Twin Ties, Twin Joys: The Boss's Double Trouble Twins / Twins for a Christmas Bride / Baby Twins: Parents Needed

“Turn right on the Sorrel Highway.” He pointed out the sign just ahead. “It’s been years, but I think it’ll still be there.”

She turned where he’d indicated, but the land looked empty in that limitless way that didn’t bode well for hamburgers. How many miles would he want to go before giving it up as a lost cause?

“It’s got to be out this way,” he reassured her. “I remember it well. My grandfather had a cattle ranch in the Sargosa Hills and I used to go out and help him work the place sometimes on summer vacations. There was this old recluse of a guy—think of your ultimate stereotype of the old prospector with a pickax on his shoulder and a mule by his side. His name was Ry Tanner.”

He scanned the horizon, then pointed as a ramshackle building came into view. “There it is! See that bed and breakfast? That’s got to be the place. Stop there.”

Darcy frowned doubtfully as they pulled up in front of the ancient building. A two-story frame in a rustic Victorian style, standing out alone on the treeless plain, it looked like a survivor of another age. The sign said, Tree Stump Bed And Breakfast. Another sign, hanging by a tattered rope, said, Café. And there were a few tables and chairs set out on the browning grass of the front yard, in the shade of a small stand of cottonwood trees.

“Mitch, are you sure?” she began.

“Absolutely,” he said, getting out of the car. “We can get some lunch here. Come on.”

She followed him but she wasn’t too keen on this. The place almost looked abandoned.

“I don’t know,” she murmured, frowning.

But Mitch was cupping his hands and calling toward the entry to the building. “Hello! Anybody here?”

There was a dusty silence for a moment, but just as Darcy was starting to turn away, a gruff voice came from the house.

“Go away. We’re closed.”

Mitch grinned, giving Darcy a wink. “It’s him,” he said before stepping closer. “Ry Tanner, ya ole reprobate. Is that you?”

There was a pause, then the voice sounded again. “We’re closed, I tell you.”

But Mitch had mounted the steps to the front door and was peering in through the milky glass. “Ry Tanner, come on out here.”

“Who’s that?” the voice demanded.

“Mitch Carver.” He spread out his arms. “Don’t you remember me?”

The door opened a crack and a grizzled head appeared. “Mitch Carver! Is that you?”

“It’s me, all right.”

The door opened a bit more and the old man stood in the light. “What are you doin’ here? I ain’t seen you for years.” His gnarled face turned and his beady black eyes took in Darcy, too. “And you got yourself a pretty girl. Poor thing. I never thought you’d find one would put up with ya.”

Mitch laughed. “She doesn’t. But that’s another story.”

The man shuffled out onto the porch and nodded toward the tables on the grass. “Come on over and set a spell,” he said. “Out here in the cool breeze.”

“We came to get some food,” Mitch said as they followed him to the table.

He shook his gray head. “We’re closed.”

“A little snack will do. That’s all we need.”

Dropping down into a chair, Ry Tanner frowned at his company. “I told you, we’re closed.”

“No, we ain’t.” A plump, pretty woman who looked to be in her forties came out of the house.

“Don’t listen to him,” she said, smiling at them all. “He’s just playin’ hermit. You’re old friends of his? Y’all sit down. I’ll get you some food.”

Ry grumbled, but it was becoming apparent that his grumbling didn’t mean much. Darcy and Mitch sat down across from him and the woman, whose name was Betty, took their order and hurried into the house to prepare their food.

“You two married yet?” Ry demanded, glaring at Darcy.

“No!” they both said at once.

He nodded, looking at Mitch. “Good.” He leaned closer, confiding. “But you watch out. Here’s a life lesson, son. They try to trap you.”

“Trap?” Darcy knew he was just an old man but she couldn’t hide her outrage. “Why would I want to trap anyone?”

He glanced at her, then back at Mitch. “Marriage. That’s all any woman wants, you know. She wants to pluck you off the vine and plunk you down into her own little teacup.”

Darcy blinked at the strangely mixed metaphor.

“I have never tried to trap anyone into anything, much less marriage. And you know what? I’ll tell you a secret.” She leaned toward him conspiratorially. “I wouldn’t marry him if he asked me to.”

