A McCabe's Valentine 
by Cathy Gillen Thacker 

Chapter One 

"There's been a mistake," Zach Taylor told Claire McCabe impatiently the moment she opened her front door to him, shortly after nine o'clock Friday evening. "I don't know what my cousin and his wife were thinking when they named me in their will, but I can't be the guardian for their two kids. I've never even met them!"

"Don't you think you're being a little hasty about this?" Claire asked gently, trying hard not to notice how good-looking Zach Taylor was in that sexy, bachelor-for-life way, as she ushered him into the foyer of her Laramie, Texas, home.

"No," Zach said firmly, as he shoved a hand through the rumpled layers of his black, curly hair. He focused his sea blue eyes squarely on hers and continued implacably, "I'm not the right guy to take charge of them. I make my living as a pilot for the CEO of Middleton International. And that means I'm out of the country these days more than I'm in. Usually with very little notice."

Claire knew he had a prestigious job and a stellar work record — she'd found that out while she had been trying to track him down. Clearly, this was a man who took his responsibilities seriously. She just had to help him see that the children were now his responsibility, too.

Claire smiled as she took his leather flight jacket and hung it on the coatrack in the hall. "Surely there are other pilot jobs you could take to support yourself," she continued as she led him toward the living room, where she had coffee and cookies waiting.

"If I wanted to, sure." Zach sat down reluctantly on her overstuffed floral sofa. He watched as she poured them both a steaming, aromatic cup of coffee. "The point is," he emphasized bluntly, "I don't."

Claire could see that. And although it wasn't her place to pass judgment on anyone, she couldn't help but feel disappointed. It was a shame he'd never met the kids, Claire thought, because had Zach Taylor met talkative six-year-old Robin and her amiable three-year-old brother Bradley, the handsome pilot would have wanted to take care of them. Instead, he wanted to run away from the responsibility that had fallen squarely on his broad, capable-looking shoulders.

"Look," Zach continued explaining as she stirred cream into her coffee, "I've worked my whole adult life to get that dream job. I'm not giving it up."

Half a dozen years of courtroom experience had taught Claire how to play her cards right. Willing to bide her time while Zach Taylor came to his senses, she took a delicate sip of coffee and sat back on the sofa. "All right."

"That's it?" Zach continued in his heart-of-Texas drawl. "You call me out of the blue and tell me to come all the way to Laramie, Texas, to meet you and the kids. I tell you I can't take the kids. And that's it?" Clearly, Claire thought, Zach Taylor had expected a much harder sell from the attorney appointed the children's interim guardian.

But even if he wanted her to persuade him into doing the right thing, she wasn't interested in playing the part of his conscience. Whatever decision he came to regarding custody of his cousin's children had to come straight from his heart. Otherwise, his efforts to care for the kids would eventually fail, no matter how well intentioned.

Claire shrugged and crossed her legs delicately at the knee. "I'm happy to say you aren't Robin and Bradley's only option here. There's a whole list of families interested in adopting both the children. When news of the tragic accident that claimed the lives of your cousin and his wife spread, hearts opened."

She paused, wanting him to understand how irrevocable his giving up the children would be. "It's just a matter of getting you to relinquish all rights to the kids and for me to match up Bradley and Robin with a family who will be able to give them the love and tenderness they need."

She paused again as she contemplated what it would be like, telling the two recently orphaned children that their only remaining relative did not want them. "They've been through a lot."

A mixture of grief and guilt turned Zach's eyes a stormy blue-gray. He looked at her with heartfelt regret. "I know. And I'm sorry."

Claire nodded. "We all are." The question was, what was Zach prepared to do about it?

Silence stretched between them as Zach looked down at the crayon drawings the children had been working on before they went to bed. Three-year-old Bradley's were mostly scribbles, but Robin had drawn hearts of various shapes and sizes, commemorating the upcoming Valentine's Day holiday.

Emotion flickered in Zach's eyes as he studied the children's pictures. He set his coffee down on the table between them. He leaned toward her in a conciliatory manner as he continued in a low, husky voice. "Look, obviously the two of us got off on the wrong foot. This is a pretty upsetting situation."

Claire nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly with him on that point.

"I trust you to do what's best for the two kids." Zach stood and prepared to leave. "So you do what you have to do and —"

Claire set her coffee cup down and stood, squaring off with Zach. "I'm afraid it's not that simple, Mr. Taylor."

A McCabe's Valentine 
by Cathy Gillen Thacker 

Chapter Two 

"What do you mean, it's not that simple?" Zach asked skeptically, his glance taking in Claire's shoulder-length auburn hair, fair skin, and heart-shaped face before settling, with mesmerizing intensity, on her dark-green eyes.

"This isn't a decision to be made lightly," Claire told Zach, her whole body warming beneath the deliberate scrutiny of his gaze. "You have to meet the children," she continued passionately, "talk to them. Satisfy the court that you've thought about this before you relinquish all legal rights to them."

Zach's sensual lips clamped shut. He braced his hands on his waist. "I'm not going to change my mind," he stated, more impatiently than ever.

Easy to say now, Claire thought, trying hard not to notice how well Zach's starched khaki shirt and jeans molded to his tall muscular body. As an experienced family law attorney, Claire had thought she could be objective, too. But that was before she had begun taking care of six-year-old Robin and her three-year-old brother, Bradley, in the aftermath of the tragedy some four weeks before.

"I can see that," Claire said coolly, as she turned her gaze away from his athletic frame and back to the ruggedly handsome contours of his face. "But you're still going to have to go through the motions," she said, trying not to get lost in the enticing depths of his blue eyes. "And there are other legal matters to be taken care of, too."

Zach squared his shoulders. Every inch of him simmered with tension. "Such as…?"

With effort, Claire turned her mind back to the legal business at hand. "Your cousin and his wife left a small estate, which is going to have to be disposed of. There's a car, a house in the country that is partially paid for, plus their personal effects. Someone has to oversee the disposition of all those items. According to the terms of your cousin's will, that someone is you."

Zach folded his arms in front of him. "Couldn't you do that?" he asked bluntly. More than ever, he looked like he wanted to be out of there — now.

But Claire knew better than most what a mistake it was to run from your problems instead of facing them head on. "I've got my hands full managing my law practice here in Laramie, and taking care of the two kids," she said.

Zach frowned. Once again, she'd caught him unawares. "I figured they'd be in a foster home by now," he said.

They would have been, Claire thought to herself, had she not been able to convince the judge that they would be better off staying with her temporarily. "The closest available foster home was 50 miles away. We all thought they'd be better off here in Laramie, in familiar surroundings, until you could come here to get them."

Zach's black eyebrows drew together as he struggled — and eventually failed — to remain emotionally disengaged. "How are they?" he asked finally.

Claire smiled. This kind of concern was what she had been hoping for. "Why don't you see for yourself?" she asked gently. "They're both asleep upstairs. We can peek in on them. I'll take you up."

Zach regarded her carefully, more reluctant than ever.

"It's no problem, Mr. Taylor," Claire continued, urging him on gently, understanding the difficulty of the situation he found himself in. She'd weathered situations she hadn't much cared for, either. But she'd gotten through them. And so would Zach Taylor. And the two kids. "Besides," she finished practically, "I think you should see what you're giving up before you make the kind of decision that can't be undone."

Zach swallowed. He looked as tense and apprehensive as the kids had when they had been turned over to her care.

Knowing too much time had elapsed already, Claire took Zach by the arm and led the way up the stairs to the second floor.

A McCabe's Valentine 
by Cathy Gillen Thacker 

Chapter Three 

Zach Taylor didn't know what he expected when he followed Claire McCabe up the stairs. Certainly not the two handsome kids sleeping soundly in youth beds that were shaped like a toy car and a fairy-tale carriage. With their dark hair, angelic faces, and small but sturdy bodies, they were cute enough to star in a television commercial.

Tenderness welled up inside him as he studied their innocent young faces. He pushed it away. The last thing he needed here was to get emotionally involved. His shoulders rigid with tension, he turned and stalked out of the room. Claire followed, albeit more reluctantly, and shut the door behind them.

Aware Claire was studying his reaction to the children carefully, Zach continued on down the stairs to the first floor. He stopped in the foyer, wheeled around, and met her gaze. Able to speak now that there was no danger of waking Robin or Bradley, he said, "They look fine."

Claire shrugged her slender shoulders eloquently. "All things considered, I guess that's true."

Zach held Claire's gaze, trying all the while not to notice the neatly brushed auburn hair falling softly to her shoulders, the intelligence in her dark-green eyes, and the ripe sensuality of her lips. He didn't want to be attracted to Claire McCabe, especially under these circumstances. It was a feat that was darn near impossible to achieve — she was that beautiful, and that sexy, even in discreetly tailored slacks and a cashmere sweater.

"You're telling me the kids aren't fine?" Zach probed, after a moment had passed.

Claire sighed and leaned toward Zach, careful to keep her voice low enough not to disturb the children sleeping upstairs.

"Their whole world has been turned upside down, Zach," she reported compassionately. "Although there are plenty of people in Laramie, Texas, who love and care about them, they've had no real family to fall back on."

Zach knew firsthand what that was like. Although his situation had been different, he too had lost his parents when he was young, when he was abandoned by first his father and then his mother. He'd ended up in the custody of the Dallas, Texas, social services department, and had been shunted from foster home to foster home. He'd never felt he belonged anywhere and he'd always been afraid that something even worse might happen to him at any time.

The only way he'd survived was to build walls around his heart. As much as he wanted to help those two kids, to prevent them from going through what he had suffered, he didn't want those walls around his heart coming down now. Especially when it wouldn't help the kids in the long run.

He steeled himself against the gentle prodding in Claire's dark-green eyes and soft, low voice. "It's been a month —"

"And we've done everything we can to give both children the comfort, understanding, and security that they need," Claire interrupted gently. "But I think it's still safe to say that they feel very much adrift."

"Have you gotten any help for them?"

"Yes. They've met with Kate Marten, a grief counselor at Laramie Community Hospital, a few times."

Counselors, Zach knew, could only do so much. He'd seen his share as a kid, and had learned the hard way that kind glances and words of wisdom couldn't do much to soothe a kid who was suddenly and unexpectedly parentless.

