Christmas in Texas: Christmas Baby Blessings / The Christmas Rescue
Rebecca Winters
Tina Leonard
Texas Tough…And Christmas TenderChristmas Baby Blessings by Tina Leonard Ranger Seagal West is back in Bridesmaid’s Creek, Texas, on bodyguard duty with his soon-to-be ex Capri Snow. And what a body to guard: to his surprise, she’s carrying twin babies. His babies. Capri is as irresistible and stubborn as ever. So how can Seagal convince Capri they all belong together — and not just for Christmas? The Christmas Rescue by Rebecca WintersA slippery road, a speeding car…and Texas Ranger Flynn Patterson finds a baby lying helpless in the snow. As he comforts the boy, Flynn’s heart turns over. He’ll never stop grieving his own lost family. But he can take care of this little guy, and his desperate mother. No matter how Andrea Sinclair pushes him away, Flynn knows the safest place for the fugitives this Christmas is his own, lonely home. But will they stay?
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www.millsandboon.co.uk/ebookxmas (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk/ebookxmas)
Texas Tough…And Christmas Tender
Christmas Baby Blessings by Tina Leonard
Ranger Seagal West is back in Bridesmaids Creek, Texas, on bodyguard duty with his soon-to-be ex, Capri Snow. And what a body to guard: to his surprise, she’s carrying twin babies. His babies. Capri is as irresistible and stubborn as ever. So how can Seagal convince Capri they all belong together—and not just for Christmas?
The Christmas Rescue by Rebecca Winters
A slippery road, a speeding car…and Texas Ranger Flynn Patterson finds a baby lying helpless in the wreck. As he comforts the boy, Flynn’s heart turns over. He’ll never stop grieving his own lost family. But he can take care of this little guy, and his desperate mother. No matter how Andrea Sinclair pushes him away, Flynn knows the safest place for the fugitives this Christmas is his own lonely home. But will they stay?
A holiday gift for readers of Harlequin American Romance
Two heartwarming Christmas novellas from two of your favorite authors
Christmas Baby Blessings by Tina Leonard
The Christmas Rescue by Rebecca Winters
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Tina Leonard is a USA TODAY bestselling author of more than forty projects, including a popular thirteen-book miniseries for Harlequin American Romance. Her books have made the Waldenbooks, Ingram and Nielsen BookScan bestseller lists. Tina feels she has been blessed with a fertile imagination and quick typing skills, excellent editors and a family who loves her career. Born on a military base, she lived in many states before eventually marrying the boy who did her crayon printing for her in the first grade. Tina believes happy endings are a wonderful part of a good life. You can visit her at www.tinaleonard.com (http://www.tinaleonard.com).
Rebecca Winters, whose family of four children has now swelled to include five beautiful grandchildren, lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the land of the Rocky Mountains. With canyons and high alpine meadows full of wildflowers, she never runs out of places to explore. They, plus her favorite vacation spots in Europe, often end up as backgrounds for her romance novels, because writing is her passion, along with her family and church. Rebecca loves to hear from readers. If you wish to email her, please visit her website, www.cleanromances.com (http://www.cleanromances.com).
Christmas in Texas
Tina Leonard
Rebecca Winters
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Christmas Baby Blessings
Tina Leonard
Dear Reader,
The Christmas season is so magical! Sometimes there’s too much hustle and bustle, and it’s hard to slow down and think about the real meaning of the season. One of my favorite parts of Christmas is reconnecting with family and friends, whether it’s through a Christmas card, a phone call or dropping off a small gift.
Seagal West wants to reconnect with his family, too—specifically his wife! He dearly loves his soon-to-be ex, and once he discovers Capri is expecting their children, Seagal is determined to ring in the holiday with her. Surely there’s one more Christmas miracle for them and their new babies?
Capri Snow is resigned to the divorce—she doesn’t want him to come back to her just because of the children. Somehow Seagal found out about her pregnancy, and has moved back into their house as her bodyguard. But the only thing she needs protecting from is her own heart!
I hope you enjoy Capri and Seagal’s story. There’s nothing like Christmas to bring people together, and in Bridesmaids Creek, they’re used to matchmaking to help a miracle along. It’s my cherished hope that there are many happy memories and a little Christmas magic, too, this holiday season for you!
Best always,
Tina
For anyone who has ever dreamed of the magic of Christmas.
Contents
Chapter One (#u1c1e88ed-2ce2-584b-9a25-b2de8d6b084b)
Chapter Two (#ub10e9940-9443-5394-9e02-b955b2f4ecf5)
Chapter Three (#u3fc1ac5d-0a5b-594b-b6e5-18899fb7fbd3)
Chapter Four (#ue117f7c1-d300-5a7b-9133-94b7eb88ef2e)
Chapter Five (#uc7afa1d5-ed23-565e-b7bc-c5b776823a4d)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One
Capri Snow’s first thought was that the Santa who sat so alertly beneath the white gingerbread archway of Bridesmaids Creek’s Christmastown looked a bit…off. He was tall for a Santa, broad-shouldered, and his tummy had shifted, as if he wasn’t comfortable and had tried to move the proverbial bowl full of jelly away from him. If that wasn’t odd enough, he was staring at her seven-months pregnant belly as if he were envious of her roundness.
“Come on,” her best friend, Kelly Coakley, said, dragging her. “You promised to have a picture taken with Santa for the Bridesmaids Creek Courier.”
Yes, she had, so she let Kelly push her onto Santa’s lap. There were plenty of things one did on the committee of Bridesmaids Creek’s popular Christmastown, and posing for a holiday photo op wasn’t a horrible thing. It was just that one of Santa’s white eyebrows had come partially unglued, showing his real eyebrows to be jet black, which Capri found a bit unnerving. He pulled her closer, and Capri examined his bearded face. His electric-blue eyes gazed at her intently—and she registered that Santa had much firmer thighs than she would have thought for an elderly manager of holiday elves.
In Bridesmaids Creek, anybody could get roped into holiday duty. This Santa was probably a hapless dad who’d been talked into the Christmas shenanigans by the authoritative Mrs. Mathilda Penny. “I’m sure Santa has better things to do than pose for the Courier, Kelly,” Capri said, trying to encourage her friend to hurry it up a bit. Truthfully, she felt very shy about her weight (okay, she hadn’t put on that much baby weight, but she felt misshapen and awkward), and something told her it was time to leave Father Christmas’s well-muscled lap.
“He doesn’t mind, do you?” Kelly beamed. “I bet Santa likes having his picture taken.” She clicked a few more photos, enough, Capri thought, for a full spread in a national magazine.
“That’s got to be plenty,” Capri said, trying to get up from the man’s warm lap. She couldn’t quite make it to her feet, and Santa gallantly gave her a little push from behind. “Thank you,” she said, determined to be polite, though she was well aware he wouldn’t have had to give a starter push to a more svelte female.
He blinked at her over the festive snowy beard but didn’t reply. Capri decided they’d taken up enough of his time. “Thank you for participating in Christmastown. We really appreciate it.”
“There. That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Kelly asked as they stepped away.
Capri glanced back at Santa, whose gaze remained fixed on her as he sat, completely unmoving, on his white Christmastown throne. “That is no harmless elderly Santa.”
“I know.” Kelly giggled. “He’s an undercover cop.”
“Kelly!” Capri gasped, astonished. “I know security is tight this year, but I don’t think Mrs. Penny would hire an undercover cop to listen to the children’s wish lists.”
“That’s exactly what she did,” Kelly said, inspecting her camera with some approbation. “That’s Mrs. Penny’s nephew. She said that with all the weird stuff going on in Bridesmaids Creek in the past year, she wasn’t taking any chances on the safety of the kids. Mrs. Penny loves a good whodunit more than anyone, but I can’t disagree with her desire to keep this event safe.”
Capri took a fast peek at Santa. His gaze was no longer on her, but trained on some men near the ice sculptures that would greet visitors when the event opened in two hours. The twinkling lights would be on, and Christmastown would be in full swing, overrun by eager tots desiring a turn at Santa’s ear.
“Rats,” Kelly said. “Sorry, Santa. You’ll have to put up with Capri for a couple more seconds. I didn’t have the camera set properly.” She gave Capri a gentle shove back toward Santa, and it seemed to Capri that Santa reached out for her a bit more enthusiastically than he should have.
