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  “Well, what about it, Jade?” Suz grinned at her. “Do you have a secret?”

  “Not about Sam.” Jade shook her head. “I’m sure I have a secret or two, but—”

  Sam backed up from the fridge with the pie in his hand, smooching Jade on the cheek before she could pull away.

  “You do that again, Sam Barr, and that pie is going in your kisser by a different route than you planned,” she promised.

  “Phew. Tough case.” He sat across the island from her and proceeded to enjoy his pie. “What would you do without me around here?”

  “Yes, Jade,” Suz said, egging them on. “Did you never figure out that Sam has a huge crush on you?”

  Jade looked up from measuring sugar into the bowl, startled. Sam raised a brow, waved a fork dismissively.

  “I have a crush on two women in this room, but I’m afraid neither of them is over the age of three months.” He ran a gentle hand over the babies’ slightly fuzzy heads. “Sorry, ladies, my heart is taken by these angels.”

  “Hmm,” Suz said, “you’re the kind of man who’d set your sights on a woman with a mother who bakes the world’s best pumpkin pie.” Suz got up to cut a piece of her own.

  “I might be that kind of man,” he said, winking at Jade, “but I get the pie for free. No need to confuse the process with a wedding ring.”

  “I’m so disappointed,” Jade said wryly. She packed brown sugar into a cup, eyed it carefully. Since neither of them had mentioned Ty’s presence in town, she figured he hadn’t left the house yet. He was probably sleeping like a fallen log.

  “Then again,” Sam said, putting his dish in the sink, “that pie is so good I might have to rethink my position.” He planted a quick, friendly kiss on Jade’s cheek, in the spirit of the teasing.

  Suz gasped, then leaped up from the stool, throwing her arms around Ty’s neck as he walked into the kitchen, startling Jade so much she nearly dropped the sugar.

  “You’re back!” Suz exclaimed. “This is going to be a very merry Christmas! Jade, look who it is!”

  She was looking—and trying hard not to drink him in as if he were some kind of sexy, exotic cocktail—her eyes caught on Ty’s, her heart thundering madly.

  Sam went over, slapped him on the back, doing the guy version of greeting. “You old dog! When did you get in?”

  Ty grinned at his friend. “Last night.”

  “Look at you,” Suz said. “A real SEAL.”

  “Hey,” Sam said, “I’m a real SEAL!”

  “You’re retired,” Suz reminded him. “This one’s live and in the flesh.”

  “Whatever,” Sam said, scooping Eve from her carrier. “Look at this, Ty!” He grinned proudly, holding the baby up for Ty’s inspection. “Have you ever seen anything so beautiful as these two little ladies?”

  Jade froze, wondering how Ty would react. He looked at each baby in turn, his gaze returning to hers. “Congratulations,” he said. “They’re beautiful.”

  “That’s right,” Sam said proudly. “Gonna be rodeo queens one day.” He nuzzled Eve’s nose. “’Cause I’m planning on rigging the vote if I have to.”

  Suz laughed. “Cheaters never win.”

  Ty hadn’t broken eye contact with Jade, and she had the feeling something was terribly wrong. She couldn’t move—except to pick up Marie, who’d let out a squawk of protest at being left in her carrier.

  Then she returned her gaze to Ty’s, not sure how to broach the sudden elephant in the room. Suz looked at her strangely, no doubt wondering why she wasn’t proudly showing Ty her newborns—only Suz didn’t know what Sam had figured out on his own: Ty was a father.

  Sam, of course, was no doubt enjoying her discomfort in a friendly, devilish-like-a-brother way.

  “Congratulations,” Ty said again. “I’m going to head over and see the guys. I just wanted to stop in and thank Betty for all the cookies and candy she sent to me overseas.”

  He left the kitchen. Suz’s jaw dropped. “Wow, what was that all about?”

  Jade shook her head, cuddling Marie to her. “Maybe he doesn’t like children,” she said.

  Sam laughed. “Well, he would if they were his.”

  Jade gave him a warning look. Sam winked again, determined to torture her a little. “The problem is,” he said, “Ty left because he thinks these babies are mine.”

