“Is Frieda having her surgery today?”
She shouldn’t have been surprised by the question. After all, this was Haven, where everyone knew everyone else’s business, and her mother’s best friend hadn’t been shy about telling people that she was having a double mastectomy—a preventative measure after two of her sisters were diagnosed with breast cancer in the past year.
Macy nodded.
“Well, there’s nothing urgent happening here today, if you want to take Ben home.”
“Sam,” she corrected automatically, then smiled when she realized that he’d derived the name from her comment about her traitorous son—whose gaze was riveted on the face of the man who was holding him. “And it might not be urgent, but I’m meeting with Emily to go over the breakfast menus.”
“Breakfast menus?” Liam echoed blankly.
“We talked about this yesterday.”
“When?”
“First thing in the morning. You did seem a little distracted,” she noted. “But when I suggested that cook-to-order breakfasts had more appeal than a buffet—and would result in less waste—you said you’d defer to my expertise.”
“I was distracted,” he acknowledged. “My dad refuses to listen to anything I say about the ranch, because obviously I don’t care enough about the ranch to stick around and help run it.”
“And yet, you’re there every morning,” she remarked.
“Ranching isn’t a part-time job,” he said, in what she suspected was an echo of words his father had spoken to him.
“Neither is owning and operating a hotel,” she pointed out.
“Or parenthood,” he commented, as Sam dropped his head down on Liam’s shoulder.
Macy felt her heart swell inside her chest as she watched her baby curl his hand into a fist and lift his thumb to his mouth, totally content and secure in the cowboy’s arms. “You know, you’re much better with kids than you think you are.”
“So it would seem,” he agreed.
“Sam doesn’t usually take to strangers.”
“Well, maybe I’m not as strange as you think I am.”
She smiled at that. “Actually, I think you’re pretty great. If you could keep an eye on Sam while I meet with Emily, I’d bump ‘pretty great’ up to ‘awesome.’”
* * *
For the first few months after her babies were born, Macy stuck close to home. Worried about their premature immune systems, she’d tried to shield them—as much as possible—from the potentially hazardous germs carried by those who might want to pinch their cheeks or tickle their toes.
Maybe she was a little paranoid, but she’d seen how people gravitated toward babies. Twins drew twice as much attention, and triplets—adorable times three—were an even bigger draw.
She got a little braver after Ava, Max and Sam had had their six-month immunizations. She’d even taken them to the mall in Battle Mountain to see Santa before Christmas, though she’d questioned the wisdom of that decision the whole time they’d waited in line with countless runny-nosed kids and likely would have bolted if her mother hadn’t been there to stop her.
Now she was more willing to venture out with them, but their outings were restricted to venues that could be navigated with the triple tandem stroller. The Trading Post was one of those places—if she was picking up a limited number of items that would fit in the basket beneath the stroller. For a major shopping excursion, she usually took only one of her babies.
This week, it was Max’s turn to go, but her sweet baby boy had woken up with a bit of a fever, so she let him stay home under the watchful eyes of his grandparents and took Ava instead. Her little girl already thought herself a princess and accepted it as her due when strangers oohed and ahhed over her.
On her way to the grocery store, Macy popped in to Diggers’ to say “hi” to her former boss. After a brief visit that included lots of fussing over Ava, she headed out—just as Liam and an older woman were on their way in.
He introduced his companion as his grandmother, Evelyn Gilmore, and Macy and Ava as his innkeeper and her adorable baby girl.
“I’ve been meaning to stop by the inn to meet you,” Evelyn said, shaking Macy’s hand warmly.
“Now you don’t have to,” Liam told her.
“My grandson doesn’t like me poking around in his business,” Evelyn confided to Macy.
“Because my grandmother has trouble with the silent part of our silent partnership,” he said.
The older woman waved a hand, dismissing his comment. “Have you had your lunch already?” she asked Macy.
“No, we just stopped in to see Duke for a minute on our way to the Trading Post.”
“Then you can join us,” Evelyn decided.
“Thanks, but we really need to get to the store—”
“The store will still be there after you’ve had a bite to eat,” Evelyn said reasonably. “Besides, I want to talk to you about The Home Station.”
Macy sent a quizzical glance in Liam’s direction.
“That’s the name Grams has chosen for the restaurant we don’t have,” he explained.
“Yet,” Evelyn clarified.
And that was how Macy ended up having lunch with her boss and his grandmother—and Ava ended up wrapping another new acquaintance around her tiny finger.
* * *
As opening day drew nearer, Liam had to admit that hiring Macy Clayton was the smartest decision he could have made for the business—even when she brought one or more of her kids in to work with her. Truthfully, he didn’t mind having the babies around and was sometimes disappointed when she showed up alone.
