Triple Trouble / A Real Live Cowboy: Triple Trouble

“So, what you’re saying,” Charlene said dryly, arching one eyebrow as she eyed him, “is that three little girls can cause as much havoc as a hundred-and-twenty-five-pound dog?”

“Pretty much,” Nick agreed, grinning as she shook her head and frowned at him. The effect was ruined by the small smile that tugged her lips upward at the corners. “As a matter of fact, I can pick him up. I doubt I could juggle all three of the girls at the same time.”

“You could, if you had a baby carrier,” she said promptly.

“What’s a baby carrier?”

“It’s sort of a canvas backpack that an adult wears over their shoulders. The child is buckled into it so you can carry them on your chest or your back. Some are made for younger babies, but you can also get one to use for toddlers.”

“Ah!” he said, nodding. “Remind me to get one of those. Then, if either of us ever has to take all three of the girls somewhere alone, we won’t risk dropping one of them.”

“That sounds like an excellent plan,” Charlene agreed. “I met your neighbor LouAnn today.”

“Did you?” Nick grinned and lifted an eyebrow. “What did you think of her?”

“She’s a very interesting woman.”

He laughed outright. “Got that right. She’s a character. I hope I have that much energy when I’m seventy-something.”

“Me too,” Charlene agreed, smiling as she remembered LouAnn playing on the floor with the triplets. “She’s wonderful with the babies. I’m not sure who had more fun playing peekaboo, her or the girls.”

Nick chuckled, the sound sending shivers of awareness through Charlene’s midsection. As he ate, they discussed the wisdom of keeping all three girls in the same bedroom.

Charlene sipped her tea, staring with fascination as Nick tipped his head back slightly and drank from the water glass. He’d unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt when he removed his tie earlier, and the strong, tanned muscles of his throat moved rhythmically as he swallowed. There was something oddly intimate about sitting in the cozy kitchen with him as he ate and they discussed his children.

“…What do you think?”

“Hmm?” She realized with a start that he’d been speaking while she’d stared at him, mesmerized, and felt embarrassed heat flood her cheeks. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that. What do I think about…?”

His expression was quizzical. She suspected he noticed her pink cheeks, but she was determined not to become flustered. So she met his gaze with what she hoped was a serene look.

“I asked if you thought it was a good idea to give the girls a week or so together before we decide if they need to sleep in separate bedrooms.”

“I think it makes sense to see whether they continue to wake each other, as they did last night.” Charlene didn’t want to remember the intimacy of the babies’ darkened bedroom and the mental image of Nick wearing navy boxers and nothing else. Resolutely, she focused on the other bedrooms she’d seen during the tour of the house Melissa had given her that afternoon. “There’s certainly plenty of room if you decide to have them sleep apart. Do you know if their parents had their cribs in separate bedrooms or if they all slept in the same room?”

Nick paused, his expression arrested. “The foster mother had the beds in two small bedrooms but I never thought to ask what the arrangements were at Stan and Amy’s.” He put down his fork with a thunk. “I should have asked,” he said with disgust. “It never even occurred to me.”

“If you have a phone number, I can try to reach her tomorrow,” Charlene offered, touched by the sheer frustration on his face as he thrust his fingers through his hair and raked it back off his forehead.

“I’d appreciate that. I have her contact information in my desk in the den. Remind me to look it up before I leave for the office in the morning, will you?”

“Of course.” Charlene sipped her tea and considered what she knew about the triplets’ situation while Nick ate the last few bites of his lasagne. “Did the attorney have any estimate as to how long it might take to locate the babies’ aunt?”

“No.” Nick rose to carry his empty china and dirty cutlery to the sink. He turned on the tap. “He asked me to let him know if I remembered anything Stan or Amy may have said that would help find her. So far, all I’ve come up with is going through the photographs.”

“Photographs? Does the investigator need a picture?”

