Hunter's Montana Bride (Montana Ranchers and Brides #8) (7 page)

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Authors: Maya Stirling

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BOOK: Hunter's Montana Bride (Montana Ranchers and Brides #8)
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"What's wrong?" she heard him ask, concern filling his voice.

Gretchen continued to attend to Hannah, worried that Lewis would also become equally unsettled. So far the little boy hadn't stirred, despite the noise his sister was making. Gretchen checked Hannah and concluded that the first thing which had come to her mind was indeed the case.

"I think she needs changing," she told Hunter.

Gretchen saw Hunter sit up on the edge of the bed, running his fingers through his hair. By the light of the moon Gretchen was sure she saw Hunter's eyes widen in alarm.

"Changing? What do you mean?" he asked hesitantly.

Gretchen smiled to herself in the dark. "You know. Changing," she said tentatively.

There was a long pause. "Do you mean what I think you mean?" Hunter said eventually.

"Well, it does happen, Hunter. Babies need changing pretty regularly," Gretchen said.

Hunter stood up quickly. "So. What does that involve?" he asked. Gretchen was sure she detected an edge of anxiety in his tone.

"The usual," Gretchen said.

There was a knock on the door. Hunter went quickly to the door and thrust it open. Mrs. Roper was standing in the hallway with a candle. "Is there anything wrong?" she said, her eyes wide.

Gretchen sat up on the bed and looked at Mrs. Roper standing there dressed in her white nightgown. "Hannah needs changing," she explained.

Mrs. Roper sighed. "Is that all? Thank goodness," she said entering the room. "Let me give you a hand Gretchen."

Gretchen smiled, picking up Hannah who was still making plenty of noise. "I'll be fine Mrs. Roper. No need to disturb your sleep," she said.

"I was still awake anyway," the housekeeper explained.

Mrs. Roper went to the bed and gazed down at Gretchen and the babies. "Oh, my. What a sight for sore eyes," she said, a warm smile on her face.

Mrs. Roper turned quickly and looked at Hunter. "You still here?" she asked him in a curt voice.

Hunter stiffened and his brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Just what I say. What exactly do you think you're going to do?" Mrs. Roper asked Hunter defiantly.

Hunter looked questioningly at Gretchen, obviously seeking some kind of assistance. Gretchen shrugged her shoulders.

"I was going to give Gretchen some help. If I could," he said tentatively.

Mrs. Roper strode over to Hunter and started to usher him out the door. "Never you mind that for now. Plenty of time for you to learn about such things later," she said.

Gretchen had to contain her laughter as she saw Hunter succumb to the pressure of his housekeeper's forceful, pushing hands. In the hallway he turned and looked back into the room, his eyes wide with a combination of incredulity and barely disguised relief. He raised a hand as if to say something, but he was cut off as Mrs. Roper closed the door firmly.

Mrs. Roper turned to Gretchen. "Now. Where are all the things we need?" she asked.

And in that moment Gretchen just knew that the next few days were going to more than a little bit interesting.

CHAPTER SEVEN

After he left Gretchen and Mrs. Roper, Hunter decided it would be best to sleep in the next room. Give Gretchen some space to look after the twins.

As he closed the door to the small bedroom, he could hear the sounds of the crying children and the concerned voice of Mrs. Roper, no doubt savoring the chance to assist Gretchen in looking after them. Hunter flopped down onto the small single bed and lay his arm across his forehead.

What a day it had been. Gretchen had finally returned, only not in any way that he could have imagined possible. She had come home and presented him with an instant family. It was as simple as that. He'd hardly had even a moment to take it all in, let alone comprehend what all of this might mean for his life.

Hunter drew in a deep breath and listened to Gretchen and Mrs. Roper fuss over the changing of the children.

His children!

How could that be possible? Then Hunter recalled the wonder and desire of their wedding night. How he'd had to try so hard to contain his passion, be sensitive to Gretchen's needs and uncertainties. The memories had been burned into his mind. It was no real wonder to Hunter that the beautiful children in the room next door were the result of the most memorable experience of his life.

A smile crept to the corners of his mouth and he felt a surge of pride well up inside himself. How could he not be proud of those two beautiful little bundles of joy.

