CHAPTER ONE
Some secrets weren’t meant to be shared right away. Some were meant to be held close and savored, enjoyed with the giddy knowledge that something wonderful was happening.
Holly Colter watched from the back door as her husbands and sons rode into the corral and dismounted. Michael, the middle child, immediately ran for Holly, his face alight with excitement.
“Mama!” he bellowed. “Guess what we found?”
Holly caught the six-year-old into a fierce hug and kissed the top of his head. “What did you find?”
Dillon, the youngest, wedged himself between Michael and Holly and threw his arms around her legs. “We found elk antler sheds!”
“Dillon! I was telling Mama,” Michael shouted.
Dillon grinned and stuck out his tongue. Holly shook her head and pushed them to either side of her or a scuffle would ensue.
Seth approached with Ethan, a disapproving frown on his face as he surveyed his two younger brothers. Michael and Dillon exchanged glances, and just like that, their loyalties once again aligned as they conspired against their oldest brother.
Before Holly could call a warning or a reprimand, Dillon and Michael shot toward Seth. Seth let out a war cry as he went down under the two boys.
Holly closed her eyes and sighed. Ethan chuckled as he pulled her into his arms. “I’m not going to ask how much you enjoyed your day to yourself.”
She opened her eyes and tilted her chin up to receive his kiss. She smiled as he let his lips linger over hers. “I won’t lie. I stayed in bed until noon. I only showered and dressed a half hour ago.”
Ethan groaned. “I’m jealous. The urchins were up at the ass crack of dawn.”
She laughed. “I heard them despite the fact y’all tried really hard to herd them out of the bedroom before they woke me up. They were a little excited about their ride with the dads this morning.”
Ethan lifted his eyebrow. “A little? I don’t think they slept last night. I expect they’ll crash at any time.”
She snuggled into Ethan’s side and watched in amusement as Ryan and Adam tried in vain to separate the boys. Adam finally shook his head, threw up his hands and headed to the house, leaving his sons on the ground.
“You’re going straight into the bathtub when you come in,” Holly called.
Ryan sauntered up, a grin on his handsome face. “Yes ma’am, but only if you join me.”
She rolled her eyes. “I meant those hoodlums you call your children.”
“My children? Hell, it wasn’t my idea to have so many.”
“Well, it wasn’t mine,” Ethan countered.
“What are we arguing about?” Adam asked.
“Your children,” Ryan and Ethan said at the same time.
Holly laughed and went into Adam’s arms. He hugged her fiercely and dropped a kiss on her brow.
“How the hell did I get blamed for the heathens?” Adam asked.
“Well I damn sure didn’t get pregnant by myself,” she said. “And none of you are claiming responsibility.”
“Mama!” Seth bellowed. “Make Michael and Dillon leave me alone!”
Holly sighed and shoved past Adam, Ryan and Ethan. She walked over to where Seth was struggling under the weight of both Michael and Dillon, and Dillon was yelling like a banshee as he spurred Seth like a horse.
“Didn’t you get enough horseback riding?” she asked in exasperation. “Dillon, get off your brother. I want all three of you inside and in the bathtub right now.”
Dillon scrambled off of Seth, and Seth and Michael rose with sheepish looks on their faces.
“Yes, ma’am,” they mumbled as they trudged off to the house.
She glared at Adam, Ryan and Ethan as she herded the boys past them, but their laughter followed her inside.
“I missed you, Mama,” Dillon said as he wrapped his dirty arms around her legs.
Her heart melting, she leaned down and kissed his forehead. “I missed you too, you little imp. I missed all of you. Did you have fun?”
She was then treated to three boys all chattering at the speed of light as they described their horseback ride up the mountains and onto the plateau where their dads hunted elk every fall.
They stripped down, and Dillon and Michael hopped into the tub while Seth gave them a superior look and headed for the shower.
“Only babies take baths,” Seth said scathingly. “Men take showers.”
Michael took immediate offense. “Mama takes baths!”
