Harlequin Special Edition November 2014 - Box Set 2 of 2: The Maverick's Thanksgiving Baby\A Celebration Christmas\Dr. Daddy's Perfect Christmas (12 page)

“Noelle never puked on you?”

He shook his head. “She's spit up a little, but nothing more than that.”

Maggie put a plate of chicken parm on the table in front of him.

“How was your day?” he asked her.

“Well, I didn't have to deal with any puking babies.” She sat down across from him with her own plate. “In fact, I didn't have to do much of anything.

“Ben took me to Kalispell for an arbitration today. We chatted on the drive, lingered over coffee when we got there, he presented his case to the arbitrator, then we had lunch and returned to Rust Creek Falls around three o'clock, at which point he decided we'd done enough for the day.”

“Most people would be happy to finish their day at three o'clock,” he pointed out to her.

“I know. I just felt kind of...useless,” she admitted. “Ben promised he'd make me earn my salary, but I'm not sure that will happen until I pass the Bar.”

“Maybe you need to remind yourself that you're not in LA anymore and relax a little bit,” he suggested.

“That's what Ben said,” she admitted.

“Imagine... I gave the same advice as an attorney without charging two hundred dollars an hour for it.”

“Which is less than half the rate of most lawyers in California. Of course, the cost of office space is a lot higher there, too.”

“Do you miss it?”

She shook her head. “Having time on my hands is a new experience but I think, once I get used to it, I'll enjoy the slower pace and lessened pressure. And I really like Ben and Mallory and Jessica—I'm not sure I could say that about any of the people I worked with at Alliston & Blake. I'm sure they were all great people, but I was so busy focusing on my clients and cases that I never really got to know any of them very well.”

“I didn't have the chance to get to know your boss very well, but I'm sure I didn't like him,” Jesse told her.

“Brian was always fond of saying he was in the business of business, not making friends.”

“That's probably one of the reasons I prefer to work with animals than people.” He pushed away from the table and carried his empty plate to the sink.

She appreciated that Jesse always insisted on doing the dishes if she did the cooking, but she wished he didn't shoo her out of the kitchen so that he could do the cleaning up. She just wanted to be with him, to do the things that most married couples did together. And since—for reasons she still didn't understand—that didn't include sex at the present, she was so pathetically eager to spend time with him she would settle for sharing chores.

She began to clear away the rest of the table. When she picked up a towel to dry the dishes he'd already washed, Jesse said, “I'll do that.”

But this time, she didn't let him ban her from the room. “I don't mind,” she told him.

Short of wrestling the towel from her, there was nothing he could do, so he shrugged and focused his attention on the washing again. He didn't say anything while he completed the chore, but she didn't mind the silence.

She put the last pot back in the cupboard then turned to hang the towel on the oven handle. She hadn't realized he was right behind her, and when she turned, her breasts brushed against his chest. The shock of the contact might have jolted her backward, except that the counter was at her back and Jesse was at her front, so she had nowhere to go.

She lifted her gaze to his and saw both heat and hunger reflected in his eyes. Her heart pounded harder and faster and her mouth went dry. The atmosphere crackled with heat and tension. She instinctively moistened her lips, and his eyes darkened as they followed the movement of her tongue. His gaze shifted from her mouth to her breasts, zeroing in on nipples that were already peaked, begging for his attention.

Jesse drew in a slow, deep breath. Then he took a deliberate step back, away from her.

“I have to go out...to check on Lancelot.”

She swallowed, torn between frustration and disappointment. “Now?”

“Nate asked me to take a look at him—said he was favoring his right foreleg.”

She nodded, because she could hardly dispute the importance of checking on an injured animal.

But as she watched him grab his coat and walk out the back door, she wondered if she'd have to grow a tail and a mane to make him take a look at her.

* * *

And so it went for the next several days—except that Maggie banned herself from the kitchen after dinner. She didn't mind playing with fire, but she hated being the only one who felt the burn.

She tried to talk to her cousin, in the hope that Lissa might have some insights into Jesse's behavior. But although Lissa was puzzled by the distance he was deliberately keeping from his bride, she had no words of wisdom except to say that no man could resist a woman intent on seduction—especially if that woman was his wife.

