THE MAVERICK'S THANKSGIVING BABY

by Brenda Harlen

  “Is she sick?” Maggie asked.

  “Teething,” her sister-in-law clarified. “She’s been teething for six months—but every new tooth seems to make her grumpier than the previous one.”

  Maggie stroked the back of a finger over the child’s red cheek. Noelle looked at her and let out a shuddery sigh.

  “I was just about to take her upstairs to see if she’ll nap,” Nina said. “Do you have time for a cup of tea?”

  Maggie glanced at her watch, although, aside from printing the memorandum she’d drafted and which didn’t need to be submitted until Monday, she had absolutely nothing pressing at the office. “I do if you do,” she told her sister-in-law.

  Nina led the way through the store to the staircase behind women’s sleepwear.

  “I lived up here before I moved in with Dallas. Because I manage the store, it was convenient. I decided to keep the apartment, at least for now, so that Noelle can be close by when I’m working. It makes it easy for me to slip away to nurse her—or take a nap with her.”

  “You’re nursing even while she’s teething?”

  “For now,” Nina agreed. “We’ve been supplementing with formula for a few months, because it gives me a little more freedom, but they say that breast milk is best for the first year, so even when I’m not nursing, I’m pumping.”

  The door opened into a big living room that was separated from the kitchen and dining area by an island counter. It was bright and spacious but as warm and inviting as the woman who had decorated it.

  “This is nice,” Maggie said sincerely.

  “I like it,” Nina said. “It was where I originally planned on living with Noelle—until I fell in love with Dallas. Now he’s going to add on to his house—our house—so that we’ll have a master suite on the main level and then the current master bedroom can be divided into two rooms and each of the kids will have their own.”

  “Are you planning to add to your family?” Maggie asked.

  “I think four is a good number.” Nina passed the baby to her sister-in-law so that she could make tea. “But I have to admit, I’ve been thinking that it would be nice to have a baby with Dallas.”

  “What does he say about that?”

  “It took some getting used to for him with Noelle. Robbie is seven now, so dealing with midnight feedings and dirty diapers was a big adjustment for him, so I haven’t even mentioned the idea yet. I was thinking I’d give him a little more time before I bring up the subject—and to make sure it isn’t just a whim on my part.”

  Watching Nina’s ease with and obvious love for her baby, Maggie didn’t think it was a whim. Jesse’s sister was clearly one of those women who was meant to be a mother, and she knew that her husband was lucky to have found a woman who loved the children from his first marriage as much as she loved her own.

  “Speaking of homes,” Nina said. “Did you know that Jesse built his? Well, not by himself,” she clarified. “My dad and my brothers helped.”

  “He didn’t tell me.” But the information reminded her that she’d wondered about something else. “How long has he lived there?”

  “Four years, I think.” And then, demonstrating a startling insight into her sister-in-law’s mind, she said, “It was definitely post-Shaelyn.”

  Maggie nodded, grateful for the information. “Did he design it, too?”

  “Inside and out,” Nina confirmed.

  “He’s got a good eye—and great hands.”

  “Please,” Nina said. “There are some details a sister doesn’t need to know.”

  Maggie felt as if her cheeks were as red as Noelle’s. “I meant that he’s good with tools.”

  Her sister-in-law raised a brow.

  She blew out a breath. “I saw the cradle he’s making for the baby.”

  “He’s making a cradle?” Nina’s eyes misted. “That’s so sweet—and so Jesse.”

  “Is it?”

  “He’s over the moon about this baby.”

  Maggie looked down at the little girl now sleeping in her arms. “I’m pretty excited, too. I can’t wait to hold my own baby just like this.”

  “He—or she—will be here before you know it, and then what you’ll want more than anything in the world is a few hours of uninterrupted sleep.”

  “I’m sure that’s true,” Maggie agreed. “But I still can’t wait. Of course, I’m as terrified as I am excited, but since there’s no turning back now, I’m trying to focus on the positive.”

  Nina was silent for a minute, seemingly content to just watch Maggie cuddle with Noelle. But when she spoke again, the sincere concern in her tone even more than the question warned Maggie that the other woman suspected all was not wedded bliss for her brother and sister-in-law.

  “Is everything okay?” she asked gently.

  Maggie managed a smile, in an effort to convince Nina as well as herself. “Everything’s great.”

  “The day that you and Jesse got married, you were absolutely glowing,” Nina said. “You’re not glowing anymore.”

  Since Maggie couldn’t dispute that, she said nothing.

  “Are you unhappy here?” her sister-in-law prompted.

  “No. I’m really coming to love Rust Creek Falls.”

  “Are you missing your family?”

  “Sure,” she admitted. “But I’m building a new family here, with Jesse.” When Nina’s only response was patient silence, Maggie sighed. “I guess I just hoped that we’d have more time together. He’s so busy, between his work at Traub Stables and chores at The Shooting Star, that I hardly ever see him.”

  Nina’s brow furrowed. “I would expect a new husband to make more time for his bride.”

