said. “You’re right, Melissa. Well, I’ll just have to fix that. How’s this? I’ll hire a baby-sitter for you and Emma one night, then take your mother out to dinner to a really fancy restaurant where princesses go to eat.”

  “Perfect,” Emma said, clasping her hands beneath her chin.

  “That’s cool,” Melissa said, nodding her approval.

  “Heather?” Mack said. “How does that plan sound to you?”

  Heather raised her head, tears still shimmering in her eyes, and smiled at Mack.

  “Hold it right there,” Mack said, then lifted the camera and snapped off three quick pictures in a row. “Now then, Princess Heather, would you do me the honor of dining with me very soon in a place fit for the princess that you will be in that dress?”

  “Yes,” Heather whispered. “I…I don’t know what to say, Mack. This is the most gorgeous dress I’ve ever had. Thank you doesn’t seem like enough to express…”

  Mack stepped forward and dropped a quick kiss on Heather’s lips.

  “You’re welcome,” he said. “Okay, troops, into the kitchen. We’ve got Chinese food to eat and I’m a starving man.”

  The girls ran out of the living room, headed toward the kitchen. Mack set his camera on the rocking chair, then moved close to Heather again and framed her face in his hands.

  “That little peck was to say you’re welcome for the dress,” he said, his voice slightly raspy. “This one is to say that I need to kiss you, Heather. I truly do—” he lowered his head toward hers “—need to kiss you.”

  Mack’s mouth melted over Heather’s in a kiss that was tender and soft and so tantalizing that she dropped the dress, creating a peach-colored pool at their feet.

  She wrapped her arms around Mack’s waist and as the kiss intensified, her lashes drifted down as she savored the taste, the feel, the ecstasy of the kiss they were sharing.

  Mack parted Heather’s lips and delved his tongue into her mouth, finding her tongue, stroking it.

  He’d waited an eternity for this kiss, he thought hazily. But, oh, man, it had been worth the agonizing wait. Heather was returning his kiss in total abandon, holding nothing back. He was going up in flames of desire, wanting this incredible woman, needing her to quell the fire burning out of control within him.

  “When you’re done thanking Uncle Mack for the princess dress, Mom,” Melissa said, “can we eat the Chinese food stuff?”

  Heather and Mack jerked apart, and Mack took a step backward. Heather reached down for the forgotten dress, lifted it, dropped it, then grabbed it off the floor. Mack looked at Melissa over his shoulder as he willed his aroused body back under his control.

  “Get some napkins,” he said, his voice sounding hoarse to his own ears. “And forks. I don’t think you guys are ready for chopsticks.”

  “’Kay,” Melissa said, then spun around and ran out of the room again.

  “Heather,” Mack said.

  “No,” she said, spreading the dress over the top of the rocking chair, then sucking in a trembling breath. “Don’t say anything. That shouldn’t have happened and I don’t wish to discuss it.”

  “Heather, look at me.”

  “The girls are waiting, Mack.”

  “Look…at…me.”

  Heather turned to meet Mack’s gaze. Crossing her arms and wrapping her hands around her elbows, she lifted her chin.

  “What happened—that kiss—wasn’t wrong,” he said. “It was very, very right. You kissed me back, Heather, gave as much as you took, shared equally in that kiss. You can’t deny that.”

  “No, I can’t,” she said, “but I’m not going where that kiss was leading to.” She shook her head. “No.”

  “Why not? What are you afraid of?”

  “Oh, Mack, for heaven’s sake,” she said, throwing up her hands. “I’m not one of your sophisticated New York City women. I don’t have casual flings, quicky affairs, then bid my lover goodbye without a second thought. That’s the key word here, Mack. Goodbye. You’ll be leaving soon, remember? I am not, am not, going to bed with you and run the risk of…” She stopped speaking and sighed. “No.”

  “Risk of falling in love with me?” he said. “Hey, it works both ways, you know. What if I fell in love with you, then had to shuffle off to my life in New York?”

  “Give me a break,” she said, planting her hands on her hips. “You’ve had a great deal of experience in having affairs then saying goodbye.”

  “Okay, score one point for you,” he said. “However, there’s a major difference here, Ms. Marshall.”

  “Do tell,” she said, narrowing her eyes.

  Mack dragged one thumb over Heather’s lips and she shivered from the sensuous foray.

  “I have never in my entire life,” he said, his voice very low and rumbly, “desired a woman the way I do you. You’re frightened about what emotions might come into play here? Well, let me tell you, lady, you scare the hell out of me. But I want you, Heather, every bit as much as you want me. Risks? Yeah, they’re there…big time. But having you, making love with you, would be worth every risk taken, because when I leave, no one could ever erase the memories I’d have of what we’d shared together.” He paused. “Think about it.”

  Mack turned and strode toward the kitchen. Heather closed her eyes for a long moment to regain her composure, then walked slowly across the living room.

  Think about it? she thought. Think about what it would be like to make love with Mack Marshall? To be the recipient of all that masculine power and intensity? Think about the memories there would be of that incredible joining, memories that would be hers to keep forever?

  Think about it? The problem now was to figure out how not to think about it. Oh, dear heaven, she was teetering on the edge of a dangerous abyss, actually leaning toward flinging herself into a place where heartache might very well be waiting to stake its claim on her.

  No, no, no, she must not succumb to the raging desire that Mack evoked in her. No.

  “Are you listening to yourself, Heather Marshall?” she whispered.

  She took a weary breath, produced a smile and entered the kitchen.

  The Chinese food was consumed with the twins declaring that they liked it “just fine.” The conversation was lively and fun, with Mack pronouncing the name of each exotic dish in the little white boxes, and the girls attempting to say them in return, which resulted in fits of laughter.

  After the kitchen was cleaned, the fashion show took place. One by
one the girls put on their new outfits in their bedroom, then zoomed back into the living room to twirl around and bow to the applause from Heather and Mack.

  And there, always there, was the nearly palpable sensuality crackling through the air between Heather and Mack, weaving around them, causing them to be so incredibly aware of the other.

  Everything Mack had purchased fit perfectly, and Melissa and Emma were thrilled. Mack took a multitude of pictures during the performance. When the fashion show ended, Heather instructed the excited twins to put on their nighties.

  “’Kay,” Melissa said, “but aren’t you going to try on your princess dress, Mom?”

  “Not tonight,” Heather said.

  “Why not?” Emma said. “We showed you how we looked in all our beautiful clothes. I want to see you in your princess dress.”

  Heather smiled. “I’ll model it for you the night I go to the restaurant where princesses eat.” Please accept that explanation, sweethearts. She wasn’t about to announce that she didn’t own a strapless bra that the lacy top of the dress would require, and that she didn’t have a pair of shoes fancy enough to wear with the gorgeous creation. “Okay? That will be more fun.”

  “’Kay,” Emma said. “But how will you know that it will fit?”

  “Because I saw the tag and it’s exactly my size,” Heather said. “Okay, it’s bedtime. Bring your new clothes back out here and I’ll help you hang them up in the closet in the morning. Run along now and brush your teeth and get your nighties on.”

  “Will you tuck us in and hear our prayers, Uncle Mack?” Emma said.

  “I’d be honored to,” Mack said, nodding.

  “Cool,” Melissa said, then she and Emma ran from the room.

  They returned with their new clothes, which they laid carefully on the end of the sofa, then dashed off again.

  “Goodness,” Heather said. She didn’t look at Mack where he sat on the sofa as she set the rocking chair in motion. “I hope they can calm down and go to sleep. They’re so happy, so excited, and I thank you again for your generous and thoughtful gifts.”