Her Favorite Maverick

by Christine Rimmer

  And then they went to bed—and right to sleep for the first time since he started spending his nights at her place. He wrapped himself around her, his front to her back. She smiled in contentment and closed her eyes...

  And when she woke in the morning, he was already gone.

  In the kitchen she found more sketches and a note.

  I’ll be back by three. I’ll bring dinner—don’t argue. Just takeout, I promise. And don’t try to tell me it’s too far to go for takeout. I’m going to Kalispell anyway. Hint: it’s 43 inches and it has your name on it.

  * * *

  That night he set up the new TV. He’d even bought surround-sound speakers. She accused him of being extravagant.

  “You’re going to love it.” He grabbed her hand, pulled her down into his lap and nuzzled her neck. “Now, how ’bout some popcorn?”

  She popped up a big bowl of it and they watched a heist movie.

  Later, in bed, he was playful, tender and demanding. Really, it was so good with him. Everything. All of it. The sex, definitely. But all the other stuff, too.

  He was always looking for ways to please her, to help her, to make her life better somehow. And she liked just being with him, talking about nothing in particular. Or not even talking at all.

  And Opal. That he’d given her Opal, well, that meant so much to her. The kitten was healthy, smart, affectionate and just too cute. It was as if he’d found that special something she hadn’t even known she longed for, a childhood wish never realized and destined to remain unfulfilled.

  Until now. Because of him.

  He was so good with Sophia. Her daughter adored him.

  That could be difficult if they broke up. Or was Sophia too young to miss him?

  Yet again, she reminded herself not to think that way. No way was Logan considering breaking up with her any time soon. He was always saying how happy he was with her, how crazy he was for Sophia. And he proved the truth of his words in action every day. No, it probably wouldn’t last forever, what Sarah had with him. But nothing ever did.

  Life in Rust Creek Falls was turning out to be pretty good for her and her baby. And she needed to keep looking on the bright side of things.

  The bright side most definitely included her relationship with Logan Crawford. She promised herself she would keep that firmly in mind, not let the hard lessons she’d learned from past disappointments ruin a really good thing.

  For as long as it lasted, she would love every minute.

  Chapter Nine

  That Wednesday, Logan asked her to come on out to the ranch for a picnic dinner. Her last appointment ended early, so she arrived sooner than she’d said she would, at a little after five.

  With Sophia asleep in her carrier on one arm and the always-present diaper bag slung on her other shoulder, she went up the front steps.

  The door opened before she reached it.

  “The lovely Sarah,” said Max. “And her cute little baby.” He stepped back and ushered her in.

  “Where’s Logan?” Sarah asked as Max shut the door behind her.

  “He’ll be down in a minute. Here, let me help you with that.” He took the diaper bag off her shoulder and hung it on the coatrack, then he swept out a hand toward the arch that led to the living room. “Come on in. Have a seat.”

  She didn’t trust him. But she couldn’t run for cover every time Logan’s dad glanced her way.

  Head high, expression serene, Sarah went into the living room and took a seat on the leather sofa. She set the carrier on the cushion beside her.

  Max took the big easy chair across from her. “I’m glad to have a moment with you, a little time to talk.” He smiled that charming smile of his, but his eyes were cool. Calculating.

  She sat up a little straighter. “Look, Max, I don’t know what you’re leading up to here, but—”

  He cut her off with a wave of his hand. “It’s simple, really. I just want to, er, touch base.”

  “Let me be blunt. You and I have nothing to talk about. But if you insist, I think it would better if we included Logan in whatever you’re about to discuss with me.”

  “Now, Sarah, this is not a discussion. I only want to remind you that Logan is thirty-three and has never had a serious relationship. He’s a bad bet. And for you, with a baby to think of, well, you have to see that it’s unwise for you to get involved with him.”

