Ranchers Twins: Mom Needed

Product Description They were asleep. At last.Holly held her breath as she closed the storybook, then backed out of the childrens room with the stealth of a special ops soldier.The caution was necessary. Really. These kids could sleep soundly through the familiar blast of car horns and sirens from the busy New York street below, but the tiniest squeak from within the apartment could rouse them to instant panicking wakefulness.This evening, to Hollys relief, neither child stirred. They lay perfectly still in their matching bunk beds. In striped pyjamas, one dark head and one fair, they clutched their favourite fluffy toysa kangaroo for Josh, a koala for Annaand their eyes remained blessedly closed.Holly reached the doorway without a mishap and quickly flicked the light switch, plunging the room into darkness. For once there were no responding squawks or protests. Just sweet, blissful silence.She tiptoed down the halland the silence continued.Fannnntastic. With a little luck, tonight would be a good night. No wet beds. No nightmares. In the past month thered only been a handful of good nights. But, before Holly could even think about letting out a sigh of relief, her cellphone rang. Nooo!With the speed of a baseball short stop, she dived across the room, snatched the phone from the coffee table and darted into her bedroom, closing the door quickly but softly behind her.The phones screen identified the caller. Her boyfriend, Brandon. Wonderful.Hi, Brand, she whispered.No squeaks emanated from the bedroom down the hall and she sank gratefully onto the bed.Holly, why are you whispering?Ive just got the twins to sleep.Oh, right. Brandon gave an audible sigh. How are they coping this week?A little better.Thats great.Great wasnt quite the word Holly would have chosen to describe the small improvement in the childrens progress, but of course she wouldnt correct Brandon. Hed given her fabulous support during the funeral and its aftermath.I got your message, he said.Right. Thanks for calling back. Holly took a moment to relax into the pillows and she deliberately lightened her tone. So, what do you think? Can you wangle a leave pass for this weekend?She crossed her fingers as she waited for his answer. Please come, Brand. I need you.Brandons family owned a dairy farm in Vermont and his dads health wasnt the best, so the responsibility of running the enterprise had fallen squarely on Brandons shoulders.So, yesit was asking a lot to expect him to get away to New York again so soon. Last month, after Hollys cousin Chelseas sudden and tragic death, hed taken almost a whole week off to be with her and to help with the children.That was pretty amazing, actually. Holly had been touched and surprised. Since shed moved away from Vermont to study in New York, shed come to accept that if she wanted to see her boyfriend it was up to her to make the effort. Shed grown up on a dairy farm, too, so she understood the demands and shed been prepared to be the one who did all the travelling. Even so, shed only been able to see Brandon a handful of times in this past year.If he came this weekend, she would make sure they had time alone together. She and Brandon had been an item since high school, almost six years. Very soon now, she would be finished with her studies, Anna and Josh would be settled in Australia with their father, and she was looking forward to going home to Vermont to settle down with Brand.She could so easily picture their lives togetherBrandon with his dairy herd, while she worked in the local school, the two of them balancing their day jobs with their life at home, and eventually, with a family of their owncopperhaired children like their dad.Holly was very happy with that picture, and thinking about her boyfriend always made her feel cosy and safe.Admittedly, most girls might not place cosiness and safety high on their wish list when it came to boyfriends, but Holly wasnt looking