Page 13 of Falling for the Maverick

“I don’t want him to break your heart.”

“Why would he do that?”

Aaron huffed. “I don’t think of Lucas as a bad guy, just as someone who’s not willing to commit. The word going around Tenacity is that Lucas is more interested in his dog and horses than he is in settling down with a woman.”

“What if I’m not looking for a commitment?”

“I’m not buying that, Michelle. In fact, I believe all the emphasis on our brothers’ weddings has you fantasizing about your own happily-ever-after.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Aaron. Shane and Ellis marrying has nothing to do with me and Lucas.”

“All I’m saying is you need to think rationally. You’d be making a big mistake if you get involved with Tiffany’s brother. He’s not going to commit to anything long-term, and I don’t want to be the one to say I told you so. And if he does anything to hurt you, he’s going to have to deal with me one-on-one and face-to-face.”

Michelle shivered as if she’d fallen through a frozen pond. Taking off her puffy vest, she hung it on a hook, then picked up a brush from a shelf. As she ran the brush over the horse’s sleek brown coat, she realized she was smarting a little from Aaron’s lecture about seeing Lucas. She didn’t want to remind Aaron that at twenty-seven she was not only an emancipated woman, but she didn’t need him to protect her like when they were kids.

Back then, he was the brother who appointed himself her protector. Apparently he still felt that way. She knew he was serious about confronting Lucas on her behalf. What Michelle didn’t want was a feud between the Coreys and the Brandts, which would force everyone to take sides and possibly destroy marriages.

If the rumors were true about Lucas’s unwillingness to commit, then Michelle was okay with that. She was all for a commitment, but not at this time in her life. It had been two years since she dated, and she was ready to get back on the horse. Lucas living in Tenacity was a win-win for her actually. She didn’t have to troll clubs or dating sites looking for a date. She could go out with Lucas, and as long as she didn’t fall in love with him, she would be able to protect her heart. And when it all ended, there’d be no hard feelings. Ending it would be her decision, not because of her disapproving brother or because of Lucas’s inability to commit. She forgot about Aaron’s warning as she finished grooming the horse.

After cleaning the stalls, Aaron helped her groom the last two horses before letting them out to graze. Then Michelle drove to the barn to take care of the cat who’d been only days old when Michelle found her in a box on the side of the road.

She’d brought her home, and one of the ranch’s border collies, Holmes, who’d also been a stray, instantly adopted the tiny kitten. Michelle had a vet check her out and declared the feline healthy, and now Miss Prudence, Pru for short, as a permanent resident of the Circle C thanks to her superior mousing instincts.

Pru was less than a year old when she’d disappeared. Michelle panicked because she’d feared her cat had run off or met some animal looking for easy prey. Her angst was short-lived when Pru returned, and it was weeks later that Michelle realized she hadn’t come back alone. She was pregnant. Pru gave birth to four kittens, three of which were put up for adoption. Michelle decided to keep one, because she’d fallen in love with the orange tabby who’d inherited her mother’s hunting instincts. Of course, she’d had both cats spayed to prevent another unwanted litter.

Pru and Marmalade came over to greet her when she walked in, winding themselves around her legs.

“Good morning, ladies. Mama’s going to give you some food and clean water.”

Michelle considered both of them to be house cats. Even when the barn doors were left open, they wouldn’t venture any farther than the stables. Michelle knew if she had her own cabin, both cats would live with her. With two dogs, Holmes and Watson, and Prudence and Marmalade, a half dozen horses and several herds of cattle, the Circle C was not only a working ranch but an animal haven that Michelle loved.

Michelle had promised Remi that she would ride Betty Boop in her absence. The finicky chocolate-brown and chestnut mare with a flowing black mane had earned the reputation of bucking off anyone who tried to ride her but had done a one-eighty the first time Remi Hawkins rode her. However, when Betty Boop allowed Michelle to ride her, she and Remi agreed the mare simply preferred to be ridden by women.

As she left the barn, Michelle noticed the morning sky was overcast with darkening clouds. If the temperature didn’t drop, they would have rain. If it did, then snow squalls.

The number one enemy of farmers and ranchers in Montana was the weather. Violent summer storms brought thunder and lightning that knocked down fences and ripped roofs off buildings, ice storms took down power lines and made driving hazardous, and snowstorms left double-digit drifts that stranded people and animals.

But it got under the skin for some people. Michelle’s college roommate was a girl from Florida who claimed she couldn’t wait to graduate and escape Big Sky Country. All of her plans ended when she fell in love with a Montanan, married him and made a home in Helena.

Not only did Michelle love her native state, she couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. She’d come to look for the change of seasons; she never tired of looking out the windows at the mountains in the distance, breathing in the clean mountain air or staring up at the nighttime sky with millions of stars. Her family’s roots ran deep in Montana, and it was where she hoped one day to marry and raise another generation of Coreys.

She drove back to the house, took a quick shower, then walked into the kitchen for breakfast. Her mother always prepared a buffet breakfast during the week but opted for sit-down family-style on weekends. Her parents and Aaron were seated in the breakfast nook.

Chafing dishes lining a long table against a wall were filled with scrambled eggs, grits, turkey bacon, chicken sausage and oatmeal. Michelle loved her mother’s cracked oats as much as she did her grandmother’s mac and cheese. She filled a bowl with the nutty oats and topped them with cinnamon and then added condensed milk for sweetness.

“Is that all you’re eating?” Patty asked when Michelle sat on the bench next to her father.

“No, I’m going back for bacon and eggs after I finish this. Where’s Tristan?” she asked. She’d expected him to join the family for breakfast.

Joseph Corey peered over his half-glasses at her. “He ate earlier. He went back to his place to change. He’s coming with me to Billings to meet the folks who own the land up on the northwest quadrant.”

“So, you’re really serious about buying that land?” Aaron asked.

Joseph nodded. “Yup. I was discussing it with Shane before the wedding, and he told me we should make an offer before they put it up for auction.”

Michelle met her father’s eyes. “What do you plan to use it for?”

“I’m thinking of buying some horses. Lucas’s brother-in-law has a horse farm in Bronco, and now that Lucas is a part of our extended family, I believe we can get a good deal on some quality horseflesh.”