The Secret Agent's Surprises (Harlequin American Romance) (4 page)

“I never did understand why you didn’t assign me a woman, Pop—not that I was looking. Or am looking,” he said to reassure Priscilla. “You hand-picked women for both Gabe and Dane, sent them letters about the women, so you can understand my curiosity.” It really bothered him that his letter had solely been one of condemnation. “All I got was criticism.”

“You’re the second oldest,” Josiah said. “I don’t have to look out for you as much as your younger brothers.”

Hope rose inside Pete. Maybe Pop really was being honest. “Is that true?”

“If you want it to be. However, notice that as soon as I found a good woman for you, I introduced you.” He smiled sweetly at Priscilla. “And anyway, a father shows his love by disciplining his children. That’s what’s wrong with the world today—kids aren’t disciplined. Parents are too busy being cool to be parents. Well, I never worried about being a cool friend to you boys—I was a parent, by golly.”

Pete shook his head. Priscilla glanced out the window.

“Oh, look! Suzy and Laura are coming to see you, Josiah!”

Josiah sat up, trying to peer out the window. “And they’ve brought their families. Good. We’ll order pizza.”

“I invited them,” Pete said, opting for honesty. “I think we need to have a family powwow.”

Josiah glared at him. “About putting me in an old folks’ home?”

“About the babies,” Pete said. “Although you’re beginning to whine like one. C’mon, Pop, let me help you to your feet so you can greet your visitors.”

Pete gently helped his father up. Josiah gave him a pat on the back. “I think you’re winning her over,” he whispered to Pete.

Pete shook his head. “Hope springs eternal, Pop.”

“That’s what I told you, son. I’m glad you’re finally listening.”

“Yeah. My life is just a rerun of
Father Knows Best
,” Pete said, winking at Priscilla.

She didn’t wink or smile in return. Instead, she shook her head and hurried out the door to greet her friends. Pete had a sudden premonition that his father was right on more than one level. Something
was
hanging that woman up—and he didn’t have the first idea what it was.

Laura and Gabriel sat in the den with their two children. Laura was in the full bloom of pregnancy, due to deliver in May. Gabe was a proud father and a happy husband, that was easy to see. Priscilla enjoyed seeing their happiness. Suzy and Dane, although married only a month, also were clearly in love. Their twin daughters, Sandra and Nicole, were playing with Penny and Perrin, Laura’s and Gabe’s little girl and boy. Penny, the oldest of the gang, was the clear leader of the group; the other little ones seemed content to follow. Perrin, now seventeen months old, was really too small to play yet, but he did his best to keep up. Josiah’s eyes were dancing with joy.

The old man was in his element. If he’d been slow and tired before, the arrival of the children energized him. Priscilla helped Suzy and Laura serve tea and cookies to everyone—although Josiah insisted he should be allowed a beer, they gave him tea, too—
and then they all sat down to hear Pete’s reason for calling them together.

“It’s come to Pop’s attention that there are four orphaned newborns—quadruplets—in the county who need a family,” Pete said. “Pop came up with a convoluted plan for Priscilla and I to adopt them—”

This brought whistles from his brothers and laughter from the women. Priscilla could feel her cheeks heat as she shook her head. “Not me,” she said. “You two should know me better than that.” It was important to say that out loud, to stress her noncompliance with Josiah’s machinations so that everyone understood her position—including Pete. She still wasn’t certain of what to make of their kiss earlier.

They seemed to be treading on dangerous ground.

“But as you can tell, Priscilla and I don’t think Pop’s plan is entirely workable,” Pete continued to general laughter. Priscilla’s reluctance had been noted.

“We think it might be difficult to convince child services that an ex-military man with no employment at the moment, and a woman who lives nearly two hours away should suddenly team up and be appropriate parents for the babies.” Pete looked around at his family. “And yet, we do think we have the blessing of resources in the Morgan clan.”

“That’s true,” Gabe said, “but they’ll need more than that.”

“And yet it’s a start,” Pete said. “More importantly, beyond money, they need one family.”

Everyone stared at him silently.

“You’re the only one who doesn’t already have a family, bro,” Dane said. “Now, I’m willing to help, but I’m still trying to figure out how to be the best father to the twins.”

“Ah,” Josiah said on a groan, “think about you four when you were young. You weren’t that much trouble, were you?”

“You said we were,” Pete reminded him. “Although everybody in this town knows you were a pretty tough taskmaster, Pop.”

“All the more reason you could probably sway the adoption agency to consider you, son,” Josiah said equitably. “I’m sure my reputation precedes me. Honesty, fairness, generosity, excellent fathering skills…and with them knowing I’d be keeping a firm eye on my sons’ parenting duties, those children would have more than most.”

