The Last Single Maverick

by Christine Rimmer

  He pressed his lips to the crown of her head. “Your mom will come around in time.”

  “I hope so. I truly do. She’s not all bad, you know?”

  He answered gently, “I know she’s not.”

  “She really does love me. I think she truly believes that she’s doing the right thing. She just can’t let go of the idea that Kenny Donovan is a knight in shining armor and I have to be out of my mind to walk away from him.” She let out a low groan. “I honestly have no clue how to get through to her.”

  He tipped her chin up and pressed a quick, hard kiss on her lips. “I know a copy place on the east side of town, in the mall in what we call New Town. We’ll put some invitations together today to send out to the family. We’ll send one to your mom, too.”

  “You think sending her an invitation is going to make a difference with her? Frankly, I can’t see how.”

  He kissed her again, lightly this time. “I just think it’s good to remind her that we do want her here for our wedding. By the time she gets the invitation, she’ll have had a few days to think it over, to change her mind about coming on so strong. I think once she settles down, she’s going to realize that you’re what matters to her. She’ll want to mend fences by then, to make peace with you.”

  “Oh, if you could only be right about that.”

  He stroked her hair. She snuggled in even closer, reveling in the warmth of his body, the strength in his big arms, the scent of him that was clean and manly and managed somehow to excite her and to comfort her simultaneously. He asked, “You want try and get a little more sleep?”

  “Hah, as if that’s an option at this point. I’m so hopped up on adrenaline, my ears are buzzing.”

  “So okay, let’s get some breakfast.”

  * * *

  Over bacon and eggs at the Grubstake, they planned out the day.

  It was a busy one.

  First they went to the New Town copy shop and ordered some simple, attractive-looking invitations. The clerk said their order would be ready the next day, which was Tuesday.

  From the copy shop, they moved on to Lizzie’s bakery. Aunt Melba was there, just leaving after enjoying a muffin and morning coffee. She chided them for missing church and then congratulated them on their upcoming wedding.

  “Lizzie told me the news and I couldn’t be happier about it.” She insisted on hugging them both and seized Jace first. Holding him tight against her considerable bosom, she announced, “I am so pleased you’ll be making your home right here in Thunder Canyon.”

  “Uh, thanks, Melba,” Jace said, easing free of her grip.

  She grabbed Joss next. “Oh, I know you two will be very happy here.” Joss managed a noise of agreement as Melba crushed her closer. “And we need more nice, hardworking young people in this town.” She took Joss by the shoulders and held her away at last. “Our youth, after all, are our future.”

  “So true,” Joss agreed. “We’ll be sending you an invitation. I hope you can come.”

  “I wouldn’t miss it for the world, my dear.”

  Melba waved as she left them. They ordered a couple of large coffees. Lizzie joined them and they chose the cake they wanted and learned that the two-bedroom apartment over the bakery was vacant.

  Lizzie said Joss and Jace were welcome to it until they found the house they were looking for. She took them up and showed them the place, which was charming and fully furnished, right down to the linens in the bathroom, the pretty old-fashioned floral-patterned dishes in the kitchen and the impressive array of pots and pans.

  Lizzie explained, “I lived here for a while before Ethan and I got married. It’s all pretty much as it was when I stayed here. I keep meaning to have a big garage sale, get rid of everything and put it up for rent. But then, you know, it’s kind of nice to have it available, just in case someone in the family needs a place to stay….”

  “I love it,” Joss told her. “It’s perfect.”

  Jace whipped out his checkbook, but Joss told him to put it away. He gave her a dark look.

  She didn’t back down. “Come on, let me cover this at least. Please?”

  He wrapped an arm around her and they shared a quick kiss.

  After which Lizzie informed them that she wouldn’t take money from either of them. She waved a hand. “No way. You’re family. I have a successful business and a rich husband. I don’t need the money. Just take good care of the place, that’s all I ask.”

  Both Joss and Jace promised that they would.

