Mommy and the Maverick

by Meg Maxwell

  And Daddy Makes Five

  Rust Creek Ramblings

  In a town as small as Rust Creek Falls, it would be hard not to notice the new millionaire on Main Street, even if he wasn’t drop-dead gorgeous. But bachelor Autry Jones does not disappoint—he’s every bit as handsome as his settled-down brothers Walker and Hudson. However, this business-minded CEO not only shies away from commitment, he’s also heading for Paris in a month. So why is he keeping company with Marissa Fuller, a young widow with three daughters?

  Marissa and Autry have made a “no-strings/just friends” agreement, but Abby, Kiera and Kaylee clearly have other ideas. Can a dedicated tycoon find happiness with a mom and her kids? We here at the Gazette are hopeful. Some contracts were made to be broken!

  “What about you, Marissa? What would make you happy?”

  “When my crew is happy, I’m happy.” She smiled. “I guess it’s hard to separate one from the other. It’s been a long time since it’s been just me, you know?

  “What would make me happy?” She paused and looked at him, and she was pretty sure her answer was written all over her face.

  He sucked in a breath and leaned close and kissed her. She kissed him back, grateful for their secluded corner.

  “Just for tonight,” she said.

  “Just for tonight.”

  She kissed him again, her hands on his face, everything she felt going into the fierce kiss. “No strings attached,” she whispered.

  “That’s always been the case,” he said.

  No strings. She’d shake on that again, but not on being friends. She couldn’t be casual friends with Autry, not after this, and certainly not after they made love.

  “Maybe we should take this conversation upstairs,” he said.

  “I think we’re done talking,” she whispered and kissed him again.

  MONTANA MAVERICKS:

  The Great Family Roundup—

  Real cowboys and real love in Rust Creek Falls!

  Dear Reader,

  Autry Jones, one of the five famous Jones brothers (famous in Montana Mavericks for being millionaire business cowboys!), thinks he’s immune to love. He flies into tiny Rust Creek Falls in his private jet to visit his brothers for a few weeks before he’ll have to jet off to Paris on family business. A wilderness romance while there would be just fine with him—as long as she’s not a single mother. After what Autry went through last year? No single moms. No kids. Never.

  Oh, Autry. At a viewing party for The Great Roundup at everyone’s favorite Rust Creek Falls bar and grill, Ace in the Hole, he falls hard for Marissa Fuller...who he’s about to discover is a single mom of not one little girl but three. Autry thinks his self-diagnosed immunity to love and kids will keep him from falling for the sweet family for the three weeks he’s in town. Even his two brothers in town, Walker and Hudson, shake their heads at him...

  I hope you enjoy Marissa and Autry’s story! I love hearing from readers and can be reached at authormegmaxwell@gmail.com. And if you didn’t already know, Meg Maxwell is my pen name—my real name is Melissa Senate and you can also write me at melissasenate@yahoo.com. Meg is a childhood nickname, so I answer to both.

  Happy Reading!

  Meg Maxwell

  MegMaxwell.com

  Mommy and the Maverick

  Meg Maxwell

  Meg Maxwell lives on the coast of Maine with her teenage son, their beagle and their black-and-white cat. When she’s not writing, Meg is either reading, at the movies or thinking up new story ideas on her favorite little beach (even in winter) just minutes from her house. Interesting fact: Meg Maxwell is a pseudonym for author Melissa Senate, whose women’s fiction titles have been published in over twenty-five countries.

  Books by Meg Maxwell

  Harlequin Special Edition

  Hurley’s Homestyle Kitchen

  A Cowboy in the Kitchen

  The Detective’s 8 lb, 10 oz Surprise

  The Cowboy’s Big Family Tree

  The Cook’s Secret Ingredient

  Charm School for Cowboys

  Join Harlequin My Rewards today and earn a FREE ebook!

