“Let me see if I understand this right. You’re blaming this recent matchmaking insanity of yours on my daughter?”
“No. Maybe.” Max shrugged. “Lara’s been gone six years, son. She wouldn’t want her daughter growing up without a mother or you to be stuck in the past.”
That struck a chord. When Lara’s due date had been fast approaching, she’d started to get nervous about giving birth. But she’d taken it a step further and told him if anything happened to her she wanted him to fall in love and be happy again. It was as if she’d had a premonition that something was going to happen to her. But Hunter had blown her off. He’d told her childbirth was the most natural thing in the world and nothing would go wrong. But it had and losing her at what should have been the happiest time of their lives was the worst moment of his. He never wanted to feel like that again.
“Look—” He spotted a problem in the fencing and pointed. A post was tilting and nearly halfway to the ground, pulling the wire down on either side of it. “Need to prop that up.”
Finally, something to do and get Max off his case.
They stopped and dismounted, dropping the reins to ground tie the horses. The well-trained animals would stand still and not run off while he and Max handled the repair. His dad held the post upright while Hunter dug the hole deeper with the small hand shovel he’d brought along with the other tools. Then he packed the dirt in tighter.
“There. That ought to do it. This will hold now. We caught it just in time.” And the interruption had the added benefit of distraction.
“Looks good, son,” his dad agreed.
They swung back into their saddles and continued the ride and fence inspection. Hunter was enjoying the sun, solitude and silence, until Max started in again, right where he’d left off.
“So, I got a call from Vivienne Dalton.”
“Who?” Hunter knew exactly who she was but there was no reason he had to make this easy on his dad.
“Come on, son. You know darn well she’s the wedding planner working to find—”
“Women for your sons.”
“You make it sound unsavory,” Max accused. “I’m paying her to find suitable women for marriage. All you have to do is meet them. Believe it or not I’m doing this for your happiness.”
“I’m already happy,” Hunter insisted.
“Let me try this another way. My granddaughter needs a mother.”
“She has Merry.”
On the trip back from Avery and Finn’s wedding, Hunter had received his daughter’s message loud and clear. She was growing up and needed a female’s guiding hand. He’d fixed the problem.
“I’m talking about a mother,” Max emphasized. “Not someone who is paid to take care of her.”
Right. Hunter signed her paycheck and Merry had taken the job because she needed the money. She was an employee. But he had a bad habit of forgetting that when he came in the door after a long workday and she greeted him with a heart-stopping smile and a hot meal on the table. Or when she spontaneously hugged Wren and kissed her cheek. That natural impulsive affection wasn’t because of an hourly wage. It came from the heart.
He should probably thank his father for the reminder because forgetting he was her boss could be dangerous. The last thing he wanted was to fall in love again. Been there, done that. He was fine now and would pass on a repeat.
“Look, son, I’ve made questionable decisions in the past, but I’m trying to make up for it. Vivienne Dalton is a very nice woman and she isn’t going to recommend someone unsuitable. And there’s someone she would like you to meet.”
“Okay.”
Max looked at him funny. “Okay what?”
“I will think about meeting the woman Vivienne has vetted.”
“Excellent. That’s all I ask.” His father beamed with approval.
He would agree to almost anything so they could talk about something else. But Hunter found himself wishing Merry was the woman the matchmaker had in mind. Which only proved he’d lost his.
* * *
Merry felt as if she’d been thrown into the deep end of the pool—the Crawford family pool, that is. On Thanksgiving. Sure, she’d attended the wedding with all of them, but she’d stayed in the background as Wren’s nanny. It hadn’t been quite two weeks since she’d started her full-time job for Hunter along with doing her darnedest to control this pesky attraction to him.
Now it was a traditional family holiday and all of them were gathered at the ranch’s main house. Most of them were in the other room watching football while she was essentially hiding in the kitchen. It was big and functional although it could definitely use some renovation. But there was a huge sink and a big, if old-fashioned, island with lots of work space. She was helping to prepare dinner for thirteen. Fourteen if you counted little Sophia.
Lily Crawford was doing the cooking. She was a chef and recently married to Xander, third eldest of the brothers. She worked part time at Maverick Manor and not long ago started Lily’s Home Cookin’, preparing individual meals for customers. Word was spreading and she was steadily building her business.
Today Merry had volunteered to do the grunt work, slicing, dicing, cutting and chopping—anything that would make fixing this meal easier. She would have been nearly immobilized by the pressure of preparing a perfect holiday dinner but the other woman looked serene and confident, as if she was enjoying it. As if she was completely in her element. Which, of course, she was.
Merry was now peeling potatoes, letting the skins fall on newspaper spread over the counter. There was a giant pot in front of her filled with water and she dropped the naked spuds into it. Lily was putting together snacks for the football crowd. She slid a cookie sheet of mini-quiches into the oven, then began to artfully arrange a cheese, raw vegetables and fruit platter.
“You are truly amazing,” Merry said in awe.
