Maverick Christmas Surprise

by Brenda Harlen

  Still, his eyes followed her hand as she picked up a fry and moved it toward her mouth. Watching him, she chuckled softly. “Yeah, I bet you’d like to try these, wouldn’t you? But you need a couple of teeth before you’ll be ready to tackle something like this—although the way you’ve been gnawing on that pacifier, I wouldn’t be surprised if the first ones aren’t too far in the distance.”

  “When do babies usually get teeth?” Wilder asked.

  “Usually around the six-month mark, but first teeth can show up as early as three months or as late as the first birthday.”

  “How do you know so much about these things?” he wondered.

  “I read a lot.”

  “All those books you bought for Leighton?” he guessed.

  She frowned. “Why do you assume I bought them?”

  “Am I wrong?”

  “No,” she admitted. “I just wondered why you leaped to that conclusion.”

  “I won’t pretend that I knew your sister very well, but based on what I did know about her, she wasn’t the type to read about something if she could do it.”

  “I think that’s why she asked me to be her birthing partner,” Beth said. “Because she knew I’d study the course materials and take notes in childbirth classes, so it wouldn’t matter if she didn’t pay attention because I’d be there to talk her through it.”

  “So you were there—when she had the baby?”

  “Yeah.” She looked at Cody and smiled at the memory of his face all scrunched up and red as he screamed at the indignity of being born. “I was there.”

  He picked up his burger, bit into it.

  She didn’t offer any more detailed information, because she wasn’t sure how much he’d want to know.

  But when he’d finished chewing and swallowed, he asked, “What was it like?”

  “The birth?”

  He nodded.

  “Long and sweaty and messy.” She smiled again. “And the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.”

  “How long?” he wondered.

  “Sixteen hours,” she said. “Leighton was a trouper through it all. There were a few scary moments when labor stalled and they considered a C-section, but she pushed through.”

  She’d thought her sister was afraid of being cut open—a not unreasonable fear—and only found out after the fact that what her sister had feared most was the possibility of a scar that might prevent her from wearing a bikini at the beach.

  And though a lot of people might think it a shallow rationale, Beth understood the root of her sister’s insecurities. Because while Leighton had struggled in school, she’d quickly learned that being “such a beautiful child” had a certain intrinsic value—and she’d capitalized on it. She wasn’t just pretty, she was popular. While Lisbeth spent her evenings at home with her head stuck in a book, Leighton was usually out with friends.

  Because she had been known as “Lisbeth” back then. After all, it was what her parents had always called her and the name they’d put on her birth certificate. But the summer before Lisbeth started high school, Leighton had suddenly started calling her “Beth.”

  The reason, she explained without apology, was that she didn’t want it to be so obvious to her friends and the other popular kids at school that they were sisters. Even though Lisbeth would be in her junior year by the time her sister was a freshman, Leighton had no doubt that she’d be immediately accepted by the in-crowd and didn’t want anyone to connect her with “Little Miss Perfect.”

  Beth could have protested, but dropping the first syllable of her name seemed like a small thing to help her sister. Or maybe she felt as if she owed her something, because learning had always come so easily to Beth while Leighton had struggled to attain good grades.

  As a result, her sister had learned to exploit her other attributes. Unfortunately, those attributes were superficial, so that even when she was laboring to bring new life into the world, she wasn’t able to embrace and celebrate that miracle without worrying about stretch marks and scars that might diminish her sense of self-worth.

  “But Leighton battled through,” Beth said, continuing her explanation of her sister’s labor to Wilder. “And, a few hours later, Cody was born weighing seven pounds ten ounces and measuring nineteen and a half inches. He also had a sprinkling of dark hair and a very healthy set of lungs.” She smiled at the memory of those lungs announcing his arrival to everyone in the maternity wing of the hospital, then her smile faded as she looked at Wilder across the table. “I’m sorry you weren’t given the option to be there.”

  “So am I,” he said.

  “Would you have wanted to be there?” she asked, surprised by the sincere regret she heard in his tone.

  “I would have stepped up,” he assured her.

  “That’s not what I asked.”

  He took a long sip of his cola, then he nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “I would have wanted to be there.”

  Before she could say anything else, Raina appeared to clear away their empty plates.

  “Can I get you anything for dessert?” the server asked.

  Wilder looked at Beth, who shook her head.

  “No, thanks,” he said. “Just the check.”

  He reached into his back pocket for his wallet as the server returned with the requested check.

  But Beth was quicker, having already slid her credit card out of her wallet, and she immediately offered it as payment.

  “What are you doing?” Wilder protested.

  “Buying you lunch,” she told him. “It’s the least I can do, considering that I’m not paying to stay at your place.”

  “Fine, I’ll let you buy lunch,” he relented. “But you can’t take out your wallet again for the rest of the day.”

  Chapter Eight

  “You said you wanted to go to the General Store,” Beth remarked as they entered. “You didn’t mention that it was Crawford’s General Store.”