With a shake of his head, Hunter allowed himself to be overcome by one single, unalterable thought.

Hunter Sinclair was a father.

And he'd had no idea. He thought of how hard it must have been for Gretchen, dealing with the pregnancy at the same time as being apart from her new husband. Why hadn't she told him? Surely she could have sent him some kind of news that she was expecting. What had forced her to keep such a thing secret? Had it been pressure from her parents? Hunter knew that he and Gideon didn't exactly see eye to eye, but that hardly justified denying Hunter knowledge that he had been about to become a father.

So, what was the reason for the concealment? What had driven Gretchen to keep the most important thing in Hunter's life hidden?

There was a scream of delight from the next room and Hunter smiled when he heard Mrs. Roper teasing the babies with babbling sounds of her own. He heard Gretchen laugh and he felt his heart beat faster at the sound of her sweet voice.

It was so incredible to have her back in his life. Even if the circumstances weren't anything he could even begin to comprehend. She had gone away, and now she was back. So how come he wasn't completely overcome with happiness that she was back?

He rolled over onto his side and lay the side of his face against his arm. Gretchen still hadn't given Hunter a full explanation about where she had gone. She still hadn't told him what she had been doing while she'd been away. And until she did, he knew there was going to be a barrier between them. That happiness he'd experienced after their wedding had been sublime, a truly special thing. The losing of Gretchen had almost crushed him.

Only one thing had allowed him to hang on to hope; only one brief exchange had let him hang onto the possibility that they would be reunited; that he would get a second chance at loving his wife.

He remembered the visit to Gretchen's parents at their home in Helena. He'd been burning up with anxiety about Gretchen's leaving and he'd gone to her parents' house a week after she'd left. Hunter had needed answers that were more than the vague assurances that Gretchen had given him that she would be back very soon. The short time he'd spent at her parents' home had given him the certainty that Gretchen wasn't somehow hiding out at her parents. He'd taken some kind of relief from the fact that she hadn't left him and gone back to live with Gideon and Beatrice. But there still hadn't been an answer to the most important question of all.

Where had Gretchen gone to?

Hunter had pleaded with Gideon in the parlor of the house. He'd been given short shrift by the gruff and taciturn man. Almost on the verge of doing something he might have regretted Hunter, had begged Beatrice for some hint of where his new wife might be.

Hunter recalled how he'd stood in the parlor, fists like tight balls by his side, his face ashen, his eyes wide, desperately seeking an answer. Finally Beatrice had persuaded Hunter to sit down and had laid a gentle hand on his arm.

Lying on the bed with his wife in the room next door and the sounds of his children ringing in his ears, Hunter was suddenly glad that he hadn't gone and done anything stupid. Years of controlling the temper he'd inherited from his father had allowed Hunter to keep his cool, and he'd he'd been rewarded with a brief explanation from Gretchen's mother. It may not have been completely satisfying, nor had it fully explained his wife's sudden need to leave, but in the end Beatrice's partial account of Gretchen having to go back East for a short while, on a "very important errand" had had to suffice.

Hunter recalled looking at Beatrice with wondering eyes, asking for reassurance that there wouldn't be any further clues. This had been met with Beatrice's plea that Hunter trust her and Gretchen; that he wait; that he be patient; that all would be well, in the end.

And Hunter had reluctantly chosen to do just that.

He shifted nervously onto his back and gazed up at the ceiling, trying to figure out just how he'd managed to keep his cool during his wife's long absence. Every time he'd subsequently asked Beatrice for an explanation he'd been met with the same patient, kindly gaze and more reassurance that Gretchen was fine and that she'd be back soon.

On the visits to the house in Helena, Hunter had wondered if there ever would come a day when he'd arrive at the house to find Gretchen seated in the parlor, a smile on her face, and a full explanation for the torment she'd visited upon him.

But that had never happened.

It had been almost a whole year. And no-one had thought to tell him that while his wife had been gone she had given birth to two beautiful twins.

