Twins For The Texas Rancher. Marin Thomas

stepped on the candy shelf in front of the checkout and hoisted himself onto the counter. “You shoulda wrote the tooth fairy a note like my mom did.”

      Elmer scratched his balding head. “You don’t say?”

      “I lost my tooth at recess and I couldn’t find it, but my mom wrote a note and the tooth fairy still came.”

      “Next time one of my teeth gets knocked out of my mouth, I’ll give that a try,” Elmer said.

      “My mom can write you a note. She writes good notes.”

      Elmer chuckled and rang up the doughnuts and milk, then Logan slid his debit card through the machine.

      “My mom’s good at lots of stuff ’cause my dad doesn’t live with us. He’s moving to Balkimore.”

      Elmer’s fuzzy eyebrows fused together over his nose.

      Logan scooped his yappy partner off the counter, then handed him one of the pastry-filled bags. “Have a good day, Elmer.” He opened the door for Tommy and they left the store.

      “Can I eat a doughnut in the car?” Tommy asked after Logan buckled him into the booster seat.

      Logan’s brother and sister-in-law wouldn’t appreciate him gifting them a dirty car seat, but faced with the prospect of Tommy’s chatter all the way back to the motel he decided to take his chances and keep the kid’s mouth busy chewing rather than talking. “Go ahead and have a doughnut.”

      The only noise on the return ride was the country music playing on the radio. As the pickup approached the motel a few minutes later, Logan spotted Sadie standing outside her room, arms crossed, her flip-flop tapping the cement. As soon as she saw the pickup, she marched across the parking lot, her blond hair swaying in rhythm with her hips.

      “I think we’re in trouble, buddy.” He glanced in the rearview mirror. Tommy’s cheeks were puffed out like a chipmunk’s.

      “What happened?” he asked, giving Logan an eyeful of pulverized doughnut and raspberry filling.

      “I don’t think your mother’s happy we took off without her.” Sadie wasn’t dressed to go anywhere in a nightshirt that ended just above her knees. The baggy material did nothing to conceal her figure and Logan couldn’t help appreciating her womanly curves.

      Logan shifted into Park and pulled the key from the ignition, all the while keeping his gaze on Sadie. He doubted she had any idea that he could see the shadow of her bikini panties and the outline of her breasts beneath the blue shirt. He forced himself to look away from the bouncing temptation. “C’mon, kid. Time to face the music.” He hopped out and opened the back door, then helped Tommy to the ground.

      “Thomas James McHenry.” Sadie cornered her son against the side of the truck. “You know you’re never supposed to wander off without telling me.”

      Tommy’s eyes crossed as he watched his mother’s finger wag in front of his nose.

      Then her finger pointed at the ground. “Where are your shoes?”

      Tommy dropped his gaze and stared at his feet as if he expected his toes to answer his mother.

      “And you—” Sadie glared at Logan. “How could you just take off with my son and not tell me first?”

      “I left a note on the—”

      “I don’t care about a note.” Sadie’s voice rose in pitch and Logan worried that she’d wake the guests in the other rooms. “We may be distantly related now, but I hardly know you and my sons don’t know you at all.”

      “Mom.” Tommy tugged on Sadie’s shirt. “How come you’re yelling at Uncle Logan?”

      Sadie ignored her son but lowered her voice. “It’s inexcusable that you drove Tommy somewhere without securing him in his booster seat.”

      Logan doubted Sadie would allow him to get a word in edgewise if he tried to defend himself, so he reached behind Tommy and opened the pickup door.

      Sadie’s eyes widened. “Where did—”

      “I bought it for Gunner and Lydia’s baby. It’s top-of-the-line. Fits newborns and older kids.”

      She rubbed her brow before looking him in the eye. “I’m sorry I yelled at you, but I panicked when I woke and Tommy wasn’t in bed with Tyler.” She ruffled Tommy’s hair. “This guy has wandered off before and each time I lose ten years off my life.”

      “I’m sorry. I should have waited until you’d woken and asked permission to take him with me.” His apology earned him a half smile from Sadie.

      “Mom?”

      “What?”

      “Can you write a note to the tooth fairy?”

      The question caught Sadie off guard and she lowered her finger. “What?”

      “Elmo lost his teeth, but he can’t find them and he needs a note so the tooth fairy can give him two dollars.”

      “Elmer,” Logan corrected, keeping a straight face. “Not Elmo.”

      “Mom?”

      “What?”

      “Uncle Logan bought us doughnuts.” Tommy held up the bag.

      “I see that.” Her gaze shifted to Logan. “When did he leave the room this morning?”

      “A little after five thirty, I found him playing on the swings.”

      “I told Uncle Logan you said we could have doughnuts for breakfast,” Tommy said.

      “There isn’t a doughnut shop in Stampede, so we drove down to the Valero. Elmer works in the convenience store.”

      “Mom?”

      “What?”

      “I gotta pee.”

      “Go!” Sadie pointed to their motel room and Tommy took off running. “That boy will be the death of me yet.”

      “Where’s Tyler?”

      “Still sleeping.” Her gaze followed Tommy across the lot. “Or he was.”

      Tyler stood in the open doorway, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

      Right then Gunner stepped from room 1, wearing only his boxers. “What’s all the commotion out here?” His gaze traveled over Sadie, then he looked at Logan and grinned. “You get lucky last night, big brother?”

      * * *

      OH. MY. GOD.

      Sadie crossed her arms over her chest, hoping to hide her unharnessed boobs. She’d been in such a panic when she woke up, and after finding Logan’s note on the door, she’d forgotten she was wearing only a pair of panties and a flimsy nightshirt. This was not how she’d planned to dress when she saw Lydia and Gunner this morning. Before Sadie found her voice, squealing tires startled her. Logan grasped her arm and stepped in front of her, shielding her from view. An old pickup that looked like it had been unearthed from a junkyard turned into the motel and veered toward the office. A minute later, Aunt Amelia’s 1958 white Thunderbird convertible pulled alongside the clunker.

      “We’ve got trouble,” Logan said.

      “What’s going on?” she asked.

      “Just watch. You’ll see.”

      Aunt Amelia got out of her car and marched toward the jalopy, unaware of the onlookers. “Emmett Hardell, you are the orneriest man alive.”

      Logan’s grandfather hitched his pants, then balled his hands into fists. “I let you run roughshod over me once, but I’m done playing party to your foolish ideas.”

      Amelia spread her arms wide. “Look at this motel. There are five vehicles parked in the lot. If you