Cathy Gillen - Their Inherited Triplets

“You have to raise cattle. Not honeybees.”

“Okay, you two, calm down.” Family law attorney Liz Cartwright Anderson breezed into the conference room, her husband and law partner right behind her.

“Or someone might think something besides a show of heat is going on with you,” Travis Anderson quipped.

“The only thing we share is an immense dislike of each other,” Lulu grumbled. Well, that, and an unwillingness to forgive. Because if they had been able to do that...things might be different now. But they hadn’t... So...

Liz sent a questioning look at Sam. He lifted an amiable hand. “What she says,” he quipped.

An awkward silence fell.

“We could meet with you separately,” Travis offered finally. “Since Sam is my client, and Lulu is Liz’s.”

Lulu shook her head. They wouldn’t have been called in together unless the matter involved them both. “Let’s just get it over with,” she groused.

“Okay, then.” Liz smiled. “Travis and I called you both here together because we have some very important things to discuss,” she began, as a somber-looking man with buzz-cut silver hair walked in to join them. He was dressed in a suit and tie, carrying a briefcase and appeared to be in his late fifties.

Travis made the formal introductions. “This is Hiram Higgins. He’s an estate attorney from Houston. He’s enlisted our help in making what we hope will be a smooth transition.”

“ Transition? For what?” Lulu blurted, glancing over at Sam. For once, the big, sexy cowboy looked as clueless as she was. Unsure whether to take comfort in that or not, she opened her mouth to speak again.

Liz lifted a hand. “It will all become clear in a moment. Why don’t we all sit down?” she suggested kindly.

Everyone took the chair closest to them, which put Sam and Lulu on one side of the table and Liz and Travis opposite them.

Hiram took a chair at the head of the table and opened up his briefcase. “There’s no easy way to say this,” he said, “so I am going to plunge right in. I’m handling the estate of Peter and Theresa Thompson. They were killed in an auto accident in Houston two months ago.”

Lulu sucked in a breath. She hadn’t seen her sophomore year roommate, Theresa, and her husband, Peter—one of Sam’s old college friends—since the two had eloped years before, but shock and sorrow tumbled through her. Sam seemed equally taken aback by the tragic loss. He reached over and put his hand on top of hers.

Normally, Lulu would have resisted his touch. But right now, she found she needed the warm, strong feel of his fingers draped over hers.

She actually needed more than that.

Given the grief roiling around inside her, a hug wouldn’t have been out of bounds...

Had the person beside her been anyone but the man who had stomped her heart all to pieces, of course.

Unobtrusively, Lulu withdrew her hand from his.

Hiram continued, “Peter and Theresa left three sons, two-year-old triplets.”

Lulu struggled to take this all in. Regretting the fact they’d all lost touch with each other, she asked hoarsely, “Where are the children now?”

“In Houston.”

“With family?” Sam ascertained.

Hiram grunted in the affirmative. “And friends. Temporarily. We’re keeping them together, of course. Which is where the two of you come in.” He paused to give both Lulu and Sam a long, steady look.

“Peter and Theresa came to see me shortly after their children were born. They wanted to make out wills, but sadly, were never able to agree on who should take care of their children in the event something happened to them. So, they did what a lot of people do when it comes to thorny guardianship issues. They agreed to discuss it some more...and put off finalizing anything with my office.”

He cleared his throat. “In the meantime, they went on one of those do-it-yourself legal websites and made out practice wills. They never had those notarized, so they aren’t official and may or may not hold up in probate court. But thanks to the copies they left behind, we do have their wishes on record, which is what we are using to guide us now.”

“And those wishes are...?” Sam prodded.

After a long silence, Hiram finally said, “Sam, you were Peter’s third choice for legal guardian. And Lulu, you were Theresa’s fourth choice.”

Third! And fourth! “Who was first?” Lulu asked, curious.

Hiram looked down at his notes. “Theresa chose the great-aunt who raised her. Mabel had the boys for about two weeks, before she fell and broke her hip.”

Sam and Lulu exchanged concerned looks.

“From there, they went to Peter’s first choice—his best friend, Bob, who is also a father of three, all under age five.”

Sam nodded, listening.

“The kids all got along great, even if it was something of a madhouse. Unfortunately, Bob’s wife is pregnant and had to go on bed rest for the duration of her pregnancy.”

Lulu sighed in dismay.

“So, the triplets then went to Theresa’s second choice—a cousin of hers who is a flight attendant.” Hiram frowned. “Olivia had them for a week and a half before deciding there was no way she was cut out for this.”

He looked up. Adding in concern, “From there, they went to Peter’s second cousin. Aaron’s engaged and wants a lot of kids, but his fiancée is not on board with the idea of a ready-made family. So that trial run also didn’t work out.”

“And now...?” Lulu asked, her heart going out to the children for all they had been through.

“They are with Theresa’s business colleague and her husband. Unfortunately, although they adore the boys and vice versa, they both travel a lot for work, so permanent guardianship is not a viable option there, either. Which brings us to Sam, the last person on Peter’s list.”

“Or...actually, me,” Lulu interjected with her usual gung ho enthusiasm for all things family. She was more than ready to take on the challenge. “If you just want to cut to the chase.”

* * *

Sam didn’t know why he was surprised Lulu was jumping headlong into a situation neither of them was cut out for. She’d always been romantic and impulsive. Never more so, it seemed, than when she was around him.

The trouble was, he felt passionate and impractical around her, too.

Part of it was her looks. She really was drop-dead gorgeous, with that thick mane of sun-kissed, honey-brown hair, those long-lashed turquoise blue eyes, elegant cheekbones and cute, determined chin. And she had impeccable fashion sense, too. Her five-foot-eight-inch frame was currently decked out in a short-sleeved black polo, bearing the Honeybee Ranch logo above one luscious breast, a snug-fitting dark denim skirt that made the most of her trim hips and long, lissome legs, and a pair of Roper boots that were as sturdy as they were feminine. She had movie-star sunglasses on top of her head, a leather-banded watch on her left wrist and four handmade bracelets, probably made by her four nieces, pushed high on the other.

But it was the skeptical twist of her soft, kissable lips as she leaned toward him and shot him a disdainful look that captivated him the most.

“Let’s be real here,” she said, inundating him with the scent of her signature fragrance, an alluring combination of flowers and citrus, along with a heady dose of that saucy attitude he recalled so well. “There’s no way you’re going to take on two-year-old triplets for more than a week or so without changing your mind, too, the way everyone else who’s had them already has.”

The fact she had such a low opinion of him stung. Unable to keep the growl out of his voice, he challenged, “What makes you think that?”

“Because.” Lulu shrugged, her eyes taking on a turbulent sheen. “You’re a man...and you’re busy running a big cattle ranch...and you’re single...”