Loe raamatut: «The Bachelor's Twins»
Two Little Matchmakers
Anna Leighton’s eight-year-old twin daughters think they’ve given their hardworking single mom the perfect birthday gift. But the family canoe trip with outdoorsman Liam Kane is far from relaxing. Their rocky shared past—and the secret Anna’s been keeping—means she’s given Liam a wide berth for ten years…until now. Liam may be bowled over by his former high school crush’s beauty, but these days he’s a die-hard bachelor who’s building a cabin for one. But the rugged Liam underestimates the power of an unstoppable force: two little girls who want a daddy.
He wasn’t what she expected.
For a bachelor who’d grown up with brothers, Liam had endless patience with her two little girls who chattered nonstop on the canoe ride. And now he was surprising her again.
“What’s that?” she asked him as he approached her with a white box.
“Happy birthday, Anna.” He opened it and took out a cake with one candle.
She couldn’t stop her smile. “I can’t remember the last time I had a birthday cake.”
She reached for the knife, but the girls stopped her. “You have to blow out your candle first, Mom!”
Liam lit the candle. “Make a wish,” he murmured.
Inexplicably, tears stung her eyes as she struggled to think of something. She closed them.
I wish…I wish I still believed wishes came true.
She blew out the candle and opened her eyes. Liam stood there huddled over the cake with her two little girls at his side, and she couldn’t help her next thought.
Maybe her wish had already come true.
Dear Reader,
It was so much fun to return to Castle Falls! When I introduced Cassie and Chloe Leighton in The Bachelor Next Door, I didn’t realize their mother would be the heroine of my next book. That’s the fun of the writing journey!
As a single mom with a secret, Anna placed a heavy burden on herself. I think we can be guilty of that, too, sometimes. We don’t want to ask for help because we’re afraid people will think we’re weak. But guess what? We are! God offers us His strength and He brings people into our lives who will share our burdens.
I hope you enjoyed your visit to Castle Falls! And if you’re curious about Aiden’s quest for their missing sister, watch for the next book in the series! I love to hear from my readers, so visit my website at www.kathrynspringer.com, and while you’re there, be sure to sign up for my free newsletter. It will keep you posted on upcoming releases and special giveaways!
Walk in Joy,
USA TODAY bestselling author KATHRYN SPRINGER grew up in a small town in northern Wisconsin, where her parents published a weekly newspaper. As a child, she spent many hours at her mother’s typewriter, plunking out stories that her older brother “published” (he had the stapler!) for a nominal fee. When Kathryn isn’t at the computer, she enjoys reading other people’s books and spending time with her family and friends.
The Bachelor’s Twins
Kathryn Springer
MILLS & BOON
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Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
—Galatians 6:2
To Stacey Orr, librarian extraordinaire,
who somehow knows the promise of coffee
and chocolate will get an introverted writer
to leave her office! But more than that, your
gracious hospitality makes public speaking
(something that ordinarily strikes fear in the heart
of said introverted writer!) feel more like
spending an afternoon with friends.
Thank you for bringing books and people together!
Contents
Cover
Back Cover Text
Introduction
About the Author
Title Page
Bible Verse
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Epilogue
Dear Reader
Extract
Copyright
Chapter One
“Hold still, Liam! Remember, this is for a good cause.”
Liam Kane smothered a sigh while his mom fussed with the silk square sprouting from the pocket of his vest.
“I’m holding.”
Even though it was the third time she’d fussed with it.
Even though the needle on the outdoor thermometer was inching toward seventy-five degrees. A comfortable temperature for the middle of June in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula—unless, of course, you happened to be wearing a tuxedo. Then, not so much.
A bead of sweat trickled down the side of Liam’s face, only to be absorbed by the lime-green noose—okay, technically it was a bow tie—clipped to the front of his shirt. “Tell me again why Aiden isn’t the one wearing this getup?”
Everyone knew Liam’s fun-loving, extroverted kid brother never minded being the center of attention. Tourist or local, whenever someone booked a day trip with Castle Falls Outfitters, they invariably requested Aiden to be their guide. Not that Liam cared. He preferred to spend his days in the shop, designing and building canoes for the family business instead of paddling them down the river.
