Their Inherited Triplets, page 3
Sam wasn’t surprised Lulu was feeling protective. She had always been sweetly maternal. An emotion that as of late had been bestowed upon her bees.
She had also switched gears pretty quickly. From cantankerous ex slash opponent, to heartbroken business owner, to ferociously determined nanny-to-be. He couldn’t help but wonder if they were moving too fast, if they shouldn’t ask for an extra few days to think about what they wanted to do, before they gave Hiram their answer.
Able to see how Lulu might take such a suggestion, however, he said only, “You’re really willing to go all out to lend a hand, even after what happened here at the Honeybee Ranch today?” A theft that had left her devastated?
She gave him a look that said, Especially after this. “First of all, Sam,” she reflected sadly, “we owe it to our friends to do everything we can to protect and nurture their three little boys.”
Renewed grief wafted over him, too. “I agree,” he said gruffly.
“Second, it’ll keep me busy until I see if my hives will ever be recovered.” As she seemed to fear they wouldn’t be. “Third, to make this work, you’re going to need help. Lots of it.”
He leaned against a post on the porch and studied her. Aware the impulsive, reckless, romantic side of her was simultaneously the most thrilling and the most irritating. Which made him wonder just how long she would last, in what was likely to be a very challenging—and potentially heartbreaking—situation.
He sauntered toward her. “I don’t half do anything, Lulu.” A fact he’d made perfectly clear ten years before.
Her lower lip slid out in a delicious pout. She rose with elegant grace to face off with him. “Unlike me, I suppose?”
He let his gaze drift over her, taking in her luscious curves and lithe frame, her elegant arms and long sexy legs. “I wasn’t talking about our previous big mistake.”
She sent her glance heavenward. Sighed, with what seemed like enormous regret. “It was that, all right.”
He jammed his hands on his waist and lowered his face to hers, wishing she had realized that a whole lot sooner. Like at the beginning of their spring break, instead of the end. “It was your idea in the first place.”
She glared back at him. “Yeah, well, you went along with me, cowboy. At least initially.”
Until she’d begun to panic. And suffer regret. Then, well, it had been clear their relationship was all over.
Emotion rose as their stare-down continued.
Realizing she had almost goaded him into losing his cool, Sam shoved a hand through his hair and stepped away. Deciding it might be best to be more direct, he said honestly, “This is what worries me, darlin’. The fact we can hardly be around each other without quarreling.”
Lulu nodded. Sober now. “It would worry me, too, if we didn’t have something much more important to worry about. The health and welfare and happiness of Theresa and Peter’s three boys.”
She released a soft, empathetic sigh and compassion gleamed in her eyes. “You heard what Hiram said. They’re at the end of the line of the named guardians. If we don’t want them to end up separated and in foster care, you and I are going to have to find a way to make it all work.” She paused to draw a deep, enervating breath that lifted the curves of her breasts against her polo shirt. “I don’t think, under the circumstances, that this is too much to ask of us. Do you? Especially since Peter and Theresa named both of us in their wills?”
“All right,” Sam said, deciding he could be as selfless as she was being and more. “I’ll agree to this arrangement for one month.” Which should be enough time for you to realize how unworkable a situation this is going to be for the two of us, and then decide to simply take on the role of close family friend. “At the end of that time,” he said sternly, “we reassess. And if we need to find a professional nanny, we will.”
“Agreed. Although I have to warn you, I’m not going to change my mind.”
That, Sam thought, remained to be seen. From what he’d observed, one two-year-old could be a lot. Three...at one time...who were also in mourning...? But in the short-term, there were other important things they needed to worry about, too. Her personal safety being paramount.
“Where are you going to be this evening?” he asked, guessing she hadn’t yet told her family what had happened. Otherwise her cell phone would have been ringing off the hook and the place would have been inundated with McCabes.
But they would know, as soon as the ranchers in the family got the alert from the cattleman’s association. “Are you going to stay with your parents?”
She blinked, confused. “Why would I want to do that?”
“In case the rustlers come back.”
She pooh-poohed the notion, fearless as always. “They already took everything of value.”
She had a point. They hadn’t touched her house. And they certainly could have looted it, too, if they had wanted to do so. Still... He gazed down at her. “I think until we know more about who did this and why, you’ll be safer elsewhere, Lulu.”
“And I think I’ll be just fine right here.” She took hold of his biceps and steered him toward the porch steps, clearly done with this topic.
But he was not satisfied. Not in the least. Because the need to protect her was back, stronger than ever. “Lulu...”
She peered up at him from beneath a fringe of dark lashes. “You just worry about contacting Hiram and getting the triplets here as soon as possible. I’ll handle the rest.” She went into the house and shut the door behind her.
Chapter Three
“Sam’s still out there?” Lulu’s mother, Rachel, asked during the impromptu family phone call an hour later.
