A relieved sigh escaped her as she worked her gums on the frozen toy. She chewed the toy and regarded him so seriously, a last tear shining on her fat cheek, reminding him of her mother the other day, so sad over all the ways her life hadn’t turned out as she’d planned.
He gently rubbed the tear away. “Feel better?”
“Unh.”
“I’m going to take that as a yes.”
He carried her over to the rocker in the corner and sat down. She gummed her pretzel and drooled on his shirt as he rocked her gently.
Eventually, she let go of the pretzel. It fell to his lap. That was when he realized she’d gone back to sleep.
He just sat there rocking her for a while longer because really, she was just the cutest thing, smacking her lips now and then as she slept, yawning once or twice. When he finally got up and tucked her back in her crib, she didn’t even stir.
Before he turned off the lamp, he grabbed the spiral-bound notebook he’d stolen from the kitchen desk and dashed off a few sketches of her all cozy and peaceful, looking like a little angel as she slept.
* * *
Sarah came awake slowly.
She was lying on the sofa with a blanket over her. The lamp in the corner, turned down low, cast a soft glow over the living room. Across the coffee table, in the easy chair, Logan snored softly, his drooping head braced on a hand. She sat up and squinted at the little clock on the side table.
It was after two in the morning. The baby monitor that had been on the hutch was now on the coffee table next to a plastic teething pretzel that she remembered putting in the freezer the afternoon before. The only reason she could think of for Logan to remove the toy from her freezer was to soothe Sophia’s teething pain.
Also on the coffee table were a full-size notebook and two pencils, most likely from her desk in the kitchen. The open pad was turned away from her, the top pages turned back. He’d been drawing something, though from this angle, she couldn’t see what.
Quietly, so as not to disturb him, she picked up the notebook and flipped through the pages.
There were eight drawings total, five of her and three of Sophia. Logan had been sketching pictures of her and her daughter as they slept. They were beautiful, those sketches. Who knew the guy had that sort of talent? She’d had no clue.
It felt a little strange to think of him watching her, drawing her without her knowledge. But it didn’t bother her, not really. And that was strange in itself, that she didn’t mind he’d done the sketches without her knowledge. She wasn’t really that trusting of a person, especially when it came to Sophia. She had a hard time counting on anyone but herself. Yet she’d dropped right off to sleep last night and left him to take care of Sophia. She did trust him, at least a little. And she loved the drawings.
She wanted them—especially the ones of her little girl. Maybe if she asked him nicely, he would give them to her.
And maybe she was growing kind of attached to him already. Fond of him, even. On top of being so strongly attracted to him.
Not good. Not wise at all.
But right now, she was too tired to ponder where this thing between her and the gorgeous, surprisingly artistic, baby-soothing man sleeping in her easy chair might be going. She got up, covered him with the blanket, grabbed the baby monitor, switched off the lamp and headed for her bed.
* * *
Sarah woke to daylight, feeling more rested than she had in months.
She blinked in surprise when she saw the time. Past eight. Sophia often slept through the night lately, but never as late as eight in the morning.
The monitor by the bed was silent, the screen dark. She touched it and it lit up with an image of Sophia’s empty crib.
Sarah’s heart started racing with the beginnings of alarm—until she remembered the baby-soothing rancher she’d left sleeping in her easy chair last night.
As soon as she opened her bedroom door, she heard Logan’s low laughter and her baby’s happy cooing. She followed the sounds into the kitchen where he sat at the two-seater table with Sophia on his lap. He fed her baby cereal as she waved her arms and babbled out nonsense syllables.
A messy business, feeding Sophia.
Sarah leaned in the arch to the dining alcove. “I would bet you that more cereal has ended up on you and the baby than in her mouth.”
With the back of his hand, he wiped a dab of the stuff off his beard-scruffy cheek. “I never take a bet I know I’ll lose.” And then his gaze wandered over her, down the length of her body and back to meet her waiting eyes again.
Her hair was a mess. She wore her old robe over sleep shorts and a T-shirt with a frayed neckline. And yet somehow, that lingering glance of his made her feel like the prettiest girl in Rust Creek Falls.
“Sleep well?” His voice was low and deliciously rough.
“I did, yeah.” She must have gotten a good ten hours total. Because of him. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.” And he smiled at her.
She felt that smile of his as an explosion of warmth in the center of her chest.
Oh, this guy was dangerous. She could so easily get in over her head with him.
“Bacon and eggs?” she asked.
“I would love some.”
* * *
A half hour later, he reluctantly headed for the door. She thanked him again for the beautiful evening and the priceless hours of glorious sleep.
“I’ll call you,” he promised as she ushered him out. She made a noncommittal noise in response and quickly shut the door.
In the living room, the pictures he’d drawn were still there on the coffee table. Apparently, he didn’t want them. Which was great. Because she did. She would find frames for the ones of Sophia. And the ones of her, well, she would keep them as a reminder of him. Because he was a great guy and last night had been lovely.
But it was just too risky to go there. Her life now at least had a certain equilibrium. She couldn’t afford to take chances with her heart.
