“And that’s my big sister.”
Maggie was so shocked, she had to force herself not to do a double–take as Pixie put her arm around Maggie’s shoulder and turned to face the gathering.
“Most of you won’t know that my big sis was left to raise me and my sisters…”
Maggie was about to correct her by saying under her breath, “My sisters and me,” but she was too overcome to say anything.
“…When our parents died in a house fire. I was only a baby…and they couldn’t find me…”
Pixie’s voice broke and Maggie turned to look at her. How did she find out about that? Pixie was never meant to know, never meant to be left shouldering any guilt…
“It’s okay, sis,” she said, turning to face Maggie who couldn’t stop the tears welling in her eyes. “Gramps told me. He said I was old enough to know now. To understand. And I’m glad he did, it helped open my eyes to what a unique and wonderful person you are. Not that I didn’t think you were already,” she hastened to add. “I just want you to know you don’t have to protect me from anything anymore. And the reason for that is you’ve raised me to be so strong, to know who I am. I’ve loved you forever, you’re my rock, the person I love most in the world and always will. As a kid, I always tried to be so like you. I failed miserably…”
At that Maggie shook her head and the tears flowed as she whispered, “Never!”
Pixie reached into her pocket and pulled out a bunch of crumpled tissues and handed them to Maggie saying, “I knew you’d get all emotional on me, so I came prepared.”
Everyone laughed gently at that, then settled to hear what else Pixie had to say as she put her arm around Maggie again and hugged her close.
“My sister made a huge sacrifice in taking on the responsibilities of raising me and my sisters. I want to acknowledge that and thank her from the bottom of my heart.”
Maggie glanced up at Mac, thinking he’d spoken to Pixie. But reading her thoughts, he gave a slow shake of his head in denial.
“Your grandfather!” she hissed at Pixie under her breath.
“Of course, being my sister, she’s just tried to correct me and remind me of Gramps’ contribution to my upbringing.”
There was more laughter and Maggie blushed. Pixie really had no off– button when it came to her mouth. And she loved her for it.
“The thing is, I hear all the time from other people about being raised by my grandfather, what a great job he’s done, but people rarely mention my big sister and, really, she’s the one who was there for all the girl–stuff that dear old Gramps simply had no idea about. Maggie was the disciplinarian, the worrier, the mother, the nurturer. She would have married her high–school sweetheart if the fire hadn’t happened. And look what a gutless wonder he turned out to be.”
There was more laughter and Maggie blushed, feeling a fool now for believing so much in Trey, wasting so many years yearning for him.
“But she’s found herself a real keeper now!”
Everyone laughed and turned to Mac who grinned from ear to ear while Maggie, mortified, wanted to slink in the door and hide for the rest of the day.
“I want to say a lot more about my sister, but I can feel her looking daggers at me, so maybe I’d better finish up before she assigns me a week of washing–up duty.”
“Oh, trust me, you’ve already earned that, missy!” Maggie murmured and those who heard laughed again.
“I know you all can’t wait to toast me on my twenty–first birthday but, first, I’d like you to raise your glasses and toast my big sister, Maggie Hansen, the best sister in the world!”
Glasses were raised amongst loud murmurs of assent, then they clapped their approval.
When it had died down, Gramps stepped forward and mounted the steps to the porch. He turned towards the gathered guests and looked at his grand–daughters one by one and said, “It’s about time one of you little brats hailed your sister’s significant contribution to your lives.” He kissed Pixie’s cheek and whispered just loud enough for Maggie and Pixie to hear, “You done good with that speech, kid,” then he turned back to the crowd.
“Maggie is a remarkable young woman and I wish I could say that was my influence, but she was already molded into the person she is, long before they all came to live with me in my little cabin by the river. I could say a lot more about Maggie, but I know that would only embarrass her, and her baby sister’s already done enough of that.” He turned to Maggie and smiled and winked at her, and murmured, “You’re the best. Don’t ever forget that.”
He then turned to their audience and said, “Please raise your glasses once more to toast my little Pixie, who, I would like to point out, I named when I first clapped eyes on her. To Pixie!”
As day turned to evening at last, Pixie, her friends and Flynn returned to Maggie’s place, intending to spend another night under the stars, telling stories and eating yet more S’mores. Everyone said their farewells and headed off.
Gramps collared Mac as he was saying goodnight to Maggie. “Not so fast, you two.” He turned to Maggie and said, “You know the old miner’s shack down past the fork in the river?”
Maggie nodded, not understanding where the conversation was going. It was a favorite fishing spot of all the girls when they were younger. It could be accessed from the cabin by horseback, but to drive there you had to leave the ranch and cut back through forestry land.
“Well, I thought I might move back here—I’m way too young to be livin’ amongst all those old folks in the Springs—so Martha’s been helping me fix it up.”
“That’s a wonderful idea, Gramps! Are you staying there tonight?”
“Nope, honey. You are. You and Mac. I think you both need some time alone and you won’t be gittin’ any with all these kinfolk around.”
Maggie was struck dumb. Gramps was now organizing her love–life, was he? It’s a wonder Pixie wasn’t in on it as well!
