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 The Family Man
Twins
November 2004
Harlequin Superromance #1241
ISBN 0-373-71241-3
Uncle Knows Best?
Part-time caregiver Thea Gayle is left to care for two young girls
who've been abandoned by their father. She turns to the man who is the
only family the twins have--their uncle, Logan McCall. But is Logan--a
wildland firefighter who is never home--up to the job? Thea has to know
because she won't leave the twins with someone else who is going to let
them down.
Logan's been in a slump ever since his twin sister died. The biggest
mistake of his life was allowing his nieces to be taken away, all
because he thought he couldn't take them on his own. He's going to try
to make it right this time, by giving the girls—and Thea—the happiest
home her can.
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Excerpt
“Can we go home now?” Hannah
asked as she plucked a dandelion from the sparse grass at her feet. A gentle
breeze lifted wisps of blond hair that escaped from her braid. Thea glanced down at her charge. Perched on the corner of a big black suitcase,
the ten-year old could have fit in it, had it not been stuffed with everything
the girl owned. “We don’t have a home.” Tess announced in a wobbly voice, even as she stuck her
little chin out, daring Thea or Hannah, her twin, to contradict her. Swallowing back a pang of despair, Thea stepped over her laptop computer and
drew Tess to her. As usual, Tess kept her body stiff, staunchly refusing to show
any sign that Thea comforted her in any way. Tess had to be the brightest, most
standoffish child Thea had ever come across. And despite Thea’s best efforts
these past two months, she’d been unable to break through the barriers Tess and
Hannah had erected around their hearts after their mother died. “Home is where the heart is. You know, where you hang your hat and park your
flip flops.” Thea tried to keep the words light, knowing she failed. Their mom
was dead and their dad gone missing. And since Thea could relate to mothers
leaving and dads not caring too much, how upbeat could she be? “There’s a better
home for you out there. One with a…a backyard…and trees.” Since she was a kid, Thea had tried to go through life looking for the silver
lining and encouraging those around her to do the same. She wouldn’t let a few
minor setbacks, like being evicted or not knowing where her employer was, get
her down. Thea forced her gaze away from the piles of chaos that surrounded the twins
she’d been hired to care for. Three bulging suitcases, a laptop computer,
several boxes of textbooks and notebooks, two pink scuffed backpacks and one box
with the meager remnants of their pantry were scattered in disarray around the
porch of what had formerly been their sparsely furnished apartment. “A house.” Hannah made a wish, blew the white dandelion fronds into the air and
shut her eyes tight, adding in a whisper, “A house with a staircase leading up
to a magic room.” “With lots of friends nearby.” Tess surprised Thea by adding. “That’s the spirit.” Thea managed a weak smile before the trio descended back
into a lost silence. “You won’t leave us, will you?” Hannah turned her big blue eyes to Thea, her
bottom lip quivering. “No,” Thea hastened to reassure Hannah. She may only be their nanny, but she
cared about them. If only they’d let themselves care in return. “This is all his fault,” huffed Tess, turning her back to Thea and crossing her
skinny arms over her thin chest, although she didn’t shrug off Thea’s arm. Assuming Tess referred to her father, Thea didn’t refute her words. The girl was
right. If Wes Delaney had paid the rent, his cell phone bill – or even paid Thea
– in the past few months, they’d be on the other side of that apartment door
right now. If Thea could turn back the clock, she wouldn’t silently complain
about the peeling paint on the door or the walls so thin you could hear the
couple next door fighting. She’d be sitting contentedly at the kitchen table,
studying for her PhD exams while the twins did their homework on either side of
her. Two months ago, Wes’ advertisement for a nanny/housekeeper had seemed a
blessing. Working on her PhD in textiles had taken Thea longer than she’d
planned. She’d finished her coursework and was studying for her written and oral
exams. Her savings had dipped dangerously low, so she’d taken the position with
the Delaneys, which would have been fine if she’d been better at prioritizing
the extra needs of the twins against progress on her studies. Now her exams were
rapidly approaching and she was woefully unprepared. Uncertainty, sour and unpleasant, clutched Thea’s heart. No place to live. Less
money than ever. Running out of hope that she’d ever fulfill the promise she’d
made to make something of herself. And with Wes gone to heaven knew where – he
couldn’t be dead, could he? – what was she going to do with the twins? As if aware of Thea’s rising panic, Tess walked down the front path to the curb
where Thea’s yellow Volkswagen Beetle was parked. After a moment, Hannah
followed her sister, stopping a careful distance away from her twin. Neither
spoke. Neither touched. But Thea had the distinct impression that they knew what
the other was thinking. What had the twins been like before their mother died? Thea closed her eyes as
she tried to envision Tess’ small face with a joyous grin or scrunched up in
tickle-induced laughter. She tried to imagine a more outgoing, confident Hannah.
