Triple Trouble / A Real Live Cowboy
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He’s much more comfortable with the babies after only a day. Charlene was impressed at how easily he’d managed to extricate Jenny from her seat while holding Jackie.
She quickly gathered the girls’ blankets, stuffed animals and various toys from the floor mats where the girls had tossed them and finished unbuckling Jessie to lift her out of the car. She slung a loaded tote bag over her shoulder and bumped the car door closed with one hip.
“I’ll unload the bags after we get the girls inside,” Nick told her, gesturing her ahead of him to the walkway that curved across the lawn to the front entry. “Ring the doorbell,” he said when they reached the door. “Melissa should be here—that’s her car parked at the curb.”
Charlene did as he asked and heard muted chimes from inside the house. Almost immediately the door opened.
“Hello—there you are.” The woman in the doorway was small, her petite form sturdy in khaki pants, pullover white T-shirt and tennis shoes. Her dark hair was frosted with gray and her deep-brown eyes sparkled, animated behind tortoise-shell-framed glasses. “How was the trip?”
“Exhausting,” Nick said bluntly. “Melissa, this is Charlene London. Charlene, this is Melissa Kennedy, my housekeeper. Charlene’s going to take care of the girls, Melissa.”
“Nice to meet you.” Melissa’s smile held friendly interest. Charlene’s murmured response was lost as Jenny wriggled in Nick’s arms, her little face screwing up into a prelude to full-blown tears. Nick stepped inside and handed Jackie to the housekeeper before he cuddled Jenny closer.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” He carried the sobbing little girl down the hall.
Charlene followed him into the living room, Melissa bringing up the rear with Jackie.
As often happened with the three little girls, when one of them began crying, the other two soon followed. Charlene rubbed Jessie’s back in soothing circles and slowly rocked her back and forth. She only cried harder. Melissa murmured to Jackie and gently patted her back, but Jackie’s sobs increased until they matched her sisters’ in volume.
“Jessie needs a diaper change.” Charlene raised her voice to be heard over the combined cries of the three babies.
“Can you and Melissa handle them while I bring in the bags from the car?” Nick asked, looking faintly frazzled.
“Of course,” Charlene responded with easy confidence.
Nick didn’t look convinced but he didn’t argue with her.
“Did the delivery crew set up the cribs, Melissa?” he asked.
“Yes, and the changing tables and dressers too. I put away the diapers and the other supplies in their room, and I had the men carry the high chairs into the kitchen,” she replied.
“Good.” Nick gently patted Jenny’s back with one hand as he strode across the living room toward the stairway, located just inside the front door. “Let’s get them upstairs and I’ll bring in the diaper bags.”
Charlene followed Nick and Melissa up the open stairway, with its wooden railing. The second-floor hallway branched to the right and left. Nick turned left and soon disappeared into the third room, Melissa and Jackie a step behind.
Charlene brought up the rear with Jessie, slowing to glance briefly into the first two rooms as she passed. One held a white, wrought-iron bed, the floor carpeted in light green Berber. The other was a bathroom, fitted in pale wooden cabinets with green marble tops.
The house was lovely but the sparse furnishings clearly stated that this was a bachelor’s home. Downstairs in the living room, she’d noted a large plasma television mounted on one wall, with shelves of electronic equipment beneath. CD cases were piled in stacks on the shelves between stereo speakers. A low, oak coffee table sat in front of a dark-brownleather sofa and a matching club chair and ottoman, angled next to the hearth of a river rock fireplace and chimney. There was no other furniture in the room, leaving an expanse of pale wooden floor gleaming in the late afternoon sunlight that poured through skylights and windows.
She’d glimpsed a dining room through an archway, but again, saw only the minimum of furniture in a table and chairs. She wondered how long Nick had lived in the house, since it appeared to be furnished with only essentials.
She carried Jessie into the bedroom and paused, feeling her eyes widen as she took in the room. It was large, with plenty of space for three white-painted cribs. Two dressers and changing tables matched the cottage-style cribs, and two rocking chairs with deep-rose seat cushions were tucked into a corner. Despite the number of pieces of furniture, the room didn’t feel crowded.
Clearly, Nick hadn’t skimped on furnishings here.
“I had the men put the third dresser, changing table and rocker in the empty bedroom down the hall,” Melissa said to Nick. “I thought it would be too crowded if all of the furniture was in here.”
