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

by Beth Andrews

  She’d sensed a possibility of it with Aaron. But that was gone, as surely as if it had never been.

  He was married.

  Maybe that was okay with some women, but she wasn’t one of them. She’d meant what she said—she respected herself far too much to put herself in that situation.

  “Maeve, is everything okay?”

  She turned and spotted Sophie’s daughter standing behind her. The summer they met, Tori’s hair had been a vivid blue, but today, there was only a streak of color in it. Tori must have noticed Maeve looking because she said, “People have told me that it was lucky I had blue in my hair for Sophie’s wedding, and Mattie’s, so I added it for Lily’s. It’ll wash out.”

  “I like it on you,” she assured her young, sometimes assistant. “It was a beautiful wedding, wasn’t it?” Maeve said, ignoring Tori’s question.

  The girl grinned. “Yeah, Lily and Sebastian look so happy.”

  Maeve put her arm around Tori and they both watched the newlyweds twirl around the dance floor. “They do, don’t they?”

  “And you and Aaron looked happy up until he kissed you.”

  Maeve swung back to Tori. “You saw that?”

  “Everyone saw that,” Tori assured her.

  Maeve groaned. In a town like Valley Ridge, that meant even people not at the wedding would hear about it soon enough.

  “And,” Tori said slowly, “they saw you stop kissing and you get mad.”

  “Oh, wonderful. Becoming Valley Ridge gossip fodder was high on my to-do list.” She knew that the talk wouldn’t be malicious. People in town cared for each other. That was one of the beautiful things about Valley Ridge. But sometimes living in a fishbowl could be hard.

  Tori nodded. “I get that. But look at it this way, if people want to know what’s going on, they might show up at the house to help you renovate. I’ve been talking to a bunch of people about it. You might have a few extra helpers tomorrow.”

  “Really?” she asked.

  “Maeve, I know I’m only a kid. I know that sometimes grown-ups think they know so much more than we do. But despite the fact that I’m only fifteen, we’re friends, right? That means, I get to worry about you.”

  When she’d first met Tori, the girl had been angry. There wasn’t a trace of it left. This sweet, caring girl was all she saw. “We did become friends but, sweetie, you don’t need to worry about me. I’m a big girl and I can take care of myself.”

  “That’s the problem,” Tori said with a heartfelt sigh.

  “What is?” Maeve asked.

  “You think you can take care of yourself. But as your friend, I’m telling you that you don’t have to do it all yourself. My dad grew up on a commune and he’s always spouting off about community and taking a village to...well, he says raise a child, and then tells me with a child like me he needs more than a village’s help. But you get what I’m saying.”

  “I need a village?” Maeve asked.

  Tori held up a hand, as if to ward off an argument. “Listen, I won’t press my luck. You’re always the first one in line to help someone, but you’re the last person to let people help you back. And, Maeve, you need to let people help you. Not only at the house, but at the library and maybe with Aaron.”

  “Maybe you’re right.” Maeve knew there was no maybe about it. Her parents, her boss, her friends...they’d all said as much, though not as directly as Tori was saying. “Okay, so there’s no maybe about it. You’re right. And there’s so much to do at the house, of course, I’ll take any help that’s out there. But there’s nothing between me and Aaron to help with.”

  “That kiss?” Tori asked, toying with the strand of blue in her hair. “Everyone saw that kiss and it wasn’t ‘nothing.’”

  “It was an anomaly.” She didn’t kiss married men. Not ever.

  “You’re sure?” Tori asked.

  “I’m absolutely positive there’s nothing now, nor will there ever be anything between me and Aaron Holder.”

  Tori digested Maeve’s declaration and nodded. “Okay. Well, then, let’s go make the rounds and see if we can find you someone else to dance with.”

  “Listen, I’m not—” Maeve protested.

  Tori interrupted her. “I’m not saying you have to suck face with him like you did Aaron, but you’re not leaving here without hitting the dance floor with someone.”