"What does the counselor say?" Zach asked gruffly.

The worry in Kate's eyes deepened. "That it's going to take time for Robin and Bradley to feel secure again, to stop anticipating that tragedy could strike again at any moment."

"How much time?" Zach asked finally, knowing from his own experience that right now, Robin and Bradley probably feared they would never really be loved, or belong anywhere again. And that was a lousy way for any kid to feel.

Claire spread her hands wide. "It's hard to say. In the meantime, it'll help them to know they still have some family out there, even if they don't see you very much. The main thing is to get the kids through this difficult transition period, with as much love and support as possible from friends and neighbors as well as family."

And like it or not, Zach conceded reluctantly, he was the only family those two little kids had. "I guess I could send them postcards or call them from time to time," he allowed, around the growing tightness in his throat.

His offer did little to appease Claire McCabe. "I had in mind something much more immediate," she said, folding her arms in front of her. She regarded Zach with growing disapproval. "I think you should be here when they wake up tomorrow morning."

A McCabe's Valentine 
by Cathy Gillen Thacker 

Chapter Four 

Zach would have thought Claire was joking, had he not seen the earnest look on her face. 

"You want me to stay here tonight, with you and the kids?" The thought of sleeping under the same roof as Claire sent his senses into overdrive.

Claire nodded at him cordially. She kept her pretty green eyes on his. "I want you to see Robin and Bradley as much as possible. Since you're not planning to be here very long —"

"A day or two at most," Zach reminded her, taking a step back, away from the delicate floral fragrance of her perfume.

"— this seems like the best way to do it," she finished.

Zach thought about sharing space with her, 24 hours a day, and knew it would be a mistake, despite the innocence of the offer. He was attracted to Claire. Unless he missed his guess, she was attracted to him, too. The last thing they needed was to add even a hint of sex or romance to an already complicated situation. He grabbed his leather flight jacket off the coatrack.

"Thanks for the offer, but I've already checked in at the motor inn over on Bowie Lane and I'd rather stay there. I can come over for breakfast," Zach offered, knowing that the sooner he met Bradley and Robin and got all this sorted out, the sooner he could leave town and get back to the considerable demands of his own life.

"What time are they usually up?" he asked, ignoring the disappointment in Claire's eyes as he swiftly shrugged on his jacket. He knew what Claire wanted from him, but she was just going to have to learn there was only so much of himself he was willing to give.

"Six a.m.," Claire replied.

Zach did some quick calculations. He wanted to make sure Claire had plenty of time to get out of her nightclothes before he showed up. "I'll get here around seven then, if that's okay."

"It's fine." She smiled, the optimistic light coming back into her eyes as suddenly as it had left. "The kids are going to be happy to see you," she reassured softly.

Zach had a hard time believing that. He gave Claire a skeptical look. "They've never met me."

Claire shrugged her shoulders. "Like I said, you're family. And right now —" she smiled at him encouragingly, once again willing him to get emotionally involved "— you're all they've got."

* * *

Claire's prophetic words rung in his ears as Zach said good-night and got in his rental car. He knew that Claire was hoping that, once he actually spent some time with the kids, he'd change his mind about becoming their guardian.

But that wasn't going to happen, no matter how cute they were, or how desperate they were for family. He didn't know the first thing about kids. And at this point in his life, he wasn't interested in learning. They'd be better off with a family that had both a mom and a dad. And hopefully, after tomorrow, Zach thought as he parked in front of his motel room door, Claire would realize that, too.

Zach got out of the car and let himself into his room. Like most motor inns in small towns, it was inexpensive, clean, and conveniently located. There was cable TV, but no minibar or hookups for personal computers.

Zach kicked off his boots, paused just long enough to set his alarm for 6:15 the next morning, then shucked his clothes and got into bed. He fell asleep still thinking about the deeply disappointed look in Claire's eyes when she'd realized he really wasn't going to take the kids.

He woke up still thinking about her, and wishing he could make her understand that this really was for the best, without going into the unhappy specifics of his past. Frowning, he rose and headed for the bathroom.

He had just lathered his face with shaving cream when the phone rang.…

A McCabe's Valentine 
by Cathy Gillen Thacker 

Chapter Five 

"He's not here," Robin worried aloud. "You said he'd be here for breakfast." Her cherubic face pinched with tension, Robin watched as Claire finished cooking the last of the pancakes and slid them into the oven to warm along with the bacon.

Claire checked the clock, noting that it was past 7:30 and there was still no sign of Zach Taylor. She turned back to Robin with a comforting smile. "Maybe he overslept."

Or decided not to come at all, Claire amended silently. Which was, of course, one reason Claire had wanted Zach to spend the night here last night. So he couldn't duck out before he'd met six-year-old Robin and three-year-old Bradley.

The doorbell rang. Claire breathed a sigh of relief. "That's probably him right now," she said, as she turned off the griddle and wiped her hands on a dishtowel.

"I wanta see!" Bradley slid off his chair and tucked his hand into Claire's while his older sister hung back shyly. Claire headed out into the foyer with Bradley.

"Sorry I'm late," Zach said the moment Claire opened the front door. He looked tense and upset. "I was on the phone with my boss."

Claire studied the grim set of Zach's lips. "Trouble?" she guessed.

Zach shoved a hand through his curly black hair. "Let's just say Margot Middleton's not very happy I asked for a few extra days off."

Claire smiled at Zach sympathetically. She knew what it was like not to see eye to eye with an employer. That was one of the reasons she now had her own private law practice. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Zach knelt so he'd be at eye level with Bradley. He held out his hand. "I'm Zach."

Grinning, Bradley shook hands with Zach. "You're my cousin," he announced.

"Yep, sure am. And if I'm not mistaken," Zach pointed to the locomotive embroidered on Bradley's railroad-striped overalls, "that's a train."

"It goes choo-choo!" Bradley grinned. "I got more trains in my toy box upstairs!"

"Maybe we'll play with them later, okay?" Zach said.

Bradley nodded enthusiastically.

Zach ruffled Bradley's hair and stood. He put his hands on his hips and looked at Claire inquisitively.

Guessing what he was about to ask, Claire said, "Robin's in the kitchen if you'd like to say hello."

"Sure." Zach eased his leather jacket off his broad shoulders and hung it on the coatrack next to the door.

Trying not to notice how handsome he looked freshly shaved and showered, Claire led the way to the kitchen. Robin was just where Claire had left her. In red leggings and a white sweater decorated with hearts, her dark hair caught in a bouncy ponytail, she looked pretty though decidedly unfriendly as she regarded Zach warily. Her blue-green eyes glittered with mistrust as she bounced her weight from one sneaker-clad foot to the other. "I don't want to talk to you!" Robin's lower lip slid out in a sulky pout.

"Okay," Zach said easily enough. He turned to Claire, as if he had been expecting the snub all along. "Is breakfast ready?" he asked cheerfully.

Relieved Zach hadn't picked up the gauntlet Robin had thrown down, Claire nodded. "Everyone have a seat," she said pleasantly, "and I'll get it."

"Don't you even care that I don't want to talk to you?" Robin asked, edging closer as Zach sat down.

"Of course I care," Zach said kindly, regarding the belligerent child with the same politeness and respect he would have bestowed on an adult. "But I also figure you're a big kid now and that's your decision to make." He shrugged his broad shoulders carelessly. "Just like it's mine whether or not I want to talk to you."

Robin obviously liked the fact that she had commanded Zach's respect as well as his attention. "Do you want to talk to me?" Robin persisted, as Claire put pancakes and bacon on the children's plates.

"I sure do." Zach took Robin's hand gently in his. "Because you and Bradley are the only cousins I have, too."

Robin mulled that over as she ate her pancakes. "I guess we could be friends," she said, after a moment. Robin smiled at Zach. Zach smiled back.

And just that quickly, Claire knew the first battle had been won. Now, if only the rest of her objectives could be accomplished as easily….

A McCabe's Valentine 
by Cathy Gillen Thacker 

Chapter Six 

"So this is where my cousin and his wife lived," Zach said, looking around the five acres of property the two children had inherited. Located just outside Laramie, the small, tidy ranch house was made of native limestone and sat in a grove of live oak and pecan trees. A large wooden play gym and swing set dominated the backyard. Flowerbeds edged the front.

"You were never here?" Claire asked as she opened the door and let them inside.

Zach shook his head as they walked through the modestly appointed but scrupulously clean rooms. He paused in front of the row of cheerful family photos adorning the fireplace mantel.

"I hadn't seen my cousin for years." His expression turned sad and remorseful. "The last time I saw Cindy was at their wedding."

"That's too bad," Claire said quietly, trying hard not to be affected by the intimacy of the situation they were dealing with. "Cindy and Blake were nice people."

Zach swung around to face her, inundating her with the crisp scent of his cologne. "You knew them?"

"Yes," Claire dropped her eyes to the strong column of his throat and the dark hair curling out of the open neck of his dark-blue cotton shirt. "They were among my first clients when I moved to Laramie last year."

His sea-blue eyes scanned her hair and face before returning to meet her gaze. "Is that why you're so protective of the kids?" he asked curiously.

Claire shrugged, aware that being in such close proximity to him had left her feeling unaccountably excited and jittery inside. "I'm their court-appointed guardian. It's my job."

His eyes darkened perceptively as he gave her a slow, thorough once-over. "Somehow it seems like more than that."

Claire had known for days now that she was getting too emotionally involved with Robin and Bradley. It bothered her to realize Zach thought so, too. She turned away from him stiffly, and gestured toward the furniture and personal belongings in the room. "What do you want to do with the furnishings?"

Zach sighed and shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "Anything with any sentimental value should be kept for the kids." He frowned as he contemplated the assortment of books, knickknacks and lamps in the room, seeming to have little use for them. "I don't know about the rest."

Claire made a note of what he'd decided thus far on the clipboard in her hands, then looked up at him cautiously. "Do you want any of the furniture for your own home?"

"I don't have a home," he told her matter-of-factly.

"Apartment then," Claire said.

"Don't have one of those, either," he continued without an ounce of remorse.

For a long moment their glances meshed. "Then where you do you hang your hat, so to speak?" Claire asked, stunned.

