The Maverick's Midnight Proposal

by Brenda Harlen

  Now, as he stood between the groom and his youngest brother and watched the bride make her way down the aisle, he felt an array of emotions. Happiness for his brother, who was finally marrying the woman he’d always loved. Gratitude that Hudson’s PI had found him and convinced him to make the long journey to Rust Creek Falls. And pride that the prettiest woman at the wedding—aside from the bride, of course—was his date.

  The only disappointment was that the entire family wasn’t there to witness the nuptials. He had long ago accepted that his parents were gone forever, but he keenly felt the absence of Bailey and Liza, and he was sure it was the same for each of his brothers and sisters in attendance. But no one was letting their absence put a damper on the occasion, and the smile on Danny’s face as he watched his bride make her way toward him could have lit the whole barn without the hundreds of twinkling lights.

  When the minister asked the assembled guests if there was any reason the bride and groom should not be joined together, a deep voice called out from the back. “Well, it just doesn’t seem right for Danny to get married without all of his brothers as witnesses to the big event.”

  The bride sent a panicked glance toward her groom, obviously shocked that anyone would speak up in response to the question. Almost as quickly, the meaning of the words became clear, and her shocked surprise turned to pleasure.

  It took Danny another half a second to put the pieces together after he turned from his bride to face the back of the barn. “Bailey?”

  The latecomer took a few steps closer to the happy couple. “I think my invitation must have gotten lost in the mail.”

  “It must have,” Danny agreed. Then he gave his bride’s hands a light squeeze before releasing them and turning to embrace his brother. “Glad you could make it.”

  “Me, too.”

  Jamie was next in line to hug his long-lost brother, apparently not harboring any lingering animosity toward this particular sibling. “When did you get into town?”

  “Just about half an hour ago,” Bailey told him, turning to embrace Bella.

  “Where are you staying?” she asked, wiping tears from her eyes. “Because we’ve got plenty of room at our place.”

  “I can attest to that,” Dana said, edging forward to hug him next.

  “But we can probably work out those details after the ceremony,” Luke suggested. “Because there’s a pretty girl in a white dress waiting patiently for the groom to put a ring on her finger.”

  “Not quite so patiently,” Annie admitted.

  “I’ve waited a lot of years to see you again,” Danny said to Bailey. “But I’ve waited even longer to make Annie my wife, so it would be great if we could move forward with the ceremony now.”

  The guests laughed as the groom resumed his place beside the bride.

  “Does anyone have anything else to say?” the minister asked the assembled guests.

  This time there was no response, and the officiant resumed his duties.

  And despite the whispers and speculation sparked by Bailey’s unexpected arrival, the focus of attention returned to the happy couple.

  * * *

  Eva watched through eyes blurred with tears as the bride and groom exchanged vows, promising to love, honor and cherish one another “till death do us part.” The words were no different than those spoken by countless couples at countless weddings, but having at least a little bit of knowledge of what Annie and Danny had been through, the events that had torn them apart and, finally, brought them together again, made the promises that much more poignant.

  It was an emotional day for all of the Stockton siblings—or at least all of those who were present. Having Bailey show up in time to witness the exchange of vows was undoubtedly sweeter than the icing on the wedding cake, but Eva suspected they were all aware of the absence of Liza, the little sister who had yet to be found.

  After the ceremony, there was much eating and drinking and toasting the happy couple. Then the bride and groom cut the cake before taking to the makeshift dance floor for their first dance. As Eva listened to Dierks Bentley claim “there ain’t nothing that love can’t fix,” she crossed her fingers that it was true. For Annie and Danny, of course, but also for her and Luke.

  She knew that love couldn’t magically obliterate the geographic distance between Cheyenne and Rust Creek Falls, but she had to hope and believe that Luke would acknowledge his feelings for her and reconsider his decision to leave after the New Year.

  “What thoughts have you looking as if you’re a hundred miles away?” Luke wondered.

  She felt her cheeks flush, embarrassed to have been caught daydreaming and unwilling to admit to Luke that he was the subject of those daydreams. “I was just thinking about Danny and Annie,” she said. “They really are living proof that love can last.”

  His gaze shifted to the couple on the dance floor. “He never wanted to leave Rust Creek Falls—or Annie.”

  She reached up and touched a hand to his face, drawing his attention back to her. “That’s not on you, Luke.”

  “Isn’t it?” he asked, his tone heavy with regret.

  “He made his own decision,” she insisted.

  “He was an eighteen-year-old kid who’d just lost his parents,” Luke reminded her. “So he followed the lead of his oldest brother and left the only woman he’d ever loved.”

  “He was only eighteen—how could you possibly know that she was the only woman he’d ever love?” she challenged.

  “Maybe I couldn’t,” he allowed.

  “And you certainly couldn’t have known that Annie was pregnant,” she said, anticipating his next argument. “Not even Annie knew she was pregnant when you and Bailey and Danny left Rust Creek Falls.”

