Assignment: Twins

Nikki hadn’t even heard the buzz. That in itself was an indication of how badly the man got to her, she told herself as she retrieved the phone from her briefcase. “This is Nikki Marshall.”

“Thank heaven. I thought you’d never answer.” The voice was soft, feminine, and dripping panic.

Nikki recognized it—Jen was the youngest and least experienced member of the sales staff at the realty office. Why she was apparently on duty alone was beyond Nikki’s comprehension. “What’s wrong, Jen?”

“The MacIntyres are here to make a counteroffer on the house they want to buy, and I don’t know what to do. Can you come in right away?”

With two babies asleep in the next room? It had been difficult enough to take them for a simple walk through the neighborhood. Hauling them out of bed and across town to meet with a pair of clients would be torture. Unless Seth would agree to keep an eye on them…

She looked over her shoulder and saw him putting the panels in place on the front of the dishwasher. So much for that great idea.

“Out of the question, Jen.” She ignored the woman’s protest. “Their file is in my bottom desk drawer. The client number is on the tab of the folder. Pull it up on the computer, find the offer they made last week, put in the new price, print out the form, and have them both sign it.” She glanced at her watch. “Then call the delivery service—have a courier bring the papers here, and I’ll check them over. Got it?”

Jen repeated the instructions and the address. “Okay,” she said doubtfully. “If you’re sure you can’t come in.”

“I’m sure,” Nikki said, and snapped the phone shut. When she came back into the kitchen, Seth was putting the last screw into place. “Is it all fixed?”

“Far from it. I have about fifteen pieces to replace—if the home-supply store has them.”

“Then why put it all back together now? You’ll just have to take it apart later. I don’t mind if it’s in pieces—it’s not like I’m getting ready for a dinner party tonight.”

“Because I don’t want the twins to rearrange all the pretty wires.”

“Oh. Good point. You’ll be back later, then?”

“Tomorrow sometime. I have an engagement tonight.”

“With Elsa?” She kept her voice light. “Or Inga?”

“Neither. Why?”

That figured. By now, Nikki thought, there could have been half a dozen more tall, slim blondes in and out of his life. “Seth, you don’t know the meaning of the word engagement.”

“People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, darling…. How many guys have you dated since Thorpe, anyway?”

“A few,” she said coolly. “Why?”

“Anybody who’s lasted more than a month?”

“I don’t think so.” She kept her voice deliberately light. “But then by your standards, a month is an eternity, so you don’t need to worry about me being fickle. I’ll see you tomorrow, if you don’t want that coffee after all.”

He shook his head. “I’ll take a rain check. You know, you look as if you could use a nap yourself, instead of caffeine.”

“I’ve got some work to do. I have a closing on Monday, and a new client coming into town—so I need to refresh my memory of the listings before I decide what to show him.”

“Him? I thought it was normally the woman who chooses the family home.”

“Usually it’s the wife who does most of the looking,” Nikki agreed. “But this guy’s single. Actually, I think he’s divorced. He’s an upper-level executive with the auto-assembly plant.”

“Now that sounds promising,” Seth said. “If you’re really lucky, maybe he’ll be like the commodities broker—and you can find out every step it takes to build a car.”

Nikki didn’t know whether she was getting used to the routine, or the twins were accepting her, or they were all just too tired to make a fuss, but everything went a little more smoothly on Sunday.

The babies had already had their nap and were in their high chairs toying with their dinner when Seth arrived. He let himself in with a cheerful hello, set a large paper bag of parts on the kitchen counter, and gave the coffeepot a speculative shake.

“If you’re hoping to have that cup of coffee you missed yesterday, you’re too late,” Nikki said. “I kept it hot for you till just a couple of hours ago, though.”

He made a face and started to take the bottom panel off the dishwasher again. “The truth is, you forgot to turn the pot off.”

Nikki put another spoonful of peas and carrots in front of Zack. With his index fingertip, he rolled a pea across the tray. Then he tried to roll a carrot chunk, and settled for smashing it into mush instead.

“How’s it going today?” Seth asked.

“We’re doing great, aren’t we, kids?”

Anna gurgled. Zack noticed remnants of carrot on his fingertip and tried to shake them off.

Seth slid under the dishwasher. “How long till Laura and Steve get home?”