“No, he has one.” Nick slotted his rinsed dishes and utensils into the rack of the dishwasher and closed the door. “But Amy loved taking photographs—so did Stan—and Amy almost always jotted little notes on the back of the pictures. I’m sure some of the holiday photos they sent included her sister. I’m hoping there might be something in one of Amy’s notes that will help locate Lana.”

“That’s a great idea,” Charlene said, encouraged at the possibility of finding a clue.

“I hope it’s a productive one, but who knows whether I’ll learn anything new.” He shrugged. “Still, it’s one place we haven’t looked yet, and given how little information the investigator has, any small piece might make a difference. When I moved in, I shoved the photo boxes into the back of a closet upstairs. I thought I’d bring one downstairs tomorrow night and start looking.”

“I’d be glad to help you search through them,” she offered.

“Thanks, but I should warn you, I’ve never organized the pictures. All the photos I have are tossed in a couple of boxes, and the ones from Stan and Amy are mixed in with all the rest. There might be hundreds of pictures to look at. My mom divided family photos a few years ago and gave me a carton full.”

“I’ll still volunteer,” she said. “Did the attorney search the triplets’ house for an address book? I keep a notebook with family and friends’ addresses and phone numbers in a drawer by the phone. And in a computer file too,” she added as an afterthought.

“Sanchez and the investigator both checked Amy’s home computer but didn’t find anything helpful. They also looked for an address book at the house,” Nick said. “They didn’t find one. Whether she carried one with her is unknown because they didn’t find her purse at the accident scene. They’re assuming it was probably lost or destroyed, if she even had it with her.”

“What about old letters from her sister? Didn’t Amy keep correspondence?”

“Yes, but the last letter Amy received from Lana was several months ago—just after Thanksgiving. The investigator tried contacting her using the phone number at that residence, but she’s no longer living there. The landlord didn’t have any forwarding information.”

“So, what will he do now? Surely she just didn’t disappear?”

“I’m guessing the agency will send someone to Africa to interview the landlord in person, talk to her former employer, et cetera. It’s hard to investigate someone’s whereabouts from halfway around the world—on another continent,” Nick said grimly.

“Yes, I’m sure it is. Who knew it could be so difficult to locate someone?” she murmured. “This is a real wake-up call for me. I should think about what personal files and paperwork to organize in the remote chance I might suddenly disappear. I’ve never given any thought to the subject before now.”

“Most people don’t,” Nick said, a slightly gravelly edge to his deep voice.

“Of course,” she agreed, her tone softening. “It must have been a shock to get that phone call. Had you known each other a long time?”

“Since college.” Nick’s expression shuttered.

Charlene sensed his withdrawal. His expression didn’t invite further questions. Without further comment, she logged off her computer and closed it before picking up her mug and walking to the sink.

“It’s late. I think I’ll try to get some rest while the triplets are all asleep.”

“Not a bad idea.” Nick yawned. “I need to let Rufus outside before I come up.”

“Good night.”

He murmured a response and Charlene left the room. She heard the click of a latch behind her and paused, glancing back. Nick was turned away from her as he held the door open for Rufus. The big dog trotted through and Nick followed, his tall frame silhouetted against the darkness by the kitchen light spilling through the open door.

She was struck by how very alone he looked, standing in the shaft of golden light, facing the black night, before she turned away and climbed the stairs.

He’s your boss, she reminded herself firmly. He’s also older, more experienced. There is absolutely no reason for you to assume he’s lonely. He’s charming and probably wealthy, given his family ties, and no doubt has a little black book filled with the phone numbers of numerous women who’d be happy to keep him company.

Fortunately, she didn’t lie awake thinking about Nick. Being wakened by the triplets several times the night before, combined with her long day, made her tired enough to fall asleep almost the moment her head hit the pillow.

Unfortunately, Charlene wasn’t allowed to remain asleep for long.

The first cry woke her just after 1:00 a.m. She tossed back the covers and fumbled for her slippers with her bare toes but couldn’t find them. Giving up the search, she hurried across the hall to the triplets’ room.

