Patricia Johns - The Triplets' Cowboy Daddy

“Support the head and the bottom,” she instructed. “The rest will take care of itself.”

Easton undid the buckle then cautiously scooped up the baby in his broad, calloused hands. Bobbie settled instantly as Easton pulled her against his chest. He looked down at the baby and then up at Nora.

“There,” he said. “That worked.”

“Thanks...” Nora heaved a sigh. The quiet was more than welcome.

“Bobbie?” he asked. The babies were all in pink sleepers.

“Her full name is Roberta. But she’s my little Bobbie. It suits her.”

Nora had only had the babies in her charge for a few days of her twelve-week parental leave from work, but she was already attached. They were so sweet, and so different from each other. Rosie was the quietest of the three, and Riley couldn’t abide a wet diaper. Bobbie seemed to have the strongest personality, though, and Nora could already imagine their sisterly dynamic as they grew.

“Yeah, I guess so,” he said. “Hi.”

“Hi.” She gave him a tight smile. “Nice to see you again.”

Last time she saw him was at the reading of the will. She pushed back the unpleasant memory. Regardless, Easton was a fixture around here. They used to be good friends when they were younger, and they’d spent hours riding together, or just sitting on a fence and talking. When times were tough, Easton always seemed to materialize, and his solid presence made a difference. Apparently, her father had had equally warm memories.

Easton met her gaze, dark eyes softened by a smile. “You look good.”

“Babies suit me, do they?” she joked.

“So the word around town—it’s true, then?” he asked.

There it was—the beginning of the town’s questions. There would be a lot of them, and the answers were complicated.

“What did you hear?” she asked warily. “How much do people know?”

“That you came back to town with triplets,” he said. “That your dad had an affair, and you had a half sister...” He winced. “It that part true? I find it hard to believe of him. I knew your dad better than most—”

She chafed at that reminder. The homestead was an old farmhouse her great-grandparents had built with their own hands. Over the years, the Carpenters had maintained it and Nora’s parents had used it as a guesthouse. It mattered, that old house. It was Nora’s connection to her family’s past and she’d loved that old place. For her father to have left it to someone else...that had stung. She only found out that he’d changed his will when he died. Her mother had been surprised because she said they’d talked about doing something for Easton, but hadn’t landed on what exactly. Normally Cliff and Dina talked through everything. But it looked like even Easton had been in the dark about her father’s biggest secret.

“Yes, it’s true.” Easton wouldn’t be the only one to be disappointed in this town. “My half sister, Mia, introduced herself a couple of months ago. Her mom—the other woman—” those words tasted bitter “—passed away a few years ago, and Mia was looking for her dad’s side of the family. When I met her, she was already pregnant. There was no dad—she’d gone to a sperm bank. She really wanted kids and hadn’t met the right guy yet.”

Mia had had no idea about the affair and she never got a chance to meet Cliff. She had introduced herself after he died. It had been an awkward meeting, but Nora and Mia had recognized something in each other. Maybe they felt the genetic link. They’d both been raised only children, and to find a sibling was like a childhood daydream come true. Except this was real life, and they’d both had to come to terms with their father’s infidelity.

“And you’re godmother,” Easton concluded.

“Yes. When she asked me to be godmother, I swear, I thought it was just a kind gesture. I never imagined this...”

Mia had died from childbirth complications—triplets being a high risk pregnancy to begin with—and Nora had grieved more deeply than she thought possible for a sister she’d only known a couple of months, whose existence rocked her own world. Nora was certain they’d have been close.

“Wow.” Easton cleared his throat. “So your mom... I mean, these babies...”

“Yes, these babies are my father’s illegitimate grandchildren.” Nora sighed. “And Mom isn’t taking it well.”

That was an understatement. Nora hadn’t told her mother, Dina, about Mia for a few weeks, afraid of causing her mother more grief than she was already shouldering since her husband’s death. So Dina Carpenter hadn’t had long to adjust to this new information before Nora and the babies arrived on her doorstep.

And Dina hadn’t adjusted. She was still coming to terms with her late husband’s infidelity and learning to run the ranch on her own. The babies only seemed to fuel more heartbreak.

“So what are you going to do?” Easton asked.

Footsteps sounded on the wooden staircase outside; then the door opened and Dina came inside, dropping some shopping bags on the floor. She was plump, with graying blond hair pulled back into a ponytail. She shut the door behind her then looked up.

“You’re back,” Nora said.

“I got some baby clothes, diapers, formula, soothers, three bouncy chairs—they might help with...” Dina’s voice trailed off. “Hi, Easton.”

Nora recognized the trepidation in her mother’s voice. The secret was out. She’d been holding this one close to her chest, and Nora knew how much her mother dreaded the whole town knowing the ugly truth about her husband’s affair. So did Nora, for that matter. It was worse somehow that her father wasn’t here to answer any questions, or take the brunt of this for them. He deserved to feel ashamed; they didn’t. Nora and her mother hadn’t been the ones to betray trust; he had. But he was dead, and they were left with the fallout of Cliff Carpenter’s poor choices.

“Hi, Mrs. Carpenter.” Easton stood awkwardly, the baby nestled against his chest, and seemed almost afraid to move. “Just lending a hand. I came by to tell you that we’re rotating pastures for fence maintenance, and that will require a bit of overtime from the ranch hands.”

“More overtime?” Dina sighed. “No, no, do it. The southwest fences, right? We put them off last year, so...” She sighed. “Is that all?”

“Yeah.” Easton nodded. “I can get going.” He looked down at the baby in his arms then at Dina as if he didn’t know what to do.

If the homestead was still in the family, Nora would have moved in there with the babies to give her mother some space, but that was no longer an option. Nora and Dina would just have to deal with this together.

“I guess we’ll have to get the babies settled in your old bedroom,” Dina said. She paused, put a hand over her eyes. “I still can’t believe it’s come to this.”

“Mom, you know I can’t take care of them alone—”

“And why did you agree to be godmother?” Her mother heaved a sigh. “I swear, your generation doesn’t think!” She pressed her lips together. “I’m sorry, Nora. What’s done is done.”

Dina grabbed the bags and headed down the hallway toward Nora’s old bedroom. Nora and Easton exchanged a look.

“She’s not taking this well,” Nora said, feeling like she had to explain somehow.

“I can see that.” Easton glanced in the direction his boss had disappeared. “You going to be okay here?”

“Do I have a choice?” Nora failed to keep the chill from her tone. The guesthouse would have been the perfect solution, but Easton owned it now. That wouldn’t be lost on him. No matter how big the ranch house, the five of them would be cramped. Her mother was right—she hadn’t thought this through. If she’d imagined that she’d ever have to step in and raise these girls, she would have found a polite way to decline the honor. Mia must have had some close friends...maybe some relative on her mother’s side that she could have named as godparent.