Taking on Twins (23 page)

“Hey, Wyatt. What's up?”

“I need a place to hang my shingle here in Keyhole.”

“Gonna move to Wyoming, huh?”

Odd. She didn't sound surprised in the least. “Yup. So I'll need a place to live and a place to work.” He winked at Emily who was crouching near, trying to follow Brynn's half of the conversation.

“Well, you're in luck. The Summer's Autumn Antique building will soon be empty and the upstairs would make a wonderful apartment and office space.”

Wyatt stiffened. Emily hunched closer.

“The downstairs would really be better suited to a retail business than a law practice, but you could lease that space and make all kinds of return on your investment.”

“But—but—” Wyatt was reeling. He frowned at Emily. She frowned back, then pressed the side of his head with hers.

Brynn didn't seem to notice his inability to speak. “Yes, the owner is highly motivated to sell. I guess she's going to be moving to Washington, D.C., to be nearer to the man she loves. So, if you're going to do it, move. The price is right, big guy.”

“I'll take it,” Wyatt shouted and high-fived Emily. “I'll take the whole damned thing. The upstairs, the downstairs and all the junk inside.” He hung up and, as he and Emily stood staring at each other and breathing hard, his cell phone rang.

“Wyatt Russell here.” He frowned, then grinned and held up a hand meant to stave off Emily who bounced
around, made elaborate hand signals and whispered in his free ear, trying to get him to tell her who it was. “Yes. Right. Uh-huh, sure. Really? You're kidding! You sold it already? To whom? Okay. Okay, yes, I'll go talk to her immediately.”

Still dazed, Wyatt snapped his phone off, tossed a handful of bills under his plate, shrugged into his jacket and headed for the door.

“Hey!” Emily shouted. “Get back here! Who did Annie sell her store to? Wait!”

“Okay. You, too. Thanks for the fries.”

 

Annie knew he was in the room, even before she saw him. Her heart began to beat double time and suddenly, her lungs were starved for oxygen. Slowly, she turned from where she'd been polishing the stained glass shade of a Tiffany lamp and her gaze slammed into Wyatt's.

He'd come back.

Even after she'd run off, he'd come back. Tears burned the backs of her eyes, and her heart—in the tradition of the Grinch—swelled two sizes times two. Before she even paused to wonder if she should go to him, her feet were flying, carrying her across the room and into his open arms.

“Wyatt!”

He slipped his arms around her waist and, lifting her up, swung her in a circle.

“Oh, Wyatt! I've been such a fool. I have so much to apologize to you for.”

“Isn't this where I'm supposed to say, ‘love means never having to say you're sorry,' or something corny like that?”

Annie, laughing and crying, pressed a light palm over his mouth and rushed to spill everything she'd been wanting to tell him. “No. Because I
am
sorry. So very, very sorry. I should have let you finish. But I was so confused,
I just couldn't. But I'm better now. And I want to pick up on our conversation where we left off.”

Wyatt let her slide down his body and, cradling the back of her head in his hands, rained gentle, soft kisses across her lips.

“Wyatt, stop, please,” she murmured. “You're making it hard to think.”

“Don't mind me,” he urged, still kissing her. “Go on.”

“Mmm. Ah-hem.” She cleared her throat and closed her eyes. His mouth moved to her neck and sent a cascade of wonderful chills sweeping over her body. “Okay. Now then, I want to ask you…I want to ask…I want…I… Mmmm.” She allowed her head to loll back and thereby give him better access to that little spot in the hollow of her throat that had her pulses singing. “Uh, you know when you do that,” she said, giggling and squirming, “I have a hard time concentrating.”

“Me too.”

“Now stop it and listen to me. Because I have something very important to ask you.”

“Continue,” he urged, moving his way up her neck and to her jaw.

“Okay. Where was I? Oh, yes. Wyatt Russell, I want to make an honest man out of you.”

“That'll take some doing.”

“Would you please be serious?”

“I'm being very serious.” He took her earlobe between his teeth and growled.

“Wyatt! Quit it, or I'm going to get mad.”

He dipped his tongue into her ear. “I love it when you're mad. You're beautiful when you're angry.”