  Click here to Join Harlequin My Rewards

  http://www.harlequin.com/myrewards.html?mt=loyalty&cmpid=EBOOBPBPA201602010002

  In memory of my beloved grandparents.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Epilogue

  Excerpt from Do You Take This Cowboy? by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  Chapter One

  Autry Jones stood on the sidewalk in front of Just Us Kids Day Care Center, trying to process that his family’s corporation, the venerable Jones Holdings, Inc. was in the day care business. And that he was about to walk inside the building.

  Autry and children didn’t mix. Joneses and children weren’t supposed to mix, but somehow, two of his four brothers had not only settled down with wives in this small Montana town, but were heavily invested in a day care franchise.

  Autry took off his aviator-style sunglasses and tucked them in his pocket. He sucked in a breath and pulled open the front door.

  There were babies everywhere.

  Well, little humans, Autry amended, as he stepped inside and glanced around the main room. And only a handful of them, now that he actually counted. A big-cheeked baby was in a woman’s arms. A toddler wearing a shirt decorated with a cartoon monkey was building a tower of cardboard blocks. A little girl with bright red pigtails sat at a pint-size table, drawing a picture of a house and the sun with a smiley face in the center.

  The middle-aged woman holding the baby smiled at him and walked over. He read her name tag: Miss Marley.

  “Hi, Miss Marley,” he said, extending his hand. “I’m Autry Jones. My—”

  The woman grinned and shifted the baby in her arms. “No introductions necessary, Autry. You’re Walker and Hudson’s brother. I’d know a Jones brother anywhere. They mentioned you were flying in today. But you just missed them. They left for Ace in the Hole. Everyone in town is getting together there for a viewing party.”

  Ace in the Hole? Was that some kind of golf tournament? He could see Walker on the course, but Hudson? No way. “A viewing party?”

  Miss Marley looked at him as if he’d been living on Mars for a while. “To watch The Great Roundup, of course! I plucked the short straw, so I’m on duty with this lil cutie and the Myler siblings until their parents get off work, but three people promised to record the premiere for me.”

  Ah, a TV show, Autry figured. He didn’t watch much TV. As president of Jones Holdings, an international company involved in real estate and manufacturing—and lately, a day care franchise—Autry was focused on negotiating deals and making money. Having time to watch TV was beyond him, despite the stretches he spent in airport lounges and on flights to everywhere from Dubai to Australia. Free time was about preparation—which was practically his family’s motto. Well,
his father’s. Not that that had always been the case for Autry. Something he didn’t like to think about.

  Now, though, Autry had found himself with an entire three weeks, twenty-one days, to himself. No necessary meetings. No deals to broker—not until late August, when he’d have to be in Paris for the Thorpe Corp. negotiations. He could be spending these much-needed vacation weeks on the beach in Bali or southern California. Appreciating the view, including sexy women in bikinis. But two of his brothers had shocked him—and the rest of the Jones family—by settling down with wives in the boondocks of Montana.

  Rust Creek Falls. If he looked one way there was a building—barely. Another, Montana wilderness. Walker hadn’t been kidding when he referred to Rust Creek Falls as something of the “Wild West.”

  Speaking of his oldest brother, Walker Jones the Third, who didn’t have a speck of small town in him, the company CEO had not only built a Jones Holdings, Inc. office here, but had built an actual log cabin for him and his new wife, Lindsay Dalton Jones, to live in. Autry wouldn’t have believed it, but he’d seen the cabin with his own eyes at their wedding, back in May. Granted, it was pure luxury, but still. Logs. A cabin. Montana wilderness. Autry expected that of his brother Hudson, who loved ranch life and the open spaces of Wyoming and Montana. Hudson operated the business of the day care for Walker, and had fallen for the manager, Bella Stockton, and now the happily married couple lived together at the Lazy B Ranch.

  Two Jones brothers down. None to go. Well, three, but Autry, despite being thirty-three years old, wasn’t the marrying kind, and though he wasn’t close with any of his brothers, he couldn’t see Gideon and Jensen getting hitched. But if Walker and Hudson had, anything was possible.

  He had these three weeks, zero relationships with his brothers and a chance to change that.