Trust Mrs. Penny’s nephew to be a diligent St. Nick. Capri once again pasted a smile on her face as Kelly struggled with her camera. Santa seemed happy to have her back on his lap, though he kept his hands off her, which Capri appreciated. The last cop she’d known—her almost-ex-husband—had never been able to keep his hands off her.
It was something she badly missed about Seagal.
“Okay, I fixed it,” Kelly said. “Smile!”
Capri smiled—then yelped with surprise as Santa shoved her out of his lap, chivalrously making certain she didn’t hit the floor. He sprinted toward the ice sculptures and the exit, clearly in excellent physical shape.
Kelly’s mouth dropped open. She lowered the camera for a moment, hastily bringing it back up to her eyes to capture the excitement. Santa leaped onto a snow mound complete with festive village snowmen, rolled to the ground and, just as four uniformed police officers converged on the scene, Santa disappeared under a virtual dogpile of bodies.
“I knew he was trouble!” Capri dusted the fake snow from her designer pregnancy jeans and red fuzzy sweater. “Although I’m surprised Mrs. Penny’s nephew would be knee-deep in some kind of issue with the law.”
“Let’s go see what’s happening.” Kelly pulled Capri with her.
“What happened is that Mrs. Penny’s nephew is a bad cop. I’m going to talk to Mrs. Penny and tell her that next year I want her to double-check all the Santas and workers’ records for possible felons. And fake cops.”
“I don’t know,” Kelly said. “Looks like he’s leading someone off in handcuffs.”
Capri watched as Santa and the police escorted what looked to be a very unsavory individual toward a squad car. The police high-fived Santa, and male laughter floated over to her and Kelly.
“At long last Mrs. Penny has a whodunit happen right here in Bridesmaids Creek,” Capri said with some disgust. “I’m going home.”
“Aren’t you going over there to find out what that was about? You’re one of the co-chairs of the festival!”
“Mrs. Penny will do the honors more effectively than I ever could. Besides, I’ve had quite enough of Christmastown for one year, thanks.” To be honest, she had a bit of a tummy ache, probably from all the excitement. If she mentioned that to Kelly, her friend would make a federal case of it and send up the alarm that the newest resident of Bridesmaids Creek was about to make its appearance just in time for Christmas. “See you later. Remember, early cleanup tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m.”
“Scrooge!” Kelly accused, but Capri kept walking toward her car. Her stomach was somersaulting like mad. She figured they’d had enough excitement for one night. She got into her small car and drove away.
The police had expected something to happen tonight or else there wouldn’t have been an undercover cop dressed as Santa. But they hadn’t bothered to tell her, one of the event’s organizers.
Something was not good in Christmastown.
* * *
TWO HOURS LATER Capri was in her worn flannel pajamas—red and decorated with yellow smiley faces wearing Santa caps—and in no mood to do anything but sit in front of her fireplace and read the cozy mystery Mrs. Penny had lent her when her doorbell rang. Most likely it was her mother, who by now had every bit of news about Christmastown’s big night.
“Who is it?”
“Santa!”
The hunky Santa with the bedroom eyes? “Go away,” she said, her pride still slightly damaged that he’d shoved her out of his lap so dismissively. “If you’re here to discuss future Christmastown employment, you’ll have to make an appointment with the event organizer, Mrs. Penny. She hired you.”
“Is that any way to talk to one of history’s most revered figures? I’ve heard good Santas are hard to find. And the kids love me.”
“Revered indeed.” Mrs. Penny lived in the gingerbread-styled house next door and at this hour would have her nose pressed to the glass wondering why a car was parked in front of her neighbor’s house. Capri was twenty-seven, but that didn’t mean that every single thing she did wasn’t dutifully reported to her mother and anyone else with the slightest bit of hearing left.
His voice was familiar; he sounded astonishingly like her almost-ex, Seagal West. But that was impossible. Seagal was with the Texas Rangers, and she wasn’t sure exactly where he was working these days. Besides which, Seagal wore Stetsons—she’d bet her last cup of Christmas cheer he wouldn’t be caught dead in a festive red Santa cap.
Complete coincidence.
“Go away before you wake my neighbor!” Capri said, though she was dying to know what had happened tonight. Something told her that if she opened the door, she’d be face-to-face with more than a handsome cop. Sexy Santas were not on her Christmas list.
“I’ve been assigned to you. So open up, doll, before we scandalize the entire neighborhood, and not just the mystery-scribbling Mrs. Penny.”
Assigned to her? Capri jerked open the door. He was dressed in regular street wear: casual jeans, loose shirt not tucked in, boots. Standard Stetson, for him.
It was the Bridesmaids Creek Santa.
And he was killer handsome, just as he’d always been.
Unfortunately, Santa was also her almost-ex-husband, the only man guaranteed to break her heart. “What do you mean, assigned to me?” Capri demanded. “What is going on, Seagal?”
“Can I come in?”
“Absolutely not.” She raised her chin and closed the door an inch. “Say what you have to say right there.”
He shrugged, and Capri could tell he was amused by her demand. “Suit yourself. But Mrs. Penny just raised her window about three inches so she can hear us. If you want your business broadcast in Bridesmaids Creek, and rumors of us getting back together—”
“Make it snappy,” she said, pulling him inside.
He smiled. “Hello, beautiful.”
“Keep it professional, if you’re here in a professional capacity, Seagal,” she said, realizing she sounded as prickly as a spiny cactus. “Long time, no see.”
He glanced at her stomach, and she realized Seagal felt awkward. As if he wasn’t certain whose baby she carried.
“Yes, Seagal,” she said with a sigh, “we are having a baby.”
His whole demeanor changed.
He looked absolutely thrilled.
“That’s great!” He followed her as she walked into the formal living room of the house they’d once shared. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you left,” she said simply. “You said you needed time to figure things out.”
He looked dumbstruck. “I don’t need to figure anything out. You were the one who said you had doubts.”
This was true. She had said that. The long nights when he was away, the stress of her taking over her grandmother’s flower shop, had put a strain on their marriage. She’d been hurt when Seagal left—and scared that if he found out about the pregnancy, he still wouldn’t want their marriage. Or worse, he’d find out about the pregnancy and feel as if he had to come back to her out of a sense of misplaced responsibility.
The problem was, she’d always been in love with Seagal, and she knew very well he’d married her because he’d been on the rebound. That fact alone had made her very uncomfortable over the two years they’d been married.
“Capri,” he said, “when were you going to tell me about the baby?”
When? When indeed. She hadn’t wanted him to come back only to resent her—and he would have. At least, she thought he would have. “I would have let you know before the birth.”
“Which is tomorrow?” he said, casting a disbelieving glance at her stomach. “When’s the due date?”
She glanced toward the calendar hanging on the kitchen wall. “Hopefully, Valentine’s Day.” She took a deep breath. “But I’ve been having little aches and pains I didn’t have before. The doctor said it’s not anything to be concerned with, but—”
“Good thing I was assigned to you.” Seagal sank onto a flowered sofa he’d never been partial to, apparently settling in for the long haul. “I can protect you and be here for the baby’s birth.”
Capri blinked. “So why do I need someone assigned to me? What is going on?”
He looked as if he was considering how much to tell her, and Capri reminded herself that caution had always been one of Seagal’s hallmarks. His other sexy hallmarks included jet-black hair and white teeth. A strong, wide chest. He was tall, as tall as her brother, Beau, who was a good six-two. And so handsome she could hardly take her eyes off him, even though they’d barely spoken during the separation.
“Don’t water down the story, please,” she told Seagal.
“You created the floral displays for Christmastown?” he asked, shifting into cop mode.
“Yes, like I did last year. Everything was almost the same this year, with a few minor changes, mainly involving the types of flowers that were available.”
“This year drugs were concealed in the arrangements. Specifically, pot seeds. They were brought in in the containers you ordered, and then hidden in the bottoms of the vases. It would have been a clever plan if they hadn’t been such blabbermouths. And that guy we nabbed was a rush of good information.”
She frowned. “Impossible, Seagal. I worked on every one of the displays myself.”
He nodded. “I know. That’s what Kelly said. They had to have been concealed after you did the designs. Nice pajamas, by the way.”
