The More Mavericks, the Merrier!

by Brenda Harlen

  “I would, too,” she agreed.

  * * *

  He followed her home.

  As Jamie sat in his truck, pulled over to the side of the road with his headlights turned off, and squinted through the window toward the distant and dimly lit front porch of the O’Reilly residence, he realized he’d officially crossed the line from friend to stalker.

  He wasn’t proud of himself, but he couldn’t make himself pull away, either. Not until he knew that her date had gone.

  He’d thought he was okay with Fallon going out with Bobby Ray Ellis. Truthfully, he had no right or reason to object to her going out with anyone. But what he’d realized when he saw her at the high school with Bobby Ray, the other man’s arm draped across the back of her chair while the movie played on the screen in front of them, was that while the idea of Fallon being on a date didn’t bother him, the reality had a very different effect.

  And when he realized he’d pulled out of the parking lot behind Bobby Ray’s truck after the movie was over, he decided that he would follow her home, just to be sure that she made it there safely. Except that Bobby Ray’s truck had unexpectedly pulled into an empty spot by Daisy’s Donuts.

  Of course, Jamie had no intention of sitting in his truck and waiting for them to come out again. But somehow, that’s exactly what happened. For almost forty minutes, while Fallon and Bobby Ray were cozied up together drinking coffee or hot chocolate or whatever, he’d sat in his truck and waited, periodically idling his engine so he didn’t freeze his butt to the leather seat.

  And then, when they finally left Daisy’s Donuts, he’d followed Bobby Ray’s truck to the O’Reilly property to ensure the man was taking Fallon home. Of course, from his position on the road, he couldn’t see what they were doing or hear what they were talking about. He could only tell that they stood close together on the porch for three minutes, which wasn’t a very long time but not a quick good-night, either.

  Only when he saw Bobby Ray’s truck pull away in the swirling snow did he call it a night.

  * * *

  He made a point of being gone before Fallon showed up Monday morning, and he stayed away until his grumbling stomach insisted that it was time for lunch. He got back to the house just as she was grilling cheese sandwiches for the kids. She buttered four more slices of bread and dropped his sandwiches into the hot pan while she cut the others into bite-size pieces.

  “So...did you and Bobby Ray have a good time at the movie the other night?” Jamie finally asked her.

  “Yes, we did,” she said. “Did you?”

  “It was good to get away from the ranch for a while,” he said, because that was true. But he didn’t remember anything about the movie despite the fact that he’d seen it at least a dozen times before. He couldn’t keep his focus on the screen because his gaze kept slipping to the back of Fallon’s chair and the other man’s arm draped across it.

  He had nothing against Bobby Ray. He’d known the guy casually for a lot of years and generally liked him well enough. But he didn’t like the idea of him touching Fallon. Or kissing Fallon. And he couldn’t bear to consider the possibility of anything more than that.

  He knew his feelings were both irrational and unreasonable. But she wasn’t just his friend, she was his best friend, and if she and Bobby Ray became a couple, she would spend more time with the other man and less time with him. Okay, so he was irrational, unreasonable and selfish.

  He knew that Fallon wanted to get married and have a family of her own, and if anyone was meant to be a wife and a mother, it was Fallon. She was so warm and kind and giving—the type of woman he should have married.

  He helped himself to a mug of coffee, surreptitiously watching her while she flipped his sandwiches. He’d noticed that she was dressing differently these days. Instead of her usual plaid flannel shirts, she was wearing more fitted styles in more feminine colors.

  The top she was wearing today was cream-colored, with tucks at the side that helped it mold to her shape and dozens of tiny hooks down the front to hold the two sides together but made him think how easy it might be to spread them apart. Her jeans looked new, also, and hugged her shapely curves a little more closely than he was accustomed to. She was decorating herself with jewelry, too—sparkly stones in her ears and jangly bracelets on her wrists.

  “When is your hair going to go back to normal?”

  She blinked at the abrupt question as she plated his sandwiches. “What?”

  “You curls are gone,” he said.

  “They’re not actually gone,” she admitted. “I’ve just been straightening my hair.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I wanted a change.”

  “Why?” he asked again, sincerely baffled by her decision.

  “Do I need a reason?”

  “Well, generally if something isn’t broke, you don’t fix it,” he said.

  She frowned at the irritation in his tone. “How does that apply to my hair?”

  “It was just fine the way it was.”

  “Just fine,” she echoed.

  “The other way suited you.”

  “And this doesn’t suit me?”

  He looked at her again. “I guess it looks okay,” he relented. “It just doesn’t look like you.”

  “Bobby Ray seems to like it,” she told him.

  “So are you like dating him now?”

  “We’ve had one date,” she pointed out. “I don’t think either one of us is in a hurry to put a label on our relationship.”

  He scowled. “What does that even mean?”

  “It means that my relationship with him is none of your business,” she told him.

  “Is it wrong for a friend to express concern?”

  “No,” she acknowledged. “But there’s no reason for you to be concerned.”

  “He hasn’t dated anyone exclusively since he broke up with Jillian.”