  There was discord between his father, the domineering, controlling Walker Jones the Second, and his brother Walker the Third; their father had given up years ago on “wayward” Hudson following in the family footsteps. If Autry didn’t take this time to try to bond with his brothers a little, maybe smooth over things between them and their father, the family would disintegrate. Unfortunately, his dad didn’t seem to care, nor did his mother, so it was up to Autry. Why he cared so much, he wasn’t sure. But he did. He wanted to know his brothers. Especially now that they’d done something so...unexpected, like falling in love and getting hitched. Making lifetime commitments.

  “Whose daddy are you?” the little red-haired girl asked suddenly, her big eyes on Autry, her crayon poised in the air.

  Autry froze. No one’s. And that’s the way it’s going to stay. “No, sweetheart, I’m not anyone’s daddy. I’m just visiting.”

  Miss Marley smiled at the girl. “This is Mr. Walker’s and Mr. Hudson’s brother, Mr. Autry.”

  “Mr. Walker and Mr. Hudson are nice,” the girl said, then went back to coloring.

  What? Walker was nice? Hudson has his moments, but Autry wouldn’t go so far as to characterize him as nice. What had Rust Creek Falls done to the Jones brothers?

  And what had his family done to him if he thought the words nice and Jones could never be paired in the same sentence?

  Autry looked around the colorful space with its square foam mats with letters of the alphabet, its beanbags and rows of cubbies in primary colors. Kid-size tables and chairs dotted the room. He could see doorways leading into classrooms, a nursery with cribs, and what looked like a break room. The area above the reception desk, with WELCOME spelled out in blocks, was full of photographs of babies and watercolors by “Sophia, age three” and “Marcus, age seven”

  How his brothers spent so much time around kids, Autry had no idea. Autry liked kids just fine. As long as he wasn’t having them or raising them. In fact, Autry had a rule for himself when it came to dating: no women with baby fever. And under no circumstances would he date a single mother.

  Lulu’s sweet face came to mind. A face he hadn’t let himself think about in months. Another big-cheeked baby, but with silky dark hair. Lulu, short for Louisa, had been a package deal with her single mother, beautiful Karinna. Autry had fallen in love with Karinna and soon felt like Lulu was his own flesh and blood. Suddenly the jet-setter had been changing diapers and wanting to stay in and listen to the woman he loved sing lullabies, instead of disappearing for weeks at a time on Jones Holdings business. But a few months later, when she left him for someone even richer, Autry lost not only his heart but the child he’d come to love.

  So single mothers: never again.

  “Ace in the Hole is on Sawmill Street,” Miss Marley said, interrupting his thoughts. “Just past the gas station. Can’t miss it. Oh, and order the ribs. Trust me. Best in town.”

  Ah. Ace in the Hole was starting to sound like a bar and grill. The kind with a big screen TV. Ribs and a good craft beer sounded pretty good. Plus, he was looking forward to seeing his brothers and getting to know their wives. Autry had flown in for the weddings, but had had to leave the next day. Now, he had weeks to solve the mystery of his brothers’ complete turnarounds.

  “Thanks for letting me know, Miss Marley,” Autry said. “I’ll be sure to order the ribs.”

  “Go, Brenna and Travis!” Marley said, giving the baby a little pump in the air. “Imagine that, two of our own on a reality TV show. So exciting!”

  Autry had no idea who Brenna and Travis were, but a reality TV show called The Great Roundup probably had something to do with cattle. Maybe horses?

  “Da,” said the baby in Miss Marley’s grasp, reaching out his arms toward Autry.

  An old ache gripped Autry, catching him off guard. He’d thought he was done with the sudden stabbing pain over what had happened.

  Marley smiled. “That’s not your daddy, Dylan, but yes, he does look like your father with his blond hair and blue eyes.”

  Autry forced a smile. “It was nice to meet you,” he said, extending his hand, then he headed out the door.

  The one thing you could count on in this life was that there would be no babies or children in a bar.

  Ace in the Hole, here I come. And not a minute too soon.