Priscilla wasn’t sure Josiah was selling his memory of his sons’ childhood quite the way they remembered it. They all wore pained grimaces, expressions that tickled Suzy and Laura.

“You turned out fairly well, honey,” Laura told Gabe.

He enjoyed the compliment but wasn’t about to credit his father.

“You’re a catch,” Suzy told Dane. “I like you well enough, at least for the month I’ve been married to you. The jury is still out in some respects, but—”

“But you’re crazy about me,” Dane said, stealing a kiss.

It was all so easy, Priscilla realized. The two couples had an ease with each other that she and Pete simply didn’t have. She seemed to grow more uncomfortable around him all the time. Being a part of this gathering didn’t feel like a natural fit, either. Even though Josiah liked her, she knew she would never fit in the way he wanted her to.

She would never be a part of this happy family.

Suddenly she wanted to go home. It would be rude to say so, so she busied herself in the kitchen and played with the children while everyone talked in the den. She could still hear them in the other room.

“Let’s think about it some more,” Pete said. “I’m sure there’s something we can do to help. I just haven’t hit the right idea yet.”

“It’ll come to us,” Gabe said. “I, too, hate to think of those kids being broken up.”

Josiah beamed at his sons. “You make me proud,” he said, and the whole room went silent.

“Oh, hell, don’t act like I never said the words before,” Josiah said. “What a bunch of emotionally needy weenies I raised. Priscilla! I’ll have my afternoon toddy now. I need it to hang with this herd of emotional lightweights.”

“I’ll get it,” Pete said quickly. “Pop, you can’t just bellow at Priscilla like she’s family.”

Everyone went silent again. Priscilla hesitated.

“I mean, Pop, look.” Pete sighed. “This bride-picking thing—Priscilla and I are friends. You can’t just assume she wants to be part of our family and expect her to wait on you hand and foot.”

“I think I know something about women, son,” Josiah said, “and what I know is that they’re happiest when they’re married and having children. Your mother’s happiest days were when she was having babies. All women probably secretly dream of being good wives and mothers.”

The women’s jaws dropped. The men seemed stunned, not knowing what to say to their father.

“Well, they are,” Josiah said defensively. “Aren’t you happy, Laura? Suzy?”

The women remained silent, staring at Josiah, amazed by his audacity.

Josiah sniffed, not liking that he somehow wasn’t being recognized as the authority on what women wanted and what they didn’t. “If you’re implying I’m a male chauvinist, I most certainly am not. I’ve always treated women with enormous respect.”

“Actually,” Priscilla said from the den’s entrance-way, “I’d love to get married if I were a different woman. But the truth is, I like my life just as it is. I’m happy with what I’ve done for myself. And I’ll get Josiah his toddy, not because I think he’s being chauvinistic, but because I know how to fix it better than Pete does.” Priscilla walked back into the kitchen, telling herself she was being completely
honest about her views on marriage—when deep inside, she knew she wasn’t.

Not entirely.

P
ETE DROVE
Priscilla back to Fort Wylie that evening. She’d been quiet, and Pete figured her mood was appropriate. His family was pretty boisterous, as far as an outsider would see it. Plus, Pop treated her like she was his personal servant, calling on her to attend to him every now and again. Maybe he just wanted reassurance that she was still around, and he was trying to show her that he was a fairly harmless old man.

She’d become more withdrawn as the evening progressed. He and his brothers and their wives had kicked around all kinds of ideas for the care of the quadruplets—none of them seemed right, though. Through it all, Josiah had listened, his eyes keen with interest.

Pete still felt as if he was part of a grand scheme—he wondered if Priscilla felt the same. It was a long drive and neither of them had a lot to say. They talked about the weather, how this February was a particularly cold month. They discussed small matters, avoiding the subjects of children, matrimony and family. It was pretty tricky navigating, considering that children, matrimony and family was all that his family had talked about.

He didn’t expect her to invite him in, but when they arrived at her house, she turned and said, “Can you come in for a few moments?”

“Are you sure you’re not too tired for company?”

She shook her head. “I’m not tired. In fact, you could probably use a break from driving. And there’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”

This sounded reasonable to Pete, so he parked his truck and followed her into her cozy home. As cute as the tea parlor was, the part of the structure that was her home was warmly welcoming. He could see why she’d never want to leave her house.

She brought out tea and cookies from the kitchen, setting them on a coffee table before gesturing him to find a place to sit. “Make yourself comfortable, Pete.”