“We might have to move two of the cribs into other rooms. If one of the girls cries, the other two chime in. Maybe they’d sleep better if we split them up.” He looked at Charlene. “What do you think?”
“We could leave them together for tonight and see how they do. You can always move them tomorrow, if sharing a room doesn’t work out.”
Nick nodded decisively. “We’ll try it.” Gently, he lowered the now quiet Jenny onto the carpet. “I’ll go bring up their bags.”
Charlene slipped the canvas tote off her shoulder and lowered it to the floor before kneeling and setting Jessie down next to it. She took a tissue from the bag and wiped the damp tears from Jessie’s cheeks before handing the baby her blanket and a stuffed bear.
In Melissa’s arms, Jackie’s sobs had slowed to the occasional hiccup. She stretched out her arms and babbled imperiously.
Charlene wondered if she could use that combination of regal commands and pleas on Nick. Would he respond with hugs and kisses, as he did with the triplets?
She nearly groaned aloud.
The image of him rising from her bed at the motel, rumpled and sleepy, seemed to have permanently engraved itself on her brain. Try as she might, she couldn’t forget how his big, powerful body had looked, clad only in gray boxers, as he’d walked across the room.
Jackie’s chattering increased to shriek level and Charlene realized she had no idea how long she’d been standing still, staring unseeingly at the baby. She glanced quickly at Melissa, but the other woman was focused on Jackie, laughing as she jiggled her in her arms.
“I bet the queen of Hollywood divas, whoever she may be this week, doesn’t make as much noise as this little girl,” Melissa commented as she met Charlene’s gaze. The housekeeper’s eyes twinkled with amusement.
Mentally sighing with relief that Melissa appeared oblivious to her distraction, Charlene shoved the memory of Nick’s powerful thighs and broad chest into the back of her mind. She ordered the image to stay put—and desperately hoped it would obey.
Chapter Three
Jackie shrieked again and Charlene laughed out loud. “Yes, your royal highness,” she said teasingly, retrieving the pink blanket with Jackie’s name embroidered across one corner and passing it to Melissa.
“Isn’t that clever?” Melissa said admiringly, as Jackie hugged the blanket and beamed at Charlene. “I wondered how Nick planned to tell one baby’s things from another.” She ran a fingertip gently over the bracelet on Jackie’s wrist. “But everything has their names on it, including the little girls themselves.”
“I thought their parents came up with a brilliant solution,” Charlene agreed. “Though I assume they could tell their daughters apart.”
Melissa’s face sobered. “Such a terrible thing to have happened, isn’t it? How awful to lose both parents at such a young age.”
“Yes,” Charlene agreed, her heart wrenching as she looked at Jessie and Jenny tugging on their stuffed bears. So innocent—and thankfully, too young to grasp the enormity of their loss just now.
Nick strode into the room, pulling two large rolling suitcases and carrying a backpack slung over one shoulder, all stuffed to overflowing with the triplets’ clothing and toys. “I put your suitcase in the room across the hall,” he told Charlene, shrugging the backpack off his shoulder.
“Thank you,” she murmured, delighted to know the lovely room with the white wrought-iron bed and green carpet would be hers during her stay.
In the ensuing bustle of changing diapers and tucking away tiny clothing into dresser drawers, Charlene was too busy to dwell on the triplets’ orphaned status.
Melissa was a godsend, helping with the girls as Charlene and Nick fed and bathed them, then tucked all three into bed. The adults returned to the living room and collapsed, Nick in the leather club chair, Charlene and Melissa on the comfortable sofa.
“They’re wonderful,” Melissa told Nick. “But oh, my goodness.” She sighed, a gust of air stirring her normally smooth hair, where one of the triplets had rumpled and dampened it while the little girl splashed in her bath. “Talk about energy. What you two need to do is find a way to collect some of that for yourself. You’re going to need it.” She looked at Charlene. “Do they sleep through the night?”
“They did last night. I’ve got my fingers crossed, hoping we’ll have another quiet ten hours or so.”
“I hope they do too.” Melissa pushed herself up off the sofa. “I’d better get home. Ed will be wondering what happened to me.”
Nick started to shove up out of the chair but she waved him back. “No, no—don’t get up. I can see myself out. You should take advantage of this moment of quiet. Who knows how long it will last?”