“Six hours,” Nikki answered automatically. Too late, she tried to bite back the words.

Seth was grinning. “I’m surprised you don’t have it figured out down to the minute. So you want to tell me how you’re really doing?”

Nikki sighed. “I missed the courier yesterday because I was in the middle of a diaper change when he rang the doorbell. I yelled, but he couldn’t hear me and I couldn’t get there in time, so I have a counteroffer hanging in limbo because the papers are locked up in a delivery van till Monday.”

“That’s rotten luck.”

“And this morning Zack was standing up in his crib when I went in—and the way his face crumpled when he realized that it was me again and not his mother almost broke my heart.”

“Better you than a baby-sitter he doesn’t know at all.”

Nikki twisted around to look at him. “Don’t you have any sympathy for the poor kid?”

“Of course I do. I’m just realistic about it instead of sentimental. It’s good for them to get used to different people.”

“Well, good luck convincing them.” She added a few chunks of chicken to Anna’s tray and handed the baby her cup of milk. “And while you’re at it, try persuading Laura. Though she still hasn’t called back.” Nikki frowned. “Now that I think about it, it’s a little strange that I haven’t heard from her.”

“There hasn’t been a word?”

Nikki shook her head. “Aren’t phone calls from a cruise ship pretty pricy? Maybe Stephen put his foot down.”

“He could try, but I don’t think that would stop her any more than it would keep a mother bear from charging to defend her cubs. Are you in the mood for a bet?”

“Tell me what it is first.”

“Whether Laura calls the minute they land at the airport, or she rushes straight home to her darlings.”

“She’ll call,” Nikki said promptly.

“I don’t think so. If she calls, she’ll be five minutes later getting here.”

“It won’t hold her up a bit, because she’ll send Stephen after the car while she’s on the phone. That’s not a bet, Seth, it’s a certainty—so the only question left is how much money you want to give me. Anna, smashed peas are not a good conditioner for your hair. Come on, sweetheart, let’s go wash it out.” She lifted Anna from her high chair. “Do you mind if I leave Zack here for a minute, Seth? It’s much easier to wash them one at a time.”

Seth waved a hand instead of answering.

When she came back, he’d turned the radio on and taken the baby out of his high chair. Zack had pulled himself up beside a dining room chair and was hanging on tight, swaying his bottom in an approximate rhythm with the music. Seth was on the floor, both hands out of sight underneath the dishwasher.

“Hold that bag down here for a minute so I can sort through it, would you, Nikki?”

She knelt, holding the bag out of the babies’ reach. “How are you doing?”

“So far I’ve managed to break another valve and increase Zack’s vocabulary by at least two words that Laura doesn’t want him to know.”

The music stopped and a newscast began, but Zack danced on, too fascinated by his own movement to notice. Anna watched him as if she was studying each step. Seth sorted through pieces. And Nikki, half-listening to the newscast over the rattle of metal parts and the babbling of two babies, caught a few words that sent chills up her spine.

“Cruise ship…Caribbean…virus…quarantine…”

She scrambled to her feet and made a dash for the living room.

“Hey,” Seth called, “where are you going with my bag of parts?”

Nikki didn’t bother to answer. She dropped the bag in the nearest chair and dived for the television remote control.

The story was on the second news channel she checked. A mysterious virus had struck a cruise ship in the Caribbean, and public health officials were taking no chances. The ship and the two thousand people on board would be quarantined off the Florida coast until the bug was identified and the passengers were confirmed not to be contagious.

Nikki didn’t have to hear the name of the ship; the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach told her it was the one Laura and Stephen were on. “Oh, no,” she whispered. “All those poor people, shut up on a ship together with stomach cramps and headaches and fevers—”

Seth stood in the doorway, listening intently. “At least it doesn’t seem as though the symptoms are life-threatening. Just miserable.”

“Somehow I don’t think it would be a lot of comfort to know you’re not going to die,” Nikki mused, “if you feel bad enough to want to. What a way to spend a vacation!”

“I wonder if Steve’s boss will charge this up against his sick leave.” Seth’s voice was flippant, but there was a shadow in his eyes and a furrow between his brows.

“No wonder she hasn’t called. There must be two thousand people waiting in line to use a phone, if they can even get out of bed long enough to dial.”