He’d thought the little ones would act as a buffer between them, but the more time he spent with her, the more his attraction continued to grow. However, she gave him no reason to suspect that his feelings might be reciprocated—until the day before Valentine’s Day, when they were doing a final check in preparation of the grand opening.
“Tomorrow’s the big day,” she said, practically bubbling with enthusiasm.
“So it is,” he agreed, unwilling to admit that he was probably more apprehensive than he was excited. The family and friends who’d stopped by over the past few weeks had raved about everything, so he had no concerns about the adequacy of the accommodations. And he’d taken Macy’s suggestion and partnered with the spa to offer special weekend packages, but he still worried that no one would show up.
“Another two reservations came in today,” Macy said, and that information eased a little of his worry.
“How many is that now?” He asked her because he knew she’d be able to answer the question more quickly than he could look it up in the reservation system.
“Five,” she immediately replied. “Two rooms are booked for single nights, but three more are occupied through the weekend.”
“Out-of-towners?” he guessed.
She nodded.
“I can’t imagine how they’re going to keep busy for three days and two nights.”
“They’re in town for a company retreat, participating in team-building exercises at Adventure Village,” she told him, naming the local family-friendly activity center that was primarily responsible for the modest rise of tourism in the northern Nevada town.
“Team building exercises?” he echoed dubiously. “Is that really a thing?”
“A very popular thing,” she assured him.
“Who would’ve guessed?”
“Anyone who picked up one of the brochures in the rack by the front desk,” she told him.
“You were right,” he admitted. “The rack was a good idea. Partnering with local businesses was a good idea.”
“The partnerships were a great idea,” she amended.
But it had been an uphill battle to convince Liam of the benefits of working with Jason Channing, the owner and operato
r of Adventure Village. Because Jason’s mother was a Blake, and the Gilmore–Blake Feud was deeply entrenched in Haven’s history, dating back to the settlement of the area more than a hundred and fifty years earlier. Both Everett Gilmore and Samuel Blake had been sold deeds for the same parcel of land and, unwilling to admit that they’d been duped, they decided to split the property down the middle.
As Everett Gilmore had arrived first and already started to build his homestead on the west side of the river, he got the prime grazing land for his cattle, leaving Samuel Blake with the less hospitable terrain on the east side. While the Circle G grew into one of the most prosperous cattle ranches in the whole state, the Crooked Creek Ranch struggled for a lot of years—until gold and silver were discovered in the hills. But the change in their fortunes did not change the bad blood between the families.
“And don’t you think it’s long past time the Blake–Gilmore Feud was put to rest?” she asked him.
“It’s hardly up to me,” Liam said.
“Well, I’m glad you and Jason were able to overlook the history between your families for the benefit of both of your businesses.”
“Did I have a choice?” he asked.
His dry tone made her smile. “You made your choice when you hired me.”
“Probably the smartest decision I’ve made since buying this building,” he said.
Grateful for his comment—and the job she already loved—she impulsively hugged him. “Thank you.”
The gesture was intended as a simple and sincere expression of appreciation. The heat generated by the contact between their bodies was unintended and unexpected. And undeniably arousing.
His arms went around her, as if to prevent her retreat. And though she knew she should draw away, she didn’t want to. She didn’t want to continue pretending she was unaware of the chemistry that hummed between them. She didn’t want to ignore her growing feelings for him.
So instead of drawing away, she pressed closer and lifted her mouth to his.
Chapter Six
It was a casual kiss—a whisper from her lips to his, tentative, testing.
Liam’s response wasn’t at all tentative.
He didn’t just kiss her back, he took control of the kiss. One hand traced its way up Macy’s spine to cup the back of her head, tipping it back a little more so that he could deepen the kiss. His tongue slid between her lips, stroked the roof of her mouth, making her shiver and yearn.
His scent, clean and masculine, teased her senses. His hands, strong and skilled, tempted her body. His mouth, clever and talented, clouded her mind.
Had her brain not completely clicked off, she might have realized that she was treading on very dangerous ground. But she was no longer capable of rational thought. She could only feel and wish and want.
And she wanted more.
So much more.
He gave her more, kissing her deeply and oh-so-very thoroughly. Only when they were both desperate for breath did he ease his mouth from hers so they could fill their lungs with air. But even then, he continued to hold her close, his forehead tipped against hers.
“This is why I didn’t want to hire you,” he reminded her. “I knew it would be a struggle to keep my hands off you.”
“This was my fault,” she said, because it was true. And though she knew she should be ashamed of her actions, she didn’t regret kissing him. She only regretted that it was over, because she knew it couldn’t happen again. “I kissed you.”
“I wasn’t looking to assign blame,” he said, sounding amused. “If anything, I’d like to express my appreciation.”
“That’s what I was trying to do,” she admitted.
“And then the chemistry took over.”
That chemistry continued to spark and sizzle between them, but she ignored it. Or tried to. She finally pulled out of his arms, putting some much-needed space between them. “It won’t happen again.”