The problem was that Maggie didn't know the first thing about seduction. She could count the number of lovers she'd had on one hand, with two fingers left over.

The first had been the editor of the law review. She'd fallen in love with his mind and decided that she liked the rest of him well enough to take their relationship to the next level. But the actual event, when it finally happened, was less than spectacular. Still, they'd stayed together for another four months before the relationship eventually fizzled away.

The second had been a former client at Alliston & Blake. She'd never actually worked with him, but she'd been in the elevator when he'd left a meeting with David Connors, one of the senior IP attorneys. He'd asked her to have dinner with him; she'd declined, telling him that it was against company policy for attorneys to fraternize with clients. He'd responded by calling David Connors on his cell phone, right then and there, and firing him. They'd dated for almost a year, and while the physical aspect of their relationship had been pleasant enough, he hadn't exactly rocked her world.

No one had—until Jesse.

She didn't know if the sex had been so great because she felt a deep, emotional connection that she'd never experienced with anyone else, or if she felt a deep, emotional connection to him because the sex had been so great.

Or maybe it hadn't been as great as she remembered... Or maybe it had been great for her but not for him... Or maybe she should stop driving herself crazy speculating about things and figure out what was keeping her husband so busy he was out of the house more than in it.

Because it seemed that every night he had one excuse or another to escape from the house right after dinner. If she'd still been working at Alliston & Blake, she wouldn't have minded being married to a man who was absent for frequent and extended periods—she probably wouldn't even have noticed.

A glance at her watch revealed that it was just past eight o'clock. Jesse's truck was parked out front, so she knew that he hadn't gone far.

She put on her boots and bundled into her coat, wrapping her scarf around her throat, tugging a hat onto her head and slipping thick mittens over her hands. She didn't know if she'd ever get used to Montana temperatures, but she was learning to cope with them.

It helped if she didn't check the daily forecast for LA, as she'd done that morning, only to discover that it was sixty-four degrees in SoCal—forty degrees warmer than in Rust Creek Falls. No wonder she hadn't owned a winter coat until she'd gone shopping in Kalispell with Lissa before the wedding. Unlike the peignoir set her cousin had purchased for her, she actually used the coat.

Her breath puffed out in little clouds, and the snow crunched under her feet as she made her way toward the stables. It wasn't a long trek from the house, but her cheeks and nose were numb by the time she reached the door. The light inside gave her hope that she would find her husband there.

The scent of hay and horses no longer filled her with panic. Instead, it reminded her of Jesse's kiss—the comfort of his arms around her, the warmth of his mouth against hers—and renewed her determination to track down her errant husband.

Honey poked her head over the gate when Maggie ventured near. She was tempted to go closer, to rub the animal's long nose the way Jesse had taught her, but she wasn't nearly as brave without him beside her. She just kept walking, toward what he'd explained was the birthing stall at the back of the barn and from which the light emanated.

She didn't know what she expected to find him doing—but whatever possibilities had crossed her mind, finding him rubbing sandpaper over a carved piece of wood was not one of them.

She didn't know if she made some kind of sound or if he sensed her standing in the open doorway, but his movements suddenly stilled and he looked up at her.

She stepped into the stall, her curious gaze taking in the assortment of pieces spread out over a large worktable—along with the plans for a baby's cradle.

“Oh.” Her heart, already his, went splat at his feet. “Is this why you didn't put
crib
on one of your sticky notes?”

He smiled. “We'll need one eventually, but I wanted to do this.”

“I thought horses were your thing.”

“They are—but sometimes I like to putter.”

She looked at the pieces of wood, meticulously carved and sanded. “You're a very talented putterer.”

“Is that even a word?”

“I don't think so,” she admitted, running her hand over what she guessed—based on the picture—was the top of a side rail. But referring to him as a putterer was safer than saying that he was good with his hands. Because he undoubtedly was, but that kind of comment would bring to mind all kinds of things that he could do with his hands, things he had done with his hands, things she wished he would do with his hands again. Pushing those tantalizingly torturous thoughts aside, she asked, “Where did you learn to do this?”

