Harlequin Superromance December 2013 - Bundle 1 of 2: Caught Up in YouThe Ranch She Left BehindA Valley Ridge Christmas

by Beth Andrews

  “How’s Mattie handling everything?” Maeve had listened to Mattie complain about Lily’s bridal ways in the past. The two friends couldn’t be more different. Mattie would have gotten married in jeans if Lily hadn’t pitched a fit. While Lily had definite ideas on what a wedding should entail and jeans weren’t in the picture.

  Maeve wished she had friends who were as close as family.

  She had friends, but nothing like them.

  “Mattie’s calling me Bridezilla now. That’s an upgrade from Bridesmaidzilla.” Lily had been a bridesmaid in Sophie’s wedding, as well as Mattie’s. “And Sophie keeps joking that if the baby gets any bigger, she’s renting a scooter to ride down the aisle.”

  “Speaking of pregnant women,” Maeve said, “that’s why I’m calling.”

  “I didn’t know you were seeing anyone,” Lily said slowly.

  Maeve chuckled. “I know it’s the season for immaculate conceptions, but no, not me. I’ve got a pregnant woman in my kitchen. And I hate to ask, but I’m hoping you’ll run over and check on her. She’s got about a month until she’s due. She’s had a couple pains. She had a name for them and tried to tell me they’re nothing to worry about, but I’m worried.”

  “Braxton Hicks?” Lily asked.

  “Yes, that’s what she said.”

  “She’s probably right, but I’ll come over and check her out.”

  Maeve released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “Thanks, Lily. Her family spent last night camped out in an RV that ran out of propane this morning. I’m worried. Can you get out, because if not, I can come get you.”

  “That’s not necessary. I have four-wheel drive for work and you’re only a few blocks away.”

  “I hate to make you—”

  “You’re not making me do anything. I told Sebastian I’d give him a hand at the diner this morning and I have a few house calls to make this afternoon, so I have to go out, anyway.”

  Maeve felt a flood of relief. “Thanks, Lily.”

  “See you soon.”

  Maeve hung up and walked back into the kitchen. Carl dumped a cup full of cornmeal into a bigger cup, while Josie sat, eyes closed, in the rocker, her hands over her protruding stomach.

  Maeve glanced at Mrs. Anderson’s cross-stitch.

  No, she couldn’t save the world, but she was going to do her best to help this one small family.

  CHAPTER TWO

  MAEVE HAD ALWAYS wanted dark, mysterious looks like Lily Paul’s. Lily tended to wear a lot of Bohemian clothes that would be considered suspect by the locals if anyone other than Lily wore them. Lily had a fondness for a lot of clunky jewelry and bold colors.

  None of that was evident today as she came into the kitchen bundled up in a hat, parka and knee-high boots. Her scarf was wrapped around her face so many times, only her eyes were visible.

  “Come in, Lily,” Maeve said, and then teased, “I mean, I’m assuming you’re Lily. It’s hard to tell under all those clothes.”

  Lily began unwinding the scarf and shucked off most of the layers. “Seriously,” she grumbled, “Sebastian had some very firm opinions on what I should wear today. Most of the time, he doesn’t say a word about my clothing choices.”

  “He probably wanted to be sure you stayed warm,” Maeve said. She wouldn’t say it out loud, but it was endearing. No one worried about her dressing warmly enough except her mother. That thought made her feel lonely, despite the fact that her house was currently overflowing with people.

  “Yeah. Sebastian also wanted to drive me. I put my foot down on that notion. However, he insisted I wear two pairs of socks inside my boots, so there was no satisfying stomp when I put my foot down, only a very wimpy smooshing. Still, he got the picture.” Lily turned and smiled at Josie. “Hi, I’m Lily. And this handsome man is?”

  “Carl. And I’m Josie. Thank you so much for coming out in this mess. I’m sure I’m fine and I hate to be a bother.”

  “I’ll tell you what. Why don’t we let Carl sit with Maeve, and you and I will borrow her bedroom for a quick checkup.”

  Josie hesitated long enough to make Maeve wonder if she’d agree, but Lily said, “I did come all the way over here in the snow. The very deep, frigid snow.”