“Do you really believe that?” he challenged.
The heat in his gaze warmed her all over. “I’m not your type.”
“You sure felt like my type when you were in my arms.”
“Single mom,” she reminded him, gesturing to herself with her thumb. “Three kids. Babies.”
And that quickly, the heat in his gaze cooled. “Yeah, I guess I shouldn’t forget about them, should I?” he asked. “A guy would have to be crazy to get caught up with all that.”
His response dashed any tentative hope she might have harbored about a romance developing between them. But it was his blatant disregard of her children—the center of her world—that made her angry.
“And a woman with all that would have to be crazy to get caught up with a guy like you,” she retorted.
He held up his hands, a gesture of surrender. “I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s just that...kids aren’t really my thing.”
“Yeah, you’ve made that point quite clear.”
And yet, she couldn’t help but note that his words were in marked contrast to his actions.
The man who claimed kids weren’t his thing was the same man his sister trusted with her little girl when she needed a babysitter on short notice. Of course, family usually stepped up to help family in a pinch.
But he’d stepped up for Ava, too. The day Macy had run late dealing with the wine merchant, he’d been there for her daughter when she’d awakened from her nap. He’d also been there for Sam, when her little guy was distressed by his sore gums. And he hadn’t appeared to be the least bit reluctant or uncomfortable in either of those situations. But Macy wasn’t going to waste her time trying to figure him out. The whole point of taking this job was to spend more time with her children, who were waiting at home for her right now.
“Good night, Mr. Gilmore,” she said, and made a hasty retreat before she said something that might jeopardize her employment.
But her lips tingled all the way home, because the kiss she’d shared with Liam was, without a doubt, the most amazingly incredible first kiss of her life.
If she’d ever known another man who’d made her feel half as much with a single kiss, she might not have been so eager to mate her eggs with the sperm of Donor 6243. But she hadn’t and so she did, and now she had three beautiful babies as a result—and no business kissing a man who wasn’t just her boss but who had made it clear that he was absolutely not interested in a relationship with a single mother.
* * *
“You better not be here with some kind of lame excuse about why you can’t be at the party,” Kate said, when Liam stepped into her office a short while later.
He halted in midstride. “Party?” he echoed, as if he had no idea what she might be talking about.
His sister’s gaze narrowed. “You better be joking.”
He grinned. “I have not forgotten my favorite niece’s first birthday party,” he assured her. “I even have a present for her.”
“Is it wrapped?”
“With a big pink bow on top.”
“You had it done at the store, didn’t you?”
“Of course,” he agreed unapologetically.
Apparently satisfied now that he wasn’t trying to get out of attending her daughter’s party, Kate turned her attention to other matters. “So why are you here?”
“Because I’m an idiot,” he said.
“That’s hardly a news bulletin,” she remarked.
“But this is,” he began. Then, realizing her office door was still open, he pushed it closed before continuing. He trusted that Kate’s legal assistant-slash-receptionist understood the concept of client confidentiality, but he still didn’t want anyone else to know what he was about to confide to his sister. “I kissed Macy.”
“Yep. Idiot,” Kate agreed, shaking her head despairingly. “Do you listen to nothing I tell you?”
“I always listen,�
� he assured her.
“You just don’t heed my advice,” she surmised.
“Actually, the truth is that she kissed me,” he told her.
“So you’re here to file a sexual harassment suit?”
He scowled at that. “Of course not.”
“Then you want me to tell you all the reasons that it was a bad idea to kiss a woman who works for you?” she suggested as an alternative. “In which case, you should have a seat, because I promise you, the list is long.”
“I know all the reasons it was a bad idea,” he admitted. “Except that it sure seemed like a good idea at the time.”
“You are the boss. She is the employee.” She spelled out the facts, clearly and concisely. “That’s a lawsuit waiting to happen.”
“She kissed me,” he said again.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“You’re right,” he acknowledged. “I know you’re right. But... I think I really like her, Kate.”
“No, you don’t,” she denied. “You want to have sex with her.”
“Well, yeah,” he agreed.
“Well, you can’t,” she said. “There are lots of other women in this town who don’t work for you. Go have sex with one of them.”
“I don’t want one of them. I want Macy.”
“Lawsuit. Waiting. To. Happen.”
“You’re so cynical,” he chided.
“I’m a lawyer,” she reminded him. “That’s part of my job description.” Then both her expression and her voice softened. “But I’m also your sister, and I don’t want to see you hurt again.”
“I don’t think you need to worry about that. Macy was none too happy with me when she left.”
“Hmm...maybe your technique needs some work?”
“It had nothing to do with the kiss,” he assured her. “It was after the kiss—when I told her that I didn’t want to get involved with a woman with kids.”
Claiming the Cowboy's Heart Page 7