“Yeah, but she’s a girl,” Dillon pointed out.
Holly stifled her laughter. “Get cleaned up and into clean clothes. We’ll have an early dinner tonight.” She didn’t add that they would eat early because the boys would pass out as soon as they finished their dinners. It would be like waving a red flag under a bull’s nose.
She left them to their baths and went to find her husbands.
“Hey, baby,” Adam said when she went into the kitchen. He pulled her into his arms and gave her a long, leisurely kiss. She sighed and rested her head against his chest. “Enjoy your day?”
“I did but I missed all of you too. It was too quiet! Did you guys have a good time? Male bonding and all of that?”
Adam chuckled. “The boys were so excited I think they wore the horses out with all their nervous energy.”
Ethan entered the kitchen and pulled a beer out of the fridge. “Who’s cooking tonight?”
“I thought I would,” Holly offered.
Adam blanched. Ethan winced. From the doorway came, “Oh hell no.”
She glanced up to see Ryan looking at her with a horrified expression.
“What?” she asked innocently.
Adam narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Exactly what were you thinking to cook?”
She grinned. “Takeout from Maebelle’s?”
Ethan visibly relaxed. Ryan was less subtle. He sighed in exaggerated relief and muttered, “Thank God.”
She glared at Ryan. “I’m not that bad a cook.”
He raised an eyebrow.
Ethan laughed. “Yes, you are, doll, but we love you anyway. We’ve established in the last eight years that cooking is not your strong point.”
“I make good grilled cheese sandwiches,” she defended.
When the men still stared at her, she said, “Well, the boys like them!”
Adam tugged at her hair. “Baby, they eat anything that won’t eat them first.”
Ryan shuddered. “Ain’t that the truth.”
She eyed them belligerently. Ethan winked and then reached out to tweak her on the nose.
“Don’t be pissed, doll. You make up for your lack of cooking skills in other areas.”
“I’m going into town to get us supper,” she said with a huff. “You three can wrestle the boys from their baths.”
Adam frowned but before he could speak up, Ethan headed him off. “I’ll ride along with you.”
She rolled her eyes because even after eight years, they were still forbiddingly protective of her and somehow didn’t think she could even drive into town by herself.
Still, she was happy for the company. The roads weren’t bad in summer but the switchbacks made her nervous. The guys insisted on buying her a four-wheel drive SUV, because not only did they want her to be safe, they wanted her to feel safe.
In the winter she didn’t even make bones about driving the roads. She was more than happy to let her husbands hover protectively over her and wrap her in cotton.
Still, she’d made certain she could drive in the snow and ice because with three children, she had to know that she could drive them to the doctor if something happened.
She leaned up on tiptoe to kiss Ethan. “You have five minutes and then I’m going.”
Ethan smacked her on the ass. “Cheeky wench today. Okay, let me grab my wallet and the keys. I’ll check in on the hooligans.”
While she waited for Ethan, she found her purse and her flip-flops. She was sliding them on when Seth bolted down the hallway and slammed into her side.
“Whoa there, kiddo.” She laughed as she fought for her balance. She hugged him to her and inhaled the scent of his clean hair. “Where you going in such a hurry?”
“Dad said you were going into town. Can I go? Please? I want to see Lacey.”
Holly smiled and smoothed his still damp hair over his forehead. Lacey was Seth’s hero—and godmother. If anyone had told her eight years ago that the lanky sheriff would be her firstborn’s godmother, she would have laughed.
But after Holly returned, pregnant and still haunted by the attack on Ryan and her kidnapping, Lacey had stepped in and extended the one thing that Holly needed most. Friendship.
She’d become a close friend of the Colter family, and even Ryan softened toward her as soon as he realized how protective Lacey was toward Holly—and their children.
Two years after Seth had been born, Lacey married Dan England, a retired Olympic snowboarder. And now Lacey was pregnant with her third child. The two families spent a good deal of time together and their children were great friends.
“I don’t see why not,” Holly said. “Go ask your fathers to make sure they don’t have plans for you.”
