by Meg Maxwell
“Sounds good.”
But while she ate the melt-in-your-mouth filet mignon and sipped her wine, all she could think about was the man sitting across from her and what it had felt like to be in bed with him, even for all of five minutes. If she could enjoy his company, clothed and naked, without falling in love, she’d give herself this glorious fling before settling back down to everyday life. But how could she not fall in love with Autry Jones?
Chapter Nine
In the Fuller-Rafferty kitchen the next night, Autry was making his specialty: homemade pigs in a blanket. His three helpers were next to him, Kaylee and Kiera on step stools. Kaylee was rolling the dough to smithereens, but Autry believed that pigs in a blanket were un-mess-up-able. They were just too delicious. Kiera cut a wedge of dough for each mini hot dog, and Abby rolled them.
“How are the chefs?” Marissa asked, coming into the kitchen.
“A-plus for everyone,” Autry said. “These are about to go in the oven.”
“I can’t wait to eat them!” Kaylee said.
“Me, too,” Kiera said.
Abby licked her lips. “Me, three!”
As Autry moved to the oven with the tray, he heard Abby whisper to her sisters, “This is what it’s like to have a dad.”
Kaylee tilted her head and stared at him.
Kiera ran over and hugged his leg.
Marissa had lost her smile, her complexion going white.
His heart lurched.
“I remember,” Abby whispered to her sisters. “And it’s just like this.”
“It’s nice,” Kiera said.
Kaylee nodded.
Marissa forced a smile and backed out of the kitchen, presumably to give her daughters privacy, to have this moment for themselves.
As uncomfortable as the whole thing had made him, he learned right then everything he needed to know about Marissa Fuller. That she would put her kids first. Always. As she should. More than ever, he wanted to give her the world. The universe. The stars. But she wouldn’t take anything from him, nothing more than a filet mignon dinner.
“Autry, are you anyone’s daddy?” Kiera asked.
Poke. Heart. Stab. Autry turned to face the sweet five-year-old. “Nope. I don’t have any children of my own.”
“But you’re so good at being a daddy,” Kaylee said.
“He really is,” Abby whispered to her sisters.
“You girls know I’m leaving town in a couple weeks. Leaving the country, actually. I fly all over the world for my job. A dad would need to be around for his kids. So that’s why I’m not a dad.”
“You could stay here,” Kiera said. “In Rust Creek Falls.”
“He can’t,” Abby said. “He’s the president of his company.”
“Oh,” Kiera and Kaylee said at the same time.
The good news was that Abby understood. She didn’t look sad. Or wistful.
Just as the four of them finished cleaning up the kitchen, the oven timer dinged.
“Looks like our pigs in a blanket are ready!” Autry said. “Why don’t you gals head into the family room and get good seats? I’ll be in in a minute.”
When he was alone in the kitchen, he sucked in a breath. He and Marissa had come to the right conclusion last night. If they were romantic, they’d act romantic, and Abby, especially, would notice immediately. Suddenly she would look at him as a potential father figure instead of as a family friend. And he couldn’t risk that, for the girl’s sake. He cared about her and her family too much for that. He’d focus instead on being a good cowboy.
Pigs in a blanket on a platter, he brought them into the family room. Marissa’s dad had made his famous three-bean dip with a side of crackers, and her mom had lime rickeys in a pitcher. Everyone loaded up their plates and cups and they sat down to watch episode two of The Great Roundup.
Marissa was next to Autry on the love seat. He could feel her glancing at him now and again, clearly trying to assess how he felt about Abby’s comment.
“I think it was sweet,” he whispered to Marissa.
“I think you’re sweet,” she whispered back.
He squeezed her hand and helped himself to a lime rickey, a drink he’d never had before. The lime juice, sugar and club soda concoction with its lime garnish was sweet and tart and refreshing.
“Yay, it’s starting!” Abby said, her attention glued to the TV.
