The Rancher’s Surprise Triplets. Linda Ford

scoot around a bit but hadn’t moved much so far because they weren’t feeling well. No doubt once they felt better that would change. It would be a challenge to keep them safely corralled.

      That was a problem she’d deal with when the time came and count herself blessed for the little time they were with her. She covered a huge yawn.

      Father chuckled. “I can see you’re tired. I’m off to bed. I hope they sleep for you. Good night, daughter.” He kissed her on her cheek and retired to his room closest to the clinic area off the kitchen.

      She didn’t move for a moment as she looked toward the room not yet ready for Mother. Somehow she must manage to tend to that job as well as care for the triplets. A smile lifted the corners of her mouth. The room could wait. For now she would enjoy having some babies to care for.

      She prepared for bed, careful not to make any noise and disturb the peaceful babies. With a pillow for her head and quilt for cover, she got as comfortable as she could on the sofa. It had been a busy day and her muscles welcomed the chance to relax.

      Sleep came softly, filled with dreams of three little boys toddling about, laughing at each other and running to her for comfort. Even in her dream she knew it wasn’t possible but the dream was sweet, nevertheless.

      A sharp cry wakened her and she looked about, disoriented. Then remembrance flooded back and she bolted upright. One of the triplets was crying. If she could get to him in time, she might prevent him from waking the others.

      Even as she struggled to her feet, a second voice joined the first. By the time she lit the lamp, all three fussed.

      One sounded hoarse. She bent close. Theo struggled to breathe. The other two coughed. They had grown worse. She gathered Theo into her arms. “Poor little boy.” She rubbed his back and spoke comfortingly to him.

      The other two lay at her feet, coughing and miserable.

      She sat on the floor, her back to the sofa, cradling the babies around her. She propped them up on pillows so they could breathe easier but Theo’s air whistled in and out. He needed steam, but when she tried to push to her feet, they all protested and she sank back.

      Father slept through it all, for which she was grateful. His nights were often disturbed and cut short by calls.

      The sound of Theo’s lungs working so hard grew more intense. She needed to boil water but she didn’t have enough hands. If she went out of their sight, they would panic, making it even more difficult for them to breathe.

      Lord, help me. She should have sent for Annie but the girl was so excited about going to the fair that Louisa didn’t want to spoil her fun. In fact, she hated to ask anyone to give up time at the fair.

      Theo coughed and gagged. He struggled to suck in air.

      A dark wave rushed through Louisa. Don’t die. Don’t die. Please, God, help me.

      Relying solely on instinct and experience as the doctor’s daughter, she flipped him over and patted his back. He coughed and coughed until she thought he would surely cough out his lungs. And then he sucked in a whistling breath and her own lungs gasped in air.

      She could not delay any longer. She must steam Theo—all of them—and ignoring the tortured cries of Jasper and Eli, she perched Theo on her hip as she hurried to the kitchen, built up the fire and filled the kettle.

      How would she get steam to each of them? Normally she would have built a tent out of sheets, but if she disappeared from sight to fetch them, the babies would get even more upset. She grabbed the nearest thing that would work—a linen tablecloth. Placing a pot of steaming water on a chair where she could make sure the triplets couldn’t touch it, she sat on the floor, gathered them to her knees and draped the cloth over them all, her head forming one tent pole, the back of the chair, another. Steam filled the small area. The moisture dampened her pores, and within minutes, the babies’ breathing eased.

      She remained there, closeting them into a cocoon of moisture. The water cooled but inside the tent the air continued to be warm. The babies coughed, but they didn’t choke.

      Theo began to whistle again with each breath. Knowing she couldn’t leave it so long this time, she folded back the cloth and did her best to slip away from the babies. They fussed at being disturbed but she had no choice and repeated the procedure.

      Even when the triplets slept, she dare not let herself fall asleep for fear she wouldn’t hear a change in their breathing soon enough.

      Oh, for morning. Maybe some good soul would appear to help her. Finally the first pink rays of sunrise colored the eastern sky. Father rose, but at the sound of someone in the waiting room, he immediately left. “I’ll see who it is.” A moment later, he stuck his head back in the room. “A man has been seriously injured in a fall. I must attend him. Will you be okay?”

      She’d managed the babies all night. “I’ll be fine.” But as he left she realized how alone she was.

      Who would help her? She pictured Bo with babies on his knee. They had settled for him. But he would assume they were in her capable hands and turn his feet toward the fair. Already she could hear sounds of the animals coming to life and the people who had camped nearby awakening and calling to each other. The scent of their campfires teased her nose.

      The babies stirred. Theo breathed easier but Eli did not.

      She abandoned them long enough to get dressed and boil more water. They protested at her departure but she had no choice even though their crying further compromised their ability to get in enough air.

      She desperately needed another pair of hands. Lord, please put it on someone’s heart to stop by and offer help. Maybe Brandon would check on the babies and she could ask him to send Annie.

      It wasn’t Annie she wanted to show up or Brandon she wanted to knock on the door and offer to help. It was his brother. But she understood that Bo had no reason to call. He had other things on his mind that precluded Louisa. Too late, she reminded herself she should have thought the triplets not herself.

      * * *

      Leaving his capable foreman Clint in charge of the ranch, Bo left early for town, anxious to supervise day two of the fair. His heart overflowed with gratitude for the success of day one. Peaceful with the knowledge of how well the day had gone, he’d expected to sleep soundly, but a riot of images troubled his rest. A man sneaking into the bank and finding the safe left open. The money gone. Another scene of wind blowing away the tents and leaving nothing but the shivering figure of a lone woman. Mixed feelings as he realized it was the mother of the triplets. Three babies struggling to climb into his lap. Memory of the latter dream brought a smile to his lips.

      There was something mighty appealing about the idea.

      A hard frown quickly replaced the smile. He would never be a father. He couldn’t trust himself to be what a child deserved.

      He leaned forward in anticipation as he approached Little Horn. Families and groups of people camped along the side of the river and in the shelter of the trees, staying the entire three days of the fair. Everyone moved about, preparing breakfast and visiting with those around them.

      Bo waved a greeting to those he passed, happy to see how many stayed for the second and, hopefully, the third day. He didn’t stop even though several invited him to join them for coffee or breakfast.

      Something urgent pressed to his mind and he rode directly to the bank. Two men—different than the two from last night—held their positions, one at the back and one at the front of the building. Both waved to him. The man at the front called, “Everything is as it should be.”

      Those words sang a refrain in his head as he continued on his way to the fairgrounds. Again, people were up and about, feeding their animals and taking care of business. No tents had blown away. None had fallen down. Edmund McKay rode over to his side. He was a responsible rancher, a founding member of the Lone Star Cowboy League. He’d recently married Lula May, a widow with several children. It appeared the man had found happiness with the newly-acquired family. Bo