A Maverick Under The Mistletoe

by Brenda Harlen

  She’d promised herself that she wouldn’t fall in love with him again, that she wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. And she hadn’t. Because the truth was, she’d never stopped loving him.

  Unfortunately, she knew that loving Sutter didn’t miraculously make everything okay. There were still a lot of obstacles to overcome if they had any hope of maintaining a relationship and building a future together. The geographical distance was only one of those obstacles and, Paige feared, not even the most significant one.

  A fact that was confirmed when she went to her parents’ house after school on Monday to take her mother grocery shopping.

  She didn’t mind making the trip to Kalispell, but she was a little frustrated that her mother had been relying exclusively on her daughters for help since the accident that broke her collarbone. The traditional division of labor in her parents’ home had never bothered her before, probably because her mother had willingly—and happily—performed all of the domestic chores.

  But now that Mary’s arm was in a sling, those duties had fallen to Lani, Lindsay and herself while Anderson, Travis and Caleb expected to show up for meals that would be ready and on the table with no effort on their parts. And God forbid any of them should actually pick up a dusting cloth or push the vacuum cleaner around, although Lani’s schedule suggested that she hadn’t given up hope.

  Caleb had seemed willing to tackle the chore assigned to him, but he’d screwed up so badly with the washing machine he’d been permanently banned from the laundry room. He didn’t seem overly disappointed about the banishment, making Paige suspect that his screwup had been deliberate.

  “Heads up,” Lindsay warned under her breath when she opened the door. “Mom heard that you broke up with Alex.”

  “Because of Sutter,” Lani interjected.

  Her tone made Paige suspect that her mother had probably heard the news from her sister, but she knew that didn’t really matter. If she hadn’t heard from Lani, she would have heard it somewhere else eventually, because nothing stayed a secret for very long in Rust Creek Falls. And she’d rather her mother know the truth than think that she was running around with Sutter behind Alex’s back.

  “It wasn’t because of Sutter, and it was hardly a national secret,” she informed both of her sisters.

  But she was uneasy. Her mother didn’t have strong opinions about a lot of things, but she’d clearly expressed her disapproval when Sutter spoke out against his brother’s return to Iraq. And when Paige had started dating Alex Monroe, Mary had been pleased by this “proof” that her eldest daughter was finally over her “silly infatuation” with “that Traub boy” and building a relationship with “a good man.” Which meant that, regardless of the reason for the breakup of that relationship, Mary Dalton wasn’t likely to be happy about it.

  Throughout the drive to Kalispell, Paige kept waiting for her mother to say something about Alex or Sutter, but she seemed content to talk about other matters.

  At the meat counter, they saw Carrie Reynolds—a friend of Paige’s from high school who now lived and worked in Kalispell. Carrie fluttered her fingers in front of Paige to show off the diamond solitaire on her finger. After Paige had admired the ring and offered congratulations, Carrie said, “We’re planning a June wedding. I really hope you can come. And Sutter, too, of course.”

  “I can only speak for myself,” Paige said. “And I will be there.”

  “But you and Sutter are back together, aren’t you?”

  She shook her head.

  Her friend frowned. “Really? Because I heard from Megan who heard from Rena that you’re the reason he’s back in Rust Creek Falls.”

  “Then somebody misheard something.” Paige kept her voice neutral and deliberately did not look at her mother. “He came back because of the flood.”

  “But you’ve been spending a lot of time with him, haven’t you?”

  “I teach full-time and I’ve been helping with the reconstruction of the elementary school—I don’t have a lot of time to spend anywhere else. In fact, I have tests I have to mark when I get home, so we should be going.”

  “Oh. Okay.”

  “But it was really good to see you,” Paige told her. “And congratulations again.”

  “Thanks. And you should think about bringing Sutter to the wedding anyway. It’s always more fun with a plus one.”

  Mary waited until they were back home and almost finished putting away the groceries before she said to Paige, “I didn’t realize that Sutter was still in town.”

  “He is,” she confirmed.

  “Have you been out to the Triple T to see him?”

  “Yes, I’ve been to the ranch, and he’s been to my house.”

  Her mother didn’t respond, but the thinning of her mouth was a sure sign of her disapproval, which Paige honestly didn’t understand.

  “You used to like Sutter,” she reminded her.

  “I did,” Mary admitted begrudgingly. “Until he showed his true colors, and they weren’t red, white and blue.”

  Paige sighed. “He didn’t want his brother to go into a war zone and risk getting blown up. That doesn’t make him unpatriotic, it just makes him human.”

  Her mother pursed her lips again. “The rest of the Traub family supported Forrest’s decision, everyone except Sutter. And then he ran out on his family—and on you.”

  Paige could hardly claim that he hadn’t run out on her when she’d accused Sutter of exactly the same thing. But she also realized that the situation hadn’t been quite as black-and-white as she’d wanted to believe, and that she hadn’t been an innocent victim. She’d made her choices as freely as he’d made his, and they were both responsible for the consequences.

  “It was his choice to leave,” she acknowledged now. “But only after he felt that everyone had turned their backs on him.”