"In the corporate jet I fly my boss around in, or in whatever hotel I'm staying at."

Claire studied Zach, perplexed. She had never met someone with so few physical and emotional attachments. She inclined her head slightly to the side. "That doesn't bother you?" She couldn't imagine living that way herself.

Zach shrugged his broad shoulders aimlessly and seemed to become — if it was possible — even more remote. "I learned a long time ago to travel light."

Claire heard a wealth of hurt and loneliness in those clipped words. As well as a distinct wish not to talk about his past further. What had happened to Zach, she wondered, to make him want to live this way? Who had hurt him, and why? "Is there anyone else who might feel they have a claim to any of this?" Claire asked cautiously.

Again, Zach shook his head.

Claire looked at him thoughtfully. "You could keep the house yourself, use it when you visit the kids." You could make a home for yourself and the children here, Claire thought wistfully. All you'd have to do is say yes. And I'd do the legal work to make it happen.

Zach shook his head, his expression intractable. "With my work schedule, I won't be back often enough to make that feasible. I think it's best we go ahead and sell it as soon as possible, put that money in a trust for the kids, and then see what we can do about finding a family to adopt them."

Claire tried not to feel disappointed that Zach hadn't become attached to the children — and to Laramie, Texas — as swiftly and irrevocably as she had. Reminding herself that it wasn't her job to judge him or change his mind, she continued with as little emotion as possible. "I told you I've got a list of people interested."

Relief crossed Zach's face even as his voice hardened protectively. "I want to see that list. I want to make sure they're put in a good situation, with people who love them, before I leave."

A McCabe's Valentine 
by Cathy Gillen Thacker 

Chapter Seven 

Did you get all your papers signed?" Robin asked, when Claire and Zach picked Robin and Bradley up from their morning play date.

"Some, not all," Zach said. They'd met with a Realtor and put the house up for sale. Curiously, even that felt like a betrayal of sorts, although he knew there was no other choice. He was doing what was best for the children in the long run. One day, Claire and the kids would see that.

Until then, Claire would continue to look at him wistfully. Hoping, no doubt, to prod him into staying. And the two kids might never understand why he had to leave, he thought ruefully as they drove the short distance to Claire's house.

"Can we play Candyland?" Robin asked as soon as they entered the house. She brought out the board game and presented it to Claire.

"Zach can play it with you." Claire offered as she sat down at the desk in her living room and turned on her computer. She smiled at Robin reassuringly. "I have to do some work right now."

She was going to spend the afternoon drawing up the rest of the assorted legal papers Zach was eventually going to have to sign, while he helped her out by entertaining the children.

Robin's face mirrored her disappointment, but she dutifully carried the game box over to Zach anyway. She stood in front of him, searching his face. "Do you know how to play?" Robin asked.

"I will, after I read the rules," Zach promised. He figured that, after what they'd been through with losing their folks, entertaining them for an afternoon was the least he could do.

To Zach's relief, the game was simple enough that three-year-old Bradley was able to join in, too. Although it felt strange at first to be sprawled out on the floor along with the kids, by the time they were halfway through Zach found he was enjoying himself.

Bradley, on the other hand, grew less and less engaged in the game, and more and more lethargic. By the time the game was finished, he was leaning against Zach, his head resting on Zach's chest. His cheeks were bright pink. Through his thick cotton shirt Zach could feel the heat of Bradley's sturdy little body.

Instinctively, Zach pressed a hand against Bradley's forehead, and frowned at what he found. "Claire?"

Claire looked up from her computer keyboard, a distracted expression on her face. "Hmm?"

"Do you have a thermometer?" Zach asked. "Bradley's burning up."

* * *

"Strep throat," Claire's uncle, Dr. John McCabe, pronounced a short while later as he wrote out a prescription for antibiotics in the Laramie Community Hospital emergency room. "You'll need to get this filled in the hospital pharmacy and start giving it to Bradley right away. You can give him acetaminophen for the fever, too. He's probably not going to want to eat much until he's feeling a little better, but it's important that he keep taking liquids. We don't want him to get dehydrated. And watch for signs of illness in anyone else he's been in contact with — strep throat is contagious."

"Okay." Claire finished dressing Bradley and picked him up, cradling him in her arms.

"If his fever spikes during the night," John continued, looking every inch the kindly family physician he was, "it may be necessary to put him in a lukewarm bath and sponge him down, to cool his body temperature."

Claire shot Zach a concerned look. He knew how she felt. He was worried, too.

"How will I know when to do that?" Claire asked John, as Bradley held out his arms to Zach. Still listening intently to the doctor's advice, Zach took Bradley and cradled him in his arms.

"If it goes over 102 degrees, get him in a tub of water right away," John said. 

Bradley wreathed his arms around Zach's neck and laid his head on Zach's shoulder. Zach hadn't any experience holding a kid in his arms, but somehow it felt right, cradling Bradley against him that way.

Claire took Robin's hand. Together, the four of them went down the hall to get the prescription, then headed out to the car.

Bradley was asleep again by the time they reached the house. They woke him up to give him his first dose of medicine, then put him on the sofa, covered him with a blanket, and started his favorite video, a movie about a soccer-playing golden retriever.

Ignoring the action on the TV screen, Robin tugged on Zach's and Claire's hands simultaneously. "I'm hungry," she announced, looking from one of them to the other. "What's for supper?"

Robin's question seemed directed primarily at Zach. And, although his intention had been to get out of there the second he signed the rest of the legal papers, Zach knew he didn't have any choice. Claire needed help. It was that simple. "I don't know yet," Zach told Robin firmly, as he hazarded a look at Claire, "but I promise you, we'll figure it out."

A McCabe's Valentine 
by Cathy Gillen Thacker 

Chapter Eight 

"You want to stay?" Claire asked, amazed.

Zach shrugged. It wasn't such a big sacrifice. He wouldn't be able to relax in his motel room anyway, knowing Bradley was sick. 

"Someone has to go out and pick up some supper," he said matter-of-factly. And unlike caring for Robin and Bradley, that was a chore he could handle. He caught Claire's eye and smiled. "Pizza and a salad sound all right?"

"That sounds great." Claire smiled her relief as she shot him a grateful glance.

"I'm not hungry," Bradley said, wrapping an arm around Zach's leg and drawing him near again.

Zach's heart went out to the three-year-old. Although Bradley hadn't complained, his throat had to hurt like the dickens. Zach knelt beside Bradley. "How about a milkshake then?" he asked gently, tenderness welling up inside him as he brushed the hair away from Bradley's fever-red face. "Think you could handle that?"

Bradley nodded. "Choc'late, please."

"Can I go with you?" Robin interrupted, tugging on Zach's sleeve.

Zach looked at Claire to see what she thought. Claire realized that with her younger brother getting all the attention, Bradley's older sister was beginning to feel neglected.

"That would be a big help, Robin," Claire said, with a kindly smile.

By the time Zach and Robin returned with dinner, Bradley was fast asleep on the couch. Claire slid his milkshake into the freezer for later, and the three of them sat down in the kitchen to eat.

"Do you like flying jet planes?" Robin asked. 

"Very much," Zach said, acutely aware that Claire was listening to his answers with even more interest than her young charge. 

Robin picked the pepperoni off her pizza and ate that first. "How come?" she asked, inclining her head to the side.

"The freedom of it, I guess," Zach said. "When I was your age, I wanted to do two things — get myself up in the clouds and see the world. Flying jets has allowed me to do both." He paused to study the inquisitive look on her young face. "What do you want to do when you grow up?"

"Be a mommy," Robin broadcast happily. "And be a lawyer, like Claire." Robin scooted around to look at Claire. "How come you're a lawyer, anyways?"

"Because my dad was a lawyer, and then later, when I was about 12, he became a judge. I used to go to his courtroom with him sometimes and watch what went on. I thought the way my dad helped people was pretty neat."

"Well, that's what I want to do, too," Robin said. "Help people. And be a bride and get married." She looked at Claire. "How come you're not married?" she asked.

"Actually," Claire said, a self-conscious blush coloring her cheeks as she turned her attention to her salad. "I was."

"When?" Zach chimed in before he could help himself. He didn't know why, but he didn't like the idea of Claire married to anyone else.

"When I was in law school." Claire shot them both a brief, impersonal smile as she finished her salad and started on her pizza.

"Did your husband get killed in a car accident, like my mommy and daddy?" Robin asked, a worried expression on her face.

"No. We divorced," Claire said with an unhappy sigh.

Zach wanted to ask why, but the skittish look in Claire's eyes told him the answer wasn't something a child should hear. Later, when he and Claire were alone again, he promised himself he'd find out the answer to that, plus everything else he wanted to know.

Oblivious to the undercurrent of tension running between the two adults, Robin turned to Zach, curious as ever. "Have you ever been married?" she asked with wide-eyed innocence.

Zach tensed. Out of the mouths of babes. "Uh, no," he admitted reluctantly.

Robin's frown of dismay mirrored Claire's. "Why not?" Robin demanded.

Because he had never let anyone close enough. Because he didn't want to put himself in the position of being abandoned again, the way he'd been abandoned when he was a kid. "I'm just not the kind of man who settles down with anyone, I guess," Zach said amiably.

And knew as soon as the words were out that, as far as Claire was concerned, that had been the wrong thing to say.

A McCabe's Valentine 
by Cathy Gillen Thacker 

Chapter Nine 

"You're disappointed in me, aren't you — for telling Robin I'm not the marrying kind?" Zach asked Claire, after Robin and Bradley were in bed for the night. It bothered him to realize how much her unhappiness affected him. For reasons he didn't totally understand, he wanted her to like and respect him. Right now, he had the feeling she didn't.

Claire's eyes darkened to a deep emerald as she shrugged her slender shoulders uncaringly. "At least you're honest about the way you feel," she said as they sat down at the dining room table.

"Meaning what?" Zach took a shot in the dark, hoping to direct the conversation where he wanted it to go. "That your ex-husband wasn't?"

"I think my ex wanted to be married," Claire said cautiously, as she handed Zach the legal papers she had been working on earlier. "He just didn't want kids."

"You didn't talk about that before you got married?"