“To save you goin’ back to the house, I had Pix pack a few essentials for you, so you two lovebirds could make your getaway.”
Maggie was thankful for the fading light. Gramps calling them lovebirds was a bit too much presumption on his part. And so much for Pixie not having anything to do with it.
He handed a backpack to her and said, “Don’t go doin’ anything I wouldn’t do. Ah, scratch that! Do whatever you want. I haven’t done anything much in too long—but I aim to put an end to my celibacy just as soon as I can git a lock fitted to that door and keep her locked inside for a month.”
Mac laughed and Maggie said, “Oh, my God, that is way too much information for me!”
“Gotta be said. I’m not gittin’ any younger. And neither are you.”
“Ah, thanks, Gramps. I think…” She blushed, not knowing if Mac was as interested in escaping to the cabin as she was. What if he said no? She’d die. Die of embarrassment for Gramp’s presumption, and die of her need for Mac.
Mac ended the matter by holding out his hand to Gramps and shaking the older man’s hand, saying, “Thanks, Gramps. I couldn’t think of anything I want more than to get Maggie alone.”
Maggie’s knees nearly gave out under her.
“Since you know the way, Maggie, I won’t detain you two love–birds any longer.” Gramps leaned forward to kiss Maggie’s cheek and whisper in her ear, “He’s a good man, honey, one of the best. Don’t let this opportunity go beggin’.”
Maggie had no answer to that. Another time she might have examined his words, questioned their meaning, but right now, she wanted to be alone with Mac. To hell with all her stupid hang–ups about his age and that he’d be going back to Nashville at the end of the summer and they didn’t have a future for all sorts of reasons! Tonight she wanted to feel like a woman, be loved like a woman. Was that asking too much? She turned to him and said, “Do you need to pack anything?”
“Not if I can share your toothbrush,” he said with a grin and tugged her towards his vehicle. He opened the passenger door and waited
while she climbed in, then slammed it shut in a way that spoke of his not wanting her to escape.
He climbed in the other side and said, “Ready?”
Maggie nodded and said, “More ready than you’ll ever know.”
Chapter Twelve
The track to the miner’s shack was rough, but the grass had been flattened and Maggie could tell there’d been vehicles up and down it a good few times recently. She wondered how Gramps and Martha had found the time to get out here and fix it up—at least make it good enough for human habitation—they’d been so busy organizing things for the barbeque weekend.
It was dark by the time they pulled up outside the shack, but the moon was near full and the stars glittered brilliantly in the sky overhead.
Mac reached across Maggie and retrieved a flashlight from his glove box, then came around to help her down from his vehicle.
He wrapped his arms around her thighs as she started to climb down, and gradually let her slide down the length of his body until her feet were just touching the ground.
Maggie’s nerves were buzzing with the contact, loving the possessive feel of his hands spanning her waist as he looked into her eyes and said, “Are you okay with this?”
She reached up and ran her hand down his cheek, asking, “Are you?”
“Oh, yeah,” he breathed. “More than okay. I’ve wanted to get you alone like this all day.” He kissed her lightly and said, “That’s not true, I’ve wanted you alone like this virtually from the moment we met.”
“Kiss me,” she said, surprised by her boldness.
“With pleasure,” Mac said and obliged her.
Maggie lost herself in the sensations of Mac’s lips moving on hers, at first softly, then more urgently until his tongue sought entry to her mouth.
She welcomed the invasion, welcomed the strength of his arms wrapped around her, the potency of his erection she could feel pressing urgently against her.
Without breaking their kiss, he lifted her into his arms and carried her to the cabin. Maggie reached down and turned the door handle and Mac stepped over the threshold.
“I’d like to say, wow, but I can’t see a damned thing,” he said with a smile in his voice and let her slide down his body. Hands resting on her hips he said, “I don’t suppose you brought the flashlight with you from the car?”
A moment later, the flashlight’s beam broke through the dark and Maggie slipped out of his embrace as she went in search of some other sort of illumination. She soon found it: dozens of candles ranged around the tiny room and a box of matches lay on the bedside table. She stuck a match and started lighting the candles.
Gradually the room was revealed to them.
“Hey!” Mac said as he glanced around. “Martha should start an interior décor business.”
The interior of the shack had been painted a warm off–white. The bed was decorated with crisp white linens and there was a quilt sewn in the wedding–ring pattern in red, white and blue thrown over it. A length of tulle netting wound around and across the four posts.
With the candles’ warm glow, the room looked romantic and cozy and exactly what Maggie would have dreamt of, had she ever given herself a moment to dream of a night with a man who made her heart sing.
Mac moved around the room opening doors but finding only closets. “Ah, there’s no bathroom,” he said.
Maggie smiled. He was such a city boy! “There’s an outhouse out back. And a river out front for bathing.”
“I’m really dusty after today, but I’m not sure I fancy swimming in a river fed by melted snow.”
“Oh, come on!” Maggie said, already stripping off her shirt and racing out the door. “You haven’t lived until you’ve skinny–dipped in a mountain–fed river!”
Mac watched her from the doorway, cursing that the moonlight wasn’t brighter as he watched Maggie peel off her boots and jeans. He swallowed as her underwear joined the pile of clothes she’d discarded.