“See?” He waved a finger in the air. “That’s the first trick they use. Playin’ hard to get.” He nodded knowingly, narrowing his eyes as he looked at her sideways. “Watch out for that one, my friend.”

She shook her head. Mitch was silently laughing, his blue eyes dancing. She glared at him. He was having too much fun with this.

“The male ego never ceases to amaze me,” she muttered.

Ry seemed to take offense. “Well then, what are you coming by here bothering people fer?”

Darcy’s jaw dropped. This crazy old man! “We don’t mean to bother you. Mitch just thought …”

He looked triumphant. “Ya see there?” He nodded to Mitch. “There she goes, takin’ your side, letting you think she’s defending you. That’s number two on the roster. Write these down, son. You need to keep a list about you at all times. Ya gotta be prepared to counter their attacks.”

Mitch was laughing, Darcy was confused between reluctant amusement and annoyance, and Ry Tanner seemed to be in his element now.

But Betty had her own advice. “Don’t listen to him,” she suggested as she put a pair of huge hamburgers, with fries, out in front of them. “He just likes to hear himself talk. Don’t you, Pops?”

Ry grumbled, but the hamburgers were good and Darcy was famished. She had to admit the old man was like a piece of old Texas. He should be in a museum somewhere. But she couldn’t say he was much of a lunch companion. Mitch seemed to have a strange affection for this old man, but she didn’t think she could share it.

“So, Ry Tanner,” Mitch was saying casually. “What do you know about the Heartland Project? I hear it’s going in right next to you here, isn’t it?”

Ry nodded. “Yes, that’s true. They even wanted to buy out my land. But I’m hangin’ tough.” He shook his head. “We’ll see.”

Darcy’s eyes widened and she stared at Mitch. The two men went on talking about the project, about what was being planned and how Ry’s land might enter into the deal, but she hardly listened. So this was what Mitch had come along with her for, this was what had been his reason for hunting down Ry Tanner.

And here, a part of her had been thinking he might just have wanted to be with her. And that part of her had been reveling in that hope, hadn’t it?

What a fool she was! In the first place, for wanting him to want to be with her. And in the second place, for wanting that despite the danger it posed. Was she crazy? So it seemed. That did it. She was going to have to be much tougher on herself from now on. After all, she’d fallen for this man’s charm before. She had a record to live down. She had to be doubly careful.

Mitch had a devilish look in his eyes as they walked back to the car. She glanced at him suspiciously. “What?” she asked him.

He leaned against the car door and his gaze rose slowly to meet hers. “The Heartland Project,” he said softly. “I want it.”

She stared at him, mouth agape. “You’re crazy!”

“Pipe down,” he warned, laughing at her. “Get in the car. Let’s not advertise it.”

“There is no way you can get that project,” she went on as she slipped into the driver’s seat. “You know that, don’t you? There are plenty of big boys after it. Ned Varner, for one.”

“Ned Varner has been my family’s nemesis for years, you know,” he told her casually. “He makes moves every time he thinks my father’s hold on the company is weak. Fear of what he was up to was the very reason my mother got me to come home.”

“Oh. Well, I’m sure she was thinking defensively, not for you to try a suicidal move like trying for the Heartland Project.”

His head rose and he had a steely look. “I’m going after it.”

She was astonished at his crazy naive attitude. “What are you talking about? You don’t have the experience, the background. You don’t know what you’re doing!”

“I could do it.” His blue eyes were intense as they held hers. “You and me together. You can teach me the ropes. I’m a quick study.”

Her breath caught in her throat. “Wait a minute.

Why would I be teaching you the ropes?” She threw her hands up. “If I know so much, why aren’t I heading the project?”

“Because you don’t have the credentials.” Reaching out, he cupped her cheek in his hand and looked deeply into her eyes. “Let’s face it, Darcy. They won’t let you. But you and me together—we could do it.”

His touch was something between fire and silk, and she knew it could act on her like a drug. She pulled away, shaking her head. “You’re nuts,” she said, starting the car.

She was fuming and he was making jokes. He wanted the Heartland Project, and he wanted to use her to help get it. Now wasn’t that just special! If she wasn’t careful she would get roped into having even more of her life taken over by this man. Who did he think he was, anyway?

But she knew the answer to that, didn’t she? Oh! She wanted to scream.

Still, she managed to control herself and she was quiet most of the way back into town. So was Mitch.