  “That’s true,” he acknowledged.

  “So why don’t you forget about the past and focus on the present—like they’re doing,” she suggested.

  “I never used to believe in the mystical power of love,” he told her. “Then I came back to Rust Creek Falls and I saw Bella with Hudson, Jamie with Fallon, and Danny with Annie.” As he spoke, his gaze searched the room, finding each of his siblings and their partners in turn, before returning to meet Eva’s eyes again. “And I met you.”

  With those words, she felt as if her heart actually swelled inside her chest. “My life changed when you came back to Rust Creek Falls, too,” she admitted.

  “In a good way, I hope.”

  “In all the very best ways,” she assured him.

  Luke smiled. “I’m glad, because I’ve been thinking that—”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Before Luke could finish his thought, Bailey brought a hand down on his brother’s shoulder, effectively cutting off the words Eva desperately wanted to hear.

  “I had no idea, when I decided to make the trip to Rust Creek Falls, that I’d show up just in time for Danny’s wedding,” Bailey said.

  She managed to keep the smile on her face, though what she really wanted to do was lift both her hands to Bailey’s chest and shove him aside so that she and Luke could finish their private conversation.

  “The best wedding present you could have given him,” Luke told his brother.

  Bailey glanced at Eva. “Was I interrupting something?”

  Yes, she wanted to shout at him.

  But she knew that Luke was thrilled to see his brother again, so she pushed aside her own disappointment and said, “Nothing that can’t wait.”

  She hoped.

  “In fact, I was just going to excuse myself to get a glass of punch.”

  “Let me get it for you,” Luke suggested.

  But she shook her head. “You stay and chat with your brother. I’m sure you have lots to catch up on.”

  “We do,” Bailey responded before Luke could. “Thanks f
or understanding.”

  She nodded and slipped away.

  * * *

  Luke watched Eva go, admiring the mouthwatering display of shapely leg as she moved through the crowd toward the makeshift bar. In the few weeks that he’d known her, he’d rarely seen her in anything other than the long, flowing skirts she obviously favored. Today she was wearing a blue dress that deepened the color of her eyes and hugged her every curve, with shiny black platform heels that added several inches to her height.

  He watched as she helped herself to a glass of punch, then turned to smile at something Hank said to her. He didn’t blame the man for the way his gaze followed Eva as she turned away, but he didn’t like it, either.

  “Looks like I got here just in time,” Bailey noted.

  Luke forced his attention back to his brother. “It meant a lot to Danny that you were able to be here for his wedding.”

  “He seems happy enough—for now,” Bailey said.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Just that the rose-colored glasses tend to get wiped clean after the honeymoon.”

  “I did notice that your wife doesn’t seem to have made the trip with you,” Luke commented.

  “Ex-wife,” Bailey said grimly.

  He winced. “I’m sorry.”

  His brother shrugged. “It turned out that marriage wasn’t quite what I expected.”

  “What did you expect?”

  Bailey lifted his beer to his lips, took a long sip. “Till death do us part.”

  “What changed?”

  “I couldn’t be the kind of husband Emily wanted me to be—that I wanted to be.” He swallowed another mouthful of beer. “Hell, Luke, you know as well as I do that the scars of the past never go away. Even when, on the surface, it looks like they’ve healed, the wounds still ache deep inside.”

  Luke frowned, not wanting to believe what his brother said, though the words closely echoed his own thoughts. “Danny seems to be doing okay,” he noted.

  “Maybe because he loved Annie before everything went to hell in a handbasket,” Bailey suggested.

  “What even is a handbasket?” Luke wondered aloud.

  His brother chuckled, though the sound was without humor. “I have no clue.”

  “You really don’t think they’ll make it?”

  Bailey looked out at the dance floor where the newlyweds swayed together to the music, oblivious to everyone and everything around them. “I hope they do, but I don’t think the odds are in their favor.”

  “Don’t tell that to the groom.”

  “I wouldn’t,” his brother promised. “But I felt it was important to tell you.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I saw the way you were looking at the pretty blonde in the blue dress.”

  Luke scowled. “This is about Eva?”

  “This is about wanting to prevent you from making the same mistakes that I made,” Bailey told him.

  “You really believe marrying Emily was a mistake?”

  “I do,” his brother said, and immediately grimaced. “And those are the words I never should have said the first time.”

  “When you left for New Mexico, you seemed so certain that it was what you wanted,” Luke noted, troubled by the obvious disillusionment and bitterness in his brother’s tone.

  “If I’ve learned nothing else over the years, I’ve learned that I’m not certain about anything. Losing Mom and Dad, then being turned out by the grandparents, well, that kind of rejection can’t help but screw up your mind and heart.”

  “You’re right,” Luke acknowledged. “But I believe that sometimes, if a man is very lucky, he might meet a woman who can help unscrew his mind and heart.”

  “And you think your blonde is that woman?” Bailey asked skeptically.

  “Eva,” he said again. “And yeah, I think she might be.”