  “You know why we got married,” Maggie reminded her.

  “I know why you got married as quickly as you did,” her sister-in-law allowed. “I also know that Jesse started to fall for you the first time he saw you—long before there was a baby in the picture.”

  Maggie was surprised by the statement. What Nina apparently “knew” was news to her.

  Yes, Jesse had been attracted to her from the start—which was why there was a baby on the way—but she didn’t know if she’d go so far as to say that he’d fallen for her. Even if she’d fallen head over heels for him a long time ago.

  “Did he tell you about Shaelyn?” Nina asked.

  “Only that he was engaged to her, briefly.”

  “That’s true, but not even close to being the whole truth.” She picked up her tea, sipped. “It’s not really my place to tell you the story—or at least what I know of it—but I think you should know the basics, so that you won’t lose all patience with my idiot brother.”

  “I’m not sure how to respond to that,” Maggie admitted, making Nina laugh.

  “You don’t have to—as much as I love him, I’m not blind to his faults.”

  She sipped her tea again while she considered what—or maybe how much—to say. Maggie set aside her own cup, unable to drink her tea while her stomach was twisting itself into knots.

  “He loved her,” Nina finally said, and with those words, the knots tightened painfully. “In that innocent first love kind of way. You have to understand what it was like for Jesse growing up in our family. He’s always been the quiet one, the more introspective one. And he’s sensitive, which is probably why he’s so good with animals, and why he doesn’t like to play with anyone’s emotions.

  “All of the local girls chased after Nate and Justin and Brad. Jesse was every bit as good-looking, smart and charming, but he was overlooked because he let himself be.

  “When he went away to college, he was no longer competing with our brothers for attention, and the girls started to notice him for who he was. Shaelyn set her sights on him from day one. He didn’t have a lot of experience decipher
ing subtle signals, but there was nothing subtle about Shaelyn.”

  “You didn’t like her,” Maggie realized.

  “I wanted to—for Jesse’s sake. But Shaelyn didn’t have many redeeming qualities, aside from the fact that she loved my brother.”

  “And he loved her.”

  “He was infatuated,” Nina allowed. “I’m not sure it was anything more than that, although he certainly thought it was, at least at the time.

  “And his experience with Shaelyn did make him wary. So I’m going to ask you to try to be patient with him. To give him the time he needs to accept how he feels about you.”

  “What if you’re wrong about his feelings?”

  “I’m not,” her sister-in-law promised.

  Maggie wished she could be half as certain, but her conversation with Nina had at least given her hope.

  * * *

  Jesse’s excited anticipation about the impending birth of his child was tempered by his fear that the baby’s mother would wake up one day and realize she hated life in Rust Creek Falls. Because if that happened and Maggie decided to go back to Los Angeles, he’d lose everything that mattered most to him.

  It was this fear that kept him from admitting—to her and himself—the true depth of his feelings. It was easy to keep busy around the ranch: mending broken fences, mucking out stalls and working with the horses. But that hadn’t taken up all of his time, so he’d decided to build a cradle. It was something he wanted to do, and it gave him an excuse to stay out in the barn, away from Maggie. Because he couldn’t be around Maggie without wanting Maggie, and giving in to that want would inevitably tangle up his heart, and he wasn’t ready to go down that road again.

  Except that he was almost finished the cradle, and he didn’t know what project to tackle next. Maybe he would see if he could find a good plan for a crib.

  He was assembling the stand when Honey nickered a happy greeting. Curious, he left the worktable and rounded the corner to discover Nina rubbing an affectionate hand down the horse’s muzzle.

  “What brings you out here?” he asked his sister.

  “Maybe I just wanted to see my big brother.”

  “More likely you want something from your big brother,” he guessed. “Like a babysitter?”

  She smiled, unoffended by the assumption. “I really just wanted to see how you were doing—how you’re settling into married life.”

  “Fine.”

  She lifted her brows in response to his single-word answer. “I don’t know if I can express how incredibly reassured I am.”

  “I don’t know why you’d need reassurance,” he said. “But I’m glad I could help.”

  “Maggie told me you were making a cradle for the baby.”

  “When did you see Maggie?”

  “She came to the store yesterday?”

  “Yesterday?” he echoed incredulously. “And you waited a whole twenty-four hours to track me down to no doubt tell me that my marriage is doomed?”

  “I don’t think your marriage is doomed,” she denied. “Although it’s interesting that you would project that forecast onto me.”

  “I’m not projecting anything.”

  “Can I see the cradle?”

  Happy to turn her attention to something other than his marriage, he led her to the workbench.

  “Oh,” she said, when he removed the protective cloth he’d draped over it. “Wow. Jesse, this is—” she ran a hand over the smoothly curved footboard “—gorgeous.”

  “I think it turned out pretty good,” he agreed.

  “This was obviously a labor of love.”

  “I wanted the baby to have—”

  “This isn’t for the baby,” she interjected softly. “It’s for Maggie.”

  “I’m pretty sure Maggie won’t fit in it.”