“He was supposed to.” Liam’s adoptive mom—“Sunni” to her friends and family because the nickname fit her warm, cheerful personality—plucked a loose thread dangling from one of the buttons on his shirt. “But the director of the Timber Shores Retreat Center called this morning in a bit of a panic, wondering if someone could give her new counselors some guiding tips. Aiden volunteered.”
“How—” convenient...clever? “—nice of him.”
“I thought so, too.” Sunni took a step back and studied the finished product, smiling her approval before she turned to the newest member of the Kane family. “What do you think, Lily?”
Liam’s sister-in-law, who’d been watching the transformation take place from her perch on the window seat, tried to hide her amusement. And the camera Liam had seen her aim in his direction. “I think Liam looks very, um...dashing.”
Both women giggled, and Liam shook his head. There was no use confiscating the camera, though. In less than an hour he would be on display for the whole town to see, doing his part to raise funds for the animal shelter’s new addition. Population-wise, Castle Falls didn’t so much as warrant a dot on the map. But winters were long and the rest of the seasons notoriously short, so people would probably turn out in droves for the first community-wide event of the summer.
Liam suspected the timing was part of Sunni’s plan.
“What’s so funny—” Brendan, Liam’s older brother, sauntered into the room, took one look at him and laughed. “Never mind.”
Relief shot through Liam. “I thought you had a meeting this morning.”
“Postponed until next week.” Brendan hooked one arm around Lily’s trim waist and tucked her against his side. “I’m free for the rest of the day.”
“Great.” Liam sent up a silent but heartfelt prayer of thanks. “You can take my place at the fund-raiser.”
“I’m sure Lily could use Brendan’s help overseeing the children’s area.” Sunni smiled at the newlyweds. “Besides that, I don’t think there’s time for you to change, sweetheart. And speaking of time...” She glanced at the clock above Brendan’s desk. “The Sunflowers volunteered to handle the bake sale, and I promised Anna I would unlock the shelter a few minutes early so she and Rene Shapiro can help the girls set up.”
Liam knew only one Anna who had children in the Wednesday night kids’ club at church.
The bow tie around his neck suddenly felt even tighter.
“Oh, don’t look so hangdog, bro.” Brendan clapped a hand on Liam’s shoulder.
“I’ve got two words for you,” Liam growled. “Dunk tank.”
Sunni cast a worried look in his direction even as Brendan struggled to keep a straight face.
“It’s okay, Mom. I’m sure Liam’s bark is worse than his bite.”
Liam rolled his eyes. “Are you finished?”
Brendan pondered the question for a moment. Grinned. “Probably not.”
Fine. Liam could take it. He would do just about anything for Sunni Mason, the woman who, had opened her home to three aspiring juvenile delinquents and raised them as her own.
He’d shake people’s hands. Pass out brochures. And stay out of Anna Leighton’s way—something he’d gotten pretty good at since she’d returned to Castle Falls six years ago, a grieving young widow with two-year-old twins in tow.
Fortunately for him, the last one would be a little easier since he’d be dressed up as the animal shelter’s official goodwill ambassador, Dash the Dalmatian.
* * *
“I hope we have a turnout this good for our class reunion, Anna.”
“So do I.” Anna Leighton tucked a loaf of apple-rhubarb bread into a paper sack and smiled at Heather Cohen, a former classmate who’d finally worked her way to the front of the line at the bake-sale table. “Maybe we should have asked Sunni Mason to head up the planning committee for the reunion.”
The promise of a beautiful summer day had drawn a large crowd, but Anna suspected that Sunni, the animal shelter’s newly appointed president, was at least partially responsible for the excellent turnout.
Sunni had approached all the local business owners a few months prior to the fund-raiser and asked if they would be willing to donate an item or service for a silent auction. The winners wouldn’t be announced until the end of the event, a brilliant plan that encouraged families to take advantage of a wide variety of activities and purchase something to eat from one of the many food booths.
So far, Anna had been too busy to see if anyone had bid on the necklace and bracelet she’d spent hours creating in her studio above The Happy Cow. The ice-cream shop paid the bills, but Anna dreamed of the day she could focus exclusively on Anna’s Inspiration, the hand-crafted jewelry business that fed her soul.