Seth scampered back into the kitchen and a moment later, Ryan walked out with Seth tucked under his arm.
“Did you say this rugrat could go with you into town?”
Holly smiled at the image of father and son. She never got tired of seeing her boys with their fathers. Her sons were perhaps the most loved children in the world, with no shortage of people to encourage and love them as they grew.
Love, she’d discovered, was the cure for many ills. Her husbands’ love for her had saved her life.
“I did. He wants to see Lacey so I thought we’d drop him by the station while Ethan and I run to Maebelle’s to pick up dinner.”
“Be good for your mother,” Ryan said as he scrubbed Seth’s head.
Holly rolled her eyes. Ryan always said the same thing, but it was the two younger hellions who most needed that particular admonishment.
Ethan came down the hall, his keys jangling in his hand. “You ready?”
Seth struggled out of Ryan’s grasp and hurried over to grip Holly’s hand. Ethan smiled and tousled his hair affectionately.
“Yeah, let’s go,” Holly said. “I’m hungry.”
* * *
Seth unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned forward eagerly as Ethan pulled into the parking lot of the Clyde police station.
“She’s here!”
“I’ll walk him in and make sure Lacey’s not busy,” Ethan said.
Holly watched the two disappear inside and as expected, Ethan returned a few minutes later, alone.
“I don’t know who was more thrilled to see who,” Ethan said as he slid back into the truck. “Seth to see Lacey or Lacey to see Seth.”
Holly chuckled. “He does love that police station.”
“Lacey’s already grooming him to take over her job one day.”
Holly wrinkled her nose. “I’m glad we have many more years before we tackle that issue.”
Ethan parked outside Maebelle’s, and Holly hurried in to get their order. Maebelle had opened her tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant a few years back when the tourist industry had picked up in Clyde. She now did more business than she could handle on her own, but she refused to expand. When she ran out of food, she simply hung out the closed sign and called it a day.
Lucky for Holly, Maebelle had a soft spot for the Colter men, and the idea of them going hungry didn’t sit well with her. All Holly had to do was call in to say she was coming for food, and Maebelle prepared a feast.
Tonight it was fried chicken with all the fixings. Holly could already see the guys downing the food with orgasmic delight.
Holly bypassed the line at the takeout register and sat over to the side, waiting for Maebelle to notice her. Henry, Maebelle’s son, saw her first, and his face lit up.
“Mrs. Colter! Mom has your order all ready. If you give me just a minute, I’ll get it for you.”
Holly smiled. “Thanks, Henry.”
Maebelle waved in her direction but remained at the register taking orders and handing out boxed dinners. A few moments later, Henry returned with a huge basket.
“I’ll take it out to your truck for you, Mrs. Colter. It’s much too heavy for you to carry.”
Holly waved at a few other people she knew as she and Henry walked out of the restaurant. It felt good to know and be known in the small town. She’d been very hesitant after she’d returned to the Colter brothers all those years ago. Though she’d been firm in her commitment, she’d always worried about what life would be like for all of them and especially their children.
Oh, it wasn’t all roses. They had their share of snotty, judgmental shitheads—as Ryan called them— but by and large the town had been very good to them. Holly knew who to avoid, and there were a few business she never went into, but it was their loss. There were plenty of people willing to do business with the Colters, and the Colters had a long memory for those who slighted them.
“It smells wonderful, Henry,” Ethan said as he opened the lift gate. “Tell Maebelle, we appreciate her holding food for us. Looks like you’ll probably run out before that line ends.”
“Glad to do it, Mr. Colter. Give our best to your brothers.”
“Will do.”
Holly slid back into the truck, and they headed back to Lacey’s office. This time she went in to collect Seth. She wanted to see how Lacey was doing. Lacey was a stubborn woman and insisted on working right up until she was forced to go on maternity leave. A fact that didn’t sit well with her husband, but he’d long figured out arguing with Lacey was an exercise in futility.