She’d forgotten she was in her happy-face pajamas. And it was late. Mrs. Penny would be having a field day—no doubt her phone line was buzzing. “You have to go, Seagal.”
“Actually, I have to stay. Official capacity.”
“I don’t want the rumor mill starting up, and I’m sure you don’t, either.”
He made no move to stand. “I could ask for another officer to take over, but frankly, I figured you’d be more comfortable with me in the house than a cop you don’t know.”
“Not quite,” she said, fibbing like mad. No one would believe that the two of them staying under one roof was coincidental or official. That was the problem. “What happened to Mrs. Penny’s nephew? Kelly said he was supposed to be the Santa.”
“Last-minute change.” Seagal looked pleased about that. “Why didn’t the proverbial grapevine let me know I was going to be a dad? Even in Dallas, I should have heard about it from my old cop buddies here in town. My partner usually keeps me informed of the news in Bridesmaids Creek.”
She frowned. “Because I didn’t tell anyone you were the father. Only Kelly knew.”
“Ouch.”
Capri sat down, finally deciding Mrs. Penny’s curiosity was going to have to wait. “It seemed best, considering our situation.”
She didn’t think she’d ever seen her husband look more unhappy, except when they’d decided to separate.
“The divorce is final in two weeks,” he said quietly. “The day after Christmas. You weren’t planning on giving us much of a chance to get back together.”
“Because of a pregnancy?” Capri shook her head. “Seagal, if you’d wanted to come home, you would have long ago.”
“I can’t blame you for feeling that way.” He cast a longing eye at her stomach. “You look beautiful, by the way.”
Secretly she was flattered, even if she knew Seagal was being kind. “Thank you.”
He nodded. “It’s true.”
She didn’t say anything else. Things were too uncomfortable between them as it was.
“What are we having?”
She looked at him, seeing real interest in his eyes. “I don’t know. I didn’t want to find out,” she fibbed.
“I’m going to be there,” he said softly.
He leaned back on the sofa, trying to seem casual. The depth of his voice told her that Seagal was anything but casual.
“All right. Just no looking under the sheet or seeing me naked.”
He smiled. “Always good to know the ground rules.”
Her heart beat a little harder at his smile, but she’d always loved Seagal’s smile, and just about everything about him. “Will you be comfortable sleeping on the sofa?”
“Well, I’d be more comfortable in our—”
“You’re familiar with the kitchen, I’m sure,” she interrupted. “I’m not happy about you being here, but I guess Mrs. Penny will just have to have some gossip with her bagel in the morning.”
Shrugging, he scooted down in the sofa and closed his eyes. “Good night.”
She studied her almost-ex-husband. “Exactly what is it you’re protecting me from?” she asked, thinking she was in far more danger from Seagal.
His eyes remained closed. “The man we arrested today was part of a small-time gang using your shop to transfer drugs. Now he’s in jail, but someone else will take his place. Your shop might have proven to be convenient. We want to bust this crowd, but obviously we don’t want you caught in the middle, since there may be hometown boys involved.”
“I don’t know a single person in BC who would dabble in illegal drugs,” Capri said. “We have our troublemakers, but no one who would do something like that. If there really are drugs in Bridesmaids Creek, they have to be coming from the outside.”
Seagal shrugged. “I can’t say any more than I have. But I’m hanging out here with you until the BC guys have everything pinned down.”
She didn’t want Seagal in close quarters with her. No telling what might happen if they shared a roof.
They’d shared a bed before—that part of their marriage had been wonderful. But a marriage wasn’t built solely on sexy fun.
“I can close the store for a few days,” Capri said, knowing that wasn’t really feasible. She had employees to think of, and arrangements already ordered for holiday parties and even a wedding.
“That would stop the traffickers for a few days, but not the long term. Simpler to just catch them while the situation’s hot.”
Capri eyed her husband lying on the sofa he’d never been keen on—he’d far preferred the leather sofa in the den—and thought he looked sexier than the last time she’d seen him. He’d shattered her heart when he’d left, and now he was back, wanting to protect her, and see his child born.
The situation was definitely hot.
“This is not the way to spend Christmas,” she said. “Haven’t you heard that holidays are stressful?”
He pushed his Stetson low on his face. “Then don’t stress me out, dollface.”
Stress him out? She was pregnant, someone was using her grandmother’s shop for illegal activity and her sexy about-to-be-ex husband wanted to be her bodyguard.
“Merry Stressmas,” she said, and went off to bed.
Chapter Two
Seagal let himself out of Capri’s house the next morning to check the perimeter of the small, three-bedroom home. The fact that his wife and child might be in danger chilled his blood. He’d nearly had heart failure when he’d heard that the feds were nosing into a drug ring in Bridesmaids Creek—and who should be involved but his darling, everybody’s-best-girl, almost-ex-wife.
Imagine his shock when he learned from a very reliable source that his wife was about to make him a dad. Heart failure. Capri had always brought him to his knees, but now…now she staggered him.
She hadn’t planned to tell him. He knew Capri better than she realized. Oh, she would have told him after the birth of his bundle of joy, and not one second before.
Because she knew he’d be right back here in Bridesmaids Creek—and she didn’t want him back.
Tough. She was going to have him. That baby was going to know its dad—no matter what sexy mama had in mind.
“Hey!”
Seagal glanced up. His fellow officer Jack Martin idled at the curb in one of Bridesmaids Creek’s new police cruisers. He strolled over to greet Mrs. Penny’s nephew.
“What’s up, Jack?”
Jack grinned. “Considering that your car is parked in Capri’s driveway, I’m surprised you are.”
Seagal ran a hand over his unshaven chin. “Just barely. Did you bring me a latte, or is this a social call?”
His buddy grinned. “Neither. Just wanted to let you know that you were a hit last night. The kids said you were the best Santa ever. You’ve been voted Santa Most Likely to Repeat next year.”
Seagal grunted. “I couldn’t get out of that itchy suit fast enough.”
“Scrooge.” Jack handed him a coffee in a white cardboard cup. “Have a jolt on me. Figured you didn’t sleep much.”
Seagal sipped the beverage gratefully. “I didn’t. As sofas go, it’s not made for sleeping. I always despised that flowery thing, and now it’s my bed. I think that’s called karma. I wanted to get rid of it, and somehow that poufy nightmare outlasted me.”
Jack laughed. “Does my aunt always keep an eye on you like this? I’d like to think she’s proud of me, but I’m pretty sure she’s got her radar trained on you.”
Seagal glanced over his shoulder, waving at the pink-roller-wearing Mrs. Penny. She had a white phone tucked firmly up to her ear, chatting away. Mrs. Penny waved back, thrilled to have been noticed. “You know your aunt and her friends run this one-horse town. If it wasn’t for her, we’d still be—”
“The creek no one ever heard of.” Jack put the cruiser in Drive. “True, but you’re definitely in her sights for the next few weeks. Just so you know. I won’t be down the street before she calls me wanting to know all.”
“I’m good with it. She makes great chocolate chip cookies.”
Jack grinned. “I know. By the way, I was told to give you a nudge to snoop around your wife’s flower shop.”
Seagal’s cup didn’t quite make it to his mouth. “What am I looking for?”
Jack shrugged. “Anything suspicious. Especially check out the employees, and anyone who seems to hang around a lot. You get the idea.”
“Yeah, but—” Seagal considered what Jack was saying. “The drugs could have been moved after Capri put the arrangements out at Christmastown.”
“Probably. Just check around.”
Jack drove off. Seagal grabbed the newspaper lying on the sidewalk and waved to Mrs. Penny before heading inside the small painted house, ruminating on how he could snoop around Capri’s shop without getting her annoyed at him. She’d always been super-independent. And they weren’t on the world’s best terms.
Now he had to scope out her business and her home.
Nothing good could come of this.
“Good morning.” He looked at Capri as he walked into the kitchen. She seemed pale, not her usual sparkly self. “You all right?”
Capri picked up her purse. “I had a little stomach upset last night. It kept me up, so I’m going to let Dr. Blankenship check me over.”
“I’ll drive you,” Seagal said quickly.
She looked at him. “Kelly’s going to take me, thanks. Don’t you have work?”
He did—her. “Nothing I can’t handle. Cancel Kelly and let me sub in. A dad should be there if his young son is causing his mother heartburn. And anyway, isn’t Kelly part of the Christmastown cleanup team this morning?”