Jessie was standing up in her crib, holding on to the railing with one hand, the other clasping her beloved blanket. Although the room was lit by only the dim glow from the plug-in Winnie The Pooh night-light, Charlene could see the tears overflow and trickle down Jessie’s flushed cheeks.

“Sh, sweetie,” Charlene murmured, crossing the room and lifting the little girl into her arms. “What’s wrong?”

Jessie burrowed her face against Charlene’s neck. The heat coming from the little body was palpable.

“You’re running a temperature,” Charlene murmured, realizing the ear infection was no doubt responsible for the rise in body heat. Jackie and Jenny appeared to be sound asleep. Charlene sent up a quick prayer that they would remain so as she quickly carried Jessie out of the bedroom and into the room next door. Her sobs were quieter now, muffled as her damp face pressed Charlene’s bare throat. Charlene rubbed her hand soothingly over the small back.

Earlier that day, Melissa had helped Charlene move a changing table and rocking chair into the empty bedroom next to the triplets’ room. The babies still refused to fall asleep unless they were all in the same room—they fretted and worked themselves into a state if the adults tried to separate them. Nevertheless, Charlene was determined to find a solution to their waking each other in the night. If one of them cried, the other two inevitably woke, and the loss of sleep for everyone was a problem that desperately needed solving.

Charlene managed to ease Jessie back, putting an inch or so between them, just enough to unzip her footed pajamas. The pink cotton was damp, as was the diaper beneath.

“Let’s change your clothes before we get your medicine,” she said, lowering Jessie to the changing table.

The little girl whimpered in complaint and when Charlene stripped off the damp pajamas, Jessie’s little mouth opened and she wailed.

In the bedroom next door, one of the other triplets protested and then began to sob. Charlene groaned aloud. The sound was bound to wake Nick.

She took Jessie’s temperature with a digital ear thermometer, relieved when it registered only a degree above normal. As she quickly replaced Jessie’s wet diaper with a dry one and tucked her into clean pajamas, Charlene fervently wished the employment agency would find a suitable nanny applicant soon. If the triplets had two nannies—herself and another—then maybe Nick wouldn’t feel required to get up at night when the babies woke.

And she wouldn’t be confronted with seeing him in the pajama bottoms he’d started sleeping in after that first night when he’d staggered into the triplets’ bedroom in navy boxers. He might believe he’d found a modest alternative to underwear, but as far as she was concerned, the low-slung flannel pants only made him look sexier.

The low rumble of Nick’s voice as he talked to the babies carried through the wall separating the rooms and Charlene was certain both Jackie and Jenny were awake.

“Come on, sweetie,” she murmured to Jessie, lifting her.

She left the room and paused in the doorway of the triplets’ bedroom. Nick had Jackie in one arm and Jenny in the other. Both babies were sobbing, blankets clutched in tiny fists.

“Jessie’s temperature is up again. I’m taking her downstairs to get her medicine out of the fridge.” Charlene had to raise her voice to make sure Nick could hear her over the crying babies. His brief nod told her he’d understood, and she headed downstairs, leaving him to cope with the two fractious little girls.

As she pulled open the refrigerator door and took out the prescription bottle, she heard Nick come down the stairs and go into the living room. Jackie and Jenny were still crying, although the volume wasn’t quite as loud as before.

Jessie’s sobbing had slowed to hiccups and intermittent outbursts. Charlene managed to unscrew the lid from the bottle and fill the eyedropper with the proper dose of pink medicine while balancing the little girl on her hip.

“Open up, sweetie.” Fortunately, the medication was strawberry flavored and Jessie’s mouth immediately formed an O. Just like a little bird, Charlene thought. Jessie’s lips closed around the dispenser and Charlene emptied the pink liquid into her mouth. “Good girl, you like that don’t…”

A sudden blast of music from the living room startled Charlene and she jumped, nearly dropping the bottle. Jessie’s eyes grew round, her little body stiffening in Charlene’s grasp.

“What in the world?”

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