“Good point,” Nick agreed, settling into the chair, the worn denim of his jeans going taut over muscled thighs as he stretched out his long legs. “We should make the most of this rare minute. It could be the last one of the night.”
“Exactly.” Melissa grinned at him, eyes twinkling, before she turned to Charlene. “I’ll see you in the morning—about eight?”
“Eight works for me. I’m looking forward to it,” Charlene replied with heartfelt warmth. After watching Melissa’s efficient, comfortable and unflappable handling of the babies over the last couple of hours, Charlene was convinced the housekeeper was going to be an enormous help in caring for the triplets.
“Goodnight, then, you two. I hope you get some sleep. I left my purse and keys in the kitchen. I’ll just collect them and let myself out the back,” she said. She moved briskly across the living room but stopped in the doorway. “I forgot to tell you, Nick, I left Rufus with Ed today so you could get the girls settled in before they meet him. I’ll bring him back with me tomorrow.”
“Good thinking,” Nick told her. “Dealing with the triplets was chaotic. Adding an excited hundred-and-twenty-five-pound dog into the mix would have made it crazy.”
Melissa chuckled and waved a quick good-night as she disappeared.
A moment later, the sound of her car engine reached the two in the living room.
“I take it you have a big dog?”
“Oh, yeah,” Nick said dryly. “Rufus is a chocolate Lab. Thankfully, he’s very mellow and loves kids, so he should be fine with the triplets.”
“As long as he likes them, they’ll probably think he’s wonderful.” Charlene yawned, suddenly exhausted. “I think I’ll head upstairs.” She unfolded her legs and stood, aware of aching muscles from the long car ride. “I could sleep for at least twelve hours straight. I’ve never understood how sitting in a car and doing nothing can make me tired.”
“It was a long trip,” Nicholas agreed, getting out of the chair. He rolled his shoulders and stretched. “Did Melissa show you where everything is—towels, coffee for tomorrow morning, et cetera?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“If you need anything, just ask. If I don’t already have it in the house, I’ll get it.” He eyed her, his gaze intent. “I’m damned grateful you agreed to take on the triplets, Charlene. I know it’s not an easy job. There’s no way I could do it by myself.”
“You’re doing very well for a man who’s never had children of his own,” she told him. “And I confess, I’m relieved Melissa will be helping. She’s good with the girls and nothing seems to faze her.”
“She’s pretty unshakeable,” Nick said. “I normally work long hours, and she keeps the house together and makes sure there are meals in the fridge.”
“How long has she worked for you?” Charlene asked, curious.
“Since a few days after I moved to Red Rock. The employment agency sent over three women and I hired Melissa on the spot.”
“Sounds like it was the right decision. Well…” She tugged her white cotton T-shirt into place, suddenly self-conscious. The room was abruptly too intimate in the lamplight and Nick loomed much too large, and much too male. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Sleep well. I have to go to the office for a meeting tomorrow, but I won’t leave until Melissa arrives.”
She nodded. “Good night.”
His answering good-night was a low male rumble. Charlene looked back when she reached the stairway and found him staring after her, his expression brooding. She hurried up the stairs, faintly breathless from the impact of the brief moment her gaze had met his.
He’s your employer, she reminded herself as she brushed her teeth in the white-and-green bathroom that opened off her bedroom, stop lusting after him.
Apparently, however, the emotional, hormonal part of her was in no mood to listen to the practical, rational command. She fell asleep and dreamed of making love with a man who looked very much like Nick Fortune.
Just as she stretched out her arms, her fingertips mere inches away from the bare chest of her dream lover, a loud wail yanked her awake.
Charlene sat bolt upright, disoriented as she stared in confusion at the dim outlines of bed and dresser in the strange room.
The sound of crying from the triplets’ room abruptly scattered the lingering fog of sleep and she tossed back the bedcovers to hurry next door.
“Oh, sweetie,” she soothed, lifting Jackie from her crib. “Sh.” She patted the little back while the baby’s sobs slowed to hiccups. “What’s wrong?”
Jessie rolled over in her crib and sat up. In the third crib, Jenny pulled herself to her feet to clasp the rail. Jackie chose that moment to burst into sobs once more and, as if on cue, Jessie and Jenny’s faces crumpled. They burst into tears as well.
