Triple Trouble / A Real Live Cowboy. Judy Duarte

then, you two. I hope you get some sleep. I left my purse and keys in the kitchen. I’ll just collect them and let myself out the back,” she said. She moved briskly across the living room but stopped in the doorway. “I forgot to tell you, Nick, I left Rufus with Ed today so you could get the girls settled in before they meet him. I’ll bring him back with me tomorrow.”

      “Good thinking,” Nick told her. “Dealing with the triplets was chaotic. Adding an excited hundred-and-twenty-five-pound dog into the mix would have made it crazy.”

      Melissa chuckled and waved a quick good-night as she disappeared.

      A moment later, the sound of her car engine reached the two in the living room.

      “I take it you have a big dog?”

      “Oh, yeah,” Nick said dryly. “Rufus is a chocolate Lab. Thankfully, he’s very mellow and loves kids, so he should be fine with the triplets.”

      “As long as he likes them, they’ll probably think he’s wonderful.” Charlene yawned, suddenly exhausted. “I think I’ll head upstairs.” She unfolded her legs and stood, aware of aching muscles from the long car ride. “I could sleep for at least twelve hours straight. I’ve never understood how sitting in a car and doing nothing can make me tired.”

      “It was a long trip,” Nicholas agreed, getting out of the chair. He rolled his shoulders and stretched. “Did Melissa show you where everything is—towels, coffee for tomorrow morning, et cetera?”

      “Yes, thank you.”

      “If you need anything, just ask. If I don’t already have it in the house, I’ll get it.” He eyed her, his gaze intent. “I’m damned grateful you agreed to take on the triplets, Charlene. I know it’s not an easy job. There’s no way I could do it by myself.”

      “You’re doing very well for a man who’s never had children of his own,” she told him. “And I confess, I’m relieved Melissa will be helping. She’s good with the girls and nothing seems to faze her.”

      “She’s pretty unshakeable,” Nick said. “I normally work long hours, and she keeps the house together and makes sure there are meals in the fridge.”

      “How long has she worked for you?” Charlene asked, curious.

      “Since a few days after I moved to Red Rock. The employment agency sent over three women and I hired Melissa on the spot.”

      “Sounds like it was the right decision. Well…” She tugged her white cotton T-shirt into place, suddenly self-conscious. The room was abruptly too intimate in the lamplight and Nick loomed much too large, and much too male. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

      “Sleep well. I have to go to the office for a meeting tomorrow, but I won’t leave until Melissa arrives.”

      She nodded. “Good night.”

      His answering good-night was a low male rumble. Charlene looked back when she reached the stairway and found him staring after her, his expression brooding. She hurried up the stairs, faintly breathless from the impact of the brief moment her gaze had met his.

      He’s your employer, she reminded herself as she brushed her teeth in the white-and-green bathroom that opened off her bedroom, stop lusting after him.

      Apparently, however, the emotional, hormonal part of her was in no mood to listen to the practical, rational command. She fell asleep and dreamed of making love with a man who looked very much like Nick Fortune.

      Just as she stretched out her arms, her fingertips mere inches away from the bare chest of her dream lover, a loud wail yanked her awake.

      Charlene sat bolt upright, disoriented as she stared in confusion at the dim outlines of bed and dresser in the strange room.

      The sound of crying from the triplets’ room abruptly scattered the lingering fog of sleep and she tossed back the bedcovers to hurry next door.

      “Oh, sweetie,” she soothed, lifting Jackie from her crib. “Sh.” She patted the little back while the baby’s sobs slowed to hiccups. “What’s wrong?”

      Jessie rolled over in her crib and sat up. In the third crib, Jenny pulled herself to her feet to clasp the rail. Jackie chose that moment to burst into sobs once more and, as if on cue, Jessie and Jenny’s faces crumpled. They burst into tears as well.

      The combined sound of their crying was deafening and impossible to ignore. Charlene wasn’t surprised when Nick staggered into the room.

      “What’s wrong?” His voice was gravelly with sleep. He wore navy boxers, his broad chest and long legs bare.

      Despite the earsplitting noise of three crying babies, Charlene still noticed that Nick looked as good undressed as he did in faded jeans and T-shirts.

      “Jackie woke me, then her crying woke the other two.” Charlene crossed to the changing table, gently rocking the still sobbing Jackie while she took a fresh diaper from the drawer. “I think she needs a diaper change. Can you pick up Jenny and Jessie—maybe rock them for a few minutes?”

      “Sure.” Nick shoved his fingers through his hair, further rumpling it, and lifted Jenny from her crib.

      The low rumble of his voice as he murmured to the two babies was barely audible as Charlene quickly changed Jackie’s diaper. By the time she snapped the little girl’s footed sleeper and tossed the damp disposable nappy into the bin, their crying had subsided into silence. She tucked Jackie against her shoulder and turned, stopping abruptly.

      Nick sat in the cushioned rocking chair, a little girl against each bare shoulder, their faces turned into the bend of his neck where shoulder met throat. His broad hands nearly covered each little back, fingers splayed to hold them securely. His hair was rumpled, his eyes sleepy.

      Charlene didn’t think she’d ever seen anything half as sexy as the big man protectively cradling the two sleeping babies. She felt her heart lurch.

      Don’t go there, she ordered herself. Do not notice how sexy he is. Remember you swore to avoid men for at least six months after breaking up with Barry. That was only two weeks ago.

      She couldn’t remember ever feeling this attracted to her ex-fiancé, but that didn’t change the fact that she was determined to never, ever, get involved with her employer.

      She moved softly across the room and eased into the empty rocking chair. Jackie stirred, lifting her head from Charlene’s shoulder. Charlene quickly smoothed her hand over the baby’s silky black curls, gently urging her to lay her head down once more, and set the rocker in motion. Within seconds, Jackie was relaxed, her compact little body feeling boneless where it lay against Charlene.

      “Is she asleep?” Nick’s murmur rasped, velvet over gravel.

      “Yes,” Charlene whispered. “What about your two?”

      He tipped his head back to peer down at first one, then the other, of the two little girls. “They seem to be.” He looked up at her. “Think it’s safe to put them back in bed?”

      “We can try. Let me put Jackie down and then I’ll take one of yours.” At his nod, Charlene stood and crossed to Jackie’s crib, easing the sleeping baby down onto her back and pulling the light blanket over her before she returned to Nick.

      “Which one do you want me to carry?” she whispered.

      “Jenny.” He leaned forward slightly.

      Charlene bent closer to lift the sleeping baby, her hands brushing against his bare skin. He was warm, his skin sleek over the flex of muscles as he shifted to help transfer the little girl to her, and a shiver of awareness shook her. She was aware his head turned abruptly, could feel the intensity of his stare, but she wouldn’t, couldn’t, allow herself to meet his gaze. Instead, she cradled Jenny in her arms and turned away to carry the little girl to her crib, tucking her in and smoothing the blanket over her sleeping form.