Hunter felt his throat tighten as the emotion rose up inside him. He'd lost so much while she had been gone. He'd lost the joy of her telling him she was expecting; he'd lost the chance to care for her and make sure she was healthy and safe; he'd lost being present at the birth of those beautiful babies.

His brow furrowed and he felt a burning ache settle in his gut. He'd lost so much.

How could she have done that to him? Why had she done such an incredible thing? There must have been a reason, he thought. There must have been something which had driven her to stay away from him, even during her pregnancy.

Things had gone quiet next door, and Hunter debated whether he should go back to the room. But, he didn't want to run the risk of disturbing the children who had obviously settled back to sleep. He thought of Gretchen lying on the bed, nestling the infants, cradling them, keeping them safe and secure. He'd watched her from his vantage point on the bed. In the soft moonlight he'd told himself he'd never seen a more beautiful sight in his life, than the image of his wife and their children settled on the wide bed. He'd savored the sounds of their breathing. Never in his life had he felt such a sense of connection to any other person than what he felt toward the three people who now meant more to him than anything on earth.

Was this what it meant to accept responsibility? Was this how it felt to lay aside resentment and decide that the past should be left behind, no matter what?

Hunter glanced out the window at the silver moon It was the same light that would be shining on his precious children in the room next door. He heard the door open and close quietly and the footsteps of Mrs. Roper as she made her way back to her own room. The housekeeper knew all about taking care of people, of focusing on what was important, setting aside trivial concerns. It seemed as if the housekeeper wasn't even giving the slightest thought to why Gretchen had been gone. She'd accepted Gretchen's return unconditionally.

The question that filled Hunter's mind was about that exact same thing. Could he forgive and trust his wife? Could they overcome the barrier that lay between them both and learn how to love once again?

CHAPTER EIGHT

"There is so much to do to look after those children," Mrs. Roper said smiling broadly and glancing down at the children. Gretchen had to agree.

It was the next morning. Gretchen and Hunter were at the kitchen table sharing their first breakfast as a family. The two children were in their little baskets. Hunter sat next to Gretchen tucking into a plate of ham and eggs. The twins were right where they belonged. By their parents' side. It felt good to be seated by his side with the children next to them, Gretchen thought. The simple act of watching her husband eat his breakfast, while she gently shook the side of one of the little baskets gave her a basic and elemental pleasure.

Gretchen took a sip of the coffee and placed the cup down on the table. "Where are you going today, Hunter?" she asked him.

He looked momentarily surprised. "I wasn't figuring on going anywhere," he declared. He placed his cup down and fixed her with a questioning look.

Gretchen nodded wordlessly. She looked across and saw the equal amount of surprise on Mrs. Roper's face.

"I thought you said you had to go into town and buy these children of ours some of the things they're going to need," she said tentatively.

"Don't recall saying that," Hunter said with a frown. "What do they need?"

Gretchen sighed. "Oh, you know. Blankets. Maybe a couple of cots."

"What happened to the ones back in Helena?"

"They'll be coming soon enough. Mama said she'd send the things over once she and papa get back to Helena," she explained.

Gretchen saw Hunter's knuckles whiten as he grasped his knife and fork. "Now that you mention it, maybe they should just leave that stuff where it is. I can get new things. The twins deserve that. After all, this is their new home," he said. "Problem is, I might not be able to go into town today," he said. He jammed the fork into his mouth and started chewing on the eggs.

Gretchen glanced at Mrs. Roper who'd suddenly gotten real busy with what was on the stove. The housekeeper's eyes flickered toward Gretchen with a hint of puzzlement in them. "It's just that I didn't realize just how much the twins will need. At some point we're going to have to get the things that are on my list," she said.

Hunter's eyes widened. "You've got a list?"

Gretchen nodded. "Sure have. And it's a long one," she answered with a wry grin.

Hunter frowned and started cutting the ham on his plate with quick, emphatic strokes of the knife. His brows had furrowed into thoughtful ridges.

Gretchen hesitated before continuing. A sudden flurry of nerves started to tumble in her belly. Why was she asking Hunter to go to town? Did she seriously want him to leave her alone at the ranch on their very first day back together? It didn't look good, that was for sure. No wonder Mrs. Roper had given her such a curious look.

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