Nearest Thing to Heaven (Maverick Junction) (12 page)

S
ophie could not believe she’d accepted Ty’s invitation. A picnic with the Triple Threat? Oh, boy. Was there a psychiatrist in Maverick Junction? If so, she needed an appointment. ASAP.

She checked herself in the mirror, unsure of her outfit. What did you wear for a picnic in Texas? On a ranch. With not one, but three little kids. And Ty. The man made her think the most delicious thoughts. That deep voice of his settled low in her stomach and caused feelings she didn’t know what to do with.

She laid a hand on her midsection as nerves fluttered like no tomorrow.

She’d been so tempted to wear her Cubs shirt. But she hadn’t. Instead, she’d chosen a red plaid that on first blush looked like flannel. It wasn’t. The blouse itself was lined, but not the sleeves. So while it was G-rated, the sheer, see-through sleeves gave it just a hint of sex appeal. Her jeans fit well thanks to all those lunges she suffered through.

The temperature today reminded her that, even here in Texas, it was December. Not at all the extremes she’d expect in Chicago, but it had definitely cooled.

With a grin, she pulled her Cubs sweatshirt out of the closet. She’d take it along—just in case.

Hurrying down the stairs, she called to Dottie through the open kitchen window. “Are the cookies done?”

“They sure are.” She swung open the door. “Want a cup of tea?”

“Not this morning, thanks. I’m running late.”

“Well, then, here you go.” Dottie picked up a foil-wrapped package from the counter. “Some chocolate-chip, some M&M’s-filled ones, and a few of my date cookies.”

“Mmmm, sounds great.” Sophie gave her a hug. “Thank you so much. You’re an angel.”

“No problem.” She winked. “Good luck today.”

“It’s only a picnic.”

“Tell yourself that if it helps.”

“But it is.”

“Uh-huh. Whatever. Go now.” She made a shushing motion. “Have a good time.”

Sophie slid into the car and laid the directions to the Burnt Fork Ranch on the seat beside her. “Please, God, don’t let me get lost in the middle of nowhere with the cows.”

Somebody who’d driven the car recently had left a Kellie Pickler CD in the player, and Sophie turned it up as she drove, heater on low, windows down, and the breeze blowing her hair.

What a glorious day.

And she was going on a picnic. She racked her brain trying to think when she’d last done that…and couldn’t remember. Unless you counted Cash’s barbecue—and she didn’t. That was definitely not a picnic. That was an extravaganza, Texas style.

Up ahead, a road turned off to the left. She glanced at her directions and prayed again this was the road that would take her to Ty’s. She’d filled up before she left town, in case she made a few mistakes on the way.

Half a mile later, she slowed, then simply stopped. Wow. This was Ty’s home? So not what she’d expected. And so utterly perfect.

Nothing like the white farmhouse on Cash’s ranch or the log home he’d built by the lake. Both of those fit their owner. Fit their purpose.

Ty’s home did, too. The barn-red, wood-sided house had two dormers on the second story. Trimmed in white, the windows gleamed in the day’s sunlight. A split rail fence guarded the front, ran around the side. A tall pine speared into the air on the left side, and small evergreens snuggled against the stone foundation.

On the other side of the drive, a couple horses grazed beyond yet another split rail fence and a small stream ran through the pasture. Several trees provided shade.

A Norman Rockwell scene.

Oh, Ty. You’ve created a little slice of Heaven here
. This wasn’t a house. This truly was a home. For him and his boys.

She took her foot off the brake and started down the lane again. The instant she pulled up to the house, the front door flew open and three boys boiled out. Behind them, Ty appeared and leaned on the door frame. His hair was mussed, and he looked casual and relaxed.

He looked so incredibly good.

A golden-haired puppy shot out the door around him. He made a grab for it and missed.

She slid from the car and braced herself for the onslaught. The pup reached her first, pawing at her leg, jumping up in a thwarted attempt to lick her face. Since he was so short, he only managed to hit her waist-high. She held the cookies in the air.

