The More Mavericks, the Merrier!

by Brenda Harlen

  “Thank you,” he said, grateful for the invitation and already planning how to make the most of the opportunity she’d given him.

  Chapter Fourteen

  When she got behind the wheel of her SUV and drove away from Rust Creek Falls, Fallon only expected to be gone a few days. But what had been intended as a three-day journey had turned into four, then five. Now on the sixth day, she was finally on her way home again.

  In the past six days, she hadn’t spoken to Jamie at all. He’d called, left voice mail messages and sent numerous texts, but she hadn’t responded to any of them. Not because she was mad or trying to punish him for dumping her—though she still wasn’t very happy about that—but because she was concerned that any communication on her part might somehow reveal the surprise she’d planned for him.

  As she drove past the familiar Welcome to Rust Creek Falls sign, the excited anticipation that had fueled her through most of the long journey turned into knots of apprehension in her belly.

  It wouldn’t be very much longer now before she found out whether following her heart had been a brilliant move or a big mistake.

  * * *

  It was December 23 and Fallon still hadn’t returned to Rust Creek Falls.

  She hadn’t even returned any of Jamie’s phone calls or text messages. He wasn’t worried about her—he knew that she was in contact with her family—but he was worried about them.

  The last time he’d talked to her, he’d stupidly told her that he just wanted to be friends. She’d said she needed some time to think. What if she’d decided that he was right and that it was better for them to be friends than lovers?

  The possibility tortured his mind during the day and kept him awake at night.

  “You look like hell,” Bella said, when he came in from the barn for lunch.

  “I didn’t sleep very well last night,” he admitted. Or the night before, and the night before that. In fact, he’d barely slept since Fallon had abruptly left Rust Creek Falls without a word to him about where she was going or when she would be back.

  “Were the babies up?” Bella asked.

  He shook his head. “No, they’ve slept through for the past several nights.”

  “So why didn’t you?”

  “I’m worried about Fallon,” he admitted.

  “She’ll be back today,” his sister assured him.

  “How do you know?”

  “I spoke to her briefly this morning,” she said.

  “You talked to her?”

  “I’ve talked to her—or at least texted her—almost every day since she’s been gone.”

  He was relieved to know that Bella had been in communication with Fallon—and frustrated that his sister had deliberately withheld that information from him.

  “She hasn’t answered any of my calls or replied to any of my text messages,” he confided.

  “And why is that?” Bella wondered aloud.

  He scowled. “I’m sure you know why.”

  “If I had to guess, I’d say it probably has something to do with the fact that you slept with her—then told her you just wanted to be friends.”

  He winced at the accusation in her tone. “She told you that?”

  “She’s my best friend—and I thought she was one of yours, too.”

  “I was an idiot,” he admitted.

  “I’m not going to argue with that,” she said.

  “There’s no excuse for my actions, but there is an explanation. But how can I explain to Fallon if she won’t even talk to me?”

  “She’ll listen to you,” Bella told him.

  “How do you know?”

  “Because she’s not the type to hold a grudge, and because she cares about you too much to not want to mend the rift between you.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  “I am right,” she insisted. “And that’s her vehicle coming up the driveway now.”

  He was out of the house almost before she finished speaking, without even pausing to grab his hat or jacket.

  * * *

  Fallon had barely shifted into park when Jamie yanked open the driver’s side door and hauled her out of the SUV and into his arms. Though he squeezed all of the air from her lungs, she didn’t complain. For the past six days and nights, she’d dreamed of being in his arms just like this.

  You deserve someone who can give you what you want...and that’s not going to be me.

  With those words echoing in the back of her mind, she forced herself to pull back and deliberately kept her tone light and friendly when she said, “Do you greet all your friends this way when they return after a few days out of town?”

  His arms still around her, he tipped his head down to rest his forehead against hers. “You’re so much more to me than a friend,” he admitted gruffly. “You’re the woman who owns my heart.”

  Her own heart skipped a beat. “I am?” she asked cautiously.

  He nodded. “I was a fool and a coward, unwilling to recognize and admit the truth of my feelings, but I’m telling you now. I love you, Fallon.”

  She’d almost given up hope that he would ever say those words to her and, hearing them now, she was swamped by such a wave of emotion she couldn’t speak—she couldn’t even breathe.

  “Say something, please,” he urged when she remained silent. “Tell me I’m not too late—that denying my feelings for so long didn’t ruin my chance with you.”

  “You didn’t ruin anything,” she finally said. “I love you, too. I think I always have. I know I always will.”

  He kissed her then, with an intensity and purpose that told her even more than his words that the feelings he’d professed were real.

  “Don’t ever leave me like that again,” he said, when he finally eased his lips from hers.

  “I didn’t—I wouldn’t—leave you,” she promised.

  “It felt like you’d left me,” he said. “And I don’t ever want to feel so empty and alone again.”

  As he was talking to her, she registered the sound of another car door opening, and then closing. She pulled back, just a little, her cheeks flushing. “You almost made me forget the whole purpose of my trip,” she chided gently.

