LITMIR.BIZ

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took a sip of her coffee and wished he didn’t smell exactly like she remembered from that snowy night, a scent of clean male and wintry air and a faint whisper of spicy cologne. It was a fragrance that stirred her with memories of warm hands and hot kisses.

      “How have you been supporting yourself?” he asked.

      “I had a small inheritance from my mother.” She shifted positions beneath the intensity of his stare and took another bite of her coffee cake.

      “You have a boyfriend? Somebody significant in your life?”

      A small laugh burst from her. “Definitely not. The only males in my life wear diapers and drool.”

      This time the smile that curved his lips warmed the blue of his eyes. “At least they’re cute when they drool.” His smile faded. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help through the pregnancy. I’m sorry you had to go through it all alone and I promise you won’t be doing it all alone now.”

      She wasn’t sure why his words, rather than comforting her, filled her with a new burst of apprehension. Maybe if she really knew him, knew what kind of a man he was, she wouldn’t feel so worried about what he might have in mind for her and the boys.

      “Having grown up without a father figure in my life, I understand how important the role of father is and will be to my boys. I want you to know that I’m open to a discussion about visitation for you,” she said.

      “There will be time to discuss the particulars of that over the next couple of days,” he replied. He took a sip of his coffee and leaned back in his chair. “So, are you originally from Amarillo?”

      She nodded. “Born and raised there.” This was the kind of talk they might have had if they’d been on a date, the kind they should have had that night instead of falling on each other like two sex-starved teenagers.

      “Do you have somebody special in your life? A woman you’re seeing? I don’t want my presence here to make any problems for you,” she said.

      “You don’t have to worry. There’s nobody special. I don’t intend for there ever to be anyone special.” There was a firm finality in his voice.

      She took another sip of her coffee. God, the man was so good-looking she couldn’t imagine the women in the area leaving him alone. “Your mother mentioned that you were a confirmed bachelor.”

      “I am. The only reason I might have entertained the idea of marriage would have been to have a son to pass the ranch to when I died. You’ve managed to give me two without the nuisance of a marriage.”

      Nuisance of marriage? Funny how different they were, Melissa thought. She’d wanted to be married for a very long time, had always thought that by the time she turned thirty she’d be part of a family like she’d never had growing up.

      She still hoped for that someday. The only difference her dream had from reality was that in reality her boys would have their real daddy and then maybe eventually they’d have a loving, caring stepfather.

      But at the moment, any kind of relationship with a man seemed impossible. She was just too tired to even think about romance. She’d been tired for months, not that she minded. The twins were more than worth any exhaustion they caused.

      “You look tired, Melissa,” he said as if he’d read her thoughts. “I hope you’ll take your time here and allow my mother and me to help so that you can get some extra rest. It can’t be easy dealing with twins all by yourself.”

      “I’m fine,” she assured him. “It’s gotten easier since they sleep through the night most of the time now.”

      “Still, I hope you’ll let us take some of the burden for the next couple of days.”

      “They aren’t a burden. They’re my joy,” she exclaimed a bit more vehemently than the situation warranted.

      He leaned forward and reached out and brushed the corner of her mouth. “You had a little cinnamon,” he said as he pulled his hand back.

      She grabbed a napkin and wiped her mouth and tried to ignore the electric jolt his touch had shot through her body. He just swiped your mouth, she told herself. A simple, casual touch and yet she felt it from head to toe.

      A loud knock sounded on the front door and he pushed back from the table. “You might want to come with me to answer it,” he said. “I think it’s for you.”

      “For me? Who would be here for me?” She got up from the table and followed him to the front door.

      He looked outside, then smiled and this time his smile warmed her completely. “It’s Christmas, Melissa. Christmas has officially arrived at the Randolf house.”

      Henry opened the door to allow in the four ranch hands who maneuvered a huge evergreen tree through the door. The boughs were tied down and Hank and Tim, the ranch hands bringing up the rear, carried between them a huge pot to stand the tree in.

      “It was the biggest one old man Keller had on his lot,” Charlie said as they carried the tree into the living room.

      “Melissa, can you help me move the coffee table?” Henry asked.

      She quickly grabbed one side and he grabbed the other. They moved the table out of the men’s way. “Just set it up in the corner,” he instructed.

      “That’s the biggest tree I’ve ever seen,” Melissa said, her eyes round with wonder.

      Henry smiled. “I told them to get the biggest one they could find. We’ll decorate it this evening after dinner.”

      “We could string popcorn and cranberries.” She flushed and shook her head as if irritated with herself. “That was silly of me. I’m sure you have lovely expensive ornaments.”

      He could tell she was embarrassed and he found that oddly endearing. “Actually, I’ve always wanted to do a tree the old-fashioned way. I think it would be fun to string popcorn and cranberries.”

      The look she gave him was so sweet, so grateful, that he once again felt a stir of desire deep in the pit of his stomach. When he’d brushed the trace of cinnamon from her lip moments earlier, he’d wanted to kiss it off.

      He focused on watching his men wrestle the tree into the stand. Something about Melissa touched him, a vulnerability, a wistfulness in her eyes that he hadn’t seen in a woman’s eyes for a very long time.

      He still didn’t trust her. The only woman Henry really trusted was his mother, who had no ulterior motive for loving him. Any other woman he’d ever allowed close had ultimately shown herself to be more interested in the Randolf fortune than in whatever Henry could offer her as a man.

      He didn’t know if perhaps Melissa was just smarter than them all and had managed to trap him like none of the other women had managed to do.

      Once the men had the tree up and the ropes off, Henry introduced Melissa to them. “These are some of the best ranch hands in the state of Texas,” he said. “That’s Hank and Tim, Ben and Mike and Jacob and that rascal with the black hat is Charlie, my right-hand man.”

      Melissa’s eyes had glazed over and he smiled at her. “Don’t worry, there won’t be a test later,” he said.

      She laughed and the sound of her musical laughter shot a rivulet of warmth through him. “Good, because you lost me at Hank.” She smiled at all the men. “But it’s nice to meet you all.”

      “I’ll be right back,” Henry said to her as the men began to head for the front door.

      In the entry he touched Charlie’s shoulder and motioned for Charlie to stay behind while the rest of them got back to their work.

      “You heard about the shots fired last night?” he asked.

      Charlie nodded. “Jimmy talked to a couple of us late yesterday evening.”

      “I want all of you armed

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