  “But I did warn you about walking down Sawmill Street and bumping into my relatives,” he reminded her, as they approached a pretty blonde at the checkout counter. “And this one is my third cousin twice removed, or something like that.”

  “But you can call me Natalie,” the clerk said, with a warm smile.

  “And this is Beth,” Wilder said, continuing the introductions.

  “It’s nice to meet you,” Beth said automatically.

  But the other woman had already turned her attention to the car seat in Wilder’s hand. “And I’m guessing this is Cody,” she said, crouching for a closer look at the baby. “Maggie told me there was a new baby at the Ambling A.”

  Beth looked questioningly at Wilder.

  “Maggie’s married to Natalie’s brother Jesse,” he told her. “Maggie and Jesse loaned us the crib and rocking chair.”

  Beth nodded, recognizing the names now that she had a context.

  “So what brings you in today?” Natalie asked. “Just making the rounds through town to meet the family?”

  “Beth’s having enough trouble adjusting to the Montana weather. I don’t think she needs the shock of being subjected to our family.”

  “The Crawfords aren’t so bad,” Natalie said, then winked at Beth. “Although I’ve heard some rumors about the Dallas branch of the family tree.”

  Her warm smile and easy manner immediately put Beth at ease.

  Wilder ignored Natalie’s teasing remark. “We’re here because Beth needs some underwear,” he said.

  And that quickly, Beth’s feeling of ease vanished.

  “What?” She squawked the question as her cheeks grew hot. She’d only had one extra pair of panties in her duffel bag, because she’d only planned on spending one night at her sister’s, but how could Wilder know that?

  “Long underwear,” he clarified.

  But Beth still couldn�
��t look at him. Couldn’t believe that this cowboy she’d known all of two days had brought her here to shop for underwear—even if only the thermal kind.

  “Beth’s from Dallas,” he continued his explanation. “So she’s ill-prepared for our winter.”

  “You’re the little guy’s mom?” the other woman guessed.

  “His aunt,” Beth clarified.

  “Oooh, plot twist,” Natalie said gleefully.

  Wilder rolled his eyes.

  “How long are you going to be in Rust Creek Falls?” Natalie asked Beth.

  “Seven to ten days, apparently.”

  “Then you’re going to need a real coat,” the clerk told her. “And some decent footwear, too.”

  Beth’s frigid toes automatically curled inside her unlined boots.

  “Avery said she’s got a down-filled jacket that Beth can borrow,” Wilder said. “Since she can’t get it zipped up over her belly right now, anyway.”

  “She’s probably got a dozen pairs of boots, too,” Natalie guessed.

  “But her feet are bigger than Beth’s.”

  “And how do you know that?” Beth demanded.

  “Because I asked.”

  “You didn’t ask me.”

  “No, I looked at the label inside your boots,” he acknowledged. “You wear a seven, Avery’s a nine. But Sarah said she’s got a pair of size eights you can borrow.”

  “A pair of thick socks would make those work,” Natalie noted.

  “She’s going to want some of those, too,” Wilder said.

  “She would very much appreciate being able to decide what she does and doesn’t need,” Beth said pointedly.

  “I’m only trying to help.”

  “A coffee run would be helpful,” Natalie said.

  “I don’t want coffee,” he said.

  “Well, I do,” the clerk said. “More importantly, I don’t think Beth wants you hovering while she picks out underwear.”

  “Thank you,” Beth said when Wilder had finally gone.

  The other woman smiled. “Sometimes men are so clueless, blunt is the only option.”

  “It was kind of Wilder to consider what I might need,” Beth allowed. “But it is a little awkward to discuss undergarments with a man I barely know.”

  “Agreed,” Natalie said. “Now the key to surviving a Montana winter is layers. Long underwear refers to thermal undergarments that you wear over your usual underwear and under your clothes.”

  “I know what long underwear is,” Beth said. “I just—”

  “Got flustered by a handsome cowboy talking about your underwear?” Natalie teased.

  Beth’s cheeks burned hotter. “Apparently.”

  The other woman grinned. “So you do think he’s handsome?”

  “I also need regular underwear,” she confided, ignoring Natalie’s question. She did not want to discuss Wilder’s handsomeness or acknowledge—even to herself—that her knees turned to jelly every time he stood a little too close. “I didn’t plan on being gone more than a single night, so I’ve only got one spare.”

  “We don’t have a great selection,” Natalie confided. “Anyone who wants sexy stuff either goes shopping in Kalispell or orders online from Victoria’s Secret, but we do have some cotton bikinis with lace trim.”

  “I’m not looking for sexy,” Beth hastened to assure her. “No one’s going to see my underwear but me.”

  “Well, that’s unfortunate,” Natalie teased.

  And Beth realized that she was right.

  In fact, it wasn’t just unfortunate but a little sad that she had no concerns about a man seeing her intimate apparel, because it meant that she had no prospects on the horizon for a relationship. But until she sorted out the situation with Cody, that was the way it was going to have to be.

