Twins Under the Christmas Tree

The second-eldest Cash brother had once been a tie-down roper, but the past few years he’d spent more time working construction jobs than he did riding the circuit.

“Since when did you start keeping tabs on me?”

“It was Mack’s birthday yesterday, you dumb shit.”

Well, hell. He’d forgotten. “I was helping a friend out.”

Will walked farther into the barn. “I suppose your friend needed help with her bed.”

His brother’s words prompted a vision of Conway slipping between the sheets with Isi. Disturbed at how easily his mind put him and Isi together as a couple he said, “You need to go off and rodeo for a while.”

“Why’s that?”

“Lately you’ve been as sociable as a rotting tooth.”

“We all can’t be as popular with the ladies as you are,” Will said.

Normally Conway would relish a game of verbal sparring with his brother, but he didn’t have time. “I’ll call Mack and wish him a happy birthday.” He tested the lock that held the fan sprayer in place then hopped on the tractor seat.

“Where’d you get the sprayer?” Will asked.

“Jim Baine leased it to me.”

“Since when did the feed store start renting farm equipment?”

“I don’t know, but when I went to Tractor Supply in Yuma to browse sprayers, the salesclerk told me to stop by Jim’s, so I did.”

“How much did he charge you for it?”

“A hundred dollars for the week.” Several months ago their oldest brother Johnny had informed the family that the farm was in financial trouble. Conway and his brothers had pitched in their savings to make up the missed mortgage payments so any new equipment purchases would have to wait.

“I hope you know what you’re doing, because I sure as hell would like to get paid back the money I contributed to produce this crop,” Will said.

Ever since Johnny had handed over control of the pecan groves to Conway, the rest of his brothers believed it was their duty to comment on how he did things. Will wasn’t a farmer, but Conway felt a special connection with the land and he intended to do everything in his power to produce a healthy nut crop and that meant doing things by the book—like spraying for insects during the month of October.

“Don’t worry, bro, I’ve got things under control.” Conway grinned. “But if you’re willing to help out, you can—”

“No way.” Will raised his hands in the air. “I build things. I don’t grow them.”

“Is the construction business improving?”

“Ben’s got several small jobs lined up to keep us busy.”

Not busy enough to prevent Will from harassing Conway. “I’d love to chat, but I need to spray a few rows before I leave.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’m watching a friend’s kids while she goes to school and works at night.”

“Your friend wouldn’t happen to be a waitress at the Border Town Bar & Grill, would she?” Will asked.

“Why?”

Will chuckled. “You’re the guy two women were fighting over when one of them got her nose broken.”

“They weren’t fighting over me. Isi—”

“Who’s Isi?”

“The waitress at the bar. She took a punch that was meant for me.”

“Ouch.” Will shook his head. “I don’t get why women fawn all over you.”

“Because I’m the handsome Cash brother.” Conway grinned.

“Yeah, right. Wait until word gets around that you’re a pecan farmer and not the swaggering rodeo hero you want everyone to believe you are.”

Conway didn’t give a crap how his new career might affect his image. For a while now he’d been wanting to settle down and it was only a matter of time before he found the right woman.

“This Isi must be special if you’re sprucing up for her.” Will motioned to Conway’s short hair.

Isi was special, but not in the way Will meant. Conway ignored his brother and started the tractor. The engine sputtered and coughed before settling into a loud roar, then he shifted gears and drove out of the barn.

He lined up the sprayer then moved through the first row of trees, contemplating Will’s words. There was no reason he couldn’t work on the farm and rodeo weekends until he found the woman of his dreams. As a matter of fact, he’d head up to Payson on Saturday and enter the Frontier Days Rodeo. Who knows, maybe he’d run into his soul mate.

* * *

“AND HE LET us sit on the tractor,” Javier said.

Isi listened to the boys chatter about their day with Conway while she made grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch.

Miguel set two plastic cups on the table. “Next time I get to go.”

“And he let me push the brake and—”

“Okay, enough,” Isi interrupted Javier, hoping to ward off a fight. Miguel was jealous that his brother had gone to the tractor store with Conway while he’d stayed in preschool.

“I wanna tractor when I grow up,” Javier said.

