This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Text copyright © 2015 Tamra Baumann
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Published by Montlake Romance, Seattle
www.apub.com
Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Montlake Romance are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.
ISBN-13: 9781477821282
ISBN-10: 1477821287
Cover design by Laura Klynstra
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014914680
This book is dedicated to my mother. Thanks, Mom, for sharing your joy of reading with me. I hope this story makes you smile, because that’s what I miss the most about you.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Meg Anderson slowed her rust-bucket SUV, cut the engine, then glided quietly down the hill toward the moonlit lake. The lights were all out in her shotgun-packing grandmother’s house, but Grandma was a light sleeper.
She’d had buckshot plucked from her ass before and would rather give birth again than repeat that horrendous procedure. Especially because the only doctor in her small hometown had been her oldest brother—doesn’t get more embarrassing than that.
She parked behind the equipment shed, then hopped out of the car to perform a little B and E into her grandmother’s guesthouse.
When a girl needed somewhere to hide out for the summer, what better place than a teeny-tiny town in Colorado where her middle brother was the sheriff, her father was the mayor, and her sister ran the only hotel. The townspeople lived for gossip when they weren’t busy keeping secrets, and that’s just what Meg needed. The keeping secrets part. The gossip not so much. Especially because it was usually about her.
And if the stars would all align for the first time in her life, her father would have had a change of heart. Hopefully he would have forgotten that part about how she was never allowed to work for the family business again, because she was out of options. But there was no way anyone was going to take away the one good thing in her life.
Her daughter, Haley.
Meg tested the handle on the guesthouse. It was locked. People didn’t lock doors in Anderson Butte as a rule. But Grandma’s guesthouse, close to the shore and the hotel, had been used in the past for some naughty times by amorous couples who’d stumbled upon it. Luckily Grandma never figured out some of those fun times had been Meg’s.
As she slipped her now-defunct group medical ID card in between the lock and the doorframe, the cricket chirps grew louder, as if tattling on her, the little traitors. Wiggling the card to the left, then sliding some more to the right, she was just about in when a deep voice spoke behind her.
“What are you doing?”
Crap! She’d recognize that voice anywhere. Her brother, Ryan-the-tattletale-sheriff, who lived next door.
Turning around and sending him her most confident smile, she tapped a finger to her lips. “Shhhhh. Haley’s asleep in the car. How’d you even know I was here?” Growing up in a small town taught her early on to never lie. Someone always knew the truth and would hold her to it. Instead, she’d become the best conversation diverter west of the Mississippi.
Ryan crossed his arms and cocked a brow. Only two years her senior at thirty, he knew all of her tricks. “You want to answer the question or do I call Dad?”
Damn Ryan. He knew just how to yank her chain.
She lifted her hands in surrender. “Arrest me or go away. It’s late and I’ve had a long day.”
There was just enough moonlight reflecting off the lake to see his jaw twitch in annoyance. Of her brothers and sister, she and Ryan looked the most alike. Except for the suspicious squinty eyes and the five o’clock shadow.
They both had dark hair and Alaskan husky intense blue eyes, but Ryan was full of muscles and attitude while she just had the ’tude. Being a pixie-sized five foot two and surrounded by tall, genetically perfect family members tended to bring out the pit bull in a person.
He tilted his head toward her sad excuse for transportation. “Thought you bought a new car. Why are you still driving this hand-me-down piece of junk?”
She’d rented a car the last time she’d been home. It wasn’t her fault they all assumed she was better off than she was. Leave it to annoying Ryan to point it out. “I never sold this, it’s handy for moving. What are you doing out here this time of night anyway?”
“Zeke and two of the Three Amigos called and said they saw a car turn down Grandma’s drive. Just checking things out.”
The Three Amigos, the bane of her existence. A trio of older women who’d always judged her the hardest. “Well, thank you for doing your job, Mr. Perfect. Now go away.”
Ryan shook his head as he shouldered her aside and pulled out a key to unlock the door. “What kind of trouble are you in this time, Meggy?”
“Just thought it’d be nice for Haley to spend a summer on the lake.” Never mind she needed to hide from Haley’s father.
“Right. Need any help here?”
“Nope. Got it. See you tomorrow?”
“Yep.” He had the nerve to muss the hair on top of her head like she was still a kid. “Good to see you, Muck.”
As was their ritual, she slapped his hand aside and tried to knee him in the crotch, but he was always too quick. “I’d rather you didn’t call me that anymore. Especially in front of Haley.” Of all the nicknames her family enjoyed torturing her with, Muck, short for “Megan the F-Up,” hurt the deepest. Probably because it used to be mostly true. But not since she’d had Haley. “Please, Ry?”