  The three of them sat in the apartment’s bright living room overlooking Main Street and chatted for a while. Jace told Lizzie about their plans to buy the Hitching Post and a new home. Lizzie suggested Bonnie Drake for their Realtor. She said that both she and Ethan had worked with Bonnie before.

  But Jace told her that the Drake woman was representing the owner of the Hitching Post and he would rather use someone else. Lizzie whipped out the business card of a guy who came in the bakery every morning early for breakfast.

  “His name is Milo Quinn,” she said. “An older guy. Seems nice. Steady and dependable. I think you’ll like him.”

  They went to the county courthouse next to see about getting their marriage license. It was a relatively simple procedure, although in Montana, the bride was required to have a test for rubella before the license could be issued. Jace had the solution to that one. He called the family doctor—his brother Dillon—and they drove over to Dillon’s clinic to get the test done.

  That afternoon, they met with Milo at his office. Tall and white-haired, he wore a Western-cut sport coat, dark brown slacks and tooled boots. He set up an appointment for them to see the Hitching Post the next day. He also said he would find them some houses on acreage.

  After that, they returned to the resort and spoke with Grant, who congratulated them on their upcoming wedding and said that he was certain Chef Roarke would be happy to cater their reception. He took them upstairs to meet with Shane. He was agreeable. They set an appointment for 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday to get the menu planned.

  And then they went back to Dillon Traub’s clinic to pick up the expedited rubella test results. They made it to the county clerk’s office again before it closed. When they left the courthouse, they had their license.

  That night, they were so tired that they made love only once.

  And they were up bright and early Tuesday morning. They grabbed a quick breakfast and went down into town to meet Milo Quinn at the Hitching Post.

  Joss loved the bar and grill from the first moment she stepped through the front door. It was as rustic inside as out and had an old-timey feel about it, with the dining room on one side and the bar on the other. There was plenty of space for a dance floor on the bar side and a small stage in the corner where a band could set up. No wonder the place had always been a hit with the locals. It was a great venue. As long as she and Jace provided good food and good service, they probably couldn’t go wrong.

  Jace was relieved to discover that the painting of the Shady Lady still hung in the place of honor above the gorgeous antique bar. “She is lookin’ way hot as always,” Jace said with a grin.

  Milo assured them that the painting and all the furnishings and equipment were part of the very reasonable asking price. Lance O’Doherty’s daughter, it seemed, really wanted to sell. The place had a full, if somewhat dated, restaurant-style kitchen. And off the long hallway in the back, there were restrooms and three smaller dining rooms for private parties.

  The building could use some updating—of the kitchen and of the restrooms. The main bar and restaurant could stand a little sprucing, too. The idea was to keep all that old-time Hitching Post charm, but freshen things up, make it brighter and more inviting.

  All three of them went for lunch together at a pizza place in New Town and then they followed Milo out to see a trio of four- to five-acre properties. None of them were quite what they were looking for.

  That evening, they met Lizzie and Ethan for dinner i
n the resort’s Gallatin Room. Over thick, perfectly seared filets, garlic potatoes and curried spinach, they discussed the potential purchase of the bar and grill. Lizzie and Ethan both offered advice.

  Shane Roarke emerged from the kitchen while they were devouring a to-die-for dessert of carrot cake and sweet pea ice cream with lavender caramel sauce. The chef greeted Joss and Jason, who introduced him to Jace’s brother and his wife. Shane stayed to make small talk for a few minutes and then moved on.

  Ethan stared after him. “That guy reminds me of someone….”

  Joss and Jason both laughed. Joss said, “We had the same feeling the first time we saw him. We just can’t figure out exactly who he reminds us of.”

  The food for the reception, they decided when they met with Shane the next morning, would be buffet-style. They went with mostly finger foods. From the resort, they drove to Milo Quinn’s office. After lengthy discussion, Jace offered the asking price on the Hitching Post.

