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“Now, boys,” Helen began, in her most grandmotherly voice, “we try to handle that door with care. It was handmade for us specially. We don’t throw it open like regular saloon doors.” She hugged the boys to her.
“Yes, Ms. Helen,” they said, awkwardly trying to squirm out of her embrace.
Pepper gave everyone in the room a kiss. “Good news,” she said. “I hired four girls for my office.”
“Local?” Pansy asked.
Pepper sat down. “Of course. I wouldn’t dream of hiring anybody from outside of Tulips.”
“Oh.” Helen nodded. “We thought maybe you’d want professionals.”
“Well, they’ll be professional with some training.” Pepper motioned for her boys to sit beside her. “A secretary-receptionist, a nurse’s aide, an insurance clerk and an office manager.”
“Wow,” Pansy said, “you had this all thought out, Pepper.”
She nodded. “For a long time.” She gazed at her boys fondly. “I always knew we were coming home, one day.”
For a moment, the room went silent. “Snag a cookie from the kitchen, boys,” Pepper told her sons, laying a couple of dollars on the table.
Helen shook her head. “Put those away, Doctor,” she said. “The boys aren’t going to eat much. There’s a table back there, kids, where you can eat and have some milk, too.”
Pepper laughed. “Growing twins eat plenty. You’ll be sorry you introduced them to your refrigerator.”
The door swung open again, this time bringing Luke. Pepper’s insides went tight, and she hoped Toby and Josh would stay in the kitchen, out of sight. She wasn’t ready for her secret to be out, not just yet, not while she was still getting her footing in Tulips. No one had asked her who the boys’ father was, and she appreciated people respecting her privacy.
Luke looked over the group and then at her, his face tired. “I came by for a refresher sugar binge.”
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