  Suz’s gaze flew to Jade. “Are they?”

  “No! Oh, for heaven’s sake!” She glared at Sam. “Why can’t you keep your mouth shut?”

  Suz appeared dumbfounded. “Oh, I get it. You mean these babies are...” She stared at Jade. “Ty’s the father?” She counted quickly on her fingers. “Oh, my God! Ty is the father!”

  Jade shook her head. “I didn’t say that.” She hadn’t wanted anyone to know, hadn’t even hinted at it. Betty had backed her on that, saying it was nobody’s business.

  “Oh, wow,” Suz said. “Ty would never have left the country if he’d known you were expecting. And twins!” She gazed at Marie and Eve. “I’m not sure he would have left BC!”

  “Exactly.” Jade leveled the wooden spoon at Suz and then Sam. “And neither of you is going to tell him.”

  “You have to tell him,” Suz said. “You don’t want him thinking that these angels are this knucklehead’s.” She pointed at Sam. “Ty could be talking about the fact that he was over here, and got to meet Jade and Sam’s babies just now. And that would be horrible!”

  “Hey!” Sam exclaimed. “I’m a catch! I know I am!”

  “You’d be the catch that got tossed back,” Suz said.

  Jade pulled off her apron, flung it at her friend. “Suz, you mix these cookies for Betty. Just follow the recipe. And Sam, you’re on babysitting duty.”

  “I’d like to complain,” he said, “but since I get to graze in Betty’s fridge all I like, I’ll just sit here with these little pumpernickels and pretend like I’m not the overlooked Prince Charming of BC.”

  Jade flew out the door, not waiting to hear any more nonsense. It wasn’t fair to Ty not to tell him about Eve and Marie. Their old agreement wouldn’t be in force any longer—too much had changed. Too much time separated them now.

  But he deserved to know the truth—because history shouldn’t repeat itself.

  * * *

  SUZ STARED AT Sam as he settled himself with another slice of pie and a big cup of frothy organic milk. “I hope you’re pleased with yourself.”

  “Indeed I am.” He grinned at her, thinking that for a short stack, she really had a lot of personality. Not his type, of course, but in due time, he could help Frog Francisco Rodriguez Olivier Grant see what he was missing out on. Sam knew when a woman was crushing on a guy, and Suz wore her crush like a beacon, even if she did think she was keeping it on the down-low. “Ah, young love.”

  Suz narrowed her eyes. “You’re going to look like a dunce if you’ve messed up everything between them. Jade obviously didn’t want Ty to know. She didn’t want him being tied to BC. She doesn’t want him getting himself killed because his mind is on the family he didn’t know he had, and the shenanigans back here.”

  “Tell me about it, cutie pie.” Sam munched with contentment, undisturbed by the pot of steam that had become Suz’s head.

  “You don’t have a thing for Jade, do you?” Suz looked at him, mystified, one slim brow raised.

  He winked. “I have a thing for you.”

  “Oh, bull-oney. Bull-oney.” She shook her head, whacked him on the hand with the wooden spatula, then turned her attention to the recipe she was supposed to be mixing up.

  Sam went back to enjoying the pie, his heart completely in love with the luscious blend of creamy pumpkin and cinnamon spreading across his tongue. He had never met the woman who could steal his heart, and knew he never would. Which was why it was s
o much fun to play matchmaker for his buddies, and watch them fall like babies trying to take their first steps.

  “One day, girls,” he told Eve and Marie, “one day you’re going to get to eat a bite of your granny’s pie, instead of sucking on those unsatisfying bottles. And then you’ll know why a man will do anything for a woman who cooks like Betty Crocker and Betty Harper. My two favorite ladies.”

  “Oh, brother,” Suz said with disgust. “You have to help me put the holiday decorations up at the Hanging H later. And I don’t want any of this nauseating wheezing about how the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”

  Sam laughed. “Just don’t burn those cookies, cookie, and you and I will get along just fine.”

  * * *

  TY HEADED INTO the bunkhouse at the Hanging H, hoping to find Frog and Squint for some answers. His head whirled, his breath coming too short for comfort. He’d never felt this wound up, not even in Afghanistan.