Capri hesitated. He loved how she’d pulled her blond hair up into a bouncy ponytail to get it out of her face. She no longer wore the skinny jeans and cute cropped sweaters she’d once favored, but she was still all kinds of beautiful as far as he was concerned. Sexier than ever, actually. He felt his own heart get a little burn in it that had nothing to do with anything he’d eaten and everything to do with his wife keeping him at arm’s length.
“Yes, she is. So am I, but Dr. Blankenship said I could cross that fun off my list immediately.” She looked at Seagal. “I guess you can take me to the doctor. Thank you.”
“Great.” He grabbed his keys and tried to help her to the front door. Capri waved him off. “Because I was about to play the guilt card on you.”
“That would be a new one,” Capri said.
He thought she sounded tense and realized she didn’t feel well at all. “Hey, you want me to carry you?”
“No,” Capri said. “I want you to walk very slowly and don’t do anything to get Mrs. Penny in a lather.”
“Too late,” Seagal said, waving again to Mrs. Penny. It seemed rude not to acknowledge her at her lace-festooned lookout.
“It’s going to be all over town that you spent the night,” Capri said, not thrilled.
“Yeah, well. Could be worse, right? Could have been her nephew, my buddy Jack.”
He helped Capri into the car. She eased in as though she was trying not to disturb fragile packaging. “Are you sure I shouldn’t take you straight to the hospital?”
“I’m fine.” Capri put a hand on her stomach and looked out the window, deliberately avoiding his gaze. He pulled out of the drive, resisting the urge to mash the pedal to the floor.
“You’re almost seven months pregnant,” Seagal said. She’d kicked him out—though she claimed he’d left—four months ago. “How did I not notice?”
“Even I didn’t know.” Capri sighed. “The first trimester was a dream. I didn’t realize I was pregnant until the end of the third month. The second trimester was more difficult, at least for me. I didn’t start showing for quite a while, I guess because I’m tall.” He felt her gaze on him. “I did have a little bit of stomach distress when you were still here, but I assumed it was extreme annoyance. So I ignored it.”
He grimaced. “Turned out it was a baby?”
She sighed. “You might as well know. There are two. Not even Kelly knew that.”
Seagal slammed the brakes at the stop sign out of pure reflex. “Two what?”
“Babies.”
Shock. Brain-hit-with-a-stun-gun shock. “We’re having twins?”
“That’s right. Drive. I don’t want to be late.”
Seagal couldn’t get any words past his throat. No wonder Capri seemed so big. She was big. “When were you going to tell me?”
“When you got over the initial shock of finding out you were going to be a father.”
He grunted, his heart racing. Two? There were no multiples in his family, or hers, as he recalled. “How did that happen?”
“You made love to me a lot,” Capri said, “and something hit bingo would be my guess.”
He had made love to her as often as possible. To be honest, making love to Capri was pretty much the best part of his day. He missed it like crazy.
He missed her like crazy.
“I should never have left,” he said. “You talked me into a separation, but I knew better at the time. I was right. We belong together.”
She shrugged. “Not because we’re going to be parents, Seagal. Children won’t fix what was wrong with our marriage.”
He parked in front of the doctor’s office. “Sit right there and do not move, Miss Independence. I’m coming around to shoehorn you out. I’m afraid if you move the wrong way, we’ll have babies sooner rather than later.”
Seagal hurried around to help her out of the car, amazed that his wife actually remained seated, patiently waiting for him. The soft blue dress fell around her tummy, catching his eye. It looked as if a watermelon had taken up residence inside his delicate wife. He eased her from the seat, trying to brace her. “I came back not a moment too soon, I can tell. I’m not leaving your side, Capri.”
“Obviously,” she said, sounding as though she was gritting her teeth a bit. “You’re assigned to me.”
“That’s right,” he said cheerfully, reminded that she couldn’t dislodge him even if she wanted to.
“Assigned isn’t the same thing as marriage,” Capri said, walking slowly into the doctor’s office. “You can stay with me until the cops figure out that I’m not in any danger. The whole drug thing is purely a coincidence. Then you can go back to wherever you came from.”
That didn’t sound good. Seagal wisely kept his mouth shut, hovering over his wife as she checked in, then helped her to a chair. He received several smiles from the other women in the waiting room and relaxed a bit. His wife was going to have to get over her idea that their marriage was a foregone failure.
He hadn’t come back to fail. When Beau, Capri’s beloved “baby” brother, had told him that Capri was having a baby, he’d pulled every department string possible to get himself assigned to the case—and ultimately, to her. Having worked his way up in the Texas Rangers, he was something of a hometown hero. It hadn’t been hard to get assigned back to BC.
It was terrifying to think he had only two weeks to win back his wife.
Capri would be mad as a little bee if she knew how determined he’d been to get back into her life. He’d wanted to keep her out of danger the second he heard about the case building in Bridesmaids Creek. But when he’d heard that she was pregnant, Seagal had known he had to move heaven and earth to be with her.
And he wasn’t leaving her ever again—not if he could convince his opinionated and cutely stubborn little wife otherwise.
* * *
“TOTAL BED REST,” Dr. Blankenship said. He gazed sternly at Capri.
The expression on the doctor’s face unnerved Seagal. Rarely had he seen the physician look so concerned.
“Bed rest?” Capri said. “I have a lot to do. I’m doing the flowers for a wedding. I’m also scheduled for some Christmas parties—”
“Total bed rest,” Dr. Blankenship cut in, shaking his head. “We talked about you needing to be in bed last week, Capri.”
“What?” Seagal looked at Capri in disbelief. “What were you thinking?”
“That I had Christmastown to set up, and that Dr. Blankenship is overprotective. I’ve known him since I was a child. He’s always been from the old school of medicine.” She tried to lever herself off the table, and both men jumped to assist her.
“No,” Dr. Blankenship said. “Capri, these babies are going to come early if you don’t stay off your feet. And the longer they stay in you, the better off they will be. Do you want them inside you growing and getting the nourishment they need naturally, or do you want to take precious time from them? They could end up with immature lungs or other complications,” he warned, his gray eyes filled with disapproval.
“All right. You’re right. Of course you’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking.” Tears jumped into Capri’s eyes, stunning Seagal. He’d seen Capri cry once, maybe, in all the years he’d known her. Doc Blankenship handed her a tissue, which she took gratefully, blowing her nose. “I’ve never been the kind of person to lie around.”
“I know.” The doctor looked at her with the first bit of a smile he’d worn in the past half hour. “But going ninety to nothing isn’t going to benefit you or the babies. You can press Kelly into service for help with the wedding arrangements, can’t you?” He regarded Seagal cautiously. “Are you back in town for good now?”
“Yes,” Seagal said, stressing the word with a glance at his wife.
Capri looked away, fidgeting with her tissue.
“Then you stay on her,” Doc Blankenship said. “It’s absolutely critical that Capri remain at home in bed. I should have forced her on this issue last week, but she assured me she was fine.”
“I am fine,” Capri said. “Or I was until last night.”
“Clearly I returned not a moment too soon.” Whether she liked it or not, he intended to be a pain-in-the-butt nurse, sticking to her like glue.
He knew Capri would resent his intrusion. Resist his efforts to take care of her. She’d barely accepted his role as bodyguard; bodyguard with a nursing specialty she’d like even less.
But she was still his wife. And he loved her, even if she thought she was over him.
Chapter Three
“Comfy?” Seagal asked Capri after he’d taken her home, given her a scolding in his overbearing I’m-taking-charge-now, I’m-a-cop, this-is-what-I-do-best tone, and then tucked her in her bed.
Their bed.
She glowered at him. “This isn’t going to work. I want you to call Kelly and tell her to hire someone to help me. It doesn’t need to be all the time, for heaven’s sake.”
“For when I’m out of the house.” Seagal nodded as if her suggestion made sense. “Good idea. I’ll call her now.”
“No,” Capri said, trying not to snap at him. He was just too big, too good-looking, overpowering the small bedroom where they’d spent many happy hours.
“I don’t want you here. You’re going to drive me insane.”