"In the abstract." Claire's face flushed a becoming pink. She turned her head away from his probing gaze. "But when it became a reality, during our first year of law school," Claire paused and swallowed hard, "he decided fatherhood wasn't for him. He said he just couldn't see his life unfolding that way, and he walked out on me."

Zach wanted to deck her ex-husband for hurting her that way. "What happened to the baby?" he asked gently, reaching over to take her hand in his.

Claire looked down at their entwined fingers, but made no move to pull away as she reported sadly, "I had a miscarriage several weeks later."

Zach didn't need to see the moisture suddenly shimmering in her eyes or hear the pain in her low voice to know how much that had devastated her. But he also knew enough about Claire to realize she was no quitter, and that she wouldn't easily walk away from any commitment she had made. Needing and wanting to know what had happened next, he asked, "Did you try to get back together with him?"

"There was no point." Claire tightened her fingers on Zach's, and then pulled away. "By then, I'd realized I did want children, very much. And I knew I couldn't be with anyone who would run from his responsibilities."

"The way I'm doing," Zach guessed unhappily.

The color in Claire's face heightened. Her shoulders strung tight as a bow, she sat all the way back in her chair. "I didn't say that." She lifted her chin defiantly.

"You're thinking it, though," Zach countered quietly, sitting all the way back in his chair, too. "All the time."

Claire didn't deny it. "I just don't think you know what you're giving up," she said softly, looking deep into his eyes. "Bradley and Robin are such sweet kids."

Guilt pricked Zach's conscience. Determinedly, he pushed it away. "I never said they weren't," he replied evenly.

"And the three of you are family."

Family, Zach thought, as the bitterness rose in his throat. He rose and paced the room restlessly. "Family isn't sacred for me, Claire."

"It should be." Claire stood, too, and moved to join him at the window overlooking the tranquil small-town street. "It should be for everyone," she told him passionately.

Zach stared down at her. At that moment, it was all he could do not to take her in his arms and kiss her senseless. Knowing all the reasons why that shouldn't, couldn't, happen, he accused her gruffly, "Spoken like a person who had a wonderful childhood."

Claire stiffened, defensive again. "It wasn't all a bed of roses," she said hotly.

But Zach was willing to bet it had been a damn sight better than his own childhood. He stepped closer and demanded quietly, even as he searched her eyes, "Then what was it like?"

Claire struggled to find the words to explain. "I was the last of six children. My mother had me when she was 45. By the time I was six years old everyone else had left the nest. I can't say I minded that so much, since I then had my parents' attention all to myself. But I did mind the lack of closeness I felt — and still feel — to my siblings, due to the differences in our ages."

Zach was unable to feel too badly for her. "At least you had brothers and sisters," he pointed out. "I didn't."

"But you had parents, Zach." Claire looked at him as if she thought that should have been enough.

Some parents, Zach thought bitterly, reflecting on his childhood. Claire would never understand him until he told her the truth about his past.

"My dad ran out on us when I was four. My mother left me with social workers when I was eight. She said she was coming back for me, but she never did. She didn't want the responsibility. I didn't fit into her life."

And yet, like a fool, he'd kept expecting his mom to return for him. To the point that he hadn't let any of his foster families get close to him, for fear his mother would think he was happier with them than he would have been with her, if and when she returned to get him.

Compassion glimmered in Claire's eyes as she gently touched his arm. "I'm sorry your parents hurt you."

"It doesn't matter." Zach ignored the tenderness in Claire's touch as he sighed wearily and rubbed the back of his neck. "It was years ago. I've gotten over it."

Had he? The look in his eyes told Claire differently.

Claire let her hand drop to twine with his. "You could still have a family, Zach. In Robin and Bradley."

Zach knew Claire thought so. But he just couldn't see himself taking on two orphaned kids when he didn't know the first thing about building a loving family.

Guilt flooding him anew, he pulled away from the intimacy of her touch. "It's not that simple, Claire," Zach told her harshly. He didn't care what kind of pressure she put on him. He wasn't going to cause those two little kids to suffer for lack of proper attention or affection, the way he'd suffered when he was a kid. They deserved more. A heck of a lot more.

Claire pressed her lips together in silent condemnation.

"Then make it that simple," Claire said, her slender shoulders tensing.

A McCabe's Valentine 
by Cathy Gillen Thacker 

Chapter Ten 

"Okay," Zach said, determined to make it as simple as Claire wanted it to be. He sat back down at the dining room table, picked up a pen, and reached for the legal papers she had prepared earlier that day. Foregoing any further niceties and getting straight to the point, he demanded, "Where do I sign to give up all claim to my cousin's estate and his kids?"

Claire came back to the table, too. A mixture of sadness and anger glimmered in her green eyes. There was no doubt in Zach's mind or his heart that he had disappointed her — deeply. "You're really committed to doing this?" she asked wearily.

Zach nodded, refusing to let himself be persuaded otherwise, even by someone as pretty and gentle as Claire McCabe. What he was doing was for the best. And one day, God willing, Claire and the kids would realize that, too. 

Before Claire could say another guilt-provoking word, the doorbell rang. 

"Now what?" Claire sighed, glancing at her watch, and seeing it was nearly nine p.m. 

Zach pushed to his feet, his desire to protect her and the kids even stronger than his desire to cut and run. "Want me to get it?" he asked, knowing trouble was always possible — even in small, peaceful towns like Laramie, Texas.

Claire shook her head, not the least bit nervous about what awaited her. "No. I'll go. You just stay here and read the papers and think about what it is you're about to give up." She shot him a final disapproving glare, then stalked off, her hips swaying provocatively beneath the thin wool of her nicely tailored slacks.

Zach looked down at the papers she'd set in front of him.

The legal language was a little beyond him, but it was clear that if he signed these papers, he would have no further legal rights to or responsibility for Robin and Bradley from here on out. It was what he wanted. Why, then, did it feel so wrong? Zach wondered as a familiar female voice sounded in the foyer beyond.

His aggravation increasing by leaps and bounds, he stood and went to the front hall. His boss regarded him censoriously. "Do you know how many messages I've left for you at that hotel?" Margot Middleton demanded, looking every bit the high-maintenance CEO she was. "I finally had to get my driver to bring me here to this godforsaken backwater town to find you. I need to go to Vienna right away. I want to leave tonight."

Zach looked at Claire. Normally, he obliged Margot. He figured it was part of his job. But this was one time it wasn't going to be possible. And he knew the wealthy executive wasn't going to take it lightly.

He turned to Claire, figuring she did not need to bear the brunt of Margot's notorious temper. "If you could excuse us —"

Claire looked as though she wanted to do anything but leave him alone with Margot. Zach would have thought Claire was jealous, if he hadn't known better.

"Certainly." Claire flashed both Zach and Margot a tight smile, then turned and headed for the kitchen.

Zach turned back to Margot. "I can't go," he told his boss. 

Margot inched off one custom-made leather glove, then the other. "I can't afford to give you any more days off, Zach. You've had two."

"One," Zach corrected.

"Well," Margot said with a petulant toss of her sleek, black bob, "it seems longer."

"Look, I'm sorry," Zach said, wondering how a woman who was so successful in business could also be so callous to the personal needs of others, "but I haven't been able to wrap things up here yet."

"Why not?" Margot demanded, impatiently tapping one Donna Karan-clad foot. "Just sign whatever papers you need to sign and then let's go."

"I can't," he repeated.

His boss's eyes turned icy with disdain. "You have a dream job here, Zach," Margot warned. "Don't blow it."

"Believe me," Zach said heavily, thinking about how long it had taken him to land such a high-paying, glamour-packed gig. "I don't want to."

* * *

Claire had just finished making coffee when she heard the front door close. Zach joined her in the kitchen. He looked grim and unhappy. Claire understood why. "I don't want you to get fired," she said.

Zach accepted the mug of steaming coffee Claire handed him with a grateful look. "Margot's not going to fire me," he promised as he lifted the mug to his lips.

Still tingling where their fingers had touched, Claire sipped her coffee, too. "How can you be so sure?"

Half of Zach's mouth lifted in a sardonic smile. "Because she's not going to find anyone else to put up with her nonsense on a daily basis."

Claire tried hard not to notice how ruggedly handsome Zach looked in the soft light of her kitchen, his curly black hair rumpled, the faint shadow of evening beard lining his face. It wasn't part of her job to be attracted to him. "I thought you liked working for her," Claire said. To the point he'd been unwilling to consider doing anything else, anywhere else.

Zach shrugged. "I like earning a big salary and seeing the world." He sighed heavily and raked a hand through his hair, rumpling the inky layers even more. He met her eyes frankly. "Margot Middleton's something else."

Claire studied Zach over the rim of her mug. She knew it was part of his job, but she really hated to think of him at that woman's mercy. "She seems very attached to you." Too attached, Claire thought, and saw Zach's eyebrows lift in silent intrigue.

"Are you two —" Claire couldn't bring herself to say it out loud.

"What?" Zach prodded, smiling.

"Intimate." There, Claire thought. She'd said it.

Zach grinned openly. "No," he replied dryly. "Not in the least." His gaze roved over her from head to toe with disturbing leisure before returning to her face. His voice dropped a sexy notch as he put his coffee cup aside and turned back to her. "Does it make you jealous thinking that might be the case?"

A McCabe's Valentine 
by Cathy Gillen Thacker 

Chapter Eleven 

"I'm not jealous," Claire told Zach hotly.

But Zach merely smiled, stepped closer, and wrapped his arms around her. "Tell me that again in a minute," he murmured, tilting her face up to his, "and I'll believe you."

Claire meant to resist. But the moment his lips touched hers, inundating her with the softness of his lips and the sheer male insistence of his kiss, the moment he engulfed her with the feel of his warm, strong body, she was lost in the wonder of the moment. Of him. 

No one had ever touched her in quite this way. No one had ever wanted her this much. One embrace and she was on fire. She was his. Needing, wanting, so much more. 

She was trembling as he lifted his head and drew back. Still gauging her response, he looked down at her, grinned, and drawled softly, "I think this is the part where you're supposed to slap my face." 

