The Sheik's Secret Twins

The Sheik’s Secret Twins
             
             
Elizabeth Lennox

Chapter 1

“No, Jacob, you can’t eat Sam’s fruit.  It doesn’t count even if you are twi
ns.”  Glancing at her watch, Siri Michaels
realized they were
again
running behind
on their morning schedule
. 
As she put the milk back in the refrigerator, she caught a
suspicious
movement
out of the corner of her eye. 
“Sam, you can’t hide your fruit in your pockets.  You did that last week and forgot about them.  I found them when I was doing the laundry and it was disgusting.” 

She almost rolled her ey
es when her twin three year old boys
laughed delightedly at rotting fruit in their jeans pockets.  Were all boys fascinated by
anything
disgusting?  Or were hers just abnormal
ly
enthralled
? 

“Come on guys.  We need to hurry up.  Just finish your milk and gobble up those apples.”  She shoved the files she’d been working on the previous night into her computer bag and looked around, stepping over
Legos
and narrowly missing a toy fire truck.  Thankfully, she was still in her slippers because if she’d changed into her heels for the work day, she’d have been a gonner. 
In the midst of making a path, she remembered one very important question. 
“Sam, did you put on underwear today?”  Why she even had to ask was beyond her but the tike liked going as free as a bird. 

She wasn’t looking at him but since there was no response, she glanced back and found two dark, curly heads bent close.  As much as she loved these little guys, that pose was never good.  And she’d learned the hard way that silence was bad.  Generally, very bad. 

“Sam,” she called out from three feet away and waited until she had his full attention.   When he looked up, the guilt in his eyes told her she’d caught them doing something wrong, but the trick was figuring out what that “something” might be.  Had it already occurred?  Or was
their mischief
imminent?  She had to maintain a straight face under these circumstances,
otherwise, they would consider her humor as encouragement in whatever they had planned.  “Sam, do you have underwear on?” she asked again.

She couldn’t help it when the chuckle escaped
as
he looked down and pulled his pants away to check.  How could he not know?
  It seemed to her like underwear was an essential piece of clothing and the absence of that piece would be bothersome and uncomfortable. 

Siri knew the answer
to her question
when he looked up with that
devilish
grin.  “Go put some on,” she commanded. 

The little
guy
scrambled off his chair
before racing full speed
to the bedroom and Siri was grateful that he was still at an age when he would obey her. 

She couldn’t take a break
to ponder the future at this point in the morning
.  With Sam out of the picture, that left Jacob alone.  Together, the twins were as thick as thieves.  Separate them though, and she could usually get one to confess.  “What are you guys planning?” she asked, bending down so she was at eye level with Jacob.  They were fraternal twins, but they looked so similar it was extremely difficult  for strangers to tell them apart.  Siri could because she knew them and loved every tiny freckle on their faces. 

“We’re not planning anything,” Jacob whispered, and h
e placed a chubby hand on both sides of her face.  “I promise, momma.  We’re innocent.”

Siri knew she was in trouble then.  “Jacob, if you let me in on the secret, maybe we can have ice cream for dessert tonight.”

Jacob’s eyes widened and he smiled
excitedly
, showing his tiny white toddler teeth with gaps in between because not all of his teeth were in.  “Momma, Sam has a surprise for you.”

Siri’s stomach churned with those words.  The last time Sam brought her a surprise, he was covered in mud and had two little kittens under each arm.  H
e’d “rescued” the kittens from someone else’s
backyard.  How he’d done that, she had no idea since
her
back yard was fenced in with a gate that only an adult could handle and there weren’t any kittens, much less mud, in her backyard.
  It had taken a week and several lost kitten posters posted around the neighborhood before the original owners had been found and kittens returned.
  “Jacob, you know I love surprises,” she lied
and felt no remorse
, “but I also know that sometimes Sam’s surprises can be a bit scary.  Can you give me a hint?”

Jacob was torn because he didn’t want his mother to be scared, but he couldn’t reveal the
amazing
surprise.  “This won’t scare you.  I promise.  It’s a good surprise.”

Sam was coming back down the hallway by that point so there wasn’t anything else Siri could say to convince him at the moment.  But she’d
have to
work on him a bit later
, her stomach churning at the idea of whatever these two extremely intelligent children had devised
.  “Okay, don’t tell him I know there’s going to be a surprise, okay?”
It would make it easier to work on Jacob if Sam didn’t reinforce the “surprise” aspect of the treat they were creating for her.  At least she hoped it was for her.  The idea of her boys devising something for someone else, where she wasn’t able to run interference, wasn’t a scenario she relished. 

Jacob nodded happily, then jumped down off his chair himself and caught up with his brother. 
She cringed when she saw their heads immediately bend towards each other. 

“Get your shoes and coats on,” she called out and looked at the news on her computer screen
, surveying the headlines on the Chicago Tribune website
.  Elections coming, check.  Jobs report getting better, check.  Weather, rainy.  Not check, not good.”  Put on your rain coats,” she called out again. 
Oil prices
down
,
for how long
? 

She started to put her computer to sleep, but something caught her eye.  Oil prices down because….No! 
That simply wasn’t possible! 

In her panic, she couldn’t even ensure that the boys were following her instructions.  Her eyes skimmed the text,
then
re-read the first paragraph over again since her panic was diminishing her ability to absorb what the words were explaining. 
He’s divorcing? 