Just like last week, the contestants rode up to the canteen site on horseback to where the host, Jasper Ridge—once again decked out all in black—awaited. Autry recognized Brenna and Travis, the pair from Rust Creek Falls, who leaned over for a romantic kiss, which got some claps and calls to get a room from the other contestants.
“Aww, they’re so in love!” Abby squealed.
Summer Knight, the rodeo star who’d made it clear she had her eye on stealing Travis from Brenna, sidled up close to him and winked at the camera. Autry wondered how much of this was staged for ratings and how much was real. It was hard to tell. From Brenna’s narrowed eyes at Summer, it could be either. Travis had something of an aw-shucks look on his face, as though he couldn’t help it that women were throwing themselves at him.
The first challenge involved cutting and baling hay. Travis sure was good at that. Brenna—not so much. But then again, she was a hairstylist not a cowgirl.
“Will Brenna be eliminated?” Marissa’s mom asked.
“Oh, I doubt it,” her dad said. “Others are doing even worse.”
“I’m rooting for Brenna not to get eliminated!” Abby said.
Autry glanced around at the roomful of relatives enjoying the show over a home-cooked meal. This sure was...nice. And comfortable. He tried to imagine the Joneses ever doing something like this. Well, once in a blue moon over the years there was Thanksgiving football, but that never lasted long, since his dad would invariably get a business call and one or two of his brothers would have a date or other plans, including himself. None of them particularly wanted to hang out.
The Fuller-Rafferty clan was very lucky, and one thing he admired so much about them was that they knew it. Some folks took this kind of family closeness for granted, but this crew didn’t. Maybe because they’d lost so much? Regardless, they knew what they had and they treasured it.
A chill snaked up Autry’s back. In just a couple weeks he’d be gone and this would be nothing but a memory. A nice memory, at least.
As the show wound down and the girls decided who they thought would get eliminated, Autry thought about the kids competition and the events listed on the entry form. He took out his phone and started typing notes about the challenges he and Abby would practice.
“Mr. Autry, you might not know this,” Abby said during a commercial break, “but our house rule is no cell phone use in the family room.”
Autry glanced up at her. His family could have used that rule when he was growing up. “And it’s a good rule. But I’m actually using it as a paper and pencil to come up with ideas for the challenges we should practice for. I haven’t walked backward while holding a cowboy hat with a raw egg in it in a long time. Maybe even never. Probably never.”
Marissa laughed. “What else was on the poster?”
“I remember a three-legged race while trying to rope a robotic calf,” Abby said.
“I have a robot dog,” Kiera said. “Mr. Autry gave him to me. You can use him if you want.”
Abby flung her arms around her sister. “Kiera, did I ever tell you you’re an awesome sister?”
Kiera grinned.
“I want to give something,” Kaylee said.
“How about if we borrow your jump rope and use it for a lasso?” Abby asked.
Kaylee shrugged. “Okay.”
“You’re all awesome,” Marissa said, smiling at h
er daughters.
“Roping a robotic dog while three legged,” Autry said. “No problem.”
The commercial ended and they all turned their attention back to the The Great Roundup. “Yay!” Abby cheered. “Travis won immunity! And Brenna wasn’t eliminated!”
There were high fives around the room for the hometown contestants. A guy named Dean ended up getting eliminated at the end of the show.
When the show ended, Abby popped up. “Let’s practice our roping skills!”
“It’s late enough as it is,” Marissa said. “Way past every Fuller girl’s bedtime.”
“Aww,” the girls said in unison.
“Autry, can we practice tomorrow?” Abby asked. “Please? Pretty please with bacon on top?”
Part of him wanted to run for the hills. The other part wanted to stay with this family forever. But since he’d made a promise to Abby, coming back tomorrow and being there for the competition was as far as he had to think about right now. “You bet,” he said. “We only have one week.”
“Double yay!” Kiera said. “Mr. Autry will be coming over tomorrow, too!”
He glanced at Marissa, who seemed to be taking a deep breath and a step back.
