Tina Leonard - His Valentine Triplets

Three Little Callahans!

You could knock Rafe Callahan over with a feather. He and the very prim, very proper judge Julie Jenkins are having triplets! Rafe doesn’t expect their precious news to end the bad blood between the Callahans and Jenkinses. And as for saving his family’s New Mexico ranch, with three brothers married off, Rafe’s in fourth place. But that doesn’t stop the die-hard bachelor from proposing—feud or no feud.

Julie always had a soft spot for the long, lean cowboy. But Rafe’s still a Callahan, and if she says “I do,” she’ll be dealing with an army of bad-tempered in-laws and out-laws. Rafe’s promised her it wouldn’t be forever—just until their baby girls are born. That doesn’t stop the mother-to-be from dreaming of a future at Rancho Diablo—with Rafe as the happy father!

Rafe took a deep breath. “Julie, marry me.”

That got her attention. “Are you crazy?”

“Yes. It doesn’t have to be a forever thing. It doesn’t have to be a romantic thing. But let’s get married so that the babies will have the best start we can give them.”

She raised her brows. “Marrying you is a best start?”

“Yes. I know you don’t have a whole lot of reasons to trust me right now, but we need to do this for the children.”

“Not really. And don’t start with the father’s-last-name machismo. Jenkins is a fine name, a better name in this town than Callahan.”

Dear Reader,

Valentine’s Day is such a romantic day—a bright spot in cold February! For Rafe Callahan, romance was always a no-go with the beautiful Judge Julie Jenkins, his next-door neighbor and the bane of his existence. He found himself in quite a fix, falling for the one woman he knew he could never have—Julie simply didn’t think much of footloose, handsome Rafe. In Julie’s opinion, the man totally deserved the fifty red hearts she drew on his face while he was asleep—a practical joke his brothers heartily endorsed! But it seems that waking up covered in red ink was just the beginning, and somehow, sweet Valentine triplets were the next big surprise Julie had for the sexy cowboy!

I hope you enjoy this fourth book in the Callahan Cowboys series. It’s my great wish that His Valentine Triplets will add happiness and romance to your reading during this special season!

All my best,

Tina Leonard

www.tinaleonard.com

www.facebook.com/tinaleonardbooks

www.twitter.com/tina_leonard

His Valentine Triplets

Tina Leonard

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tina Leonard is a bestselling author of more than forty projects, including a popular thirteen-book miniseries for Harlequin American Romance. Her books have made the Waldenbooks, Ingram and Nielsen BookScan bestseller lists. Tina feels she has been blessed with a fertile imagination and quick typing skills, excellent editors and a family who loves her career. Born on a military base, she lived in many states before eventually marrying the boy who did her crayon printing for her in the first grade. Tina believes happy endings are a wonderful part of a good life. You can visit her at www.tinaleonard.com.

There are so many people I can never thank enough for the success in my writing career, but at the top of the list are my patient editor, Kathleen Scheibling; the magical cast of dozens at Harlequin who unstintingly shape the final product; my family, who are simply my rock; and the readers who have my sincere thanks for supporting my work with such amazing generosity and enthusiasm. Thank 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

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Epilogue

Chapter One

“Rafe is too smart for his own good.”

—Molly Callahan, recognizing the seeds of mayhem in her too-bright toddler

As Augusts in New Mexico went, it was a hot one. Rafe Callahan stared at Judge Julie Jenkins in her black robe in the Diablo courtroom and felt a bit of an itch. Was it the heat, or was he just thinking about what they’d done in July when his steer had gotten tangled in her fence?

“Counsel,” Julie snapped to his brother, Sam. “Why should I recuse myself from hearing State v. Callahan? Have you any substantive reason to assume that I could not hear proceedings in this matter fairly?”

“Judge Jenkins,” Sam said deferentially, “as you know, your father, Bode Jenkins, has brought suit against our ranch, invoking the law of eminent domain.”

“Not my father,” Julie said, her tone stiff. “The State handles matters of eminent domain.”

Yeah, Rafe thought, and everyone but Julie seems to understand that her father is in it up to his neck with every government official and thief in the local and state governments. Good ol’ Dad can never do anything wrong in his little girl’s eyes, and vice versa.

Julie’s gaze flashed to him, then away. Guilt. It was written all over her beautiful face. He knew what was under that prim black robe, and it was the stuff of dreams, a body made for the gods. He’d been lucky enough to find the chink in her sturdy armor—a testament to the fact that she couldn’t resist him, Rafe thought smugly.

He’d made her guilty. Julie knew very well that their night together meant she should step down from this case.

“Mr. Callahan,” Julie said to Sam, after sending another defensive glare Rafe’s way, “it seems to me that you have no good reason why I shouldn’t hear State v. Rancho Diablo.”

Sam, the crack-the-whip attorney assigned to saving the Callahan family fortunes, looked down at his notes, marshaling his thoughts. It was important that Julie not be the judge hearing this case, Rafe knew—as did all six Callahan brothers—because she was completely partial to her father. What good daughter would not be? But Julie seemed to have it in her mind that the case was purely New Mexico versus the Callahans, not Jenkins versus Callahans, Hatfield and McCoy style.

Ah, but he knew how to bring little Miss Straitlaced to heel. He hated to do it. She’d been a sweet love that one night, and a virgin, which wasn’t so much a shock as it had been a pleasure he’d remember forever. He got warm all over, and stiff where he shouldn’t be at the moment. There was something about those brown eyes and midnight hair that just undid him, never mind that she had enough sass in her to send up fireworks.

But this was war, unfortunately, and the Callahans needed all the help they could get to draw level with Bode Jenkins and his bag of crafty tricks. Rafe stood, and with Julie’s gaze clapped on him warily, leaned over to whisper to Sam. He could feel her eyes on him, as well as those of his brothers, his aunt Fiona and uncle Burke’s, and half the town, who’d come to hear today’s proceedings. Julie wouldn’t want to be embarrassed in front of the people who’d helped raise her after her mother died. But it had to be done.

So he whispered some nonsense in Sam’s ear about the price of pork bellies, all the while knowing that Julie thought he was telling Sam about their passion-filled sexcapade.

“Now act surprised,” he said to Sam, and his brother pasted a dramatic and appropriately shocked expression on his face.

Julie said quickly, “Would counsel step up, please?”

Sam went to Julie, as did the lawyer for the State, a slick Bode yes-man if Rafe had ever seen one.

“I’ll consider recusing myself,” Rafe heard Julie say, her tone soft yet tinged with anger. His ear stretched out a foot trying to hear every word. “But I’m not happy that you’ve indicated I don’t hear cases completely fairly. I’ve never been asked to recuse myself before, and I feel this is another case of Callahan manipulation, for which they are famous.”