Guarding The Babies. Sandra Robbins
afterward, and please apologize to your folks for me. I’m sorry to pull you away from your visit. I promise I’ll make it up to you with more time off.”
Mandy gave a soft chuckle. “No need for apologies, Holly. You are way too good to me, anyway, and they know that. Don’t worry. I’ll leave after the dinner party tonight.”
Smiling, Holly disconnected the call, checked on the twins to make sure they were still sleeping and headed downstairs. Ten minutes later, she poured her first cup of coffee and carried it into the den. She was just about to take a sip when she heard a vehicle stop in front of the house. She eased over to the window and pulled the curtain back to peer outside. An unmarked police car sat in the driveway. As she watched, Cole climbed out and walked up the front steps.
She waited for him to knock, but when he didn’t, she walked to the door and opened it. He stood bent over on the porch, his attention directed to the lock on the door. He gasped in surprise at the sight of her, his body jerking. He staggered backward. Holly tried not to smile, but the look of shock on his face reminded her of how he’d looked when they were children and she’d mistaken a copperhead for a milk snake and picked it up.
At the sound of her laughter, he clenched his jaw and straightened to his full height. “What’s so funny?” he growled.
“You are,” she said. “The expression on your face reminded me of the time I picked up that copperhead.”
A small grin tugged at the corner of his mouth, and his shoulders relaxed. “Yeah. I remember that day. I thought you were going to be bitten before I could get to you.”
A warm rush filled her as she remembered how he’d raced to rescue her. “You always looked out for me, Cole.”
He pursed his lips but didn’t say anything. Finally, she cleared her throat and spoke again. “What are you doing skulking around on my front porch so early in the morning?”
He took a deep breath as if to clear his thoughts and gave a slight nod toward the door. “I wanted to check out the door again and see if I overlooked anything last night to determine how your visitor got in. I thought I’d do it before you got up so that I wouldn’t disturb you.”
“And did you find anything?”
He shook his head. “No. The lock doesn’t look like it’s been jimmied, and all the other doors were locked. You said your intruder pulled this door open when he ran out. Are you sure you locked it before you went to bed last night?”
“Yes. I remember testing it twice to make sure it was secure.”
Cole rubbed the back of his neck and frowned. “None of the windows had been opened or broken. He had to come in this way. Maybe he had a key.”
Her eyes grew wide. “How would that be possible?”
Cole shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s a former employee who worked on the ranch for Michael or for your dad. He might have found a key to the house and kept it. Or he could have picked the lock. A good burglar can do that easily.”
“We both know he wasn’t here to rob me, Cole. He wanted the twins.”
His forehead wrinkled as he studied the lock and then nodded. “Yeah. I think you’re right.”
Although it was early summer, there was still a nip in the air in the mornings. Holly shivered and wrapped her arms around her waist. “While you’re trying to make sense of this, would you like a cup of coffee?”
Cole’s mouth opened as if he was about to speak. Then he exhaled and shook his head. “No, thanks. I don’t want to bother you.”
At his clear reluctance to come inside, a sharp pain pierced her heart and she winced. What had happened to them? They’d been best friends since childhood, and now they were barely able to tolerate being in the same vicinity. Things might have ended badly for them in the romance department, but it was time they salvaged their friendship.
“It’s no trouble, Cole,” she said. “We ought to be able to share a cup of coffee for old times’ sake.”
An undecided look flashed in his eyes, and she was sure he was going to tell her no. Instead, he nodded. “You’re right. I’d love a cup of coffee.”
She grinned and stepped back for him to enter the house. “Good. Come on back to the kitchen.”
He followed her through the house without speaking and stopped just inside the kitchen door. She motioned for him to have a seat at the table. She refilled her cup and poured one for him before she turned back and set them on the table.
“Black. No sugar or cream,” she said with a smile.
He picked up the spoon she’d placed on the saucer and began to stir the hot coffee. He smiled as he glanced up at her. “You remembered how I take my coffee.”
“And why wouldn’t I?” she said with a laugh. “We’ve probably consumed gallons of coffee together through the years.”
He chuckled and nodded. “Yeah. I guess we have.” They sat in silence for a few minutes as they sipped from their cups. Then he set his mug down and lifted his head to stare at her. “How have you been, Holly? Other than losing your sister and Michael, I mean.”
She shrugged. “Okay, I guess. I miss Ruth. No matter where I was or what I was doing, we talked every day on the phone. Sometimes, I pick up my cell phone to call her before I remember that she isn’t going to answer.”
“I know how you feel.” His gaze drifted around the kitchen. “I really miss coming here. I would stop by on my way to work several times a week, and Michael and I would have a cup of coffee together. Ruth used to join us, but after they adopted the twins she was busy all the time.”
Holly smiled at the memory of how excited Ruth had been the day she called to tell her that the adoption had finally gone through and they were picking up Emma and Ethan that afternoon. “She went through so much with all the in vitro treatments she had, trying to get pregnant. But she said all her disappointments disappeared the first time she saw the twins.”
Cole picked up his cup and stared at her over the top. “And now you have them. How have you been dealing with it?”
Holly shrugged. “Okay, I guess, but I have a lot of help. At first, I thought I couldn’t do it. My lifestyle doesn’t lend itself to raising children. I thought about terminating my rights and letting someone else adopt them, but then I knew I couldn’t. They are Ruth’s children, and they’re all the family I have left. And after what happened last night... It makes me wonder why on earth I thought I could come here alone and take care of them.”
Cole set his coffee back down. “You did a great job protecting them last night. But it would probably help if you had someone here with you.”
She nodded. “That’s why I called my assistant to cut her stay at her parents’ home short and come help me. I hated to do that, but I’ll make it up to her.”
“What about security? I know you have a team. I think they should be here, too.”
“They will be soon.”
Cole took one last drink from his cup, set it down and pushed to his feet. “Good. I’m glad you’re going to be protected. I’ll have the officers continue to patrol by here, and if you’ll give me your cell phone number, I’ll have my partner get in touch with you if we turn up anything about your intruder.”
Holly realized he had just let her know he wouldn’t be getting in touch himself or seeing her again before she left. Trying to keep her voice steady, she recited her number and watched as he programmed it into his phone. Then, without speaking again, he rose to leave.
Unable to let him leave like that, she followed him to the front door. Just as he reached for the doorknob, she called out to him. “Cole, wait.”
He stopped and faced her. “What is it?”
She