He glanced toward the car where Haley snoozed in her car seat and shrugged. “Yeah, okay. Night.”
“Night.” She let out the breath she’d been holding and watched him walk away. Ryan and her oldest brother, Ben, were perpetually annoying, but the only truly decent guys she knew. All the others had lied to her, cheated on her, or broken her heart.
Friends told her she had trust issues. But they were wrong. She could trust. She absolutely trusted that any guy she dated was going to hurt her in the end.
Men.
Who needed them?
Anything they could give her, she could take care of herself with the right machinery and a fresh set of batteries.
After cranking the car door open, she lifted her adorable blonde Tasmanian devil onto her shoulder, then kicked the front door to the guesthouse open wider. Moonlight filtering through the windows guided her to the bedroom.
Warmth filled her as she tucked her beautiful baby under the sheets. Technically, Haley wasn’t a baby anymore. She was a precocious two-and-a-half-year-old who proudly declared that extra half year to anyone who asked. An
d she looked just like her father.
As Meg unloaded the few things they would need right away, thoughts of Josh still sent waves of hurt to her heart. He’d wormed his way into her life when she’d been giving a talk about management software at a resort trade show. When his mesmerizing, tiger-like amber eyes had locked onto hers, she’d totally forgotten her next bullet point. During the two drinks they’d shared after her presentation, she had connected with him like she’d never done with any other man.
But it was his shoes that should have been the giveaway.
Josh stood well over six feet, with thick blond hair worn just a tad too long, working-man broad shoulders, and a naughty you-know-you-want-me grin, all in stark contrast to his slick Armani suits and Italian loafers. Any straight man who paid that much attention to his shoes wasn’t going to have time for love.
She’d been an idiot, thinking she’d finally found the one. An upstanding guy who, when he made time for her, made her laugh like no one else. After dating a few months, she had moved into his upscale downtown condo that she then shared with him for about four more months. But when she’d accidentally gotten pregnant, the door hadn’t had time to hit him on the butt on his way out of their relationship.
Probably because he couldn’t stand the thought of baby puke on his shiny Ferragamos.
She’d have to remember to add the shoe thing to her “do not date these kinds of guys ever again” list.
Unfortunately her heart rarely paid attention to her list.
After getting ready for bed, she crawled in beside Haley, pulling her close for a comforting snuggle. Why, after three years without a word, had Josh sent her a text asking where they were and could they please talk? He wouldn’t be looking for her; he’d made it clear they were through. Maybe he’d grown a conscience and wanted to be a father to Haley? Too late for that. He’d abandoned them, and Haley belonged with Meg.
When she hadn’t responded to Josh’s text, he’d called the receptionist from her last job and asked about them there too. It was all the incentive Meg needed. She’d been considering coming home anyway. If the residents of Anderson Butte could keep their yaps shut about all the celebrities who returned to the hotel year after year because of the absolute privacy the town provided, then hopefully they’d make sure Josh wouldn’t find her and Haley either. No way was she going to let the man who’d charmed her, made her fall in love with him, and then shattered her heart do the same to her daughter.
The next morning, Meg snuggled into her pillow and sighed as the pleasant aroma of coffee filled the air. She cracked an eye open and winced at the bright morning sun streaming through the window, then grabbed the mug her sister, Casey, held out.
Meg whispered so as not to wake Haley beside her. “Ryan has a big mouth. It’s probably not even six yet and everyone knows we’re here?”
“Hi to you too,” Casey said softly as she sank to the edge of the bed. “It’s six thirty and yes, everyone knows you’re here. Want to talk about it?”
“Can’t a girl come home for a visit without getting the third degree?” Taking a deep drink, Meg admired the beautiful sight known as Casey Anderson Bovier. Her sister was tall, willowy, and elegant. The exact opposite of Meg. “Thanks. This is really good.”
“You’re welcome.” Casey’s face scrunched into that mom look. The one that told Meg her sister/surrogate mother knew something was up. “What’s going on, Meg?”
“Maybe I just wanted to come home for a while?”
Casey sighed. “To the place you can never wait to escape from after you and Dad have another argument? Where people still hold grudges about some of the monumental stunts you’ve pulled? Sure. That makes perfect sense.”
“It’s been years since I’ve tipped cows, egged cars, or thrown rocks through windows at Town Hall in misguided attempts to gain Dad’s attention. I’m over begging for his love.” Meg reached out and took Casey’s hand. “Maybe I miss my brothers and sister. Isn’t that enough of a reason?”
“I suppose. And I’ve missed you too.” Casey squeezed Meg’s hand. “There’s more to this story, though, so I’ll just wait you out. You’ll give in to my nagging ways eventually.”
