Tina Leonard - Cowboy Sam's Quadruplets

How did a woman accept a man’s offer when he claimed he didn’t know who he was?

Seton turned back to the case she’d accepted yesterday, involving a woman who thought her sister was siphoning off her funds by using her identity. Identity theft wasn’t as interesting as missing persons work, but Sam didn’t want to be found, and this job paid, so Seton sent Sam out of her mind.

She had to stop thinking about how very much she’d actually considered saying yes to his outrageous proposal.

“MAYBE AUNT CORINNE HAD a point,” Sabrina said when Seton called her that night. “Maybe you should have played it out awhile, at least until you’d figured out what he really wanted. The Callahans are crazy, but they’re crazy like foxes. There’s a method to their madness. And I think Sam wasn’t being honest with you or himself about his true motivation.”

Seton shifted on her hard wooden chair in her office. “He’ll have to find someone else to fill the check box on his life list.”

“Maybe that’s not all Sam wants.”

“It’s all he thinks he wants,” Seton pointed out.

Sabrina laughed. “I don’t remember any of the Callahan brothers going down easily.”

“We have nothing in common,” Seton assured her older sister, “and I don’t want a second failed marriage.” She idly rearranged the pencils and pens in her desk. “What would you do if Jonas came to you with the same proposition?”

“Why do you bring up Jonas?”

Seton heard the sudden tension in her sister’s voice. “Sam seems to think Jonas is calling you for a reason.”

“Probably. The Callahans do very little without a reason. It’s usually nothing that reveals itself to a serene mind, though. And I aim for serenity, as you know. So I don’t think about why he calls. I just chat with him for a minute or two until he gets it out of his system, and then I make an excuse to get off the phone.”

Seton wrinkled her nose. “Still, what would you do if Jonas offered you what Sam offered me?”

There was silence for a few moments. “Well,” Sabrina said, “since I’m pregnant, I’d very likely say yes.”

“What?” Seton was so flustered she didn’t know what to say. It was impossible to imagine her sister being pregnant. Sabrina hadn’t had a boyfriend in—”Is it Jonas’s?”

“Yes. But you can’t tell him.”

“Wait.” Seton leaned back in the chair, stretching her feet out in front of her and slipping off her pumps. Her head ached, her feet ached and her whole world seemed to be spinning on a twisted axis since she’d returned to Diablo. “When you did you two have a thing?”

“A fling,” Sabrina said, “and it happened when I was living upstairs at the Callahans.”

Seton frowned. “You two were certainly quiet about it. No one seems to know that you and Jonas were even interested in each other.”

“We’re not. Just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean it was a serious relationship. In spite of my best efforts and my diaphragm, I seem to have fallen under the Callahan charm.”

“Congratulations,” Seton said. “What do you mean, you’re not going to tell him? You’re planning to, right?”

She waited with some alarm for her sister’s answer. Which turned out to be exactly what she’d feared.

“No, I’m not. Jonas doesn’t want children, and he doesn’t want to get married. He was having a grand time watching his brothers rush to the altar, and planned on being the sole Callahan bachelor. He’s already bought his own piece of property, Dark Diablo. I’m not sure anyone knows he’s actually made the purchase. I can’t tell you how many times Jonas told me that Fiona might run his brothers around with her Grand Plan, but he’d figured out the best way to avoid the whole thing altogether.”

“I can’t believe this,” Seton murmured. “I’m going to be an aunt.”

“Not if you give away my secret,” her sister said. “I’ll revoke aunt privileges.”

Seton frowned. “I think your pregnancy will be obvious when you come back to Diablo, Sabrina.”

“I don’t plan on coming back. Ever.”

“You have to tell him sometime.” Seton felt as if the tables had been turned between the older sister and the younger, and now she was in charge of the scolding. “It’s not fair to the baby not to know his father.”

“That comes later,” Sabrina said. “Trust me, I have a plan. After the baby is born, I’ll tell him.”

Seton frowned again. “Why after?”

“Because all the Callahans have managed to get married before their babies were born, as I recall, or very shortly thereafter. I don’t want Jonas suffering a similar attack of conscience.”

“That’s terrible,” Seton said. “What about the poor child?”

“The poor child will be fine. I’m sure that he or she will later appreciate that I didn’t try to tie Dad down.”

“I don’t know,” Seton murmured slowly, and Sabrina said, “Back to your question.”

“What question?”

“About Sam’s proposal.”

“Actually, the question that got us here was what would you say if Jonas offered you the same proposal. You said you’d accept!” Seton exclaimed with delight. “Therefore, it only makes sense for you to tell him.”

“The proposal under consideration,” Sabrina reminded her, “is ‘marry me, Seton, and it’ll be a name-only thing, just to satisfy the family requirements.’ I would take that deal. But I’m not being offered anything by Jonas.”

“But you might be!” Seton felt compelled to fight for her niece or nephew’s sake. After all, aunts were meant to be advocates, weren’t they? “If you’d tell him!”

“The difference is, your deal is that there’ll be no babies, no sex,” Sabrina pointed out. “I can assure you that Jonas and I could never strike that bargain. Obviously, we’ve already had sex, and if we got within a mile of each other, we probably would again. But you and Sam—”

“Never would,” Seton said, somewhat morosely. “He made that pretty clear.”

“Exactly. So you’re in a stronger position.”

“Why?” Seton flexed her feet and shoved them back into her pumps. Her head was spinning, and she was ready to head out into the already dark street of Diablo. “You’re having a baby. I want a baby, and won’t get one from Sam.”

“I’ll leave you to figure out those details,” Sabrina said.

Seton flipped off her office lights and locked the door, stuffing her keys into her briefcase as she walked down the hall, cell phone to her ear. “Don’t you want to wear the magic wedding gown? It’s yours, Sabrina, after all.”

“No, I don’t. It was Mom’s, Seton. It’s only magic because it was Mom’s. I had nothing to do with that. I’ve been thrilled for other women to wear it and know their true love. Me? I’m just happy I’m going to be a mother, to be honest.”

Seton headed out into the brisk night air and glanced up at the stars. “I miss you. I can’t bear that you won’t ever come back to Diablo. Why didn’t you tell me that when I was in D.C. with you?”

“Because I had a strong feeling there was someplace else you belonged. And I’ve really gotten into this animal activist stuff,” Sabrina said. “That undercover investigation we did with the circus really fired me up. There’s a whole lot I can do, Seton. Next week, I get to speak before a committee on animal abuse. I like it here in D.C. And it’ll be a great place to raise a child.”

“Sure,” Seton said, not convinced. “Thanks for the chat, sis.”

“No problem. Go get him, is my advice.”

“I don’t want—” Seton began, but Sabrina had already hung up. “I don’t want him,” she murmured, walking to her car, not noticing the figure leaning against the door.