She sat down heavily in the kitchen chair and clicked on the screen to get the full article.  As she read through the words, only the message that Sheik Malik bin Saqqaf was in the midst of a divorce and
pressure was mounting for him to
re-
marry quickly in order to
produce an heir, something that hadn’t happened in his first marriage
and his advisors were becoming worried about
an end to the dynasty. 
A
dynasty
that had been extremely good for Duban
.
 

Why was a divorce necessary? 
Why wasn’t he just marry
ing another woman, she wondered?  Couldn’t he
have several wives?  The idea actually made her stomach ache so she slapped the computer shut and turned around, only to find several sets of eyes staring at her. 

Sam and Jacob were in their rain coats and shoes, although Sam had his shoes on the wro
ng feet.  To the left of Sam were their two dogs,
“Rover” and “
Boy
”, neither canine having a very celebrated parentage and to the right of
Jacob
was “Kitty”, a white, short haired feline that loved shedding on
Siri’s
black slacks.  All three animals had not been her choice but had shown up at various stages in her sons’
short
lives
and become part of the family
.  Sam was the animal lover and any creature that crossed his path needed to be adopted and “loved” by her adorable little son. He brought home animals even when they had owners, and she had to
return them, sometimes with a very sad boy on her hands because
, in his mind,
no one could take care of animals and give them enough love like he could. 

“What’s wrong, momma?” Sam asked, his hand holding Rover’s scraggly fur nervously.  Jacob, sensing the same tension, leaned into Sam and both boys somehow figured out how to have as much of their bodies touching each other without
lying
on top of
the
other. 

They didn’t need to be concerned with her trauma, she told herself.  All they needed in their lives right now was a secure home with lots of hugs, kisses, understanding and parameters.  “Nothing is wrong, little guys,” she said and pasted a bright smile on her face.  “I just remembered that I needed to stop and get gas but I can do that after I drop you two off at school.  I know you have your big day today, don’t you?”

The boys relaxed slightly, but they kept close, not sure if they believed their mother or not.  “Let’s go,” she said and herded the boys out to the car, kept the animals in the house with one foot while she closed and locked the door, all the while balancing their school bags on one shoulder, her computer bag in the other, her keys in
her right
hand and her coffee in the
left
.  She refused to let her mind
think about that man and his divorce
as well as
all the
painful
memories that were long gone and
should
never to be thought of again. 

As she drove them the short distance to their preschool, s
he did her best to appear upbeat and unconcerned until she kissed each of them on their chubby cheeks moments before they each ran off to play with their friends.  She watched them carefully
for a few moments
, noting that each other was their real best friend.  The others in the play group were interesting
,
but Sam and Jacob were two halves of a whole. 

When they were in elementary school, she’d have to separate them, encourage them to open up to others and diversify their lives, but for now, they were doing well.  They were so smart it scared her sometimes.  Would she be able to give them everything they needed as they grew up?  Was she a good mother?  Was she doing everything right? 

She sighed as she exited the school, her mid whirling with questions and insecurities.  How nice it would be if she could talk to someone, bounce her ideas off of them and have someone take a bit of the worry away.  But she didn’t have that.  She was a single mother of twin boys who were always running around, always chasing something, curious about anything that moved, and if it didn’t
move
, they wanted to know why.  If she wasn’t working to support them, she was searching the internet to keep up with their questions.  But no matter how exhausting it was, she loved them and knew she’d never give them up for anything
or anyone
.

Even a man who needed an heir, she thought angrily. 

He’d walke
d out, he’d rejected her letter
,
he’d
never called or checked in on her.  He could just go on about his merry old way and raise oil prices or let them fall, whatever made his day.  He’d never find out about her sons!
  She’d tried to let him know about their existence but he’d rejected that letter, hadn’t even opened the letter since it was “returned to sender”.

At the warehouse, she went to her office, smiling at the employees who were already on duty, chatting with several of them about deliveries and inventories, before moving on to her office.   Once there, she closed her door, something she rarely did, and sat down in her chair to try and figure out what to do. 
She had to think through this latest news carefully, put it into perspective and then move on with her life.  Malik’s marriage or dissolution of his marriage had no bearing on her life.  She was independent, she’d worked hard to build up her toy business and she had two wonderful boys that depended on her. 

The day
s were always
chaotic and she worked hard, proud of the company she’d built up four years ago.  She’d built up this toy company
from nothing, just an idea to distribute educational toys for kids
, working hard over the years to ensure
its
success.  There were several people who hadn’t liked working for someone younger, but she’d quickly changed their minds as she’d grown the company, expanding and giving a
ll of them more opportunities. 

The idea
for her company
had come to her almost immediately after she’d discovered she was pregnant.  She and her mother had been searching for toys that would be appropriate for what she’d thought would be her only child.  What they’d been able to find had been some great toys, some bad ones and some mediocre, but nothing all in one spot.  After
a great deal of
trial and error, she’d created a web site that consolidated all of the toys she thought were educational and beneficial to kids at various stages of their lives.  The web site had taken off and she’d quickly expanded from her parents’ dining room to a small store, and then to this warehouse that could hold a larger inventory so she could get the toys out to her customers more quickly
as well as several other retail stores
.