“Well, that is a personal problem, I believe,” Seagal said, dragging one of her pretty upholstered chairs into the bedroom. “I would drive you insane no matter what, so I might as well go for broke.” He flung himself into the stuffed, sweetly patterned chair that went with the floral sofa that had so offended his masculine sensibilities. “You covered these chairs. They were denim blue. Now they’re—”
“Toile,” Capri said, knowing he wouldn’t know what that meant. “To go with the floral sofa and the delft-blue paint on the walls, the delicate gold-foil mirror over the white fireplace mantel, and the special cushions I had made for the two ladderback chairs. Sort of country-French appeal I call it.” She smiled at him. “It’s a feminine room. Not a place for hanging deer heads and hunting rifles.”
“I know.” He grimaced. “And you changed the comforter on the bed. It’s lacy.”
“And white.” Capri enjoyed Seagal’s perplexed expression. “I gave up the masculine decorating scheme after you left.”
He looked at her. “We’ll discuss that another time. You just rest right now. You need the rest, and so do my sons. Clearly, you aren’t any better at obeying doctor’s orders than you are a husband’s.”
She tossed a pillow at him, catching him in the face. “Don’t go all pigheaded to try to get me off the subject. Call Kelly.”
“You’ll hardly notice I’m here. I’m serving a dual role that none of your girlfriends can fulfill.”
“Annoying me and wearing out the new furnishings?” She smiled sweetly. “As I said, this isn’t going to work. You’re too bossy—”
“And you’re stubborn as heck. What woman thinks decorating for Christmastown is more important than her own babies?” Seagal demanded. “You always said that my responsible side weighed your flighty side.”
“But I didn’t necessarily mean that it was a good thing.” Capri thought about it. “To be honest, Dr. Blankenship didn’t say I absolutely had to go to bed last week, Seagal. He said it would be best, and that he preferred to err on the side of caution. You know John Blankenship,” she said, trying to make him see she wasn’t being reckless with her pregnancy. “He advises most of the town to stay away from the Wedding Happy Bakery because he says the magic in their secret batters is guaranteed to clog arteries just from looking at the cookies and cakes. He’s a fine doctor, but he’s been known to be a bit of an alarmist.”
“Maybe. But not where babies are concerned. He’s seriously planning to send a nurse out here with a drip if your contractions don’t go away.” He studied her, not happily. “You’re just going to have to accept the fact that I’m here for the long haul, babe.”
“I don’t think so,” Capri said, knowing steam was probably pouring out of her ears. If Seagal thought he was just going to waltz back into her life and start being an overbearing donkey, he could just go bray elsewhere. “Hand me the phone.”
He got up, seemed to consider her words, then paced down the hall. “We’ll continue this discussion in a moment.”
“He acts as if I didn’t take care of myself for the past several months.” Capri reached for the phone on her bedside table, finally hooking it with the aid of a slipper she pulled off her foot. She dialed Kelly’s number.
Kelly’s cheerful voice shouted a hello. Capri switched the phone to her other ear, hoping the eardrum wasn’t bruised. “I need a favor.”
“What?”
“Doc Blankenship’s put me on bed rest. As in, don’t move a fingernail.”
“Oh, man. You are going to lose your mind,” Kelly said.
Capri sighed. “I need a personal assistant.”
“Isn’t Seagal in the house with you? Kind of dishy for a personal assistant. I bet if you put him in an apron—only an apron—he’ll be your dream come true.”
Capri winced. “I do not want to put Seagal in an apron or anything else.”
“Don’t share,” Kelly said. “I’m too busy trying to have my own sweet dreams about his buddy, Jack. Nothing’s happening on that front, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have my radar trained on him.”
“Kelly,” Capri said, “if you could be here, Seagal and I wouldn’t be alone together. And then sometimes he’d leave, go do some cop stuff.”
“Oh.” Kelly was silent for a moment. “I’d love to help you out, but I can’t. I’d never forgive myself if I messed up this chance for the two of you to work things out. I owe it to my darling godchildren to help you two wonderful, well-intentioned but obstinate friends realize that marriage means two people in the same bed. You are my dearest friend, even if you didn’t tell me about the twins,” Kelly said.
“I will name a baby after you if you help me.”
“You’re having boys,” Kelly said. “Does Seagal know he’s having boys?”
“The name Kelly is appropriate for a boy or a girl,” Capri said with some disgust at her friend’s lack of loyalty. “No, he doesn’t know, and you’re not telling him. Besides which, it turned out that the early sonograms were wrong. Baby Snow is having a twin sister.”
“Snow?” Kelly didn’t say anything for a moment. “Does Seagal know you’re using your maiden name?”
“No.” They were two weeks from a divorce; she had to be practical.
He was going to hit the roof.
“You’re really not focusing on what’s important. What is important is that I’m big as a house, I feel stuffed like a Christmas turkey and I don’t want Seagal sitting here looking at me when I could do stand-ins for the blueberry girl in Willy Wonka. I’m feeling distinctly unlike my former more slender self,” Capri said.
“It’s all right,” Kelly soothed. “Seagal probably likes a little more woman than less.”
Capri sighed. “You are not helping. And you’re not going to, are you?”
“Not the way you want me to,” Kelly said. “But I’ll bring you some carrot cake from the Wedding Happy Bakery,” she said, her voice brightening.
“Oh, that’s just what I need—mach-five calories. How’d the cleanup go, by the way? Did everything get put away properly for next year? Did—”
“Relax,” Kelly said. “Believe it or not, we took care of everything even without your capable guidance and your megaphone. Now rest, my godchildren.”
Kelly hung up, and Seagal walked back in the room, slinging himself back into the puffy chair. “Your mother brought you a casserole. My favorite.” He looked pleased, not noticing Capri’s outrage. “I put it in on the counter. It’s all warm, and she brought nice toasty bread because she heard I was staying here with you. I always loved your mom,” he said, practically sighing in anticipation of the meal. “She didn’t want to come in. But she gave me a very mother-in-lawly hug and said welcome home.”
She glared at her almost-ex. “Seagal, you are not staying here.”
“It’s either me or Jack.”
“I’ll take Jack,” Capri said definitively.
Seagal looked hurt. “You know he gossips. Like a girl. And if he’s here, Kelly will be here all the time. I don’t know why he doesn’t get that she’s crazy about him.”
“I don’t know why men have such thick skulls,” Capri said. “They just don’t get what females are trying to tell them sometimes.”
“Yeah, I know.” He sighed. “It’s an honest mistake. A disconnect, even. Excuse me.”
“Where are you going?”
He didn’t answer, strolling down the hall. She heard the front door open, and Seagal’s voice cheerily greeting someone. Then the door closed and he made it back to his chair.
“Apple pie,” Seagal announced. “Courtesy of Mrs. Blankenship. Guess Doc told his wife you were in need of something sweet.”
“Is there a reason the doorbell isn’t ringing?” Capri asked.
“I disconnected it,” Seagal said, obviously pleased with himself. “You need to rest. I didn’t want you waking up when my cop buddies drop by.”
This was one of the problems they’d never been able to overcome. “There’s that disconnect you were talking about,” Capri said. “That man-woman disconnect.”
“Well,” Seagal said, “it’s going to be a long couple of months. You might as well make like a bear and hibernate back here under that lacy comforter.” He looked longingly at the bed.
She slid the phone under her pillow so he wouldn’t decide to commandeer that, as well. “Go away, Seagal.”
A snore caught her attention. Just like the old days, Seagal had dropped off like a tired baby. Even snoring he looked handsome, and she thought about tossing another pillow at him.
She wished he was sleeping in her bed, as he once had. Most nights they’d barely moved, completely curled in each other’s arms.
It could not be.
She closed her eyes, relaxing now that Seagal wasn’t watching her. As long as he was sleeping, he wasn’t in her business.
That was good. It was what she wanted. She didn’t want to start feeling close to Seagal again, not now.
She might be in bed on doctor’s orders, but she wasn’t going to hand her heart to her husband again—even if it was terribly hard not to remember that once upon a time he’d meant everything to her.
* * *
“AT LEAST you’re not lonely,” Kelly said, grinning at Capri as she put a beautiful Christmas-themed bouquet of flowers on the dresser in Capri’s room. “If you think about it, matters could be a lot worse. I would love to have a hunky man hanging out in my bedroom.”
Capri looked at her highly energetic friend. “I still say you only have to ask Jack and you’d probably get your wish.”
