Montana Twins. Charlotte Maclay

      “Have you always been this much of a skeptic? Or do babies make you that nervous?”

      “Come on,” Eric said. “You waltz into my life with some crazy story about a sister I never knew I had? Wouldn’t you have some doubts, too? A desperate woman looking to find a decent home for her baby can come up with a very convincing lie.”

      She leveled him a look that would have made most men back off in a hurry. “I personally guarantee that if you don’t want to raise the girls for any reason at all, they will always have a good home—with me.”

      The intensity of her words brought him up short. This woman was not fooling around. “You want to adopt the twins?”

      “With all my heart.” A fine sheen of tears appeared in her eyes, but she didn’t let them spill over.

      “Then why did you bother to track me down? I never would have known otherwise.”

      “Because I promised I would.”

      Montana Twins

      Charlotte Maclay

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      Charlotte Maclay can’t resist a happy ending. That’s why she’s had such fun writing more than twenty titles for Harlequin American Romance, Duets and Love & Laughter, plus several Silhouette Romance books. Charlotte is particularly well-known for her volunteer efforts in her hometown of Torrance, California; her philosophy is that you should make a difference in your community. She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, whom they are occasionally allowed to baby-sit. She loves to hear from readers and can be reached at P.O. Box 505, Torrance, CA 90508.

      Books by Charlotte Maclay

      HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE

      474—THE VILLAIN’S LADY

      488—A GHOSTLY AFFAIR

      503—ELUSIVE TREASURE

      532—MICHAEL’S MAGIC

      537—THE KIDNAPPED BRIDE

      566—HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE

      585—THE COWBOY & THE BELLY DANCER

      620—THE BEWITCHING BACHELOR

      643—WANTED: A DAD TO BRAG ABOUT

      657—THE LITTLEST ANGEL

      684—STEALING SAMANTHA

      709—CATCHING A DADDY

      728—A LITTLE BIT PREGNANT

      743—THE HOG-TIED GROOM

      766—DADDY’S LITTLE COWGIRL

      788—DEPUTY DADDY

      806—A DADDY FOR BECKY

      821—THE RIGHT COWBOY’S BED*

      825—IN A COWBOY’S EMBRACE*

      886—BOLD AND BRAVE-HEARTED**

      890—WITH VALOR AND DEVOTION**

      894—BETWEEN HONOR AND DUTY**

      915—WITH COURAGE AND COMMITMENT**

      929—AT THE RANCHER’S BIDDING

      943—COURTSHIP, MONTANA STYLE

      980—MONTANA DADDY

      984—MONTANA TWINS

      Contents

       Chapter One

       Chapter Two

       Chapter Three

       Chapter Four

       Chapter Five

       Chapter Six

       Chapter Seven

       Chapter Eight

       Chapter Nine

       Chapter Ten

       Chapter Eleven

       Chapter Twelve

       Chapter Thirteen

       Chapter Fourteen

       Chapter Fifteen

      Chapter One

      “I’m going to be a father.”

      Still stunned by the news, Sheriff Eric Oakes sat down heavily in the swivel chair behind his desk, trying to figure out how it had happened. Or if it could possibly be true.

      His brother Rory, who had just come into the office, looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. “You’re kidding.”

      “Twins. Girls.”

      “Hey, I didn’t even know you were seeing anyone. How come you’re keeping secrets from—”

      “No, it’s not like that. It’s like—” He was stammering almost as much as the woman who’d called him with the news a few minutes ago. “They’re my sister’s kids.” Three months old, the woman had said.

      Rory frowned, and a hank of his dark hair slid across his forehead. In a futile gesture, he shoved it back into place. “Have you been nipping at that bottle you keep in your bottom desk drawer? You don’t have a sister. Two brothers, me and Walker. Unless ol’ Sharpy has had a sex change I don’t know about—”

      “No, that’s not it.” Eric pushed back from his desk, stood and paced across the room to look out the window onto the town of Grass Valley, Montana, located not far from the Canadian border.

      Small was the only way to describe the town.

      Rory’s veterinary clinic was down a side road a block away, across from Doc Justine’s medical clinic where Rory’s bride, Kristi, worked as a nurse practitioner, helping her grandmother, the long-time town doctor.

      On the main street there was a garage with rusty old heaps parked around it, a drugstore that sold more ice cream than prescriptions, and a general store. The saloon with a tattered banner that announced “Good Eats” was the only place that ever drew a crowd, except for the nearby church.

      Crime