The More Mavericks, the Merrier! Read online

  “They’re not even a year old,” he pointed out. “It’s not as if they’ll remember the occasion.”

  “Maybe not,” she acknowledged. But she loved the holiday season almost as much as she loved the triplets, so she’d decided that she was going to do everything in her power to ensure that their first Christmas was a truly memorable one. That was why she’d come up with a list of suggested activities to introduce HJK—as Jamie affectionately referred to his children—to some yuletide traditions and get everyone in the holiday spirit.

  Unfortunately, she knew that she would face an obstacle in their father. It was Jamie’s first Christmas without his wife, and she understood it wouldn’t be an easy one for him. She also believed that it wouldn’t help him or his children to dwell on what they’d lost.

  “But you will remember,” Fallon told him. “And when they look back on the pictures you take over the holiday season, they’ll see that you made it a wonderful one for them.”

  “I don’t know—”

  “Fallon’s right,” Bella interjected, reaching across the table to touch her brother’s hand. “You need to do something special—for all of you. It’s your first Christmas as a father—”

  “And a widower,” he pointed out.

  “As a father,” she said again, determined to emphasize the positive. “And that’s a cause for celebration.”

  He glanced at the list again, his thick brows drawing together. “First Christmas photo with Santa? Am I supposed to ask the fat guy to pose with HJK after he squeezes down the chimney on Christmas Eve?”

  “No,” Fallon said, with what she thought was incredible patience. “You’re supposed to take them to the mall in Kalispell.”

  He was shaking his head before she even finished speaking. “I don’t do malls and I don’t have the time—or the inclination—to bundle up three babies, strap their screaming, squirming bodies into car seats, and trek into the city to stand in line with dozens of other harried parents for a photo op with a phony Kris Kringle.”

  “Well, the real one is kind of busy at the North Pole this time of year,” she shot back, deadpan. “And you need to make the time and fake the inclination if necessary, because this is important.”

  “To whom?” he countered.

  “To me,” Bella interjected, obviously attempting to play peacemaker. “I’d love a picture of my niece and nephews with Santa.”

  “Then you can take them,” Jamie told her.

  Fallon drew in a slow, deep breath and mentally counted to ten. It wouldn’t help the situation if she lost her temper, but she was so frustrated with him—and for him. She knew he was grieving, but she also knew he loved his babies and, when he finally stopped grieving, he would regret the opportunities he’d missed. She wasn’t going to let him have regrets.

  “We’ll put that one aside for now,” she finally relented. “The outfits I’ve ordered haven’t come in yet, anyway.”

  His frown was back again. “You ordered outfits?”

  “Wait until you see them. They’re the—”

  “I don’t want to see them,” he told her. “I want you to send them back. I can afford to buy clothes for my kids. I don’t need your charity.”

  Fallon sighed. “It’s not charity. It’s a gift.”

  “And very thoughtful,” Bella interjected again, with a pointed look at her brother.

  Jamie sighed. “Bella’s right. I’m sorry.”

  “Prove it,” she said.

  His brows lifted. “How am I supposed to prove it?”

  “By agreeing to fulfill the requirements of my list.”

  “I’m not that sorry.” He pushed the paper away from him.

  She shoved it at him again.

  With a sigh, he reached out to take it, his fingertips brushing against hers in the transfer. Little sparks skipped through her veins in response to the brief contact.

  She glanced up, to see if he’d experienced any kind of reaction. His gaze remained focused on the page, his expression neutral.

  “I have no objection to a tree,” he finally conceded.

  Fallon ignored her own disappointment. “Great,” she said. “We’ll bundle the kids up this afternoon, take them in the sleigh out to the woods and find an appropriate specimen.”

  “That’s a wonderful idea,” Bella agreed.

  Jamie frowned. “This afternoon? What’s the hurry? It’s only the first day of December.”

  “A tree is the most obvious symbol of Christmas,” Fallon pointed out reasonably. “Having one in the house will help you get into the spirit of the season.”

  Nothing in his expression hinted at the tiniest bit of holiday spirit, but he shrugged. “Fine. Whatever. If you want to take the kids out and chop down a tree, I’ll see if one of the kids from next door is available to help you drag it back.”

  “Uh-uh,” Fallon said, shaking her head. “I’m not taking the kids out to chop down a tree—we are.”

  “I don’t have time—”

  “Make time,” she said, interrupting his familiar refrain.

  He frowned. “When did you get to be so bossy?”

  “She’s always been bossy,” Bella chimed in. “I don’t know how it’s possible that you’ve known her for more than twenty years and not known that.”

  But Fallon wasn’t surprised that he hadn’t noticed her ability to take charge and assert herself when the situation warranted. There were a lot of things that Jamie had never noticed about her. Most notably the Montana-sized crush she’d had on him since she was a girl experiencing the first stirring of adolescent hormones.

  And while a part of her was grateful that he’d never discovered her feelings for him, another part continued to be frustrated that he’d always viewed her as his kid sister’s friend. Sure, over the years they’d developed a friendship of their own outside of their mutual connection to Bella, but Jamie had only ever seen her as a pal to hang out with and an occasional confidante.

