Harlequin Love Inspired November 2018, Box Set 2 of 2 by Leigh Bale

Author:Leigh Bale
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2018-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

When Jess arrived back at the ranch at eight o’clock Saturday evening, he could see the girls bouncing excitedly at the window.

If Abby hadn’t been standing behind them with her hands on their shoulders, he suspected that they might have run outside in their pajamas to greet him.

Seeing the warm glow of the lights in the house spilling out onto the snow and the people at the window who were eager for him to be home filled him with a sense of connection and sent a rush of warmth through him.

Family.

Oh, Gramma Betty had always been his rock. And the girls had been here almost a year.

But Abby seemed to make the circle complete, and he imagined always returning home to this—a loving woman waiting for him with the children…maybe even more of them—

He caught himself up short.

What was he thinking? She’d left him once before. And she’d already made it clear she was moving on, her heart set on getting her PhD and what she hoped to achieve in autism research. Truly noble goals.

He—and life on this isolated ranch—would never be anything but second best.

He limped to the house, then took a deep breath and forced himself to walk in the door as if he had no injuries at all.

Abby held the girls back until he got his coat and boots off, and then they rushed to him, too excited to hold still. “Just a quick warning—they both tested positive for the flu yesterday, and they probably won’t be completely well for three or four days, at the least.”

Ignoring the pain knifing through his left shoulder, he scooped them both up anyway, one girl nestled in each arm, and savored the sweet warmth of them when they wrapped their arms around his neck. “I missed you two little punkins,” he said with a laugh. “Were you good for your grandma and Abby?”

Bella puffed out her chest. “Abby and me made cookies. Hundreds and thousands.”

“You helped?” He lifted an eyebrow in surprise. When he left two days ago, he’d guessed that Bella would rather walk on nails than cooperate with Abby.

“Bella was a super helper. And she did wash her hands very well, I promise,” Abby said with a wry smile. “And she didn’t handle the cookies after they were baked. But poor Sophie spent most of the day curled up on one of the sofas with the puppy.”

He grinned at Bella. “Well, I can’t wait to try those cookies, so I’m going to set you girls down.”

He gingerly lowered them, steeling himself against the pain running down his left side.

Bella ran over to the counter and pointed to a clear, rectangular container. “They’re in boxes ’cause then they’ll stay nice. That’s what Abby said.”

Jess opened the lid. “Wow, these sure are pretty. I bet you used all the sprinkles in the whole county.”

She nodded and watched as he took two. “It was Abby’s recipe that she made when she was little like me and Sophie.”

He wanted to ask about Bella’s attitude transformation, but figured he’d better wait.

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