The boys arrived at her side en masse. They all started talking at once. She laughed at the unbridled enthusiasm, then caught her breath as Ty came to her and gave her a quick hug.

“Welcome to Burnt Fork, Sophie.”

“Thanks for inviting me. And your home, Ty. I love it.”

He grabbed the pup’s collar and held him at bay.

“You gonna go with us?” one of the boys asked.

“What’s in there?” Another pointed to the package of cookies she held.

“That’s a surprise. For later,” she said.

“I like ’prises,” the third one said, bobbing up and down.

“Have any trouble finding the place?” Ty released the puppy and took her hand as they moved toward the house.

Her breath hitched at the simple gesture. At the jolt the easy touch generated. She’d been right to be wary. She felt too much with Ty, and she knew he didn’t feel it back. Couldn’t reciprocate.

Because he still loved his dead wife.

“That’s Trouble.” He pointed at the back of the dog as he raced away.

Oh, you’re so right
, she thought. Out loud, she said, “Well, he’s beautiful, isn’t he?” When Trouble shot back to them, Ty let go of her hand, and she leaned down to rub the pup’s head.

“He’s perfect for us.” One of the boys hopped rather than walked his way to the house. “That’s what Auntie Babs said.”

Sophie glanced up and grinned at Ty. “I’ll bet she did.”

Ty shook his head. “Babs has no compunction when it comes to using whatever tricks she’s got up her sleeve. Trouble was the last of the litter.”

“And she needed a home for him.”

“Yep.”

“Oh, she’s good.”

“Wanna see our horsies?”

“No, I wanna show her the calf.”

“Huh-uh. She needs to see the barn kitties.”

“Boys.” Ty held up a hand. “Cool your jets. Sophie just got here. Let’s give her a minute, okay? Otherwise, she’s gonna get right back in her car and run away.”

“You’re gonna run away from us?” Josh, devastation written all over his little face, stared at her through tear-glistened eyes.

“Oh, for Pete’s sake,” Ty muttered.

Stricken, Sophie knelt, putting herself at eye-level with the little boy. “No. I’m not going to run away.” She sent Ty a look of reprimand.

“He cries at everything,” Ty said in his own defense.

“He does.” Jesse nodded.

“
I
don’t,” Jonah said. “’Cause I’m a big boy.”

“No bigger than me.” Josh sniffed. “We’re all the same, aren’t we, Daddy?”

“Yes, you’re all four years old.”

“But I was born firsted,” Jonah argued. “Grandma told me.”

“That’s true,” Ty said. “You were.”

“So I’m the oldest.”

Ty winced and muttered something about mothers and big mouths.

“I’m the oldest,” Jonah insisted, his volume escalating.

“Technically, yes, you are.”

Josh started sobbing. “Nuh-uh.”

“Uh-huh.”

Without thinking, Sophie pulled the little boy to her and hugged him. “It doesn’t matter,” she whispered in his ear. “You look like a big boy to me.”

“I am.” His chin trembled.

“You want to know what I have in my package?”

He nodded.

“Can you keep a secret?”

He nodded again.

She leaned close. “Some of Dottie’s cookies for our picnic.”

He let out a scream of joy. “Sophie’s got cookies!”

Ty threw back his head and laughed. “So much for secrets.”

Then his gaze ran over Sophie, and the amusement in his eyes made her weak-kneed. She realized she had one secret she needed to guard closely. This man, this strong cowboy with the wounded heart, was beginning to matter to her.

And that was a huge problem.

She couldn’t afford to leave her own heart behind in Maverick Junction when she returned to Chicago.

C
ome on, guys. What do you say we head back inside and put the rest of our lunch together?”

With a mad rush, boys and pup did exactly that. It was like a mini-stampede. Sophie stepped aside and watched them go.

“Sorry about that,” Ty said. “We can be a little overwhelming at times.”

“Don’t apologize. My guess is that life here on the ranch is far from boring.”

“You got that right.” A hand on her back, he guided her through the front door. “So here we are. Home, sweet home.”

She didn’t know what she’d expected, but after the charming exterior, the inside both surprised and disappointed her. Utilitarian and practical. No fuss. No frills.