  “Wow, way to lay on the guilt.” Maeve laughed.

  Lily laughed, too. “I have to wheedle a certain feisty patient on a regular basis. Guilt is a first foray. I do have a trump card I can pull out and use if necessary.”

  “A quick game of one-handed basketball?” Maeve asked. Everyone in town had talked about Lily and Sebastian’s one-handed basketball game this past summer. If talk were to be believed, half the town had witnessed the game. That’s how things went in Valley Ridge. People told stories so often that after a while they felt as if they were there, even if they weren’t.

  Josie smiled. “More guilt won’t be necessary. Plus, I’m not sure what one-handed basketball is, but I’m sure I’m not up for it. You’re right. My husband will feel much better about everything if I can tell him I got checked out.”

  Maeve took Carl as the other two women left. “What do you say we start some water for tea?” she said.

  She held the boy on her hip as she filled the kettle.

  As they passed the fridge, Carl reached for a postcard that the Langley kids had sent her from Disney World. When Mattie and Finn had gotten married in August, they’d taken the kids—his nieces and nephew—on a family honeymoon to the Magic Kingdom. Abbey, the youngest, was still telling anyone who would listen about her honeymoon.

  Carl reached for the card and said, “Mickey.”

  She let him grab the postcard. “Yes, that’s Mickey Mouse. Let me put the kettle on the woodstove. I think I have a Disney book that we can read together.”

  She carried the toddler into the front room where she had some books waiting to go to the library. “I think I saw...” she muttered as she dug one-handed through the pile. “There.” She pulled out the Mickey Mouse storybook and carried both Carl and the book back into the warmth of the kitchen. They’d read the first few pages when Lily and Josie rejoined them.

  “Everything all right?” she asked them both.

  “I think so, but I want Josie to come in and see the doctor. No one’s at the office yet. To be honest, I don’t think any stores or offices are open except Jerry’s and the grocery store, but I’m sure Neil will be in soon. After I’ve talked to him, I’ll call you with a time today or tomorrow.”

  “Really, we can’t afford a doctor’s visit,” Josie protested.

  “Of all the things you need to worry about, that’s not it,” Lily said gently but firmly. “Neil owes me.”

  “But...” Josie looked as if she was trying to find an argument.

  Lily put her hand on top of Josie’s. “One of the things I love about Neil’s practice is that we see everyone regardless of insurance or means. He could have practiced anywhere. He had offers and to be honest, still occasionally gets offers from bigger towns. He chose a small town because he wanted to make a difference. He’s not in this for the money.”

  “Boyd is very proud,” Josie said softly. “He won’t accept charity.”

  Maeve might not have known him long, but she knew that was the absolute truth. “He’s paying me back for some oatmeal and an electric outlet by single-handedly clearing half of Valley Ridge’s sidewalks and driveways.”

  Lily thought a moment. “Okay, Josie, I’ll tell you what. You come in for a visit, and if Boyd is willing he can help us out with a couple of projects around the office.”

  “He can do anything. I mean, absolutely anything. I’ve never met a job Boyd couldn’t do,” Josie gushed.

  “Well, then, it’s settled.” Lily reached out for the toddler. “May I?”

  Josie nodded and Maeve handed hi
m over. “He’s adorable.” Carl reached up and wrapped his hand in a clump of Lily’s hair. She gently unwound his chubby fist.

  “That’s why I go with a braid or ponytail most days. We call him the hair monster. Boyd likes to quip that his hair is thinning out of self-preservation.”

  Maeve had a hard time imagining Boyd joking. But people could hide things behind their public faces. She knew this from experience.

  When Carl was unwound, he held his hands out for his mother and Lily passed him over to Josie. As she cuddled the toddler, Josie said, “Thank you so much, Lily. First Maeve, now you. I think that snowstorm stranding us in Valley Ridge was the first bit of good luck we’ve had in a long time.”

  “You wouldn’t be the first person to find yourself coming to Valley Ridge for a quick visit, then falling in love and staying,” Lily said. “I came here for a nursing assignment. When it was over—” Lily’s voice caught on the word over, then she continued “—I stayed. I’d made friends here and fallen in love with the town itself.”