  “So?”

  “So I just don’t want you to get hung up on a guy who’s still hung up on someone else,” he said.

  “Yeah, falling for a guy who isn’t capable of reciprocating my feelings would be a stupid move on my part, wouldn’t it?” she noted dryly.

  “I’m not saying he’s not a good guy. I’m just saying that you should be careful.”

  “Maybe I’m tired of being careful.”

  He scowled. “What kind of a statement is that?”

  “An honest one,” she told him. “All my life, I’ve been a good girl. A good daughter. A good student. A good friend. I’ve followed the rules without question or complaint, accepting what was offered to me instead of going after what I wanted.”

  “And Bobby Ray is what you want?”

  Her response wasn’t at all what he’d expected. Instead of a yes or a no, she took a step closer to him, then lifted herself up onto her toes and kissed him.

  Shock held him immobile for about two seconds, then the soft seduction of her lips penetrated the haze that enveloped his brain. Heat pulsed through his system, and he forgot all of the reasons that this was a bad idea and kissed her back.

  Just one taste, he promised himself. But her lips were warm and sweet, and one taste wasn’t enough. His hands were clenched at his sides, because he knew that if he touched her now, he wouldn’t be able to stop. But he really wanted to touch her.

  While his head warred with his hormones, she eased her mouth from his and stepped back.

  “What was that?” he asked, when enough brain function had been restored that he was able to put words together and form the question.

  She ran the tip of her tongue slowly over her bottom lip, as if savoring his flavor. “A test,” she said lightly.

  His brows rose. “Did I pass?”

  Her mouth turned up, just a little at the corners.
“I haven’t decided yet if I’m grading on a curve.”

  “Grading on a curve?” he echoed, torn between insult and amusement. “In that case, I want a redo.”

  But she turned away from him to grab her coat off of the hook by the door. “I have to go.”

  “You can’t just kiss a guy like that and walk away,” he protested.

  “Watch me,” she said.

  He stood there, stunned and aroused, and did just that.

  Chapter Eleven

  “I thought you were going to make my brother do this,” Bella said to Fallon, as they stood in line with the babies at the center court of the mall Wednesday afternoon, waiting for their turn to see Santa.

  “That was the plan, but Jamie’s been so busy with the ranch...and now with Andy and Molly, too,” she said, referring to the puppies by the names he’d given them—names apparently inspired by the characters in one of Bella’s favorite childhood movies.

  “He didn’t have to bring those puppies home,” his sister pointed out.

  Fallon slid her friend a look. “Really? Knowing your brother as well as you do, you can actually say that with a straight face?”

  “You’re right,” Bella acknowledged. “I guess I should be proud of the fact that he only kept two of the seven.”

  Fallon inched forward with the stroller as two more kids scrambled toward the sleigh, eager to share their Christmas wishes with jolly old St. Nick. She was impressed with his appearance and demeanor. If his beard was fake, it certainly didn’t look it. And he seemed incredibly patient with all of the kids—even the screaming babies and toddlers. And there had been a lot of screamers.

  Thankfully, HJK didn’t seem to be bothered by the other kids’ crying. Maybe because, in the first few months, one or more of them had always been in tears, so they’d learned not to be swayed by the others’ emotions.

  They inched forward in the line again. Fallon reached down and unfurled Katie’s fingers from the hem of her dress and pulled the skirt away from her mouth, swapping it for a pacifier. Since she’d started teething, she would chew on anything and everything she could get her hands on.

  Behind Katie, Jared was trying to take his shoes off his feet, playing with the laces and knots. Henry was happy just to watch the people go by. He was, of the three babies, the most content and easy to please. Jared was a little more high energy and Katie was downright demanding at times, but Fallon loved the individual personality of each of them.

  When it was finally their turn to see Santa, Katie balked for a moment when she heard the booming “Ho Ho Ho,” but Bella and Fallon coaxed her into overcoming her apprehension and letting herself be perched on Santa’s knee.

  It took half a dozen attempts to get a picture with all three kids looking at least in the general vicinity of the camera, and Fallon would have been happy with that—as would the dozens of parents waiting in line behind them. But Santa seemed content to chat with the kids while the photographer kept snapping away. It was probably more by luck than design that he did end up with a picture in which Henry, Jared and Katie were all looking into the camera and smiling—and which Fallon decided would be a perfect Christmas present for their daddy.

  “Aside from putting up a tree, has my brother complied with any of the other requests on your holiday cheer list?” Bella asked, as they made their way through the mall.

  “Well, he hasn’t objected to listening to the Christmas music I usually have on.”

  “I don’t think the absence of an objection earns a check mark,” Bella said dryly.

  “He’s been eating the Christmas cookies I’ve baked.”

  “Okay, he gets points for bravery.”

  Fallon narrowed her gaze on her friend.

  “I’m kidding. I’m sure they were...edible.”

  “They were delicious,” she insisted.

  “But he didn’t help you make them and he didn’t eat them because they were shaped like bells or wreaths,” Bella pointed out. “He ate them because they were cookies.”