Most of her sales were through word of mouth, but Anna had taken her friend Lily Kane’s suggestion and left a stack of business cards next to the bid sheet in case someone wanted to place an order after the auction closed. Lily, who’d worked for the prestigious marketing firm Pinnacle before moving to Castle Falls, had shared a lot of great ideas to increase Anna’s customer base.
Now if only she could find a few more hours in the day to implement them.
“Everyone knows you’re going to do a fabulous job with our ten-year reunion.” Heather finished counting out the change for her purchase and handed the money to Anna. “You never let us down when you were class president!
Heather drifted toward the silent auction table, and Anna made a mental note to check her email when she got home. With the reunion less than three weeks away, the number of RSVPs had continued to rise as the deadline on the invitation got closer.
“That’s the last of the cinnamon rolls.” Rene Shapiro, the Sunflowers’ dedicated leader and a seasoned bake-sale veteran, pocketed a handful of change. “I’d send the girls on another kitchen run to restock our inventory, but I gave them all a five-minute break while Pastor Seth takes his turn in the dunk tank.”
“I’ll round them up,” Anna offered. When it came to the lively group of third-grade girls—and her twins, in particular—five minutes could easily turn into ten. Or twenty.
She wove her way through the maze of picnic blankets spread out on the grass. Knowing Cassie and Chloe, they’d probably lost interest in the dunk tank and made their way over to the meet-and-greet tent again, where visitors could interact with some of the animals up for adoption.
Halfway there, her gaze snagged on two little sprites whose copper hair glowed almost as bright as the neon T-shirts the Sunflowers had tie-dyed at their last meeting. Only this time, the twins weren’t cuddling puppies. They were talking to a six-foot-tall Dalmatian dressed in a tuxedo.
It had to feel like a sauna inside the furry suit and full-face mask, but “Dash,” the animal shelter’s mascot, had been circulating through the crowd all morning, greeting families and handing out pamphlets that included a miniature blueprint of the new addition.
A lively carnival tune began to blast through the speakers in a nearby booth. As Anna drew closer, she saw Cassie and Chloe each grab one of the Dalmatian’s giant paws. Dash responded by breaking into a comical dance that looked like a cross between a waltz and a polka.
“Mom!”
Before Anna could react—or resist—Cassie grabbed her hand and swept her into the small circle of dancers. Her protest was drowned out by a burst of applause from the people standing near the booth.
Anna tipped her head back, trying to catch a glimpse of the man behind the mask, but dark mesh screens strategically placed in the mascot’s oversize sunglasses concealed his identity.
Out of the corner of her eye, Anna saw Sunni Mason clapping with the beat of the music. The proud smile on her face was a good indication one of her sons had agreed to play the part.
By process of elimination, Anna concluded it had to be Aiden. Brendan was overseeing the children’s area with Lily and Liam, and...well, it was common knowledge the most introverted of the three brothers tended to avoid social gatherings.
Just like he avoided her...
“It’s your turn, Mom!”
In a synchronized choreography, Cassie and Chloe nudged her closer to Dash, their giggles a melody that lightened Anna’s heart even as the Dalmatian bowed and extended a furry paw.
For a moment, for her daughters, Anna set aside all the responsibilities crowding her mind—the stack of bills on the kitchen table and the daily pressures that came from trying to run two businesses and a busy household—and dropped a curtsy in response.
A split second later, she was in Dash’s arms, waltzing across the grass.
* * *
Liam had heard the term déjà vu, but he’d never experienced it. Until now.
Because the moment Anna had stepped into his arms, Liam had taken a step back in time.
They’d danced together at their senior prom, too, although she’d been Anna Foster at the time. Head cheerleader. Class president. Honor-roll student.
Ross Leighton’s steady girlfriend.
But that night, Liam hadn’t cared. When he saw Ross grab Anna’s arm in the parking lot, Liam had experienced an instant, gut-wrenching flashback from his own childhood. So while his classmates drank punch and flirted, Liam had waited for an opportunity to get alone so he could warn her about Ross.