Probably thinking over ways to get her to pull in the Heartland Project for him. That was not going to happen!

But how was she going to avoid it, working for him in that office every day? She’d known this was going to be a problem from the beginning.

“It’s Friday night,” he said suddenly, as they entered the city limits. “Date night. Have you got a date?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do,” she said, tossing her hair back and looking at him sideways.

“Oh.” That surprised him. “So who’s the lucky guy? Bert Lenson?”

Was that sarcasm she heard? Had to be.

“There are two of them, actually,” she told him. “A couple of very special guys. We’re planning to paint the town. If things really get hot, I might even let them stay up past their bedtime.”

He’d realized what she was doing long before she wrapped it up and he waited, a twisted smile on his face. “The joys of motherhood,” he said dryly.

That put her back up but she held back the sharp comment that came to mind. “I suppose you’ve got plenty of old girlfriends you could look up,” she said instead.

He laughed. “Oh sure. There are old girlfriends of mine scattered all over the San Antonio area. Terra Dulce is crawling with them.”

“I would have thought so.”

He turned in his seat, shaking his head. “Are you crazy? Look how old I am, Darcy. All my old girlfriends are too busy organizing car pools for their kids to give me the time of day. Arguably some of them will be divorced, but still …”

“Ah, it’s the kids that turn you off, is it?” “I didn’t say that.”

She pulled onto the local freeway. They were almost back at work. “What do you have against kids?”

“I don’t have anything against them,” he said, though he sounded a bit too defensive. “I’ve dealt with kids before. Last year I hid out with a woman who had two kids and I spent a lot of time helping her take care of them. I can give bottles. I can even change a diaper if I have to. I don’t want to. But I can. I’m not totally clueless.”

But Darcy was still hung up on what he’d said at that beginning of that monologue. “'Hid out'?”

He sighed, hesitated, then shook his head. “It’s a long story. Forget it for now. Someday I’ll tell you all about it.”

She could tell by the finality in his voice that these were his last words on the subject—for now, at least. She turned into the ACW parking lot and pulled into her space.

“Well, that was fun,” she murmured, turning off the engine and starting to gather her things to get out of the car. And then she noticed he was still sitting there, making no move to exit. He had the look on his face that she was beginning to realize meant he had something he wanted to say. So she settled back into her seat and sighed.

“Okay. Out with it.” “Darcy, I’ve been thinking.” Here it came. He had big plans for things she could do to help him win that darn project. “Yes?” she said.

He was quiet for a moment, then turned and looked into her face.

“Okay, here’s the deal. I think we should get married.”

“What?” She couldn’t have been more surprised. “I was thinking that maybe we should reconsider this marriage thing.”

She was struggling for breath.

“Why?”

“If you look at it objectively, it’s only fair. This whole situation is as much my fault as it is yours.”

The man had experienced an epiphany. “Oh, you think so?”

He was frowning thoughtfully. “I realize I’ve taken too long to come to this decision, but you’ve got to admit, the twins threw me way off kilter. You had nine months to get used to the idea of having kids before they even got here. I didn’t get that luxury.”

“But Mitch …”

“It won’t be a normal marriage,” he added quickly. “I’ll be gone most of the time. But at least we’ll be married.”

She stared at him. This was one spectacular turnaround—only a few hours ago he’d been staunchly declaring he would never marry. Or had she heard that wrong? Whatever it was, she didn’t think she had better rely on it. Besides, he still hadn’t mentioned the babies.

“Let me get this straight. We’ll be married, but you’ll be gone most of the time.”

He nodded, his eyes bright with confidence. “That’s about the size of it.”

“I see.” She gave him a wry smile. “So you want to tie me down while you are free to go off and do whatever strikes your fancy.”

His look darkened a little. “Well, kind of. Though that isn’t exactly the way I was thinking of it. You’re putting it a bit unfairly.”

She looked at him and laughed. She knew that a part of her would always be bound to him no matter what they did. But she had to stay hardened against him. He still hadn’t made one gesture toward the boys. If he didn’t feel anything for the twins, the rest of this was moot. She didn’t even want him in her life.

“Darcy, think about it,” he was saying, trying to be convincing. “It could work. There would be advantages. I could check in periodically, sort of like military guys do. If you could live with a part-time husband …”

“No.”