  “How long have you known her?”

  “A few weeks.”

  His brother’s brows lifted. “You’ve known her a few weeks and you think she’s the woman to fix everything that’s broken inside you?”

  “She’s already made a start,” he said.

  “Or maybe you’re looking for an excuse to stay in Rust Creek Falls and you’re letting her be it.”

  Luke scowled. “That’s not true. I have no intention of staying.” Except that wasn’t true, either. Not anymore.

  “I know what it’s like to feel alone, to miss family,” Bailey told him. “Why do you think I finally went back to Wyoming?”

  “You went back to Wyoming?”

  His brother nodded. “I arrived early last week, but it took me several days to track you down at Leaning Pines. It was your foreman who told me that you were in Rust Creek Falls for your brother’s wedding. Of course, he didn’t specify which brother, but my curiosity was piqued enough to follow your trail. I didn’t expect to walk into a family reunion.”

  “An incomplete family reunion,” Luke clarified.

  “Yeah,” Bailey acknowledged. “I guess no one knows where Liza is?”

  “Bella’s husband has been looking, but so far, no luck.”

  “That was a kicker, too,” Bailey said. “Finding out that she was married—and to some rich guy from Oklahoma to boot.”

  “Hudson’s a good guy,” Luke told him.

  “He seems to dote on our sister, that’s for sure,” Bailey agreed. “Of course, they haven’t been married very long, either, have they? They’re still in the honeymoon phase.” He drained the last of his beer and held up the empty glass. “I’m going for a refill. Do you want anything?”

  Luke shook his head. “No, thanks, I’m good.”

  But he wasn’t.

  His brother’s words had put a damper on not just the evening but his whole outlook for the future, too.

  He’d meant what he’d said to Eva. He’d never believed in the power of love, until he saw how it had changed his siblings. And while he couldn’t deny that he had deep feelings for Eva, now he had to wonder if those feelings were deep enough.

  Was he capable of loving her the way she deserved to be loved? Or was Bailey right? Had the death of his parents and subsequent rejection by his grandparents left him emotionally stunted?

  * * *

  Having finished her punch, Eva set the empty glass aside and walked over to where Luke was standing.

  “Hey, cowboy.” She nudged him playfully with her shoulder. “You promised me a dance.”

  His lips curved, but she noticed that the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

  “It’s been a long time since I’ve danced,” he warned. “And I can’t promise I won’t tread on those pretty shoes you’re wearing.”

  “I’ll take my chances,” she assured him.

  “In that case—” he offered his hand “—never let it be said that I’m not a man of my word.”

  He led her to the dance floor and turned her in his arms.

  “Speaking of words,” she said as they moved in rhythm with the music. “You started to say something earlier, before your brother interrupted us.”

  “Did I?” he hedged.

  “Mmm-hmm,” she confirmed. “Something about how your life has changed since you came home to Rust Creek Falls.”

  “It’s been great to reconnect with my family,” he said. “But Rust Creek Falls isn’t my home. Not anymore.”

  “That’s all you meant?” she asked, unable to hide the disappointment evident in her tone.

  “That’s why I came back,” he reminded her.

  “I know, but I thought—I hoped,” she admitted, “you might find some other reasons to stay.”

  He looked away. “You know I can’t.”

  But she didn’t know any such thing. Wha
t she suspected was that Bailey had said something to cause Luke’s sudden withdrawal, because even while she was dancing with him, she could feel him pulling away.

  “Do you really want to spend the rest of your life working as a ranch hand for somebody else?” she asked in a desperate attempt to open a dialogue with him.

  “What other choice do I have?”

  She lifted her hand from his shoulder and gestured to their surroundings. “You could put your time and energy into this place. Make Sunshine Farm a working ranch again.”

  She saw it then—a flicker of yearning in his eyes, there for only a second before it was shuttered away.

  He shook his head. “That would be a lot more responsibility than I want to take on.”

  “Really?” she challenged.

  “All I want is a paycheck, a six-pack and a willing woman at the end of the week.”

  The music continued to play but her feet stopped moving. “Is that all I was to you, Luke? A willing woman?”

  He had the grace to look chagrined. “We had some good times together, Eva, but we both knew our relationship wasn’t going to last.”

  In the past, whenever she’d been told the same or similar words, she’d quietly turned away rather than admit her heart was breaking. This time she lifted her chin and looked him straight in the eye.

  “I disagree,” she said. “I think that we had something pretty special together, but for some reason, you’d rather throw it away than give it a chance.”

  Then she turned away.

  But she’d only taken a few steps when she pivoted on her heel to face him again. “As much as I’d like to storm out of here and leave you to contemplate my parting words, I need a ride home.”

  * * *

  Under other circumstances, Eva’s furious indignation might have made him smile, but Luke found it was impossible to smile while his heart was quietly bleeding. So he only reached into his pocket for his keys and said, “I’ll take you.”

  “Thank you.”