She squealed as she waded into the water a couple of feet, then dived into the river.
When she didn’t come up after a few moments, Mac worried she’d hit her head on a rock or something. He ran to the river, peeled off his boots and dived in after her.
Moments later, both their heads broke the surface.
Maggie laughed and said, “That didn’t take you long to strip!”
Mac could feel his face heating. “Ah, I dived in fully clothed.”
“What the heck for? This is skinny–dipping, don’t you remember?”
“I thought you’d hit your head on a rock when you didn’t surface immediately and was coming to rescue you.”
Maggie paused and stared at him in the moonlight, then stroked towards him. “My hero,” she murmured and started stripping Mac’s clothes off.
Since they were both treading water it caused some difficulty. “Come over here,” she said and swam towards the bank and stood up.
Mac swallowed. Now that his eyes were more accustomed to the dark, he could see Maggie more clearly. She looked like a magnificent nymph, standing in water that brushed the tops of her thighs, her wet hair flowing over her shoulders.
He swam to her and stood up. Maggie pulled his t–shirt over his head, then reached for the fastening on his jeans.
“Whoa! Slow down,” Mac cautioned, catching her eager hands in his and bringing them to his lips.
“No, Cowboy, we both have to be naked for this to work.”
Mistaking her meaning he said, “Not necessarily.”
She laughed and said, “I mean to skinny–dip properly, we both need to be buck–naked.”
She paused then and said, “You have been skinny–dipping before haven’t you?”
“Ah, well. No. Actually I haven’t.” He shrugged and said, “Hey, I only had sisters. And I grew up in the city, skinny–dipping in the local pool was strictly prohibited!”
Maggie laughed and helped push his jeans down. No small task since they were so wet they clung to his thighs.
His erection sprang free and Maggie gasped.
Mac caught her cheeks in both hands and kissed her thoroughly. Maggie could only grasp his waist to stop her knees from buckling. She’d never actually seen a man completely naked. She didn’t know whether to be impressed or frightened.
“What’s the matter?” he asked pausing between kissing her mouth from one side to the other.
“I…ah…you’re so big, and yet the water’s so cold…”
“Testament to how much I want you. Don’t be afraid.”
He kicked off his jeans then lifted her so Maggie could wrap her legs around his waist then waded into deeper water.
Where they were, the river had formed a small pool where the water didn’t rush as fast as it did elsewhere. At either end of the pool were large boulders where the water splashed and flowed in and out, but in their own little cocoon of peace they could swim without being washed downstream by the current.
Mac held Maggie’s bottom in his hands, thinking about all they would do to each other tonight, when the river bottom disappeared under his feet and he stepped into a deep hole.
He came up spluttering to the sound of Maggie’s laughter. She’d managed to disentangle herself before he went right under.
“You knew about that hole didn’t you?” he charged.
“I know every inch of this river since it flows through our land,” she said, and swam strongly over to where the water splashed over the boulders and into the pool. She dipped under the small waterfall then turned to face him while the water beat down on her head.
Mac joined her. “Man, this is like a Jacuzzi!” he said, his voice sounding staccato with the strength of the water blasting down on his head and shoulders.
“Nice, isn’t it? I’ve been so busy with life I haven’t been up here in years. I’m so glad Gramps sent us here.”
“Me too,” he said, and turned towards Maggie so she could wind her long legs around his waist again.
“Hmm, I like
this,” she said and kissed him.
Moments later she broke the kiss and said, “You’re shivering.”
“What can I say, I’m a city–bred git. I’m not used to mountain streams.”
Maggie grinned and kissed him. She loved that Mac could poke fun at himself. Reluctantly she broke the kiss and said, “Nevertheless, I have plans for you tonight and you won’t be much use if you spend half the night shivering. We don’t have hot showers.”
“Y…yeah, I n… noticed,” Mac said and tried to stop his teeth chattering.
“Race you back to the bank!” Maggie said and stood up, launching herself off a rock and diving into the pond. Mac watched as, with long strokes, she swam to the river bank and stood up, looking for all the world like Venus rising from the sea.
Mac dived in off the same rock and soon joined her on the riverbank. He bent to retrieve his clothes that had washed on shore and spread them over a couple of rocks, hoping they’d dry by morning. The evening was still so hot, he didn’t doubt they would.
He turned back to Maggie to find her standing right behind him, biting her lip. He cupped her cheek and said, “What’s up? Having second thoughts?”
Maggie shook her head and said, “I… don’t want to disappoint you.”
Mac had to stop himself laughing out loud. “How would you ever disappoint me?”
She leaned her cheek against his palm as if seeking his warmth. “I’m not very experienced.” She shrugged. “Trey and I…”
Mac waited, but Maggie didn’t say anymore.
“You were lovers?” he said, trying to get her to talk about what was troubling her.
She nodded. “But it was just teenage fumbling, nothing really… satisfying. Until tonight, I’d never seen a man naked before.”
Mac had to stop himself from stumbling backwards. That was quite a revelation. Just what the hell kind of lover was Trey?
“And since him?”
Colorado Woman (The Hansen Women) Page 10
