Together for the Twins: An Uplifting Inspirational Romance


 
 
 
 “You had a nanny growing up?” He sounded surprised.
 “Yes, I did. My mother died when I was a baby, and my father’s job was very demanding.”
 “You miss her.” It wasn’t a question. He sounded as if he understood.
 “I do. I wish I could have her with me and take care of her—the way she took care of me.”
 “I know what you mean.” One side of his mouth tipped up in a smile. “For me, it’s my foster mom, Ruby. She took care of me when nobody else would. The people who love us when nobody else does, when we’re the most unlovable, those are the people you never forget.” His jaw firmed up. “I want to give that to the boys, if I can.”
 Oh, she was sunk.
 “I only have the summer,” she heard herself saying. “When the Shermans get back from Europe, they expect me to come back to work for them.”
 “Understood. So? Do we have ourselves a deal?”
 She hesitated, although she already knew what she was going to say. “We have a deal.”
 
 
 Laurel Blount lives on a small farm in Georgia with her husband, David, their four children, a milk cow, dairy goats, assorted chickens, an enormous dog, three spoiled cats and one extremely bossy goose with boundary issues. She divides her time between farm chores, homeschooling and writing, and she’s happiest with a cup of steaming tea at her elbow and a good book in her hand.
 Books by Laurel Blount
 Love Inspired
 A Family for the Farmer
 A Baby for the Minister
 Hometown Hope
 A Rancher to Trust
 Lost and Found Faith
 Her Mountain Refuge
 Together for the Twins
 Visit the Author Profile page at LoveInspired.com.
 
 
 TOGETHER FOR THE TWINS
 Laurel Blount
 
 
 
 Bear ye one another’s burdens,and so fulfil the law of Christ. 
 —Galatians 6:2
 
 
 For my brother-in-law Shawn Hall, salesman extraordinaire and bighearted adoptive dad, who graciously provided insights on the dynamics of his profession.
 
 
 Contents
 Chapter One
 Chapter Two
 Chapter Three
 Chapter Four
 Chapter Five
 Chapter Six
 Chapter Seven
 Chapter Eight
 Chapter Nine
 Chapter Ten
 Chapter Eleven
 Chapter Twelve
 Chapter Thirteen
 Chapter Fourteen
 Epilogue
 Dear Reader
 Excerpt from Rescuing Her Ranch by Lisa Jordan
 
 
 Chapter One
 Lunch at Burger Burger had been a disaster, and the drive back to the Cedar Ridge Public Library wasn’t going much better.
 No surprise there, Ryder Montgomery thought grimly. These days his life was just one catastrophe after another.
 He glanced in the rearview mirror at his twin four-year-old nephews, strapped in their brand-new car seats. It had taken him fifteen minutes and six miniature chocolate bars to get them in those seats, but he’d managed it.
 Barely.
 Like everything else involving the twins, car seats were a battle. So were baths, toothbrushing—and meals, as the yellow mustard stain running up his shirtsleeve reminded him. A food flinging fit had broken out when the boys had been served chicken nuggets instead of macaroni and cheese. Pasta out of a rectangular blue box had been the only twin-approved lunch since he’d taken charge of them three weeks ago in mid-May.
 Or, more accurately, since they’d taken charge of him.
 There was no use sugarcoating it. He was flunking this instant dad thing, big-time. It didn’t help that the twins had no fear and were what his foster mom, Ruby, called muleheaded—a dangerous combo. He’d already made not one but two terrifying trips to the local ER with a screaming child—experiences that had surely lopped a decade off his life expectancy.
 Those had turned out all right, but his nerves couldn’t take any more near misses. He was trying his best to keep them safe, but these kids paid zero attention to him—or any other adult. They were unpredictable, accident-prone and bursting with energy.
 They also had an endless repertoire of annoying noises. Like now—Benji had been making an off-key screeching noise ever since they pulled out of the hamburger joint’s parking lot. It was making Ryder’s ears ring. Apparently Benji’s twin, Tucker, didn’t like it much better.
 “Stop that,” Tucker demanded.
 Benji’s screeching went up a couple of decibels.
 Uh-oh. Ryder’s fingers tensed around the steering wheel. Most of the time, these two kids battled as a team, which was bad enough. But when they turned on each other? Then things got ugly fast, and he was one more hair-raising experience away from a stroke.
 He mentally calculated how far they were from the library. His sister-in-law was there waiting to help him out with this nanny interview. Maybe between the two of them, they could get the boys under control.
 Maybe. But he had to make it there first.
 “Getting a little loud back there,” he said in a let’s all be friends kind of tone. “Dial it down a few notches, Benji, okay?”
 The screeching only grew shriller.
 Tucker made an exasperated noise. “I told you to stop it!”
 Ryder shot another glance in the mirror just in time to see the little boy wrench off his blue tennis shoe and fling it at his brother.
 Pow. Straight hit to the nose. In spite of everything, Ryder’s ex-baseball-pitcher mind stood up and applauded. The kid had an arm.
 Then the screaming started, and Ryder groaned and rubbed at his forehead.
 He wanted out of this car.
 He wanted out of this whole situation.
 Up until three weeks ago, his life had been going according to plan. He’d left his job with Atlanta Media and opened his start-up business as a sales consultant right on schedule, with a decent roster of clients who wanted him to coach their sales teams to higher numbers. That was all well and good, but if he couldn’t get back to work soon, his bank balance was going to take a serious beating.
 That possibility scared him to death because money mattered—a lot. His dad’s gambling addiction