  She was the only person he’d shared his anger and frustration with when he’d discovered that his wife had secretly been taking birth control while he’d thought they were trying to get pregnant. Of course, when Paula finally had conceived, Jamie had shared the good news with everyone in Rust Creek Falls. He’d been so thrilled, he’d practically shouted it from the rooftops. But he’d subsequently admitted to Fallon that Paula wasn’t nearly as excited about having a baby as he was—and even less so when they learned that she would have three of them.

  “I thought you were the bossy one,” Jamie responded to his sister’s comment while his speculative gaze lingered on Fallon.

  “I’m not bossy,” she denied.

  His lips twitched. “Of course not. And now, I really do need to get out to the barn to check on Daisy,” he said, suddenly remembering his expectant mare.

  Fallon nodded. “Will we see you at lunch?”

  “Not if I’m going to finish up early to go out hunting for a Christmas tree.”

  “I didn’t ask you to do that,” she pointed out.

  “It gets dark early this time of year.” He snagged a couple of muffins out of the container on the table, then winked at her on his way to the door. “These will tide me over.”

  She started to offer to wrap them up and fill a thermos with coffee, then clenched her teeth to hold back the words. She was pleased that he liked the muffins, but while offering baked goods was an acceptable and neighborly gesture, sending him off with a bagged lunch and a hot beverage was something a wife would do.

  And Fallon wasn’t his wife—she was his friend and his children’s babysitter, nothing more. She needed to remember that—for the sake of her own heart.

  Chapter Two

  While Jamie was making his way to the door, his sister started clearing the breakfast dishes
off the table.

  “If you have to get to work, I can take care of that,” Fallon offered.

  “I’m not really in a hurry,” Bella admitted.

  “You don’t have to meet Hudson to look at applications?”

  “Not until this afternoon.”

  Fallon shook her head. “Really? You were so afraid to sample my baking that you made up that story?”

  “I didn’t make it up,” her friend denied. “I just fudged the timeline a little.”

  “I’ve prepared lunch and occasionally dinner here numerous times over the past ten months and you never balked at eating anything I’ve cooked,” she pointed out.

  “You know how to put a meal together,” Bella confirmed. “Dessert? Not so much.”

  “Ouch.”

  “You have a lot of talents,” her friend soothed. “Baking just isn’t one of them.”

  “But the muffins were good, weren’t they?”

  “They were very good, but one batch of muffins isn’t going to make anyone forget the potluck experience.”

  Fallon scowled as she washed the babies’ hands and faces, then she and Bella carried the triplets into the living room.

  Because Henry, Jared and Katie were preemies—born almost two months ahead of schedule—they were a little bit delayed in their development and had only recently started to crawl and climb. Their sudden mobility had Jamie in a panic about childproofing the house, so there were now caps in all of the outlets, child locks and latches on all of the doors and drawers and baby gates to block off the rooms that were completely off-limits to the little ones.

  He also had a play yard—which Fallon thought was intended to go in the yard, but he’d assured her was also suitable for indoor use and gave the babies a little more room to roam around than a traditional playpen. But for now, with Bella there to provide an extra set of eyes, they were letting the babies crawl around the floor.

  While her brothers were playing with wooden toy cars, Katie was preoccupied with the sparkly ring on Bella’s finger. “Pretty, isn’t it?” Fallon said.

  Katie, of course, didn’t respond but continued to be mesmerized by the massive diamond.

  “You’re a smart girl,” her Auntie Bella said. “You already know that diamonds are a girl’s best friend.”

  “And her brothers are already obsessed with cars,” Fallon noted.

  “Whatever keeps them busy...and happy,” Bella said, smiling as she watched them play. “For a long time, I didn’t think they’d ever learn how to occupy themselves.”

  “It’s amazing how much they’ve grown and changed over the past ten months,” Fallon agreed. “And speaking of changes...have you and Hudson set a date for the wedding?”

  “We have,” her friend happily confirmed. “Saturday, June 10. We’re having the ceremony at the church followed by a reception at Maverick Manor.”

  “Have you found a dress?”

  “I’ve been looking at bridal magazines and browsing online, but that’s it so far. I’m hoping to get to Mimi’s Bridal in Kalispell on Saturday, but I have to make sure my maid of honor can go with me.”

  “Who are you having stand up with you?” Fallon asked.

  “Hopefully my best friend,” Bella said.

  “Me?”

  The bride-to-be smiled. “Of course you, if you’re willing.”

  “I would be honored,” Fallon told her sincerely.

  “And are you up for wedding dress shopping on Saturday?”

  “Absolutely. Have you decided who will be your bridesmaids?”

  Bella shook her head. “I’m not having any other attendants.”

  “Why not?” Fallon wondered.

  “Because I always imagined that I’d have Dana and Liza in my wedding party,” the bride-to-be admitted softly, referring to the two sisters she hadn’t seen in years. “And if they can’t be there... I don’t want anyone else.”

  Fallon reached over to squeeze her friend’s hand in a silent gesture of comfort and support.

