Page 5 of Her Silver Fox Mountain Men

“I’m Ainsley,” she replies, then points to her twin sister. “This is Tricia.”

“Hi, Ainsley, hi Tricia, it’s a pleasure to meet you both.”

Gosh, they’re so cute and bubbly. Xerox copies of each other, with curly red hair, a smattering of freckles underneath familiar green eyes, and round, sweet cheeks. Their hairstyles are the only way to tell them apart. Ainsley wears a ponytail while Tricia sports loose pigtails. They’re wearing matching lime-green cotton jammies.

“What are you doing here?” Tricia asks me.

“I’m a guest of your dad’s.”

“The mountain lions,” Ainsley tells her sister. “Remember? Daddy told us.”

“Did you see them?” Tricia shifts her focus back to me. “The mountain lions. At your house. We see them out there all the time but Daddy’s always with us or Janice.”

“Janice?” I ask.

“Our babysitter,” Ainsley replies. “Okay, so get up. It’s breakfast time!”

“Thank you for letting me know,” I chuckle softly.

Footsteps echo beyond my door.

“Tricia? Ainsley?” James calls out.

He comes into the room and only then do I notice the door has been open the whole time. I shrink underneath the blanket as I lock eyes with James. He looks so handsome in jeans and a dark green plaid shirt, Timberland boots thudding across the hardwood floor.

“Sorry about that,” he chuckles as his daughters jump off the bed and rush over, locking their arms around each of his legs.

“Mornin’, Daddy!” Ainsley says.

“We woke her up,” Tricia proudly announces.

“I see that,” he replies, then glances back at me. “Good morning, Elise.”

“Good morning.”

“Sorry; they’re early birds. But also curious and rude,” he gently chides the girls. “What did I tell you about knocking?”

Ainsley shrugs. “We knocked. Elise didn’t answer.”

“Probably because she was sleeping,” their father says.

I can already tell they’re his whole world. He melts before them. Warmth shines from his eyes, his smile beaming across the whole room. They adore him, too, and trust him completely. I know a thing or two about a child’s love for their parents, and the twins worship James. It’s clear as day, and it further proves that I’m in good hands for the time being.

“It’s okay,” I reply with a shy smile, still very much hidden underneath my blanket. “I forgot to set my alarm anyway.”

“We wanted her to come down for breakfast,” Tricia says.

“Well then, why don’t you two go downstairs into the breakfast nook and set a plate for Elise at the table? The bread’s almost done baking.”

“Yes, Daddy!” the girls reply in unison then bolt out of the room.

James and I laugh, giving the whole moment some room to breathe and fizzle away. He looks back at me, running a hand through his messy brown hair. “They get so excited around new people,” he says.

“It really is okay; don’t worry about it. They’re so sweet.”

“That they are. But be careful, they’re emotional crooks, those two. They’ll have you dancing circles around them before you know it.”

“I don’t think I’d mind.” I smile.

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