her mother so much.
Smiling, she knelt before the girls and slowly reached out to touch each one on her hand. “Hi, I’m Cassie. What are your names?”
Jared heard the warmth and softness in her voice. It broke the spell. The twins smiled and shifted their gaze to Cassandra. When she knelt before them, they launched into babbling that had Jared’s head spinning. Would she understand anything they were saying? He’d forgotten how small two-year-olds were. They didn’t even talk well.
“Mr. Hunter?” The woman behind the reception desk greeted him. Her smile was friendly.
“That’s right.”
“Cute kids you have,” she said with a glance at the twins. “I’ve been watching them for the last two weeks. They’re as sweet as can be. I’m so sorry about your wife.”
Jared nodded, feeling totally out of his element. He knew nothing about children—knew nothing about his own daughters! Fortunately, Cassandra appeared to know all that was needed. The twins took to her like ducks to water. Laughing and talking, the three of them, all the same height with Cassandra kneeling, seemed to mesh perfectly. For a moment Jared was envious. He watched them while the receptionist notified the attorney of Jared’s arrival.
“Mr. Randall will be with you in just a moment,” the receptionist said, seemingly unaware of his hesitation.
Nodding, Jared moved slowly across the reception area toward his children. One look at them and all doubts fled. They looked just like he had as a child—though feminine versions. He could see nothing of MaryEllen in either child except for her blue eyes. Had they inherited her temperament or ambition?
“Hello,” he said.
Two pairs of identical eyes swiveled to him. The little girl in yellow put her thumb in her mouth, watching him warily.
“I think you are a bit too tall for them. Either pick them up, or get down on their level,” Cassandra suggested, leaning on her heels. She brushed the hair off the face of the child sucking her thumb.
Jared stared at the unwavering eyes regarding him. Slowly he sat on the edge of the sofa, totally at a loss. He didn’t like the feeling. Over the years, he’d perfected his ability to fit in with different cultures, different societies as he expanded Hunter Associates in Pacific Rim countries. Now he was floored by a pair of babies.
“Smile,” Cassandra said, the lilt in her voice one of amusement. “This is your daddy. Tell him your name,” she prompted the twin in pink.
“Asslee,” she said proudly, her gaze steady.
Popping her thumb from her mouth, the other twin piped up. “Me Bitnee.”
“Ashley and Brittany,” Cassandra repeated, smiling at them. “And this is your daddy. Can you say Daddy?”
For a moment Jared was struck by the change on her face. He wished she would smile at him like that. For the first time he realized how lucky he was that she had responded when he’d yelled for Helen yesterday. He couldn’t have handled these children by himself. They stood by Cassandra, shaking their heads. Then Ashley began talking nineteen to the dozen. Cassandra listened as if she understood every word, nodding and smiling. Maybe she did. But he didn’t.
A father should be better able to cope. What was he going to do? Dealing on an international level in business was one thing. The thought of dealing with these toddlers scared him half to death.
Cassandra stayed in the reception area with the twins when Jared met with MaryEllen’s attorney, Thomas Randall. The girls had warmed up to her, and she thought it best to have as few disruptions as possible. They already had experienced a lot of change. She would try to make things easier for them.
Sitting on the sofa, she enticed them to sit beside her, one on each side. “Let me tell you a story. It’s about two big girls who just met their daddy...” Trying to explain the coming changes in a story, Cassandra told the tale in simple terms. She made flying sound like a grand adventure and moving to San Francisco as normal as brushing their teeth.
When Thomas Randall offered to read the will aloud, Jared asked if he could skim it himself. It took only a few minutes. The will was short and simple. The half interest MaryEllen owned in the company was left in trust to her daughters, to be administered by her husband, the children’s father. Jared looked at the attorney when he finished.
“She was a young woman. Her death caught me by surprise,” Jared said. He wondered how much the man knew about their marriage.
The attorney nodded. “The children’s baby-sitter called us when MaryEllen went into the hospital. I went to see your wife just before she died. She was very sick. I think she pushed herself too hard and had no reserves when the end came.”
“The girls will miss her,” Jared murmured.
“Not as much as you might suspect,” Randall said. “Apparently there have been a series of baby-sitters and housekeepers over the last couple of years. I don’t believe the girls are strongly attached to anyone—even their mother. My receptionist reported they adjusted well to staying with her.”
“I’ll get them established in a stable environment. I have to return to San Francisco,” Jared said.
“We expected that. I have all the paperwork right here. Anything else we can do, just ask.”
“I’d like directions to the cemetery,” Jared said as he began to read the legal papers that would wind up MaryEllen’s estate.
When Jared finished with the lawyer, he returned to the reception area where Cassandra sat on the sofa softly reading aloud, a twin snuggled on each side, their eyes on the pages of the book. For a moment they didn’t see him. He took the time to study the group, aware of a curious yearning. That is what a family would look like. A mother devoted to her children, all of them waiting for the father.
He hadn’t realized before that he had no clear vision of a family. He’d been raised by his grandfather, a gruff old man. There’d been few amenities or social graces in that all-male household, but at least he had had his grandfather when his parents had died. He had not gone into foster care like Cassandra. Nor would his children!
His goal for the last decade had been to establish his company, make it a success. He’d never given a thought to starting a family. Now he’d been presented with a ready-made one. Was the next step to acquire another wife?
One of the twins looked up, the one who sucked her thumb. Brittany?
“Man,” she said.
Cassandra looked up. “How’d it go?”
“Fine. I’m finished here. We can head for MaryEllen’s apartment We’ll need to pack the children’s clothes and toys. I’ll also have to get an idea of what’s needed to close the place. Later I want to swing by the office and make sure things are settled there. Paul will be in charge. I want to review the current projects with him.”
For a moment he thought her lips tightened, and he remembered her comment about having kids dumped on her. But it couldn’t be helped. No matter her likes or dislikes, Cassandra looked like a natural with those twins, and he hadn’t a clue how to begin. It was only for a day. Then she’d be back in the office and could stay away from children
