The Last-Chance Maverick

by Christyne Butler

  Vanessa jumped once again when this time the old woman reached out and laid her hand on her arm. Winona’s fingers were cool, her grip strong. “The trick, my dear, is in knowing where to look for your answers...and to be sure you’re ready for what you find.”

  “Are we still talking about the mural?”

  Winona smiled. “Unless there is something...or someone else you wish to discuss?”

  * * *

  Jonah walked out of his uncle’s law office and headed across the small parking lot, debating whether he should head back to the job site or not.

  It was still early, not even seven o’clock. Vanessa had said something about a meeting tonight so she was busy.

  Which was probably a good thing.

  Ever since their picnic on Sunday evening Vanessa had been talking nonstop about the mural. It was as if a fire had been lit inside of her. She glowed with excitement and energy and Jonah found himself wanting to be near her, to be with her, in every way possible.

  Vanessa wanted to be with him, too. He was smart enough to know that. He just wished he knew what it was that kept him from making that happen.

  Maybe he wanted more than—

  A shuffling noise—feet being dragged against the pavement—caught his attention, interrupting his thoughts.

  Jonah looked around, spotting a man walking toward him. Shoulders stooped with a headful of scraggly gray hair that shot off in every direction, his gaze fixed on the ground before him.

  Jonah moved out of the man’s way, otherwise the old-timer would’ve walked right into him. He wasn’t someone he recognized, but so many new people had moved to town in the past year he wasn’t surprised.

  “You okay, fella?” Jonah asked when the stranger suddenly stopped, head jerking up and his wide blue eyes darting around even though there was no one around but the two of them.

  “Homer Gilmore,” the man said, his voice scratchy.

  “Is that your name?” Jonah asked. “Homer?”

  The elderly man nodded, his head bobbing quickly.

  “Is there something I can help you with?”

  “The past is the present,” he rasped. “The present is the past.”

  “I’m sorry?”

  The old man repeated the same cryptic phrase as he slowly backed away.

  Jonah stepped forward, wondering if he should direct the old-timer to the sheriff’s office at the end of the block. He looked as if he could use a hot meal and decent night’s sleep.

  A quick glance at a patrol vehicle parked out front told him someone was in the office, but when he turned back the old man was gone.

  Okay, that was weird.

  Jonah looked around again, but the man had vanished. He shrugged off the odd encounter and dug his keys from his pocket.

  “Hey, stranger. It’s about time I saw your ugly face.”

  Grinning this time at the familiar masculine voice, Jonah looked up. “Careful, boy, we’re related. That makes you as ugly as me.”

  “Naw, my side of the Dalton clan got the beauty and the brains.” Caleb Dalton stood next to Jonah’s truck. “But I’ll admit you’ve got a sweet ride here.”

  Jonah laughed and when his cousin grabbed him and yanked him into a quick embrace, complete with a hearty slap to the back. He did the same. “Damn, it’s good to see you.”

  “Tell me about it.” Caleb took a step back. “You’ve been back in town—what? Two weeks now and this is the first time we’ve seen each other?”

  Guilt filled Jonah. Out of everyone in town, he’d always made a point of meeting up with his cousin whenever he returned home. “Yeah, sorry about that. I’ve been really busy.”

  “I know. I heard.”

  “Things have been a bit rough at the job site, but that’s to be expected with a project this big,” Jonah said. “Especially since we’re in the final stages, but I planned to give you a call once—”

  “I’m not talking about the resort,” his cousin said, a big grin on his face. “I’m taking about your busy social life. Dancing, zip lining, a good old-fashioned dinner-and-movie date night.”

  “What the hell? Is this published somewhere?” Jonah shook his head. “Jeez, small towns.”

  “You free to grab a beer down at the Ace and catch up?” Caleb asked. “I’ve got some time before I need to pick up Lily at a friend’s house.”

  Jonah frowned. “I thought your fiancée’s name was Mallory.”

  “It is. Lily is her daughter.” Caleb’s shoulders squared up proud. “And as soon as we get married and I put through the necessary paperwork, she’ll be my daughter, too.”

  Jonah offered his friend congratulations and the men parted, each getting into their own trucks. Minutes later, they’d were seated in a corner booth at the Ace in the Hole. Thankfully the place wasn’t busy yet, with the jukebox off while the Colorado Avalanche battled against the Boston Bruins, already down two goals, on the televisions hanging over the bar.

  Jonah waited until the waitress dropped off their beers before he spoke, knowing he had something to say to his friend.

  “I’m sorry, man.”

  Caleb stared at him. “What for? You bought the first round.”

  “I’m talking about back in August when you called looking for some advice.” Jonah leaned forward, cradling his beer in one hand. “You were trying to figure things out between you and Mallory, and me telling you to cut and run was pretty useless.”

  “Yeah, you weren’t exactly helpful that night.” Caleb took a swig from his beer.

