"You didn't have family to go to?" Hunter asked then.
The child shook his head. He straightened up in his seat and smiled. "I'm not afraid of you, not since she told me…"
Hunter glanced over at Lucas. "Told you what, son?" Lucas asked.
"You know," he whispered.
"Tell us anyway," Lucas encouraged. His curiosity was pricked, of course. The boy was staring at him with a look of adoration on his face. He wanted to know why.
"She said you two look scary, but it's all right. You're supposed to," he explained.
He turned to smile up at Taylor. She nodded.
"We're supposed to look scary?" Hunter repeated.
"Why?" Lucas asked.
The boy answered him. "Cause you come in all shapes and sizes."
He acted as though Lucas should already know that important fact.
Both men turned their gazes to Taylor. They obviously wanted her to explain. She didn't say a word. She simply looked back at them and gave them a sweet smile.
The riddle intrigued Lucas. "What comes in all shapes and sizes?" he asked.
Hunter shrugged. "I'm still trying to figure out why we look scary."
The child answered their questions, his voice whisper soft. "You're my guardian angels."
"Helpers," Taylor reminded the little boy in a whisper only he could hear.
She was too embarrassed to look at her husband or his friend. She patted the child and turned her attention back to the matter of a suitable name to call him.
Lucas coughed to cover the laughter he was suppressing. Hunter shook his head. "We are not angels," he muttered.
The boy brightened up. "She told me you would say you weren't."
"Now listen here, son…" Lucas began. Taylor interrupted him. "I happen to have two fine names in mind to call you," she announced. "Daniel and Davy, though I would imagine we would use the formal David in this instance. Yes, Daniel or David." Lucas leaned back. "Here we go again," he whispered to Hunter.
Taylor immediately defended her choices. "They are both proud, honorable names, aren't they?"
Lucas nodded. Hunter looked confused. He didn't know about Taylor's obsession with the mountain men and their legends.
"Daniel and David," said the little boy, trying out the names.
"Yes," Taylor said. "You must take your time to decide which name you want. It's an important decision, you see, because you'll carry the name for the rest of your life. I shall be happy to help you decide."
"How?" the boy asked.
"I'll tell you a story about each courageous man before you go to bed at night. One story will be all about Davy Crockett and the other will be about Daniel Boone."
"Will I be David or Davy Crockett then or Daniel Boone?"
"David," she corrected. "It's a bit more proper. Your last name is going to be Ross."
"It is?"
She smiled. "Yes, it is."
"Will the men be mad if I borrow their first names?"
"No, no, of course not," Taylor replied. "They're dead. They won't mind at all."
Taylor told him who the famous men were and that they were so admired that books had been written about them. The child became enthralled. She couldn't have hoped for a better reaction. She wanted him to love the mountain men as much as she did. More important right this minute was the fact that the little one wasn't wringing his hands together any longer.
"Family isn't about blood," she explained. "It's about making a commitment to one another."
He didn't understand what she was telling him. Taylor didn't try to explain further. She understood, and in her mind, that was all that mattered.
Two hours later, everyone was bedded down for the night. Lucas and Hunter were forced to take over the duty of bathing the little girls. David Daniel had already had his bath and his hair trimmed. While he played in the tub, his clothes were washed and dried by the hotel's laundry service. The twins' clothes were also cleaned. Taylor was kneeling on the floor washing the babies when Victoria demanded her attention. She had started to violently throw up again.
Since neither Hunter nor Lucas wanted to get near her, Taylor made them take over the chore of scrubbing the babies. She ordered them not to let them drown, then went running with a wet cloth to Victoria's side in the other washroom.
The two-year-olds were wide awake and talking up a storm. Lucas lathered up one of the twins, then realized his mistake. He lost her under the water. She came up sputtering and giggling. The soap made the babies as slick as greased piglets, and both Hunter and Lucas were drenched through by the time they got the pair out of the tub.
They dried them with towels, put their clean drawers back on them, and then sat them on Victoria's bed.
They stayed there less than a second. They weren't at all tuckered out. Lucas and Hunter were exhausted. They sat side by side on the settee, feeling helpless and weary, while the babies climbed all over them.
Georganna was the more talkative of the two, though Alexandra certainly held her own. Both girls asked question after question, and if they didn't get an answer, they just kept repeating it over and over and over again.
They called each other Georgie and Allie. Hunter still couldn't tell them apart, but Lucas could.
While the men kept watch over the babies, Taylor ordered a day bed for the adjoining bedroom and secured yet another room on the same floor for Victoria. She was finally feeling fit again. Her things were moved down the hall into the room next to Hunter's. David Daniel, wearing one of Lucas's undershirts, was tucked into the day bed and told a story about Davy Crockett and another about Daniel Boone. By the time Taylor leaned down to kiss him good night, he was sound asleep.
The twins were winding down as well. They had both squeezed themselves between Lucas and Hunter. Their eyes were droopy and their thumbs were in their mouths. They were being lulled to sleep by the men's conversation.
"Did you hear her tell the boy his name was Ross?" Hunter asked in a low whisper.
"I heard," Lucas replied. He grabbed hold of Georgie's foot before it slammed into his groin.
"She know what she's taking on?" Hunter asked then.
Lucas yawned. "Seems she does," he drawled out.
"The boy won't have anyone looking for him," Hunter remarked. "But what about these two? Are there any relatives waiting or wanting to take them in?"
Lucas was about to answer his question when Taylor walked into the room.
She wanted to discuss their sleeping arrangements. Lucas straightened up. Her remark gained his full attention.
She thought it would be a fine idea for her to sleep with the twins in the large bed next to David Daniel.
He had to put his foot down. She was sleeping with him, and that was that.
"We'll leave the door between the rooms open."
"What if one wakes up crying?" she asked.
"I'll hear them," Lucas promised.
Hunter grinned. "I'll probably hear them, too," he jested. "They're little, Taylor, but they both have a mighty roar. Didn't you hear them when they were in the tub? They were making enough noise to reach the lobby."
Taylor didn't look convinced. Hunter gave up. He turned to his friend and reminded him of their errand. Lucas assured him he hadn't forgotten. He stood up, handed one of the babies to Taylor, then leaned down and kissed her good-bye.
"Where are you going? It's after ten," she told him.
He didn't answer her. Hunter drew her attention then by giving her the second twin. He tweaked the baby's nose, winked at the other one, and then followed Lucas to the door.
"Mr. Ross, tell me where you're going?" she demanded.
"Lock the door, Taylor. Don't let anyone in."
She couldn't go after him to stop him and demand an explanation. She had her hands full of squirming babies.
She put them to bed, covered them up, then tiptoed out of the room. When she reached the alcove of her own bedroom, she turned around and found them right behind her.