When Holly walked in, she stifled a chuckle at the sight before her. Seth was sitting on Lacey’s desk as Lacey queried him on all the parts to her handgun.
When Lacey looked up and saw Holly, she smiled. “Hey, Holly.”
Lacey stood and Holly got a good look at her bulging stomach. The Colter brothers liked to tease Lacey and say she was a toothpick with a marshmallow stuck on it. She was all belly and not much else when it came to her pregnancies. Holly wasn’t sure how the hell she managed to keep her balance.
“How are you?” Holly asked as she squeezed the other woman in a hug.
“Good. Tired but good.”
“Things been quiet lately?”
Lacey rolled her eyes. “As quiet as they ever are in this town. Most of the calls are dumbass tourists who get into trouble. The locals don’t give me too much trouble. I think they feel sorry for me.”
She eyed Holly speculatively as they returned to the desk where Seth sat fiddling with an empty gun magazine.
“You look different. What’s new with you?”
Holly flushed and looked away but not before Lacey arched an eyebrow.
“Spill!” she demanded.
Holly sighed and then bobbed her head in Seth’s direction. Lacey’s eyes gleamed with curiosity and then she took Seth’s hand.
“Hey, little man. I need to talk to your mom a minute. You know, girly talk. Why don’t you run out and get into the truck with your dad?”
Seth curled his nose and made a sound of disgust. “Dad says girl talk is booooring.”
“Which one?” Lacey muttered.
Holly snickered. “All of them?”
The two women laughed as Seth hightailed it out of the station.
“Okay, what is going on with you?” Lacey demanded. “You look…goofy.”
“Goofy?”
“You look all mushy and happy.”
Holly laughed. “I am happy.”
Lacey gave her a disgusted look. “You have that look in your eyes. Like when you’re about to burst because you want to tell me something. So spill it before one of your husbands comes in to haul you home.”
Holly curled her hands into fists and let some of her excitement bubble out. “I’m pregnant.”
Lacey’s mouth fell open. She stared at Holly for a long moment as if expecting her to say it was a joke. “Shit, you’re serious?”
Holly nodded.
Lacey sank into her chair. “Oh boy. Do the guys know yet?”
“Huh uh.”
“Oh shit.”
Holly laughed again. “Oh c’mon, Lacey. It won’t be that bad.” “Honey, they’re going to shit a brick and you know it.” “Laacceeyy. You’re supposed to be happy for me!”
Lacey sighed and got out of her chair. She walked around and threw her arms around Holly and squeezed tight. “You know I’m thrilled for you. I know how much you wanted another baby. But I also worry about you, and you know your men are going to be out of their minds after what you went through with Dillon.”
Holly hung onto her for a long moment. “I know. But they’ll be okay. I know they will. They love children. If I hadn’t had such a difficult time with Dillon, I’m sure they would have wanted a houseful.”
“When are you going to tell them?”
Holly drew away with a grimace. “I don’t know. Soon. I can’t keep a secret to save my life.”
Lacey grinned at her. “There is that. It’s a wonder your kids ever have surprises at Christmas.” She patted her own stomach and gazed thoughtfully at Holly. “Dan and I have decided that this will be our last.”
“Are you sure?”
Lacey’s mouth twisted into a rueful smile. “Oh yeah. I never figured to have one child. Didn’t think I had a maternal bone in my body. Amazing how finding the right man will make you think about home and family in a way you never did before. Funny thing was, Dan didn’t want kids either. Or so he thought.”
“At least you can cook,” Holly grumbled. “Which speaking of, if I don’t get out of here, our food is going to be completely cold by the time we get home, and the menfolk are going to be ticked.”
“Let me know how it goes, okay?”
Holly squeezed Lacey’s hand. “I will. Take care of yourself.”
“You too.”
Holly walked out of the station and got into the truck where Seth and Ethan were grumbling about girl talk. She rolled her eyes as they pulled out of the station. Lord, she loved her guys, but it would sure be nice to have a girl to offset some of the testosterone.