  “I was under a lot of pressure playing catch-up with work, having just returned the previous month from being out of the country for the last year,” Jonah explained, even though his friend already knew that. “Then Nate and his resort fell into my lap and my life was all about the renovations, twenty-four seven. Giving relationship advice was the last thing on my mind. Not to mention, just about the least thing I’m qualified to do.”

  “You know, I was stupid enough to follow what you’d said for a few days.” Caleb’s smile was easy, but Jonah could see the painful memories behind it from the man’s eyes. “Good thing I got some better insight from another source on what it means to be in love.”

  His parents, maybe? Jonah’s aunt and uncle had been happily married for over thirty-five years. Much like his own folks. “Some fatherly wisdom?”

  “Nope. Kid wisdom. Lily was the one who set me straight on how I was acting and how much I was hurting Mallory.”

  Jonah grinned—although his mouth had to stretch tight to do it—and held out his beer. “And they all lived happily-ever-after.”

  “Amen to that.” Caleb lightly clinked the long neck of his beer bottle against Jonah’s. “And speaking of happy, you seemed to be in a far better mood than you were a couple of months ago.”

  “I am.”

  “So, is it just from working your dream job on that resort?” Caleb pushed. “I know you’ve loved that old log mansion ever since we were kids.”

  “Yeah, having free rein on the renovations and turning that place into what will be a world-class vacation spot is one of the best things I’ve ever done in my career.”

  “And dating Vanessa Brent?”

  Jonah paused for a moment, but then said, “Yeah, dating Vanessa is part of it, too.”

  “I got to admit, I didn’t believe it at first when I heard you were spotted dancing right here in the Ace with her,” Caleb said. “The last time we talked you weren’t too gung ho on the female species.”

  “Vanessa is one of a kind.”

  “She must be. The last girl you spent any time with in town was Lisette.”

  His ex-wife was the last person Jonah wanted to talk about. “That’s been over for a long time.”

  “I know, but she worked
you over pretty good. After what you went through, most guys would be a bit hesitant about getting involved again.”

  “We’re not involved.”

  Caleb only offered a raised eyebrow at that statement.

  “Okay, we’re dating, but one of the reasons it’s easy to be with Vanessa is because she hasn’t made any emotional demands,” Jonah explained. “She knows I’m divorced, but she didn’t pry into what went wrong.”

  “And you haven’t told her.”

  “The past is in the past, it’s got nothing to do with what’s happening now. Besides, I made it clear I’m only in town temporarily and left the ball in her court. She was very up-front about not wanting to put any expectations or labels on what we’re doing. She’s a free spirit who lives for the moment.”

  “And that’s exactly what you’re looking for?”

  It was, but that didn’t explain why Jonah still hadn’t taken their relationship to a more intimate level. Every cell in his body wanted her, wanted to make love to her.

  So what was he waiting for?

  * * *

  Vanessa was getting tired of waiting.

  She paced back and forth along the scaffolding, looking at the background she’d finished up just this morning.

  The colors matched perfectly with the smaller sketch she’d done. Using a grid format, she easily transferred her vision to the large wall. Both the mountains and the land needed more details added, as did the waterfall, but the essence of her vision was there.

  It took her a few false starts to loosen up, but once she did the work flowed. What a great way to end the work week.

  Now, if she could just get Jonah Dalton to loosen up on the chivalrous attitude.

  Climbing down, she grabbed her sketch pad before backing up a few steps so she could see the entire wall.

  Busy with writing down notes about which areas of the mural needed work before the next phase started—talking with Winona Cobbs had given her a great place to start and she now had a list of people and places that were going to be included—she didn’t notice anyone had approached her until a hand landed on her arm, making her jump.

  “Hey, it’s just me.”

  Nate Crawford stood in front of her, and a handsome man with enough of the same features—tall, dark brown hair, but serious deep blue eyes—as Nate’s that he must be his brother, at his side. “I wanted to stop by and tell you how impressed I am with what you’ve done so far.”

  “Well, it’s not much, but it’s a start.” Vanessa smiled at the men. “Things are going to get interesting soon. The devil is in the details, as they say.”

  “You’ll do fine.”

  Vanessa kept smiling, hoping it hid her nerves. “You have to say that. The paint is already up on the wall.”

  The man with Nate had turned and studied the wall for a long moment before he looked back at her. “I agree with my brother. Very impressive.” He held out one hand. “Hi, I’m Jesse Crawford.”

  “Vanessa Brent.” She put her hand in his and right away she felt at ease with this man. “And thank you. Do you know anything about art?”

  He shook his head. “Nope, and even less about people. I prefer the company of horses than most humans I know.”

  She couldn’t give a reason why, but Vanessa felt like Jesse had spoken those words with just a hint of quiet resignation.

  After Jesse and Nate said their goodbyes, Vanessa went back to working on her notes, once again getting lost in her thoughts.

  Especially when those thoughts turned to Jonah.

  Which happened quite often.