  * * *

  Beth was standing at the checkout counter when Wilder returned to the store with Natalie’s requested macchiato.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” he demanded, as she started to hand her credit card across the counter.

  “Paying for my clothes,” she said.

  He shook his head. “You agreed to put your wallet away for the rest of the day.”

  “That was before I knew we were coming here.”

  “A deal’s a deal,” he insisted, handing the to-go cup to Natalie along with his platinum credit card.

  “I wouldn’t have agreed to get half this stuff if I’d known you were going to insist on paying for it,” Beth felt compelled to protest.

  “He can afford it,” Natalie said, with a dismissive wave of her hand, obviously aware he had boatloads of money. “All of this and a lot more. In fact, you should get that other pair of jeans you tried on.”

  Beth shook her head. “I don’t need more than one pair.”

  But Wilder vetoed her decision. “Add the other pair of jeans,” he said to Natalie.

  “I don’t need them,” Beth said again, even as they were added to the pile.

  “At least this proves you’re different from the other women Wilder has been seen with around town,” Natalie said, processing the transaction.

  “How so?” she asked, a little warily.

  “Because he’s buying clothes for you instead of taking them off you.”

  “Thanks for your help, Nat,” Wilder said dryly, snatching his receipt out of her hand.

  She winked. “Anytime.”

  * * *

  When they got back to the Ambling A, Wilder mixed up a bottle of formula while Beth took her new clothes up to the guest room. She did feel a little strange, letting a man she barely knew—and a former lover of her sister—buy her clothes, but, as he’d argued on the drive, what he’d paid for today didn’t begin to repay her for everything she’d done for Cody.

  Not that she wanted repayment. Everything she’d done for her nephew had been done out of love. But equating the shopping trip today to packages of diapers and cans of formula, she felt a little less guilty about the money he’d spent.

  When her new clothes were stored away, she crossed the hall to the makeshift nursery to ask Wilder a question. The query slipped from her mind, forgotten, as her gaze settled on the handsome cowboy giving a bottle to the baby cuddled against his chest.

  She saw it then—not just the physical resemblance between the man and the child that Max kept insisting was obvious, but how right they looked together.

  Father and son.

  Wilder might be quick to point out that the familial relationship was yet unproven, but looking at them now, seeing how the baby was carefully cradled in the crook of his arm, seeing the earnestness of his expression, she no longer doubted that the man cared about her nephew. And in that moment, though she was still frustrated with her sister for the way she’d handled things, she had to consider that maybe Leighton had done the right thing in bringing Cody here.

  She watched Wilder ease the bottle from the baby’s mouth before shifting Cody to his shoulder, his big hand gently rubbing the tiny back, and her heart swelled inside her chest.

  But even if Leighton had done the right thing, where was she now? And why hadn’t she been in touch?

  Because it was one thing for Leighton to invoke radio silence with respect to her sister, but she should want to reach out to the man with whom she’d left her baby.

  Wasn’t she the least bit worried about Cody?

  And if she wasn’t, she should be.

  Because as Beth had discovered when she showed up at the Ambling A, the handsome cowboy could barely manage a diaper change.

  Of course, he’d come a long way since then, but Leighton had no way of knowing that.

  Leighton had no way of knowing anything because she hadn’t been in communication with anyone.

  Which Beth knew because she’d kept a close eye on her sister�
��s social media accounts, messaged her friends and reached out to her boss—to no avail. She’d even contacted the authorities in Dallas to inquire about filing a missing person’s report. But after summarizing the situation, she’d been told that since her sister had have left of her own free will, Beth should hire a private investigator if she really wanted to track her down—an idea that she was keeping in her back pocket for now.

  Desperate for a distraction, she retreated to the kitchen to figure out something for the evening meal.

  She’d been a little surprised to discover that the obviously wealthy family didn’t have a full-time housekeeper-slash-cook. When she’d asked Wilder about it, he told her that the woman who’d filled those roles in Dallas had declined to make the move to Rust Creek Falls with them. Although she’d worked for Max for almost thirty years and had been like a surrogate mother to his six sons, she had children and grandchildren of her own in Texas and no desire to move so far away from them.

  Max had promised to advertise for a cook when they moved into the Ambling A, but during the summer months, it had been easy enough to throw some meat on the grill. So while there was a housekeeper who came in twice a week to tidy up, the men of the Ambling A had mostly fended for themselves when it came to meals—or gone into town to eat.

  Of course, now that five of his sons were married or headed in that direction, the responsibility for meals in the main house fell to the patriarch and his youngest son. As a result, they’d eaten a lot of steaks, burgers and pasta over the past several months—unless they were fortunate enough to have Lily prepare a meal for them.

  With that thought in mind, Beth rummaged through the freezer looking for some inspiration.

  She was chopping carrots and celery when Wilder came down to the kitchen with Cody’s empty bottle in one hand and the baby monitor he’d borrowed from another of his relatives in the other.

  “We didn’t have lunch all that long ago,” he noted. “Are you hungry already?”

  “Ha ha,” she said. “I’m making stew for dinner.”