Home on the Ranch: The Montana Cowboy's Triplets

by Allison B. Collins

  She smiled, shoved him back. “You’ve got plans, boyo. And you need to fulfill your obligations.”

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  She bit her lip. “Do you want me to watch the boys?” she asked.

  He hated to hear the hesitation, knowing it was because of him. “Thanks, but they’re already over at Wyatt’s with their cousins.” He stood up, held his hand out. “Come on, and I’ll drop you off at home.”

  It struck him then that she had very much become a part of his home. And it didn’t scare him as much as it should have.

  She took his hand and stood, gathered up her bag and they walked out of the library.

  * * *

  Hunter pulled up at Nash and Kelsey’s cabin. It had been hard dropping Mackenzie off at his place and not being able to follow her in. But he’d promised to do this ages ago.

  Inside the cabin, he heard hammering coming from the back room, so he followed the noise. Nash had given up his smaller cabin and moved into the bigger one Kelsey and her mom had been using. The third bedroom was being turned into a nursery for their baby.

  “Yo. I’m here,” he said.

  “’Bout time,” Nash groused.

  “I was busy.”

  “Can you start putting the crib together?”

  Hunter walked over to the box with the crib pictured on it.

  “Yeah, I saw how busy you were,” Kade snapped.

  “Whoa. What’s with you?” Hunter asked Kade.

  His brother shrugged. “You know what I’m talking about.”

  “Yeah, and it’s none of your business.”

  “You’re going down, just like the others.” Kade turned back to the shelves he was painting white.

  “What ‘others’? You wanna enlighten us as to what you’re bitchin’ about?” Nash asked.

  “Mackenzie.” Kade tossed the name over his shoulder.

  “What do you mean, ‘going down’?” Wyatt asked, pointing a hammer at Kade.

  “You’ve got to find a way to get over this hatred you have for women, Kade,” Hunter said.

  Kade turned around, gave him a dirty look. “I don’t hate women.”

  “Well, one woman,” Luke said.

  “Eh, she deserves it,” Kade said.

  “You never should have married her,” Luke said.

  Kade shrugged. “But then I wouldn’t have Toby. He’s worth the hell she put me through.”

  “Then let go of this thing you have against us all finding someone,” Wyatt said.

  “You and Nash were lucky,” Kade admitted. “Looks like Hunter might be the next to go down.”

  “Hey, I’m right here,” Hunter said. “Go down where?”

  “The aisle.” Nash snickered.

  His stomach flipped, then flopped. “Who said I’m getting married? I just like Mackenzie. We’re nowhere close to a commitment.” The paint fumes must have been getting to him, because his head spun.

  “You stringing her along?” Nash asked, pointing a paintbrush dripping sage green on the tarp covering the floor at him.

  “No,” he squeaked. He cleared his throat. “No. We’re just—just—seeing what’s between us.”

  “Don’t mess around with her. She’s not that type of woman,” Nash said.

  “Jeez. Just because you have a daughter now doesn’t mean you have to look out for all the single women everywhere,” Hunter said.

  “Not my point,” Nash said. “She’s fragile.”

  Hunter sputtered. “Fragile my butt. She’s strong, fit and brave. She can outride, outshoot and do handsprings around all of us...” He let the words die.

  All four of his brothers had turned around and were grinning at him.

  “You got it bad, dude,” Wyatt said, and they all laughed. “You’re totally in love with her. Just don’t realize it yet. Don’t forget—you’re the one who caught the bouquet at my wedding.”

  Hunter huffed, and spread the pieces out according to the instructions. Just ignore them. Catching the flowers didn’t mean anything. Get this done and leave. So I can sneak away early and see what Mackenzie—

  He paused. Maybe he did have it bad. Picking up the instruction sheet, he tuned the others out and concentrated on the directions. Slowly working through the process, the crib started taking shape.

  “...pie.”

  Hunter whipped his head around. “Pie? Who has pie?”

