Page 54 of Falling for the Maverick

“Did you ever engage in any underage smoking or drinking?”

“No, because Joseph Corey told his kids that if we were caught, we would lose our driving privileges and we would only be allowed to leave the ranch to attend school.”

“If you couldn’t drive to school, then how would you get there?”

“Dad threatened to buy an old cheese bus to drop us off and pick us up at the end of the school day.”

Lucas gave her a quick glance. “Cheese bus?”

“Yes,” Michelle said, laughing. “That’s what you call the small yellow school buses.”

Laughter rumbled in Lucas’s chest. “That truly would’ve a sight to see. Talk about humiliation.”

“The threat was a little extreme, but it worked. None of my brothers were willing to challenge our father, and neither was I. It was years later that he told us he was just bluffing because he couldn’t afford to take time away from working the ranch to transport us to and from school.”

“I don’t think of it as extreme. Sometimes parents must do what they don’t want to do in order to keep their kids from going down the wrong path.”

“Are you saying that when you become a father you’re going to be a badass?”

“That will depend on their mother. It will be her home, and therefore it’s her rules they must abide by. But if they decide to challenge her, that’s when I’ll step in to enforce them. I won’t allow my kids to pit one parent against the other. If my boy acts up, then he’ll have to forfeit the keys to the car, while my girl will have to give up her cell phone.”

“So, you want kids?”

“I would like to have a few sometime in the future. What about you, Michelle?”

“What about me?”

“Do you want to have children?”

“Of course. I’ve always dreamed of marrying and having children.”

Michelle smiled as she stared out the windshield. She could just see what it’d be like if she were to marry Lucas and move to Big Doggo. There would be nonstop noise with their kids running in and out of rooms chasing Flash because he didn’t want to play dress up, while Marmalade would disappear to her favorite hiding spot to avoid having her tail and whiskers pulled.

She realized Lucas Brandt was unlikely to be part of her future, despite her hopes. Dating him secretly had just allowed her a glimpse of what she could have with him if they were out as a couple.

Michelle was relieved that he’d set a deadline for when they would end their charade; the countdown had begun, and hopefully by the end of the month she finally would be able to exhale. She wasn’t sure how it would end, but she knew for certain there would be no more meeting in secret.

There was the soulful sound of a muted trumpet flowing through the car’s speakers, seemingly keeping time with the slip-slap of tires on the roadway. Michelle slumped lower on the leather seat. “Why did you name your ranch Big Doggo?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Lucas asked, answering her question with a question.

“Is it because you own a big dog?”

“Yes and no.”

“Then what is it?”

“You’re looking at him.”

She sat up straight. “Are you saying you are the big dog?”

“Yup. Standing at six feet two inches tall and weighing over two hundred pounds. I bark, howl, bite and occasionally nip, but I make certain not to leave marks.”

Michelle stared at Lucas for several seconds before bursting into hysterical laughter. “You definitely are full of yourself,” she remarked as she opened her evening purse and removed a tissue to dab at the corners of her eyes.

“I could’ve named it the Wolf Pack, but that sounds too predatory. More important, there are wolves here in Montana.”

“If you had the choice of being an animal, would you select something from the canine family?”