“My grandfather was a carpenter as well as a rancher. He taught me a lot of tricks to working with wood.”

“The one who made Noelle's blocks?” she guessed.

He nodded.

“Did he make the blanket chest at the foot of my bed?”

“No. I made that.”

She'd thought it was a family heirloom, and knew that someday it would be. Just as this cradle would be enjoyed by their child, and maybe, eventually, their child's child.

“There's something else on your mind,” he guessed. “You didn't come out here to talk about puttering.”

She managed a smile. “No, because I didn't know about the puttering until I got out here.”

“Something you want to talk about?”

“I'm not sure,” she admitted.

He picked up a soft cloth and began to wipe down the sanded pieces in preparation for staining. “When you decide, you can let me know.”

It would be easier, she decided, to ask the question when he wasn't looking at her. When he couldn't see the doubts and insecurities she feared might be reflected in her eyes.

So with his attention focused on his task, she blurted out, “Why didn't you tell me your ex-fiancée was in town?”

Chapter Twelve

J
esse looked up, sincerely startled by the question. “I didn't know that she was.”

“I don't mean today,” Maggie amended. “I meant the day we got married.”

“Oh.”

“Why didn't you tell me?” she asked again.

“Because I didn't think it was important.”

“The woman you were once planning to marry shows up in town on the day of our wedding and you don't think it's important?”

He sighed. “I don't know how much you know about that engagement—”

“As much as you've told me, which is nothing.”

“Because there isn't much to tell. We were engaged for a few weeks—not even long enough to plan a wedding.”

“That's longer than we were engaged,” she pointed out.

“What do you want me to say, Maggie?”

“I don't know,” she admitted. “But I guess I've been wondering... Are you still in love with her?”

“No.” His response was immediate and unequivocal.

She didn't look convinced.

“The truth is, I hadn't seen her in almost seven years,” he told her. “And I never knew if seeing her again might stir up any old feelings. But it didn't. Any feelings I once had for her are long gone.”

“Well, I guess that's good,” she said. “Considering that you're now married to me.”

“And I'm happy to be married to you.”

She opened her mouth, then closed it again without saying a word.

“If there's something you want to say, just say it,” Jesse suggested. “I'm not a mind reader.”

“One of the first things a lawyer learns is to never ask a question that she doesn't already know the answer to.”

“Was it a legal question you were wondering about?”

“No,” she admitted. “But in this situation, I think the same rule applies.”

He decided to ask a question of his own. “How did you find out about Shaelyn's visit?”

“I overheard some women talking about it at our reception.”

“Why didn't you ask me about it then?”

“Because I was hoping you would tell me about it,” she admitted.

“I didn't tell you because I forgot about her the minute she walked out the door.”

She had no reason not to believe what he was telling her, but his casual dismissal of his former fiancée made her wonder if, during the four months that he and Maggie had been apart, he'd forgotten about her just as easily.

If she hadn't been pregnant, she might not have seen him again. She wouldn't have had any reason to seek him out, and he hadn't shown any inclination to track her down. They were only together now because of their baby—and while she was exactly where she wanted to be, she wasn't convinced the same was true for Jesse.

“I'm sorry I interrupted your work,” she said.

“I didn't mind the interruption,” he told her. “But you kind of ruined the surprise.”

“I'll be surprised when it's all put together,” she promised him, heading toward the door.

“Maggie—”

She paused with her fingers wrapped around the handle and turned back.

“I don't want to be with anyone but you,” he told her.

She managed a smile. “Same goes.”

As she headed back to the house, she told herself that she should be satisfied. He wanted to be with her, and that should be enough.

But it wasn't—she wanted him to love her as much as she loved him.

* * *

At Alliston & Blake, there was an office manager in charge of ensuring supplies were documented and maintained. At Ben's office, Jessica usually went into Kalispell once a month to replenish supplies as required. If anything was needed in the interim, it could usually be obtained from the General Store.

Which was why Maggie was at Crawford's to pick up a package of printer paper on Friday afternoon. Natalie directed her to the stationery section at the back of the store, where she found Nina pacing with Noelle in her arms.