You’re so good at being a Daddy...
As the five-year-old’s words came back to him, he knew he was the one who should be taking deep breaths and a big step in the opposite direction. But how did you do that when your heart kept you coming back, anyway?
* * *
When Autry came over the next afternoon, he noticed Marissa hanging back a bit, almost as if she was keeping watch. Assessing. Today he would focus on practicing for the competition and try to keep his eyes and thoughts off Marissa Fuller.
Ha. Like that was even possible.
Abby raced upstairs to get Kiera’s remote control dog and Kaylee’s jump rope, which was a bit too short, and then they all headed into the backyard. Marissa’s dad got some rope and tied their two legs together. Each got a length of rope to use as a lasso, and with a little help, Autry had Abby lassoing like a pro. Well, like a nine-year-old pro.
“Okay, let the dog-calf go,” Autry said.
With the robot on the move, Autry and Abby tried catching up to it, taking turns trying to lasso it. They failed miserably, mostly because they were both laughing so hard. Autry had to wipe away tears from how ridiculously funny it all was.
“Well, we might not come in first place in that challenge,” Abby said, then doubled over in laughter.
Next they moved on to the raw egg in the cowboy hat while walking backward challenge, and neither dropped their eggs, so that was a plus. Tomorrow, Autry would be back to practice the hay-on-the-head challenge, where teams had to strap on a hat with a pound of hay, and whoever was fastest over the finish line with the most hay left won.
He was enjoying himself a little too much. It was time to go back to the Maverick Manor and regroup.
As he was leaving, Abby wrapped him in a hug. “You’re the best, Mr. Autry.”
He glanced at Marissa, who smiled warily. Her mom lifted her chin. Well, this was happening, so he’d see it through. And then he’d be in Paris. Far, far away from the Fullers. He’d miss them. That much he knew.
* * *
Later that afternoon, Marissa’s dad offered to take Abby and her best friend, Janie, to Kalispell to see the movie they’d been talking about for weeks, and Marissa’s mom was baking cookies with the little ones, so Marissa and her friend Anne Lattimore planned a girls’ night out. A much-needed one—even if they’d both be home by eight thirty. They hadn’t been able to talk in depth last week at the premiere of The Great Roundup at the Ace in the Hole because their table had been jammed in between others and they knew just about everyone in the bar. But tonight, episode two having aired yesterday, the Ace would be only moderately crowded.
When Marissa arrived, the Ace was only half-full. Anne sat in the back, her blond hair shining in the dim lighting. After ordering two beers and a plate of nachos with the works, the friends sat back, surveying the crowd.
“Every time someone comes into the vet’s office, they ask me if I want to be fixed up with one of the five Dalton brothers,” Anne said. “They’re handsome, every last one of them, but I can’t work up any interest in dating anyone. It’s been five years since my divorce. What’s my issue?”
“I think your issue looks a lot like my issue—tall, blond and blue eyed.”
Anne laughed, then quickly sobered up. “Yup. I don’t like to admit it. But when the boy you loved your entire life, from playing in the sandbox to high school, the boy you thought you’d marry, up and leaves town without explaining why... I guess it’ll always feel unsettled.”
Marissa felt for Anne. When Daniel Stockton was eighteen, his parents had died in a car accident, leaving seven children behind, most of whom were split up. Daniel had left town, breaking Anne’s heart. And even though she’d married someone else, her heart had always belonged to Daniel Stockton. Autry’s brother Hudson was married to Bella Stockton, one of the Stockton kids. She and her brother Jamie had been looking for their missing siblings for almost a year now.
“Sometimes I wish I could just ask him why,” Anne said. “I know he was grief stricken over his parents’ deaths. And I know his grandparents didn’t think they had the money or the room to take in the older boys who were of age. But to just leave town? Leave his younger siblings?”
As Marissa squeezed her friend’s hand, the waitress arrived with their beers and nachos. She and Anne clinked their glasses. As they did, Marissa noticed her friend’s eye caught by a group of five men at the bar.