  Once they signed the offer, they picked up their invitations at the copy place and returned to the resort, where they spent a few hours scrolling the address lists stored in their smartphones, filling out the envelopes and sticking on stamps. Joss stuck a little note in the invitation to her mother. The note explained that she and Jace had found an apartment to live in until they chose a new home. She gave her mom the address and the phone number at the new place, although she really wasn’t expecting to hear from her mother anytime soon—and not expecting her to come to the wedding either.

  Every time she thought of her mom, a gray, sad gloom descended. It was a giant rift that had opened up between them over that jackass Kenny Donovan. Joss appreciated Jace’s positive attitude about the situation, but she doubted she and her mom would be making peace for a long time to come.

  Jace looked up from the envelope he was addressing. “That was a really sad-sounding sigh.”

  She pulled a face. “It’s just, you know, my mother…”

  He reached across the table and put his hand over hers. “Hey, she’ll come around.”

  She turned her hand over and clasped his. And then she got up from her seat so she could lean close to him and share a slow, sweet kiss.

  Later, they took the finished invitations down to the front desk where the clerk promised they would go out with the morning mail. Back in the suite, they ordered room service. Shandie Traub called. She invited them to dinner the next night, which was great. They wouldn’t have to worry about stocking the cupboards at the apartment on their first day there.

  It was their final night in the king-sized pillow-top bed. They made the most of it, enjoying slow, lazy love for hour upon hour.

  As always, it was the best. Better than ever, Joss thought, as she sat in his lap, facing him, her legs wrapped around him, holding him deep within her.

  Oh, yes! Better every time. Who knew it could be like this? Really, she’d had no idea.

  He surged up into her. And she took him. Deeper. All the way. He filled her up so perfectly.

  She cried his name. He kissed her, his mouth claiming hers so hungrily as she felt his climax take him.

  Seconds later, she joined him. They went over the edge of the world together.

  This, she thought. Yes! Nothing like this. Ever. Not ever in my life before…

  * * *

  Grant had told them they didn’t need to be out of the suite until noon, so they stayed in bed later than usual Thursday morning.

  At nine-thirty, as they were lazily dozing and Joss was telling herself they really needed to get motivated and get their stuff packed to move over to the apartment, the phone rang.

  Jace said what he always said: “Don’t answer that.”

  And she did what she always did. “’Lo?”

  “Is this Jocelyn?”

  She sat bolt-upright.

  Jace sat up, too. “What the—”

  “It’s Milo,” she whispered excitedly. Then she cleared her throat and tried to sound composed. “Hi, Milo. What’s up?”

  “You’ve just bought the Hitching Post,” the Realtor announced.

  Joss let out a yell and pumped her fist toward the ceiling.

  “Give me that.” Jace took the phone. “Hey, Milo…” Milo said something. Jace listened and finally answered, “Great. We’ll be there.” He handed her the phone back.

  She put it to her ear, but the Realtor had already hung up. “He’s gone.” She dropped the phone back on the cradle. “So?”

  “We’re meeting him at his office at three today to sign the final agreement, give him the earnest money check and talk about inspections. He also said that if everything goes as planned, we close on the property August fifteenth.”

  “So fast!”

  “It’s a little over thirty days. That’s about right.”

  She sat there, mouth agape, heart racing with excitement. “Jace, we did it. This is happening. It’s really, really happening.”

  He chuckled, “No kidding.”

  She swayed his way and planted a big, smacking kiss in the middle of his broad, handsome forehead. He tried to reach for her, but she ducked back, giggling.

  “Get back here,” he growled.

  “No way. I can’t sit still.” She shoved off the covers and leaped from the bed.

  Jace started to go after her, but then changed his mind. He laced his hands behind his head and grinned—possibly because she was totally naked. “All right,” he said. “Have it your way. I gotta admit I’m lovin’ the view from here.”

  She let out another joyous shout and then she grabbed her robe from the floor where she’d dropped it the night before. Quickly, she tugged it on and tied the sash. Then she ran around the room chanting, “We did it, we did it, we bought the Hitching Post!”