  Which was why ten minutes later, Maeve found herself dancing with Dylan Long, who was wearing his police uniform. “You didn’t want to buy a suit?” she teased. Dancing with Dylan was safe because they’d both become friends. Not friends who were looking for anything more with each other.

  “I’d planned to change, but I left my suit on my couch. And we don’t expect any trouble, but Lily’s still nervous about her father showing up and harassing her mother. Vera served him the divorce papers last week. I didn’t want to chance going back for my suit, so—”

  “I was teasing, Dylan.” He was a nice man. Valley Ridge had a three-man police department, and Dylan was the youngest and newest member of the small force, but he’d taken his role of protecting the town to heart.

  He was a very nice man.

  A man who should be easy to fall in love with.

  And yet, she’d never felt the slightest urge to kiss him.

  Not like she had with Aaron.

  Dylan interrupted her thoughts by asking, “So, is Tori trying to fix you up, or me up?”

  “Me,” she said.

  “Phew.” He looked relieved.

  “She’s only a kid,” Maeve assured him. “I don’t think a big cop like you needs to be nervous about her.”

  “Yeah, she’s only a kid. A kid who decided we should dance, and here we are on the dance floor dancing.”

  “You’ve got a point.” She spotted Tori dancing with Joe on the other side of the small dance floor. “She does have a way of accomplishing what she sets out to do.”

  “I could bow to the inevitable and ask you out for dinner,” Dylan offered.

  “Dylan, you are so sweet, but...” She didn’t know what else to say. She didn’t know how to tell someone that she didn’t feel any spark of chemistry with them. And she wanted that. She wanted more than someone nice, someone comfortable.

  “Yeah, I saw you kiss Aaron, but then he left and I thought maybe...”

  “It’s not Aaron. Him and me, we’re not going to happen,” she said with certainty.

  There were some things that were undisputable. The sun would rise tomorrow. The tides would come in and go out. And she wouldn’t be kissing Aaron Holder again.

  “Aaron and I aren’t going to happen, but I’m pretty sure neither are we. I think if either of us had really been interested in the other, we wouldn’t have needed a fifteen-year-old to fix us up. We’re friends. And I treasure our friendship too much to throw it away by trying to chase after something that’s not there. Someday soon you’ll meet the right person.”

  “So, you’re a romantic. You believe in soul mates and happily-ever-afters.”

  “Well, I don’t know that I’d put it like that,” she said slowly. She pushed thoughts of Aaron Holder teasing her about being a romantic away and concentrated on Dylan. “No, I wouldn’t put it like that, but yes, I guess you’re right. I think when I meet the right man, I’ll know. Deep down, I’ll know. I care about you too much to try to force something that isn’t there, and ultimately ruin our friendship.”

  He nodded. “Well, as your friend, can I offer to come over and help at the house tomorrow?”

  “Yes. I’ve been told by another certain bossy friend—” she nodded her head in Tori’s direction “—that I need to let my friends help me. So yes, please come.”

  “Tori said that?”

  She laughed and nodded. “She’s like an eighty-yea
r-old woman trapped in a fifteen-year-old’s body.”

  “She’s a force to be reckoned with,” he agreed. “So what do you need for the house?”

  “Everything. I originally thought it would only need a few gallons of paint and a good cleaning. I pictured doing it myself over a couple of weekends. I was very naive, and maybe overconfident in my abilities.”

  “What abilities?” he asked.

  “Exactly—what abilities? I had delusions of ability from having watched This Old House for years.”

  Dylan smiled and said, “Did I ever tell you about my uncle’s barn?”

  There was a wicked gleam in his eye. “No, you haven’t mentioned your uncle’s barn.”

  “You’ve seen that television show on hoarders? His barn should be an episode. There has to be at least fifty years of stuff in it. He saves everything. And he was a contractor, so he saved things from all sorts of jobs.”

  Maeve kissed Dylan’s cheek and squealed. “So, if I put together a list, do you think he’d let us go shopping?”

  “It’s not up to him. My aunt would practically pay you to come shopping.”