Grimacing, Lulu peeked out the window of her living room, catching a glimpse of the ornery cowboy through the dusky light. Cell phone still pressed to her ear, she confirmed, “He’s sitting in his pickup truck, talking on the phone and doing something on what appears to be a laptop.” Looking as devastatingly handsome and sexy as ever with his hat tossed off and his sleeves rolled up, another button of his shirt undone. Not that she was noticing the effect the summer heat might be having on him...
“Good for him,” growled her father. He had heard all about the theft from other members of the cattleman’s association before she’d even managed to call home to tell them. “Since Sam obviously doesn’t think you should be left alone right now, either.”
But Sam had once, Lulu thought. When the two of them had been at odds, he’d had no problem issuing an ultimatum. When he’d become deeply disappointed in her and walked away.
“Now, Frank,” her mother warned, “Lulu can make her own decisions.”
On the other end of the connection, her father harrumphed.
Lulu didn’t want what she saw as her problems bringing conflict to her family. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate the offers made by you and my brothers,” she said soothingly. All five of whom wanted to help out by either temporarily taking her into their home or standing guard over her and her property. “It’s just that I need some alone time right now.”
She needed time to think, to figure out how she and Sam were going to manage the triplets. Without continually bringing up any of their former angst.
With uncanny intuition, her mother asked, “Is there anything else going on?”
Glad she had opted not to FaceTime or speak with her parents in person, at least not until after Sam had formally become the triplets’ guardian and she their nanny, Lulu tensed. “Like what?” She feigned innocence. Knowing her folks, they were going to have a lot of opinions about her decision to become a parent this way, too.
“I’m not sure.” Her mother paused.
Lulu’s heartbeat accelerated as she saw Sam get out of his pickup truck and stride through the twilight. He still had his cell phone and a laptop in his big hands. “Listen, Mom, Dad, I’ve gotta go. Talk to you soon.” She hung up before they had a chance to reply.
The doorbell rang.
Her body thrumming with a mixture of impatience and anticipation, she switched on the porch light and opened the door. She stood, blocking him, and gave him a deadpan look. “Yes?”
His legs were braced apart, broad shoulders squared. Looking as confident and determined as ever, he turned his ruggedly handsome face to hers. “I wanted to tell you what the cattlemen have unearthed thus far,” he said in the low, masculine voice she knew so well.
Lulu blinked in surprise and glanced at her watch. “It’s only been a few hours.”
A stubble of evening beard, a shade darker than his wheat-blond hair, lined his jaw. A matter-of-fact smile turned up the corners of his sensual lips. But it was the compelling intensity of his eyes that unraveled her every time. No matter how fiercely she determined that he would not get to her. Not again. “When it comes to rustlers, it’s important to strike before the trail gets cold,” he explained.
She couldn’t argue that.
Their eyes met for one brief, telling moment, that—however fleeting—had them on the exact same page.
Gratitude oozing through her and figuring they might as well sit down for this, she ushered him in. He followed her past the cozy seating area and over to the kitchen island, where she’d been working on her own laptop, notifying fellow beekeepers of what had transpired.
Sam set his belongings down but remained standing. “First,” he said, “I want to tell you that I phoned Hiram and told him you and I were going to be jointly caring for the boys, at least in the interim. Me as their permanent legal guardian, you as their nanny. He was on board with the idea of the two of us joining forces during the kids’ transition, so the triplets are being brought to my ranch tomorrow afternoon around 3:30 p.m.”
Wow, Sam worked fast. On multiple fronts. But then he always had. His ability to really get things done was one of the things she admired most about him.
He paused to check an incoming text on his phone, then turned his attention back to her. “Apparently, they are going to have everything they need with them for the short-term, and the rest of their belongings will be delivered by movers the following day.”
She nodded, trying not to think about how attracted to him she still was.
His gaze roving her head to toe, he continued, “So, if you would like to be at Hidden Creek with me to greet them...”
There were times when he made her feel very comfortable, and then there were others, like now, when he made her feel very off-kilter. Lulu moved around to the other side of the island. “I would.” She busied herself, putting a few dishes away.
He smiled. “Great. And second of all...” He settled his six-foot-three-inch frame on the bar stool, opened up his laptop and, eyes locked on hers, continued, “I know that you gave some of this information to the sheriff’s department regarding the theft, but I want to make sure I didn’t miss anything, if that’s okay.”
Ribbons of sensation ghosting down her spine, Lulu dipped her head in assent. He nodded back at her, then typed in a few words. “The burglary happened sometime this morning.”
His manner was so businesslike, Lulu began to realize she could lean on Sam, at least in this situation, if only she allowed herself to do so.
Determined to keep him at arm’s length, she fought the waves of sexual magnetism that always existed between them. “Sometime between eight o’clock, when I left for town to set up my lunch service for my food truck,” she confirmed. “And when the sheriff’s department notified me at around five o’clock, to let me know there had been a break-in.”
Which left a huge nine-hour window.
His big hands paused over the keys. “A customer reported it?”
Aware she was suddenly feeling shaky again, Lulu moved around the island in search of a place to sit down. “Lucille Lockhart came out to buy some honey. She hadn’t read my social media page advertising the location of my food truck today, so she didn’t know I wasn’t here.” But the thieves likely had.