Claire knew that if she turned away from him now, any hint of romance between them would stop. Instead, Claire let her feelings take over as she cradled his face in her hands. And just to be sure she hadn't imagined what she'd felt, kissed him. Gently at first, and then again and again. No, she realized shakily as their kisses continued, she hadn't imagined it. Just as she hadn't imagined the way he made her feel. Warm all over. Wanted. And womanly to her core. 

Breathing hard, she drew back to gauge his reaction. And saw the desire in his eyes, the wild, yearning need he was feeling as he wreathed a hand through her hair. Gazing down at her tenderly, he said, "Want to try that again?" 

This time he kissed her hard, unrestrainedly, the need to experiment replaced by something much stronger, hotter, wilder. He wanted her as much as she wanted him, and unless they stopped, here and now, Claire knew the moment was fast approaching when there would be no stopping. 

Trembling, she placed her hands against his chest and pushed him away. "We can't do this." As much as she wanted to forget, they had responsibilities...two children, under this very roof.… 

"I know." Zach sighed, accepting. 

She turned back to him. Wanting to be clear, she said, "You have papers to sign, job demands to be met.…" 

"Not exactly," Zach interrupted. "Not anymore." 

Claire blinked, unsure what he was trying to say. "What?" 

"Margot's hiring another pilot to fly her to Europe tonight," Zach explained. "She's letting me take a few days' vacation, but she wants me in Europe by the middle of the next week by the very latest. In time to fly her to Amsterdam on Thursday." 

Which meant, Claire thought, he was still leaving. She steeled herself against further hurt. "Is that what you want?" 

Zach nodded, his expression resolute. "I need to get everything settled before I leave Texas." 

Coldness settled around Claire's heart as she willed herself to be practical. "Given that, we still have the papers to go over." Papers that, once signed, would end the contact between them. 

Zach nodded, agreeing, then both of them stopped dead as they heard a high-pitched wail. 

"Bradley," they both said in the same instant, and raced for the stairs. 

* * *

Bradley was sitting up in his youth bed. Tears were streaming down his face and his hair was wet with perspiration. His skin was like fire and his cheeks were red. 

Zach gathered him in his arms. "There now, it's all right. We've got you. And we're going to take care of you," he said. 

His heart racing, Zach carried Bradley past the still-sleeping Robin and into the master bedroom across the hall. Looking as concerned as Zach, Claire got out the thermometer. Quickly, she took Bradley's temperature while Zach soothed the little boy with quiet words and soft strokes of his hands. 

"It's 104," Claire reported anxiously, already unsnapping Bradley's pajama top. "We're going to have to put him in the tub to bring it down." 

Recalling the instructions Dr. McCabe had given them at the E.R., Zach carried Bradley into the bathroom. When Bradley resisted getting in the tub, Zach kicked off his boots and, ignoring Claire's stunned look of dismay, climbed in right along with the sick little boy, jeans, shirt, and all. 

Just as Zach had hoped, Bradley stopped crying immediately and cuddled against him while Zach cooled him down with handfuls of lukewarm water. 

Claire brought in more liquid acetaminophen. To her chagrin, Bradley wouldn't take it for her. He did, however, take it for Zach. 

"What's his temp now?" Zach asked 20 minutes later, when Claire took Bradley's temperature again. 

"Just below 100," Claire said, with a relieved sigh. She looked at Zach with gratitude, wordlessly letting him know how much she appreciated his being there to help her. "I think we can take him out now and get him into a dry pair of pajamas. You, however," Claire said wryly, eyeing Zach's drenched clothing as she reached for a large fluffy towel, "present a more difficult problem." 

A McCabe's Valentine 
by Cathy Gillen Thacker 

Chapter Twelve 

While Claire gave Bradley some milkshake and water to soothe his aching throat and tucked him back into bed, Zach stripped off his wet clothes and wrapped a large terry-cloth bath sheet around his waist. His nakedness wasn't a problem for him, but he sensed it would be for Claire. Especially given the passionate way they had been kissing earlier in the evening. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about the heat of their embrace, and he wagered neither had she.

Not surprisingly, she blushed the moment she saw him stride into the kitchen, toss his wet clothes into the clothes dryer, and switch it on.

"These belong to one of my brothers," Claire told Zach as she handed him a pair of gray sweatpants, a navy blue T-shirt, and a pair of thick white sweat socks. Her thick auburn lashes lowered demurely as she averted her eyes from his bare chest. "I'll make you some cocoa while you change."

"Thanks." His pulse jumping, Zach was already heading for the stairs. "I'll check in on Bradley again while I'm up there."

When Zach returned, Claire had two mugs of cocoa ready, and she was working on starting a fire in the fireplace. Enjoying the sight of the silky fall of her auburn hair against the golden glow of her skin, Zach hunkered down beside her to lend a hand. "Bradley's asleep. He feels pretty cool to the touch, too."

"That's good." Claire breathed a sigh of relief, and moved back to let Zach finish building the fire. Concern radiated from her dark-green eyes. Swallowing hard, she confessed, "He had me worried there for a few minutes."

"Me, too." Zach got the fire blazing, then joined her on the sofa. His thigh brushed hers as he turned to face her. Sensing she needed comfort and reassurance now as much as Bradley had earlier, he took her hand in his and rubbed a thumb along the satiny underside of her wrist. The feel of her hand in his, so soft and warm and womanly, arrowed straight to his groin. "You asked me if I wanted to stay here last night, and I said no, but I'm thinking maybe I should stay here tonight, so I can help out with Bradley if his fever spikes again."

Claire drew a deep breath, nodded, and again averted her eyes. "I'd appreciate that," she said softly. "Meanwhile…" Claire sighed reluctantly, "we should get back to those papers."

Claire hoped Zach would want more time to think about giving the kids up, now that he was starting to get close to them. Instead, he merely shrugged. "Just show me where to sign," he said, as the distant look came back into his eyes.

Claire went to the dining room to get the legal papers she had prepared earlier and brought them back to where she and Zach were sitting. "The first set involve any monetary proceeds from your cousin's estate. By signing these you'll allow me to put any money in a trust for the kids."

Zach lifted a cautionary hand. "I think it needs to be set up so that the money can only be spent on them. I wouldn't want anyone to adopt them and then squander the money on other things. In fact," Zach continued, "I think you should be the executor of the trust. That way I won't have to worry."

"All right." Claire handed over the first set of papers, then — with her heart sinking at the thought of everything he was so easily giving up — watched him read and sign them.

Telling herself she had no right to inject her emotions into his legal affairs, she continued to explain matter-of-factly, "The second set basically relinquishes any familial claim you have to the children, and will allow them to be legally adopted by another family."

Again, Claire hoped Zach would hesitate. Or better yet, refuse to sign the documents that would relinquish his chance to adopt the children.

She wanted him to stay there with her and the kids, find a way to make this all work out, and give them the happy ending they all deserved. Instead, he read and signed the papers, as if he had no reservations at all.

A McCabe's Valentine 
by Cathy Gillen Thacker 

Chapter Thirteen 

"How many times did Bradley wake up last night?" Robin asked as soon as she tumbled out of bed the next morning. Zach and Claire exchanged contemplative looks laced with the intimacy of having been thrown together in a crisis.

"I think he was up about every two or three hours, don't you?" Claire said, as she padded around the kitchen in her satin pajamas and robe.

Watching Claire cook breakfast, Zach tried not to think about how beautiful she was in that innocent but sexy way, or how much he had liked spending the night in her warm and cozy home. This wasn't something he wanted to get used to, even for a few days. And he had the feeling that if he did stay on with Claire and the kids, he would get used to it — to the point where he wouldn't want to do without them.

"If not more." Zach agreed with Claire's assessment, sipping his coffee. Not that he'd minded the lack of sleep or privacy. Being with Claire and helping the sick little boy she loved like her own had brought him contentment unlike anything he had ever known. And that was amazing, as far as he was concerned. He had never once thought of himself as the fatherly type. Until last night.

Robin looked curiously from Claire to Zach and back again, her little face pinched with concern, as she seemed to note that something was different — better — between the two adults. Robin propped her chin on her fist. "Does Bradley still have a temperature?"

"Not much of one," Claire said, smiling down at her as she brought platters of scrambled eggs and bacon to the table. "But Bradley will still have to stay home all day and rest."

"Well, I can't do that," Robin announced importantly. "I've got to get some valentines for my party at school on Tuesday. Miss Becknel —"

"That's her first grade teacher," Claire told Zach.

"— wants us to write all the names on the env'lopes ourselves — and that's gonna take a very, very long time," Robin prophesized soberly. "Maybe even all afternoon!"

"Oh, dear," Claire said, her pretty cheeks blushing with distress.

Clearly, Zach thought, the superorganized, efficient Claire had forgotten all about it. Once again, Zach — who'd made it a hard-and-fast rule never to get involved in other people's problems — found himself riding to the rescue. "I can take her to the store to get some," he said.

"That would be great." Claire practically sagged with relief and gratitude.

Robin beamed as she danced over to give Zach a hug. "This is gonna be fun," she predicted.

As soon as breakfast was over, Zach went back to his motel to shower and shave. By the time he returned, Robin was dressed and raring to go.

"Would you mind picking up milk and juice and a few other things, too?" Claire asked as she handed some money to Zach.

"Be happy to," Zach said. He figured it was the least he could do, given all Claire was doing for his little cousins.

They were able to get all five items on Claire's very specific list easily enough, but when it came to picking out a box of valentines among the large selection in the grocery store aisle, Robin had a hard time making up her mind. "I like the Snoopy ones," she said, admiring a box featuring the Peanuts cartoon characters on it. "But I also like the Garfield ones."

"How many valentines do you need?" Zach asked, studying the information on the box.

Robin wrinkled her nose as she tried to decide. "Well, there are 22 kids in my class at school, and I want to give ones to my teacher and Claire and you and some other people, too." Perplexed, she tipped her face up to Zach's. "So I don't know how many that makes."

"I think it makes two boxes' worth," Zach said. "So why don't we get one of each kind that you like."

Robin smiled from ear to ear. "Okay."

He helped her pick out a new coloring book and box of crayons for Bradley, so he would have something interesting to do, too, then started to head for the checkout line.

"Wait." Robin grabbed his hand and pulled him back to the aisle containing all the valentines. "Aren't you going to get a candy heart for Claire?" she demanded impatiently.

