Page 9 of Falling for the Maverick

Flash grunted, then rested his muzzle on his paws.

“You ask if she’s pretty?” Lucas asked, continuing his monologue with the canine. “Yes, she is. She has these big brown eyes that are mesmerizing. Then there’s her voice. It’s a lower register than a lot of women, which only adds to her sexiness. I could close my eyes and listen to her talk for hours without interrupting her.” He paused. “And it’s not about sex. But I have to ask myself if I want to sleep with her. The answer is an unequivocal yes. However, that can’t happen unless she wants it. Meanwhile that is something I’ll keep between us men.”

Lucas wondered if he was truly losing his mind talking to a dog when he should’ve been talking to his brother. But he knew how that conversation would end: with Ethan telling him to walk—no, run—away from Michelle and never look back. It would cause big trouble in the family if it didn’t work out between Lucas and Michelle.

He realized there was some truth to what Ethan said. Then again, what if it did work out between him and Michelle?

The what-ifs continued to plague him even as he tried to concentrate on the ball game. When he realized the futility of forcing himself to watch something he’d lost interest in, he turned off the television. Lucas stood up, which prompted Flash to stand, and the dog followed him out of the family room. He knew he had to get out of the house to clear his head.

Lucas thought about driving into town to watch the game at one of the bars, then changed his mind. After attending the wedding reception with people he was unfamiliar with, he didn’t feel the need to socialize with more strangers. He’d also contemplated going over to the Circle C to see Michelle, but it had been ingrained in him as a child that he was never to go to someone’s home without an invitation. It was considered poor home training. But he also knew showing up without an invitation to her parents’ house meant he wanted something that was more than casual, and he knew Michelle wasn’t someone he could be casual about.

He had two options: saddle a horse and ride or go for a walk. In the end he decided on the latter. Reaching for a corduroy jacket, he slipped it on over a flannel shirt, put on his Stetson and left the house with Flash at his side.

Brilliant sunshine and cool temperatures were ideal for a walk. Lucas hoped it would be therapeutic and give him answers to the question that echoed in his head.

Should he get involved with his sister’s in-law?

* * *

A week had gone by after the wedding, and Michelle hadn’t heard a word from Lucas. Then again, did she actually expect to? Both had had roles in the wedding party, and he’d helped her out of a dilemma with an aggressive wedding guest without causing a scene.

But it was their pretense that they were a couple that she couldn’t stop reliving over and over in her head. Her kissing his neck, and him picking her up and spinning her around and around, then the moment when she’d believed he was going to kiss her. She had to ask herself, had she wanted him to kiss her in front of a crowd of people who appeared to have been in suspended animation watching their intimate interchange?

The answer was yes. Michelle knew she would’ve shocked her family, but she could have explained later why she’d acted so recklessly in public with a man who was now a member of their extended family.

Out of sight out of mind. That was what Lucas was probably thinking. He’d fulfilled his obligation as a groomsman in his sister’s wedding, so there was no further need for them to see each other except when all the Brandts and Coreys might reunite for a special occasion.

She managed to keep busy at the daycare center tracing little hands she would cut out in shapes resembling turkeys. Next, using construction paper, she traced stencils with shapes of leaves and cut them out in different fall colors, then taped them to the many windows.

She enjoyed working with the preschoolers who got so excited whenever she announced they were going to do an art project. They would put on shirts that doubled as smocks, roll up the sleeves and sit quietly at a table while Michelle put out the supplies. Cutting out shapes of the season with safety scissors, working with glue and painting what they’d completed resulted in artwork displayed on a corkboard and pointed out to parents with pride.

Growing up, Michelle hadn’t been able to decide whether she wanted to become an art or classroom teacher, so when she enrolled in college in Missoula, she decided to major in early childhood education and minor in art. It was a win-win for her when she occasionally substituted for kindergarten and preschool classrooms.

After spending three days at the daycare center, Michelle was ready for some adult interaction and decided to go into town. Tenacity went all out when it came to holidays, and the town’s fall festivities ranked high on Michelle’s list of celebrations. Autumn was her favorite season of the year, so she, too, went all out with pumpkin spice coffee, donuts and cupcakes. She’d found a Williams Sonoma recipe for pumpkin squares, and she never failed to make a batch every year.

Dressed in a pair of black jeans, matching jacket, low-heeled boots and orange mock turtleneck sweater, she got into her dark blue Jeep Wrangler and headed into town. She’d bought the vehicle as a gift to herself for her twenty-fifth birthday, a birthday she’d celebrated as one of liberation. She’d broken up with her cheating boyfriend, traded in her car for the Wrangler, then gave up her apartment in Missoula before driving back to Tenacity and the Circle C. When she called her parents to tell them she was coming home, they hadn’t suspected that she’d been in a relationship; she’d wanted to keep it a secret until it came time to announce her engagement. Which never became a reality.

It took months before she’d felt comfortable enough to tell anyone about her breakup. She hadn’t wanted their pity. She’d confided in her brother Aaron who’d threatened to drive to Missoula and confront her ex, and it had taken a lot of pleading for her to talk him off the proverbial ledge. While she loved her other brothers, she and Aaron were each other’s best friend.

Downtown Tenacity was decked out with shop windows decorated in orange and black bunting and displays of pumpkins, and door wreaths with miniature acorns and Indian and ornamental corn. Dried cornstalks were tied to lampposts, and bales of hay were positioned on corners.

Michelle found a parking space, then got out and walked to where the popular pumpkin chucking contest was taking place. It was one of her favorite events, and she loved watching competitors use different devices to hurl pumpkins for distance. There were booths selling hot cider and warm donuts and craft tables with fall wreaths and ornaments. The event was just the distraction she needed to put a certain someone out of her mind.

* * *

At first Lucas believed it was because he’d been thinking about her that he just conjured her up, but there was no doubt that the woman waiting at the booth to buy hot cider was Michelle Corey. He couldn’t pull his gaze away from the curve of her hips in a pair of slim-fit black jeans.

It had been a week—a long and torturous week—since he last saw her. He was thankful that he hadn’t acted on impulse to stop by the Circle C to see her again. His patience had paid off. Bumping into each other unexpectedly was much better.

He took several steps and stood behind her. “Can you please order one for me?” he whispered in her ear.

Michelle turned and looked up at him as if she’d never seen him before. It was obvious she was shocked to see him. A slow smile parted her lips. “Fancy meeting you here.”

He stared at her bare face. Without makeup, she was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. “I could say the same thing about you. I must confess that I’m really impressed by downtown Tenacity. It looks like an autumn wonderland.”

“October is always a special month in Tenacity because it coincides with the fall harvest.”

“Miss, are you going to order something?”