Isi cut the sandwiches in half, placed them on paper plates then added apples slices to the meal. “What would you do with a tractor, Javi?”

“I’d help Mr. Conway on his farm.”

“Does Conway Twitty Cash have cows and pigs on his farm?” Miguel asked Isi.

“I don’t know, honey.” She joined the boys at the table and smoothed the hair off Javier’s forehead. “You don’t feel warm.” He wouldn’t make eye contact with her and she reminded herself to tell Conway not to give in to her son if he complained about going to school.

Once the boys ate and brushed their teeth, she sent them outside to play in the yard and began making phone calls. Fifteen minutes later, she’d gotten nowhere—each of the women she’d found in the Sunday want ads had already taken babysitting jobs. Later today she planned to put up a flyer on the campus bulletin board and hoped a student wanting to earn extra cash before Christmas would contact her.

A knock rattled the door. “It’s me.” Conway stepped into the trailer and his smile faltered. “You’re upset. What’s wrong?”

For a man who spent yesterday chasing after two demanding four-year-olds and sleeping on a dollhouse-size couch, he looked well-rested.

Well-rested? That was a unique way to describe sexy.

Isi ignored the voice in her head. “I’m not upset. I’m discouraged.” She closed her notebook. “I haven’t had any luck finding a sitter.”

“Did you try the online classifieds?” He stopped next to the table and his half smile tugged a sigh from Isi.

“I don’t trust those online sites,” she said.

“Why not?”

“They’re full of child predators.” Poor Conway. He was really clueless about raising children.

“Can you put them in day care after school?” he asked.

“There isn’t a facility open until midnight.” She waved a hand in the air. “Besides, I don’t have the money for extended child care.”

“I suppose I could keep watching the boys until you find a new sitter.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Why not?”

She laughed. “The twins are a lot of work.”

“They aren’t so bad.”

Wait until he spent more time with her sons, then the novelty would wear off. She went to the window to make sure the boys were in the yard. “I told Javier that he has to stay at school. Please don’t let him talk you into signing him out.”

“I wanted to speak to you about that.”

She stuffed her books into her backpack.

“Javier told me that he’s getting picked on at recess.”

“You mean teased?” she said.

“Why haven’t you spoken to his teacher about it?”

Isi jerked as if he’d slapped her. “You think I’ve ignored the problem?”

He shrugged. “Then why are the brats still tormenting Javier?”

Angry that Conway believed she was an uncaring mother, she lashed out. “I don’t know what he told you, but his teacher assured me the situation is being dealt with.” An image of her son cornered by miniature thugs on the playground popped into Isi’s mind. She felt bad that the boys had been placed in day cares and preschools the past three years, but she’d had no choice—not if she intended to make a better life for them. Isi blinked hard.

“You’re not going to cry, are you?”

“No.” She fussed with her backpack.

Conway wiped the pad of his thumb across her cheekbone, catching the tear that escaped her eye. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

She sniffed. “It’s... I don’t have... Never mind.”

“Never mind what? Talk to me.”

“I’m doing the best I can, Conway. I complained to the head of the preschool that Javier said kids were picking on him, but she insisted that the boys would work things out on their own.”

“How long ago did you speak to this lady?”

“I guess it’s been a month.”

Conway’s jaw hardened. “I can help. Will you trust me to handle this?”

“You don’t have any experience with kids.”

“I grew up fighting bullies who picked on me because of my name.”

His comment triggered more tears. “The teacher said I should encourage the boys’ father to become more involved in their lives, but that’ll never happen.”

“Why?”

“Their father refuses to acknowledge that the boys are his.”

Conway scowled. “Make him take a paternity test.”

“He’s already married with kids.”

“You slept with a married man?” Conway gaped at her.

“He didn’t tell me he was married.”

“And you didn’t ask him?”

“He wasn’t wearing a wedding band, so I assumed he was single.”

“The boys’ father should be paying child support. If he helped out financially, you could afford day care.” Conway swept his hand in front of him. “You’re barely getting by raising them on your own.”

“We’re fine.” She wasn’t proud of accepting government assistance to help meet her monthly expenses and put food on the table, but as soon as she earned her degree, she’d find a full-time job with benefits and be able to support herself and the boys all on her own.