  But he still didn’t look away from her. It was almost as if he didn’t want to take his eyes off her for a single second in case she disappeared again. “You didn’t just go away to punish me for being an idiot?”

  “I didn’t go away to punish you at all,” she said, extricating herself from his embrace. “And I brought you back a present.”

  “You’re the only present I need,” Jamie assured her.

  But he turned then, to follow the direction of her gaze, and was surprised to see another woman—young and blonde—standing on the other side of the car. Though she was bundled up in a long coat with a knit cap on her head, there was something vaguely familiar about her, something that stirred long ago memories buried in the back of his mind.

  He sucked in a lungful of icy air as that vague familiarity shifted to hopeful recognition. But still, he was afraid to let himself believe—

  “Hi, Jamie.”

  Her voice, when she spoke, was cautious but familiar, confirming his own tentative hope.

  “Dana?” he said, speaking the name of his youngest sister who had been turned over to the child welfare authorities to be adopted more than eleven years earlier, when she was barely eight years old.

  The name sounded rusty on his lips after so long, but it was all she needed to propel herself forward. And then she was in his arms. When she’d left Rust Creek Falls, she’d been a child and now she was a young woman, but holding her somehow felt the same. And so did the love that filled his heart to overflowing. Apparently he wasn’t the only one feeling a little overwhelmed, because Dana clu
ng to him as she wept. He looked over his sister’s head toward Fallon, and though his mind was swirling with questions that needed answering, for now he was content to mouth a silent “thank you.”

  She just nodded, her own eyes bright with unshed tears.

  After another moment, Dana pulled back. “I’m sorry. I promised myself that I wouldn’t bawl like the baby you probably remember me to be, but I just couldn’t help myself. I’ve missed you—all of you—every single day since I was taken away.”

  “I’ve missed you, too,” he told her.

  “Is Bella here?” Dana asked. “Fallon said that I’d get to see her, too.”

  “She’s inside,” Jamie said. “Which means the babies must be keeping her busy, because if she’d even peeked out the window and caught a glimpse of you, I know she’d be out here, too.”

  “Fallon showed me pictures of your triplets, and I can’t wait to meet them.”

  “Then let’s go inside so you can.” He started toward the house, but turned back when he realized Fallon wasn’t beside him. “Bella and the babies will want to see you, too.”

  But she shook her head. “We’ll catch up later. I don’t want to intrude on your family reunion.”

  “Which wouldn’t be happening at all, if not for you,” he pointed out.

  “My sisters have been texting me nonstop for three days, sending me lists of all the things we need to do before our parents’ anniversary party tomorrow.”

  He didn’t want to let her go, but he understood that she had things she needed to do—and that she’d fallen behind schedule because she’d gone out of town for him, to give him back a piece of his family.

  “Okay,” he finally relented. “But I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “I’m counting on it,” she said.

  He hugged her again. “I want to know how and why, but for now, I’ll just say thank you.”

  “The how is kind of complicated,” she admitted. “But the why is simple—I wanted you to know that even when the people we love go away, the love endures.”

  * * *

  Jamie didn’t know if he could process all of the thoughts and feelings that were clamoring for prominence inside him.

  Of course he’d thought about tracking down his siblings. Over the years, he’d thought about it a lot. Reconnecting with his brothers and sisters was something he’d dreamed about ever since the day they were separated.

  But in the past year, the idea had been shoved to the back of the mind. With so many other and much more immediate concerns, he hadn’t let himself think about or miss his other siblings. Or maybe that was just an excuse. Because the truth was, Luke, Daniel and Bailey had chosen to go off on their own. They knew where Jamie and Bella had been living with their grandparents and they’d chosen to let eleven years pass without making contact in all of that time.

  But Dana and Liza had been taken away and he didn’t know where they’d ended up. Again, he would have expected they were old enough to remember the time they’d spent in Rust Creek Falls, but after they’d gone, they’d never made any attempt to communicate with him and Bella.

  And now, after all of that time, Dana was here. Not through her own initiative and not because of any effort on his part, but because Fallon had tracked her down and brought her to Rust Creek Falls. He didn’t know how long Dana would stay—or could stay—but she was here now. Fallon had brought one of his little sisters home, and he knew he wouldn’t ever be able to repay her.

  He thought about what she’d said—the words she’d whispered in his ear when she’d hugged him. Even when the people we love go away, the love endures.

  She’d proven that to him twice today—by bringing his sister to Rust Creek Falls and by coming back herself. And now that she was finally home, he was going to do everything in his power to ensure that she never wanted to leave again.

  * * *

  Fallon was up early the next morning to help Fiona and Brenna with the hors d’oeuvres. Her hands went through the necessary motions, but her mind—and her heart—were at The Short Hills Ranch with Jamie.

  Jamie. She felt her lips curve as she thought of the man who had held her in his arms as if he never wanted to let her go. The man who had kissed her as if he wanted to kiss her forever. The man who had told her—finally—that he loved her.

