“Different people, different outcomes.” She shrugged. “I knew my husband a few weeks and knew he was the guy for me. That was ten years and two kids ago. I fall more in love with him every day. Do we have our ups and downs? Of course. You name a couple and I’ll tell you the speed bumps in the relationship. The ones who want to work it out do. If you don’t—” She shook her head.
“What’s your point?”
Vera stabbed her finger into the air. “You refuse to try at all.”
“No, Mallory is the one refusing,” he shot back.
“And you’re relieved about that because it lets you off the hook.” She was relentless. “What happened to Jonah is your excuse not to take a chance.”
“Even if I was willing, there’s no reason.” Frustration knotted in his belly. “She shut me down. Said I’m not marriage material.”
“Oh, Caleb...” Vera’s voice softened. “She didn’t mean that. She knows you’re a good man or you’d never have gotten within spitting distance of her little girl. What she said was just a way to protect herself.”
“How do you know?”
“Pushing you away puts her in control of the pain. By expecting the worst, and even creating it, she gets to be in charge of when the bad stuff happens. She thinks it will hurt less that way, but from what Lily said, it’s not working out as expected.”
“When did you become a psychologist?” he asked.
“When I said ‘I do.’ It’s what happens when you’re a wife and mother. Comes with the territory.” She smiled. “Mallory loves you. Everyone in town can see it. But you haven’t been looking. I heard what Lily said about her aunt missing you. Only a woman in love behaves that way. You’re lucky to have found her after all this time.”
Jonah had told him he was lucky to have made it all these years without getting serious about a woman. It had saved him a mother lode of pain and humiliation. But the truth was it had nothing to do with luck or signs. He’d just never met the right woman. In that moment it was as clear and bright as a cloudless Montana sky. He had met the one.
Mallory.
Now that he had, he wasn’t going to let her get away.
“I’m lucky in a lot of ways. Including that you’re my friend.” He grinned and gave Vera a big kiss on the cheek. “I’m going to find Lily now and make sure she’s okay. Don’t try to stop me.”
“Would I do that?” Her blue eyes twinkled.
“In a heartbeat. And I’m grateful. Thanks, V.”
“Anytime,” she said and stepped out of his way. “I’ll keep my fingers crossed.”
Caleb ran out of the store and to his truck in the parking lot. He came to a dead stop when he spotted the little girl beside it wearing a whole lot of pink and yellow. Definitely not the outfit to wear if you were trying to be inconspicuous.
“Lily, what are you doing here?” He went down on one knee beside her. “I thought you went back to day care.”
She shook her head. “I didn’t want to get yelled at for running away.”
“The way I see it,” he said seriously, “you didn’t run away—you ran to something. And you’re right.”
“I am?” Her eyes widened. “What about?”
“I’m the one who made your aunt cry, and that makes me the guy who can fix it.”
“What are you going to do?” she asked, a hint of shock and awe in her voice.
“I thought a talk with your aunt Mallory would be in order.”
“Right now?” She looked shocked. “But she’s at work.”
“Good, she’s not far away.”
Lily threw her arms around his neck. “Oh, Caleb, thank you.”
He hugged her back. “Don’t thank me yet. I have to get her to listen to me.”
“She will.” Lily smiled and the hero worship was back in her eyes. “I know it.”
“From your mouth to God’s ear.”
“Okay, I’ll go back to day care.”
“Not yet. You’re coming with me to the law office.”
“But I’m already in trouble,” she protested.
“Probably. But I’m going to call them on my cell phone right now and let them know you’re okay. We’ll stop there and explain what happened.” He opened the truck’s rear door and lifted her inside. “After that, I’m gonna need all the help I can get convincing your aunt to give me another chance.”
“Okay.” She sat on the seat and buckled herself in. “She listens to me. Can I go with you?”
“We’re going to make that happen, kid.” He shut the door. “And I hope what you say is true.”
* * *
Mallory was sitting at her desk staring at her computer screen when Ben Dalton walked into her office.
“Do you have the trust paperwork for the Bartells?”
Her boss leaned a broad shoulder against the door frame. Somewhere in his fifties, he was still trim and handsome. Caleb looked a lot like his dad and would be just like him, one of those men who got better with age. Would he grow old alone or find someone to share his life with? Someone who wasn’t her.
“Mallory?”
“Hmm?” She blinked, then gave herself a mental shake. “Oh. Sorry, I zoned out for a second.” The file he wanted. “I didn’t put that on your desk?” She could have sworn it was there, but her boss wouldn’t be here now if that was the case.
He confirmed with a simple “No.”
“I know it’s all ready to go.” She skimmed through her own upright file holder and found the one he wanted. Barely holding in a groan at her negligence, she said, “Here it is.”
Ben walked over and took it from her. “Thanks.”
“I’m so sorry about that.” Sorry was never a word you wanted to say at work and she’d said it twice in the past two minutes. Not good at all.
