This was where he’d bought the cigars he’d smoked in his den. Oh, how she missed him…
How she wished he had had the chance to meet his grandchildren.
She had no doubt that he would have loved them like Lem and Sadie loved theirs. And he would have been happy that she intended to raise them on the ranch.
Maybe doing that and honoring his last wishes for the Four Corners would make up for not being there for him like she should have been, like she wished she could have been. A bell had dinged when she opened the door, but there was no one around when she stepped inside and closed the door behind her. Nobody sat at the desk in the front of the building, and nobody called out from the back.
Then a little gray kitten scampered down a wide center hallway, its back arched slightly. It stopped at her feet and began to purr.
Despite her burgeoning belly she managed to crouch down and pet it. “Oh, you’re a sweetie.” It rubbed against her hand and purred even louder.
“Smokey is our new receptionist,” a male voice commented. “She’s great at greeting visitors but her typing skills need some work.”
Trish chuckled and looked up at the man standing near her. He wasn’t as tall as his sons, but his facial features were very similar to Brett and Blake’s. He had that square jaw and dark eyes, and his hair was thick like theirs, just more brown than auburn except for some silver strands.
“So Smokey is actually trying to type when she walks across my keyboard?” a familiar female voice remarked. Maci appeared behind the man from whom she rented office space. But clearly Bob Lemmon was much more than a landlord to her. Maci was in love with his son.
“Of course,” Bob replied.
Trish moved to straighten up, but a cramp gripped her side again and she grimaced. Bob reached out, closing his hands over her elbows to help her up from the crouch she’d been ill-advised to try.
“Are you okay?” he asked with concern.
He was as nice as his father had been to her at the Four Corners. Tears stung her eyes for a moment over the difference between Brett’s family and hers.
At least her maternal one.
The older man studied her face, his concern in his dark eyes now. “Do you need anything?”
“This is Trish, Bob,” Maci said. She moved up next to him. “Are you okay, Trish?”
She nodded. “Yes, I just forget sometimes that I have a couple of extra passengers on board.”
“Twins?” Bob asked. “That’s wonderful.”
“It is,” Trish said. This was what she’d wanted for so long, to have these babies, to be a mother. She was going to focus on the gratitude instead of the anxiety from now on.
“Congratulations,” he said.
“Thank you.”
“Can I get you anything?” he asked. “We have water, coffee and tea in the back. Or I can get you something from one of the shops around here, too.”
“That’s very kind,” Trish said. “But I’m fine.”
“That’s a bit of a drive from the Four Corners to here,” he said. “So if you need anything let me know.”
“Thanks,” Trish repeated.
“You didn’t need to make the drive all the way here,” Maci said. “I would have been happy to come out to the ranch later today.”
Trish nodded. “I know but…uh…”
“You wanted to talk in private?” Maci asked, and she tensed a bit.
“No, it’s not that,” Trish said. “I was taking care of Lucy alone when Mr. and Mrs. Lemmon showed up—”
“Mr. and Mrs. Lemmon?” Maci repeated, her forehead furrowing. “That sounds so formal.”
