From Maverick to Daddy

by Teresa Southwick

“I like Mallory,” he confirmed. “But we’re just friends.”

  “That’s a good place to start.”

  It was a better place to stay. Caleb refused to believe that his ending up talking to his sister about marriage, family and Mallory was a sign from the universe. He would never in a million years hurt Mallory, or by extension, Lily. He liked being her favorite cowboy. But what had happened with his cousin gave a man pause about taking things to the next level.

  So, for everyone concerned, Caleb was convinced that keeping his relationship with Mallory fun and easy was the best way to go.

  * * *

  When Caleb had dropped her off after their adventure in Kalispell, Mallory had the feeling he was distant and distracted. She kept expecting him to cool toward her, so she’d been surprised when he sat beside her in church on Sunday morning. Their thighs brushed and memories of being in his arms swept over her. She was pretty sure God would forgive her for the lapse. Then they’d walked outside together and he’d surprised her again with an invitation for her and Lily to go on a picnic. Since they hadn’t yet been to the falls from which the town of Rust Creek Falls took its name, he was going to take them.

  From where he parked, Caleb had carried a backpack filled with sandwiches, fruit and bottled water that Mallory put together. They had a blanket spread out on a place in the grass that had a spectacular view of the waterfall and footbridge. After the recent storms, the creek was high, and the sound of the water falling into the pool below was loud.

  While she sat on a rock nearby, Caleb was demonstrating to Lily the sideways motion involved in successfully making a stone skip three times over the water’s surface. Mallory thought this was about the most perfect day she could imagine. Except, of course, the part where she’d had lusty thoughts about Caleb in church.

  “It’s all in the wrist,” he was telling the little girl.

  Lily tried and the smooth rock sank like, well, a stone. “I’ll never get it.”

  “Sure you will.” He squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. “Like anything you want badly enough, it takes practice.”

  The child gave him her most perfect pout. “Why did you want to do it?”

  “Because my brothers were good at it.” He nudged the brim of his Stetson up slightly and rested his hands on his knees as he bent to meet her gaze. “We spent a lot of time here when we were kids. I’m the youngest boy and I wanted to do everything Travis and Anderson did.”

  “What about your sisters?” Lily asked. “Did they want to do it because you could?”

  “It wasn’t important to Lani and Lindsay. I guess it’s a guy thing.” He gently tapped Lily’s nose. “If you don’t want to skip rocks, you don’t have to.”

  “Good.” The little girl grinned up at him. “But I want to ride horses.”

  “Then we’ll have to do that again soon,” he agreed.

  “Can we? I’d really like to practice that.”

  “Of course. You just tell me when so I can arrange to be there.”

  “Cool.” Lily was looking at Caleb as if he hung the moon. There was a serious case of hero worship going on, and watching the man so warm and patient with this little girl tugged at Mallory’s heart. It occurred to her that a positive male influence in Lily’s life could be a good thing. A woman needed a template for the qualities she wanted to look for in the man she’d spend the rest of her life with.

  Mallory’s own father had been distant, always preoccupied with his work, and she wondered if that had contributed to her disastrous love life with a hospital resident who thought the world revolved around him. It dawned on her that she’d picked a man who was just like her father. She’d dodged a bullet when he’d dumped her, and maybe she should send him a thank-you note.

  Caleb couldn’t be more different from that guy. It might explain why her feelings were so different, so intense. She wasn’t the type to go to bed with a man she’d known for such a short time, but she had. His captivating qualities had lured her into the shower, too. She didn’t spontaneously do things like that. More troubling, she didn’t regret it. Being with him made her happy, but...

  There always was one.

  Caleb was a well-known Rust Creek Falls charmer who didn’t concentrate that charm on one woman. He spread it around. Mallory couldn’t afford to have illusions because Lily’s welfare had to come first. The little girl wasn’t subtle about wanting Mallory and Caleb to be a couple and there was no way to keep her from hoping. As the grown-up, it was Mallory’s job to make clear that she and Caleb would only ever be just friends.

  “Auntie Mal, can I put my feet in the water?”

  It was a warm day and she was wearing shorts. Mallory couldn’t think of a downside. “Sure. Just don’t fall in and get soaked. We don’t have a spare set of clothes.”

  “Cool.”

  “Don’t forget to take off your socks and sneakers. I’ll hold on to them for you,” she said.

  After doing as instructed, Lily waded into the waterfall pool up to her knees. She wandered around, looking for pretty stones and leaving the two adults to watch her.

  “She’s a great kid.” Caleb sat beside her on the rock.

  “Yeah.” It was far too tempting to lean into him, but that would give just the impression she didn’t want Lily to see.

  “So...” He picked up a blade of grass and rested his elbows on his knees. “Has anyone asked you about our overnight adventure in Kalispell?”

  That was one way of putting it. Wild and sexy night was more accurate.

  “No. But I haven’t really seen anyone since we got back yesterday.” She thought for a moment. “Except Cecelia. She looked awfully curious but didn’t ask.”

  “Was Lily there?”

  “Yes.” And the light went on. “She didn’t want to bring it up in front of Lily.”

