The Maverick's Midnight Proposal

by Brenda Harlen

  The cool primness of her tone didn’t quite mask the hurt he’d caused, and he had to bite down on his tongue to prevent himself from offering excuses and explanations that wouldn’t change anything in the end.

  The ground outside was icy, and he automatically took her arm to help her navigate the treacherous terrain. She might have preferred to avoid his touch, but she was also practical enough to endure his assistance rather than end up on her butt.

  She was quiet for the first several minutes of the drive back to her parents’ house, and he wondered if she’d decided to never speak to him again. But then she broke the silence to ask, “What did he say to you?”

  “Who?”

  “Bailey,” she said, somehow zeroing in on the topic that preoccupied his own mind.

  He didn’t deny that they’d talked—or that their conversation had changed the course of the evening for him. “He reminded me of some difficult truths I’d forgotten.”

  “What kind of truths?” she pressed.

  He kept his gaze fixed on the road, not daring to look at her as he responded. “That the Stocktons are damaged.”

  “I don’t believe it,” she told him.

  He pulled up in front of her parents’ house, unable to squeeze into the driveway behind the two minivans that hadn’t been there earlier—proof that her sisters and their families had arrived for the holiday.

  He shifted into Park and turned off the ignition before he turned to face her. “I can’t give you what you want, Eva. I don’t have it within me.”

  “You can and you do,” she insisted. “You’re just afraid to admit your feelings.”

  “Feelings don’t change anything. I told you in the beginning that I didn’t want to get involved and I meant it.”

  “I love you, Luke.”

  He flinched as if she’d struck him. “Don’t say that.”

  “Whether I speak the words or not, you know the feelings are true,” she said. “You know how I feel about you.”

  He did. He’d told himself that her feelings were her own, that he wasn’t responsible for her heart, but none of that helped him feel any better now.

  “It’s also true that I sometimes give my heart too easily,” she told him. “I tried to hold back this time. I didn’t want to fall in love with you, but I couldn’t help myself. And I think you have some strong feelings for me, too.”

  She paused, as if giving him a chance to confirm or deny it. He didn’t dare confirm it, and he couldn’t honestly deny it, so he said nothing.

  “But I’m not going to beg for scraps of affection,” she continued when he remained silent. “Either you want to be with me or you don’t. That’s your choice to make and I’ll accept whatever it is, but I’m going to suggest that you take some time to think about what you really want.”

  “Time isn’t going to change anything,” he said.

  “Maybe not,” she acknowledged, reaching for the handle of the door. “But I’m giving you a week anyway.”

  He hurried around to help her out of the vehicle. “Why a week?” he asked, curious about the arbitrary deadline she’d established even if it wouldn’t change anything.

  “Because there’s a big party at Maverick Manor on New Year’s Eve. If you decide that you feel the same way I do, you can meet me there. If you don’t show up, I’ll know that you don’t, and I won’t contact you again.”

  Then she slid her key into the lock of the front door.

  “Eva.”

  She hesitated, for just a fraction of a second, before turning back.

  But he didn’t know what else to say. He only knew that he didn’t want to leave her like this, with so much unspoken between them. Or maybe the problem was that too much had been spoken.

  “Merry Christmas, Luke.”

  He dipped his head to touch his lips to her forehead. “Merry Christmas, Eva.”

  * * *

  As Eva closed the door at her back, the click of the latch sounded loud in the quiet of the night. And final, like an exclamation mark at the end of a sentence—or the end of a relationship.

  She felt the sting of tears behind her eyes, and stubbornly held them in check. She’d told Luke that she wasn’t going to shed any tears over him and she meant it. The click of the latch notwithstanding, nothing was truly final yet. She’d given him a week to come to his senses and she had to trust that he would do so. If not, she would have plenty of time for tears in the New Year.

  The house was dark and quiet, confirming that everyone had turned in early in anticipation of being awakened by the kids at the crack of dawn. But Eva knew that she was too unsettled to sleep right now, so she decided to make herself a cup of tea before heading up to bed.

  Delphine wandered into the kitchen as Eva was pouring boiling water into a mug. Without needing to ask, she reached into the cupboard for a second mug, popped another tea bag into it and added water.

  “Thanks,” Del said, stifling a yawn as she accepted the mug her sister passed to her.

  “I thought everyone was asleep already.”

  “I tried to wait up for you, but I snuggled with Freddy to help him settle down and fell asleep beside him.”

  “He’s excited about Christmas,” Eva guessed.

  “They all are,” her sister confirmed. “How was the wedding?”

  She forced herself to push aside the painful memories of everything that had happened after and focus on the simple beauty of the ceremony. And remembering, she sighed wistfully. “It was beautiful.”

  “So why do you look so unhappy?”

  “Because I did it again,” she admitted.

  “What did you do?”

  “I fell in love with a man who doesn’t love me back.”

  “The long-lost cowboy who recently returned to Rust Creek Falls?” Del guessed.

  “Luke Stockton,” Eva confirmed.

  “The guy you went to the wedding with tonight?”

