A Maverick Under The Mistletoe Read online

  Her long dark hair had been fashioned into some kind of loose knot on top of her head, but a few strands had escaped to frame her delicate heart-shaped face. Her dark eyes had been enhanced with makeup, her sharp cheekbones highlighted and her sweetly curved lips had been painted a glossy pink color.

  Her dress was a long, strapless column of pale lilac silk that hugged her curves. She’d been more skinny than thin as a girl, but there was no doubt she was a woman now. A woman with silky-smooth skin and beautiful shoulders that had seemed rather chilly whenever she’d turned them in his direction.

  Unfortunately, her obvious disinterest had done nothing to cool the blood running through his veins. But he’d managed to get through the wedding without giving in to the desire to touch her, and he’d breathed a sigh of relief when the event was over.

  He’d done a pretty good job of avoiding Paige in the months that had passed since then—until tonight, when his need just to see her and talk to her had overridden his common sense and sent him chasing after her.

  When he’d offered to manage Collin’s campaign, he’d claimed it was simply because he believed that his brother truly was the best person for the job—especially considering that the only other candidate was Nathan Crawford. He hadn’t been willing to admit, even to himself, that Paige Dalton had been a factor in his decision to stay in Rust Creek Falls a little longer. Maybe he’d been an idiot where she was concerned, but he wasn’t a masochist. Once bitten, twice shy and all that.

  But now, three months later, he was still in Rust Creek Falls and still hoping to catch a glimpse of her around every corner. And that, he knew, was a definite sign that it was long past time to go back to Seattle.

  He’d been making occasional trips back and forth, not so much to keep an eye on his business, because he trusted his stable manager absolutely, but to ensure that he was able to give the personal touch to his major clients. But he’d never stayed in Seattle more than a few days before he’d found a reason to return to Rust Creek Falls again. He decided now that he needed to get back to his real life before he let himself start believing that he could ever come home to stay. Because the more time he spent here, the more he remembered how it had felt to be part of the close-knit community, and the more he craved that sense of belonging again.

  The town had come together and had made impressive headway with respect to the repairs that were needed. It never ceased to amaze him how people managed to overcome their differences and work together in times of crisis. In fact, Collin and Nate had worked side by side on the Recovery Committee with Sheriff Gage Christensen—Willa’s brother—and Thelma McGee.

  Sutter had pitched in wherever help was needed and, as a result, had occasionally crossed paths with Paige. Each time he saw her, he was reminded of what they’d once had—and what he’d lost. And almost every night since his return, he dreamed of her when he went to sleep.

  That was just one more reason that he was looking forward to going back to Seattle—so he could sleep through the night without dreams of a sexy, dark-eyed brunette disturbing his slumber. Not that the distance had helped him forget about Paige completely, but it had forced him to accept that she’d chosen a life without him. And he knew the best thing for him now was to get back to that life without her. Except that he’d made his brother a promise, and that meant that Sutter was going to be in Rust Creek Falls until the last ballot was counted.

  His faith in his brother had not wavered once since Collin had announced his candidacy. If anything, the more he learned about his brother’s plans and ideas for the town, the more convinced he was that Collin was the right man to lead Rust Creek Falls through this crisis and toward a better, stronger future. Unfortunately, instead of promoting his own ideas, Nathan Crawford was more interested in slinging mud at the Traubs.

  For some reason that Sutter couldn’t even pretend to understand, the Traubs and the Crawfords had been at odds for generations. According to the widely circulated rumors around town, the feud had originated with a business partnership gone wrong. Of course, that was only one version of the story and, depending on the telling, even it had several variations and discrepancies as to which party had done the wrong.

  In any event, the animosity that existed between the families since before Sutter could remember had come to a head a few years earlier when Collin and Nate had gotten into a fight over accusations that Nate’s girlfriend was stepping out with his nemesis. Collin’s announcement that he would run against Nate in the election had further exacerbated the tensions.

  “Where did you disappear to?” Collin demanded when Sutter finally got back to town hall.

  The majority of the crowd had dispersed, leaving only a handful of people in the building: volunteers stacking up chairs and sweeping the floors, Willa in conversation with a young couple who were just as likely to be talking to her about their daughter who was in her kindergarten class as an issue regarding Collin’s campaign.

  “I needed some air,” Sutter told his brother.

  “You didn’t follow Paige?”

  He scowled. “I’m not a stalker, but yes, I did talk to her. I wanted to thank her for the things she said.”

  “Her words did interject rationale and reason into an uncomfortable situation—at least for the moment.”

  “She promised that you have her vote,” Sutter told him.

  “I’m grateful for that,” Collin said. “But I’m more concerned about you.”

  “You’ve got my vote, too.”

  His brother cuffed the side of Sutter’s head. “I meant that I’m concerned about you and Paige.”

  “There is no me and Paige—there hasn’t been for a long time.” Of course, knowing that fact didn’t stop him from thinking about her—or wanting her. “Besides, she’s seeing Alex Monroe.”