  “So the wedding party is going to be very small,” Bella continued. “Bride and groom, maid of honor and best man, flower girl and two ring bearers.”

  “Katie, Henry and Jared?” she guessed.

  Her friend nodded. “Jamie thinks I’m crazy, but I want my niece and nephews in my wedding party.”

  “That’s not crazy,” Fallon assured her. “Crazy would be letting Homer Gilmore anywhere near the wedding punch.”

  Bella chuckled at her mention of the old man who had confessed to spiking the wedding punch with his homemade moonshine when Jennifer MacCallum and Braden Traub got married last Fourth of July. As a result, the celebration had resulted in several new romances and started the local baby boom. “Apparently he learned his lesson. Although I have to admit, I’ve found myself wondering if ‘what happened at the wedding’ wasn’t much ado about nothing.”

  “I’m sure Will Clifton and Jordyn Cates, Lani Dalton and Russ Campbell, Trey Strickland and Kayla Dalton would argue otherwise.”

  “Hmm.”

  “I know that tone,” Fallon said, sounding a little worried. “What are you thinking?”

  “I was just thinking, if Homer Gilmore’s moonshine really does have special powers, I should try to get my hands on some.”

  “Why do you want Homer’s moonshine when all of your dreams are about to come true?”

  “It wouldn’t be for me, but for Jamie.”

  “I think your brother’s hands are full enough with Henry, Jared and Katie,” she said.

  “I don’t mean for him to have more babies,” Bella said. “Although there was a definite rise in pregnancies for wedding guests who drank the spiked punch, there was also a noticeable increase in the number of couples falling in love,” she pointed out. “That’s what I want for Jamie—for him to fall in love, and for real this time.”

  Fallon didn’t say anything. She wasn’t going to ask, but her curiosity must have shown on her face because Bella’s lips curved into a slow smile.

  “Apparently Jamie doesn’t tell you everything,” his sister mused.

  “Maybe that’s because he wants to keep his private life private,” she suggested. Because she knew that Jamie and Paula’s marriage hadn’t been without its share of problems, but she also knew that Jamie had loved his wife.

  Bella waved a hand dismissively. “If I’ve learned nothing else this past year, I’ve learned that keeping secrets doesn’t help anyone. My brother needs a wife, his babies need a mother and most of the women in town are keeping a respectable distance because they think he’s still mourning Paula.

  “I’m not saying he didn’t care for her,” his sister hastened to explain. “He wouldn’t have married her if he didn’t believe he was in love with her. But even I could see that they were ill-suited. Paula might have wanted Jamie, but she never really wanted to live in Rust Creek Falls and...” she paused now, as if reluctant to say aloud what she was thinking “...I don’t believe she ever wanted those beautiful babies.

  “Of course, by the time my brother realized the truth about who she was and what she wanted, they were already married. And Jamie being Jamie, he was determined to make it work.”

  “She would have loved Henry, Jared and Katie,” Fallon said. “If she’d been given a chance to be a mother to them, she would have loved them.” Unfortunately, complications resulting from her pregnancy had taken that chance along with her life.

  “You always did have a huge and forgiving heart,” Bella told her. “And that’s what I want for my brother—for him to find someone like you who will help him open his heart again.”

  She felt her own heart beat faster as she wondered if her friend had somehow guessed the truth of her feelings for Jamie.

  But Bella continued, oblivious to Fallon’
s inner thoughts and deepest emotions. “Someone down to earth, preferably a Rust Creek Falls resident who understands life on a ranch and might be willing to become an instant mother to these precious babies.” She grabbed a tissue from the box on the table to wipe the drool off Henry’s chin. “Can you think of anyone who might fit the criteria?”

  Me! Me! Fallon wanted to respond, while jumping up and down with her hand in the air like an eager second grader.

  “I’m sure there are more than a few suitable candidates,” she said instead, and hoped her friend didn’t guess that her lack of enthusiasm was based on a reluctance to watch Jamie hook up with anyone else.

  It had been difficult enough for her to see him with Paula, but she’d tried to be happy for him because she knew he was in love with his wife. She’d been sincerely pleased when he told her about his wife’s pregnancy, because she knew how much he wanted to be a father, to have a family of his own. Her heart had ached, but she’d put a smile on her face because she loved him so much she valued his happiness above even her own.

  But now, she wasn’t sure she could go through that again. She didn’t want to sit back and be a spectator while the man she loved fell in love with another woman.

  “Has he indicated any interest in meeting someone new?” she asked cautiously.

  “No,” Bella admitted. “But why wouldn’t he be content with the status quo when he’s got someone here taking care of his babies every day and often putting a meal on the table? The only thing he’s not getting is sex.”

  Fallon felt her cheeks flush. “How do you know he’s not having sex?”

  “Because he’s too exhausted to ever leave the ranch and find a willing woman,” his sister said matter-of-factly.

  Which didn’t preclude him finding a willing woman on the ranch, and that wasn’t completely outside the realm of possibility considering that several of the baby chain volunteers were single women. On the other hand, it wasn’t very likely with Jamie’s sister living under the same roof.

  “So what do you think?” Bella prompted. “Can you help me come up with some prospects for him?”