  Jade was a mother. And those babies were tiny. Two doll-like babies, clearly not that old. He did the math as fast as his poor, stunned brain could manage: They couldn’t be more than a few months old, or they’d be bigger.

  So those babies weren’t his. He’d left in January, so any offspring of his would have been born in October.

  Those babies were almost brand-spanking-new.

  Damn.

  There was no one in the bunkhouse, so he headed over to the main house. He had to have answers. Who was the father?

  Of course he knew the answer. Sam had been hanging around, holding a baby, acting very comfortable in Jade’s kitchen.

  Ty felt as if a huge hole had been blown in his heart. His stomach seemed to be compacted into a cramp he couldn’t relax. His dream of coming home to Jade, and the minimal chance that she might have waited for him, faded away.

  He opened the back door, as he always had, and five pairs of eyes turned to stare at him, as if he were some kind of specter.

  Ty felt like a specter.

  Frog, Squint, Mackenzie, Justin and even Daisy hovered around the island, sticking M&M’s onto an enormous gingerbread house that covered the entire kitchen island.

  “Ty!” Daisy exclaimed. “Welcome home!”

  Mackenzie came to hug him, and his buddies slapped him on the back, gave him a punch in the arm and a high five. Daisy gave him a fast hug, then got him a glass of milk and a brownie with peppermint sprinkles on top, pointing him to a bar stool.

  “Sit,” Mackenzie said, “and tell us everything. We thought you were never coming back to BC!”

  God, it was good to be home, among faces that smiled at him and people who loved him. He sat on the bar stool, enjoying the warmth of friends, and briefly wondered why Daisy was in the mix. He hoped like hell Squint hadn’t finally decided to fall for her tricks, but Ty had enough problems of his own with a certain fiery redhead.

  “Well,” Mackenzie prodded, “gobble that brownie, drink that milk and then start with BUD/S. We want to hear about every second from our hometown hero!”

  He swallowed hard. He wasn’t sure he could push anything past his seriously tight throat. Jealousy seemed to be sitting in his airway like a rock. “Thanks, everybody, for the welcome. It’s good to be back.”

  They grinned, pleased. “We have so much to tell you,” Mackenzie said. “But you first!”

  “Um, okay.” He took a bite, sipped the milk so they wouldn’t be disappointed. “Hey, I stopped by the Harper place to check in on Betty and—”

  Mackenzie clapped her hands. “And you saw the babies!”

  He forced a smile onto his face. “I did, actually.”

  His friends all looked pleased as could be, as if they were related to the babies or were proud godparents or something. Ty cleared his throat. “Um, Jade didn’t mention who the father is, and I didn’t really want to pry. What’s the story there? She wasn’t wearing a wedding ring.”

  “Well, it’s interesting,” Frog said. “No one knows who the father is, and we don’t have a good guess.”

  Squint nodded. “We have guesses, but none of them are good.”

  “Guesses?” Ty swallowed again. “Was Jade dating somebody?”

  “No. No one, as far as we know.” Squint shrugged. “It’s all very mysterious. We have no clue.”

  “For a while we suspected Sam,” Mackenzie said. “But Sam says hell, no. He likes those babies, adores them. Hangs around there all the time.”

  “Yeah, like a bad smell,” Frog said. “But Sam says he hasn’t even kissed a girl in BC, and doesn’t plan to. Idiot,” he added cheerfully. “We were brought here to find brides, weren’t we? So why not spread our kisses around?”

  They all laughed, relaxed. Ty had a horrible headache, all the jovial banter not easing his shock over finding Jade had somehow figured out a way to get that ovary working just fine. Damn, damn, damn.

  “They’re so small,” he said. “I never saw such delicate little things.”

  Mackenzie grinned. “You should have seen my four when they were born! No bigger than small baking potatoes. Want another brownie?”

  She put one in front of him, and Ty couldn’t say no. It felt so good to be home among his friends—except for the problem with Jade.

  “So, buddy,” Frog said, “tell us everything.”

  “When were the babies born?” He had to know.

  “October first,” Suz said.