“No?” He looked surprised.

Her steady gaze pinned him back. “It sounds like a great idea—for you. You’d be having your cake and eating it, too.”

He thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Mitch …”

“Okay, I’ll put it this way.” He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips, then gazed at her over it. “Darcy, will you marry me?”

Something very like a butterfly was flapping around in her stomach. She was very close to being sick. This was so like what she’d dreamed of, and yet, it wasn’t good enough. She pulled her hand away from him.

“I can’t marry you.”

“Why not?”

“You are not marriage material. We knew that from the beginning. Nothing’s changed.”

He stared at her, his blue eyes turned black as night in the dim light of the parking structure. “That’s where you’re wrong, Darcy. No matter what we decide here, everything’s changed.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

“YOU know,” Darcy mused to herself in the mirror two days later. “Just when you least expect it, fate will step in and take control. Happens every time.”

She’d been going crazy wondering what she was going to do about Mitch. She was half in love with the man and there were reasons for her to want him in her life. And yet, she knew very well that would lead to nothing but heartbreak in the long run. So it was just too dangerous being around him all the time. If she wasn’t careful, he was going to lure her back into his influence and she was going to find herself agreeing to one of his loony ideas—like getting married. And that would be disastrous.

But now, like manna from the heavens, came a reprieve. That very morning, Mimi had announced that she had to go out of town.

“I’m so sorry to do this to you, Darcy. And at such a time. But my sister has fallen and wrenched her back. They might have to operate. She has no family to take care of her, and no money for nursing care, so I have to go.”

“Of course you must go,” Darcy told her, silently sending up a cheer as she realized the implications. “How long do you think you’ll be?”

“Oh, two weeks at least.”

“Oh, good.”

“What?” Mimi looked puzzled.

Darcy gave her a dazzling smile and amended quickly. “I mean, you’re so good—to your sister. She’s lucky she has you.”

“Well, I hate to leave you in the lurch. I’m going to call around to everyone I know and see if I can find someone to watch the babies.”

“No, you’re not,” Darcy told her sweetly. “I’m going to watch them. I’ll take some time off. I’ll just have to stay home for a couple of weeks. It’ll be perfect.”

“Oh, but doesn’t Mitch need you?”

Mitch can go pound sand! she thought, with vengeance on her mind. A couple of weeks away from Mitch—nothing could be better at a time like this. This would reaffirm her bond with her children plus she would get away from Mitch’s influence. With a little bit of distance, maybe she could think things through more clearly. It was all good.

But aloud, she said, “He’ll be fine. There are plenty of women at ACW who would be happy to take my place, believe me.”

She went in to work Monday morning with a spring in her step. She stopped by Human Resources to deal with the paperwork, then breezed into the office almost an hour after the workday had begun. Mitch scowled at her as she stood before him at his desk.

“Where have you been?”

Her bright smile was genuine. “Good morning to you, too.”

His grouchy mood melted immediately. “Yeah, well … Hey, I missed you,” he said lightly. “It was a long weekend.”

Her smile grew a little more forced. He looked very appealing in the morning sunlight that streamed in from the huge windows, especially now that the look in his eyes had warmed. Just looking at him made her heart beat a little faster—which was exactly why she had to go.

“Well, I’m afraid that’s something you’re going to have to get used to,” she said. “I’m not going to be here for a while.”

His scowl was back and he rose from his chair. “What are you talking about?”

“I need to take a few days off.”

His frown deepened. “Why?”

She wasn’t really fond of his tone, so she developed a frown of her own. “I have some personal days coming,” she said defensively. “I’m going to take them.”

He looked angered and frustrated at the same time. “Why are you taking them now?”

She glared at him. “Do you have to know everything I do?”

“Yes.” He hesitated, as though he rather regretted having said that. “After all, you’re taking care of my children,” he improvised.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake.” She gaped at him. The nerve of the man! He had the decency to look chagrined—but only for a moment before his natural arrogance reasserted itself.

“Okay,” she said quickly. “This is what’s happening. Mimi has to go take care of her sister in Dallas, so I’m going to have to stay home with the twins until she gets back.”

He shook his head as though he couldn’t see what that had to do with anything. “Can’t you hire a sitter?”