The living room walls were off-white. The blinds were white with no drapes to soften the look. A navy blue sectional, a couple metal bookshelves, and a TV mounted on the wall comprised the entirety of the furniture. Recessed overhead lights and a floor lamp in one corner, its shade lopsided, provided the only lighting. A few toys lay scattered across the dark hardwood floor.

No piano. After Maggie had told her what an incredible pianist Julia was, she’d expected to find one in the room.

There was, though, an incredible stone fireplace.

“You can either come on back to the kitchen while I finish up or plop yourself down on the couch and wait.”

“I’ll help.”

The kitchen was, without a doubt, the hub of this house, but, even at that, it looked pretty much the same as the front room. Off-white and, again, no curtains. What she could see of the granite countertops was gorgeous, but they were littered with a toaster, go containers, and cereal boxes. A heap of action figures tangled together, piled high in one corner. A bag of puppy food leaned against the wall. Everything was very clean—and very cluttered.

Off to the left, she saw the mudroom. Cowboy boots and rubber boots lined up haphazardly on a floor-to-ceiling set of shelves. Ty’s and the boys’. Big ones and little ones. A couple wicker baskets filled the middle shelf. Hats, baseball mitts, and footballs tumbled out of them.

Turning back to the kitchen and the task at hand, she noticed a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, and one of grape jelly on the kitchen table.

“Making sandwiches for the picnic?” Sophie asked.

He nodded.

“Why don’t I tackle this while you finish whatever else you need to do?”

“Sounds good.”

The two of them worked companionably side-by-side.

Sophie squinted at the cock-eyed wall clock.

Ty turned to see what she was looking at. “Whoops. Meant to hang that a little higher.”

“That’ll help?”

“Yep. It won’t get whacked by swords during nightly duels to the death.”

She smacked her forehead. “Of course. I should have known.”

“So, the house. I’d ask what you thought of it, but your expression when you walked in pretty much said it all. FYI? You should never play poker.”

She started to deny it but shrugged instead. “The outside is, well, fantastic. I actually stopped the car partway down the lane just to sit and look at it.”

“But—”

“The inside?” She scrunched up her face. “Not quite what I expected.”

“Not much, is it?” He didn’t seem in the least offended.

“It’s not that, really. It’s very…serviceable.” She shrugged. “No muss, no fuss, no nonsense.”

“In other words, ugly as sin.” He chuckled. “It’s okay. Babs is after me all the time to do something with the place. It works for us, though. There’s nothing the kids can really mess up.”

“I suppose. The décor is, well, very masculine.”

He spread his hands. “Guilty as charged. We’re four guys living alone. That’s about as masculine as you get.”

“But your wife must have—”

“No.” He shook his head. “Julia never lived here. In fact, I didn’t build this house till a couple years ago. The boys were a little over two when we moved in.”

There’d never been a woman’s touch. That explained a lot.

As she bagged the sandwiches, the boys thundered down the stairs and scrambled into the kitchen, Trouble at their heels. She watched as they surrounded their dad where he stood at the kitchen sink, all six-four of him with three little boys climbing on his legs. He dwarfed them, yet there wasn’t a trace of hesitation on their faces. Love. Nothing but love.

For the first time, the full magnitude of what he dealt with on a daily basis hit her. He held the total responsibility for these little lives in his hands, and that was one gigantic job.

Picking up a wicker basket he’d already partially filled, he opened it and scooped the PB and J sandwiches she’d bagged inside. “Ready, guys?”

Three heads bobbed.

“Anybody need to hit the head before we take off?”

“No,” they all said.

“Okay then.” He led them outside. “I thought we might take a ride, Tink. The boys and I found a great picnic spot.”

“Close?”

“Not too far. A mile, maybe.”

“Sounds great.” She headed toward his pickup.

He stopped, watching her. “Where are you going?”

“You said we were driving there.”

“I said
ride
.”

Slowly she turned toward the stables. “On horseback?”

“Yep.”