  He just sat there, beaming. “Gee, Joss. You could show a little excitement, don’t you think?”

  With a long trill of laughter, she ran back to the bed, grabbed her pillow and began hitting him over the head with it. “Oh, this is fabulous! Oh, I just can’t believe it….”

  “Hey,” he protested, still laughing. “Knock that off.” He grabbed for the pillow and snatched it away from her. Then he used it against her, trying to bop her a good one.

  She played along, leaning in as he took aim, then jumping out of the way when he delivered a blow. “You missed! I’m too fast for you.”

  He clutched the pillow against his rock-hard, gorgeous chest so she couldn’t steal it back from him and threatened in the raspy voice of a villain in some old-time melodrama, “That’s it for you, beautiful.”

  “Hah!”

  The bad-guy leer vanished. He gave her the bedroom eyes and crooked his index finger. “Come down here. Nice and close…”

  “Forget that noise, mister!” Breathing fast, her heart racing with giddy excitement, she started laughing again.

  And then, just like that, out of nowhere, her breath caught.

  She could not breathe and her heart had stopped stock-still in her chest.

  Twin lines appeared between Jace’s dark brows. “Joss, you okay?”

  She was actually. More than okay.

  The breath came flooding back into her chest and her heart started beating again and the hotel bedroom seemed so beautiful suddenly. It seemed to glow with golden light. Happy, she thought. At this moment, I am so perfectly, gloriously happy. Never in her life had she felt exactly like this. Everything just paled next to this.

  She saw it all, her life up till now: her lonely childhood with her brave, determined, damaged mother. Her adolescence, during all of which she’d felt awkward and different; she’d never managed to fit in. And later, through a couple of years of college and her first job in the restaurant business, which she’d discovered she enjoyed. Through her search for a good guy who could help her make the big, loud happy family she’d always dreamed of. To Kenny, who was supposed to be the one, her guy forever, and had turned out to be anything but.

  All of it. The whole of her life until she m
et Jace. It simply couldn’t compare to her days and nights with him, to this one shining, perfect moment.

  She didn’t stop to consider. She just opened her mouth and let the scary words pour out. “I love you, Jason Traub. I love you so much. I never knew that it could be like this, that it could feel like this, could fill me up like this, I…” Her throat clogged and the words ran out.

  He didn’t look happy.

  Not in the least. He looked…stunned maybe?

  And very uncomfortable.

  She felt her face turn blazing red. “Oh, wow.” She winced. “More information than you needed, huh?”

  Because seriously, hadn’t he made it painfully clear upfront that he had no clue what love was, that he just didn’t get it and didn’t care to get it? That he only wanted to start a business and settle down. That he liked her a lot, but for him, love didn’t enter into it.

  How had he put it last Sunday when he asked her to marry him?

  I have no idea what love really is and I’m better off not kidding myself that I do….

  Oh, God. Way to go, Joss. What had possessed her to just blurt it out like that?

  He set the pillow aside and sucked in a slow breath. “Uh. Well. Good.” And he actually pasted on this fake, too-cheerful smile. “That’s great, Joss. I mean, thank you.”

  “Thank you?”

  “Aw, Joss…”

  “I say I love you and you say ‘Thank you’?”

  “Joss…”

  She put up a hand. “Okay. Yeah. Bad. Really bad.” And exactly what she should have expected, if she’d only had the presence of mind to keep her mouth shut until she’d thought the whole thing through. Duh. Double duh in a big, big way.

  “Come on, Joss…” He looked so embarrassed, so totally out of his depth.

  And she? Her mouth felt dry as a handful of dust. Her heart felt like a shriveled husk in her chest. She swallowed. With care. And she made herself ask him, “So then, is this going to ruin it for you? Do you want to back out? Because if you do, I would appreciate knowing that now.”

  “Back out?” He looked totally dazed, beyond confused. And so handsome, she hated him.