Or the two sisters holding hands as they walked home from school, giggling and
sharing confidences as siblings were supposed to do. Much as she tried, Thea couldn’t quite picture them that way. Having buried
their mother six months ago and being raised – if you could call it that – by a
malingering father, who didn’t seem very interested in his daughters the four or
five days he was home every month, it was no wonder the girls were so withdrawn. Turning them into the police or some impersonal social agency was out of the
question. They’d just be passed from one foster home to another. Tess would
continue to refuse to eat more than kept her alive and Hannah would continue to
eat to salve her pain. They may have been identical twins, but their grief had
taken its toll on their bodies in different ways. Unfortunately, Thea knew she couldn’t be responsible for them forever. As it
was, she’d have trouble figuring out a way to keep them fed more than a few days
with less than one hundred dollars to her name. “I want to go home.” Hannah turned back to Thea, fingering the hem of her yellow
sundress. “To Idaho.” “He won’t take us.” Tess shook her head without facing them. She shoved her
hands into the back pockets of her jean shorts. “Is that where your father is? In Idaho?” Thea asked, her spirits rising. Maybe
this was just a huge misunderstanding. Wes could wire them some money and the
landlord would let them back into the apartment. She’d spend more time studying
and a little less time trying to coax the girls out of their shells. Tess snorted. Ignoring her sister, Hannah stepped around a box of Thea’s books, something
uncharacteristically bright shining in her eyes. Hope. “Uncle Logan lives in
Idaho. In Silver Bend. Where we used to live.” Thea’s spirits deflated as quickly as they’d risen. She hadn’t heard about their
uncle before. He hadn’t called since she’d been with them. He hadn’t written to
ask about the girls or sent them birthday cards. If she had to guess, Thea would
say he didn’t care what happened to his nieces. “Please.” Hannah touched Thea’s hand with one finger before stepping back. The
gesture said so much more than the reticent little girl ever would. The twins
tolerated Thea’s hugs, but didn’t seek out physical contact. Why on earth would this uncle in Idaho help them now? An ant crawled up the side of the box containing the bread, peanut butter and
cereal. If Thea didn’t decide to do something soon, the ants would claim the
last of their food. Perhaps the twins’ uncle was the only person they could turn to. Lifting her gaze to the blue spring sky above, Thea refused to think about the
folders filled with notes at her feet, or the looming intense written and oral
exams, or the balance on her credit card that was already too high to pay off.
And she would not think about the penalties for taking the girls without their
father’s permission. She’d filed a missing person report on Wes three weeks ago.
As far as she was concerned, if Wes Delaney was alive, he’d abandoned his
daughters. “Let’s load the car.” Thea brushed the ant away, picked up the box of food and
headed to her car. She was taking the twins to Idaho.
***** The red caught his eye first as Logan rounded the bend toward his driveway. Red
giving way to a slender pair of legs. Then the other colors hit him. Yellow, blue, orange. The spectrum of the rainbow
glinted against the light dusting of snow on the ground and the yellow car in
his driveway. By the time Logan got out of the truck, it had registered that a
woman did indeed belong to the car. A woman with killer legs and a dog. Said dog was little and white with brown spots and short fur. At the moment, he
was lifting his leg over the shrubs edging Logan's porch. "Good morning. Are you Logan McCall?" The woman's voice was melodious, as
colorful as the red denim skirt she wore topped with a bright orange T-shirt.
Totally inappropriate attire for early spring in the mountains. Not that he
didn't appreciate the view. He just didn't appreciate the invasion of his
privacy. Logan pushed his sunglasses higher up on his nose and emitted a gruff, "Yeah,
I'm McCall." Thoughts of coming home to silence, a hot shower and twelve hours
sleep faded. Why was this woman here? Something was wrong. Women like this
didn't show up on his doorstep - they ran in the other direction.
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