Marin Thomas - Twins Under the Christmas Tree

Cowboy Up, Daddy!

Conway Cash is finally ready to settle down, and he has the perfect woman in his sights. The only thing is, he’s dead set against being a father—and Isi Lopez has twin four-year-old boys. When he finds himself roped into babysitting for them, life starts getting complicated!

Kids or no, Conway soon discovers he and Isi make a great couple. And hanging around with her kids isn’t so bad—that is, until they beg him to be their new daddy. The pressure is piling up for this formerly footloose cowboy…but with some luck, and a whole lot of Christmas spirit, Conway just may find himself in the center of his own ready-made family!

“You offered to help,” Isi said. “Would you watch the boys until I find a replacement sitter?”

Babysit? Him? “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“It would be for two or three days at the most.”

“But I don’t know anything about kids.”

She ignored his protests. “I’d need you to drop them off at preschool and bring them back here afterward.”

“I’m sure—” Conway glanced at the boys “—they’d rather have anyone but me watch them.”

“Oh, never mind.” Her shoulders sagged.

Hell. How hard could it be to watch a couple of four-year-olds? For two years Isi had listened to him bellyache about women. He couldn’t turn his back on her when she needed him most.

“Okay, I’ll watch the boys,” he said.

She flashed him a bright smile. “You’ll need to be here by noon on Monday.”

“See you then.” Conway couldn’t escape fast enough.

Dear Reader,

Twins Under the Christmas Tree is the second book in The Cash Brothers series, and poor Conway Twitty Cash…this man has no idea he’s going to fall and fall hard. After tracking down his birth father and learning that he’s descended from a long line of cut-’n’-run cowboys, Conway is determined to avoid fatherhood. But now that he’s decided to settle down, he can’t seem to find a woman who doesn’t want children.

Conway’s search for the one is temporarily interrupted when his friend Isi Lopez asks him to babysit her four-year-old twins. Taking care of her sons isn’t hard at all, but seeing Isi each day is rekindling the spark that was between them when they first met—before he discovered Isi was a single mom. When Isi decides she should start dating, Conway sets her up with his brother, believing nothing will happen. Wrong. Conway’s brother is showing way too much interest in Isi, and all of a sudden, Conway wants to stake his claim on her. But a ready-made family has never been in Conway’s plans. Luckily it’s Christmastime, because it’s going to take a little Santa magic to convince Conway that his happy-ever-after has been right in front of him all this time.

If you missed the first book in The Cash Brothers series, The Cowboy Next Door (July 2013) remains available through online retailers. I always enjoy hearing from readers—you can email me at marin@marinthomas.com. You can also find me on Facebook and Twitter, and be sure to check out my Cash Brother Boards on Pinterest. For information on my books, and for my blog, newsletter and monthly contests, please visit www.marinthomas.com.

Happy Ever After…The Cowboy Way!

Marin

Twins Under The

Christmas Tree

Marin Thomas

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marin Thomas grew up in Janesville, Wisconsin. She left the Midwest to attend college in Tucson, Arizona, where she earned a B.A. in radio-TV. Following graduation she married her college sweetheart in a five-minute ceremony at the historic Little Chapel of the West in Las Vegas, Nevada. Over the years she and her family have lived in seven different states, but they’ve now come full circle and returned to Arizona, where the rugged desert and breathtaking sunsets provide plenty of inspiration for Marin’s cowboy books.

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To my editor Johanna Raisanen—I don’t know what I would do without you! I can’t thank you enough for the time and care you put into each of my books. I’m probably one of the few authors who look forward to her editor’s revision letter, but I’m always eager to see what ideas and suggestions you have for my stories. Your input and expertise is invaluable, and I’m looking forward to writing many more happy-ever-after tales with you!

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Excerpt

Chapter One

Conway Twitty Cash had only one rule when it came to women—never date one with kids. Period. No exceptions. Not even if the woman sent text photos of her hooters.

Friday afternoon at the Midway Arizona Cowboy Rodeo Days, Conway had been the recipient of a sexy text from a buckle bunny he’d met earlier in the day. Once his eyes had quit bugging out at Bridget’s voluptuous tatas, he’d noticed a child’s Batman cape draped over a chair in the background of the photo. Alarmed, he’d asked his rodeo competitors about Bridget and had learned she was a single mom. When they’d first met, he’d asked if she’d had kids, and she’d said no.

Too upset to focus on his ride, the bronc had tossed him on his head as soon as he cleared the chute. Afterward, Conway had made a beeline for the parking lot—he hadn’t been about to wait for Bridget to catch up.

Miffed, ticked off and a whole lotta mad, he pulled into the Border Town Bar & Grill in Yuma—the employer of his good friend and pseudo-therapist Isadora Lopez. Two years ago when he’d first met Isi, he’d been drawn to her dark brown eyes and girl-next-door prettiness. He’d turned on the charm and she’d rewarded his flirting with fleeting touches, accidental bumps and sultry looks. Then he’d asked her to dance during her break and when their bodies had come in contact, a zap of electricity had shot through him. He’d been sure the night would end in Isi’s bed, until she’d mentioned that she was a single mother of twin boys.

He’d told Isi that he had nothing against kids, but had no intention of ever being a father. From that day on, they’d settled into a comfortable friendship where Isi listened to his dating adventures and offered advice about how to find the perfect woman—one who didn’t want children.

The bar was packed on this late-September afternoon. The crowd sitting in front of the big-screen TV watched a college football game between state rivals the University of Arizona and Arizona State University. Conway slid onto a stool and waved to the barkeep. Red was a mountain of a man—six feet seven inches—and bald with a crimson beard that ended in the middle of his chest.

After handing a pitcher of margaritas to a waitress named Sasha, Red brought Conway a bottle of his favorite beer. “You rodeo today?”

“Got bucked off.”

“Too bad.”

“Where’s Isi?” Conway asked.

“In class.” Red checked his watch. “She should be here any minute.” Isi was working toward a two-year business degree from the local community college.