  She nodded.

  “How do you know he doesn’t love you back?”

  “Because he keeps reminding me of his plans to go back to Wyoming in the New Year.”

  “And you keep refusing to listen.”

  She sighed. “I was sure that when he had a chance to see how good we were together, he would change his mind.”

  Del sighed. “Honey, you should know by now that it’s a mistake to go into a relationship thinking you can change a man.”

  “I don’t want to change him,” she denied. “I just want him to change his geographic location.”

  “Asking a man to uproot himself from his job and his home and move eight hundred miles away is a big deal,” her sister pointed out.

  “I didn’t ask him to move,” she denied.

  “But you want him to.”

  “I want it to be what he wants.” She felt the sting of tears in her eyes. “I want to be what he wants.”

  Del reached across the table to squeeze her hand. “If you’re not, then he’s an idiot.”

  Eva managed a smile, but as she sipped her tea, she wondered why she always seemed to fall for the idiots.

  Chapter Fifteen

  In the usual chaos of Christmas morning, there was no time for self-indulgence or self-pity. After the mountain of presents had been opened and the debris cleared away, there were games to play and cars to race and LEGO cities to build. Through the course of the day, Eva barely had time to catch her breath much less feel sorry for herself. But through it all, she did realize something important.

  She realized that, even if Luke didn’t show up at Maverick Manor on New Year’s Eve, even if she didn’t yet have a partner to share her life, she was lucky to be surrounded by the love and support of her family.

  And that, she knew, was a priceless gift—and one
that Luke hadn’t experienced in the past twelve years.

  But this year would be different for him, because this year, he was with his family. She hoped he was having a good time with his siblings and their spouses and children. And she hoped that when he handed out the gifts they’d shopped for and wrapped together, he would think of her—for just a moment.

  * * *

  Luke was glad he’d decided to stay, not just for Danny and Annie’s wedding but to celebrate Christmas with his siblings.

  Because for the first time in a lot of years, it was a celebration.

  Dana had to leave early in the morning to head back to Oregon because she had holiday traditions with her adoptive parents that she wanted to uphold, but she stayed long enough to have breakfast with Bella, Hudson, Luke and Bailey—who had spent the night in another one of the guest bedrooms. Jamie and Fallon showed up with Henry, Jared and Katie just as Dana was leaving, contributing to an even longer and more emotional goodbye scene. Then the rest of the family adjourned to the family room to open the presents that were under the tree.

  He was grateful to Eva for her assistance with his shopping—and wrapping. Thinking back to that day, he couldn’t help but remember the sparkle in her eyes, the warmth of her smile...and the expression of bliss on her face when their bodies joined together on the floor beneath this very Christmas tree.

  Excusing himself from the gathering, he retreated to the kitchen to pour another cup of coffee. And steal another piece of the coffee cake that Bella had put out for breakfast and that he knew she’d picked up from Daisy’s.

  He was licking the crumbs off his fingers when his sister came in to refill her mug.

  “Busted,” she told him, softening the admonition with a smile.

  He just shrugged. “What can I say? It’s addictive.”

  “The cake or the baker?” she teased.

  Instead of answering, he lifted his mug to his lips and sipped.

  “You know, no one’s going to mind if you want to slip away for a few hours,” Bella told him.

  “Why would I want to do that?”

  She shook her head. “If I have to tell you, then you’re not nearly as smart as I always thought you were.”

  “If you’d been in the truck when I took Eva home last night, you’d know that I’m an idiot.”

  “Were you a forgivable or unforgivable idiot?”

  If you decide that you feel the same way I do, you can meet me there. If you don’t show up, I’ll know that you don’t, and I won’t contact you again.

  He pushed the echo of Eva’s words out of his mind. “It doesn’t matter,” he said. “Because I’m going back to Wyoming next week.”

  The teasing light in his sister’s eyes immediately dimmed. “You’re really leaving?”

  “Isn’t that what I’ve been saying all along?”

  “It is,” she admitted. “But I really thought you’d change your mind and decide to stay.”

  “I can’t.”

  “You can,” she insisted. “But you’re stubborn and thick-headed and you’re still punishing yourself for what happened to Mom and Dad. And, as a result, you’re punishing the rest of us, too.”

  “You don’t need me here, Bella.”

  She lifted her chin. “You’re right. I don’t need you in my life. I survived without you for almost twelve years and, if you leave, I’ll continue to do so. But it’s not what I want. I want you in my life.”

  “I’m not dropping off the face of the earth—I’m only going to Wyoming,” he told her.

  “What’s so great about Wyoming?” Bella grumbled.

  “It’s where I live and work,” he reminded her.

  “You live in an apartment over a hardware store and you work on someone else’s ranch.”

  He nodded his head in acknowledgment of those facts.

  “If you stayed, you could live and work at Sunshine Farm.”

  “Bella—”

  “I’m just putting it out there,” she said. “Hudson told me not to pressure you, that you have to make your own choices about what’s right for you. But I want to ensure you know what all your options are before you make that decision.”