  “I know that she’s gone out with him a few times,” Collin admitted. “I don’t know that it’s exclusive, though.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Sutter insisted. “My life is in Seattle now, and she made it clear a long time ago that she has no intention of ever leaving Rust Creek Falls.”

  “Your business is in Seattle,” his brother agreed. “But your family is here.”

  “Now you sound like Paige,” he grumbled.

  “Really?” Collin seemed intrigued by the idea. “Well, where you choose to live is your decision. I just want to be sure that you’re not planning to go anywhere before the election.”

  “I’m not, unless you want me to.”

  “I don’t.”

  “That whole scene tonight—it happened because of me.”

  “It happened because Nate Crawford doesn’t know how to play by the rules.”

  Sutter couldn’t deny that was true, but he still hated to think that his brother could lose the election because of him. Certainly the tide of popular opinion had turned against him in a heartbeat tonight, until Paige’s timely interjection.

  “Desperate times call for desperate measures,” Willa said, coming over to join in their conversation. “And I think Nate is feeling more than a little desperate.”

  Collin slid his arm around her. “Why do you say that?”

  “Because he knows he’s going to lose this election, and the defeat is going to be that much harder to take for a Crawford beaten by a Traub.”

  “While I appreciate your confidence, you might want to hold off on the victory speech until the votes are actually counted,” Collin told her.

  Secretly, Sutter couldn’t help but agree with his brother. As much as he appreciated Willa’s optimism about her new husband’s chances in the election, he didn’t share her faith. He truly believed Collin was the best candidate for the job, but Nate Crawford had run a clever campaign. Instead of focusing on his plans to return the town to its former glory—no doubt because he knew that Collin was leaps and bounds ahead of him in that regard—he’d chosen to focus on his family’s place in the town’s history, and on digging up dirt on his opponent.

  Not that t
here was much dirt to be found on Collin, which was surely why Nate had expanded his smear campaign to encompass the whole of the Traub family. And in doing so, he’d had more success.

  Sutter could only hope that Nate’s efforts would be in vain.

  Chapter Three

  Sutter said goodbye to Collin and Willa and headed back to the Triple T. He bypassed the main house and went directly to Clayton’s residence on the property. Since Clay had moved to Thunder Canyon, his place had become a guest house for visitors, and although Sutter wasn’t technically a guest, he felt more comfortable there than in the main house.

  Mostly he appreciated the privacy and the solitude, and he was grateful for both tonight. He didn’t feel like making idle conversation with anyone, especially not his well-meaning but undeniably interfering mother, and especially not if she’d somehow gotten wind of the fact that Paige had been present at the town hall debate.

  Ellie had always liked Paige, and despite the breakup with Sutter she hadn’t yet given up hope that they might somehow find their way back to one another. So she made a point of keeping him apprised of what was going on in Paige’s life—including the fact that she was dating the mill foreman.

  Sutter knew that the information hadn’t been intended to hurt him but to spur him into action, his mother expecting that he would charge into town and sweep Paige off her feet and into his arms again. Even if he’d thought such a grand gesture might be successful, Sutter knew that he had no right to interfere in her life now. Five years earlier, they’d made their own choices and gone their separate ways.

  And now she was dating Alex Monroe.

  That fact was more difficult to accept than he wanted to acknowledge. He didn’t know Alex well, but he knew who he was and he had nothing against the guy. He just didn’t like the idea of Paige with anyone else.

  Which was admittedly hypocritical considering that he’d hardly lived like a monk in the five years since he’d left Rust Creek Falls. But the truth was, he hadn’t been with anyone since Paige who had made him forget about her.

  He’d fallen in love with her when he was barely seventeen, and with the innocence and conviction of youth, he’d been absolutely certain that he would love her forever. They’d talked about their future together, when they would get married, where they would live, how many children they wanted. And he’d believed that she loved him, too—right up until the moment she’d told him she couldn’t marry him.

  Even five years later, the memory of that impulsive and rejected proposal stung. Because even now he knew he wasn’t completely over his feelings for Paige, while she seemed to have moved on without so much as a backward glance in his direction.

  The fact that she’d bought a house proved to him that she still wanted most of the same things they’d talked about. That she hadn’t let him get past the front door proved that he wasn’t a factor in any of her plans.

  Which, of course, made him wonder if Alex Monroe was. Had she invited him in for coffee? Had he been given a tour of Paige’s house? Had he seen her bedroom? Spent the night in her bed?

  Sutter scowled, acknowledging that those were questions he probably didn’t want to know the answers to—even the speculation was making him crazy.

  He deliberately turned his thoughts to why she’d moved out of her parents’ house. Maybe she’d wanted to be closer to her job, although a couple of blocks hardly made a difference. In a town like Rust Creek Falls, commuting times were never a concern.

  More likely she’d wanted her own space, more independence. Paige had always been close to her family, but she’d often chafed at their rules and restrictions. It was a common complaint of many teenagers, but she was a grown woman now, an incredibly beautiful woman living alone in a house that was probably just waiting for the children she’d always wanted.