“No big deal. They’re not coming in for a final review until tomorrow. But you know me.” He grinned. “Everything needs to be ready for the next day.”
She did know him and liked to think they worked well together because she was the same way. Plan ahead so there were no surprises. One of the last things she did every day was go through the upcoming schedule to make sure her boss had what he needed. She remembered doing the next-day-review part, but somewhere between that and the follow-through she’d been distracted.
Probably by thoughts of Caleb. All her planning ahead hadn’t prepared her for the surprise of missing him so much she ached from it.
“I’m really sorry, Ben.” Apology number three. “It won’t happen again. Truly. I—”
“Whoa,” he said. “It’s not a big deal.”
“It is to me. Efficiency is my middle name.”
“I couldn’t agree more. Your work is exemplary.” He rested the edge of the file on the corner of her desk. “Is everything all right with you? And Lily?”
Other than dealing with the fact that Caleb didn’t want to see them, but that was not anything she planned to discuss with his father. Personal life should stay outside the office, especially when your personal problem was with the boss’s son.
“All is well,” she said.
“Nothing on your mind?” he persisted.
“No more than usual.” That was the first time she’d ever lied to her boss and she felt slimy and awful about it. Still, she had to believe it was the wrong thing, right reason. “Why do you ask?”
“Probably just my imagination, but for the last week or so you’ve seemed a little distracted. Sad.”
He was very perceptive. Not easily fooled. She hated that what had happened with Caleb was affecting her work performance. So far she hadn’t messed up anything important and she planned to keep it that way. Starting now she was going to get her act together—with as much of the truth as she could give him.
“
I’ve been a little tired.” That was true. It was hard to sleep with her heart such a mess. “And I worry if Lily is adjusting all right, dealing with losing both of her parents at the same time. She’s just a kid. As we get older there’s a better understanding of the fact that losing a parent is inevitable, but we don’t expect both of them to go at the same time. So that’s always on my mind.” She gave him a confident smile. “But don’t worry. I’m on it.”
“Mallory, I’m not upset with you. On the contrary, you’re the best paralegal I’ve ever worked with.” He frowned. “But I also consider you a friend and that’s the only reason I asked. Just so we’re clear, if I ever have a problem with your work, there won’t be any question about it. You’ll know.”
“Okay. Thanks, Ben.” She felt marginally better, but resolved to make sure he didn’t ever know it if she was in personal-crisis land.
“Okay, then. If you need to talk, my door is always open....”
The ring of Mallory’s cell phone interrupted and she looked at the caller ID. “It’s the day-care center.”
With a nod of his head Ben indicated she should answer and after picking it up from the desk, she hit the talk button. Before she could say hello, someone started speaking. The words chilled her. “She did what?”
Her heart was hammering as Lily’s teacher told her about Lily leaving day care without permission. But Caleb had brought her back and the little girl was safe. Finally there was a request for her permission. “Of course he can bring her here to the office.”
She said goodbye and disconnected, then explained to Ben what happened when Lily saw Caleb’s truck at Crawford’s.
“He’s bringing her here,” she explained to her boss. “Why would he want to do that?”
“I have my suspicions.” Ben’s eyes twinkled. “But you’ll just have to wait to find out.”
The suspense would probably have killed her, so it was a good thing she didn’t have to wait very long.
A few minutes after the phone call, Lily marched into her office. “Hi, Auntie Mal.”
Mallory went to her and bent to hug her. “What were you thinking running away?”
“I wanted to see Caleb.”
Mallory saw him standing in the hall and felt a rush of emotions. Joy at the sight of him. Confusion. Relief that Lily had been safe with him. More confusion about why they were together.
“What’s going on?” She directed the question to the little girl.
“I was playing outside and saw Caleb go into Crawford’s. I just had to talk to him.”
Mallory had a pretty good idea what was on Lily’s mind. “So, you left without saying anything to anyone?”
“Caleb said the same thing.”
“And what did you answer?” she asked, looking up at him.
“They wouldn’t have let me go.” There was a whole lot of stubborn determination in Lily’s voice.
“Of course they wouldn’t let you leave. It’s their job to keep you safe. Although someone took their eyes off you.” She glanced up at Caleb again, torn between fear about what could have happened and a spurt of happiness because she hadn’t seen him in what felt like forever. “It wasn’t necessary for you to bring her here. I was getting ready to pick her up after work.”
“I wanted to. Because what I have to say couldn’t wait.”
Mallory felt as if her heart stopped for the second time in two minutes. It was impossible to tell what the intensity on his face meant, but she had a pretty good idea that it was personal. The funny thing about hope was that it could be cruel if things didn’t work out the way you wanted. She just wished this conversation could happen somewhere other than his father’s office.
“Why don’t we talk when I get off—”
Ben cleared his throat. “Lily, how about you come with me to my office. There are some games on my computer I think you’d like.”
“But, Mr. Dalton, I have to help Caleb talk to Aunt Mallory.”