And because Anna was Anna—beautiful and polite—she’d accepted Liam’s awkward invitation to dance. But as soon as the lights dimmed, he’d steered her through the open gymnasium doors into the courtyard instead.
Tiny lights had winked in the trees, mimicking the courtship of the fireflies, and swags of ivory netting woven around the posts of the rented gazebo had fluttered in the scented breeze.
Anna had looked up at him, surprise registering in her beautiful amber eyes, and Liam had almost lost his nerve.
If only he had.
Watching Anna’s initial surprise change to confusion and then anger was a memory permanently etched in Liam’s brain.
It must have become etched in Anna’s, too, because ten years later, she still wouldn’t look him in the eye.
But how could he blame her?
If Anna’s vehement denial that Ross had mistreated her wasn’t enough to convince Liam he’d been wrong, the grief shadowing Anna’s eyes when she’d returned to Castle Falls confirmed it.
Ross may have had a personal ax to grind against Liam for being an “outsider,” but he was also the town’s beloved star quarterback. The guy who sat on the back of the mayor’s vintage convertible and tossed Tootsie Rolls to the little kids at every parade. The guy with the perfect smile from the perfect family who’d swept Anna off her feet and carried her away into the perfect future.
The guy Liam had called abusive.
The crackle of a microphone drew everyone’s attention to the makeshift stage that shelter volunteers had set up on the lawn and Anna smiled up at Liam as he released her.
“I should get back to the bake sale, Aiden.” She caught her lower lip between her teeth. “Oops. I mean Dash. You have to maintain your cover, don’t you?”
Liam sucked in a quiet breath behind his mask.
Apparently he did.
Because Anna assumed she’d been dancing with his brother.
Well, that explained a lot. Like Anna’s whimsical little curtsy. Her willingness to step into his arms.
Her smile.
For a split second, when Anna had taken his hand, Liam thought that maybe she’d decided to put the past behind them. That maybe...just maybe...she’d forgiven him for crossing a line and, in the process, ruining what should have been one of the most special nights of her life.
Something Ross had taken issue with when he’d tracked Liam down after the dance and delivered a warning of his own—a warning accompanied by a few well-placed punches—to stay away from Anna in the future.
But Liam had had to live with the knowledge that he’d made a much more costly mistake than interfering in Anna’s life that night.
By letting the shadow of the past cloud his perspective, he was the one who’d hurt her.
Chapter Two
“Please say you saved one of Mrs. Callahan’s peanut butter fudge brownies for me.”
Lily landed in front of the bake-sale table, a desperate look in her violet eyes.
“Sorry. I can’t.” Anna tried not to smile as she reached down and retrieved a foil-covered plate from the cooler near her feet. “Because I saved two for you.”
“See? This is why we’re friends.” Lily released a contented sigh. “You know all my deepest, darkest secrets. My weakness for chocolate in any form. My hostility toward day planners.”
If those were Lily’s deepest, darkest secrets, she truly was a woman blessed.
“And don’t forget your absolute devotion to your brilliant, good-looking husband.” Brendan Kane came up behind Lily and looped his arm around her shoulders.
“There is that.” Lily grinned up at her husband and the look that passed between them raised the temperature in the air a few more degrees.
Anna ignored a pinch of envy.
A few weeks ago she and the twins had watched the couple exchange vows in a beautiful ceremony on the riverbank near Sunni’s home with all their friends and family in attendance. A ceremony so different from Anna’s wedding day.
She and Ross had been married in front of a justice of the peace in a stuffy room devoid of decoration—unless a person counted the black-and-white portraits of dour-faced judges that lined the walls. Their only witnesses were a bailiff and the harried-looking secretary whose lunch they’d interrupted.
Anna shook away the memory.
It wasn’t like Ross had kidnapped her and forced her into eloping with him. Anna had been so eager to start their life together that nothing else seemed to matter at the time. Not flowers or a fancy wedding gown or even whose names had been added to theirs on the marriage certificate after the judge pronounced them husband and wife.
“It’s time to announce the winners of the silent auction!” Sunni had returned to the stage, waving a piece of paper in the air like a victory banner.