“Being a single parent isn’t easy.” She swallowed hard. “I have no one to—”

Conway cut her off midsentence by pressing his finger against her lips. The tip of his finger slipped past her lip and touched her tongue. A spark of heat warmed her brown eyes as they locked gazes.

“What are you doing?” she mumbled against his finger.

“Trying to stop you from talking.”

Did he have any idea how long it had been since a man had touched her so intimately? Feeling short of breath, she said, “Don’t do that again.”

Good grief. No sense playing with fire when they were both destined for different futures—Conway wanted marriage without kids and if she ever committed to a man, he would have to love her boys as much as she loved them.

“Is my touch that awful?” His eyes sparkled with humor.

“Stop trying to distract me.”

“Isi. You’re a great mom and the boys are lucky to have you in their corner. Let me help Javier.”

Just because you accept his help doesn’t mean you’re a failure. “Fine.” She slung her backpack over her shoulder. “See you after midnight.”

Isi stepped outside and blew kisses to the boys. “Be good.” Then she drove off, thinking she’d better keep her guard up around Conway in case he turned out to be an authentic Mr. Nice Guy—a Mr. Nice Guy who rocked her world. Again.

* * *

WHEN CONWAY ENTERED the preschool, he strode up to the desk and announced, “I’m staying with the boys.”

Both Miguel and Javier smiled.

“You can’t stay,” the lady said.

Conway peered at her name tag. “Why not, Rose? I’d like to observe what the boys do during their time here.”

“I can tell you what they do. First, they sit in a circle for story time then—”

“I don’t want to hear about it, I want to experience it.” Conway tapped his finger against the sign-in sheet on the clipboard. “Is there a guest form I need to fill out?”

Flustered, Rose said, “Wait here, Mr. Cash. I’ll get the director.”

Miguel tugged on Conway’s pant leg. “Now you’re in trouble. Ms. Kibble’s mean.”

“You guys go hang up your backpacks. I’ll be there in a minute.”

After the boys walked away, an older woman with a salt-and-pepper bob stepped from her office. “Mr. Cash, I understand you’d like to observe today.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He held out his hand.

“Is there a problem with Miguel or Javier?” she asked.

“Well, ma’am, there is. It seems Javier is being picked on and nothing’s been done to address the problem.”

The director’s eyes rounded and Rose made a hasty exit.

“This is the first I’ve heard of any bullying going on in my school,” Ms. Kibble said.

“No, ma’am, it’s not. According to the boys’ mother, she’s spoken to you about this before, and because the teasing hasn’t stopped, Javier doesn’t want to come to school anymore.”

“Which boys are bothering him?”

“He won’t say, but I intend to find out.”

“I appreciate your concern, Mr. Cash. I’ll make sure the teacher is aware of the situation.”

“Good. I’m eager to see how she deals with the bullies.”

Ms. Kibble’s mouth tightened, but she backed down. “Enjoy your afternoon.”

When Conway joined the boys for story time on the floor, Miguel whispered to the kid next to him, “That’s Conway Twitty Cash. He’s my new friend.”

Javier inched closer to Conway but remained silent. Story time turned out to be boring as hell and it was all Conway could do to keep his eyes open. When the teacher—Ms. Haney—closed the book and asked if anyone had questions, Conway raised his hand.

“Yes, Mr. Cash?”

“When’s recess?” The room erupted in giggles, which earned Conway a dark scowl from the teacher.

“Go to your tables and start your work sheets,” the teacher said.

When the kids bolted in all directions, a boy walked past Javier and elbowed him in the back. Conway noticed the teacher’s attention was elsewhere. The boy with the sharp elbow sat at the same table as Javier, and Javier refused to make eye contact with the kid.

One bully identified. Now he needed to find the others. The only way to do that was to sit away from Javier. He joined Miguel at his table and Conway’s gut twisted at Javier’s hurt expression. It was all he could do not to rush to the boy’s side and reassure him.

While the group worked on their alphabet sheets, Conway watched Javier. Nothing out of the ordinary happened until the teacher asked the students to pass the papers to the head of the table. A freckled-faced boy swept Javier’s paper onto the floor then stepped on it before putting it back in the pile and handing it to the teacher.