  “I thought that would get your attention,” Wyatt said. “We’re breaking for lunch.”

  “No pie?” He pouted.

  “I know by now anytime you’re involved, there has to be pie. Come on,” Wyatt said, slinging an arm around his neck.

  They walked into the kitchen, and Hunter’s stomach growled. Sandwich platters, bowls of potato salad, coleslaw, and chips and dips were spread out on the counter, along with a cooler of beer. And sure enough, several pies sat on the opposite counter.

  “Awesome,” he said, and grabbed a plate. “Who set all this up?”

  “Bunny and Mrs. Green brought it down from the lodge for us.”

  “See, Kade? Two more good women,” Hunter said, and piled his plate with food. He grabbed a beer and sat at the table. He bit into a roast beef sandwich as one by one his brothers joined him.

  “How much longer is the movie crew going to be here?” Nash asked.

  Hunter held still, waiting for the answer.

  “I talked to the director last night. He said they have a few more days filming outdoor scenes, few more in the empty barn, then they’ll finish up in LA,” Kade said.

  “Any damages?” Wyatt asked.

  “None I’ve seen. But you might want to ride out to their shooting locations and check. I’ll email you the list when I get back to the office.”

  “Is Mackenzie staying the whole time?” Nash asked.

  Hunter shrugged. “Not sure. She’d mentioned a while back she wouldn’t be needed for the whole shoot, then she’d be off looking for her next job.”

  “Must be a rough life, not knowing if or when you’ll have your next job. Takes a toll on a body, too,” Luke said.

  “She likes it,” Hunter said, though he agreed with Luke.

  “You going to ask her to stay?” Nash asked.

  Hunter took a big bite of his sandwich, purposely chewed the recommended amount of times, then swallowed and drank a sip of beer. “Why would I?”

  “You gonna date her commuter-style? Traveling back and forth will get old,” Luke said.

  “We haven’t gotten that far,” he admitted.

  “So ask her if she wants to stay on for a while. Once the crew leaves, she can stay at the lodge,” Wyatt said.

  Hell no, was his gut reaction. IF he asked her to stay on a while, and IF she agreed to it, he’d want her to stay right where she was.

  The key word was IF.

  Chapter 18

  Mackenzie brushed Rory till he shone, listening to the Triples as they did their own chores. Which of course involved much shoving, shouting and grumbling. Hunter had stepped out for a business call but promised he’d be right back.

  “It’s times like these I wish I had me own Bodachan Sabhaill,” she said, pitching her voice loud enough over the boys’.

  “What’s that mean?” Eli asked.

  “It’s a who, not a what. He’s a spirit who haunts barns in Scotland.”

  “A ghost? In a barn?” Tripp’s eyes grew extra wide.

  “More a spirit, much like what we call a brownie, a magical being.”

  “Magical? Nuh-uh,” Cody said.

  “Oh, yes. I told you before Scotland is an ancient land, so of course there are magical beings all over the country.”

  “Did you ever see any?” Eli had scooped oats into a pail, now he held the scoop in midair, oats trickling from it to the wooden floorboa
rds.

  “Of course. Many times.”

  “Are they good magic or bad magic?” Cody pushed the broom closer to her.

  “Some good, some not so good. I like the good ones the best, of course,” she said.

  “What’s the barn one? The backen shovel?” Tripp asked.

  “Bodachan Sabhaill,” she said, pronouncing it slower for them. “Like I said, he’s a spirit that haunts barns and farms. And do you want to know what he does?”

  “Scares the animals?” Tripp chimed in.

  “Nope.”

  “Spins hay into gold!” Cody said, and threw a handful of hay up in the air.

  “That’s Rumpelstiltskin, dummy,” Tripp said.

  “Tripp, is it nice to call your brother names?” she asked mildly.

  “Sorry,” Tripp mumbled.

  “Any other guesses?”

  “Tell us!” Eli shouted.

  “He does all the chores on farms, and sometimes in the barns,” she said.