He’d be more comfortable if he knew why he’d been asked in. During the drive she’d had two hours to talk to him, yet there was something more she felt she had to say? He munched a cookie and waited for her to lead the discussion.

“Why did you kiss me?” she asked.

Cookie crumbs got caught in his throat at his sudden inhalation. After he stopped choking, he looked at her with watery eyes. “Sorry. Went down the wrong pipe.” He hoped that would make her forget her question, but she sat waiting, her eyes wide as she waited for his answer.

“I kissed you,” he said, “because I wanted to.”

She didn’t say a word.

“Was there a problem?” he asked, and she shook her head.

“No.”

What was a guy supposed to make of that? Had she liked it or not? She wasn’t about to give him any clues, however, so he just sat there, waiting.

Finally he couldn’t stand it any longer. “Do you want me to kiss you again?”

“Not tonight,” she said, “and after I tell you this, you may never
want
to again.”

“Uh-oh,” he said, “if you’re about to make some kind of confession, I’m not the one to hear it.”

“It is a confession,” she said softly, her eyes downcast.

“You know, I’m not good with emotional stuff,” Pete said. “Since I’ve been home I’ve been trying to connect with my father and my brothers, make up for lost time. It’s only been a few days. All this baby conversation, marriage stuff—it’s not easy for me. I’ve been on my own a long time. Being in the military kind of teaches you to rely on yourself. Please don’t confess anything to me, because I’m worse than Pop when it comes to being a male chauvinist. I really think I am.”

He was aware he was running, heading away from deep water as fast as he could. He hoped she’d let him get away with it. He’d never been a pillow-talk kind of man—she probably had that figured out.

“I know these little orphans are very much on your family’s mind,” Priscilla said, “and I wish I could help. Short of a bake sale or something, I can’t. In fact, the whole topic is a bit painful to me. I know
children make your father stronger,” she told him, her voice soft. “Anyone can see he draws his strength from family, but…I gave a child up for adoption when I was seventeen.”

He stared at her. She didn’t cry, wasn’t saying the words looking for sympathy. It was a straightforward statement of fact. “I’m sorry,” he said, truly feeling that way but not knowing if those were the words she needed to hear.

“I am, too,” she said, in that same flat tone. “All the discussion of adopting has brought the past back to me in a very personal way.” She swallowed and he thought she might cry, but she looked him in the eye and went on, “Adopting children when I gave one up would be impossible for me. I would feel as if…I didn’t deserve them. I don’t know how else to explain it.”

He crossed the room to sit beside her on the sofa. “Priscilla, I’m sorry my family has put you in this position. Frankly none of us had the right to drag you into our personal issues. We’re a little selfish that way.” He took a deep breath. “You’re a wonderful woman, and my father likes you, that’s why he’s trying so hard to figure out a way to move you into the family. By no means are you obligated to do so. Believe me, Pop’s last intention is for you to feel awkward. He just wants you around. I figured that out tonight when he kept trying to get you to look after him.”

She smiled. “I didn’t mind.”

“He’s up to his old tricks, although I thought he’d
decided I wasn’t worth his time. This is habitual family-making for Pop, so please don’t think any more of it. The last thing any of us meant to do was make you feel uncomfortable.”

She looked at him a long time, then slowly nodded. “Okay.”

To take the edge off the awkwardness, he said, “Is it a bad time to ask you for that kiss?”

He hoped she’d smile, but she didn’t. She simply leaned forward and placed her lips against his, giving him a brief kiss.

He wasn’t sure if he was forgiven or getting the boot. “Are we friends now?” he asked.

“I’m not sure,” she said.

“Give a guy a little direction,” he told her, wanting desperately to kiss her senseless but not certain if he’d just been given a kiss-off.

“It was nothing,” she told him, and his heart crumpled a little. “Just my way of saying that I’m sorry I can’t be what you need.”

“Oh, hell,” he said, “I don’t know what I need.”

A small smile lifted her lips. “Your father will find you a wife to help you adopt those babies.”

“I wish that wasn’t true, but it’s sort of like wishing the wind won’t blow.” He looked at Priscilla again, realizing she really was trying to let him down gently. “I guess I’ll put on my hat and go.”

“All right.” She stood, and he followed suit, finally getting the direction he’d asked for.

“Hey, don’t be a stranger,” he told her. “We’re really pretty harmless at the Morgan ranch.”

She walked him to the door. “Depends on the definition of ‘harmless.’ Good night, Pete.”

“Good night.” He touched her cheek, a gentle caress that wouldn’t cross any boundaries, and headed out into the cold.