“Actually, you and Marty never had a chance to spend time together without kids,” Silver pointed out. “You won’t know what to do with yourselves when all five of them are grown and gone.
Juliette arched an eyebrow and smiled. “Oh, I imagine we’ll find something to do.”
Lyn snorted hard enough to startle baby Jonathan, whose tiny hand flew out reflexively before he settled back down to nurse. “You two are positively indecent! Didn’t anyone ever tell you grown-ups aren’t supposed to neck in the back of the car and smooch in public all the time?”
Silver was laughing, too. “Hmm, if that isn’t the pot calling the kettle black. Aren’t you the one with three children under the age of three?” She rose. “I think I’ll start these dishes before I get myself in trouble here.”
“I’ll help, too. Just let me take Analisa down to Marty.” Juliette rose and started down toward the corral. Inside, Marty and Cal each held a docile mare. Cal’s horse carried his three-year-old niece Erica and his own son, Jason, just half a year younger.
Marty was close to his mount, keeping an eagle eye on what she could only think was a portrait labeled Trouble on Horseback. Bobby, a four-and-a-half-year-old whirlwind, sat in front. Behind him rode his twin brothers Aaron and Neil. She wouldn’t put it past a single one of the little rascals to leap off with no warning, either, she thought fondly, looking at her sons. They were all as blond as she, though the twins had inherited their father’s size and were almost as big as Bobby. People frequently exclaimed over their “triplets.”
She stepped into the corral and closed the gate behind her, making her way to Marty’s side as he handed the reins of the horse to Deck. “Hi, there, cowboy,” she said. “Wanna make a date for tonight?”
Her husband slipped his strong arms around her, and she relaxed into the familiar embrace, shifting the baby to the side. “Sounds good to me,” he said, and his eyes slipped down over her body, lingering for a moment on the neckline of the sweater she wore. “How about a little something to keep me going till later?”
She tilted her face up to his, slipping her free hand up to his neck and teasing the curls that brushed there. “Okay. Wouldn’t want you to run out of energy.”
As his lips descended on hers, she closed her eyes and gave herself to the familiar thrill of his touch. Unbidden, a memory of the day she’d mailed her first letter to him slipped into her head.
As he released her lips reluctantly, she said, “You know, when I answered your ad that first time, I nearly crawled into the mailbox and fished it back out. I thought it was a huge mistake.”
“That would have been a really, really bad move.” He shook his head. “I can’t imagine my life without you, angel.”
She smiled, stretching on tiptoe to nuzzle his neck before he tilted his head and sought her lips again. “I love you.”
From the horse’s back, a childish voice said, “Yuck. Daddy’s kissin’ Mama again,” and the air was filled with the sounds of three little boys make exaggerated gagging noises.
Marty lifted his head and eyed his sons narrowly while Juliette tried her best not to laugh. “I look forward to the day when you get sloppy in love with some woman.”
“Not me,” said Bobby stoutly. “I’m never getting married!”
“Me, neither,” said Aaron.
“Me, neither,” said Neil.
But their parents didn’t answer. They were kissing again.
ISBN: 978-1-4592-1083-7
TALL, DARK & WESTERN
Copyright © 2001 by Anne Marie Rodgers
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Butler County Brides
Tall, Dark & Western Page 15