She felt herself blanch. “You know, Annelise? A great horsewoman. Me? I only rode when I couldn’t escape it. I’m not especially fond of horses and haven’t been on one since camp a thousand years ago.”

“Why?” asked one of the triplets.

“Because they’re—” She glanced down into baby-innocent eyes and bit back her words.

Backtracking, she said, “I mean, you kids don’t ride, do you? Wouldn’t it be easier to take Daddy’s big black truck?”

“Huh-uh.” A second one spoke up, and the others showed solidarity by shaking their heads, too.

She stared at them. For the life of her, she couldn’t tell the boys apart. She’d have to ask Ty if there was a trick to it, some little thing that differentiated them. A cowlick or a mole, maybe.

And speaking of Ty. He stood, picnic basket in one hand, the other in his jeans pocket, grinning.

“You’re enjoying all this, aren’t you?”

“Yep.”

“Come on, Sophie. It’ll be fun.” The third one tugged at her hand.

“Yeah, Sophie, you’ll like it.”

“Wait’ll you see all the poo,” said the third. “You have to be careful where you step, ’cause the cows go there sometimes.”

The other two nodded solemnly in agreement.

“My mother did warn me,” she muttered.

“Yeah, I heard.” The laughter left Ty’s voice.

“You did?” Shocked, she turned to face him.

He nodded.

“Ty—”

“Not now.”

She sighed. The sun disappeared momentarily behind a cloud. Wonderful, she thought. The sudden shadow fit her mood to a T. Well, she couldn’t disappoint the kids, but she would, she promised, get even with Ty for springing the horse ride on her.

And they’d also have a chat about the conversation he’d overheard at the wedding reception. Darn her mother anyway.

Crossing the yard, Ty said, “It’s a short ride, Sophie. Promise. On horseback, the two of us could be there in ten, fifteen minutes easy. But with these boys?” He grimaced. “I’ll need to ride herd on them to keep them moving. Otherwise, they dawdle and mess around enough to drive you crazy.”

Hands in his pockets, he watched as the trio raced into the barn. “They’re gonna make good horsemen. All of them have the basics down, but, well, they’re four.” He sighed. “And that about says it all.”

Walking beside him, Sophie nodded. When she stepped into the stable, she breathed deeply, surprised at how strangely pleasant the scent of hay and horse was. She was amazed, too, to find she hadn’t forgotten how to saddle her own mount.

As she tightened her cinch, she glanced across the barn and saw Ty and one of the boys in deep conversation, the two dark heads practically touching. She wished she had a camera to capture the moment. Tucking away the details, she decided she’d sketch the scene when she returned to Dottie’s.

When they finished, Ty walked to the far wall and took down some fishing poles.

“Wait a minute.” She held up a hand. “What’re those?”

“Fishing rods.”

She blew out a huff. “I know that. I meant, what are you doing with them?”

“We’re going fishing!” One of the kids did a little twist and shout across the straw.

“Yeah.” The other two chimed in, dancing in a circle with their brother.

“Ty?”

“Sophie?”

“I don’t fish.”

He fastened the poles onto his saddle, then put a hand on her butt and boosted her onto her horse. “You said you didn’t ride, either.”

“I said I didn’t
like
riding.” She shook her head. “I’ve never fished in my life.”

“Then it’s high time you did, right boys?”

“Uh-huh.” One dark little head bobbed. “We’ll help you, won’t we?”

He looked at his brothers who both agreed. The boys chatted a mile a minute about how much fun they’d have as their dad lifted them one by one onto their ponies.

As they rode out of the stable, Ty said, “You don’t have a problem with fishing on some philosophical level, do you? I mean, you’re not a vegan or anything. I watched you devour too much Texas beef at the wedding to believe that.”

“You’re right. I’m not. I don’t believe, however, a gentleman comments on the amount a lady eats.”

His horse ambling beside hers, Ty adjusted his cowboy hat. “No, ma’am, guess not.” His dimples twinkled. “So do I apologize for my comment or simply admit I’m not a gentleman?”

“You’re bad, that’s what you are.” She clucked at her horse and realized she was actually having a good time. Who’d have thought?