  Fiona snapped her fingers in front of her face. “Earth to Fallon. We’re expecting upwards of a hundred guests between four and seven, which means that we’re going to need a lot of meatballs, sausage rolls, shrimp skewers, pinwheel sandwiches, vegetable crudités, platters of cheeses and crackers and fruit, and I need your attention on this planet.”

  Fallon resumed her chopping. The girls were in charge of the food and the boys were in charge of the setup, which meant rearranging the furniture to accommodate the folding tables and chairs borrowed from the community center, and all the while Duchess was running around, doing her best to trip up everyone as they performed their assigned tasks.

  Surrounded by her family—whom she loved with every fiber of her being despite the fact that they often drove her crazy—it was natural that her thoughts would drift to Jamie and Bella, that she would wonder how the reunion with Dana was going. She’d been relieved to witness the success of the initial meeting, pleased that the siblings were happy to be together again after so many years. But Fallon knew that a lot had happened during the time they’d been apart and it was possible that, when all the tales had been told, old wounds would be reopened and tender feelings hurt.

  “Fallon—” it was Ronan who interrupted her musing this time “—can you give me a hand with these chairs?”

  “Where’s Keegan?” she asked.

  “I sent him to pick up the flowers and balloons.”

  “Mistake,” Brenna told their oldest brother.

  “Why?”

  “He had a total of three things to pick up at Crawford’s yesterday and he forgot one of them,” Fiona piped in.

  “Although I don’t think he actually forgot,” Brenna said. “I think he wanted an excuse to go back and flirt with Natalie Crawford.”

  “I don’t care how much flirting he does as long as he’s back with the balloons and flowers before Mom and Dad get home,” Ronan said.

  “Where are they?” Fallon asked.

  “Mom went to Bee’s Beauty Parlor to get her hair done and Dad’s on his way back from Kalispell.”

  “Why did he have to go into the city today?” Brenna asked.

  “Probably to find an anniversary present for Mom,” Fallon guessed.

  “To pick up her anniversary present,” Ronan clarified. “A strand of Akoya pearls.”

  “Pearls are the traditional gift for a thirtieth anniversary,” Fiona noted.

  Fallon nodded. “And Mom’s always wanted real pearls.”

  “Well, I guess Dad decided that thirty years was long enough to wait,” Ronan said.

  “She’s going to cry,” Fiona warned.

  Fallon’s own eyes were a little moist as she imagined Maureen’s reaction to the gift, as she considered how it might feel to be part of a couple that had endured for three decades. No, not just endured but flourished.

  “What did Mom get for Dad?” Brenna wondered.

  “Super Bowl tickets,” Fiona told her.

  Fallon laughed. “Not traditional, but definitely something Dad’s always wanted.”

  “Which just goes to show how perfectly suited they are for one another,” Brenna said.

  “Put the sentiment on hold until the party,” Ronan advised. “The clock is ticking.”

  * * *

  As a result of her oldest brother’s constant prompting and nagging, everything was set up and ready for the party when the guests of honor got home. Since she hadn’t really had a chance to talk to her mother since
her trip to Oregon, Fallon offered to help Maureen get changed.

  “You look beautiful,” Fallon said, after she’d zipped up the back of her mother’s dress.

  “Bee has a knack with hair,” her mother said.

  She shook her head. “Your hair looks nice, but it’s more than that. You’re glowing.” And she knew it was love that put the color in Maureen’s cheeks and the sparkle in her eyes. Not just being in love but knowing that she was loved in return. Fallon suspected that she had a little bit of a glow herself and wondered if her mother could see it.

  Maureen laughed softly. “I’ve been reminiscing a lot today,” she admitted. “Paddy and I have made a lot of memories together over thirty years and five children.”

  “You’ve definitely shown us what a good marriage should look like,” Fallon told her.

  “I hope so,” her mother said. “Your dad and I don’t always agree about everything, but hopefully that showed our kids the importance of navigating stormy seas, the value of compromise and, at the end of the day, the necessity of working together.

  “That’s what I want for all of my children,” Maureen continued. “An enduring lifelong partnership with someone who loves, respects and supports them.”

  “It doesn’t sound like so much, does it?” Fallon noted wistfully. “But it’s huge, and I know how lucky I am to have grown up in this family.”

  “You’re thinking of Jamie again, aren’t you?” her mom asked gently.

  “Jamie, Bella, Dana and the rest of their family,” she admitted.

  “It was such a tragedy for all of them, losing their parents the way they did. And Agnes and Matthew—” Maureen shook her head “—I can’t begin to know what they were thinking, letting the older boys go off on their own and sending the younger girls away, but I think you’ve helped Jamie and Bella see that even broken pieces can fit back together.”

  “You don’t think I overstepped by bringing Dana to Rust Creek Falls?”

  “I don’t think it’s ever wrong to follow your heart.”

  “I love him, Mom.”