  As happy as she’d been since moving to this small town, Vanessa now truly felt more alive than she had in a long time. Thanks to Jonah. Yes, he reignited her passion for art, but just being with him made her feel good. Special. Wanted. And it was the simple things that did it. Eating lunch together, except when he had a meeting scheduled or was off site, like today. Dancing and being with friends at the bar, enjoying cozy nights in front of the woodstove watching either action movies he prefered or the chick flicks she liked.

  Her feelings for the man were growing deeper by the day and she wanted to share that with him in every way possible—

  “Wow, you’re kicking butt on this mural.”

  Another interruption, but when Vanessa looked up, she found Cecelia, who worked on the site as a construction assistant, standing there. “Thanks.”

  “I don’t know where you get the energy.” Her friend sent her a wink. “Must be all those pleasurable hours spent after work with Jonah, huh?”

  Vanessa sighed. Her friend’s innocent question reminded her again at how much she missed Adele. She so wished she could talk to her best friend about Jonah and where things were—and weren’t—going between them.

  “Is everything okay?” Cecelia asked.

  “I could use some advice.”

  “Hey, what are girlfriends for? Ask away.”

  Before she did, Vanessa grabbed her friend’s wrist and dragged her to a corner of the room. Despite the fact hardly anyone worked in this section of the resort, and if they did they’d be at lunch at the moment, Vanessa wanted as much privacy as she could get.

  “Actually, Jonah and I haven’t...well, we haven’t taken things to the next level,” she confessed in a low whisper before she could think about if she should. “Yet.”

  “Oh.” Confusion filled Cecelia’s face for a moment, but then understanding dawned. “Oohh! But why?”

  Vanessa blew out a frustrated breath, sending the curls dangling over her forehead flying. She’d been asking herself the same question over the past few days.

  It wasn’t like Jonah was a virgin, for heaven’s sake. Their make-out sessions had been toe curling, heart pounding and downright wonderful, but he always seemed to pull back before things went too far.

  Was he doing it for her? Did he think she wasn’t ready to take the next step? Physically, she was. Emotionally? Well, that was something else entirely. Jonah was quickly finding a way into her heart. Would making love to him cause her to fall for him all the way?

  “Maybe his former marriage has something to do with him holding back. Maybe he’s trying to protect my feelings.” Vanessa spoke her thoughts aloud. “Perhaps a little extra push in the right direction is what he—what we—need.”

  “Well, if anyone can do the pushing, my money’s on you,” her friend said.

  “You know, I could surprise him with a few candles, a great bottle of wine, me wearing something sexy...” Vanessa’s voice trailed off as she warmed to the idea. Yes, she needed to show Jonah just how much she wanted him, wanted the time they spent together to be even more special.

  Even if it meant putting her heart on the line.

  Chapter Ten

  Jonah Dalton Designs. J. Dalton Designs. Maybe simply JD Designs?

  Yeah, he liked the sound of that.

  Over the years—heck, ever since he was a kid—he’d dreamed of what he’d name his own architectural design firm one day.

  Today he’d been asked three times about his business. His business, his firm. Not the place where he was still employed despite his current three-month leave-of-absence.

  His calendar had included an onsite meeting with Nate and a businessman who had a property north of Seattle along the coast. He wanted to redo the place into a getaway resort and had heard about the work being done in Rust Creek Falls.

  There were also two unplanned phone calls from former clients. Both were interested in what he and Nate’s team had accomplished in renovating the old Bledsoe place and in Jonah’s environmentally friendly design plans.

  Nate had joked that Jonah should grab one of the resort’s offices and hang out his shingle. He’d brushed off the comment, but since his ride home took him into town to pick up
a bottle of wine for tonight, Jonah couldn’t stop the thought from returning.

  A thought that blew up into a crazy idea as he’d passed an old Victorian house on the corner of Falls and Commercial Street that caught his eye every time he drove by. Now, tonight, as he headed back to the ranch to meet Vanessa for dinner, he couldn’t resist swinging by that house again, just for a fast look, he promised himself.

  From the outside, the empty home looked a little worn, but a coat of fresh paint and a clearing of the yard would make her shine again.

  The front porch took a sharp turn and continued down the side. The large windows were numerous, including two that projected out from the front of the house bow-style, one right over the other. He guessed they were for a dining room with a bedroom overhead on the second floor. Either would make a perfect sun-filled office—

  Whoa! Getting a little ahead of yourself, aren’t you?

  Jonah stopped halfway to the door of the cabin, wine bottle in hand. Yeah, it’d been flattering this afternoon to find so much attention centered on his work, but he’d had accolades and compliments for previous projects.

  Why was he suddenly considering now was the right time to be heading out on his own?

  And here in Rust Creek Falls?

  The idea of moving back had never crossed his mind in the past eight years.

  As much as he loved his family and the stark beauty in this part of his home state, there’d always been too many bad memories here. Memories that had kept his visits short and solitary.

  Not this time, though.

  He’d dreaded the idea of being home for three months from the moment Nate had said it was a required part of the job offer.

  Now, just a couple of weeks into his stay—two weeks after meeting Vanessa—he was feeling more relaxed and at the same time more...alive than he’d felt in years.

  Because of Vanessa?