The Rancher’s Surprise Triplets. Linda Ford

check on them now,” Bo answered. “No one has heard anything about the mother?”

      The sheriff sauntered over. “I asked around. She had to arrive by some means, so I asked Mr. Crenshaw at the train station if he’d noticed anything unusual. He chuckled and said with so many people coming and going about, all he took note of was whether or not they had a ticket.” Jeb shook his head. “He wasn’t any help.”

      Bo thought of how much he and Brandon had relied on their mother’s love and care. It had gone a long way to balancing out the way their father treated them. He wished the same steady presence for the triplets. “I sure wish we could find her.”

      “We’ll keep looking,” Jeb reassured him before he patted Bo’s horse and moved on.

      Bo moved on as well, heading down the street toward the doctor’s house. Everything as it should be. The words sang through his head again. When he realized he thought of Louisa and the babies in the same song, he silenced it. He would check on the triplets. Only out of concern for their well-being. Not because he enjoyed the warmth of their little bodies against his chest or because he liked the way they accepted him. And most definitely not because watching Louisa with them soothed his soul. No, it was simply his duty to make sure they were okay. When people asked him about them he wanted to be able to answer them with the latest information.

      He arrived and took his time draping the reins over the post and looking about as if taking stock of the early morning activities. Anyone observing would come to the conclusion he wasn’t in a hurry to see the occupants of the house before him. He wanted to convince himself of the same.

      He sauntered casually up the steps and rapped on the door.

      Louisa threw back the door, grabbed him and pulled him in. She held Eli, the baby’s eyes glassy, his nose running.

      The other two wailed at being left. He took in the rumpled quilt and white sheet on the floor. The scattering of pillows. The wooden-back chair in the middle of the room. A very marked contrast to the peaceful scene of last night.

      “You need some help?” He didn’t wait for her answer but went to the big chair and pulled the pair from the floor to his knees.

      Louisa stood in the middle of the room. Dark shadows curled below her brown eyes. Eyes that had a hollowed-out look to them.

      “A rough night?”

      She scraped a hand over her brown hair. “I know I look a mess.”

      She certainly looked worn-out and frazzled but a mess? No. There was something appealing about her looks...like a woman who put the needs of the triplets ahead of her own. “You look like a woman who spent a difficult night with three babies.” How would she react to that observation? It didn’t sound complimentary though in his mind, it was.

      Her chuckle made him blink.

      “If you intended that to make me feel better then thank you, but I have to tell you it missed the mark.”

      He grinned at her. “Believe me, it was meant as a compliment.”

      Her gaze searched his. “How is that?”

      No reasonable explanation came to mind but he did the best he could. “To see you willing to give of yourself for these little fellows...well, it reminds me of my own mother.”

      A sweet expression smoothed her face. “That’s a very nice thing to say.” She sat in the chair facing him and lifted Eli to her shoulder, patting his back.

      On his knee, Jasper and Theo seemed content to lean listlessly against him. “I thought they were on the mend.”

      “All three of them developed coughs in the night. They took turns having a croup attack.” She leaned her head against the back of the chair. “I think they’re improving this morning.” Slowly her gaze came to his, full of warmth. “Now that you’ve compared me to your mother, I think I deserve to hear more about her.”

      He shifted to accommodate the restless babies. “She was the most patient woman. She tried to protect us from our father by sending us to the nurse as soon as he came home, but Father knew that’s what she did, so when we turned seven he said we no longer needed a nurse. That’s when we really got to see him for what he was. Before that whenever we saw him and Mother together she smiled and looked happy. But we soon learned it wasn’t real. She tried her best to hide how hurt she was but she couldn’t all the time. He would tell her she was useless. Nothing but a pretty useless ornament. She’d never be able to survive without him. So often she was reduced to tears.” He stopped speaking as his throat tightened. He’d never before told anyone how he’d felt but now the words poured forth. “I wanted to protect her but soon learned if I intervened it only made things worse for her. I can’t tell you how often I was ashamed because I couldn’t help her.” His insides grew brittle as he recalled the cruel words and taunts. “He tried to turn Brandon and me against each other but he couldn’t succeed.”

      She shifted Eli to her other shoulder. “I’m so sorry. No one should have to endure such treatment.” Her eyes softened around the edges so that she looked like she smiled although her mouth did not curve. There was something soft about the way she held her lips. As if comfort came naturally to her. Perhaps it was the product of being a doctor’s daughter.

      Something about that look, whether it be sympathy or pity, he couldn’t say, but it dripped into his heart like honey. He didn’t even try to reason why he should think such a thing, though perhaps it was because she didn’t judge or condemn or offer solutions. Merely said it shouldn’t have happened. “I couldn’t agree more,” he said after a moment of consideration.

      “You said she died when you and your brother were sixteen. What happened after that? Did you boys leave home?”

      “We both thought of it and discussed plans. But one thing stopped us.”

      “Tell me what it was.”

      “Our mother.”

      She blinked. “But... I don’t understand.”

      “We stayed to honor her and the sacrifices she’d made for us.” He could see the confusion in Louisa’s eyes and continued with an explanation. “I remember early on when we first realized how cruel Father was. I thought she should leave. She told me she would never do so because he would not let her have her boys. She would suffer any kind of agony to be with us. Brandon cried at her answer. I squished my fists into balls and told her I would never stay if it wasn’t for her. She held me and told me to remember I was responsible for my actions, not his. And God said we should honor our parents. She eventually convinced me that I would be happier doing things God’s way rather than my own. It’s why we stayed.”

      “That’s very decent of you.”

      He shrugged. “We both knew it was what both God and Mother would want.”