  “That would be my guess.” He glanced at her, then back to the child happily splashing in the water, technically not falling in, but still getting wet. “My mom and sister were asking, and since it’s church day and people come together, they’re bound to talk. You can bet the story is gaining traction.”

  “Should I be upset?”

  “No. I just thought I should warn you that we’re generating rumors around town. Before you can say Rust Creek Falls, the word will be that we’re serious.”

  “Oh, my.”

  “We know that’s not true,” he assured her.

  “Yes, we do.”

  “It’s just a man and woman spending time together and having fun.”

  “That’s right.” And she wasn’t sure how she felt about the not-serious part being true. Every time they were together, she enjoyed his company more and saw unexpected good qualities emerge. In spite of that, it was probably better for her to be safe than sorry.

  He met her gaze. “You’ve probably been here long enough to know that gossip in a small town is a way of life.”

  “So far I haven’t done anything gossip-worthy. And, as I’ve never been the subject of talk before, this makes me feel sort of proud.”

  The comment made him grin. “Folks will shoot the breeze, so just remember it’s no one’s business but ours. They want to make something serious out of it when we know we’re just having fun.”

  “Good to know.”

  “Is Caleb coming over for dinner again tonight?”

  Lily came out of the water.

  “If he’d like to.” Mallory met his gaze.

  “I would,” he said.

  So the subject was changed, but that didn’t stop Mallory from mulling it over. What Caleb said completely reinforced exactly what she’d just been thinking about and it was a good thing to know they were on the same page.

  Because having sexy thoughts about him in church was just a stone’s throw from falling head over heels. Kn
owing he didn’t want that any more than she did and the need to protect her niece from getting hurt should be enough to keep her from making a big mistake.

  Should be.

  Now all she needed was the effect of Caleb’s charisma and charm to begin wearing off. Anytime now would be good.

  Chapter Ten

  Right after moving to town, Mallory had joined the Rust Creek Falls Newcomers Club in order to meet people. Once a month anyone interested in doing that came to the Community Center to chat and network and, hopefully, bring in more members. So far the group was all women and only the same ones consistently attended meetings. On the upside, she’d made some really good friends. The downside was that tonight those friends were going to interrogate her about Caleb.

  There was no doubt in her mind that what he’d told her the other day at the Falls was true. People were talking, and her relationship with the charming cowboy was the number-one town topic. She just wasn’t sure what to say when asked.

  Definitely it was a bad idea to share the fact that she’d slept with him. It was too personal and there was no way to guarantee the information would stay between friends. Also she would keep to herself that he’d been to her house for dinner a few times. She and Lily enjoyed his company, but that information would fuel unwanted speculation. So she would just go with the truth.

  Mallory drove into the Community Center parking lot behind the building on North Main Street. She recognized some of the cars already there and knew the regulars had arrived. After walking inside, she passed the information/check-in desk. The interior consisted of the big, open room used for town meetings and large gatherings. But there were also smaller rooms for more intimate groups, exercise or craft classes, and card games.

  There was a room with a window facing the hallway and she could see her friends inside. Two rows of overhead fluorescent lights illuminated the space where six folding chairs were arranged in a circle, and four of them were occupied. Cecelia Clifton, one of the founding members, sat between blonde, blue-eyed Jordyn Leigh Cates and Vanessa Brent. The latter was a gifted artist and looked like a living, breathing beautiful painting with her porcelain skin, wavy brown hair and dark eyes. Beside her was Julie Smith, whose long blond hair was pulled up in a ponytail away from her small face. The style made her big blue eyes look even bigger and highlighted the air of innocence that made everyone in the group want to mother her.

  “Hi,” Mallory said, raising a hand in greeting as she walked into the room. She sat down and looked at the remaining chair. “Sorry I’m a little late. I had to drop Lily off at her friend’s house.”

  “You could have brought her,” Cecelia said.

  “She gets bored.” Mallory probably should have included her niece. The little girl’s presence would have limited the scope of the coming interrogation. “Where’s Callie? She’s always here before me.”

  “She called me to cancel because she and Nate have plans.” Cecelia’s brown eyes twinkled as if she had a pretty good idea what those plans were.

  Jordyn Cates sighed. “So, not only is no one else showing up to join Newcomers—”

  “And by that you mean men,” Vanessa teased.

  “Yes, I do. So not only that, but we’re losing a core member to a man. We should change our group name to the Wallflowers Club.”

  “That’s too pathetic.” Julie’s blue eyes looked a little sad at the idea of that.

  “But true,” Cecelia agreed. “And the word on the street is that our own Mallory Franklin could be the next one to defect for a man.”

  “You shouldn’t believe everything you hear.” Mallory set her purse down beside her on the linoleum floor in an effort to hide her expression, just for a moment.

  Julie was to her right. “People are saying that you spent the night with Caleb Dalton in Kalispell.”

  “Not on purpose.” She squirmed as four pairs of eyes focused on her, all of them silently asking for more information. She could do that up to a point. “We went there for dinner. He wanted a place where people wouldn’t stare at us and jump to conclusions.”