“So we both lost the bet,” Seth added, “because she won’t be calling from the airport, and she won’t be coming straight home, either. At least not tonight.” He looked down at Nikki and raised one eyebrow. “Congratulations, Ms. Marshall—you have just hit the jackpot. You are the lucky winner of twins.”

CHAPTER TWO

NIKKI stared at him, certain she couldn’t be hearing correctly. “What do you mean I won them?” she croaked finally.

Seth shrugged. “I could have said you lost the lottery, but I thought it would make you feel better if I put a positive spin on it. What it comes down to is, you get to keep the twins a while longer.”

Nikki’s head was spinning. “Oh, no.”

“You’re the one who volunteered for this responsibility,” Seth pointed out.

“I said I’d take care of the babies for three days. Count ’em—Friday, Saturday, Sunday. I’m—”

“Or until till Laura gets home.”

And Laura didn’t expect to be hit by a virus, any more than I would expect to get struck by lightning… But what was she going to do about it? “I wasn’t counting on this.” Her voice felt feeble. “They could be delayed for a couple of days.”

“At least.” Seth was looking at the television set.

Nikki followed his gaze. Someone from public health was showing off a chart of infection rates. The angle of the line tracing the increasing number of infected people aboard the ship looked like a rocket’s path to the heavens. If her sales figures were to climb at that rate, Nikki thought, she’d be thrilled.

She said, trying to sound cheerful, “The good news is that at this rate the virus will have gotten to everybody on the ship by about tomorrow. Once that happens, things can only get better, right?”

“That’s what you call the good news?”

Nikki had to admit it didn’t sound very encouraging. “Look, I’m not trying to make light of the situation. I’m as worried about Laura and Stephen as you are. But it looks as if they’ve got the entire public health organization working on it…” Her words sounded hollow. That sort of no-holds-barred action wasn’t directed at every garden-variety virus. This stuff was different.

Poor Laura had been afraid that she might get seasick on the cruise. Now there’s irony for you, Nikki thought. Compared to the bug that was running wild on the ship, it sounded as if seasickness would be positively pleasant.

“No point in worrying. There’s nothing we can do about Laura and Steve right now.” Seth picked up the bag of parts and went back to the kitchen.

Nikki trailed him hopefully.

Zack had flopped down on the kitchen floor and was chewing on the handle of a screwdriver. Seth took it away from him and put it back in the toolbox atop the counter. The baby howled, and absently Nikki picked him up, handed him a plastic measuring cup from the cabinet and watched in disbelief as Seth snapped the toolbox closed.

“You’re not leaving.” It was half-question, half-plea. “Seth, I can’t stay here till that ship’s out of quarantine. I was supposed to go home tonight. I have a life, and I’ve already put it on hold for three days to do this.”

“What are you planning to do with the twins, then?”

Nikki opened her mouth to answer, and shut it again. What on earth was she going to do with the twins? Much as she hated to face the fact, Seth was right—she had assumed the responsibility, and now it was up to her to make sure the babies were safe and taken care of, until their mother could take over once more. If she couldn’t actually look after them herself, then she’d need to find someone who could. She looked speculatively at Seth.

“The way I see it,” Seth said, “you can look in the want ads under baby-sitters—”

“Hire a stranger? Laura wouldn’t like that.”

He didn’t seem to have heard her. “Or you can call child protective services and report that the babies are being neglected, and have them put in foster care. Or you can drop them off on a stranger’s doorstep, ring the bell, and run.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

Seth shrugged. “That’s about all the options I can think of.”

“There’s one more. I can hand them over to you. You’re their godfather.”

“Being a godparent has nothing to do with baby-sitting. It’s purely a spiritual duty.”

“Don’t go getting sanctimonious on me now, Seth.”

“I wouldn’t dream of trying. You’re the one who said it. As I recall, you told Laura on the twins’ christening day that I was a bad choice for the position because I wouldn’t recognize a spiritual experience if it bit me in the—”

“Seth Baxter, do you ever do anything when you’re in church besides eavesdrop?”

“So you admit telling her that.”

“I may have,” Nikki admitted. “I don’t actually recall. But that’s beside the point.”

“In any case, you’re their godmother, so the same argument applies to you.”