Ty was right about the spot. They brought their horses to a stop at the top of a knoll graced by several beautiful old oaks. At the base of the hillock, a small stream flowed, willows draping their branches gracefully over the slow-moving water.

They spread a blanket in the shade of one of the oaks and dug in. While the boys devoured their peanut butter sandwiches and chips as if they might never get another meal, she and Ty enjoyed rare roast beef sandwiches and potato salad from Sadler’s.

The sun warmed her back and hair, and she totally relaxed. It was as if the world had shrunk to this one spot, this one moment. The boys, flopped on their backs talking about day care and Miss Marcy, wolfed down Dottie’s cookies. Ty reached out and linked his fingers with hers, and she knew she’d remember this moment forever.

Trouble frolicked in the tall grass. He’d ridden in a basket on Jesse’s pony and was having a great time just being a puppy. He licked and kissed each of the boys in turn, sending them into hysterical giggles.

The horses, tethered to the trees, grazed peacefully. A butterfly landed on the picnic basket beside her.

The day couldn’t have been more right.

Then one of the boys hopped up and pulled on Ty’s arm, reminding him he’d promised they could fish. It was Jesse. Sophie knew without asking. As she’d watched them play, listened to them, she picked up small nuances and tiny differences. She grinned, feeling as though she’d clawed her way over some invisible hurdle.

The boys were becoming individuals.

Patiently Ty sauntered to the tree where he’d propped the rods and opened his fishing basket.

A few minutes later, all the warm feelings gone, Sophie was totally sorry she’d come along. “What do you mean I stick the hook through him?” She stared at the worm in her hand. It wriggled, and she shrieked, flinging it to the ground.

“I can’t do this.”

Jesse scooped it up and let the worm slither over his pudgy little hand.

“Like this.” Jonah held up his pole. Another fat worm dangled from the hook, and he stepped closer to her. “Look how all the stuff comes out, Sophie. It’s his guts.”

She gagged. “Ty, I can’t.”

“Jonah, get that out of Sophie’s face. Go drown it in the water.”

Her mouth dropped open.

“What?”

“Is that what you teach them?”

“Sophie.” He spread his hands. “It’s a saying.”

“But that is what you’re doing. You’re drowning them. After you’ve impaled them.”

He handed the pole he’d baited to Josh. “How else do you think we’re going to catch a fish?”

“I don’t know. In Sam’s deli at the end of my street? At a restaurant? At Sadler’s maybe?”

The boys stared at her.

“It’s a girl thing,” Ty told them.

“’Kay, Daddy,” Josh said.

But the little boy’s big, dark eyes said she’d let him down. Guilt ate at her, but there was no way she’d skewer that worm.

“Go ahead and get started. Sophie and I will be with you in a minute. And try to stay out of the water.”

The three took off for the little stream, the puppy right behind them.

“I’ll bait your pole with a salmon egg,” Ty conceded.

She nodded, relieved when the orange glob slid over her hook. That she could live with.

They walked down the gentle slope together. Trouble, all feet and ears, splashed in the water, then raced out to shake himself, drenching them all.

When he headed into the stream again, Ty scolded him. “Get out of there, Trouble. You’re scaring away the fish.”

Sophie was secretly glad. She absolutely did not want to see any fish flopping around in the grass, gasping for breath.

Ty sat on an outcropping of rock, his long legs stretched in front of him, ankles crossed, pole loose in his hand. The boys had given up even the pretense of fishing, their attention spans that of microscopic gnats. Squeals and laughter filled the grassy area as they chased each other and Trouble through the grass.

No doubt about it. Today had been one of the best days in way too long. And the woman beside him, sitting in the grass, her line bobbing in the water, was a big part of the reason why. To be really honest, it surprised the hell out of him. He’d figured the kids would scare her off. They hadn’t. They’d taken to each other like fleas on a dog.

Oh, she wasn’t totally at ease with three squirming, noisy boys, but she wasn’t put off by them, either. The breeze picked up, and the late-afternoon air turned chilly. Overhead, the willow branches swayed and the leaves rustled.