  His mind went into major mental-math mode. “October?” He’d left in January. My God, it was possible. Holy hell, it was more than possible that those babies were his. He perked up, feeling a little light suddenly shining into his life—then crashed. Jade had been at his house last night, hadn’t breathed a word about babies, a pregnancy, nada. They weren’t his. The damning realization crushed his heart. “Jade’s never given a hint about who the—”

  The back door blew open. Jade came in, stomped the snow off her feet on the mat.

  “Hello-o-o, little mama,” Frog said. “Join us to welcome home this brave SEAL. And have a fortifying brownie on me!” He gave Jade a big, sloppy smooch on the cheek, which had Ty bristling in spite of himself.

  “Hi, everybody. Uh, and Daisy,” Jade said awkwardly. “Ty, do you have a second? I need to talk to you.”

  Everybody looked very interested in her announcement.

  “Aha!” Squint exclaimed. “I told you, guys! Ty’s the baby daddy!”

  They all whooped and carried on something ridiculous around the kitchen island, high-fiving each other and laughing. Ty thought he even might have seen money change hands between Squint and Frog.

  “I was sure it was Sam,” Frog said. “Until I wasn’t sure it was Sam. Then I put my money on a dark horse.”

  Jade looked embarrassed. Her cheeks got a bit pink and her gaze skittered away from Ty’s. “Guys, if you could just go back to building this fine gingerbread house, that’d be awesome.”

  Well, she hadn’t denied that he was the father—that was something. Ty’s world spun like mad. Could he be a father? To twins?

  That would be the welcome home gift to end all welcome home gifts.

  He strode to Jade’s side. “Let’s go into the fireplace room. If you don’t mind, Mackenzie? Justin?”

  “Of course not!” They smiled at him demurely—too demurely. Which tipped him off to the fact that there was a baby monitor on the kitchen island, and it was on.

  He reached over and switched it off.

  “Aw!” Frog looked chagrined. “We would have turned it off, dude.”

  “I doubt it. Come on, Jade.” Ty led her into the comfortable living room.

  “You know they’ll turn it right back on.”

  “Either that or they’ll have their ears stuck out to pick up any sound we make. It’s like a family of drones.” He didn’t much
care; he was with Jade. It was Christmas, and he couldn’t think of any place he’d rather be than here with her, in BC.

  “Nice tree,” he said to break the tension, tossing a glance over at the beautiful Christmas tree in a corner of the lovely blue-and-white-decorated living room. But that didn’t interest him as much as the red-hot mama who took a seat near the fireplace.

  “I have to talk to you,” she said, and he said, “Yeah, I got that. I’m listening.”

  His heart thundering, he sat on a sofa, keeping a careful distance between them. He didn’t want to get too close, accidentally smell her hair, touch her, have to fight to keep from taking those sweet, cupcake-soft lips.

  “First, let me tell you how proud I am that you got your Trident. All of BC celebrated, Ty. It’s a huge accomplishment. And everything else you’ve done, too.” She smiled at him and he felt a small glow start inside him—except that she sounded like they were in a job interview and she was about to give him the you’re-really-awesome-but-you’re-not-quite-right-for-the-job speech.

  “Thanks,” he said, numbness stealing over him.

  “Ty,” Jade said, “I became a mother while you were gone.”

  “I did notice.”

  “As you know, I wasn’t expecting to be able to get pregnant, so it was quite a surprise.”

  “I’m pretty surprised myself.”

  He was going to kill Sam. Damn Sam. It had to be him. No one hung around someone’s babies, holding them and acting all goo-goo-eyed and mushy, unless they were his own progeny.

  Yes, Ty was going to kill Sam, even if he had no rational reason to.

  “Congratulations. That’s great,” he said, realizing something more than what he’d said so far was required. He had to play nice, act pleased for her, cover the fact that he was dying inside.

  “I was hoping you’d feel that way.”

  He nodded, completely destroyed. “I know how much you wanted a baby, Jade. I’m really happy for you.”

  She took a deep breath. “I just want you to know that our previous agreement obviously isn’t necessary. After all, so much has changed. You’ve been gone nearly a year, and—”