“Someone doesn't look too happy today,” she said, noting the runny nose and teary eyes of the little girl in her mother's arms.

“That's why my sister's working the register and I'm hiding out back here,” Nina admitted.

“Is she sick?” Maggie asked.

“Teething,” her sister-in-law clarified. “She's been teething for six months—but every new tooth seems to make her grumpier than the previous one.”

Maggie stroked the back of a finger over the child's red cheek. Noelle looked at her and let out a shuddery sigh.

“I was just about to take her upstairs to see if she'll nap,” Nina said. “Do you have time for a cup of tea?”

Maggie glanced at her watch, although, aside from printing the memorandum she'd drafted and which didn't need to be submitted until Monday, she had absolutely nothing pressing at the office. “I do if you do,” she told her sister-in-law.

Nina led the way through the store to the staircase behind women's sleepwear.

“I lived up here before I moved in with Dallas. Because I manage the store, it was convenient. I decided to keep the apartment, at least for now, so that Noelle can be close by when I'm working. It makes it easy for me to slip away to nurse her—or take a nap with her.”

“You're nursing even while she's teething?”

“For now,” Nina agreed. “We've been supplementing with formula for a few months, because it gives me a little more freedom, but they say that breast milk is best for the first year, so even when I'm not nursing, I'm pumping.”

The door opened into a big living room that was separated from the kitchen and dining area by an island counter. It was bright and spacious but as warm and inviting as the woman who had decorated it.

“This is nice,” Maggie said sincerely.

“I like it,” Nina said. “It was where I originally planned on living with Noelle—until I fell in love with Dallas. Now he's going to add on to his house—our house—so that we'll have a master suite on the main level and then the current master bedroom can be divided into two rooms and each of the kids will have their own.”

“Are you planning to add to your family?” Maggie asked.

“I think four is a good number.” Nina passed the baby to her sister-in-law so that she could make tea. “But I have to admit, I've been thinking that it would be nice to have a baby with Dallas.”

“What does he say about that?”

“It took some getting used to for him with Noelle. Robbie is seven now, so dealing with midnight feedings and dirty diapers was a big adjustment for him, so I haven't even mentioned the idea yet. I was thinking I'd give him a little more time before I bring up the subject—and to make sure it isn't just a whim on my part.”

Watching Nina's ease with and obvious love for her baby, Maggie didn't think it was a whim. Jesse's sister was clearly one of those women who was meant to be a mother, and she knew that her husband was lucky to have found a woman who loved the children from his first marriage as much as she loved her own.

“Speaking of homes,” Nina said. “Did you know that Jesse built his? Well, not by himself,” she clarified. “My dad and my brothers helped.”

“He didn't tell me.” But the information reminded her that she'd wondered about something else. “How long has he lived there?”

“Four years, I think.” And then, demonstrating a startling insight into her sister-in-law's mind, she said, “It was definitely post-Shaelyn.”

Maggie nodded, grateful for the information. “Did he design it, too?”

“Inside and out,” Nina confirmed.

“He's got a good eye—and great hands.”

“Please,” Nina said. “There are some details a sister doesn't need to know.”

Maggie felt as if her cheeks were as red as Noelle's. “I meant that he's good with tools.”

Her sister-in-law raised a brow.

She blew out a breath. “I saw the cradle he's making for the baby.”

“He's making a cradle?” Nina's eyes misted. “That's so sweet—and so Jesse.”

“Is it?”

“He's over the moon about this baby.”

Maggie looked down at the little girl now sleeping in her arms. “I'm pretty excited, too. I can't wait to hold my own baby just like this.”

“He—or she—will be here before you know it, and then what you'll want more than anything in the world is a few hours of uninterrupted sleep.”

“I'm sure that's true,” Maggie agreed. “But I still can't wait. Of course, I'm as terrified as I am excited, but since there's no turning back now, I'm trying to focus on the positive.”

Nina was silent for a minute, seemingly content to just watch Maggie cuddle with Noelle. But when she spoke again, the sincere concern in her tone even more than the question warned Maggie that the other woman suspected all was not wedded bliss for her brother and sister-in-law.

“Is everything okay?” she asked gently.