  Okay, it was just possible that, given her own not-so-stellar experience with men and romance, she actually kind of agreed with Logan’s dad—she’d even said as much to Lily that night at Maverick Manor. But her doubts about Logan were for her to deal with in her own mind and heart. She and Logan had an understanding. They wanted to be together for right now and that was working out beautifully for them. Max Crawford had no right to try to make her choices for her.

  True, in the past, it had hurt her that Logan’s dad seemed to view her as unsuitable for his oldest son simply because she had a baby. Up till now, she’d just wanted to escape, run away like a hurt child, when he treated her unkindly.

  But this was becoming ridiculous. It was time she stood up to him.

  Drawing her shoulders back, she folded her hands in her lap and said pleasantly, “So you’re saying that Logan is a bad bet for me, but not for those other women you had Viv set him up with?”

  Max blinked in surprise. Apparently, he hadn’t expected a rational argument from her. “Ahem. You don’t understand, Sarah.”

  “That’s because you really aren’t making any sense, Max.”

  “It’s, um, for your own good and the good of your child. You should at least know the statistics on the situation.”

  He had statistics to convince her to walk away from Logan? Really? She asked politely, “What statistics?”

  “Well, just that if a man of Logan’s age hasn’t been married or in a serious, committed relationship, his chances of ever getting married are very low—and if he does get married, it’s not all that likely to be a marriage that lasts.”

  Did she believe him? Not one bit. “I have to tell you, Max. I think you just made up those ‘statistics’ to fit your weak argument. I mean, if Logan were over forty, yeah, I might agree. When a guy gets past forty and he’s happily single, any woman could find herself wondering if he simply prefers the single life. That might make him a bad marriage bet. But a lot of men wait till their thirties to settle down, so in Logan’s case, your argument doesn’t apply—not that I’m hoping to settle down with Logan.”

  Max’s eyes widened. “Er...you’re not?”

  “We enjoy each other’s company and we’re having a good time.”

  “I didn’t, er, well...” Max was actually at a loss for words. It was a rare moment and Sarah let herself enjoy it.

  “And also,” she added, “if you really believe what you’re telling me, that he’s such a bad marriage bet, why set him up with some other poor girl when, according to your reasoning, he’ll only break her heart in the end?”

  Max hemmed and hawed. “Well, now, Sarah, I’m only trying to help you realize that—”

  “What do you think you’re doing, Dad?” Logan stood in the open arch to the entry hall. His hair was wet and his lean cheeks freshly shaved. The sight of him made Sarah’s heart ache in the sweetest sort of way—and that ache scared her more than all of Max’s disapproving glances, dire warnings and fake statistics.

  Max jumped up. “Sarah and I were just having a little chat, that’s all.”

  Logan came straight for her, stopping at the other end of the sofa. He gazed down at her with concern. “Whatever he said, don’t believe a word of it.”

  Sophia spotted him then, gave a happy giggle and waved her hands. “Hey there, beautiful.” He dropped to the sofa on the other side of the carrier and scooped her up against his broad chest.

  “Ga, dah,” she said and grabb
ed for his nose.

  “Well.” Max stared at the man and the baby. Sarah couldn’t tell if he looked bemused—or crestfallen. “I’ll leave you alone. Wonderful to see you, Sarah.”

  She forced a nod and a smile. “See you later, Max.”

  Logan shook his head as Max disappeared through the dining room and out the door to the kitchen. “What did he say?”

  Sarah rose and picked up the empty carrier. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “If he’s upset you—”

  “Logan, I’m not upset.” It was true. She was pretty much over Max and his issues with her as a potential bride for his oldest son.

  She wasn’t a potential bride—not for Logan or anyone. And Max had done her no harm.

  In fact, their little chat had been a good thing. It had served to remind her that she was single and planned on staying that way. She liked Logan—maybe too much. He was kind and so generous. He made her laugh and she loved being with him. And whenever he kissed her, she wanted him to kiss her again, to keep kissing her and touching her and doing all those wonderful things to her that made her feel desired and satisfied in all the best ways.