Zach hesitated in front of the opulent display of heart-shaped red satin boxes filled with chocolates.

"My daddy always got one of these for my mommy," Robin said.

"Claire and I aren't married, honey," Zach said gently.

Robin's eyes filled with a mixture of hope and enthusiasm. "But you could be," she said.

Could they? Zach hated to admit how alluring that thought was after just a few days with Claire and the kids. He could see himself living there in Laramie, in the house with Claire, going to work every day and coming home every night, and he didn't know what to make of that.

He hunkered down to talk to Robin privately, face to face. "It's not that simple, Robin," he said quietly.

"It is if you love her," Robin insisted. "And you do love her, don't you?"

Zach jerked in a breath. "Where did you get that idea?" he said, knowing even as he attempted to deny it that Robin was right. Sometime in the past two days he had fallen in love with Claire. But that didn't make him the right man for her. Claire needed someone as devoted to home and family as she was. Not a restless wanderer like him, who was only really happy when he was flying jets from one far-flung location to another.

"I dunno," Robin shrugged her small shoulders, perplexed again. "I just got that idea, that's all."

"Well, don't mention it to Claire," Zach said shortly, standing. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt or embarrass Claire, and despite the passionate way she had kissed him, she wasn't in love with him, he told himself firmly.

"Okay. But you still need to get her a valentine," Robin insisted fiercely, tucking her hand into Zach's. "Because otherwise her feelings are going to be hurt."

A McCabe's Valentine 
by Cathy Gillen Thacker 

Chapter Fourteen 

"Thanks for coming over," Claire said as she ushered her aunt and uncle inside.

"No problem," Lilah McCabe smiled with typical good cheer.

"That's what's so great about retirement," John McCabe said. "Aside from helping out at the hospital every now and then, I have plenty of time to come to the rescue of my favorite niece." He kissed her cheek, then went into the living room, where Bradley was camped out on the sofa in his pajamas, alternately dozing and watching 101 Dalmations.

"How's Bradley doing this morning?" Lilah asked, following Claire into the kitchen.

Claire went back to assembling peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the children's lunch. "His temperature is normal. But I'm afraid it'll spike this afternoon, and I really have to go to the office with Zach."

Claire felt as if the weight of the world were on her shoulders. Worse, she felt she had failed both Zach and the kids in some fundamental way that would haunt them all for years to come. Needing to confide in someone, Claire turned to Lilah. "He signed the papers last night that will allow the kids to be placed with a family."

The sharp disappointment Claire felt was reflected in Lilah's eyes. "I know you'd hoped Zach would do otherwise, once he was here," Lilah commiserated softly as she walked over to stir the chicken noodle soup simmering on the stove.

Yes, Claire thought. She had. Which was yet another sign she was too emotionally involved in the situation. "He's doing what he believes is the right thing for all of them. And I respect that," Claire said carefully, doing her best to keep her own feelings in check. It wasn't easy, when everything soft and womanly in her clamored to tell Zach he was making the mistake of his life, walking away from the children who needed him so desperately. Not to mention the promise of love and passion, and the heartfelt kisses the two of them had shared.

"Do you think he'll keep in touch with the kids or visit them?"

"I don't know." Claire frowned as she thought about Zach's passion for his career, his need to travel light. "I'm still hoping to talk him into that. But I can't do it around the kids, without risking them overhearing and feeling rejected, so —" Claire let her voice trail off hopefully.

"Take all the time you need this afternoon," Lilah said, with an understanding smile. "John and I will be here with the kids."

"Thank you." Claire sighed with relief. "I wouldn't be able to leave Bradley at all, if I didn't know he'd be with the finest nurse and doctor in all of Laramie County."

"You've gotten pretty attached to these kids, haven't you?" Lilah observed soberly.

Claire nodded as she covered the sandwiches with plastic wrap and slid them into the refrigerator. "It's going to be hard to let Bradley and Robin go." Being with them, taking care of them, made her feel like a mom. It made her feel like all her dreams were coming true.

Outside, a car door slammed. Claire moved to the window and smiled. "There're Zach and Robin now." And they looked happy. Content.

Robin rushed inside, carrying a grocery bag. "Hi, Aunt Lilah! I got my valentines! Wanta see?" Zach followed, carrying the groceries Claire had asked for.

Claire introduced Zach to her aunt and uncle and told him of their plans to baby-sit the two kids, then said, "I thought we'd go over to my office to complete the rest of the paperwork."

"Sounds good," Zach said, even though — suddenly — he didn't look all that anxious to proceed.

* * *

It being a Sunday afternoon, all was quiet in the second-floor office on Main Street where Claire practiced law. Zach looked around at the tastefully appointed sage green and dusty pink reception area before following Claire into her private office. The long, spacious room had a sitting area at one end with a sofa, coffee table, and two wing chairs, and a desk and shelves of law books at the other end. A small adjacent room held files, a coffeemaker, and additional copying, fax, and computer equipment.

"This is really nice," Zach said.

"Thanks." Claire looked around appreciatively as she went to her desk and got the files, then set about brewing coffee for them. "I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get used to the quiet when I moved here from Chicago last year. I was on track to be partner at a pretty big firm there."

Zach helped her carry cups, napkins, sugar, cream, and stir sticks to the coffee table, then settled on the sofa as she went back for the thermal carafe. "Why'd you leave?"

Claire poured hot, aromatic coffee into their mugs, then sat down on the sofa beside him. "I wanted more of a life. I was tired of working 14-hour days. And I wanted to be closer to my aunt and uncle after my dad died. I'd lost my mother years earlier, but when my dad died I just felt the need to start fresh somewhere else. Laramie needed a family law attorney and I had always loved Texas. So…here I am."

Zach studied her delicate wool sweater and tailored slacks. Not exactly cowgirl gear. In fact, she was every bit as urban as he was. He studied her upswept auburn hair and soft, glossed lips and wondered about the big leap of faith she had made. "You don't miss the big city?"

Claire hesitated, then made a wry face. "When I do, I just hop in the car and drive to Dallas-Fort Worth or Houston or San Antonio for the day and that cures me."

He grinned, seeing in her eyes that she really did like it better here. And found to his surprise that the contradiction made him like and respect her all the more. "Spoken like a true small-town girl at heart," he teased.

Claire paused, coffee mug halfway to her lips. "What kind of man are you at heart, Zach?" she asked softly. "Big city or small town?"

A McCabe's Valentine 
by Cathy Gillen Thacker 

Chapter Fifteen 

That was a good question, Zach thought. He wasn't sure how to answer. "I don't think I'm particularly attached to either city or country."

The corners of Claire's soft lips turned down as she guessed frankly, "You just like to be on the move."

"Right," Zach confirmed gruffly. He had learned the hard way — first as an abandoned child, then a foster kid, then a pilot — that the less he invested in any relationship or situation, the less likely he was to be disappointed. That knowledge had served him well, until now.

Briefly, disillusionment flickered in Claire's dark-green eyes. Acting like the accomplished attorney she was, she turned her attention to the matter at hand, and her interest — in him as a person, as a man — away from him.

"We'd better get down to business," she told him briskly, handing him a stack of files. "I've compiled information on all the families who are interested in adopting Robin and Bradley, in accordance with the private adoption laws of Texas. They all check out. They're all good families. I think Bradley and Robin would be happy with any of them. We just have to figure out where they'll be happiest."

That was easy, Zach thought. Bradley and Robin would be happiest staying with Claire. Aware he couldn't exactly burden her with that suggestion — she'd already done so much for them since their parents' death — he began going through the files she'd handed him, one by one.

And one by one, he vetoed every family for one reason or another, until he had reached the bottom of the stack. He looked up, disappointed in what he had seen thus far. He just couldn't see Robin and Bradley living happily in any of those homes, with any of those families, as nice as they apparently were. "Do you have any more?" he asked, suddenly as impatient to find a solution for the kids as Claire apparently was.

"No. Those 23 families in Laramie County are it. Unless we start looking at families elsewhere. And I really don't want to do that because Robin and Bradley have been through so much already. The judge and I concurred it would be best to let the kids stay right here in Laramie, where they've always lived. Unless, of course, they were going to live with family."

"Meaning me," Zach interrupted, a fresh wave of guilt assailing him.

"Right."

His spine turned rigid and his jaw set as he stared at Claire. He was not about to be pushed into doing the wrong thing for the kids, even if it was temporarily easier. "I see," he said.

"No, Zach," Claire retorted angrily, green eyes flashing as she leapt to her feet and pivoted to square off with him. "I don't think you do. You have to make a decision here. Either take the kids, or let them go entirely."

The idea of walking away completely was as unfathomable to him as the idea of taking permanent, solo charge of the kids. "Is that what you want?" Suddenly he was standing, too.

Pain swept over Claire. She turned her head. "It doesn't matter what I want," she murmured.

He caught her before she could flee. "Yes, it does," he whispered, looking down at her. "It matters more than you could ever know."

And then he proved it to her.

Cupping her face in his hands, he angled her chin up to his and gave her a fierce, hot kiss that turned her world upside down. Her arms moved from their defensive position against his chest to wreathe around his neck. The slow, hot strokes of his tongue were unbearably tender, sensual, and fulfilling.

Claire didn't know what the future held for them, and right now, she didn't care. She only knew that she had never experienced such sweet invigorating kisses, and the chance to be with Zach like this might never come again. She had lost so much in her life, and so had he; she didn't want them to lose this, too.

They tumbled down onto the sofa with reckless abandon. Kisses melted one into another as she arched against his hands, yearning fervently. "I want you so much," Claire whispered, as they struggled with their clothes. More than she could ever have imagined.

"I want you, too," Zach said. He was hard and hot all over, aroused beyond belief. Her heart pounded as he stroked her gently, bringing her arousal to its peak. Then he surged against her, filling her gently, loving every inch of her, until she was weak with longing, overwhelmed with sensation, surging up against him, every part of her wanting every part of him. Until she was lost in him, in love with him. Surging toward the outer limits of her control.

* * *

Afterward, Claire turned away from him. She knew what this had meant to her. But she wasn't sure, besides the physical, what this had meant to Zach. And therein lay the problem.

Trembling, Claire rose and reached for her clothes.