“It’s all about loving what I do. I suppose that’s true of any profession. From what I saw at the wedding, you are pretty amazing with Wren.” Lily looked up and smiled warmly. “She adores you.”
“The feeling is mutual.” And I hope I’m good at it, she thought. “But you’re right. I do love kids.”
“It shows.” Lily arranged cucumber slices in a circle with berries in the center. “I can’t thank you enough for your help. It saved me so much time.”
“It’s the least I could do. And a bonus for me that we’ve gotten better acquainted.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “That was a hectic weekend and I felt as if we were ships passing in the night.”
“Plus, there are a lot of Crawfords.” Merry put a peeled potato into the pot and picked up another one. “I wanted to put name tags on everyone to keep them straight.”
“I can see how it might be confusing.” Lily laughed. “But I have three older brothers so being around this family seems pretty natural to me.”
“You’re lucky to have siblings. No sisters?”
“No.” She sighed. “But I wished for one.”
“Me, too,” Merry said.
“So you’re an only child?”
“No.” Although it felt that way to her. “I have a brother. Jack. He’s ten years older.”
“That’s a big age difference. When you were five he was fifteen and in high school and might not have wanted a little sister tagging along. It must have been hard to be close.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Your face.” The other woman’s expression was sympathetic. “You’ve probably been told this before, but never play poker. Everything you feel is right there.”
Yikes! Merry thought. She hoped that wasn’t entirely true or she was going to have to work on that. This job with Hunter could get awkward otherwise, and she really needed it.
“It’s more than age with Jack and me. There’s actual geographical distance. When our
mom died, he was eighteen and joined the military right out of high school. He’s made it a career and has been gone a lot. I barely see him. He came to our dad’s funeral but left right after.” It had been nothing more than a duty to him. Being a career soldier taught him about that but nothing about family, or the fact that Merry had needed him to stay for just a little while.
“I’m sorry for your loss. I know it was recent,” Lily said. “And it sounds like you didn’t have a lot of support.”
“From my friends here in Rust Creek Falls, but not family.” The rejection still hurt. “It was hard being alone. And I think about that with Wren. I don’t want that for her. A sibling would be—”
Merry stopped. She felt as if she’d known Lily far longer than she had and the woman was way too easy to talk to. That was her only excuse for bringing up something as personal as Hunter giving his daughter a brother or sister. That wasn’t a topic the hired help should be discussing with his sister-in-law.
Heat crept into her cheeks as she met Lily’s gaze. “Sorry. I think I said too much.”
“Even if I agree with you?” Lily asked. “Did you see Wren with Sarah and Logan’s baby? That child would be such a wonderful big sister.”
“I know, right?”
“And, I may be spreading gossip, but this is Rust Creek Falls after all.” The other woman smiled mischievously. “I think Avery’s got a little baby bump going on.”
Merry was busy with her job at school and Wren. Other than the wedding, she hadn’t seen much of the newly married couple. “Really?”
“Yup. She’s at that stage where a first thought might be that she’s put on a couple pounds, but if you look closely, it’s all tummy. In the cutest possible way. And the move to the hunting cabin. Fixing it up. If that’s not nesting, I don’t know what is.”
“Wren will be so thrilled,” Merry said. “She’d love to have a sister or brother, but a new cousin is the next best thing.”
“Something sure smells good in here.”
Merry didn’t expect to hear a man’s voice and this one belonged to Hunter. She dropped the potato she was holding and peeled a small chunk from her index finger. “Ouch.”
“Are you okay?” Hunter quickly moved beside her and took her hand to assess the damage. “Doesn’t look too bad.”
“It’s fine.” Although the scrape stung like crazy. Even though she tried to pull away, he didn’t let go and looked concerned. That was like chocolate and chips to her needy hormones. Suddenly she felt no pain and figured this attraction was good for something. “I’m just clumsy.”
“I doubt that. Let’s wash this off.” He turned on the spigot beside them and gently held her wounded finger under the cold water to wash the blood away.
“Here’s a bandage and some antibiotic cream.” Lily set the things on the counter next to him. “These are staples in my kitchen, as important as the right ingredients. When you’re using sharp instruments there are always accidents.”
“Thanks,” he said.
Merry was shaking but not from her mishap. It was a reaction to the nearness of this man and having him touch her. She’d done the same thing when they’d danced at the wedding. It seemed like forever since that night and her body was quivering with excitement. She really hoped he didn’t notice.
He dried off her finger with a paper towel, dabbed on some ointment, then snugly wrapped the sticky adhesive strip around the wound. “It’s tight to stop the bleeding. How does it feel?”
So good she didn’t want him to stop touching her. But that’s not what he meant. And when he continued to look at her, she hoped Lily was wrong about everything she felt being right there on her face.
“It’s good,” Merry finally said.
“Not too tight?”
“Nope. Everything is fine.” She glanced at Lily, who was watching the exchange with great interest, until a timer sounded and she took the little quiches out of the oven. “So, I’m sure you didn’t come in here to provide first aid.”
Actually, Merry wouldn’t have needed it if he hadn’t come in here. Her arms and legs seemed to go limp and malfunction every time she saw him.