“Mitch, these are babies. My babies. I would hire a stranger if I absolutely had to, but I don’t have to. I have the time accrued. And I’m going to take it.”

Frowning again, he rubbed a hand through his hair, making it stand up at crazy angles. “But you can’t go now. We’re wrapping up the Bermuda Woods job. That was your baby before I got here.”

She threw out her hands. “You know very well that is basically signed and sealed and only needs to be delivered. Skylar Mars can handle any loose ends.”

“Skylar?”

“I talked to HR and set it up. She’s taking my place. You know who she is. She was one of the ladies who had a morning party for you the other day. The redhead.”

“Ah.” His eyes lit up as he remembered her. And who could blame him? She was quite a beauty. But Darcy had to admit, that look on his face rankled. Still, it didn’t last long. Very quickly he was frowning again.

“Well, she may be decorative and know how to present a plan, but does she have any experience with anything like the Heartland Project?”

Darcy hesitated. That was a sore spot. “She can call me for advice any time,” she said. “I won’t be going anywhere. Except the park.” Come to think of it, she did have a few things planned. She began to count them off on her fingers. “And the market. And the doctor’s on Wednesday. And the boys’ playdate on Thursday. And …”

“Phone calls aren’t the same as having first class expertise sitting right here in the office,” he interjected impatiently.

Darcy knew that, but Skylar was about as good as he was going to get. “She’s done property before,” she reassured him. “She’ll do everything you need.”

He thought that over seriously, but when he met her gaze again he looked a little lost. “But you’re what I need,” he said, as though it surprised him, too.

Her heart gave a little jog, but she looked at him hard, sure he didn’t mean that the way it sounded.

“Sorry,” she said quickly. “I’ve got two weeks coming to me and I’m going to take them.”

His face hardened and his tone did, too. Pleading wasn’t working. He looked like he’d decided to resort to strong-arm tactics. “You can’t. Not now.”

She straightened her shoulders. “Yes, I can.”

“I’m your boss, Darcy. And I say you can’t.”

“I’ve been working here longer than you and have more street clout,” she asserted, knowing what she was saying was ridiculous. “More pull with the people who make this company work.”

“Oh, yeah?” “Yeah!”

He glared at her. “I’ll have you fired.”

Her chin was out a mile. “Great. You do that. That will solve all my problems.”

Well, not really. But it would solve one. The big one. The one she was merely avoiding by staying away from him for two weeks. But it was a step in the right direction. Maybe with time, the problem would find its own solution. On the other hand, maybe she was just kicking the can down the road. Either way, she would have two weeks away from this emotional cauldron.

She looked at him, so tall and hard and handsome, and something very much like a lump rose in her throat. He stood silhouetted before his big picture window, looking like a big tycoon. He was the boss and he looked the part. No more romantic renegade. He was a man of corporate power now.

But he wasn’t going to fire her and she knew it. She turned to go. He blocked her way, taking hold of her upper arms and staring down into her face.

“Please don’t do this, Darcy,” he said, his voice soft but hiding a core of steel. “I need you here.”

She looked up into his eyes and began to melt. Those gorgeous blue eyes, those thick dark lashes, that flash of excitement—she could hardly breathe. Everything in her yearned toward him. Closing her eyes, she thought of her babies and gathered strength.

“I have to go,” she told him, pulling away. “See you in two weeks.”

She walked quickly toward the elevator, sure that he would follow her, take her into his arms, make her stay. That scared her. But when it didn’t happen, there was suddenly a big empty hole in her sense of well-being. It should have been a relief, but instead, she wanted to cry.

Mitch was in a very bad mood. Office life without Darcy was a whole different animal—an animal he wasn’t very fond of. Skylar was definitely beautiful. Very easy on the eyes. Oh, yes. But there was one problem. Skylar never shut up.

It wasn’t so much that she talked to Mitch all the time. He could handle that. A couple of sharp comments and a raised eyebrow had pretty much nipped most of that in the bud. But she talked to everyone else—incessantly. Everyone who walked by her desk, everyone who emerged from the elevator, everyone who called on the phone, got at least a ten-minute conversation. Even when he shut the door to his inner office, her laughter penetrated. That sound could probably bend steel. It certainly raised the hair on the back of his neck, and not in a good way. It also set his teeth on edge. And most of all, it made him think longingly of Darcy.