  “Funny how the best-laid plans have a way of backfiring,” Vanessa commented. “Because people are still gossiping. We’re your friends. If you can’t tell us the real story, who can you tell?”

  “You know there was a storm,” she started. “The wind was terrible. Trees and debris were everywhere. The Montana Department of Transportation closed the road until it could be cleared. We couldn’t make it back.”

  “So were did you stay?” Julie looked concerned.

  “At a hotel. We got a room—”

  “A? As in one room?” Vanessa turned to Cecelia. “You didn’t know this? I thought you were taking care of Lily.”

  “That’s true,” Cecelia confirmed. “And she was right there when Caleb brought Mallory home. It’s not like I could ask for details in front of an eight-year-old.”

  The four women debated that issue for several minutes and Mallory was glad to have attention diverted from her. But the reprieve didn’t last long enough.

  “We digress,” Jordyn said. She tucked her blond hair behind her ears. “So you spent the night together. And?”

  Mallory wanted to tell them she’d prefer not to talk about this. There was nothing to say. Certainly not that there was no such thing as signs from the universe. Or that Caleb had awakened something in her and she wanted to close it back up again. But saying any of that would fan the flames of their curiosity. She really liked and respected each of these women but wasn’t accustomed to sharing the burden with them. It was hard to silence her inner child, who was still telling her to handle things alone.

  “Mallory?” That was Julie’s gentle nudge. “We’re happy to listen if you want to talk. Is there anything you want to share with us?”

  “Yes.” She looked at each of them—all different, all beautiful, all friends. “Something very important happened in Kalispell.”

  “What?” Julie’s eyes widened.

  Vanessa’s mouth dropped open. “Oh, my.”

  “Yay, you,” Jordyn said.

  Cecelia leaned forward expectantly. “I hope it’s good.”

  “Very.” Mallory tried to look as if she wasn’t completely confused about how she felt. “Caleb and I are friends.”

  Again four pairs of eyes stared at her and it was as if each of them was a balloon in various stages of deflation. They were hoping for more. Mallory understood. She’d want any one of them to fall in love and be happy.

  Finally Cecelia said, “Seriously? You spent a whole night with him. Thunder, lightning, wind. Lives in danger—”

  “Dramatic much?” Jordyn grinned at her friend.

  “It’s a gift.” The other woman smiled back. “Now, where was I?”

  “Lives in danger,” Julie said helpfully.

  “Right. Emotions were running high, which is when things can happen. When personal safety is at stake it can speed up the natural order of things, if you get my drift.”

  “I think we all get where you’re going with that.” Vanessa’s voice was wry.

  “Am I wrong? Is anyone else surprised that all they are is friends?” Cecelia looked skeptical. “Seems to me that was your status with Caleb when you accepted another date with him.”

  “Yes. But we’re even better friends now.” As soon as those words left her mouth, Mallory knew that came out wrong.

  Oddly enough, sweet, quiet Julie was the one who ran with it. “Define ‘better’ friends.”

  “Oh, you know—” She shrugged. The deafening silence in the room told her that wouldn’t fly as an explanation. “Nothing serious. We’re just having fun.”

  “How much fun?” Jordyn wanted to know.

  “Look,” Mallory said, “you all know that Lily has to be my first priority and I’m trying to
give her a stable environment. Caleb isn’t a settling-down kind of guy. I know that and he knows that I know. And it’s okay because I’m not looking to settle down with anyone. Especially him. He’s a good-looking charmer. He’s Lily’s favorite cowboy, and as long as we keep everything low-key between us, it will stay that way.”

  “In my opinion,” Jordyn said, “it’s more about him just being a darn stubborn man.”

  “Aren’t they all?” Cecelia frowned.

  “Hmm.” Jordyn’s eyes narrowed on her friend. “Does that glass-is-half-empty comment have anything to do with Nick Pritchett?”

  “What?” Cecelia folded her arms over her chest. “Why would you say that?”

  “Oh, I don’t know.” Vanessa batted her brown eyes. “He’s a carpenter. You’re a construction assistant. That puts you in the same kind of work. Your paths cross on the job. And possibly other places, too.”

  “What are you implying?”

  “I’m not implying. I’ll say it straight out.” Vanessa looked around the circle. “I don’t think I’m the only one who’s noticed that you and Nick have been hanging out a lot lately. And good for you.”

  “As if,” Cecelia said. “If there was anything romantic going on between Nick and me, you all would be first to know. We’ve been friends for years and that’s all there is to it. Not a chance in any universe that it’s any more than that.”

  In Mallory’s opinion her friend looked a little wistful about that and she understood the sentiment. She’d only known Caleb for a short time, but couldn’t deny the regret trickling through her. All the signs of the universe might be throwing Caleb and her into romantic moments but they’d agreed on the terms of their relationship. And they both had good, sound reasons for the decision.

  Anything more than friendship would be trouble on multiple levels.

  * * *

  No one had told Caleb that Mallory and Lily were coming to the Daltons’ for Sunday dinner, but he was awfully glad they were there. He’d gone to her house for supper a couple days ago, but hadn’t seen or talked to her since. It had been a very long couple of days.