  Maeve remembered when Lily came to town. She’d watched as Lily bonded with Mattie and Sophie as they all cared for Bridget Langley. It was true that most of the community had pitched in to help the sick mother of three, but Lily, Mattie and Sophie had shouldered the bulk of Bridget’s care. As Bridget got sicker, the three of them had become so close. When Bridget had passed, their friendship had buoyed them.

  Maeve envied their friendship. She wasn’t jealous. At least she didn’t think she was. She tried not to be, but she couldn’t help feeling as if she’d spent her whole life on the outside looking in. She’d watched each of the three friends fall in love. Mattie and Sophie were married, and Lily was on her way to the altar. Maeve wasn’t jealous of that, either. At least most days she wasn’t.

  She rarely shared too much about herself, but this once, she forced herself to say, “I grew up here, but I left home for college and didn’t think I’d be back. Yet here I am. Once Valley Ridge gets its hooks in you, it’s hard to tear yourself away.”

  “So far, it seems like a lovely place,” Josie said wistfully. “Not that I’ve seen much more than Maeve’s house and the library parking lot. But the company here has left a very good impression on us.”

  “Where are you all headed?” Lily asked.

  “North Dakota. Boyd read an article that said jobs were to be had there, so we sold pretty much everything we owned, bought the RV and are going to see for ourselves. The article also mentioned a housing shortage, and Boyd thought we could live in the RV until we got settled.”

  “Traveling in your condition must be hard.” Maeve knew what it was like to call someplace with four wheels home. Granted, she hadn’t had an entire RV, but she remembered how awful it was.

  She hadn’t thought about those times in a while. It didn’t take a psychologist to see why her subconscious was making a connection between Josie’s circumstances and her own back in the day.

  Josie answered, “No, it’s not hard. I’m sitting in the front passenger seat, and that’s not any worse than sitting in a recliner at home. Frankly, the RV is so small that cleaning is a breeze. And...” Josie continued to entertain them with all her happy reasons why living in an RV had some huge advantages over living in a house. Lily was laughing, but Maeve couldn’t join in. She made tea and served everyone and pretended to laugh along with Lily at the appropriate places in Josie’s soliloquy, but Maeve knew deep in her heart that no matter how nice a spin Josie put on the situation, being homeless was no laughing matter.

  Lily checked her watch. “I’ve got to run. I need to get to the diner because a few of our employees are snowed in. Then I have a couple of home visits that can’t be put off until later. But I’ll call you soon with a time for your appointment.”

  “Thank you again,” Josie said.

  Lily smiled. “It was no problem at all.”

  Carl’s head was nodding against his mother’s shoulder. “Josie, if you want, he can have a nap in my bedroom. The whole house has warmed up quite nicely, so he should be fine.”

  “Thank you, Maeve.” Josie hefted herself to her feet.

  “Do you want me to carry him up for you?” Maeve asked.

  “No, I’m fine,” Josie assured her.

  “The stairs are a bit steep and narrow.”

  “Are you saying I can’t fit up a narrow staircase?” Josie asked.

  Maeve felt utterly embarrassed. “No, honestly, Josie. That’s not what I meant at all. I would—”

  Josie held up her hand, interrupting Maeve’s apologies. “I was just kidding. Honest. Boyd tells me all the time that my sense of humor is warped. I’m afraid he’s right.” She picked up the toddler and went through the living room to the stairs.

  Maeve turned to Lily. “Thank you so much for helping. I’ve just met Boyd and Josie, but I know they’d pitch a fit if I offered to pay for her visit, but maybe we could work it out on the sly.”

  “No need for that,” Lily assured her as she started to put on her layers. “I meant what I said. I don’t even have to ask Neil to know that he’ll work something out with them. Last spring he got paid in chickens for a home visit. I used to watch stuff like that on TV when I was younger, but really, I didn’t imagine it ever working in this day and age.

