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“And then Cassidy helped save that baby out of the river?”
“I’ve got chores to do, Cole. For both of us, it appears. I know all this you’re telling me. What I don’t know is where you’re going with it.”
Cole took a deep breath. “Well, it seems that it happened again.”
“What happened again?” Cole sounded as if he was coming to the end of his patience.
“I was about to leave the ranch when I found these two babies on the doorstep.”
“Two babies,” Connor repeated incredulously.
“Yeah. They’re twins.”
Connor sighed. “Of course they are. Whose are they?” he asked.
“Haven’t a clue,” Cole admitted. “They were just there, tucked into this huge wicker basket like laundry—breathing, moving laundry.”
There was a long pause on the other end of the line and then Connor finally began to ask, “Cole, did you by any chance, um...”
Cole knew what was coming and immediately headed it off before Connor had the opportunity to finish the sentence. “No, I didn’t, Connor. Those babies are not mine.”
“I’m just going to ask this once, and then we’ll put this to rest,” Connor promised before he pressed, “You’re sure?”
“I am positive,” Cole said with finality.
There was no mistaking the relief in Connor’s voice. “Okay. Then you’ve got to find out who those babies belong to.”
“I know,” Cole answered. “I’m taking them into town to see if anyone there knows anything. I’m sorry about this.”
Connor’s voice took on his customary understanding tone. “Don’t be. This isn’t your fault. Give me a call when you find out who abandoned them like unwanted puppies.”
“The second I find out,” Cole promised just before he terminated the call.
Returning to the living room, where Rosa was sitting next to the sleeping infants, Cole began to pick up the basket.
Rosa stopped him with a look. “Where are you going?” she asked.
“I’m taking them into town to see if anyone there knows who these little guys really belong to.”
“Only one of them is a little guy,” Rosa reminded him.
Rosa had been right. One of the twins was a girl.
“I know,” Cole answered. With that, he walked toward the front door with the basket in his hands.
Rosa was on her feet and wound up beating him to the front door. Her agility was rather impressive for a woman her age. “You cannot put them on the seat next to you in the truck,” she warned.
He smiled at this protective side of the woman. “I don’t intend to, Rosa. Don’t worry,” he told her. “They’ll be safe.”
“Safe” involved some clever work with the wicker basket and a length of strong rope. Securing the latter around the former, then tying the basket to the seat, Cole was able to drive into town.
Forever had a medical clinic as well as a sheriff’s office, but there was no question in Cole’s mind what his first stop with the twins was going to be.
He drove straight to Miss Joan’s Diner.
If anyone would have a clue as to who the twins’ mother was, it would be Miss Joan. Like most of the town’s other citizens, Cole was of the opinion that nothing happened in Forever and its outlying territory without Miss Joan knowing about it. Half fairy godmother, half hard-as-nails taskmaster, Miss Joan seemed to know everything about everyone.
And, if she didn’t know now, she would before the end of the day. No one doubted that the woman had her finger on the pulse of the entire town.
Cole himself had an exceedingly soft spot in his heart for the woman. Miss Joan had been there for him and for his siblings when their dad died, and although she could be blustery and demanding, and had been on more than one occasion, he knew that beneath all the tough talk, Miss Joan had the proverbial heart of gold. Even though she would be the first to deny it.
However, that didn’t change anything.
Cole parked his truck right in front of the diner. His vehicle was blocking the entrance to some degree, but he thought that, just this once, given the circumstances, he’d be forgiven.
Undoing the ropes that were holding the basket and its precious cargo in place, he picked up the twins and made his way into the diner.
The moment he walked in, Cole knew he had Miss Joan’s full attention, even though she was behind the counter and on the far side of the diner.
A couple of the waitresses, Eva and Rachel, reached him first, oohing and aahing over the infants in the basket.
But it was Miss Joan whose attention he was after. The moment the red-haired owner reached him, Eva and Rachel immediately, albeit reluctantly, stepped aside, giving the older woman unobstructed access to both the babies and the young man who had brought them in.
Deep hazel-green eyes swept over the scene, assessing it. “I assume that there’s an explanation why you brought these babies into my diner,” Miss Joan said to him.
He nodded. “I was hoping you could tell me who they belonged to.”
Miss Joan’s austere expression never changed, and neither did her piercing gaze. “You’re the one who brought them here, not the other way around. Something you need to get off your chest, boy?” Miss Joan asked him pointedly.
He thought it best if he gave Miss Joan a quick summation of events. Beating around the bush never got anyone anywhere with Miss Joan.
“I found them on the doorstep this morning. Almost walked right on top of them,” he told her, giving her all the facts he had to offer. “I’ve never seen them before and I thought if anyone would know who they belonged to, it would be you.”
There was only the barest hint of a smile on the woman’s thin lips. “I think you’re giving me a little too much credit here, Cole.” She looked from one tiny face to the other. “Have they eaten yet?”
“Rosa fed them. I’ve got a couple of baby bottles all ready to go in the truck,” he told her with a hopeful note. Garrett had returned with the bottles from the general store in record time. “So if you or one of your girls want to feed them later—”
“Back up, boy,” Miss Joan ordered. “I run a diner, not a nursery.” She paused, scrutinizing the expression on his face and putting her own meaning to it. “If you need help later, we can talk. But right now, you’ve got to find out where these babies came from.”
Jeb Campbell, sitting at the counter, raised his hand. “I know where babies come from,” he volunteered in all seriousness.
“Eat your eggs, Jeb,” she ordered in a no-nonsense voice. “We know where they come from. What we need to know is where they belong. Anyone know of someone who recently gave birth to twins?” she asked, her gaze sweeping over all the occupants of the diner.
It was at that exact moment that the door opened and Stacy walked in.