  “He turned his back on his brother first, when all Forrest wanted to do was fight for his country.”

  “He was scared for his brother. Why can’t you understand that?”

  “If his brother wasn’t afraid to go to war, then he should have been brave enough to support him.”

  “Because going back to Iraq turned out so well for Forrest,” Paige said drily.

  “He’s a hero,” Mary said firmly.

  “I don’t disagree,” she said. “But his time overseas changed Forrest, and Sutter knew that if he went back, it would make things worse, not better.”

  “You think he somehow knew his brother’s Humvee was going to get blown up?”

  “I think he knew that Forrest would come home with scars.”

  “Last time I saw Forrest, he was getting along just fine. You can barely even notice the limp anymore.”

  “I’m not talking about the injury to his leg,” Paige said. “I’m talking about the scars none of us can see—the ones that mark his heart and his soul.”

  “He seems happy enough with his new bride.”

  Clearly there was no way she was going to win this argument with her mother, though that didn’t stop her from trying. “But it took him a long time to get there.”

  “And from what I’ve heard, with no help from his brother,” Mary said. “What has Sutter done to mend their relationship?”

  “I don’t know,” she admitted. “But I know he’s changed. He’s not the same man he was five years ago.”

  “And hopefully you’re not the same woman,” Mary said bluntly. “Because when he left, you cried for weeks.”

  “Yes, I cried,” she admitted. “Because he wasn’t just my boyfriend, he was my best friend, and I didn’t want him to go.”

  “I couldn’t stand it if he hurt you like that again.”

  She sighed. “I know you only want what’s best for me, but I’m twenty-seven years old—don’t you think I know what’s best for me?”

  “Not if you think it’s Sutter Traub,” Mary said implacably.

  Paige knew her mother meant well—honestly, she did—but that knowledge did n
othing to stifle the urge to scream at her for being so completely unreasonable. Instead of screaming, she carefully folded the empty grocery bags and tucked them into the drawer reserved for that purpose.

  “I really have to get home. I’ve still got those tests to mark for tomorrow.”

  “You’re not going to stay for dinner?”

  She shook her head. “I’ve got leftover meat loaf at home,” she reminded her mother, then kissed her cheek.

  “Call when you get home,” Mary said, as she always did when her daughter headed out the door.

  “I will,” Paige confirmed, because it was easier to acquiesce than to remind her mother—for the thousandth time—that she lived less than a five-minute drive away.

  Tonight that five-minute drive wasn’t nearly long enough to diffuse her frustration, although Paige didn’t know if she was more frustrated with her family or herself.

  She was twenty-seven years old—she didn’t need their approval. But they were her family, and she didn’t like to be at odds with them over anything. The Dalton and Traub families had known one another forever and had always gotten along well. That hadn’t changed when Sutter had left Rust Creek Falls. The only thing that had changed was that he had suddenly become an outcast, not just to her family but to the whole town, including his own.

  Paige had never really understood how that had happened. She might not have agreed with Sutter’s position regarding his brother’s reenlistment, but she understood. If one of her brothers had decided to pick up and join the army during a war, she would be incredibly proud of him—and absolutely terrified for him. She would have felt all the same things that Sutter had felt, and she didn’t like that he’d been made a scapegoat for daring to speak aloud what many others had been thinking and feeling.

  She’d had words with Ellie Traub not long after Sutter had left town, when she’d crossed paths with Sutter’s mother at the library. Those words played back in her mind now.

  “Have you talked to Sutter?” Ellie’s tone was hopeful, almost desperate.

  Paige shook her head.

  Disappointment had the other woman’s eyes filling with tears. “I wish you’d gone with him. I hate knowing that he’s so far away—and all alone.”

  It wasn’t in Paige’s nature to be disrespectful, and she loved Ellie like a second mother, but the unfairness of the statement demanded a response. “Well, I wish he hadn’t left Rust Creek Falls at all,” she said coolly. “But what choice did he have when his own mother told him he wasn’t welcome in her home?”

  “I didn’t mean it like that,” Ellie protested, and started to cry. “I never wanted him to go. I only wanted him to support his brother.”

  Of course, her tears had only made Paige feel worse. They’d ended up crying together—bound by their love for Sutter and their grief that he was gone—and they’d made their peace with one another. Unfortunately, Paige didn’t know how to get her parents to make peace with Sutter’s choices.

  Part of it was her own fault. She knew her family was protective of her because Sutter had broken her heart. What should she have done—act as if it didn’t matter that he’d left Rust Creek Falls? She’d never been very good at hiding her feelings, and there had been no way she could have pretended that he hadn’t broken her heart wide-open.

  * * *

  Sutter was sitting on the top step of Paige’s front porch when she got home. Her heart gave a little jolt when she saw him. She’d experienced a lot of those jolts lately, actual surges of emotion through her system that churned up everything inside. She’d seen him fairly regularly over the past couple of weeks, and she knew her reaction wasn’t just the effect of his presence on her recently reawakened hormones, but a stronger and deeper yearning in her heart.

  He smiled when he saw her, and his obvious pleasure made her feel all warm and tingly inside.