Zach sighed and watched her with worried eyes. "You regret what just happened, don't you?" he prodded softly, as he stood reluctantly and began to dress.

Claire swallowed, determined not to be a child about this. Zach had made no false promises. He deserved her honesty.

She looked deep into his eyes. "I'm not sorry we made love. I needed to feel the way you made me feel." Cherished and respected and wanted.

Aware her heart would be broken when he left, Claire clumsily adjusted her sweater, buttoned her slacks, and slipped on her kidskin loafers. "I'm just sorry it's going to be harder than ever for us to say goodbye."

Zach stared at her uncomprehendingly. "Why do we have to say goodbye?"

A McCabe's Valentine 
by Cathy Gillen Thacker 

Chapter Sixteen 

Claire's heart pounded as she lifted her face to Zach's. "What are you saying?" she whispered emotionally.

Zach closed the distance between them with easy, sensual grace. Respect gleamed in his sea-blue eyes. "Simply that my leaving Laramie next week doesn't have to mean the end of our friendship."

"Is that what it is?" Claire said, not sure why she was hurt, just knowing she was. She'd allowed herself to make love with Zach, knowing it was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. She'd told herself she could deal with the temporary nature of their relationship.

Now that he'd held her in his arms and made her his, she wasn't so sure that was the case after all. Too late, she'd realized she needed a commitment from him. She needed not just to feel loved by him as they made love, but to be loved by him in a way that would last until the end of time.

Zach took her into his arms, his warmth enveloping her like a thick blanket on a wintry day. He smoothed the hair from her face. "We've got something here, Claire. Something rare," he told her gently, looking deep into her eyes. "We'd be fools not to let our love affair continue."

Claire drew a breath and, drawing on every ounce of strength she had, forced herself to be sensible. "That would be true," she told him in a low voice that trembled, "if I didn't want to be married and have kids of my own, but I do, Zach. I want a family. I want a normal life, with a husband who wants the same things I do. I'm not cut out for long distance, transitory love affairs."

She had certainly laid her feelings on the line, Zach thought grimly. "You know that's not me," he said.

Claire nodded as the phone on her desk began to ring. "Which is why," she said reluctantly, "as much as I enjoyed being with you that way, it shouldn't happen again."

Looking more beautiful and distressed than ever, she reached across the desk and picked up the call via her speakerphone.

Lilah was on other end of the line. "I hate to disturb you, but could you say a few words to Robin? She's upset."

"Sure," Claire said, shooting Zach a look that was both apologetic and concerned.

The sounds of Robin's sniffling filled the law office. "Claire, where are you?" Robin demanded in a low, upset voice that nearly broke Zach's heart. "I'm afraid."

Claire shot Zach a look that was even more distressed. "Of what, honey?" Claire asked gently into the speakerphone.

"That somethin' happened to you and Zach." On the other end of the line, Robin sobbed all the harder. "I don't want you to get in a car wreck, too."

"Sweetheart, I'm fine," Claire said firmly, "and so is Zach. And to prove it, I'll let you talk to him, too." Claire moved so Zach could speak into the phone.

While Zach soothed Robin, Claire collected the files, put them back on her desk, and began getting ready to go.

"We'll be right there, I promise," Zach told Robin.

He hung up the receiver and turned to help Claire tidy up her office. Although she was as calm and efficient as ever, her face had gone pale with worry and her soft lips were pressed together anxiously.

"Has this happened before?" he asked as they swiftly gathered up the coffee mugs and carafe and rinsed them out in the sink.

"A few times," Claire admitted helplessly. "It's probably the cold and rain, and the fact that it will be dark soon, that set her off. It was raining the night her parents were killed, and she and Bradley were with a sitter."

Zach hated to think how traumatic that must have been for the two little children. To think your parents were only going to be gone for the evening, only to find out a short while later that you would never see them again.

"Who broke the news to Bradley and Robin?" Zach asked as he helped Claire with her coat.

Claire's eyes darkened once again. "I did," Claire said.

A McCabe's Valentine 
by Cathy Gillen Thacker 

Chapter Seventeen 

"Sorry we had to call you home like that," Claire's Aunt Lilah said, as she and Uncle John got ready to leave.

Claire tossed a glance at Zach, who was cozily ensconced on the sofa with both Robin and Bradley, reading them a story about a raccoon named Frances.

"But we could tell she wasn't going to settle down until you and Zach got here," Lilah continued.

Claire walked out onto the porch with them. If there was one thing her aunt and uncle, parents to four boys, could be counted on to understand, it was children. Additionally, their work as medical professionals made them conscious of the effects of trauma on a family.

When they'd lost their parents, Robin and Bradley's whole world had been blasted apart. Claire — and others in the small, tight-knit community — were doing their best to see to the needs of the children, but at times like this Claire feared it wasn't enough. And heaven knew, she didn't want to see the two kids suffer any more than they already had at the hands of fate.

Claire swallowed around the tight knot of emotion in her throat and did her best to keep her own discouragement at bay. She looked at her aunt and uncle frankly. "The grief counselor at the hospital said it's going to take time."

Lilah nodded her agreement as John predicted kindly, "It'll happen sooner if they know where they're going to be living from now on, instead of just somewhere temporarily."

Claire could understand that. If she were in Robin and Bradley's place, she'd want a permanent home and family again, too.

"Were you able to narrow it down to a prospective family or two?" Lilah asked gently.

Claire shook her head, her disappointment about that surging anew. "Zach had problems with all of them," she conceded, sighing as she looked out at the pouring rain.

John McCabe's white eyebrows knit together. "Well, don't take too long. The kids have been through enough. They need to be settled somewhere."

"I know you're right," Claire said. She thanked them for helping her out again, and walked them as far as the edge of the porch. She waited while they made their way to their car, then waved as they drove off. She was shivering against the chill of the February evening as she walked back inside.

"Zach said maybe we can have chicken nuggets and French fries and milkshakes for dinner," Robin announced happily. To Claire's relief, the little girl looked secure and relaxed once again.

"Is that okay?" Zach asked, apparently oblivious to the fact that his mere presence had done wonders toward reassuring both children.

Doing her best to contain her wish that a Valentine's Day miracle would happen and Zach would decide to stick around after all, Claire nodded. Smiling, she went on to stipulate, "That's fine with me, as long as we add applesauce and cooked peas or carrot sticks to round it out nutritionally."

And then, once dinner was over, and the kids were in bed for the night, she and Zach really had to talk.

* * *

"Something on your mind?" Zach asked as he and Claire drank coffee after tucking the children in for the night.

"Yes." Claire drew a deep breath. She'd been wondering how to broach this topic. She supposed the best way was just to cut to the chase and blurt it out. She looked at Zach steadily, gauging his reaction. "I want to adopt the kids."

Zach's broad shoulders flexed against the soft cotton fabric of his shirt. "Alone?"

Claire wished it didn't have to be that way, but she didn't exactly hear anyone volunteering to adopt them with her. "Yes," Claire said, steadily meeting Zach's gaze.

His blue eyes roved her thoughtfully from head to foot before settling on her face. He released a long breath. "Will it be a problem with the courts?"

Claire drew herself up straighter and folded her hands demurely in her lap. "Not if I have your support, and the kids agree to it enthusiastically."

"Which," Zach supposed thoughtfully, "given how they feel about you, you know they will."

She stared into his eyes. They had never seemed so blue to her. "What about you?" she probed softly, wishing he were more forthcoming with his own feelings about all this.

Zach reached over and took her hands, gripping them tightly between the warmth of his. "There's nowhere else I'd rather they be," he said gently, his affection for her evident. "I know you'll love them and take good care of them, Claire. You already do." 

Claire ducked her head and tried not to read anything into the intimacy of their tightly entwined hands. He was still leaving in a few days. And who knew when — or even if — he would ever return, given the demanding job he had as a pilot.

She swallowed hard around the sudden knot of emotion in her throat. "Then it's settled?" she asked huskily. "We'll ask them what they think about it in the morning?"

Zach nodded, looking as simultaneously pleased and unsettled as she felt. "First thing," he promised softly.

Because Bradley's temperature had returned to normal and he was likely to sleep through the night, Zach went back to his motel room that night. Claire knew it was for the best. Nevertheless, she still felt lonely and sad about the way their relationship was destined to end as she tossed and turned throughout the night.

The only joy she felt came the next morning as she sat down with Zach to talk to Robin and Bradley after breakfast, explaining gently and clearly what she was proposing.

"So if we lived here with you from now on, we'd have a mommy and no daddy?" Robin surmised, her lower lip thrust out warily.

Claire nodded. She studied her charge carefully. "Is that going to be a problem for you?"

"No," Robin said, grinning suddenly as she bounced up and down on the sofa cushions excitedly. "'Cause I know how we can fix it!"

Zach lifted an eyebrow as he and Claire exchanged stunned but curious looks.

"Zach can live here, too!" Robin said, leaping off the sofa and wrapping her arms around both Claire and Zach simultaneously. "And he can be our daddy!"

A McCabe's Valentine 
by Cathy Gillen Thacker 

Chapter Eighteen 

"It doesn't work that way, Robin," Zach said with as much patience and gentleness as he could muster.

"Sure it does," Robin said stubbornly, sticking to her six-year-old logic like glue. "The woman has to be the mommy and the man has to be the daddy and we like both of you and you like us and we can all live here together and you can read us stories every night. And even help us with stuff. Like cooking and homework and grocery shopping. In fact, you could stay here and take care of us while Claire goes to work at her law office and then I wouldn't have to go to the day care center with Bradley after school, like I do now."

She had it all figured out, Zach thought. It even sounded like a good plan. If you didn't figure in the fact that he would go stark raving mad if he couldn't fly jets and travel the world anymore.

"Honey," Claire said, "Zach is still leaving tomorrow morning to go to Europe."

"But it's Valentine's Day!" Robin protested, looking like she might burst into tears at any moment. "He can't leave on Valentine's Day! I wanted him to come to school and be at my party. He can help you!"

"I offered to bake cookies and assist the first-grade homeroom mothers," Claire explained, when Zach shot her a questioning look. A hint of melancholy crept into her dark-green eyes. "It sounded like fun."