Meg took another drink, working up the courage to ask her sister what she really wanted to know without exposing the real reason she was there. “You are a champion nag. But can I ask you something?”
Casey’s right brow cocked in surprise. “This is a first, but sure. Anything.”
“How long did it take you to get over Tomas after he ran off with she-who-shall-not-be-mentioned? And how did you get to a civil place where you can share the boys with him?”
“I assume this is about”—Casey glanced at Haley to be sure she was still sleeping—“he-who-you-have-never-mentioned? Haley’s f-a-t-h-e-r?”
Meg appreciated Casey for not mentioning the F-word in front of Haley. Meg’s daughter had never asked about her father, so Meg was waiting until Haley was older to explain things to her.
Meg said, “As bad as your breakup was, you and Tomas seem to get along now.”
“He’s the boys’ father. I’ll always care about him to some degree, so I’m civil to him. But I don’t like him anymore. And I wouldn’t mind if he became impotent to pay him back for all the fooling around he did on me.” Casey stole the mug from Meg and took a drink. “It’s been three years since your breakup. Do you still love him?”
Tears burned Meg’s eyes, but she blinked them back. “I used to love him. When we spent time together between his long bouts of work, he was the greatest guy I’ve ever known. We even talked about getting married. But then one day, out of the blue, he announced he was leaving. I thought we were happy, but he said he feared being a bad father, and we were better off without him. So that was that.”
Meg waggled her fingers for the mug. After Casey handed it back, Meg took another drink. “Haley and I are fine without him. I know I’ve been irresponsible in the past, but now I’m focused on trying to be a good mother.”
“You are a good mother, Meg. None of us would have ever believed it if we hadn’t seen it for ourselves. So now it’s time to get the rest of your act in gear, right? Show Dad he’s wrong about you?”
Before Meg could explain she’d been working on that for some time, Haley awoke and said, “Hi, Aunt Ceecee.”
Haley still couldn’t get Casey’s name right. They’d have to work on that too.
Casey’s concerned expression morphed into a cheerful one as she turned toward Haley on the other side of the bed. “Good morning, sunshine.” Casey scooped Haley up and gave her a tight hug. “Want to come to the hotel with your favorite auntie and find something yummy for breakfast?”
“Yay! Pancakes?”
“Anything you want, darlin’. Say bye to your mom.” Casey dangled a laughing Haley upside down over Meg for a kiss.
“Bye, Momma.”
“Bye, Bug. See you in a bit.” She kissed her daughter’s upside-down lips. “Haley needs her asthma medicine after she eats, so bring her right back, okay? And do I get pancakes too?”
Casey stood and flipped Haley right-side up. “Depends. Get settled, then come talk to me. Ryan mentioned you’ve brought pretty much everything you own with you.”
Meg called out to her sister’s retreating back. “Hey, you have two of your own kids to boss around now, so how about sticking to them and leaving me out of it for a change?” Why did her brothers and sister think it was their duty to poke into her business like that?
“And give up one of my life’s greatest pleasures?” Casey laughed. “The boys are in France with Tomas and the new rich bimbo wife. You’re all I’ve got at the moment.”
Lucky me.
Throwing the covers back, Meg aimed to finish her coffee on the dock. Slipping into a pair of flip-flops, she considered putting on some real clothes, but her tank top and gym shorts would do. She was on vacation, after all.
For the day anyway. She needed a job after she’d been fired from anoth
er one for missing too much work because of Haley’s asthma.
Meg grabbed her phone, then stepped outside and drew in a deep breath of fresh Rocky Mountain air mixed with the familiar scents of pine needles, lake water, hot summers, and cool, dewy morning grass.
She sipped her smooth roasted blend and strolled toward the quiet lake. Mornings were the best, before things got hopping for the day.
The birds flew inches above the water, searching for their breakfast. Little sets of rings slowly grew larger after the insects disturbed the glassy, smooth water. The occasional plop of a fish jumping and the steady crank of a fisherman’s reel slowly winding in the bait punctuated the quiet.
Studying the calming view, she drew another deep breath, and the tension slowly eased from her shoulders.
Home. For better or worse.
The half of the town not related to her would sigh and shake their heads when they saw the former bad girl was back again. The other half, her blood relatives, would just pretend they were one big, happy family, even though they knew the truth about Meg’s non-relationship with her father. It had taken Meg years to realize that her father, a distant and hands-off parent since her mother’s death, either hadn’t been willing or was incapable of raising his children. Thankfully her sibs had all banded together and supported one another growing up.
And then there was Amber, her nemesis from high school.
It Had to Be Him Page 1