  “What brings you into town tonight?”

  “I needed some space.”

  “More space than you’d have tucked away in Clayton’s house on an enormous ranch all by yourself?”

  “Okay—maybe I wanted to see you more than I wanted space,” he admitted. “Why do you look as if you’re ready to spit nails?”

  “Grocery shopping with my mother.”

  “I didn’t realize you disliked shopping so much.”

  “I dislike being interrogated.”

  “About me,” he guessed.

  She nodded.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault.”

  “I’ve been getting some grief from my family, too,” he told her.

  “About me?”

  “Yeah. Since you came out to the ranch the night of the election, my mom’s been wanting me to invite you to the Triple T for Sunday dinner.”

  “What did you tell her?”

  “That meeting the parents is a big step, and I didn’t want to rush into anything.”

  She smiled at that. “It is a big step—and it could send the wrong message.”

  “Ryder already asked if you were my girlfriend,” he confided. “On the way to your place Saturday.”

  “What did you tell him?”

  “That girls are yucky— Oh, wait. That’s what Robbie said.”

  She smiled again. “Give him a few years. He’ll change his mind. He’s your nephew after all.”

  “Without a doubt,” Sutter agreed.

  “And he’ll use those big blue eyes and trademark Traub smile to get exactly what he wants.”

  His lips curved, slowly, deliberately. “Does it work for me?”

  “What do you want?” she asked warily.

  “A cup of coffee?”

  “I think that can be arranged.”

  The phone was ringing even as Paige slipped her key into the lock. She muttered under her breath as she pushed open the door and reached for the portable handset on the table in the hall.

  “You said you would call when you got home,” Mary said without preamble.

  “I literally just walked through the door, Mom.”

  “Oh. Okay. Well, I just wanted to let you know that Lani is covering a shift for Courtney tonight, so on her way into work she’s bringing over a piece of the pie that Lindsay made.”

  “I don’t need any pie.”

  “You love pecan pie,” Mary said, as if she needed reminding of the fact.

  “Then you better send a big piece so I can share it.”

  “Are you expecting company?”

  “As a matter of fact, Sutter’s here.”

  She could almost see her mother’s brow furrow. “He’s there now?”

  “Yes.”

  “You said you had tests to mark.”

  “I do, and I will get to that after I have a cup of coffee with a friend.”

  Mary was silent for a moment, and when she finally spoke she only said, “I hope it’s decaf. You’ll never get to sleep if you drink regular coffee this late in the day.”

  Paige closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the wall. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?”

  “Okay. I love you, Paige.”

  “I love you, too, Mom,” she said, because she did.

  Even if her mother frustrated her beyond belief at times.

  Paige disconnected the call, then proceeded to the kitchen to make the promised coffee. Though she was acting as if the phone call hadn’t bothered her, Sutter knew her too well to be fooled by the casual act. He also knew that Paige and her mother had always been close, and he didn’t like knowing that he was the cause of any tension between them.

  “Why did you tell your mother I was here?”

  She finished measuring the grounds, then pressed the button to start the machine. “Was it supposed to be a secret?”

  “No, I just didn’t think you’d volunteer that information.”

  “We’re not doing anything wrong—there’s no reason to sneak around or for me to shove you into a closet when my sister comes to the door.”

  “Esp
ecially not with my truck parked out front,” he noted wryly.

  She shrugged. “We’re friends, Sutter. I’m not ashamed of that fact.”

  “You’re still on that friends kick, huh?”

  “Because we are still friends,” she said in a firm and decisive tone.

  “Do you kiss all of your friends the way you kiss me?” he asked curiously.

  Her cheeks flushed with color before she turned away to retrieve a couple of mugs from the cupboard. “Okay, so we’re friends with some chemistry.”

  “Some potent chemistry, I’d say.”

  Before she could respond to that, the door opened and her sister walked in.

  Lani dropped a plate on the counter and turned to Sutter. “Don’t you live in Seattle now?”

  “It’s nice to see you, too, Lani,” he said pleasantly.

  Her gaze narrowed. “When are you going back?”

  “I haven’t quite decided yet.”

  Paige brought the two mugs to the island, passed one to him.

  “Decide,” Lani advised. “Soon.”

  “Lani,” Paige said, a note of warning in her voice.

  “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to get rid of me,” Sutter said to Lani.

  “I am,” she agreed unapologetically.

  “You know what?” Paige interjected, her focus on her sister. “Sutter is a guest in my home. If you can’t be nice to him, you can leave.”

  “I’m going,” Lani said. “But only because I’ll be late if I don’t.”

  Paige sighed as the door closed again. “I’m sorry.”

  “No, I’m sorry,” he told her. “I didn’t realize how much your family would object to our…friendship.”

  She managed a smile.

  “Maybe I should go back to Seattle,” he said, almost to himself.

  She lifted her cup to her lips, sipped. “If that’s what you want.”

  Her tone was casual, but her refusal to look at him made him suspect that she wasn’t as unconcerned about his decision as she wanted to appear.

  “I don’t want to cause any problems for you,” he said.

  “Don’t make this about me.”