At Home in Stone Creek (Silhouette Special Edition) by Linda Lael Miller

hard since five this morning, and I could use a nap before visiting hours roll around.”
    First instinct: Throw on whatever clothes came to hand, jump in the car and head straight for the hospital, visiting hours be damned. Ashley wanted a look at her twin nephews, wanted to see for herself that Olivia really was okay.
    In the next instant, she remembered Jack.
    She couldn’t leave a sick guest alone, which meant she’d have to rustle up someone to keep an eye on him before she could visit Olivia and the babies.
    â€œYou’re in Flagstaff, right?” she asked, sitting up now.
    â€œGood heavens, no,” Olivia replied, with another laugh. “We didn’t make it that far—I went into labor at three-thirty this morning. I’m at the clinic over in Indian Rock—thanks to the McKettricks, they’re equippedwith incubators and just about everything else a new baby could possibly need.”
    â€œIndian Rock?” Ashley echoed, still a little groggy. Forty miles from Stone Creek, Meg’s hometown was barely closer than Flagstaff, and lay in the opposite direction.
    â€œI’ll explain later, Ash,” Olivia said. “Right now, I’m beat. You’ll call Brad and Melissa?”
    â€œRight away,” Ashley promised. Happiness for her sister and brother-in-law welled up into her throat, a peculiar combination of pain and pleasure. “Just one more thing—have you named the babies?”
    â€œNot yet. We’ll probably call one John Mitchell, for Big John and Dad, and the other Sam. Even though Tanner and I knew we were having two babies—our secret—we need to give it some thought.”
    Practically every generation of the O’Ballivan family boasted at least one Sam, all the way back to the founder of Stone Creek Ranch. For all her delight over the twins’ birth, Ashley felt a little pang. She’d always planned to name her own son Sam.
    Not that she was in any danger of having children.
    â€œC-Congratulations, Livie. Hug Tanner for me, too.”
    â€œConsider it done,” Olivia said.
    Good-byes were said, and Ashley had to try three times before she managed to hang up the receiver.
    After drawing a few deep breaths and wiping away mostly happy tears, Ashley regained her composure, remembered that she’d promised to pass the news along to the rest of her family.
    Brad answered the telephone out at the ranch, sounding wide-awake. The sun couldn’t have been up for long, but by then, he’d probably fed all the dogs, horses and cattle on the place and started breakfast forMeg, Carly, Mac and himself. “That’s great,” he said, once Ashley had assured him that both Olivia and the babies were doing well. “But what are they doing in Indian Rock?”
    â€œOlivia said she’d explain later,” Ashley answered.
    The next call she placed was to her own twin, Melissa, who lived on the other side of town. A lawyer and an absolute genius with money, Melissa owned the spacious two-family home, renting out one side and thereby making the mortgage payment without touching her salary.
    A man answered, and the voice wasn’t familiar.
    A little alarmed—reruns of City Confidential and Forensic Files were Ashley’s secret addiction—she sat up a little straighter and asked, “Is this 555–2293?”
    â€œI think so,” he said. “Melissa?”
    Melissa came on the line, sounding breathless. “Olivia?”
    â€œYour other sister,” Ashley said. “Livie asked me to call you. The babies were born this morning—”
    â€œBabies?” Melissa interrupted. “Plural?”
    â€œTwins,” Ashley answered.
    â€œNobody said anything about twins!” Being something of a control freak, Melissa didn’t like surprises—even good ones.
    Ashley smiled. “They do run in the family, you know,” she reminded her sister. “And apparently