Bully number two identified.

The class spent the next hour moving from activity to activity until snack time. Fruit punch, crackers and small boxes of raisins were doled out to each kid. Miguel stuffed his face, eating everything in front of him and asking for seconds of the punch. Javier didn’t touch his food—or rather he didn’t have a chance to, because the red-haired bully had stolen his box of raisins and Javier hadn’t protested.

By the time recess arrived, Conway was spitting mad that the teacher hadn’t noticed what was happening right under her nose. He followed the kids outside and Javier raced to the swings while Miguel veered off toward the monkey bars and a group of gossiping girls.

When the bullies closed in on Javier, Conway made his move. “Mind if I join you guys on the swings?”

The freckle-faced boy crossed his arms over his chest. “We were playing here first.”

Insolent bugger.

“Yeah.” The chubby kid kicked dirt at Javier. “He’s on our swing.”

“This is your swing? You brought this from home?” Conway asked.

Javier giggled then sobered quickly when the bullies glared at him.

“I think you guys have got it wrong. This swing belongs to the school.”

“Get off, stupid,” the redhead told Javier.

Javier made a move to vacate his seat, but Conway set his hand on his shoulder. “You’ll have to wait your turn, carrottop.”

“Says who?” the kid glared.

“Says me, Rico.” Javier stood and faced his adversary.

Rico laughed. “You can’t stop me.”

“Yes, I can.” Javier shoved Rico in the chest and the kid tripped over his feet and stumbled. Once he gained his balance, Rico swung his fist, but Javier ducked and tackled the boy to the ground. Conway sent the overweight bully a stay-where-you-are glare while Javier and Rico wrestled.

Tiny fists punched mostly air, then a student alerted the playground monitor and the woman hurried over and separated the boys. Holding each by the back of the shirt collar she spoke to Conway. “You stood there and did nothing.”

“The boys had to settle this between themselves,” Conway said.

“Well, I’ve never heard of—”

“Lady, if you’d have been doing your job rather than texting on your phone, you’d know that Rico and his buddy like to torment kids.”

The woman marched the boys into the building and Conway followed at a distance. Twice Javier peeked over his shoulder and grinned at him. Now that Rico and the other kid knew Javier could stand up for himself, they’d leave him alone.

Conway stood outside Ms. Kibble’s office while the playground monitor explained the situation. All three boys were suspended for fighting and told not to return to school until Friday. Grinning from ear to ear, Javier followed Conway out of the school.

“Is my mom gonna be mad at me?” Javier asked.

“Nah.” She’s going to be mad as hell at me.

* * *

CONWAY HEARD ISI’S car pull beneath the carport and he braced himself. When the trailer door opened, he said, “I can explain, Isi.”

“Explain what?” She flashed a nervous smile.

“Didn’t the school call you?”

The blood drained from her face. “What happened? Are the boys okay?”

“They’re fine.” He hadn’t meant to scare her.

She set her backpack by the door. “What’s going on?”

He didn’t think this would be hard but the speech he’d rehearsed after the boys had gone to bed suddenly didn’t sound so clever. “Javier’s been expelled from school until Friday.”

Isi’s eyes widened. “What happened?”

“It wasn’t his fault. You can blame me.”

“What did he do, Conway?”

“He got into a fight on the playground.”

She gasped.

“None of the boys were hurt. I watched the whole thing and—”

“You watched the fight and didn’t break it up?”

“Let me explain.” He shoved a hand through his hair. “I stayed at school and monitored their class. As I suspected, Javier is being bullied by two boys, one named Rico and the other one was a chubby kid.”

“Mathew.”

“During recess Javier got to the swings first but the bullies tried to make him get off. I told the boys Javier didn’t have to give up his swing and all of a sudden Javi shoved Rico. The boys rolled on the ground until the recess monitor intervened and took them to the principal’s office.”

“Was Javier upset?”

“Nope.”

“What did Ms. Kibble say?”

“Not a whole lot.”

“Were all the boys suspended?”

“Yep. You’d have been proud of Javier, Isi.”

“I’m supposed to be happy that you taught my son to solve his problems by fighting?”

“I didn’t teach him to fight. I taught him to stand up for himself.”