“Each of Phil Dalton’s five sons is so good-looking,” Anne said, upping her chin at the group of Daltons, who’d arrived in town last month with their father. Marissa noted that several single women were checking out Zach Dalton, with his longish dark hair and green eyes. “But you’re right. I guess Daniel Stockton is standing between me and getting back out there. Maybe I should just start dating, force myself.”
“I think you’ll date when you’re ready or when the right man presents himself. I certainly didn’t think I was ready to date, but ever since I met Autry, it’s like I’m led by my heart instead of my head. If he lived here permanently, I’d date him in a heartbeat.”
“Any chance he’ll stick around?”
Marissa shook her head. “He’s not a small-town guy. Or a family guy. He’s got Jones Holdings, Inc. in his blood and veins. Plus he’s a jet-setter. He’d never be happy here.”
“I’ve seen the way that man looks at you, Marissa. I think he’d be happy anywhere you are.”
Marissa laughed and waved her hand dismissively. “In my dreams, maybe.”
“To dreams, then,” Anne said, and they clinked to that and dug into the nachos.
* * *
Over the next few days, Marissa kept a bit of distance between herself and Autry. He came over every day to practice with Abby, and her heart squeezed even more every time he made sure the two little Fuller girls felt included, even though they were too young to participate in the event itself. On Friday night, as Marissa was tucking Abby into bed, her daughter sat up and wrapped her in a tight hug. She hadn’t had one of those from Abby in a while.
“What’s that for?” Marissa asked.
“Tomorrow I’m going to feel like everyone else for the first time in a long time,” Abby whispered. “You know? I mean, Janie’s mom and dad are divorced, but she sees her dad all the time and he’s doing The Great Roundup Kids Competition with her. And now I’ll have someone standing in as my dad.”
Marissa touched her sweet, beautiful daughter’s face. “That means a lot to you, huh?”
Abby nodded, then burst into tears. “Is that wrong?”
Oh no, what was this? Marissa pulled Abby against her and gently
wiped away her tears. “Why would that be wrong, sweetie?”
But fresh tears streamed down Abby’s cheeks. “Because I have a dad. Even though he’s not here anymore. He’ll always be my dad. Maybe he’s watching from heaven and it’s hurting his feelings.”
Marissa held Abby to her, stroking her dark, silky hair. “Abby, your daddy is always watching over us. And I think he’d be very touched that Mr. Autry is going to be your partner in the competition. You know why?”
“Why?”
“Because it was nice of Mr. Autry to want to be your partner. And your dad would like anyone who was kind to you and our family. Your daddy wants you to be happy, sweetheart.”
Abby thought about that for a moment, then nodded. “I think so, too, Mom.” She smiled and settled back down in bed, her hands around the ancient Raggedy Ann doll that had been passed down from grandmother to mother to daughter. Abby’s eyes drifted closed. “’Night, Mommy.”
Tears stung Marissa’s eyes and she blinked them away. “Good night, my sweet girl. I love you so much.”
“I love you, too.”
Before she could start bawling, Marissa tiptoed out of Abby’s room.
Chapter Ten
“Listen, Dad, I have to be somewhere this morning—” Autry glanced at his watch “—in five minutes. So we’ll have to continue this discussion later. Or preferably not at all.”
“You listen to me, Autry,” his father bellowed. “I want you on that flight this morning. My admin already booked it. Just have your hotel pack your bags and be at the gate on time. End of story.”
Walker Jones the Second had called every night since Alexandra had tried to lure him home, screeching up a storm about how Autry had hurt Alexandra’s feelings and that she’d reported he’d chosen “some country mouse” over her and wouldn’t return home with her. Autry had told his father he would finish his vacation, that he was enjoying time with his brothers and getting to know their wives and he had zero interest in Alexandra.
“If you think I’m losing you to that hick town and some country mouse, you’re wrong!” Walker the Second had shouted during last night’s call.