Sam made a low, thoughtful sound. “And everything was gone when Mrs. Lockhart arrived?”
She settled in the high-backed stool next to him and swiveled to face him. The sincerity in his gaze was almost as unnerving as his unexpected, unrelenting kindness. “The entire apiary was emptied, and so were the storehouse shelves. Panic-stricken, Mrs. Lockhart tried to call me, and when she couldn’t reach me, she notified the sheriff. We don’t know much more than that right now.”
“Actually, we do.” He swiveled toward her, too, and braced one elbow on the counter next to his laptop. His other hand rested on his rock-hard thigh. Nodding tersely once again, he added, “I put out the word when we got here. I’ve heard back from almost all our members.”
She caught her breath at the worry in his eyes.
“Apparently two trucks were spotted on the farm-to-market road that goes by here around one o’clock this afternoon. They seemed to be traveling together and were headed north. One was a white refrigeration truck, the other a flatbed loaded with two off-road forklifts.” His lips compressed, and his gruff tone registered his disappointment. “We didn’t get an actual license number, but someone noticed the plates were from Wisconsin.”
Hope mingling with dread, Lulu laid her hand across her heart. “They’re sure it was a refrigeration truck?”
“It had the cooling unit on top of the cab.”
Relief filtered through her. She didn’t know whether to shout hallelujah or sob with relief. In truth, she felt like doing both. “Oh, thank heavens,” she whispered finally.
“That’s important?” Sam guessed.
Lulu swallowed around the ache in her throat. “Very. The bees wouldn’t survive in their boxes if they were transported a long way in this kind of heat.” She ran her hand over the side seam of her denim skirt. Sam’s glance followed her reflexive move. Realizing the fabric had ridden up, Lulu did her best to surreptitiously tug it down. Yet, maddeningly, the hem remained several inches above her bare knees.
Knees he had once caressed with devastating sensuality.
Pushing aside her rush of self-consciousness, she added, “Moving bees is hard on them as it is.”
Sam lifted his glance and locked eyes with her yet again. He regarded her with the respect of a fellow rancher. “Makes sense they’d do better if they were kept cool.” He rubbed his jaw. “That kind of truck will also make the thieves easier to find.”
Glad he had taken it upon himself to help her, even when she had preferred he leave her to handle everything on her own, Lulu drew a breath. It would be so easy to lean on him again. Too easy, maybe, given how acrimoniously they had once parted. “So what now?” she asked quietly.
Sam sobered, the corners of his lips slanting down. “I’ve already notified the sheriff’s department with all the information I was able to compile, and they in turn have put out an APB and will be checking with truck stops and weighing stations for any vehicles fitting the description.”
Feeling her first concrete ray of hope, Lulu asked, “You really think we might find them?”
He nodded. “Trucks like that can’t stick to country roads without drawing a lot of attention. On the highway, they’ll be a lot easier to find. Hopefully, we’ll know something soon.”
He shut the lid on his laptop and stood.
Feeling surprisingly reluctant to see him go, Lulu rose, too. “Sam...” She touched his arm, delaying him. He turned to gaze down at her and her heart rate kicked up another notch.
“I really... I don’t know how to thank you,” she continued sincerely. “A few hours ago, I had very little hope I’d ever see my beehives again. Now, well.” She struggled to put her gratitude into words. As she gazed up at him, she pushed through the wealth of conflicting emotions suddenly racing through her and tried again. “I never would have expected you to...help.”
Something dark and turbulent flashed in his eyes. “Well, you should have,” he said, as if fighting his own inner demons.
The next thing Lulu knew, she was all the way in his arms. His head was lowering, his lips capturing hers. His kiss was everything she remembered, everything she had ever dreamed of receiving, everything the wildly impulsive and romantic part of her still wanted.
From him...
Because the truth was, no one had ever affected her like Sam did. No one had ever made her want, wish, need... And as his lips ravished hers, she moaned at the sweet, enervating heat. The touch of his tongue against hers sent her even further over the edge. Wreathing her arms about his neck, she shifted closer. Nestling the softness of her breasts against the solid, unyielding warmth of his broad chest. His hand swept lower, bringing her even nearer. And, just like that, the walls she’d erected around her began to crumble and her heart expanded, tenfold.
One kiss melded into another. And then another...and another. Until he had her surrendering to the firm, insistent pressure of his mouth as never before. She clung to him, soaking up everything about him. His strength, his scent. His warmth and tenderness. Years of pent-up emotion poured out of her as she rose on tiptoe and pressed her body even closer against the hardness of his.
And still he kissed her. Slowly and thoroughly. Softly and sweetly. With building need. Until a low, helpless moan escaped her throat. And she recalled everything that had once brought them together...and had ultimately torn them apart...
* * *
Sam hadn’t meant to kiss her. Hadn’t thought he would even come close. But when Lulu had looked up at him with such sweet surprise in her expression, well, it triggered something in him. Something primitive and hot and wild.