  “You know what I mean,” she chided. “This is your way of showing Maggie—because God forbid you should actually use words—how you feel about her.”

  His only response was to pull the blanket back over the cradle.

  Nina sighed. “What are you afraid of?”

  “I’m not afraid of anything.”

  “Good—because she married you, Jesse. She let you put a ring on her finger and she put one on yours and she promised to stay with you ‘so long as you both shall live.’”

  “Your point?” he prompted.

  “You’ve got to stop waiting for her to leave,” she said gently.

  He scowled. “I’m not.”

  “Maybe not consciously, but I know you, and I see the way you look at her—and the way you don’t let her see you look at her.”

  He frowned. “I’m not sure what you just said even makes any sense.”

  “Okay, I’ll put it in simple terms that even you can understand—Maggie isn’t Shaelyn. Don’t make her pay for what Shaelyn did to you.”

  “I know she’s not Shaelyn.”

  “Do you?” his sister challenged. “Do you realize that she looks at you as if you’re everything she wants and needs? Or do you look at her and think—she’s going to hate it here? That after having lived her whole life in Los Angeles, she’s never going to adjust to life in Rust Creek Falls?”

  “I can’t deny that the possibility has crossed my mind, but I’m not waiting for it to happen.”

  “Here’s another question—when you asked her to marry you, did you tell her how you feel about her or did you make it all about the baby?”

  “I’m really glad that you’re in love and happily married—even if you did choose to marry a Traub—but I don’t want or need your marital advice.”

  She shook her head. “You haven’t told her how you feel, have you?”

  “Maggie and I both know why we got married.”

  “I don’t think either of you has a clue about the other’s reasons.”

  He scowled at that.

  “She’s not going to break your heart,” Nina told him. “But if you’re not careful—or maybe I should say if you don’t stop being careful—you might break hers.”

  “I’ve got things to do, so if that’s all...”

  “There is one more thing.”

  “What is it?” he asked, not bothering to disguise his impatience.

  “The holiday pageant at the elementary school is on Monday night. Ryder’s part of the stage crew, and Jake and Robbie both have parts. I’d like you and Maggie to come.”

  “I don’t think—”

  “Most of Dallas’s family has already said that they’ll be there,” she interjected to cut off what she no doubt knew was going to be a refusal.

  He tried again. “I’m not sure a school play is Maggie’s kind of thing.”

  “You might be surprised—by a lot of things.”

  He scowled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means, ask her,” his sister said, heading toward the door. “The show starts at seven.”

  * * *

  So Jesse asked her.

  When he got back to the house, Maggie was on her computer, looking on Pinterest for decorating ideas for the nursery. Her study manuals for the Bar exam were closed on the table beside her.

  “My brain needed a break,” she said.

  He took a bottle of beer from the fridge, twisted off the cap. “I’m not surprised,” he said. “You’ve been working nonstop since you got here.”

  “I used to take work home from the office all the time. Now I’m lucky if I have enough work to keep me in the office until five o’clock.”

  “Are you bored?”

  “No, I enjoy what I’m doing. I’m just not accustomed to having so much time on my hands.”

  He felt another twinge of guilt as he realized it was true. Not only did her job demand
fewer hours, but she didn’t have the number of friends and acquaintances that she’d had in California. Yes, her cousin, Lissa, was here—but Lissa and Gage were head over heels in love and rarely more than ten feet away from one another.

  “Do you have some time Monday night?”

  “For what?” she asked, just a little warily.

  “There’s a Christmas pageant at the elementary school,” he explained.

  “Actually, it’s a holiday pageant.”

  “Huh?”

  “They’re billing it as a holiday pageant this year because of the earlier date. There’s going to be a short Thanksgiving play, holiday songs performed by the school choir and then the Christmas production.”

  “How do you know all of this?”

  “Ben’s daughter Paige teaches at the elementary school. Well, she’s not teaching right now because she just had the baby, but she was talking about it when she came into the office last week. The earlier date—apparently a result of Winona Cobbs forecasting some big snowstorm—left the teachers scrambling to get everything ready on time.”

  He chuckled. “She’s forecasting a big snowstorm?”

  “You think she’s wrong?” she asked hopefully.

  “I think winter snowstorms in Montana are inevitable.”

  She sighed. “Obviously I’m going to need more than one pair of long johns.”

  She was making a joke—at least, he thought she was joking—but just the mention of her needing more long johns started him thinking about her nonthermal underwear. He’d had the pleasure of undressing her a few times now and he remembered—in scorching detail—that she liked to match her panties and her bras. But even more tempting were the feminine treasures he’d discovered hidden within the delicate scraps of lace.

  “About the pageant,” he prompted, in a desperate attempt to get his own thoughts back on track. “Do you want to go?”

  “Sure,” she agreed. “But why do you sound less than enthusiastic?”

  “It’s not exactly my idea of fun.”

  “Then why did you ask me to go?”

  “Because misery loves company, and Nina guilted me into going.”

  “How did she do that?”

  “She said that all of the Traubs were going to be there.”