  “Still...baby steps,” Fallon said.

  “Any luck convincing him to attend the Candlelight Walk?”

  “Not yet,” she admitted.

  “I can’t figure out if you’re incredibly patient or extremely stubborn,” Bella said. “But I’m grateful that you’re not giving up on him.”

  Fallon wasn’t sure of her motivation, either. The only thing she knew for certain was that giving up on Jamie had never been an option.

  * * *

  When Jamie walked into the house at the end of a very long day on Wednesday, he discovered that Fallon was wearing one of those skirts again. The short kind that showed off a mile of leg between the bottom of the hem and the top of her boots. Her sweater had a modest neckline and long sleeves, but it hugged her torso like a lover’s hands.

  He tore his gaze away from her tempting feminine curves and focused his attention on his babies, giving them lots of love and cuddles because coming home to them was always his favorite part of the day. Of course, the puppies wanted their share of attention, too, so he scratched their ears and rubbed their bellies.

  “There’s a lasagna in the oven for your dinner,” Fallon said. “It should be ready in half an hour.”

  He nodded. “Thanks.” And though he didn’t intend to say anything else, the next words spilled out of his mouth of their own volition. “Why are you dressed like that?”

  “I’m going for dinner with Bobby Ray,” she told him.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Just over to the Ace.”

  He scowled. “You can’t go to the Ace dressed like that.”

  “I’m twenty-four years old,” she reminded him. “I don’t even let my mother tell me what to wear anymore.”

  “Do you want to start a brawl?”

  “I’m hardly the type of woman who inspires that kind of behavior,” she retorted.

  “You’re a woman,” he said. “Sometimes that’s the only inspiration a drunk cowboy needs.”

  “Thank you for that incredibly flattering assessment,” she said dryly.

  The furrow in his brow deepened. “You don’t need me to tell you that you’re an attractive woman.”

  “Maybe I do.”

  “Well, you are,” he said. “You should be able to see that for yourself every time you look in the mirror.”

  Her lips curved. “Do you really think so?”

  “Geez, Fallon, you’re not actually hoping to stir up trouble, are you?”

  “Maybe I am,” she said. “Maybe I’m tired of every man I know treating me like a buddy. Maybe I want someone to look at me and realize I’m a woman, to want me as a woman.”

  And suddenly he got it. “You mean me,” he realized. “You want me to see you as a woman.”

  She sighed as she shook her head. “No. I think I’ve finally accepted that that is never going to happen.”

  “But I do see you as a woman,” he assured her. “A genuinely warm, funny and smart woman.”

  “Maybe it’s un-PC,” she admitted. “But I don’t want to be admired for my personality or my intelligence. I want to be wanted.”

  He swallowed. “You’re looking for a hookup?”

  “That wouldn’t be my first choice,” she said. “But I’ve decided to open my mind up to any and all possibilities.”

  “A hookup should not be one of them,” he told her. “You deserve better than that.”

  She walked to the door, then turned back. “What does the song say—we can’t always get what we want, but we get what we need?”

  “Don’t go, Fallon.” The words were out of his mouth before he realized what he was saying.

  She paused with her hand on the doorknob.

  “Don’t go out with Bobby Ray to
night.”

  She slowly turned around, her expression carefully neutral. “Are you making me an alternate offer?” she asked.

  He nodded. “Stay here. With me.”

  She held his gaze for a moment, considering his invitation. “What would we do?”

  His mind immediately filled with possible answers to her question, none of which she’d go home and tell her mother about. And while he wasn’t just ready but eager to explore each and every one of those possibilities, he realized that he needed to be smart—to think about what would happen after and the potential consequences to their relationship. Getting personally involved with Fallon was a risk he couldn’t take.

  “Forget I said anything,” he decided. “Go out with Bobby Ray tonight.”

  Fallon shook her head. “You flip-flop more than a fish out of water.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said, and meant it. “I’m trying to be smart here and your friendship is too important to me to risk jeopardizing it.”

  “Forget about being smart and tell me, honestly, what you want.”

  “I want you to stay,” he admitted. “I want...you.”

  She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket, tapped her fingers over the keypad, then tucked the phone away again. “I’ll stay.”

  * * *

  Jamie opened a bottle of wine to go with the lasagna they had for dinner. After they’d finished eating, they cleaned up the kitchen and spent some time playing with the babies. It was all part of a routine that she’d performed with him countless times before. But tonight, after Henry, Jared and Katie had been bathed and changed and were asleep in their cribs, Fallon wasn’t getting ready to leave.

  Jamie poured some more wine into her glass, and her hand shook as she lifted it to her lips.

  “You’re nervous,” he noted.

  “A little,” she admitted.

  “Have you changed your mind?”

  She shook her head. “No, but I can’t help thinking about how this is going to change our relationship,” she confided.

  “Change isn’t always a bad thing,” he said, taking the wine glass from her hand and setting it down on the counter beside his. Then he put his arms around her and drew her toward him.