  Maeve squealed again, and then stopped abruptly when she spotted Sophie walking toward the restrooms. There was something in the way she was walking that gave Maeve pause. “Can I call you later? I have to go see a friend. But, thanks. I’ll happily come shopping with you at your uncle’s if he won’t mind.”

  “He might, but my aunt will love you for it,” Dylan assured her.

  Before he could say anything else, Maeve hurried across the reception hall to the restrooms. She found Sophie coming out of a stall in the restroom. She looked pale.

  Maeve’s heart gave a little lurch. “Sophie, are you okay?”

  For a long moment, Maeve wasn’t sure Sophie was going to answer, but finally she said, “No. Not really. I’ve been having contractions since the ceremony started. I was hoping I could wait until after the reception, but I’m pretty sure my water broke.”

  “Since the ceremony? Oh, Sophie. You should have spoken up. Lily’s going to be so mad that you didn’t say anything.” She was babbling. She didn’t have a clue what to do when a woman was having a baby.

  “Deep breath, Maeve. Babies take time. It was like that with Tori,” Sophie said. “There’s nothing else to do. I could go home, but I’d rather enjoy my friends. Though now I don’t think this baby is going to wait until after the reception.”

  How on earth could Sophie be so calm? “Do you want me to get Colton? Lily and Mattie—”

  “No, not Lily and Mattie. I don’t want to take anything away from the wedding. I’m going to go out into the foyer. If you’d find Colton and point him that way...”

  Maeve wasn’t someone prone to hugging people, but this once she couldn’t help herself. She hugged Sophie. “You’re going to have a baby soon.”

  “Yes.” Sophie laughed, then grimaced and took a deep breath. “Go get Colton.”

  “Right, I’m going.” She sprinted toward the bathroom door.

  “Maeve, slow down. Look relaxed. Look like you don’t have a care in the world.”

  Maeve pasted a smile on her face and started a circuit around the packed hall. Once she’d gone a full circle, she found herself face-to-face with Aaron and sighed. “Have you seen Colton?” she asked.

  “Why, so you can kiss him, too?” he asked angrily.

  “What?”

  “I saw you and the cop,” he accused.

  “That wasn’t—” She stopped short. She had kissed Dylan, but it was just a peck. A friendly peck on the cheek. “Listen, I don’t owe you an explanation. I’m unmarried and unattached, and as such can kiss whomever I want. It’s only people who are married—even those who aren’t precisely married—who shouldn’t be kissing anyone. So, thank you anyway, I’ll find Colton myself.”

  He sighed. “I saw him head into the kitchen with Finn.”

  “Thank you.” She turned, wanting nothing more than to escape Aaron Holder.

  “Is something wrong?” Aaron asked.

  She turned and faced him. “Other than you’re married and you kissed me, nothing at all.” She started toward the kitchen.

  “I’d like to explain,” he called after her.

  “I don’t have time. But frankly, it doesn’t matter what your explanation is, it won’t change anything.” She waved her hand over her back at him.

  She found Colton and Finn in the kitchen like Aaron had said. She whispered in Colton’s ear, “It’s time. Sophie’s waiting for you out in the foyer. She wants to keep it quiet so as not to interrupt the wedding.”

  “What’s wrong?” Finn asked.

  “It’s time?” Colton repeated it like it was a question. “It’s time,” he said again, this time with more conviction.

  “Time for what?” Finn asked, and then said, “Oh.”

  “Sophie wants to keep it quiet,” she told the two men. “She doesn’t want to distract from Lily and Sebastian’s night.”

  “Yeah, like that’s going to happen,” Finn said. “This is Valley Ridge, a town where there’s no such thing as a secret.”

  “I’ve gotta go,” Colton said.

  “Walk, don’t run,” Maeve warned. “And try to look casual.”

  What Colton did was as closely related to walking as jogging was related to sprinting. It was a walk, but a power walk. Certainly not a walk designed not to call attention to himself.