  “Chores?” Cody asked. “That’s boring.”

  She set her hands on her hips and looked at him. “So you wouldn’t like a spirit to do all your chores for you?”

  Cody thought about it, his lips twisting one way, then the other. “Yeah, I guess if it’s just a boring spirit, might as well do my chores for me.”

  She laughed. “Very generous of you.”

  “Chores are boring,” Cody said, twisting the broom back and forth.

  “Well, they can be. But if you know the secret to doing them, they can be fun.”

  “There’s a secret to making chores fun?” Tripp asked, a note of the grown-up is fibbing to get me to do chores in his voice.

  “Take Rory, here,” she said, patting the horse’s neck. “He’s my best friend. We’ve worked together on many movies. He knows just what to do to keep me safe, and how to do tricks and stunts. So to thank him, I make sure to take good care of him, and that he’s clean, and brushed down every time we ride, and that he’s fed and happy. So don’t you think that’s a good thing?”

  “Yeah, I guess,” Cody said.

  “And the other animals. They’re all God’s creatures, and some need taking care of more than others. I want to do my part to make sure they’re safe and sound and happy.”

  Eli nodded. “That’s why you wanted to get the kitty out of the tree, right?”

  “Yes, that’s right.” She knew Hunter had talked to the boys about her stunt job, but she wanted to make sure they understood. She loved these boys so much and never wanted them to get hurt trying something they shouldn’t. “And speaking of the kitty, and what I did. Come here for a minute, boys.”

  She pointed to a hay bale for them to sit on, then sat on the ground in front of them. “Remember when I taught you to do the tumbling?”

  “Like Spider-Man!” Cody said.

  “Yes. I want to make sure you understand that my job as a stuntwoman can be lots of fun, but it can be dangerous. I had to go to a training camp, and I still go to classes to learn new stunts, and how to do them safely. There’s also a stunt boss who makes sure everything is safe. I couldn’t just walk onto a movie set and do these things. I don’t want you to get hurt trying to copy me, okay?”

  The boys nodded half-heartedly, not meeting her eyes.

  “Cody? Tripp? Eli? Please, promise me you won’t try to do the things I’ve done. I don’t want any of you hurt. How do you think it would make your dad feel if something happened to you?”

  “Okay,” Tripp mumbled.

  “I care about you boys very much,” she said. “If you ever have questions about wanting to do something, you ask me, or your dad, or a grown-up. It’s for your own safety and well-being,” she said, and her voice cracked.

  They launched off the hay bale and piled on, hugging the stuffing out of her. And she hugged them right back, as tight as she could.

  Saints, she loved these boys.

  Footsteps shuffled behind them, and she looked back to see Hunter walking toward them.

  “Everything okay?” he asked.

  “Right as rain,” she said, thickening her accent on purpose, trying to put a happy note in her voice.

  “Finish your chores, boys,” he said.

  The boys piled off her, and Hunter held a hand out to help her up. She took it and stood, but he didn’t drop her hand.

  He looked behind him at the boys, then back at her.

  “I told you I talked to the boys.”

  No way could she miss the annoyance in his tone. “Yes, but I just wanted to emphasize that it could be dangerous.”

  “They’re my kids. I need to keep them safe.”

  “I’m sorry. I thought I could help.”

  “Thanks, but I’ll handle it.”

  She pulled her hand from his and looked at her watch. “I need to get to the set. I’ll see you later.” Grabbing her bag, she hurried to the location for the day. Worry and anger warred in her stomach. How could Hunter be angry at her for wanting to ensure the boys were safe?

  Tom’s voice penetrated her thoughts as she approached the set. “I was just about to call you. We’ve made some changes to the schedule,” he said, and handed her several pages.

  She glanced at the one on top and almost got sick on the spot. “I didn’t think we were doing the fire scene yet.”

  “Study the script. Walk it through with Brody. We’ll be filming it tonight.” He walked toward the assistant director.