The combined sound of their crying was deafening and impossible to ignore. Charlene wasn’t surprised when Nick staggered into the room.
“What’s wrong?” His voice was gravelly with sleep. He wore navy boxers, his broad chest and long legs bare.
Despite the earsplitting noise of three crying babies, Charlene still noticed that Nick looked as good undressed as he did in faded jeans and T-shirts.
“Jackie woke me, then her crying woke the other two.” Charlene crossed to the changing table, gently rocking the still sobbing Jackie while she took a fresh diaper from the drawer. “I think she needs a diaper change. Can you pick up Jenny and Jessie—maybe rock them for a few minutes?”
“Sure.” Nick shoved his fingers through his hair, further rumpling it, and lifted Jenny from her crib.
The low rumble of his voice as he murmured to the two babies was barely audible as Charlene quickly changed Jackie’s diaper. By the time she snapped the little girl’s footed sleeper and tossed the damp disposable nappy into the bin, their crying had subsided into silence. She tucked Jackie against her shoulder and turned, stopping abruptly.
Nick sat in the cushioned rocking chair, a little girl against each bare shoulder, their faces turned into the bend of his neck where shoulder met throat. His broad hands nearly covered each little back, fingers splayed to hold them securely. His hair was rumpled, his eyes sleepy.
Charlene didn’t think she’d ever seen anything half as sexy as the big man protectively cradling the two sleeping babies. She felt her heart lurch.
Don’t go there, she ordered herself. Do not notice how sexy he is. Remember you swore to avoid men for at least six months after breaking up with Barry. That was only two weeks ago.
She couldn’t remember ever feeling this attracted to her ex-fiancé, but that didn’t change the fact that she was determined to never, ever, get involved with her employer.
She moved softly across the room and eased into the empty rocking chair. Jackie stirred, lifting her head from Charlene’s shoulder. Charlene quickly smoothed her hand over the baby’s silky black curls, gently urging her to lay her head down once more, and set the rocker in motion. Within seconds, Jackie was relaxed, her compact little body feeling boneless where it lay against Charlene.
“Is she asleep?” Nick’s murmur rasped, velvet over gravel.
“Yes,” Charlene whispered. “What about your two?”
He tipped his head back to peer down at first one, then the other, of the two little girls. “They seem to be.” He looked up at her. “Think it’s safe to put them back in bed?”
“We can try. Let me put Jackie down and then I’ll take one of yours.” At his nod, Charlene stood and crossed to Jackie’s crib, easing the sleeping baby down onto her back and pulling the light blanket over her before she returned to Nick.
“Which one do you want me to carry?” she whispered.
“Jenny.” He leaned forward slightly.
Charlene bent closer to lift the sleeping baby, her hands brushing against his bare skin. He was warm, his skin sleek over the flex of muscles as he shifted to help transfer the little girl to her, and a shiver of awareness shook her. She was aware his head turned abruptly, could feel the intensity of his stare, but she wouldn’t, couldn’t, allow herself to meet his gaze. Instead, she cradled Jenny in her arms and turned away to carry the little girl to her crib, tucking her in and smoothing the blanket over her sleeping form. Behind her, she heard the soft sounds of Nick tucking Jessie into the third crib.
Nick followed her to the doorway, waiting in the hall as she paused to look back. The room was quiet—no movement visible in any of the three cribs to indicate a restless child.
“I think they’re out for the count,” Nick murmured behind her.
“Yes, I believe you’re right,” she whispered, before stepping into the hall and easing the door partially closed. “Let’s hope they stay that way for the rest of the night.” She gave him a fleeting glance. “Good night.”
“Good night.”
Once again, she felt his stare as she walked down the hall and into the safety of her room. She closed the door and collapsed against it, the panels cool against her shoulders, left bare by the narrow straps of her camisole pajama top.
There was no way she would ever become involved with her boss. She’d sworn a solemn oath after she’d learned about her father’s affair with his secretary that had ultimately destroyed her parents’ marriage. She’d never forgiven him, but for the first time, tonight she had an inkling as to what may have caused her father to stray. If he’d felt anything like the sizzling heat that swamped her every time she got close to Nick Fortune, then maybe, just maybe, she should stop being so angry at him. Maybe he’d literally been unable to help himself.