“Do me a favor and don’t offer my sons any advice, okay? I’m their mother. I’ll handle their problems.” Isi walked down the hall to check on the twins and Conway made a hasty escape before he got suspended from his babysitting job.

Chapter Four

When Conway stepped inside Isi’s trailer Friday at noon, he came face-to-face with two pouting grumps.

“What’s wrong?”

“I found a sitter,” Isi said.

A weird feeling gripped Conway’s stomach, but he blamed it on the three breakfast burritos he’d eaten earlier in the morning. “Is it—” he motioned to the boys “—because of the school suspension?”

“Not at all,” she said. He noticed she didn’t make eye contact with him. “A customer at the bar recommended her aunt.”

The swelling in Isi’s nose had gone down and the bruising beneath her eyes had faded to a yellow hue. If she wore makeup, no one would be able to tell she’d broken her nose. His gaze drifted to her shirt—she looked hot in the black tank top that hugged her small breasts and the threadbare jeans that made her short legs appear a lot longer than they were. He imagined sliding the strap of the shirt off her shoulder and caressing the exposed skin with his tongue, then licking a trail up her neck toward her ear....

Whoa. Hold on, cowboy. What the heck was wrong with him? When had his brain decided to travel south and vacation in his crotch?

Since you started watching the twins.

Isi was an attractive woman and it wouldn’t take much effort on her part to jumpstart his libido, especially because he wasn’t dating other women. As of right now, Isi was the only female taking up space in his thoughts.

“The new sitter’s name is Maria,” Isi said. “She’ll take the boys to school and pick them up and stay until bedtime. Then my neighbor Mrs. Sneed will come over and watch TV until I get home from work.” Isi handed him a sheet of paper.

Conway caught her scent. The combination of flowery perfume and warm female sent a blast of testosterone through his bloodstream. He focused on the note. Isi had written down Maria’s full name, address, birth date and a bunch of numbers—driver’s license, social security and cell phone.

“What’s this for?” he asked.

“I need you to take Maria to the school and show her the ropes.” Isi took a deep breath. “She doesn’t speak English very well and Rose is the only employee at the school who’s bilingual. If she’s not working, please give Maria’s information to whoever’s at the front desk.”

“How am I supposed to show Maria anything, if I can’t communicate with her?”

“Javier and Miguel will interpret for you.”

“I didn’t know they spoke Spanish,” Conway said.

“They’re not fluent, but they should be able to understand most of what Maria says.” Isi slung the backpack over her shoulder. “I have to meet with my academic advisor before class, otherwise I’d stay and introduce you to Maria.”

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” What if he and Maria got their messages mixed up?

“Stop worrying. Everything will be fine.” Isi opened the door. “Thanks for helping with the boys this week.”

“No problem.”

She paused on the porch. “I’ll probably see you at the bar.”

“Yeah, I’ll drop by.” As he watched Isi’s sashaying fanny walk to her car, he worried that their relationship would never be the same as it was before he’d offered to watch her sons. Once she drove off, he said, “Are you guys going to be grouchy all day?”

“We don’t want Maria,” Miguel said.

“I bet she can cook.” His comment drew no response.

After the short amount of time he’d spent with the twins, it was nice to know they’d miss him. “You gotta give Maria a chance. I can’t watch you guys forever.”

“Why not?” Javier asked.

“The pecan harvest starts next month in November. There’s a lot I need to do on the farm to get ready for it.”

“We could help.” Miguel tugged his brother by the shirtsleeve and dragged him across the room until they stood in front of Conway. “We can pick nuts.”

“I appreciate the offer, but you guys have to stay in school.”

“How come?” Javier asked.

“Because that’s what kids do. They go to school to get smart and then they go to college like you’re mom is doing.”

“Did you go to college?” Miguel asked.

“Nope.”

“How come?”

“Do you always ask a lot of questions?”

Both boys bobbed their heads.

“I didn’t go to college because I didn’t have anyone telling me I should. Then I got older and figured out that what I wanted to do with my life didn’t require a college degree.”

“What did you want to do?” Miguel asked.

“I wanted to be a pecan farmer.”

Javier’s nose wrinkled. “I thought you were a cowboy.”

“I’m a cowboy when I rodeo on the weekends.”