  But he wouldn’t break her heart. She wouldn’t let him. What they had together was no lifetime commitment. She wasn’t counting on anything. They were both having a wonderful time for as long as it lasted.

  And, she promised herself, she was perfectly happy with that.

  * * *

  Logan kind of had a bad feeling about whatever had gone down between his dad and Sarah while he was in the shower.

  But Sarah insisted it was nothing, so he didn’t pressure her to share the gory details. Max wasn’t going to change and if she’d come to grips with that and decided not to let the old man bother her, that was all to the good. He had plans for the afternoon and he felt relieved that his dad hadn’t ruined Sarah’s mood.

  Logan had packed a simple picnic, with sandwiches, chips and dip, a bottle of wine and cookies from Daisy’s for dessert. It was gorgeous out, with the temperature in the high seventies, not too much wind and the sky a pure, cloudless blue.

  Sarah carried the basket of food. He took the baby, the diaper bag and the picnic blanket. They strolled along the dirt road past the barn and the horse pasture to a spot he’d chosen under the dappled shade of an old bur oak.

  “It’s pretty here,” she remarked approvingly. They spread the blanket. He put Sophia down on it and Sarah gave her a toy to chew on. The baby made her happy nonsense sounds and stared up through the branches. She even managed to roll over and push up on her hands a couple of times.

  He poured them wine in paper cups and they ate. When Sophia got fussy, Sarah gave her a bottle and they took turns helping her hold it. Sophia was getting better at controlling her own bottle every day, it seemed to him. She also had two teeth coming in on the bottom in front. He could see the white rims peeking out of her gums whenever she gave him one of her giant smiles.

  Kids. Logan had never seen himself as a guy who wanted children—no more than he’d ever thought he might get married.

  But now he’d met Sophia. And lately, kids seemed like a pretty good idea to him.

  And marriage? Well, he was kind of changing his opinion on that, too. The more time he spent with Sarah, the more he started thinking that he wouldn’t mind being married at all.

  He even wanted to be married.

  As long as he could claim Sarah as his bride.

  He had that urge to go for it—right then and there. The urge to pop the question now, as they sat beneath the old oak eating their cookies, watching Sophia hold her own bottle. He wanted to grab Sarah’s hand and tell her exactly how he felt about her, what he wanted with her. To say how good forever sounded as long as he could share it with her.

  But then he tried to remember that she’d had a rough time of it, and she wasn’t all that trusting when it came to the male species. He felt that he knew her, that he understood her in all the ways that really mattered. Sometimes, in the past few days, he kind of forgot that he hadn’t known her all his life.

  He had to keep reminding himself that they hadn’t been together for any length of time at all—just a week and a day. No way that was long enough for her to come to trust him. Any sudden moves involving emotional intimacy could scare her right off.

  He didn’t blame her for being commitment-shy.

  That guy she’d lived with, Tuck Evans, was just a stone idiot. Logan wouldn’t mind meeting that fool out behind the local cowboy bar, the Ace in the Hole, and going a few rounds with him. Then he’d thank him for blowing it royally and giving Logan a chance to have Sarah for his own.

  As for that Mercer dude, Logan wouldn’t mind doing a lot worse than beating him up. That guy had cheated on his wife and turned his back on Sophia. There were no words bad enough for someone like that.

  Their loss, my gain, Logan reminded himself.

  “Got a little surprise for Sophia,” he said, as they were packing up the remains of their picnic.

  Sarah gave him the side-eye. “I get nervous when you talk like that.”

  He leaned toward her, pulling her close and claiming her sweet lips in a slow, lazy kiss. Sophia, on the blanket between them, giggled up at them and crowed, “Ah, da, ga!”

  Logan ran the backs of his fingers down Sarah’s velvety cheek. This is happiness. Who knew? “Come on. You’re going to love it.” He kissed her again, because once was never enough.