  “Will someone call me when the baby gets here?” she asked Finn, sure that he was right, this wouldn’t be kept quiet for long.

  “Absolutely,” he said.

  She wished she could leave the reception, but she felt she should stay until closer to the end of things, especially now that Sophie and Colton had left.

  “Did you hear about Sophie?” Tori asked. “Mom and Dad are going to take me to the hospital, but we’ll be at the house tomorrow. I wanted to say good-night. I saw you dancing with Dylan.” Tori looked as if she might pass out or burst from excitement.

  “Breathe, Tori. And yes. Sophie sent me to find Colton for her, so I heard.”

  “And Dylan?” Tori pressed.

  “He’s a good guy, but he’s not the one for me.” Which was a shame. She genuinely liked Dylan. He was kind and funny, not to mention easy on the eyes, with those surfer good looks. But they just didn’t click as a couple.

  Tori nodded. “That’s what I thought when I saw you two dancing. Maybe—”

  Anxious to head off more matchmaking, Maeve interrupted. “Go. You’d better head to the hospital and wait for your baby brother. Will you text me when he arrives?”

  “You’ll be the first one.” Tori hugged her, and then sprinted toward the door.

  Maeve found a table in the corner and counted down the minutes until she could head for home. Watching Lily and Sebastian dancing, so obviously in love, she felt a pang of jealousy. Not that she begrudged them their happiness, but she longed to find someone who would love her like Sebastian obviously loved Lily.

  Sometimes she wondered if she’d ever find that kind of love for herself.

  CHAPTER NINE

  MAEVE WANTED TO get a head start on the day. She went through her morning routine and was out the door before seven. There was a light on in the RV. She shut her door quietly, but Josie must have heard her. She’d barely gone two steps before her friend opened the door and waved her inside.

  “Where are you going so early?” Josie asked as she took a seat on the small couch. She motioned for Maeve to join her.

  Maeve hadn’t prepared an excuse, and lying wasn’t her forte. She struggled for a moment, and then said, “I’m going to help Gabriel with some inventory.”

  “You were walking. You can’t walk all the way to Ripley.”

  “Uh, no
. No, I can’t. Of course I can’t. I’m meeting him at the diner first. Gabriel’s treating me to breakfast as a thank-you, and then he’ll drive me to the winery.”

  “Oh. Do you have a few minutes to fill me in on the wedding? Boyd worked all day yesterday and I spent the day fantasizing about it.”

  “I’m so sorry the doctor nixed your going. Lily would have welcomed you.”

  “She did call and invite me, but although she’s been lovely to me, this was a day for her close friends and family. Even if I could have gone, I wouldn’t have. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to hear about it.”

  Maeve allowed herself a few minutes and sat down next to Josie on the couch. She described Lily’s dress, and Sophie’s and Mattie’s. She described the church and the reception. “Poinsettias will always remind me of Lily’s wedding,” she said. “It was perfect. And when she danced with Sebastian? The whole world seemed to stand still.”

  Josie’s eyes narrowed. “I heard there was some excitement.”

  Maeve smiled. “Excitement is the exact word for it. Sophie went into labor at the reception. Tori texted me at two this morning. I should have said so immediately. It’s a boy. Benjamin Sturgis. Both mother and baby are fine.”

  “Lucky lady.” Josie’s hands rested on her huge stomach. “I feel like I’m never going to give birth. I dreamed last night I was in a nursing home, still carrying this baby.”

  Maeve laughed. “I promise it won’t be that long.”

  “You can promise. So can Boyd, but I’m not sure I’m buying it. We were so worried when I was pregnant with Carl. The whole pregnancy was fraught with problems. But this pregnancy has gone so well, until these past few weeks. And the doctor said the baby would probably be fine if he or she was born now, but it would be better if they waited the month.”

  “Sometime after Christmas you’ll have this baby. And you’ll forget all the waiting and worrying.” She almost said And a month will go by fast but from Josie’s expression, time was crawling by, so she said, “You’ve only got a few more weeks.”

  A few weeks sounded much better than a month.