Rancher's Twins: Mum Needed. Barbara Hannay

calm and composed when she talked with Gray about his children, and she would have liked a little backup from Brandon. She needed to explain to Gray about Anna and Josh’s schooling needs, their eating habits, their fears …

      The twins had been at home on the day Chelsea had collapsed, and it was six-year-old Josh who’d courageously dialled 911. They hadn’t only lost their mommy; they’d suffered a terrible trauma. Anna’s nightmares were truly terrifying.

      Holly needed to explain all this to their estranged father, but it would be so much easier if her steady and reliable boyfriend was there as well. As a buffer. An anchor. A safety net.

      ‘Actually, Holly, I can’t come this weekend.’

      The sudden nervousness in Brandon’s voice penetrated the whirl of Holly’s thoughts.

      Why was he nervous? Brandon was never nervous. Was something wrong?

      ‘There’s … um … there’s something I should tell you,’ he said.

      ‘What is it?’

      ‘It’s really hard to explain. I … I don’t know how to say this, but …’

      Holly’s insides froze and she was gripped by a terrible deer-in-the-headlights fear.

      Brandon cleared his throat.

      She forced herself to ask, ‘Brandon, what’s the matter?’

      ‘I didn’t want to tell you before—because of Chelsea and everything …’

      ‘Tell me what?’ she almost screamed. He was scaring her.

      Brandon cleared his throat again.

      Holly gripped the phone tighter, squeezing her eyes to hold back threatening tears.

      Was Brandon trying to break-up with her?

      No. No. Surely not.

      Like someone drowning, her mind flashed back through precious memories. The school dance when they’d first met. Brandon helping her with algebra homework at the big scrubbed table in her mother’s cosy kitchen. The familiar, comfortable texture of his lips. The ruby heart locket he’d given her on Valentine’s Day three years ago. The way she liked to bury her nose against the warm freckles on his neck when he held her. The cosy sense of safety that she’d always felt with him.

      Now, suffocating panic filled her throat.

      She couldn’t bear to think about losing him, especially not when she’d just lost Chelsea. Fear pulled tight knots in her stomach.

      Brandon said, ‘You have to agree it’s not really working for us.’

      ‘What do you mean?’ she bleated.

      ‘We only see each other a few times a year.’

      ‘But I’ve almost finished my studies.’ Her voice was shrill now. Pleading. ‘I’ll soon be home for good and we can—’

      ‘I’m so sorry, Holly. You see, the thing is … I … I’ve met someone else.’

      CHAPTER TWO

      AS THE taxi pulled into the kerb on West 69th Street Gray Kidman was thinking about the first time he’d arrived at this red-brick apartment block. He’d been a bridegroom then, fired with love and certainty and hope, with no premonition of the heartache that lay ahead of him.

      This time he knew what he was in for, knew the challenges and the very real chances for failure. Right now, as he stepped onto the pavement and looked up to the level where his children were waiting, his stomach felt like a jar full of jumping grasshoppers.

      His hand was actually shaking as he pressed the security buzzer.

      The children answered immediately.

      ‘Daddy!’ ‘Hi, Dad.’

      Gray closed his eyes, momentarily stunned by the emotion his children’s voices aroused. For three long months he’d been waiting for this. First, the wet season floods had held him up, then a broken ankle after a desperate attempt to cross a raging creek. Now, at last, he dipped his head to the speaker phone. ‘G’day, scallywags.’

      Anna squealed, ‘I’ll press the button to let you in.’

      ‘I’ve already pressed it,’ shouted Josh, full of self-importance and equally excited.

      A wry smile tilted Gray’s mouth and the glass doors slid open, allowing him access to the apartment block’s foyer. He hefted his duffel bag over one shoulder and strode with only the slightest hint of a limp across the blue-tiled floor. As he pressed the lift button, he reminded himself that he must remember to call this an elevator now. His kids would be quick to correct him.

      His kids …

      His stomach jumped like crazy.

      Taking sole charge of Anna and Josh was a huge task, probably the toughest challenge he’d ever faced. He wanted the very best for them. If it was in his power, he’d give his children the perfect foundation for their lives—a safe and comfortable home, a loving family network, and the best possible education.

      The irony was that they had all of the above right here in New York City. This apartment block was secure and modern. His ex-wife’s teacher cousin was a first-rate nanny, and the children’s doting grandparents were nearby. The school they attended had won all kinds of awards for educational excellence.

      Although it had nearly killed Gray to let his wife walk away from his Outback cattle property, taking their children with her, he’d been forced to accept that Anna and Josh were better off here in New York than in his home in one of the remotest corners of Australia.

      He hadn’t given in without a fight but, despite his heartbreak, he’d eventually let his family go.

      Yet, tragically, here he was, reclaiming his children and taking them halfway across the world to the very situation their mother had fled from.

      Gray had no other option. Running a cattle station was his only income-earning skill. Jabiru Creek Station was the best he had to offer. It was all he had to offer.

      He was very afraid it wasn’t enough.

      The elevator arrived and shot him quickly to the third floor, and when the doors slid open his children were waiting for him.

      ‘Daddy!’ Anna launched herself, like a small torpedo, straight into Gray’s arms.

      He let his duffel bag slip to the floor and lifted her high and she clasped him tightly around his neck.

      ‘Daddy! My daddy!’ She buried her face into his shoulder and her silky fair hair smelled wonderfully of flowers.

      ‘Hey, Dad.’ Josh was standing close, looking up expectantly.

      Crouching, Gray juggled Anna onto one knee and hugged his son. What a fine little fellow Josh was. Gray had been moved to tears when he’d heard that his small son had been brave and quick-thinking when his mother collapsed at home, rushing to dial Emergency.

      Now … how good it was to embrace them both. At last.

      They seemed fine. Gray had been worried he’d find them pale and pining, but they looked happy and healthy and bursting with energy. It was such a relief.

      ‘That’s some welcome,’ a voice said and he looked up to see a young woman with dark hair and dark shiny eyes standing in the apartment’s open doorway.

      Holly O’Mara, Chelsea’s young cousin. Gray sent her a smile that felt crooked with emotion. He winced at the twinge in his ankle when he stood once more.

      ‘Holly,’ he said, holding out his hand.

      ‘It’s good to see you, Gray.’

      He didn’t know this young woman very well. On the rare occasions they’d met at family gatherings, Holly had always been shy, keeping well in the