Or not, she thought, still not completely convinced.
But in any event, she had to find a way to insulate herself against the powerful attraction she felt. Especially since it appeared Nick didn’t have to do anything, or even say anything, to make her nerves sizzle and her body heat up.
Apparently, he just needed to breathe in her presence.
Groaning, she climbed back into bed and pulled the sheet and blanket over her head.
The triplets were still fast asleep in their cribs upstairs when Charlene tiptoed down the stairs and into the kitchen just before eight the following morning.
Nick glanced over his shoulder and took down another mug from the open cupboard. “Morning,” he said. “Coffee’s nearly done.”
Charlene breathed in the rich scent filling the kitchen and nearly groaned. “Bless you.”
Nick’s grin flashed, his eyes lit with amusement. He poured the rich brew into their mugs at the same moment that a knock sounded on the back door.
“That’ll be Melissa,” Nick told Charlene. He grabbed his computer case and crossed the kitchen to pull open the door.
A huge chocolate Labrador retriever leaped over the threshold and planted his paws on Nick’s shoulders, whining with excitement, his tail whipping back and forth.
“Ouch.” Melissa stepped inside, moving sideways to avoid getting hit. “That tail of yours is a lethal weapon, Rufus.” She waved her hand at the travel coffee mug and leather case in Nick’s left hand. “On your way out to work, boss?”
“Yeah.” Nick rubbed Rufus’s ears. “That’s enough. Down, boy.” The Lab dropped back onto four paws but continued to wag his tail, pink tongue lolling as he stared adoringly up at Nick. “I’ll check with the employment agency today,” Nick said, looking over his shoulder at Charlene, “and find out if they’ve lined up applicants for a second nanny.”
“I’ll keep my fingers crossed that they have—then maybe we both can start getting more sleep.”
Nick grinned, his eyes lit with rueful amusement as his mouth curved upward to reveal a flash of white teeth. Charlene suspected she was staring at him like a hopelessly lovestruck teenager, but she couldn’t bring herself to look away.
No man should be that gorgeous.
“I’ll tell them we’re staggering from sleep deprivation. Maybe they’ll take pity on us,” he said.
“We can only hope,” Charlene said, tearing her gaze away from his smile. Unfortunately, she was immediately snagged by his glossy black hair, thick-lashed brown eyes, tanned skin with a faint beard shadow despite the early hour, handsome features…Were all the Fortune men this blessed by nature? she wondered. If so, heaven help the women who caught their attention—because females didn’t stand a chance against all that powerful, charming, handsome male virility. Perhaps she was fortunate that he was her boss and thus off-limits, not to mention he was also clearly far more sophisticated than she. Never mind the fact that he was also not interested in her. Because if he ever turned that undeniable charm on her, she’d give in without a whimper.
It’s a pitiful thing when a woman has no resistance to a man, she realized with wry acknowledgment.
“So long, boss,” Melissa’s voice yanked Charlene out of her thoughts. “Have a good day.”
“Good luck with the triplets.” Nick bent to give Rufus’s silky ears one last rub before disappearing through the door.
Charlene echoed Melissa’s goodbye before pouring herself another mug of coffee. “The coffee’s fresh,” she told Melissa. “Want some?”
“Sure, why not.” Melissa slid onto a stool at the counter.
Charlene handed her a steaming cup and took a seat opposite her.
“Are the babies still asleep?” Melissa asked.
“Yes.” Charlene glanced at the digital clock on the microwave. “They’re sleeping in, probably because they were awake several times last night.”
“I was telling my Ed about the triplets just this morning—” Melissa began.
Whatever she was about to say was lost as someone rapped sharply on the back door.
Charlene looked inquiringly at Melissa.
“That’s probably LouAnn,” Melissa said as she left the counter and crossed the room.
Charlene barely had time to wonder who LouAnn was before Melissa pulled open the door. She felt her eyes widen.
“Good morning, Melissa.” The throaty rasp seemed incongruous, coming as it did from a woman who Charlene guessed weighed at best a hundred pounds, maybe a hundred and ten at the most.
“Hi, LouAnn.” Melissa gestured her inside. “We’re just having coffee. Want some?”
“Of course.” LouAnn followed Melissa to the counter, her bright blue gaze full of curiosity and fixed on Charlene. “And who are you, dearie?”