  * * *

  “Wow,” Marissa Fuller said as she and her nine-year-old daughter, Abby, walked into the Ace in the Hole. “Standing room only tonight.” Good thing she’d decided to leave her two younger daughters at home with their grandparents.

  Abby’s face lit up. “This is so exciting, Mom! The first episode of The Great Roundup is finally going to be on TV! Did you ever think a reality TV show would film right here in Rust Creek Falls? I could totally pass out from the anticipation! All those cute cowboys competing in teams for a zillion dollars—in Western feats and wilderness survival...and two who we actually know! I can’t wait to find Janie and watch!”

  How her daughter got that all out in one breath, Marissa would never know. While Abby scanned the crowd for her best friend, Marissa looked around for two empty seats. There was one—right next to her good friend Anne Lattimore, Janie’s mother.

  “Marissa!” Anne called, waving her over. “I’ve been saving you this seat for twenty minutes and have gotten a bunch of mean looks by folks who want it. One guy even offered to buy me the sirloin special if I let him have the chair.”

  “Was he cute?” Abby asked as they approached. “Blond or dark haired? Did he have dimples like Lyle in 2LOVEU?”

  Marissa smiled and shook her head, then gratefully sat down next to Anne at the table for two that was wedged between two others. Her daughter’s favorite subject was 2LOVEU, a boy band she listened to on repeat for hours. Marissa had heard the songs so often they’d grown on her, too.

  “He was cute,” Anne told Abby. “But around fifty. And no dimples, sorry.”

  “Abby, you can sit on my lap, like old times,” Marissa said, squeezing her daughter’s hand.

  A
bby’s eyes widened. “Mom, I’m nine,” she whispered in horror.

  “No worries,” Anne said, smiling at Abby. “Janie’s over there, sitting on the floor in the kids section. She saved you a spot, too.”

  “Bye!” Abby squealed and ran over to the area, where Marissa could see around thirty or so children sitting on foam mats, talking excitedly and munching on the free popcorn the Ace staff was handing out in brown paper bags. There was a good view of the two giant screen televisions on stands on either side of the bar. No matter where you sat in the room, you could see them.

  “You’re the best, Anne,” Marissa said, scooting a bit closer to her friend to avoid being elbowed in the ribs by the woman at the next table. A divorced mom with a full-time job as a receptionist at the veterinarian’s office, Anne had her hands full but her act completely together. Something Marissa was working on. “I meant to get here twenty minutes ago, but Kiera couldn’t find her favorite doll and had the tantrum of all tantrums just as I was leaving. I thought tantrums were supposed to stop by five years old.”

  Anne smiled, pushing a swath of her wavy blond hair behind her ear. “One of my neighbors threw a tantrum this morning over someone’s dog walking on the edge of her property. I don’t think there’s an age limit, sorry.”

  Marissa laughed. “And then Kaylee managed to smush a green bean in her ear at dinner, so I had to deal with a three-year-old sobbing that this means she’s going to turn into a green bean.”

  Anne squeezed Marissa’s hand. “Oh, to be three years old.”

  But finally, Marissa had made it. Her mom and dad, doting grandparents, had shooed her out the door, assuring her they’d help Kiera find the doll, and calm down Kaylee. But even when Marissa needed a night out so badly she could scream, she never felt comfortable leaving her parents to deal with sobs and tantrums. That was Marissa’s job. She was the parent. She was the only parent.

  She may have moved back in with her folks for the sake of the girls—and yes, her sake, too. But she wasn’t about to take advantage of her parents’ kindness and generosity. They’d been there for her two years ago when her husband, Mike, had died. They’d been there when she was struggling to make ends meet. They’d been there when she’d surrendered to the notion that she needed help, and had accepted their offer to move home. But her three daughters were her responsibility, and no matter how tired she was from her job at the sheriff’s office, or comforting a sick child at three in the morning, Marissa was their mom. Despite that, though, living under her parents’ roof sometimes made her feel like one of the kids instead of a twenty-seven-year-old widow, a grown-up.