Kelly sat down in the chair Seagal had dragged into the room yesterday, making himself at home in her room between visits and calls from his buddies and her friends who continuously dropped off food. He hadn’t yet let anybody past the front door.
“I think Jack’s got his eyes on someone else.”
Capri looked at her friend. Kelly’s hair was pulled up on top of her head in a flaming-red knot of bouncy fun. Dangling Christmas ornaments hung from her ears, shiny red-striped balls that screamed festive. Capri did not feel festive. “Jack never dated much. Who do you think it is?”
“I think Daisy Donovan.” Kelly’s face grew downcast, a counterpoint to the happy ornaments bobbing at her cheeks. “I saw them hanging out at the burger joint last night.”
Capri wrinkled her nose. “I don’t think Jack would date a woman that Seagal was once very serious about.”
“Serious until he fell for you,” Kelly reminded her.
Capri always felt pain at the mention of Daisy. “What happened was that they dated for a year. It got too serious, and Daisy decided she wanted to date other people. I jumped on the chance to ask Seagal out.” She shrugged. “We went out, and I’m not ashamed to say we had a very good time. I wasn’t trying to steal him from Daisy, but I wasn’t about to leave him in the pond if she’d decided to cast him back.”
“Point being, he fell for you.” Kelly grinned. “You’re lying in this bed because he’s crazy about you.”
“That’s the thing,” Capri said, “I’ve always felt like I did steal him from Daisy. And I think Seagal secretly was still in love with her, but she kept dating Ryder Holland, and so there I was.”
“Yes,” Kelly said, “there you were. Warm and willing. Always a smart woman. Valedictorian of our class for a reason.”
Capri moved restlessly, pulling her sheets over her huge stomach. The babies kicked and she put a hand on them to try to calm them. They stayed active almost all the time now, trying to claim space, she supposed. “They would have gotten back together if I hadn’t jumped on Seagal.”
“So?” Kelly laughed. “If is the biggest, most dramatic word in the English language. Anytime you hear someone say if, hang on. There’s a story coming.”
“It’s true. Not that I feel guilty about it. I just feel that I never had Seagal in the first place.”
“Because you didn’t date that long before he led you to the altar.” Kelly nodded. “Everybody was amazed at how quick Seagal was to jump to say ‘I do.’”
“And then he said ‘I don’t.’” Capri frowned, remembering. “We didn’t think things through before we got married.”
Kelly leaned back in the toile chair, wagging a finger at Capri. “He’s a man of action. You’re the thinker in the relationship. You want to plan everything to death. Just for once in your life you let yourself get swept, and now you want to overthink it. You’re going to have to accept that Seagal’s approach to dating was how you won a very handsome husband. And now you’re having his twins. Nothing like sweet babies to make a man love a woman even more.”
She wasn’t sure love was what guided Seagal. “He’s been an absolute general ever since he got back in the house. If he hadn’t needed to make a run, you wouldn’t even be allowed in here.”
“I bribed him.” Kelly grinned. “I told him I wanted to spend time with Jack. So here I am.”
“Jack isn’t here.”
“Jack’s skulking around somewhere. He’s your bodyguard, for the moment.” Kelly waved a languid hand. “Lying low, protecting his best friend’s girl.”
“This is ridiculous. Nothing’s going to happen to me!” Capri leaned back against the pillows, annoyed. “I don’t appreciate Seagal taking over my life like this. He’s going to hear about it, too.” If she had to lock him out to convince him that no one was coming in and no one was going out—and that included him—that was what she was going to do. “Go find Jack. Drag him off for some alone time. Get him out of my bushes or out of my driveway. Seduce him, if necessary. Please, for my sake.”
Kelly considered this advice. “If I lure Jack away, Seagal will never allow me to be his stand-in to help you. It was everything I could do to convince him that you’d be fine with me sitting with you.”
“Help me up. I’ll tell Jack there’s fresh apple pie in the kitchen. Then the two of you can at least sit in the kitchen and chitchat instead of you wilting at my bedside. How do you expect to lure him away from Daisy if you’re not setting your lures out?”
“I don’t know,” Kelly said, “I’m not much for baiting. Lie down!” She glanced at the door, then got up. “I’ll go see if I can find Jack, if you promise not to move. I’ll only be gone five minutes.”
Capri warily settled back against the pillows. “If you find him, stay gone as long as you want. Nothing can happen to me while I’m lying in bed, for heaven’s sake. Don’t make me regret trusting you on this mission. I need relief from Seagal in my life.”
Kelly shot out of the room to find Jack. Capri grabbed the phone from under her pillow and dialed her husband. “Seagal. It’s Capri.”
“What’s wrong? Is everything all right? I can be home in five minutes—”
She sighed. “I don’t want Jack posted as lookout outside and Kelly as sentry at my bedside. I want my house back. Can you understand that?”
“You’re on complete bed rest,” Seagal said, aggravatingly sure of his stringent application of Dr. Blankenship’s orders. “You need help. We all want to help.”
“I know,” Capri said, “but this is driving me crazy. I just need to spend these last few days thinking about the beautiful children I’m about to have.”
Seagal came walking down the hall, holding his cell phone to his ear. When he saw Capri alone in the bedroom, he clicked his phone off, shoving it into his jeans. “Where’s Kelly?”
“In the powder room, I think.” She didn’t worry about the fib; Seagal’s face was creased with lines of worry. “You seriously need to relax, Seagal. I took care of myself before you showed up—”
“But I’m here now and will be here until the end.” He sank into the chair, looking a bit dazed. “You scared me. I thought you were having more pains.”
“That’s the problem. You shouldn’t be scared. There’s nothing to be afraid of.” She glared at him. “Where were you just now when I called you?”
Seagal looked sheepish. “Mrs. Penny called me over for a chat. And some cookies.”
Capri’s lips pursed. “I see. She wanted information about the arrest at Christmastown the other night, or wanted to know why you’re suddenly back in the house with me?”
His eyes met hers with wry acknowledgment. “Both. Of course.”
“You sold out your conscience for some cookies.”
“I sold it for gingerbread men. It was completely worth it, too. They had frosting sweaters with mint buttons baked on them. I’m a weak man when it comes to Mrs. Penny’s baking, Capri.”
He was the least weak man she’d ever known. In fact, Seagal was the strongest person she’d ever met in her life, other than her mother and father. He sat there in a black long-sleeved shirt, his hair not exactly appearing combed—he’d probably sprinted from next door, a day of stubble on his face.
Darn him. She’d never gotten over him.
“Seagal,” Capri said, “I don’t want you staying here.”
He shook his head. “Don’t be mad because I didn’t bring you any cookies. Mrs. Penny said she’s bringing over a box later. That’s why she baked them.”
She shook her head, not allowing him to sidetrack her with cookie romance.
“I have to stay here with you,” Seagal said. “Those are my children. You’re my wife. There’s no place on this earth I belong more than right here.”
Her heart tugged painfully. “Seagal, if you hadn’t found out I was pregnant, you wouldn’t be here. You weren’t coming back to Bridesmaids Creek. We’d be at the courthouse in two weeks, signing divorce papers.”
He shrugged. “I came back to Bridesmaids Creek because I heard you were expecting. I didn’t know it was twins, but all the same, I knew you were having a baby. And Beau assured me it was mine.”
“What?” Capri yelped, stung by her brother’s betrayal.
Seagal ignored her. “I didn’t have to come back. To be honest, I asked to be on this case. I didn’t know you were going to be assigned round-the-clock protection—”
“Which is dumb,” Capri said. “I don’t need a bodyguard.”
“But I did want to be there when the bust went down,” Seagal said, ignoring her. “I just wasn’t expecting you to be so far along. Once I saw you, I knew I was the bodyguard my wife required.”
“Seagal, I don’t need you or anyone. I can take care of myself and these children.”
“I know you can,” Seagal said, “but you married me for better or worse. You’re stuck with me, gorgeous. At least for another few days.”
He was so unmovable. Determined. “Stuck is right,” she said with a sigh.
Seagal stood. “I wasn’t happy you didn’t tell me, but then that’s when I realized you were still in love with me, and that you’d never gotten over me.”
Capri’s jaw dropped at Seagal’s outrageously high opinion of himself. “How does that even work?”