“All right then, we’ll leave godparenting out of it altogether. You’re their uncle. With their parents out of the country—”

“Don’t forget indisposed,” Seth added.

“That makes you their closest kin at the moment. I’m only a friend of the family, with no legal standing at all. So the bottom line is that you’re the one who has to make the decisions.”

Seth’s eyebrows raised slightly. “If it’s my choice, then I choose to let you keep them. You’ve been doing a fine job so far.”

Nikki couldn’t decide whether to scream or kick the nearest piece of furniture. “I have a house sale closing tomorrow, and I can’t even change the time because too many people are involved. I can’t find a sitter by tomorrow morning because I haven’t the faintest idea where to start looking. Seth, I’m begging. You have to help me out here.”

“Why me? You signed up for this duty. I didn’t.”

“Because I can’t take a set of year-old twins to a mortgage closing, that’s why!”

“Well, I can’t just hang them from my tool belt while I rebuild Mrs. Cooper’s closets, either.”

Nikki bit her lip. “I don’t suppose you can. But surely you can put Mrs. Cooper’s closets on hold for a day or two. At least till we find out what’s going on on that ship.”

“Obviously you’ve never met Mrs. Cooper, or you wouldn’t say that.” He lowered himself to the floor and began to put the panels on the dishwasher once more.

As soon as he finishes, he’ll leave. You have to do something, Nikki—and fast.

She put Zack down on the floor. “How about that cup of coffee you were wanting earlier?”

“I expected better from you in the bribery department than that, Nikki.”

“All right,” she conceded. “I won’t waste your time by making coffee.”

“The truth is, there are so many dishes in the sink you couldn’t get to the faucet for water anyway.”

Nikki ignored him. “Let’s talk about this like adults. I can’t miss that closing. If you’ll just keep the twins tomorrow morning—”

Seth was shaking his head.

“You won’t even do that much? Just till noon.” Nikki knew she sounded desperate. She didn’t care.

“I can’t. I’ve got a supplier delivering a load of materials at eight o’clock in the morning.”

Nikki chewed her lip. “Eight? My closing isn’t till half past nine. Maybe we can work this out after all. Surely that gives you enough time.”

“Depends on how fast the crew unloads. It’s a big order.”

“Well, the closing is downtown. If I get the babies up in the morning while you go sign the receipt for your supplies, then I can swoop by and drop them off with you in Rockhurst—it’s almost on my way—and go straight to the closing. You can bring them back here and—”

His eyebrows raised. “How do you know I’m working in Rockhurst?”

“Laura, of course.” Nikki surrendered the last of her pride. “Seth, if you’ll just bail me out for a couple of hours in the morning, I swear I’ll come straight back after the closing.”

“What about your new client? The fancy executive at the auto plant?”

She’d forgotten. For a moment there, she’d actually forgotten a client, something which had never happened before. So it’s not just an old wives’ tale. Spending countless hours with babies really can turn your brain to mush.

“I wonder whether he likes kids,” Seth mused.

Nikki gritted her teeth.

“If he’s divorced, maybe he has children of his own. He might even enjoy having the twins around. It’s such a cozy little domestic image—you, him, the babies, looking at houses…”

Nikki had no trouble at all creating that picture in her mind. She sighed. “I guess someone else will have to show him around tomorrow.”

“Hey, kids,” Seth announced. “She’s giving up the tycoon for you. Bet you’re tickled to hear that.”

Anna clapped her hands as if in delight. More likely, Nikki thought, the baby was pleased that she’d managed to pile all her plastic blocks into an unsteady tower. Now she was eyeing her brother’s supply.

“Nobody else in the office could possibly be less prepared than I am,” Nikki said almost to herself. “I haven’t even glanced at the multiple listings all weekend. All right, that covers tomorrow.” She rushed on before he could argue the point. “Now about tonight—”

“What about it?” Seth sounded wary.

“I don’t have any real clothes here, just jeans and stuff. I’m going to have to go home and get something to wear to the closing.”

“Do it in the morning.”

“It’s impossible to get all the way out to my place and back downtown before half past nine. Not if I’ve got the twins, because they move like molasses in the mornings.”

“Then go shopping on your way.”

