With Family In Mind (Saddle Falls Book 1) by Sharon de Vita

admired the love and protection that was so much a part of who Jake Ryan was. An unexpected bout of envy bloomed, catching her by surprise. Quickly, she tamped it down, telling herself to concentrate on the business at hand.
    “It was sort of a fluke that they ended up adopting the twins.”
    “How can adoption be a fluke?” she asked curiously.
    “Kathryn’s father was some hotshot Vegas attorney. Very, very successful, very connected throughout the country. He called one day and said he was handling the private adoption of twin boys and wanted to know if Kathryn and Jared would be interested inthem. He knew that Jared and Kathryn had been desperately trying to conceive.”
    Jake’s brows drew together in thought. “I think the boys were two or maybe three at the time. Apparently their natural mother had died and the father couldn’t take care of them, so had to put them up for adoption. Since it didn’t look like Jared and Kathryn would conceive anytime soon, they jumped at the chance to have a ready-made family.” Jake glanced away, absently drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. “They took one look at the little monsters and fell head over heels in love. As we all did,” he said with a smile of remembrance that quickly faded. “Six months later Kathryn took off. Left Jared a note saying motherhood wasn’t what she thought it would be, and left them all.”
    Shock had Rebecca gaping at him. She had to swallow in order to get the words out. “You mean she merely walked away from those darling boys?” She hadn’t counted on the tears; they just came, hot and furious, shocking her into silence as they filled her eyes. Horribly embarrassed, she struggled for control. “How could she do something like that?” Unconsciously, she clenched her fists in her lap until her nails were digging into her palms. “How can a mother just abandon her child?” She sniffled, wondering if she was crying for the twins or for herself. Her heart almost broke for those adorable babies, unable to imagine someone not wanting them.
    “Hey, hey, what’s this?” Startled, Jake tilted her chin, saw the tears and the sadness and felt something shift inside of him, softening his heart, jarring awakeevery protective instinct he’d ever had. Again. He wanted to sigh, but knew there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. Damsels in distress were apparently going to be his downfall, he thought with serious regret.
    “Hey, Slick, don’t cry.” Like most men, the sight of tears on a female was enough to scare him into the next country.
    “I’m not crying,” she insisted with another sniffle, swiping at her nose with the back of her hand and trying to project an air of dignity.
    “Yes,” he said with a wicked gleam of humor, trying not to grin. “I can see that you’re not crying. Your eyes must just be leaking. I hate when that happens.” Using his thumb, he brushed a tear from her cheek. His touch was gentle, almost reverent against her fragile, pale skin. He realized he could get used to touching her. “It all worked out.” Deliberately, he gentled his voice as he stroked a finger down the curve of her cheek. “The boys are healthy, well cared for and totally loved and wanted. Spoiled rotten, if the truth be known. Mrs. Taylor may be a crank, but she adores those boys and is a mother figure to them in a lot of ways.” Jake shrugged, thinking about his former sister-in-law. “It’s Kathryn’s loss as far as I’m concerned. Those boys are everything, more precious than gold and worth more than anything money could buy.”
    Rebecca gave another watery sniffle. “Family, right?” she said with a shaky smile.
    “You got it, Slick. Nothing’s more important than family.” His words seemed to cause a fresh spate oftears, alarming him further. “Hey, Slick, come on now, stop that.” Jake tilted her chin toward him again, letting his gaze settle on that beautiful mouth that was trembling slightly now in an