Jingle Bell Babies

They’ll need more, Lori wanted to protest. So much more.

Jesse’s indifference raked over debris from her past and scraped up old memories. Memories that Lori thought had long been put to rest.

“What do you want from me, Roxanne? I said I’d own up to my responsibility and I did…but that doesn’t mean I have to pretend to be happy about it….”

Lori swallowed hard and tried to shut out her father’s voice, shaken that the words sounded as clear as if he’d spoken them the day before, instead of fifteen years ago.

The room began to shrink and Lori felt an overwhelming urge to escape.

“I’ll find Nicki.” With Sasha still in her arms, Lori headed toward the door.

She wasn’t surprised when Jesse didn’t respond.

Emotions churned inside of her. How could she leave the triplets, when they needed someone who would lavish attention and love on them?

When they needed her.

She made her decision. Pausing in the doorway, she turned and looked over her shoulder…

Just in time to see Jesse cup his hands over his mouth and blow on his fingers. Warming them.

Lori’s breath caught in her throat.

And that’s when she saw it. The subtle sway of his body before he managed to balance his weight on the heels of his boots. The slight dip of his shoulders beneath the heavy coat.

Exhaustion.

The bone-deep kind that sucked away a person’s energy—chiseled holes in their perspective. The kind that stole a person’s ability to think.

And talk.

Lori’s feet felt rooted to the floor and her heart began to pound. “Mr. Logan?”

Jesse’s head snapped up and once again his face looked as if it had been carved out of stone.

Lori hoped she wouldn’t live to regret her next words.

“Are you still looking for a nanny?”

Jesse tried not to let his frustration show.

Of course Lori Martin had heard he was looking for a new nanny. The entire population of High Plains probably knew he was looking for a new nanny.

He’d fired two or three—okay, so maybe it had been five—although he wasn’t sure if he could count the last one. Just when he’d opened his mouth to say the words you’re fired, she’d beaten him to the punch and informed him that she quit. But did that mean he deserved to be treated like a pariah? The last time he’d gone to the newspaper to put in an ad for another caregiver, the woman behind the reception desk had actually laughed. Laughed.

Was it his fault that none of the nannies he’d hired had been able to do the job properly?

His sweet-tempered sister’s popularity had opened the door to a few favors. But so far, nothing permanent.

He’d been grateful to Nicki for agreeing to watch the triplets over the past few days while they searched for Tommy, but she had her hands full with Kasey, the active toddler she’d recently been granted permission to adopt.

Clay had offered to shoulder more responsibility in the mornings so Jesse could drive the girls to a day care in High Plains, but that was his last resort. And he had to make that decision in about six hours.

Pride stopped him from letting anyone see how desperate he was. Especially the young, brown-eyed nurse who’d managed to coax a belly laugh out of somber little Sasha.

He could still hear the lilt of Lori’s laughter, mingled with his daughter’s, as he’d stood outside the door of the church nursery. It had rolled over him with the warmth of a spring breeze. And the sight of her raining kisses on Sasha’s chubby arm affected Jesse more than he cared to admit.

“That’s right.” The words sounded curt, even to his own ears, but it was the best he could do.

Small talk was simply beyond his capability at the moment.

Three days of searching for Tommy, in addition to keeping up with his regular chores and getting up with the triplets during the night, had begun to take its toll. His limbs felt as if they’d been replaced with wet concrete.

Lori Martin lingered in the doorway and Jesse wished she’d go away. And not because his gaze strayed to the soft tendrils of sunset-red hair that had escaped from her braid. Or because Sasha looked perfectly content to remain in the woman’s arms.

Nope. Because he was practically dead on his feet and didn’t need any witnesses to the fact. Someone who would report back to Nicki. Who’d report to Clay. Who’d report to Maya….

He had an idea. As much as Lori Martin obviously loved children, he knew exactly what would make her beat a hasty retreat.

“I didn’t realize you were interested in the position. When can you start?” Jesse injected just enough sarcasm to scare her off. And let her know exactly what he thought about people gossiping about him.

Lori Martin met his gaze. And smiled sweetly.

“Right now.”

Chapter Three

You’re hired.

Those two simple words echoed in Lori’s mind as she reached the end of the long dirt road, and the car’s headlights illuminated a turn-of-the-century two-story house with a stone foundation.

Jesse’s house.

Maybe she should leave the engine running.

Lori hadn’t expected Jesse to turn cartwheels at her impulsive offer the night before, but his cool response had her questioning her decision. And her sanity.

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

The verse in Philippians she’d read during her devotional time that morning filtered through her panic and calmed what some people would have called “the butterflies” in her stomach. To Lori, it felt more like a herd of mustangs had taken up residence there.

She took a deep breath and turned off the ignition.

The front door opened and Jesse stepped onto the porch, his lean, broad-shouldered frame backlit by the soft glow from the window.

He’d been waiting for her.

Lori got out of the car, tempted to leave her suitcase in the trunk. Just in case.