Cowboy Brigade. Elle James

knew it had to be Wade. When the girls were born with thick black hair and blue eyes, all doubt disappeared.

      The sound of girls giggling reached her ears, bringing her out of the past and back to the present.

      “Oh God, the girls!” She nearly dropped the reins and ran from the pen.

      One look at Zachary reminded her that she couldn’t end the lesson now. The little boy needed the structure of set times and routines to make him comfortable. Lindsay couldn’t do anything but what she got paid to do.

      She looked up toward the house and nearly had a heart attack.

      Wade walked toward her, Lyric and Lacey skipping along beside him, each holding one of his big hands. He looked so natural, like he belonged with the girls. And they looked just like their father.

      Five years of guilt rose in her throat like bile.

      She hadn’t known how to tell him then. He’d been deployed, she’d sent him away. It was easier to go on with life on her own, carrying the big secret with her. No one knew except Lindsay who the twins’ father was.

      Seeing them together, how could anyone miss the resemblance?

      “Tall, dark, handsome and with the added bonus of being good with children.” Stacy grinned at Lindsay. “If you’re not calling dibs, can I?”

      “No!” Lindsay said the one word with such force that Whiskers jerked against the bit, jarring Zachary.

      The boy dropped the reins and gripped the saddle horn, his face crinkling in a frown.

      “Sorry about that, Zachary.” Lindsay stroked the boy’s leg, gathered the reins and handed them to him again. She and Zachary both needed calming after her outburst. One more reason she couldn’t have Wade Coltrane working at the Long K Ranch. She wouldn’t get any work done knowing he was around. Not that she cared for him. She was long over her girlish infatuation.

      The twins had readjusted her focus on what was more important. Providing them a good home was the number one goal in Lindsay’s mind.

      Lyric and Lacey smiled and laughed all the way to the fence where Stacy stood.

      “Look what I found. More students for riding lessons.” He grinned at Lindsay, his gaze challenging her.

      What could she say in front of the girls? Afraid she’d blurt out the truth, Lindsay kept her lips tightly shut.

      Wade swung Lacey up in his arms and perched her on the rail in front of him.

      “Me! Do me!” Lyric raised her hands.

      Wade swung her up to sit beside her sister, a hand on each girl to keep them from falling into the pen. “How many children do you teach?” Wade asked.

      “A few.” Lindsay guarded her words, her gaze shooting from the girls to Wade and across to Stacy whose eyes had narrowed. She raised a finger and tapped her lips.

      Please don’t say anything, Lindsay begged silently. She didn’t want Stacy to state the obvious.

      Based on his easy rapport with the twins, Wade hadn’t put the pieces together. He didn’t see himself in the miniature versions of him right under his nose.

      If she didn’t have an autistic child riding a horse that she was leading, Lindsay might have given in to the urge to run screaming from the pen.

      “I want to ride next,” Lacey demanded.

      “I want to ride next,” Lyric parroted.

      Wade laughed and turned to Stacy. “Hi, I’m Wade Coltrane, the new ranch hand.” He held out his hand.

      Stacy took it, a grin spreading across her pretty face.

      At that moment, Lindsay could have scratched her friend’s eyes right out of her head.

      She wanted to scream Hands off!

      But she couldn’t. Five years ago, she’d made it clear that she didn’t want Wade in her life. Now that she had the girls, she had them to consider. And she didn’t want Wade back if the only reason was the girls.

      Lindsay closed her eyes and counted to five. What the heck was she thinking? The girls were as much his as they were hers. He was bound to figure it out sooner or later. Better to tell him, let him get all mad and hope it blows over so she can get on with her life as a single mother.

      But not now. Not here. And not in front of the girls and Stacy.

      And did she really think he’d let it blow over? Let her continue on with full custody of their girls like their father never existed?

      Her feet dragged in the dust of the pen as she led Whiskers in a circle.

      The steady, ordered life she’d carefully constructed for the girls was about to change and she could do very little to stop it.

      “Mommy, can I ride Little Joe?” Lacey called out.

      “Mommy, can I ride Sweetie Pie?” Lyric asked.

      Lindsay stared across the length of the pen, her gaze capturing Wade’s as realization dawned on him.

      That look of utter shock could not be faked. He stared at her and then down at the girls. “These girls are yours?”

      Chapter Three

      A hundred questions barreled through Wade’s head. Lindsay had twin daughters? Who was the father? Where was he now? Did he live at the ranch with Lindsay? Where did Cal Murphy fit in the picture? Was Cal the father?

      Wade stared at the tops of the girls’ heads. Lindsay had children.

      Anger followed closely behind the shock. If Cal was the father, why the hell didn’t he step up to the responsibility of raising his own children? Why hadn’t he married Lindsay?

      “Zachary, sweetie, the lesson is over for now.” Lindsay stopped the horse at the rail in front of Stacy and gave her a weak smile. “I’m sorry, Stacy, I just can’t do it today.” She reached up and hooked Zachary beneath the arms.

      He clung to the saddle horn and grunted, his face wrinkling in a fierce frown. “Ride!”

      Wade placed the girls on the ground and entered the pen with Lindsay. “Hey, big guy, let me help you down.”

      The little boy’s eyes rounded and his gaze darted from Lindsay to Stacy and back to Wade.

      When Wade reached up for him, Zachary let go of the horn and let Wade lift him off. As soon as he cleared the saddle, he reached for his mother.

      Stacy took him in her arms and hugged him. “It’s okay, Zachary. Mr. Coltrane is a nice man. He just wants to help.” She looked across at Lindsay, her brows rising as if in silent question.

      Lindsay shook her head. “I’ll see you the day after tomorrow at the fundraiser, right?”

      “Right. I kinda have to be there.” Stacy laughed. “Seeing as I’m organizing it. And if you’re in town before then, call me, we can do lunch.” She held her thumb and pinky to her face like she was talking into a telephone and mouthed the words call me.

      “Yeah, I will,” Lindsay lied. She loved Stacy, but the last thing she wanted to do was talk to her best friend about Wade Coltrane. Not yet, not when she didn’t know what to do or say. She led Whiskers out of the pen and toward the barn.

      “Can I ride Whiskers now?” Lacey danced beside Lindsay out of range of the horse’s hooves.

      “Not now. I have to get supper on the table. Maybe tomorrow morning when it’s nice and cool outside.”

      Lacey’s face puckered in a frown. “But I want to ride now.”

      “I want to ride, too.” Lyric caught up with Lacey and automatically reached for her sister’s hand.

      “You can help me brush