“You can’t be serious. Try on clothes with two babies in tow? Besides, the malls don’t open that early. And in any case, you can’t just go and buy a copy of that blue jacket we have to wear—the real-estate company has them specially tailored.”

“Okay, okay, you made your point. Let’s go.”

For a moment she was too thrilled at the hint of cooperation to take in what he’d said. Then it hit her. “What do you mean, let’s go? It will take me an hour. Ninety minutes, tops. All you have to do while I’m gone is dunk the kids in the tub, put their pajamas on, and tuck them in.”

“That’s all.” It was obviously not a question.

“Hey, I’ve been doing it all weekend. I’ve gotten pretty good at it, too.” Nikki couldn’t resist taking a jab. “You’ll probably still be wrestling with diapers when I get back.”

“I have a better idea. We’ll all have an outing.”

“You would actually drag two kids halfway across the city at this hour just so you don’t have to give them a bath? Maybe it’s just as well if you keep dating lame-brained blondes, Seth. If you actually ever break down and marry one, maybe she’ll be dim enough not to notice that you’re ducking all the work.”

“I’m not ducking anything. When we get back, we can both pitch in for bath and pajamas, and we’ll get it done in half the time.”

Nikki doubted it, but at least he sounded willing to try. That made her even more suspicious of what he was really up to. She stared at him, eyes narrowed, and finally all the pieces clicked together in her mind. “You don’t trust me to come back at all, do you?”

“Would you trust me, if you were in my shoes? If I put on my jacket right now and said I’d see you later—”

“Probably not,” Nikki admitted.

“Then we understand each other quite well—and we’re square to start with.”

She said carefully, “You mean you’ll actually help? All that protest earlier about not wanting to be involved—”

“Earlier, you weren’t asking for help. You were trying to dump the whole mess on me.”

He was probably right, she admitted. Relief surged through her.

“I’ll pitch in, Nikki,” he warned, “but don’t get the idea that you’re off the hook. Come on, let’s go get you some clothes.”

She went to get the twins’ jackets from the stroller, which was still sitting just inside the front door. As she wrestled Zack’s arms into the sleeves, the television bulletin caught her eye once more. This time the jumpy, grainy picture on the screen showed a helicopter hovering over the deck of a ship, lowering bundles of supplies. Everybody within range of the camera was wearing a surgical mask. A few were fully garbed in protective gowns and gear.

For a disease that wasn’t supposed to be severe, Nikki thought, it certainly looked scary.

Seth came into the living room, with Anna already bundled in his arms. “Are the kids’ safety seats in your car?”

Nikki shook her head. “I wasn’t planning to go anywhere, so I didn’t bother to put them in. Seth—what if they’re not all right? Laura and Stephen, I mean. What if it’s worse than the health department’s saying? They don’t take this sort of precaution for just any little bug.”

“Don’t even think about it. Worrying won’t help Laura and Steve, but it will sure upset the babies. In the meantime…” He shrugged. “You’re the religious one. Pray that somebody figures out how to stop that virus in its tracks.”

Nikki had underestimated how long the trip would take. It was closer to two hours before Seth’s SUV was back in the driveway. Anna was asleep in her seat, Zack was yawning, and Nikki felt like falling into bed herself.

Seth carried Nikki’s suitcase and Zack, while Nikki wrestled a limp Anna out of her seat.

“I don’t care how grubby they are,” Nikki said. “I don’t even care how many of Laura’s rules I’ve violated tonight. Let’s just put them to bed in their clothes, and I’ll give them a bath tomorrow.”

As soon as the twins were tucked in, she unpacked her suitcase, hoping that in her haste she’d managed to grab at least a few pieces of clothing that coordinated. Trying to suppress a yawn, she went back to the living room. Tired or not, she still had to look over the paperwork for tomorrow morning’s closing.

Though she wasn’t surprised to be doing her review at the last minute, she hadn’t anticipated these circumstances. By now, Laura and Steve should be driving from the airport into the city. Any minute, they should be pulling up beside the house, unloading bags and souvenirs, chattering happily about the flight and the cruise, exclaiming how much the kids seemed to have grown in just a few days…

Don’t let yourself start, Nikki.

The house was quiet. She looked around in surprise. Had Seth gone, without even a word? He’d followed her out of the babies’ room, but where had he gone then?