“What can we do for you, Hunter?” Lily asked. “I’m just putting the finishing touches on snack platters.”
With his attention off her now, Merry’s brain functioned normally again. “Wren hasn’t eaten since breakfast and it’s after lunch now. She must be starving.”
“She hasn’t said anything. Too busy playing princess with Genevieve.”
“Our Genevieve?” Lily looked surprised. “The tomboy who does horse pedicures?”
“The same one.” Hunter grinned but it quickly disappeared. “Knox said she’s practicing for having kids.”
“Wren would love more cousins,” Merry commented but the look on his face made her want those words back.
“I was just saying how much Wren loves baby Sophia. I think she’d be excited about having more kids around.” Lily’s expression was innocent, but her green eyes glittered with mischief.
Hunter held up his hands to form a T, the signal for time-out. “I just came in for snacks, not a Crawford family population increase debate.”
Merry was feeling a little sorry for him. He was looking cornered and uncomfortable. “And it’s two against one.”
“Okay. We’ll let you off the hook.” The other woman finished putting the little quiches on a tray. “I’ll help you carry these into the family room.”
“Great.” He slid Merry a look that said “thank you” and took the fruit and cheese platter before making a speedy getaway.
Lily wasn’t gone long and entered the room laughing. “Wow, that’s a ravenous group in there. That food lost any artistic presentation almost before I put the tray down. And my Xander was leading the pack.”
The woman’s face turned loving and tender when she mentioned her husband. That made Merry curious.
“How did you and Xander meet?”
“Funny story.” Lily smiled softly. “As everyone knows, Max is trying to get his sons to settle down and made a deal with Viv Dalton to set them up. I was supposed to go out with Knox—reluctantly, I should add. He canceled at the last minute.”
“So you went out with Xander instead?”
“He came to apologize for his bonehead brother and ended up taking me to dinner. I’m pretty sure he felt sorry for me because I’d been dumped. I’d even changed back into my jeans and T-shirt and was all ready to go.”
“That was very sweet of him,” Merry said.
“Yeah. He’d gotten my attention once before when I met all the guys at the same time. But he pretty much had me at that adorable gesture.” She looked up. “Don’t get me wrong. We had our ups and downs. Complications to maneuver. Compromises to make. But none of it was any match for love. We both fell hard.” She sighed dreamily.
“So, you’re happy?”
“Very.”
“And I guess in a convoluted way Max was responsible for you two meeting,” Merry commented. “But why would he feel he has to help his sons?”
“Apparently he had a rocky relationship with their mother and she abandoned the family when Wilder was a baby. It seems all the brothers have trouble committing. It’s just a guess, but I think Max feels responsible somehow and is trying to help. To make it up to them.”
Merry knew how it felt to lose her mom to illness but couldn’t understand a woman voluntarily walking away from six children. That would surely leave a mark. Except... “But Hunter was married. Obviously he was able to get past the childhood trauma and take a chance.”
“True. And his wife died.” There was sympathy and sadness in Lily’s expression.
“So he won’t give it another try?”
“According to Xander he did eventually start to date again back in Texas, but his heart wasn’t in it.”
“Doesn’t surprise me. From what I can see, he only has room in his heart for his daughter.”
“I’m not so sure about that.”
The teasing tone and mischievous twinkle in the other woman’s eyes made Merry wonder. Did her face give something away when Hunter was in the kitchen? Good Lord, she hoped not. It was more likely that Max was trying to set up his son with someone appropriate, someone Viv Dalton had personally selected.
She didn’t like the idea of that one bit, but no one asked for her opinion. She’d been hired to take care of Wren, not get involved with the child’s father. Their business association took her out of the dating pool, which made her equal parts mad and sad.
And she had no right to either emotion.
Chapter Seven
Hunter was having the best first Thanksgiving in Rust Creek Falls. His family was together and even bigger now that four of his brothers were married. And then there was Merry. She was a breath of fresh air. Even her name was happy and she lived up to it every day. Case in point: when she took a chunk out of her finger peeling potatoes. She’d smiled through the first aid that had given him an excuse to get close to her. He wasn’t proud of it, but that didn’t stop him from remembering it.
Crawfords were milling around the big dining room, figuring out where to sit. Max claimed the armchair at the head of the table. The perfectly browned turkey and carving knife were placed in front of him. Merry had taken Wren to supervise handwashing and the two of them returned to stand beside Hunter.
“Daddy, I want to sit in the chair next to Sophia’s high chair.”
Hunter looked at Logan and Sarah, who were close enough to hear.
“That sounds perfect,” the baby’s mother said. “And I’ll sit on the other side.”
Wren clapped her hands. “This is the best Thanksgiving ever!”
“Be sure to duck when she starts throwing her food instead of eating it,” Logan teased. “And watch out when she puts cranberry sauce in her hair.”
“Gross.” Wren wrinkled her nose.
Maverick Holiday Magic (Montana Mavericks: Six Brides For Six Brothers Book 5) Page 8