“Because—” Seagal said, sliding up into bed with her, his boots dangling over the edge of the lacy white comforter “—you were never that good at fibbing, Capri. And you weren’t going to tell me, because you knew I’d be here in a heartbeat.” He turned to look at her, too close for her comfort. “I knew if I came home, you’d have to look me in the eye and tell me you honestly didn’t love me anymore. And you can’t do that.”
She didn’t say anything. Yet she couldn’t look away from his deep blue eyes, either.
“Can you say you don’t love me anymore, Capri?” Seagal asked, and when she couldn’t bring herself to say she didn’t, he leaned over and brushed his lips against hers.
Chapter Four
Seagal looked at his annoyed wife, feeling his blood pressure subside. He’d kissed her ever so slightly to comfort her, but now she was even more worked up and looking suspicious of his intentions. Capri really had worried him, and that’s when he knew she had a point: he worried about her constantly now.
He’d kissed her to comfort himself.
Feeling her lips against his was something he needed. He did still love her, no matter what doubts she had squirreling around in that cute head of hers.
“Sorry,” he said. “Won’t happen again.”
“It better not,” she shot back. “And now, if you don’t mind, impertinent sir, could you please remove your boots and self from my bed?”
Seagal got up. “It’s this white lacy comforter thing. It’s like a man defender. I’m afraid I’m going to get it dirty.”
She looked at him a long time. “It’s a duvet. It washes. Bleach does wonders.”
“Is that an invitation?” he asked, pushing his luck.
“No,” Capri said. “I’m telling you that two babies will soon be in this bed with me.”
“Oh.” Clearly not an invitation, so perhaps it was best that he cut out while she wasn’t completely riled with him. “Hey, I’ve got some runs to make. I’m going to leave Jack here for security, and Kelly here to be bedside companion—”
“Neither of which I need, thanks. What I need is peace and quiet,” his darling and opinionated wife reminded him.
Seagal grinned. “And Mrs. Penny will be by soon with the best gingerbread men you’ve ever tasted.”
“All your spies are in place, then.”
“You could say that. Just lie there like a princess, and everyone will be happy.”
He just needed to go root Kelly and Jack out of whatever corner they’d holed up in. Capri wasn’t fooling him—she’d sent the two lovebirds off to do a little nesting. She’d probably given Kelly detailed instructions on how to seduce a man. Capri had certainly seduced the heck out of him.
And being seduced by Capri had convinced him that bachelorhood was overrated by far.
Capri raised a brow, purposefully looked at the door.
“You know,” Seagal said, glancing around the bedroom they’d once shared, “I notice you don’t have your usual Christmaspalooza all over the house.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I’ve been busy.”
He nodded. “I checked out the nursery. There’s nothing in it but a white dresser.”
“I was busy planning Christmastown. I thought I had time. I’ve never been on bed rest in my life.”
He looked at the fireplace mantel in the room, which had Christmas cards on it but no decorations. Last year she’d twined the mantel with greenery and pine cones, setting angels at each end. “Well, there’s always next year.”
She lay there looking at him with those big eyes, saying nothing.
Okay, he got the message. There wasn’t going to be a next year—not for the two of them. At least, not in her happy-ever-after scenario.
His little wife had no idea how much she really, really wanted him. It was going to kill him, but he was willing to wait until she figured it out.
* * *
SEAGAL WASN’T COMFORTABLE walking into his wife’s flower shop, even though he’d once spent quite a bit of time hanging out at the Bridesmaids Bouquet. During their courtship, he’d liked to stop off on his breaks and chat with her. There was nothing he loved better than visiting Capri when she was surrounded by flowers. Her shop was a soft, gentle place, and it suited her.
Later, after their wedding, he’d sometimes talked her into letting him help her in the shop. He carted around boxes, unpacked things, even pushed the broom. The goal was to be with her. He would bring frosted cupcakes just to be close to her. Some men couldn’t wait to get to their jobs, get away from their wives, their home lives.
He’d never been like that with Capri. She was a serene and peaceful counterpoint to his job. And his own childhood.
He had never been able to believe his luck in getting her to go out with him on a first date. Capri had asked him for a date after he and Daisy Donovan broke up, so shyly and sweetly it would have taken a coldhearted man to say no. Not that he would have said no to Capri Snow. Daisy and he had been a relationship that ran hot and cold, all fire, lots of ice, no substance.
He’d wanted to give Capri his whole world. Hot, cold and everything in between, she was the sun in his barren existence.
“Hi,” Jade Harper said when he walked in to the flower shop. Jade was Capri’s trusted associate. Seagal liked the green-eyed brunette, understood why Capri trusted her with her livelihood.
But he wasn’t here to trust anyone.
“How’ve you been, Jade?”
“Fine.” She pushed a huge floral arrangement toward him. “Take this to Capri, please. It’s from the Boo in the Night Society. Isn’t it gorgeous?”
He stared at the pink and blue blossoms spilling from a big crystal vase. “Yes, it is.”
“And this one, too, please.” She waved at a silvery tabletop Christmas tree laden with tiny paper presents and a golden star in front of him. “This is from the Christmastown committee. They wanted to thank her for doing such a good job with Christmastown.” Jade smiled at him. “I have a few more orders in the back, but I haven’t made them up yet.”
Seagal held up a hand. “Take your time. There’s only so much room in my truck. I guess you have no one to do your deliveries?” He hadn’t thought about it before, but it made sense. Usually Jade did them in the white van that had Bridesmaids Bouquet Floral Shop lettered on the side in big scrolling hot-pink letters.
He’d done a few deliveries for Capri. That’s why the whole smuggling thing was bugging him. Capri kept an obsessive eye on her prized presentations. “You ever notice anyone hanging around here, Jade?”
“Customers.” Jade looked at him. “Lots of customers. It happens at Christmas. Will you tell Capri she needs to hire another seasonal worker? Kelly said she’d come by to help, but I’m worried about the wedding we have booked, and all the Christmas orders, too.” Jade smiled. “I know you’re about to have twins. I hate to put another worry on the two of you. And congratulations on the babies, Seagal. I heard about it from Jack.”
“He gets around.” Seagal sighed. “I’ll tell Capri, although she’s on strict bed rest. I don’t know who she could interview in a hurry.”
“I’m working late every night, too,” Jade said. “I won’t let her down.”
He glanced around the shop, looking for anything out of place. “You don’t ever get anybody in here who’s not a customer?”
“Nope. Everybody needs something this time of year. The shop is booming.” The phone rang, and Jade went to pick it up. “Tell Capri hello for me.”
Nodding, he picked up the two arrangements, heading to his truck.
“Is love in the air?” someone asked him, and he put the arrangements in the truck bed before he turned to face Justin Morant.
“Hey,” Seagal said, surprised to see the rodeo champ in Bridesmaids Creek. He pounded Justin on the back with enthusiasm. “What are you doing back in town?”
“It’s the holidays,” Justin said, “and I’ll be leaving again as fast as I can.”
Seagal laughed. “I remember feeling that way.”
Justin raised a brow. “Something change around here?”
“No.” Seagal secured the arrangements and dusted off his hands. “It’s still small-town, gossip-at-the-speed-of-light, sweet Bridesmaids Creek. I just missed it.”
Justin eyed the flowers in the truck. “Looks like you missed something. Maybe not the town as much as your wife.”
“You’re probably right. Say hello to your folks for me, Justin. It’s good to see you.” He went to get into the truck, then a thought hit him. “If you’ve got five minutes to help me out, Capri’s on complete bed rest, and Jade Harper’s watching the shop for her. She had a ton of orders today and could use a deliveryman.”
And a strong male, in case anything strange happened.
Justin shrugged. “Be happy to help any way I can. Heard about the twins. Congratulations.”
“Who’d you hear it from?”
Justin grinned. “Everybody I’ve run into. Say hi to Capri for me. You sure were lucky when you roped that one.”
Seagal got into his truck and pulled away.
Yeah. He’d gotten very lucky.
But then his luck had run out.
* * *
“I’M SUSPICIOUS,” Capri told Kelly after Seagal left. “He’s being far too attentive.”
Kelly smiled and handed Capri a cup of hot tea. “He’s going to be a father. Anyway, you know Seagal has always been good with detail. It’s probably what moved him up so fast in the force.”