  She picked up the baby. He pulled his phone from his pocket and zipped off a quick text to Xander.

  Bring Petunia. Now.

  “What was that about?” Sarah watched him suspiciously as he put on his hat, tossed the blanket over his shoulder and grabbed the empty carrier, the basket and the diaper bag.

  “I told you. It’s a surprise.” He started back toward the house.

  She straightened Sophia’s little sun hat and fell in step beside him. “Okay, I know you’re up to something and I know that it’s something I’m not going to like.”

  He chuckled. “Now, what kind of attitude is that?”

  “The attitude of a woman who’s seen the way you operate, Logan Crawford.”

  “You’ve got it all wrong.”

  “You’re trying to tell me you’re not up to something?” She was just too cute.

  He would have thrown an arm around her if he didn’t have his hands full of all the stuff they’d carried out there. “No.”

  She frowned. “So you’re admitting that you are up to something?”

  “That’s right, I am—and like I said, you’re gonna love it.”

  Right then, Xander appeared from behind the barn leading a palomino pony.

  * * *

  Sarah could not believe her eyes. “Oh, you didn’t.”

  Logan beamed. “He’s a rescue. A Shetland. Just ten hands high, about eight years old with a really sweet disposition. I can’t wait to see her ride him.”

  Sarah stopped in her tracks. “Her? You mean Sophia? Logan, she’ll be six months old next week. That’s way too young to be riding a pony.”

  He stopped, too. At least he had the grace to look a little sheepish now. “Okay. I know she’s too young. What I meant to say was, I can’t wait to see her ride him when she’s old enough.”

  When she’s old enough...

  Those words just made it all worse somehow.

  Sophia wouldn’t be old enough to ride that pony for years.

  Years.

  Sarah couldn’t take on the cost and commitment of caring for a pony in the hopes that someday her little girl might want to ride him. And she couldn’t accept the pony as a gift for Sophia and expect Logan to keep him here at the Ambling A for her.

  She and Logan, well, they didn’t have years. That had been brought sharply home to her not two hours ago, thanks to Logan’s own father. The point was t
o enjoy every moment, live completely in the now and not expect anything. Not to start making starry-eyed plans for some lovely, coupled-up future.

  Sarah had spent her whole life looking ahead. She’d planned and schemed and set goals and kept her eyes on the prize of a great career, a successful marriage—kids eventually, after she made partner and could afford really good childcare.

  And what had she gotten for all her “looking ahead”?

  Nothing she’d planned on, that was for certain.

  “Sarah.” Logan dropped everything right there at his feet in the road. He stepped over the picnic basket and moved in close, pulling her and Sophia toward him, wrapping his strong arms around both of them.

  With a long sigh, she let her body sway against him.

  Oh, it felt good, so very good, to lean on him.

  But she really couldn’t afford to lean on a man, to get her hopes up that she could trust him, that she could count on him—and take the chance of having those hopes crushed to bits. She’d had her hopes crushed way more than enough already, thank you.

  “Hey,” he whispered. “It’s okay. I promise. If you don’t want her to ride Petunia, she won’t ride Petunia.” Snuggled in between the two of them, Sophia cooed in contentment. Logan tipped Sarah’s chin up. “I get it. I do. I didn’t mean to scare you. Petunia needed a home and so I took him and I couldn’t help thinking that someday he might be just right for Sophia. But that’s all. It was just a thought and it doesn’t have to mean anything, I promise. It’s nothing on you. I took the pony and I am responsible for him.”

  She sucked in a deep breath and her racing heart slowed down a little. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Xander about twenty yards away. He’d stopped in his tracks. Smart man. The pony waited right behind him, patiently nibbling the weeds that grew in the center of the dirt road.

  Logan pressed his forehead to hers. “You all right?”

  “Yeah. I, um, overreacted. Somewhat. I guess.”