“Oh, I give up.” Annie sighed and let him have his way with her, and when he moved his mouth over hers, kissed
him back with all the desire that had been building during the years they'd been apart.

“Hey!” A youthful shout came from the playroom at the back of the store. “Alex! The space monster is back! And he's kissin' our mom!”

Alex whooped and the two boys came barreling out to greet Wyatt.

Wyatt caught them both up in a hug and for a few wild, noisy moments of reunion, chaos reigned.

“Watter ya doin' here?” Noah demanded.

“I'm here to answer a question for your mom.”

“What question?” Alex wondered.

“I don't know. She won't ask it.”

“Ask him, Mom,” Noah instructed.

“If you'll all just be quiet for a minute, I will.” Annie huffed and puffed and turned toward an antique dresser and straightened her clothing and hair in the mirror. When she felt that she was presentable, she turned to face her men. “Okay. Boys, I need you to be quiet for a few minutes here, okay?”

“Okay.” They nodded.

“Okay. Wyatt?”

“Yes?”

“Will you marry us?” She gestured first to herself, then to her boys.

Wyatt grinned from ear to ear.

Before he could answer, the boys went berserk. “Wyatt's gonna be our dad! Wyatt's gonna be our dad!”

“I'm gonna go pack,” Noah screamed.

“I'm gonna call Sean Mercury,” Alex shouted.

They dashed off and it was eerily quiet.

“Well?” Annie asked, her mouth suddenly dry, her palms suddenly clammy.

“Yes.”

“Oh, my.”

“Something wrong?”

“Suddenly, I can't breathe.”

MaryPat and Brynn were right behind Emily as she burst through the door. “I'm on a break! I can't stand the suspense. Annie! Who did you sell your store to? And why are you turning blue?”

Frowning with concern, Wyatt patted Annie's back. “She says she can't breathe.”

“What'd you do to her?” Brynn demanded.

“I accepted her proposal of marriage.”

“Ah.” MaryPat reached behind the counter for a paper bag. “Give her this and tell her to put it over her mouth. It's just a little case of falling in love. She'll be just fine in a few minutes. Used to happen to me with her daddy all the time.”

Wyatt complied as Emily continued to pelt him with screechy, giddy questions. “You guys are getting married? How wonderful! So who bought the store?”

Whoosh, snap.
Annie looked at Brynn. “Someone bought the store?”

“Yes.”

Whoosh, snap, whoosh, snap.
“Who?”

“Him.”

Whoosh, snap! Whoosh, snap!
“Him?”

Wyatt nodded. “I'm moving to Keyhole.”

Whoosh.
“You
are?
”
Snap.

“Yep. I'm hanging my shingle out front and taking the space upstairs for my office. I have to have somewhere to transact business, if I'm going to practice law part-time.”

Emily frowned. “But who just called and said the store was already sold?”

Wyatt glanced from Emily to Annie. “That call wasn't about the store. It was about one of Annie's paintings. I
sold one of her paintings through a gallery in New York. And they want more.”

“You did? They
do?
”

“Yes. And that's why I'm only going to practice law part-time. The rest of the time I'm going to broker your art and help you run the store.”

“Well!” MaryPat clasped her hands together. “Isn't that nice. Okay then. Em, let's get you back to work. Brynn, come along. I have a ham in the oven and you know how Toby hates to wait.”

MaryPat hustled the girls out the front door, then turned and winked at Wyatt. “You're a hell of a classy guy, Wyatt Russell. Welcome to the family. It's about time.”

Wyatt grinned. “Thanks, Mom.”

When the door slammed shut, Annie looked up at Wyatt with awe. “You're moving to Keyhole? Are you sure you want to do that?”

“Annie, my love, I've never been more sure of anything in my life. I already gave Rand my resignation, just this morning.”

“You did?”

“Yep. Told him I was getting married, taking on twins and wouldn't have time for the rat race anymore.”

“What'd he say?”

“Well, when he was done picking Lucy up off the floor, he congratulated me and wished me luck.” He dipped his head and planted a kiss on her neck that thrilled her to her toes. “I'm a very lucky man, Annie Summers.”

“As lucky as Sean Mercury's new dad?” she teased, hearing the happy hubbub coming from her office.

“Twice as lucky,” Wyatt murmured, and covered her mouth with his.