* * *
He texted her that afternoon. I had a long talk with Sophia last night. She finally opened up to me and admitted that she wants us to spend more together.
Even feeling edgy and sad that she had to call a halt with him, she couldn’t help smiling. Right. Sophia’s a big talker. Too bad she doesn’t use actual words yet.
I understand her. We communicate, Sophia and I. How about tonight? I’m supposed to go to this family thing. Come with me. Or if you want to go somewhere just the two of us, that’s even better. I know a steak house in Kalispell. You’re going to love it.
Her hopeless heart filled with longing—to spend another great evening with him. But that had to stop. Lucky for her, she already had a date with Lily for tonight. Sorry, I can’t. It’s a girls’ night. Just my friend Lily and me.
Damn. Sunday? Come out to the ranch? Or maybe a picnic in Rust Creek Falls Park? Sophia would love it.
No, really. I can’t. I’ll see you Monday at the ranch. I still have a couple more days’ work getting everything set up.
He didn’t respond right away. But then, an hour later, her phone rang. She saw it was him and tried to hold strong, to let it go to voice mail. They could talk about it Monday. She could explain that it wasn’t going to work, that she couldn’t go out with him anymore.
But having it out with him Monday wouldn’t be right, would it? She was going to the Ambling A to work. She needed to keep personal discussions out of the work environment.
Really, it had to be done now. She answered on the third ring. “Hi.”
“What’s going on, Sarah?” His voice was so careful. Flat. Controlled.
She needed to just do it. Get it over with. Move on. “I really can’t do this, Logan. I can’t go out with you again—I mean, I won’t go out with you again. You’re a wonderful man and I really like you, but it’
s not going to happen between us.”
Dead silence from his end.
“Logan? Are you still there?”
“Yeah. And all right. I hear you. I’ll see you Monday—and don’t worry. You want it strictly business, so I’ll give you what you want.”
Chapter Five
Sarah’s mom arrived right on time that night. She took Sophia into her arms and followed Sarah into the kitchen and then the baby’s room as Sarah explained what to feed her, when to put her to bed and how the baby monitor worked.
“Amazing,” declared her mother, thoroughly impressed. “Nowadays a baby monitor is a mini-security system. And the picture is so clear, honey.”
Sarah still had trouble reconciling this pretty, confident, enthusiastic woman with the quiet, dutiful mouse of a mother who had raised her. “Yeah, well. As you can see, it’s pretty simple. You shouldn’t have any trouble with it.”
Flo blew a gentle raspberry against Sophia’s cheek and the baby giggled. Sarah watched them. Never in her life had she expected to see her mom blow a raspberry. It was all too strange and hard to believe.
“How’s my girl?” Flo asked the baby.
Sophia giggled again and added, “Bah. Ga.”
Sarah kind of tuned them out. She kept thinking about Logan, feeling heartsick about cutting things off with him.
She knew it was for the best.
But why did it have to hurt so much?
She’d only had the one evening with him. How could she have gotten so attached so fast?
“You seem kind of down, sweetheart. What’s bothering you?” Flo asked as Sophia chortled in glee and bounced up and down in her grandma’s arms. “Could this have anything to do with the fancy pickup that was parked in front of your house overnight last night?”
“Who told you that?”
“Honey, this isn’t Chicago—it’s Rust Creek Falls,” her mom said as if that explained everything. And really, it kind of did.
In Rust Creek Falls, everybody pretty much knew everything about everyone else. They shared what they knew because they cared about their neighbors and also because it was a form of local entertainment to speculate about who was doing what—and with whom.
Sarah’s mom regarded her with understanding, inviting her to share. And she really wanted to share...
But no. Uh-uh. Not happening. Bad idea.
It was over with Logan. Over without ever having really gotten started. There was nothing to talk about.
“Burdens are lighter when you share them,” Flo advised with a radiant smile.
Say something. Anything. Just not about Logan.
“Actually, I, um, have noticed how well you and Dad seem to be getting along lately.” Talk about an understatement. Sheesh. “And I’ve been kind of wondering what’s happened between you two?”
She had been wondering, though she’d never planned to actually go there. Right now, though, even hearing about her parents’ sex life would be preferable to discussing the man who’d become way too important to her way too fast.
“Oh, honey,” said Flo. “I was beginning to think you’d never ask.”
Beaming with pleasure, Sarah’s mom told all. It had started with a routine visit to her new gynecologist and a pelvic exam that had led to a simple procedure that had changed everything for Flo and Mack.
“You see,” said Flo, “as it turns out, I didn’t heal properly after your birth, but I never realized that was the problem. It was just so painful to be intimate. And your father and I were hardly experienced. There was just that one time. Prom night. We got a little carried away. It was the first time for both of us.
“After that, we swore to wait. And then we learned you were coming and we got married earlier than we’d planned. We were just a couple of kids. What did we know? You arrived and your father went off to college. The next time we tried, well, it was awful for me. And no fun for him. We gave up, stopped trying—for years and years. Looking back, I can’t believe we didn’t at least try to figure out what might be wrong. But that’s all changed now and I can’t even describe how wonderful it is...”