“Well, sweetie, I think he needs to take it from here. We should give them a little privacy.” Ben winked at the little girl.
After a moment, Lily smiled and winked back. “Okay. Do you have that game with the animals?”
“If I don’t, I’m sure we can find it. She’ll be fine with me,” he said, looking at Mallory.
“Thanks,” she answered gratefully.
Her boss held out his hand to the little girl and she put hers in his big palm and they walked out, leaving her alone with Caleb.
After several moments, she looked at him and demanded, “This is where I work. Why here?”
“Because it’s where I first met you and Lily. We’ve come full circle. Seemed like the right place for the conversation I want to have with you.”
“We said everything the night of the church dance.” And she hadn’t seen him since. “Your disappearance made it pretty clear how you felt.”
A muscle jerked in his jaw for a moment. “You wanted me to challenge the fact that you were insisting on nothing more than friendship.”
“I suppose so.” She knew so. And even if she hadn’t just promised herself that there would be no more lies, she saw no point in denying the truth. “Obviously you were completely fine about leaving everything the way it was. The silence on your end spoke volumes.”
“I can see where you’d jump to that conclusion, but let me tell you what was really going on.”
“Please.” She prepared herself for the charm defense. A man didn’t stay friends with all his exes without applying it liberally.
“I backed off because I’ve never felt about a woman the way I feel about you.” He took off his Stetson and dragged his fingers through his dark hair. “It’s not easy for a man like me to say this, but I was confused.”
That admission was a little bit stunning. Caleb had a cocky, confident streak that could be annoying and attractive in equal parts. So confessing that he was confused about anything, especially feelings, sort of disarmed her.
The anger and hurt drained out of her and she asked softly, “Are you still confused?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because when an eight-year-old goes over the day-care wall to call you on your crap, it puts everything in perspective.” He twirled his hat between his hands. “That and the fact that I miss you like crazy. I can’t think of anything but you. Anderson gave me the afternoon off and said not to come back until I can quit being so bad-tempered.”
“Why were you crabby?”
“Because of you.” He threw his hat on her desk. “I’ve never been more clear about anything in my life than how I feel about you, Mal.”
“Oh?” She held her breath as hope expanded inside her. Happy endings always started with hope, she realized.
He nodded and intensity blazed in his eyes. “I want us to be more than friends. I want to be serious and complicated and everything else that comes with it when a man commits everything to a woman.”
“Really?” That was all she could say. He was on a roll and she wasn’t going to get in his way.
“Yes, ma’am. At Crawford’s Lily reminded me that life is short and it’s just foolish to waste time. No one knows that better than her.” He took a deep breath. “I love her, Mal. I want to be a father to her if you’ll let me. It might be wrong to say, but more important is that I love you. I want to make a life with you because you are my life—”
Mallory couldn’t stand it anymore. If she didn’t touch him, she was going to explode. She launched herself into his arms and he caught her. She took that as a sign that he would always be there for her, always catch her.
“I love you, too,” she whispered against his neck.
“Do you think Lily would be okay with it if I propose to you?” His breath stirred her hair.
“Why do
n’t you ask her?” Mallory pointed to the doorway, where the little girl was standing, a broad smile on her face.
She ran over and looked up. “I knew you guys really liked each other.”
Caleb went down on one knee and took her little hand. “So you’re okay with it if I ask your aunt to marry me?”
“I already picked out my flower-girl dress,” she said.
“There’s one yes vote.” He slipped Mallory’s hand into his other palm and met her gaze. “Mallory Franklin, will you marry me?”
She worked with words every day. The law was filled with an abundance of language to make a situation unambiguous. Right here, right now, where she worked, there was only one simple word for this all-important question.
“Yes.”
Epilogue
Mallory looked at the ring on her left finger, a platinum band with inset diamonds that told the world she was Mrs. Caleb Dalton. It told her, too, because sometimes she had to pinch herself to make sure this was real. Word around town had been wrong, and their wedding didn’t happen quite as soon as everyone had speculated. They’d waited until after the holidays. And characteristic of her relationship with Caleb, their wedding plans had changed when a January blizzard pared the ceremony down to a few hardy friends and family. When the weather cooperated, they had a big reception in the town hall.
Caleb had moved into her house in town because it was closer to work and school for her and Lily. His house was rented out to Cooper Manning. The man was somewhere in his thirties and handsome enough to make the heart of any woman not already in love beat faster. The single members of the Newcomers Club were excited. At first. But the guy kept to himself and no one knew how he made a living. In fact, the only reliable information was that he wasn’t a fugitive from the law and paid his rent on time.
So, Mallory was in love with and married to the man of her dreams. There was a wedding photo of her, Caleb and Lily on Ben Dalton’s desk. Now the three of them were in his office for the final paperwork on the adoption. Caleb had picked Lily up from school and they were waiting for his dad to return from the town hall. The little girl was sitting on his knee.
From Maverick to Daddy Page 19