  He slid an arm around her shoulders and drew her close. “The one thing I do know is that I’m going to miss my pain-in-the-butt sister when I’m gone.”

  She sniffled a little as she buried her face in his shirt. “I’ll miss you, too, you big idiot.”

  * * *

  While Eva and the other women were busy in the kitchen, preparing the big meal, the kids went out to play in the snow and the men were sent to supervise. A few minutes later, her brother-in-law Harrison came to the door asking for an extra hat and a scarf for the snowman they were building.

  While Grandma went to the closet to see what she could find, Calla peeled potatoes, Del stirred her cranberry sauce and Eva worked on the relish trays for the table.

  Marion came back with a hat and scarf and a square box wrapped in snowman paper with a big red bow on the top.

  “I can’t believe I forgot about this,” she said, setting the box on the table beside Eva.

  “What is it?” Calla asked.

  “A present for Eva.”

  “For me?” she said, surprised.

  Her mom nodded. “Luke dropped it off a few days ago and asked me to hide it until Christmas.”

  “It’s from Luke?”

  Marion nodded again.

  “Well, go on,” Del urged. “Open it.”

  She did so, tearing the paper at the end, then sliding the box out of the wrap.

  “It’s a cake stand,” Calla said, clearly unimpressed.

  Eva shook her head. “It’s not a cake stand—it’s a tilting turntable. You put the cake on top of it, then adjust the angle to make decorating easier.”

  “So...a cake stand,” Calla said again.

  But it was so much more than that to Eva. It was an extravagance that she hadn’t been able to justify for herself, even when she’d noticed it was on sale the day she was shopping with Luke. And maybe she’d paused for a moment in front of it, but she’d never actually mentioned that she wanted one—and he hadn’t asked.

  But he’d clearly been paying attention.

  And then he’d gone back to get it for her. But...why? Why would he do something so unexpectedly kind and thoughtful and then dump her a few days later?

  “Well, that’s...handy,” her mother decided.

  Eva laughed at the bafflement in her mother’s tone. Maybe it wasn’t flashy or extravagant, but that cake decorating tool proved that Luke knew her better than most of the other men she’d dated—and even most of her family.

  While Marion took the snowman accessories to the door and Calla resumed her peeling, Del leaned close and whispered in Eva’s ear, “I’m starting to think that maybe he’s not such an idiot, after all.”

  * * *

  He was an idiot to even be considering this.

  Luke had told Eva that he was going back to Wyoming and that was exactly what he should do.

  Instead, he was putting a noose around his neck—literally.

  “You’d be much more handsome if you’d stop scowling.”

  He glanced at his sister’s reflection behind his own in the mirror. “I hate wearing a tie.”

  “You certainly don’t know how to tie one,” Bella noted.

  “This was a bad idea anyway,” he said, tugging at the knot.

  “No, it’s a good idea,” she said. “It’s just the execution that needs some work.”

  “I’m not just talking about the tie.”

  “Neither am I.” She brushed his hands aside and pulled the ends, adjusting the length before she began making the knot.

  He watched, fascin
ated, as she quickly and expertly completed the task that he’d struggled with unsuccessfully. “Where did you learn how to do that?”

  “Watching Hudson,” she admitted.

  “He wears one of these every day, doesn’t he?”

  “Mmm-hmm,” she agreed.

  “Why?” he wondered.

  “I’m not sure, but he looks good in a tie. And without a tie. And without—”

  “TMI, little sister,” he interjected.

  She laughed softly. “And when a man who doesn’t usually wear a tie puts one on for a woman, it tells her that she matters.”

  “Does it?” he asked dubiously.

  “Of course, if you had a diamond ring in the pocket of that jacket, it would say the same thing much more effectively.”

  “If I had a diamond ring in my pocket, don’t you think I should show it to Eva before I showed it to you?”

  “I’m not asking to see it, I’m just asking if you have it,” Bella pressed.

  “Thanks for your help with the tie.”

  “Anytime.” She tugged on the accessory in question. “And I mean that, Luke. I’m happy to help you with anything, anytime. Of course, it would be easier to lend a helping hand if you were living in Rust Creek Falls.”

  “You never quit, do you?”

  “Perseverance is one of my many charms.”

  “Is that what your husband tells you?”

  She grinned. “All the time.”

  “He’s a smart man.”

  “Smart enough to put a ring on my finger,” Bella agreed.

  He took his sister by the shoulders and turned her gently toward the door. “Go find that smart husband of yours so that you can go out and celebrate the New Year together.”

  As she did so, he scooped his keys off the dresser and headed out to his truck. But the closer he got to his destination, the more questions and doubts that assailed him.

  Was he doing the right thing?

  He eased up on the gas as he approached the entrance to Maverick Manor, but instead of turning in to the drive, he kept going.

  Because there was still a part of him that believed Eva would be better off if he returned to Cheyenne. Then she would be free to fall in love with a man who wasn’t burdened with the kind of baggage that weighed him down. And there was no doubt in his mind that Eva deserved better than him.