  She stared after him, fear almost choking her.

  Someone touched her arm, and she jumped.

  “I was wondering where you were,” Brody said. “We need to get the fire scene laid out.”

  She told her feet to move, to follow him, but she had trouble getting them to do it.

  He looked back at her. “Are you coming?”

  Finally, she followed him into the barn.

  He showed her the setup. The heroine was supposed to run to the barn to escape the bad guy, but he would trap her and set the barn on fire. Most of the fire would be special effects, but for the close-up shots of her escaping, it had to be real fire.

  Brody had specially lined garments for her to wear to protect her from getting burned, plus she would be holding a thick horse blanket over herself.

  She tried to block the memories of being trapped in the fire, which seemed like just last week.

  “Mack, are you listening to me?” Brody tapped her arm.

  “Sorry. I’m just—”

  “Scared,” he finished for her.

  “Yeah, I am. I’ve been trying to psych myself up to it, but now that it has to be tonight, I don’t know...”

  “You have to do this. There’s not enough time to get another double out here. It’ll halt production. You don’t want to be in breach of contract, do you? You can do this, Mackenzie. I have faith that you can handle it. Faith in you. Come here,” he said, and pulled her into a bear hug.

  Brody was great at his job, and she trusted him when it came to the safety of the stunt doubles he worked with.

  The door creaked open, and she looked up to see Hunter walk in.

  “Mackenzie, I—” He stopped when he saw her and Brody.

  “Hunter, have you met Brody? He’s the stunt coordinator. Did you need me?”

  “I was just going to tell you to call me when you’re done, and I’ll give you a ride home.”

  She ran a hand through her hair. “Thanks. I’m not sure how late I’ll be, but I’ll call when I can, let you know when I get an idea.”

  “Okay. I’ll let you get back to it.” He backed out and the door banged closed.

  “Is there something going on with you two?” Brody asked.

  “Why?” she asked, knowing her face had to be as red as her hair.

  “Because of the way he looked at you.”r />
  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She turned away, then glanced back at Brody. “How did he look at me?”

  “Like he wanted to kiss you, whisk you away somewhere you two could be alone.”

  She frowned. “No, he didn’t.”

  “You know you can talk to Uncle Brody, right?” He cocked a hip and folded his arms across his broad chest.

  “Yes. No. I don’t know.” She huffed out a breath. “I can’t deal with him right now. Show me again what I’m supposed to do.” She forced thoughts of Hunter away so she could concentrate.

  The next few hours, they walked through the scene several times, and she read the script. Part of her job was to get in the character’s head, much as the actors did, to know how to react realistically, to mirror what the actress she doubled for would do.

  The fear part was easy—she had that down, no problem. It was the rest of it that scared her to death.

  They broke for an early dinner and were to report back at eight for wardrobe and makeup. Most of the crew headed up to the lodge for dinner, but she wanted to be alone, so she walked to Hunter’s cabin. By the time she got there, she was shivering. But was it from fear or the cold?

  She opened the front door just as Hunter pulled into the driveway. He got out, and let the boys climb out.

  “I told you to call me when you were ready,” he said, walking toward her. He stopped, looked at her face. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

  She shook her head, looked at the boys and forced a smile.

  The boys ran into the cabin, and she followed, hoping to slip off to her room. But Hunter touched her arm. “Talk to me.”

  “I have to go back tonight and work. They moved the fire scene ahead of schedule. Just need to clear my head.”

  Hunter stared at her a moment, then pulled his cell phone out and pressed a button. “It’s me. Can the boys spend the night with you?” He listened for a moment. “Great. Thanks, dude. They’ll be ready.”

  “You didn’t need to do that. I’ll be fine. I’m just going to my room.”

  “Go take a hot bath and relax. I’ll get the boys ready to go, and see you in a bit.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek.

  She walked into her room and shut the door, grateful she’d been stranded and had to move into Hunter’s spare room.