Maggie managed a smile, in an effort to convince Nina as well as herself. “Everything's great.”

“The day that you and Jesse got married, you were absolutely glowing,” Nina said. “You're not glowing anymore.”

Since Maggie couldn't dispute that, she said nothing.

“Are you unhappy here?” her sister-in-law prompted.

“No. I'm really coming to love Rust Creek Falls.”

“Are you missing your family?”

“Sure,” she admitted. “But I'm building a new family here, with Jesse.” When Nina's only response was patient silence, Maggie sighed. “I guess I just hoped that we'd have more time together. He's so busy, between his work at Traub Stables and chores at The Shooting Star, that I hardly ever see him.”

Nina's brow furrowed. “I would expect a new husband to make more time for his bride.”

“You know why we got married,” Maggie reminded her.

“I know why you got married as quickly as you did,” her sister-in-law allowed. “I also know that Jesse started to fall for you the first time he saw you—long before there was a baby in the picture.”

Maggie was surprised by the statement. What Nina apparently “knew” was news to her.

Yes, Jesse had been attracted to her from the start—which was why there was a baby on the way—but she didn't know if she'd go so far as to say that he'd fallen for her. Even if she'd fallen head over heels for him a long time ago.

“Did he tell you about Shaelyn?” Nina asked.

“Only that he was engaged to her, briefly.”

“That's true, but not even close to being the whole truth.” She picked up her tea, sipped. “It's not really my place to tell you the story—or at least what I know of it—but I think you should know the basics, so that you won't lose all patience with my idiot brother.”

“I'm not sure how to respond to that,” Maggie admitted, making Nina laugh.

“You don't have to—as much as I love him, I'm not blind to his faults.”

She sipped her tea again while she considered what—or maybe how much—to say. Maggie set aside her own cup, unable to drink her tea while her stomach was twisting itself into knots.

“He loved her,” Nina finally said, and with those words, the knots tightened painfully. “In that innocent first love kind of way. You have to understand what it was like for Jesse growing up in our family. He's always been the quiet one, the more introspective one. And he's sensitive, which is probably why he's so good with animals, and why he doesn't like to play with anyone's emotions.

“All of the local girls chased after Nate and Justin and Brad. Jesse was every bit as good-looking, smart and charming, but he was overlooked because he let himself be.

“When he went away to college, he was no longer competing with our brothers for attention, and the girls started to notice him for who he was. Shaelyn set her sights on him from day one. He didn't have a lot of experience deciphering subtle signals, but there was nothing subtle about Shaelyn.”

“You didn't like her,” Maggie realized.

“I wanted to—for Jesse's sake. But Shaelyn didn't have many redeeming qualities, aside from the fact that she loved my brother.”

“And he loved her.”

“He was infatuated,” Nina allowed. “I'm not sure it was anything more than that, although he certainly thought it was, at least at the time.

“And his experience with Shaelyn did make him wary. So I'm going to ask you to try to be patient with him. To give him the time he needs to accept how he feels about you.”

“What if you're wrong about his feelings?”

“I'm not,” her sister-in-law promised.

Maggie wished she could be half as certain, but her conversation with Nina had at least given her hope.

* * *

Jesse's excited anticipation about the impending birth of his child was tempered by his fear that the baby's mother would wake up one day and realize she hated life in Rust Creek Falls. Because if that happened and Maggie decided to go back to Los Angeles, he'd lose everything that mattered most to him.

It was this fear that kept him from admitting—to her and himself—the true depth of his feelings. It was easy to keep busy around the ranch: mending broken fences, mucking out stalls and working with the horses. But that hadn't taken up all of his time, so he'd decided to build a cradle. It was something he wanted to do, and it gave him an excuse to stay out in the barn, away from Maggie. Because he couldn't be around Maggie without wanting Maggie, and giving in to that want would inevitably tangle up his heart, and he wasn't ready to go down that road again.

Except that he was almost finished the cradle, and he didn't know what project to tackle next. Maybe he would see if he could find a good plan for a crib.

He was assembling the stand when Honey nickered a happy greeting. Curious, he left the worktable and rounded the corner to discover Nina rubbing an affectionate hand down the horse's muzzle.