“Come on, Bren. Let’s see if we won that Month of Sundaes from The Happy Cow.” Lily winked at Anna as she grabbed her husband’s hand and led him away.
Anna shook the crumbs from the tablecloth and folded it up as the microphone picked up Sunni’s lilting voice and funneled it through the speakers.
“Our first item...a two-night stay at the bed-and-breakfast...goes to Pastor Seth Tamblin.”
Rebecca Tamblin’s shriek of delight was a clue she hadn’t seen her husband bid on the romantic getaway.
Sunni waited for the applause to subside before she continued down the list. As she called out the names of the winners and the prizes they’d won, Anna was impressed at how many businesses had contributed something to the cause.
“Now, for our final item on the auction block today.” If possible, Sunni’s smile grew even wider. “A half-day guided canoe trip that includes sunshine, calm water, and a gourmet meal cooked over an open fire. And it goes to—” her gaze swept over the crowd, searching for the lucky winner “Anna Leighton! Come up and claim your prize!”
Her prize.
But...how?
Anna hadn’t bid on anything.
The crowd had already started to disperse by the time she reached the stage.
“Sunni? Do you mind if I take a look at that bid sheet?”
“Of course not.” The woman hopped down from the platform with the ease of someone half her age and handed Anna the piece of paper.
Sure enough, there was her name. In someone else’s handwriting. Just as Anna had expected. A forgery.
“Is something wrong?” Sunni’s brow knit with concern.
“I didn’t bid on the canoe trip.” Anna looked around for her daughters. Her adorable, precocious, exasperating daughters.
“But I’m pretty sure I know who did.”
And they were skipping toward her, hand in hand, without an ounce of guilt weighing them down.
Anna held up the bid sheet. “Would you like to explain this, please?”
Two pairs of golden-brown eyes blinked up at her.
“We wanted it to be a surprise,” Chloe said earnestly. “For your birthday.”
“My birthday.” Anna had been so busy finalizing details for her class reunion and keeping up with the steady stream of tourists flowing through Castle Falls as they made their way to the Lake Superior shoreline, she’d totally forgotten she had one coming up.
“Grandi told us she’d left some money in her dresser drawer and we should buy something special for you,” Chloe explained. “And we’re going to add the change in our piggy banks, too.”
“We can earn our Sunflower Celebrate Creation pin and celebrate your birthday at the same time.” Cassie grinned.
“Multitasking, right, Mom?”
Multi—
Anna was the one who felt a stab of guilt.
How many times over the past few months had the girls heard her use that particular word?
Anna struggled for balance, but it was challenging to keep things running smoothly at home and at work. Birthday or not, a leisurely day canoeing down the river seemed like an indulgence for a single working mom whose time would be better spent coming up with creative ways to keep the business Anna’s mother had entrusted to her afloat.
“I appreciate the gesture, girls, but my birthday is this Wednesday. I doubt we’ll be able to schedule a canoe trip on such short notice.” Anna latched on to the first excuse she could think of. “Summer is Mrs. Mason’s busiest season.”
“That’s true, but birthdays are special occasions.” Sunni waved to someone behind Anna. “Can you come over here a minute? We have a question for you.”
Anna twisted around just in time to see Dash freeze midstep in front of one of the carnival booths a few yards away. He pivoted toward them slowly and made his way to Sunni’s side.
“Is it possible Anna and her girls can use their gift certificate this Wednesday?”
Dash didn’t respond. Anna wasn’t sure if it was because he was trying to stay in character or because Sunni had put him on the spot.
“If you can’t fit us in, I under—”
The word lodged in Anna’s throat when Dash tugged off his headpiece, revealing the man behind the mask.
The man who’d playfully taken her in his arms and waltzed her through the grass.
The man with tousled, ink-black hair and eyes the velvet blue of a summer evening sky.
The only person who’d seen the bully lurking beneath Ross’s charismatic smile.
Liam.
* * *
For the last six hours, Liam couldn’t wait to remove this silly headpiece so he could breathe fresh air again. Now the only thing he wanted to do was put it back on and pretend he was Aiden pretending to be Dash.
Fortunately, his mom didn’t pick up on the tension that thickened the air like an early-morning mist over the river.