There was more. Lots more. Stuff Sarah so didn’t need to hear. Some of it was kind of nice, though, about how her mom and dad had gotten counseling to increase their intimacy emotionally, too.
Eventually, when she’d heard way more than enough, she put up a hand. “So what you’re saying is that you’re happy together now, you and Dad?”
“Oh, sweetheart. Words cannot express.”
“I’m glad, Mom.” And she was happy for her parents. Plus, she’d managed to keep her mouth shut about Logan. “And look at the time! I really should get going.”
“Have fun, darling. Say hi to Lily for me.”
“Thanks, Mom. I will.” Sarah kissed her baby and got out of there.
* * *
Maverick Manor had been built back in the eighties as a private home. Perched on a rise of land back from the highway, it was a giant log structure, one that had been enlarged even more when it became a hotel. Surrounded by manicured grounds, the place was rustic and luxurious at once. In the lobby with its vaulted, beamed ceiling, a giant mural depicted the early history of Rust Creek Falls and the pioneer families who had founded it.
When the hostess ushered Sarah into the dining room, Lily Hunt was waiting at a quiet corner table. They ordered their meal and a glass of house wine each.
Wine two nights in a row, Sarah thought. She was living the wild life, no doubt about it.
She studied her friend across the small table. Lily had striking red hair and gorgeous green eyes, yet most people in town considered her plain. She rarely wore makeup and kept her beautiful hair pulled smoothly back and anchored low at her nape. Some called her shy, but she wasn’t, not really. Not with Sarah, anyway.
Once the waitress had served them their food, Lily said, “You mentioned the other day that you were working out at the Ambling A, setting up the books for Max Crawford and his sons...”
Sarah guessed where her friend was going. “You heard about the deal Max made with Viv and Caroline to find brides for Max’s sons, didn’t you?”
“Yep.” Lily’s smile bloomed slowly. “Me and everybody else in town.”
“Why am I not the least surprised?”
Lily buttered her bread. “I also heard that Logan Crawford is completely smitten with a certain brilliant accountant, a beautiful single mom with an adorable little girl.”
“Brilliant and beautiful, huh? You’re flattering me. Why?”
“I only speak the truth.” Lily was all innocence.
Sarah savored a bite of her petite filet and said nothing.
Lily leaned closer. “Tell me everything.” Her green eyes gleamed with eager interest. “Hold nothing back.”
After all that had happened since Lily babysat for her last Wednesday, Sarah could no longer pretend that nothing was going on between her and Logan.
She laid it all out. From her powerful attraction to Logan to Max’s opposition to her as a possible match for his oldest son, to Logan’s unflagging pursuit of her and their first “date” the night before.
“Logan’s been nothing but wonderful,” Sarah reported glumly. She explained that she’d ended it with him when he called that afternoon.
“I don’t get it.” Lily frowned. “Logan Crawford provides a sit-down catered dinner with all the trimmings, thrills you when he kisses you, takes care of Sophia both night and morning so you can get what you need the most—a good night’s sleep. The man draws beautiful pictures of you and your baby. He doesn’t leave you hanging but instead calls the next day to ask you out again. And yet you’ve decided it can’t possibly work?”
Sarah loved Lily. But sometimes her friend was just way too logical. “I told you I’ve had it up to here with men and all the trouble they cause.”
“So stay away from the jerks and troublemakers. But, Sarah, when a good one comes along you need to give the guy a chance.”
“He’s in his thirties. He’s never been married. Yes, he’s a great guy. But he’s not interested in anything long-lasting.”
“He told you that?”
“No. I just know it. I, well, I sense it.”
Lily tipped her head to the side, frowning. “Suddenly, you’re psychic?”
“Of course not. It’s just that he told me he’s never even lived with anyone. I seriously doubt he’s suddenly decided he wants to try marriage, that’s all.”
“Where to even start with you? So he’s in his thirties? It’s a prime age for a guy to finally find the right woman. He’s mature enough to know what he really wants—and anyway, what about you? Do you want to get married?”
“Did I say that? No, Lily. I don’t want to get married. I’m not looking for a serious relationship. I honestly don’t even want a date. I’m through with all that. I have Sophia and a job I’m good at and a cute little cottage that will be even cuter if I ever find the time and energy to fix it up a little.”
“So then, be flexible.”
Sarah slanted her friend a suspicious glance. “What, exactly, are you getting at?”
“Have a wonderful time with a terrific man for as long as it lasts. Because if you don’t, Viv Dalton’s dating service will be finding him someone who will.”
Sarah sat up straighter. “That’s okay with me.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“Yes, I do.” She tried really hard to tell herself that it wouldn’t bother her in the least if Logan started seeing some other woman in town.
A murmur of voices rose from the far side of the big dining room.
Lily leaned in. “And speaking of the Crawford family...”
Sarah followed the direction of her friend’s gaze and saw that the hostess was ushering in several new arrivals. They included Nate Crawford and his wife, Callie, a nurse at the local clinic. Nate’s parents came in, too, as well as his pretty sister Natalie and his brothers and their wives.
Her Favorite Maverick Page 7