  “Neil insists he didn’t go into medicine to be rich. Plus, we’ve got honey-do jobs galore at the practice. Neil is a very gifted doctor, but he’s hopeless when it comes to a paintbrush or screwdriver. Ask me sometime about the time he decided to change a washer in the bathroom faucet.” Lily shivered as if to say the project hadn’t gone well.

  Maeve didn’t know what else to mention. That was part of her problem when it came to making friends. She was no good at the easy give and take, but she did ask, “How are the wedding plans?”

  “Everything’s in order. Mattie keeps teasing me, but I don’t see what’s wrong with being well prepared. Look at last night’s blizzard. I know Valley Ridge gets snow in November, but normally not this much all at once. I have a bunch of friends with plows on standby in case we get another storm and...” She let the sentence fade. “Short of some unexpected volcanic eruption, I’ve planned for every contingency I could think of.”

  Maeve was impressed. “Well, if you need something, you only have to holler.”

  “All I need is you there,” Lily assured her. “Of course, if you need a date...”

  Maeve could see it coming from a mile away.

  “...I know someone,” Lily finished. “One of my patient’s grandsons moved into her house to help her out. He’s a very nice guy.”

  Maeve sighed. “If I decide I need a date, I’ll let you know.” She wasn’t sure what happened to turn half of Valley Ridge’s minds toward fixing her up, but it had been bad ever since Mattie and Finn, and Sophie and Colton were married.

  She took that back. She knew exactly what had happened.

  Tori Allen—her summertime volunteer at the library and Sophie’s rediscovered daughter—that’s what happened. Or rather who happened.

  Tori had decided that Maeve needed to get out more and she’d not so subtly tried to fix her up whenever she could. And for someone who lived in Ohio and only came in to Valley Ridge for visits, she managed quite a bit. She’d tried to convince Maeve to date the town’s bachelor cop, Dylan. But she was pretty sure she’d dissuaded Tori from making that particular match. Dylan was a nice enough man, but he wasn’t what Maeve was looking for.

  To be honest, Maeve wasn’t exactly sure what she was looking for in a man. But she was certain that when she found him, she’d know. Immediately. That’s how it had happened when her mom met her dad. And after her father passed away, her mother had fallen head over heels for Herman Lorei, a new farmer in town. It was good to see her mom happy again.

  Yes, someday Maeve would meet the man for her. Until then, s
he’d wait. She wasn’t willing to settle.

  “Well, if you change your mind...” Lily let the offer hang there a moment. “My client’s grandson is cute.”

  Maeve grinned. “Thanks, Lily. I’ll let you know.” But don’t hold your breath. “Thanks for everything.” Maeve saw Lily out and hoped that she’d dissuaded her friend from playing matchmaker. After all, she had Tori, the teenage yenta matchmaker-wannabe, on the job.

  Maeve was comfortable. And she was busy. Between her paid job at the winery in Ripley and her volunteering at the library, there weren’t enough hours in the day. She wasn’t actively looking for a relationship. She was content to wait until she found him, or he found her. And if it never happened? She’d be okay. Ms. Mac, the school principal, had never married but seemed perfectly happy with her full, productive life. She’d made such a difference in Maeve’s life.

  There were fates much worse than being single.

  She glanced at the clock.

  Since Maeve’s boss, Gabriel, had called and said not to even try to get to Ripley today, she could cross the now-clear parking lot to the library and catalog a few of her new books.

  She hadn’t heard a peep from upstairs, so she left Josie a note on the table with her whereabouts and cell phone number, and took a pile of books with her.

  She doubted anyone would be out today and even if they were, she doubted they’d be in desperate need of a library book, but still, as was her practice, she went to turn on the small neon open sign in the library window—before she remembered there was no power.

  Well, that was that. Maeve would leave the books to be cataloged some other day.

  As long as she was dressed for it, she decided she’d walk the few blocks to the grocery store and buy some more milk. She had some meat in the fridge and could easily put together a stew for herself and her unexpected guests. She should probably think about moving the contents of the refrigerator outside if the power didn’t come back on soon.

  And while she was out, she might as well stop at Valley Ridge Farm and House Supplies for the salt and some more lamp oil, just in case the power wasn’t restored by nightfall.