Silence descended over the entire diner as all eyes turned in Stacy’s direction.
As for Stacy, she felt as if she had just walked into one of her nightmares. It was surreal.
Her heart accelerated the second she saw Cole.
And then it all but stopped dead when she saw the babies in the basket. The basket was on the counter, but from its proximity, she assumed that the tiny inhabitants had to belong to Cole.
She’d only been gone from Forever a little over eight months. He certainly didn’t waste any time, did he?
Or had he been seeing someone else the entire time he had been seeing her?
Disappointment washed over her like a giant tidal wave. She needed to get out of there, needed to get some air because she could hardly breathe.
Turning on her heel, Stacy was about to push open the door she’d just entered when Miss Joan called out to her.
“Welcome back, Stacy. I was sorry to hear about your aunt.”
Stacy froze.
It wasn’t her nature not to be polite, no matter how much she wanted to flee. And Miss Joan had just said something nice about Aunt Kate. Stacy couldn’t just ignore the woman.
She forced herself to turn around and look at Miss Joan.
How did the woman know? she wondered. No one knew about her aunt except for Olivia, and she was certain that Olivia wouldn’t have said anything. Olivia was a lawyer and prided herself on being discreet.
“Thank you,” Stacy finally murmured.
“Park yourself on a stool,” Miss Joan instructed. There was no room for argument. “I think Cole here might need some help getting these two little ones over to the clinic.”
Cole felt all but numb, seeing Stacy walking into the diner. He’d envisioned this scene a dozen different ways in the last eight months.
More.
Envisioned seeing Stacy walking toward him, tears in her eyes, saying she’d made a mistake leaving. And each and every time, he forgave her. Forgave her because he didn’t want to dwell on what had been but rather what could be.
Forgave her because he wanted her in his life.
And now, here she was, back. Back the same day that he had found babies on his doorstep. He looked down at the infants, then up at Stacy.
This couldn’t be a coincidence—could it?
Could the babies be hers? And if they were, did that mean...?
Oh, lord, he thought, that would explain so much. Explained why she’d left without a word. Guilt had made her come back, he realized. Guilt because these babies were not only hers, but his, as well.
The thought created elation and panic, and they both vied for equal space within him.
Slowly, the last thing that Miss Joan had just said penetrated the fog around his brain. She was recruiting Stacy to help him take the babies to the clinic.
“The clinic?” he repeated, looking at the woman. “You think they need to be seen by a doctor?”
“You said you found them on your doorstep, right?” Miss Joan reminded him. “It wouldn’t hurt to have them checked out—just in case.” Miss Joan turned toward Stacy. “Don’t you think so?”
“Um, sure.” Stacy felt as if she was trying to talk with a tongue that had suddenly grown two sizes. “I don’t have any experience with babies and all,” Stacy said, pausing uncomfortably between each word. “But that makes sense. I guess.”
“Glad that you agree,” Miss Joan said in a tone that indicated there was no other path open to either of them except to agree with her. “Why don’t you go with Cole and help him?” Again, there was no room for argument. “He certainly can’t manage those babies by himself.” Before either of them could protest or even comment, Miss Joan asked Cole, “How did you get them over here?”
That he could answer, he thought, relieved. “In my truck.”
Miss Joan gave him a withering look. “I realize that. How did you get them over in the truck?”
Cole thought for a second. Miss Joan’s interrogation had been known to make many a person’s mind go blank. “I secured the basket with ropes and looped them around the passenger seat.”
Miss Joan’s eyes shifted toward Stacy, the expression on her face indicating that her point had just been made. “Keep an eye on those babies for me,” she instructed Stacy.
“I can help,” Eva volunteered, stepping forward.
Miss Joan obviously had other ideas about the transport. “Too many cooks spoil the broth,” she told the young waitress before looking at Cole and Stacy. “I’m sure these two can manage, working as a team—the way they used to,” she added significantly.
Stacy took back her earlier assessment. Hotel or no hotel, nothing had changed in Forever.
The hotel, she suddenly remembered. “I can’t go to the clinic.”
Miss Joan’s expression darkened. “And just why’s that?”
“Rebecca just hired me a few minutes ago to work the reception desk,” she said quickly, then blurted, “Elsie just found out she’s been accepted to college.”
Miss Joan looked unconvinced. “College is not for another eleven months,” she pointed out.
Stacy shook her head. She could feel Miss Joan beginning to run right over her. “No, she’s going in January.”
Miss Joan’s expression remained unchanged. “Still got time.”
Determined, Stacy pushed on. “I know, but she was all excited and took off, quitting right then and there. I told Rebecca I’d take the job.”
Cole looked at her in surprise. “You need a job?”
Stacy really didn’t feel comfortable discussing anything personal in front of Cole. Not after the way things had gone between them. But with everyone—especially Miss Joan—looking on, she had no choice. She couldn’t exactly ignore him.
“It kind of came up,” she finally said. “My house burned down, so I’m staying at the hotel.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to ask, “Why didn’t you come to me?” but in a way he had a feeling that she had, looking at the infants. “If you need a place to stay...” he began.
“Thank you,” she said stiffly, cutting him off. “But I just said I have a place to stay. The hotel,” she stressed. And then she remembered that she’d only popped over for a quick bite. She needed to be getting back. “Speaking of which—”
There were those who insisted that Miss Joan was part mind reader. Stacy had a tendency to agree.
“Don’t worry about it,” Miss Joan said, cutting in. “I’ll send Rachel over to the hotel to explain what happened. This is September,” she reminded the young woman. “Not exactly the busy season for the hotel, so Rebecca should be okay with you not being there for an hour. Or so,” she added significantly.
Stacy felt as if things were snowballing out of her control.
“But—” she began to protest.