“I’ve been so busy getting things ready for the fund-raiser I haven’t had a chance to look at the calendar. Do you know if Aiden is free that day?”
Liam tore his gaze from Anna and tried to dredge up an image of their schedule for the upcoming week.
“He blocked off the day for a private lesson, and Brendan will be out of town for a business meeting.”
Liam’s pint-size dancing partners, who’d pushed Anna into his arms earlier in the day, wilted like daisies in the midday heat, but Anna looked...relieved?
What was that about? Why had she bid on that particular item if she hadn’t wanted to win?
“The twins wanted to surprise Anna,” Sunni murmured, almost as if she’d read Liam’s mind.
“So we kind of forged her signature,” Cassie added proudly.
“’Cause it’s her birthday,” her sister, Chloe, chimed in.
Fortunately for Liam, the girls’ names were printed in the center of the giant sunflowers silk-screened on the front of their T-shirts or he would have had a difficult time telling them apart.
“Mom says birthdays don’t count when you’re her age, but I think they always count, don’t you?” Cassie directed the question at Liam.
“Always,” he agreed.
“She won’t have to do any of the work, either—”
Cassie bobbed her head in agreement. “Mom works a lot—”
“And sometimes she falls asleep on the couch at night—”
“Girls.” Anna squeezed the word in, her cheeks flooding with color, as her daughters paused to take a breath. “It’s all right. I can call Mrs. Mason and schedule another time.”
Instead of agreeing with Anna, his mom tipped her head to one side, something Liam had seen her do whenever she was trying to come up with a solution to a problem.
And then she smiled—at him—and Liam knew exactly what that solution was.
Don’t say it, Mom.
But she did. Out loud.
“What are you doing on Wednesday, Liam?”
Liam made the mistake of glancing at the twins, and the hope blazing in their eyes pulled him in and held him captive like a tractor beam.
“It looks—” Liam heard himself say “—like I’ll be going on a canoe trip.”
* * *
“Gourmet meal. Cooked over an open fire.” Liam secured the tie-down on Aiden’s canoe and gave it a hard yank. “Seriously?”
“Hey! Take it easy on the old guy.” Aiden ran a comforting hand over the scarlet flames that flowed underneath the curve of the gunwale. “I thought it was a nice touch. Lily claims it’s all about marketing, and do you know how much swanky restaurants charge for freshly caught trout?”
Liam didn’t. And Aiden had to be joking.
“Trout?” He stared at his brother. “I’m going to have my hands full with three inexperienced paddlers, and you expect me to pack a fly rod? And what if I don’t catch anything?”
“Huh.” Aiden looked a little mystified by this line of questioning. “I guess I hadn’t really thought about that. I always catch fish.”
His younger brother’s confidence, which Liam found humorous if not downright entertaining on most occasions, sawed against his nerves today. “What am I supposed to do? Call Chet and ask him to airdrop a gourmet dinner for four on Eagle Rock?”
Nothing against the manager of the grocery store deli, but Chet’s idea of fancy was spackling a layer of ketchup over the tops of the homemade meat loaves before they went into the oven.
“Lily happened to like the description I wrote up for the auction, by the way. She said it was very creative.”
That was one word for it.
“Calm water? Sunshine?” Liam stuffed a dry bag into the bed of the pickup. “You know you can’t promise those kinds of conditions.”
“It’s called setting the right mood.” Aiden’s eyes narrowed. “And since we’re on the subject, what’s up with yours? It’s not like this will be your first trip down the river.”
True. But it would be his first trip down the river with Anna.
“I’ve got two canoes to finish by the end of the week,” Liam muttered.
Also true—but a deadline wasn’t the reason Liam had been plagued by a series of clips straight from the archives of High School Past ever since he’d gotten home from the shelter’s fund-raiser earlier that afternoon.
Past, Liam reminded himself, being the key word here.
Even though Anna, who’d been wearing denim shorts and an apple-green T-shirt when he’d danced with her that afternoon, didn’t look much older than the girl who’d breezed up to Liam’s locker on his first day at Emerson Middle and High School. She’d had a bright smile on her face and a sheaf of colorful flyers advertising the pep rally on Friday night tucked in the crook of her arm.