Like the kind of moment loving parents videotaped and photographed for prosperity, Zach thought to himself. Sadness flowed through him as he realized those were the kinds of moments he would never be a part of or even see if he walked away from Claire and the kids — as he knew he must.

"I'm sorry I'll miss it," Zach said, forcing an amiable smile.

He expected Robin to be angry. But, ever the six-year-old optimist, she merely grinned back at him and said, "You can still change your mind."

* * *

But Zach didn't change his mind. Not when he signed the legal papers Claire asked him to sign, or when he went with Claire to the family court to talk to the judge and explain why he felt Robin and Bradley would be better off living with Claire.

The judge, a woman in her late 40s, sized him up over the rim of her bifocals and said, "Sounds like you've gotten mighty attached to those kids."

Zach nodded, aware that he'd never cared about three people in his life as much as he cared about Claire and the kids. "I have," he said matter-of-factly.

"And you only want what's best for them," the judge continued to grill Zach.

"I do." Zach looked at Claire. She smiled and turned her gaze back to the judge, but not before he saw the glimmer of gut-wrenching sorrow in her eyes.

And he knew more than ever that he never should have made love to her. Never should have let them get as close as they had. Not when he knew he was still going to leave.

A McCabe's Valentine 
by Cathy Gillen Thacker 

Chapter Nineteen 

"You're really leaving?" Robin asked early Wednesday morning, as Zach knelt down to hug her and Bradley goodbye.

Steeling himself against the strong urge to stay just one more day, Zach nodded at Robin matter-of-factly. Like it or not, the longer he stayed here, the harder it was going to be for all of them to let go of any Valentine's Day fantasy of the four of them living happily ever after.

"I have to go," he told Robin gently, as he hunkered down beside her. "My flight leaves in a few hours and I've got to drive all the way to Dallas-Fort Worth airport before it does."

Robin wrapped her little arms around his neck and hugged him fiercely before pulling back to look at him poignantly. "Can't you go to my Valentine's party at school today and then go to Europe some other time?"

Zach knew Robin was only articulating what Claire was thinking but was too polite and adult to say. He shook his head. "My boss is already in Vienna. I've got to fly her to Amsterdam tomorrow." If he didn't get there, he would be fired. Margot Middleton had been very clear about that. And he couldn't afford to lose this job.

"Well, I'm going to miss you," Robin confessed thickly, her lower lip trembling and tears flooding her eyes. She wrapped her arms about his neck, and hugged him hard. Three-year-old Bradley followed suit, looking just as sad as his older sister did.

"I'm going to miss all of you, too," Zach told them thickly. He wasn't sure why, but he wanted them to know this wasn't easy for him, either.

"Will you come see us real soon?" Bradley asked wistfully.

Zach looked at Claire. Once they'd met with the judge, she hadn't wanted to talk about the future or extract promises of any kind from him. Now, they had no choice.

"We'll have to see," Claire interjected finally. The passion they had shared was like an invisible force field between them. "It depends on how busy Zach is, and all that," Claire continued in the cordial but impersonal voice he was beginning to loathe, "but of course he's welcome to visit here whenever he can."

"Thanks," Zach told Claire gratefully. Claire could be making this as hard as heck on him. She wasn't. Trouble was, he felt guilty anyway. But the guilt would pass, he reassured himself firmly, because he was doing the right thing for the kids and for Claire by leaving.

"I love you," Robin whispered, hugging him all the harder.

Zach swallowed around the sudden lump in his throat. "I love you, too," he told first Robin then Bradley. But when he stood to say goodbye to Claire, she merely smiled at him, shook his hand coolly and professionally, thanked him for all he had done for her and the kids, and wished him well. There were no hugs, no kisses, no tender goodbyes. Just cool acceptance that whatever they'd had, however brief and passionate, was over.

* * *

"I really wanted Zach to come today," Robin complained to Claire as they returned home after the Valentine's Day party at her school.

"I know you did, sweetheart." Claire helped Robin and Bradley off with their coats.

"I miss him." Robin confided sorrowfully as she sat down on the living room floor and spread all the valentines she had received out for Bradley to see.

I miss him, too, Claire thought. I miss the way he looked at me — like I was the most beautiful and desirable woman in the world. I miss the tender way he held and kissed me. And most of all I miss the fact that he was there for me, whenever — however — I needed him, for just a little while.

"I think we should have said he couldn't leave us," Robin continued petulantly.

Melancholy flowed through Claire, stronger than ever. "That wouldn't have changed anything, honey."

"Uh-huh," Robin insisted as Claire sat down in the chair next to where Robin and Bradley were sprawled on the floor. "'Cause if we'd said that to Zach," Robin insisted stubbornly, "he would be here with us right now."

Was Robin right? Claire wondered, as she traced the outline of a red paper heart with her fingertip. Although Zach had done his best to hide it, she'd sensed a sadness in him that mirrored her own. As well as so many things that he too had left unsaid. At the time simply letting him go had seemed like the civilized, adult thing to do. It had seemed sensible to put their emotions aside and pretend none of this was devastating.

She'd thought she could go on without him. She'd thought she could hold the memory of the first and only time they'd ever made love close to her heart, that it would be enough knowing that however brief their joining had been, at least they had been together, that they hadn't let the opportunity pass by unchecked. But now she didn't know. Now all she felt was bereft.

"Are you crying, Claire?" Robin whispered, stunned.

Claire shook her head. "I've just got something in my eye," she fibbed, dashing the tears away before they could fall. "I think I'll run out and check the mailbox," she said, jumping to her feet and heading purposefully for the foyer. The kids were counting on her. She had to be strong, she counseled herself sternly as she yanked open the front door.

And then gasped at what she saw.

A McCabe's Valentine 
by Cathy Gillen Thacker 

Chapter Twenty 

Zach was standing on her front porch, a heart-shaped box of chocolates in one hand and a bouquet of roses in the other. Just seeing him again, looking ruggedly handsome and strong, was the best Valentine's Day present Claire had ever received.

And yet, just hours ago he had left her and the kids without a backward glance. Claire didn't think she could go through the heartbreak of losing him again.

Aware that her legs were shaking, Claire opened the door and stepped out onto the front porch beside Zach. Determined not to let him hurt her or the kids again by falsely raising their hopes about the future, she folded her arms and assumed a contentious stance.

"What are you doing here?" Claire demanded quietly. She didn't know whether to hug him or burst into tears. "You're supposed to be in Europe."

"I couldn't go." Zach set the flowers and candy down on the porch swing. He slipped off his leather jacket and put it around her shoulders, engulfing her in the tantalizing warmth and smell of him as he wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her even closer.

He cradled her against him, all the passion and tenderness she'd ever wanted gleaming in his eyes. "I tried to go." He favored her with a sexy half smile as he confided, "I even told myself it was best for all of us, but in the end, I couldn't leave you, Claire, and I couldn't leave the kids."

The tears Claire had been holding back brimmed in her eyes. The ache in her throat made it impossible to speak.

But Zach, it seemed, had all the words they ever needed. "I want us to build a life together, Claire." Tenderly, he smoothed the hair from her cheek. "The kind I never had growing up, but always wanted."

"What about your job with Margot Middleton?" Claire asked, trembling all the harder. Whatever happened next, she didn't want there to be any doubts about how he felt about her or the kids, or what he was doing. She didn't want him to realize later that he'd made a terrible mistake, and would never be happy there after all.

"I was halfway to the Dallas airport, feeling awful about leaving you and Robin and Bradley behind — like my insides had been hollowed out. Then I realized something. It's not the job I like, it's the flying. And I can do that here. I'm going to set up shop at the small airstrip just south of town, and use some of the money I've been saving to buy my own plane. I'll give flying lessons to those who want them, haul cargo, and fly passengers wherever they want to go, provided I can come back to you and the kids every night."

"It's not going to be as exciting as what you're doing now," Claire warned. 

To her relief, Zach wasn't concerned. "I've seen the world, Claire," he told her ruefully. "In fact, all I've done the past 10 years is travel. It's time for me to settle down, to have a home and a wife and kids I love more than anything. You and Robin and Bradley are it for me. The question is, is marriage and a life with me what you want?"

It was all she wanted, Claire thought. All she had ever wanted. But he still hadn't said the words she longed to hear. And until he did…

"Are you doing this just because you love the kids?" She asked cautiously, glad he did, but knowing she needed more, much more, before she could accept his proposal.

Zach's eyebrows drew together. "That's part of it, of course," he confided in a rusty-sounding voice, looking deep into her eyes. "But the biggest part is that I love you in a way I never thought I could love any woman, Claire."

"Oh, Zach," Claire wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned in close, savoring his warmth and strength and the essence that was him. "I love you, too," she whispered as her heart soared. "So much." She stood on tiptoe and lifted her lips to his. Zach kissed her full on the mouth, a long slow kiss that made her tremble.

"So what's your answer?" he teased, when at last the passionate kiss had come to an end. He lifted the veil of her hair and kissed her exposed throat, before looking deep into her eyes again. "Will you be more than just my valentine, Claire McCabe?" he asked, looking every bit as happy and content and full of hope for their future as she felt. "Will you be my wife and my partner and my very best friend for the rest of our lives?"

"Yes," Claire whispered, wreathing her arms about Zach's neck. "The answer is yes." The tears she'd been holding back streamed down her cheeks and her heart brimmed with a joy that was unlike anything she had ever felt. "I will marry you," she promised, and sealed her vow with another slow, steamy kiss.

"Although," she murmured, "I have to warn you. I don't think I have it in me to be patient. I want to make this love of ours official right away."

"I do, too. And I want to adopt the kids with you, too," he told her in the low, serious voice she'd come to love. He took her hand in his. "So, what do you say we go in and tell Robin and Bradley the good news?"

* * *

To their mutual delight, the children were as happy as Claire and Zach wanted them to be.

"I told you we'd get a mom and a dad for Valentine's Day!" Robin told her little brother gleefully.

Bradley grinned, too. "I wanted you to come back and be with us," he told Zach. "So we could all be happy and live here together."

"Well, I'm here with all of you now, and I'm not leaving you again," Zach declared. He'd been shot through the heart with Cupid's arrow, and he was loving every second of it. Some things, he thought to himself, were worth waiting for.

The End