“There’s something else going on here,” Capri said. “You don’t know him like I do. Seagal never gets this focused unless there’s a case.”
“Isn’t it possible you’re his only case?” Kelly sipped at her own cup of steamy hot tea in a floral teacup. “This blackberry currant tea is fabulous.”
Capri shook her head. “It’s probably the pregnancy making me a little paranoid. Hormones going wild.” She put a hand on her stomach. “I think I’m having a bronc buster and a cheerleader.”
“Active, huh?” Kelly laughed. “Tell me again why you and Seagal decided to call it quits?”
Capri put her cup down. “I never got comfortable in the marriage, and I don’t think he did, either. I always felt like he still cared for Daisy, and Seagal said I didn’t trust him, and that bothered him.” She thought about it, remembering. It was still pretty painful. “Daisy called the house even after we were married, always on some pretext of needing something from Seagal. She claimed they were just friends, but I knew she still cared about him. Not that I was surprised. Seagal said she hadn’t wanted to break up—he did. I just happened to be the first date he had.”
“But why did you marry him if you were so worried?” Kelly asked.
“I wanted him,” Capri said softly. “I wanted to believe that all the late nights wouldn’t make me crazy. He wanted to get promoted and moved to a different division, then got into the Rangers. I was busy taking over the flower shop. We grew apart.”
“Not too apart to make babies,” Kelly said, her tone gleeful. “When you found out you were pregnant, you should have realized then that Seagal was never going to let you go through with the divorce.”
“I didn’t want to tell him for just that reason.” The memory upset Capri, which the babies seemed to notice. Inside her, they felt as if they were rolling, tumbling, fighting for space. A sudden cramp shot across her abdomen, pinching and slicing. She closed her eyes against the pain, waiting for it to pass. “Darn my brother Beau,” she said after a moment. “He ratted me out.”
Kelly laughed. “Good for Beau.”
“I’ll take care of him later.” Capri leaned back against the pillow. “I know Seagal too well. There’s a reason he’s back in town, and it isn’t all about these babies. He claims it’s about the drugs in the floral arrangements, but I think there’s something else. He takes a lot of phone calls when he thinks I don’t notice, and his phone must get a hundred texts an hour.” She sighed, wishing the cramp would pass, and forced a smile at Kelly. “Intuition. It’s kind of a wife thing, I guess.”
“But you’re not worried about Daisy anymore now, are you?”
“No.” Capri shook her head. “I think she moved on to Jack, just like you said.”
“I know,” Kelly said, “and it makes me want to pinch her head off.”
Capri smiled. “I remember that emotion.”
“So, what are you going to do now? You’re not really going to go through with the divorce, are you?”
Capri could barely focus on her friend’s question. The pain was getting worse; it was harder to hold back a groan.
Something was different; she knew it. “Kelly,” she said, forcing her voice above a whisper but having to push against the pain, “having never experienced pregnancy I’m no expert, but I think these babies want to be here in time for Christmas.”
Chapter Five
Seagal figured he’d set a new record for speed by the time he got to the hospital. He sprinted inside, leaving Jack at the curb to park the cruiser.
Capri looked pale, tired and in pain when he jogged into the room the nurse led him to. “I thought I told you to stay still,” he said to his wife, trying to make light of the situation to calm his heart, which was trying to beat out of his chest.
“I listened,” Capri said. “Funny how your children didn’t. Maybe a case of like father, like babies.”
He glanced at the doctor. “What’s happening?”
Dr. Blankenship finished looking over the charts he held. “You’re about to meet your children, Seagal.”
Seagal’s gaze locked on his wife. He’d never wanted to hold her and comfort her so badly. “This is it, lady. There’s no turning back now. We’re going to be parents.”
Capri gave him a very slight smile. He could tell she was really hurting. “There was no turning back when I first met you, Seagal,” she said, then groaned and closed her eyes.
Nurses hustled Capri onto a gurney. He followed helplessly, not sure what to do. His heart thundered. No one seemed to care whether he went in to the big room that looked like an operating room, and then suddenly, a nurse helped him into something she called a birth coach’s shirt. She showed him where to wash and made him put sterile covers on his shoes.
“Are you all right?” the elderly nurse asked him.
He was pretty sure he’d know her if she’d take off her mask, but at the moment his brain was short-circuiting. “I’m fine. Is she going to be all right?”
“Your wife is going to be fine.”
The nurse left him, and Seagal hung at the back of the huge room, watching everything. He didn’t want to get in the way of the medical personnel; he felt so useless. Was he supposed to take pictures? He and Capri hadn’t discussed his role.
Someone nudged him over to Capri’s side, and told him to talk to her in soothing tones.
He wasn’t usually a soothing presence for Capri. But once upon a time, he had known just the right words to say to her.
“Hey, babe.”
Capri’s eyes were huge in her face. He could hardly bear to see her like this. Taking her hand in his, he said, “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known.”
She made little short puffing breaths, and then suddenly she relaxed.
“A local anesthetic,” the doctor explained.
They were awfully busy under the green sheet. Capri had told him he wasn’t to approach the sheet in any way, so he remained by her side, letting her squeeze his fingers bloodless. He welcomed the pain; it wasn’t nearly what she was going through.
“Seagal,” Capri suddenly said, startling him.
“Yes?” He leaned close to hear her.
“Mrs. Penny called.”
He blinked. “Can we talk to her later? I know she’s one of our town’s revered grapevines, but—”
Capri squeezed his fingers to shush him. She was so pale he sent a worried glance the doctor’s way. Dr. Blankenship seemed busy with whatever he was doing under the green sheet thing, so Seagal looked back at Capri.
“Okay,” he said, “was there something special on her mind?”
“She said you’re sniffing around my flower shop.” Capri’s gaze was on him, accusing. “Do you think somebody close to me may be involved?”
He was on the ropes here—he could hear it in her voice. “I can’t say, honey.”
“You didn’t tell me,” Capri said.
“Keep soothing her, Mr. West. We need to keep Mom calm,” a nurse said, glancing at a monitor.
He leaned close to his wife. “Let’s talk about this later.”
“I need to know,” she said, her gaze on him, haunted.
“I don’t know what you want me to say,” Seagal said, “I’m simply following orders.”
Capri’s eyes widened. Belatedly, Seagal remembered that the night of their worst argument, he’d said the same thing. It had effectively ended their marriage.
“Capri,” he said, “no one knows exactly who is involved. But this I do know. I’m about to be a dad. All I want to do is take care of you and my children.”
“That’s better,” the nurse said, her tone approving. “Whatever you’re saying, keep saying it. We need to keep your blood pressure down, Mrs. West.”
“Snow,” Capri said, and the nurse glanced at her. “My name is Snow.”
“Now wait,” Seagal said, his voice low so the nurses and doctor couldn’t hear. His blood pressure felt as if he needed someone to say soothing things to him. “You’re still Mrs. Seagal West for another two weeks.”
She closed her eyes.
“You’re doing fine,” the nurse said. “The doctor is almost finished prepping you, and then it will be time to meet your new babies.”
Capri released his fingers. He tried to catch her fingers back but she put her hand under the covers. So he stood beside her, staring down at her pale face, wishing he knew what to tell her to make her happy, to keep her his forever.
“Okay, Capri,” Dr. Blankenship said. “I’m about to make an incision. You’ll only notice some tugging sensations. If you notice anything more than that, let me know, all right?”
Capri nodded. Seagal felt all the blood rush from his head.
“Get Dad a chair,” Dr. Blankenship barked, and the elderly nurse led him over to the side.
“Breathe,” the nurse commanded. “Doc’s done this a thousand times. Capri’s in the best possible hands.”
Wasn’t he supposed to be a fearless, tough guy?
Then why was the very idea of his wife being in pain making him weak as a kitten?
“I’m failing at being a birth coach,” he told the nurse.
“We keep this chair in here for dads,” the nurse said, her tone kindly. “You’ll feel stronger in a bit. Don’t worry. Your wife is in good hands.”
She patted him on the back, then turned to stand by Capri. Seagal took another deep breath, braced himself, and went back to being there for his wife.
* * *
CAPRI KNEW THE SECOND Seagal left her side. She felt alone as soon as he’d gone, and reminded herself that she was destined to be alone in the future anyway.
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