  He poured himself a glass of whiskey and swallowed it in a single gulp. The liquor burned a path down his throat and into his belly, but it didn’t touch the aching emptiness in his heart. So he poured himself a second drink and was considering a third when he realized what he was doing. He pushed the bottle aside and headed to bed.

  It had been a lot of years since he’d drunk himself into a stupor over a woman, and even that hadn’t helped him forget either the pain or the loneliness. Of course, it had been Paige then, too, and he wasn’t going to go down that path again.

  It was a decision he found himself questioning later. If he’d consumed enough alcohol to pass out drunk, maybe he wouldn’t have been able to dream. Because when he finally did fall asleep, his dreams were filled with images of Paige, past and present. Memories mingled with fantasy in an enticing montage that teased and tormented him through the night.

  When he finally woke the next morning with his heart pounding and the sheets twisted around his body, he actually ached for her.

  * * *

  Teaching wasn’t an easy job at the best of times, and these were definitely not the best of times. There was so much going on in the town, so many families who had been displaced and so many demands on Paige’s time and attention that she sometimes didn’t know which direction to turn. As if all of that wasn’t enough, Sutter Traub had planted himself in the middle of everything by getting involved with his brother’s mayoral campaign and churning up a lot of feelings she’d thought were long dead—or at least deeply buried.

  She walked around the long table that had been set up in her living-room-turned-classroom to check on the mock campaign posters her students were creating. Early on in her teaching career, she’d realized that kids learned more easily and maintained information more readily when they could relate the lessons to real life, so she’d talked about the recent flood during a unit on environmental studies and had worked the upcoming election into their discussion about governments.

  The latter had certainly given her some insights into the political leanings of many local families, and though the class seemed fairly evenly divided between “Team Crawford” and “Team Traub,” she was optimistic that Collin would emerge victorious. But right now she tried to focus her thoughts not on the upcoming election but on the current lesson.

  She really did love her job and looked forward to the start of every day, approaching each subject with equal enthusiasm. She had her own personal favorites, of course, but she tried not to let that bias show. She wanted her students to experience and enjoy everything. She loved being able to open their minds, to encourage their curiosity and nurture their creativity, and gloried in each and every one of their successes. And because she was so completely engaged with her students, she hurt when they were hurting.

  And she knew that Ryder Traub was hurting. Sutter had been right about the fact that Dallas’s eldest son was having a hard time adjusting to his mother’s abandonment. He wasn’t acting out, as was often the case with children going through difficult transitions. Instead, it was as if he’d drawn into himself, disengaging from the other students and the activities in the classroom. He wasn’t uncooperative—he always did the work that was required of him—but Paige could tell that he was just going through the motions.

  She tried to draw him out, but that wasn’t an easy task when she had sixteen other students to attend to. Not that they all came to class every day, which was another reason teaching in her home was a challenge. It was as if the parents figured it wasn’t an actual school, therefore, she couldn’t actually be teaching. And that only made it harder to impress the importance of every lesson upon her students.

  When the day was over and the last student had gone, she realized she needed more markers and stickers to replenish her cupboard. Sometimes she would go to the specialty classroom resource store in Kalispell, but for everyday supplies she could usually find what she needed at Crawford’s General Store.

  Unfortunately, she sometimes found more than she wanted, as was the situation when she realized it was Nate Crawford behind the counter instead of his sister.

  She forced a smile as she emptied her basket. “Where
’s Nina?” She wasn’t just making conversation but was genuinely concerned about the woman, who was nearing the end of her pregnancy.

  “She had an appointment—” he automatically began to scan Paige’s purchases “—so I said I would cover the store. It gives me a chance to connect with the people of our town on a more personal basis.”

  Which Paige interpreted to mean that any poor soul who wandered in for essential grocery items was likely getting a healthy dose of Nate’s campaign propaganda along with every loaf of bread and quart of milk. “It always helps the voters to know their candidates,” she agreed.

  He totaled her order and she gave him her money.

  He made change, but didn’t immediately pass it across the counter. “I feel as if I should warn you about something.”

  “I’m sure that’s not necessary.”

  “I know you have…a history…with Sutter Traub,” he continued anyway. “But your public declaration of allegiance could make you unpopular in this town.”

  “I don’t need to be popular—I’m not running for office.” She picked up her bag and held out her hand for her change.

  “No,” he agreed, finally giving her the money. “But maybe your new boyfriend needs to know that you’re running around with your ex.”

  * * *

  Paige knew that she’d done nothing wrong, that there was absolutely no reason for her to feel as if she had, but that knowledge didn’t succeed in alleviating her guilt. Because the truth was, the whole time she’d been with Sutter the night before, she hadn’t once thought about Alex—not until Sutter had specifically asked her about the other man.

  She didn’t know if that said something about her relationship with the mill foreman or if it was simply a side effect of being near Sutter. She’d been dating Alex for a couple of months now and, after fifteen minutes in Sutter’s company, she’d barely remembered his name. It was embarrassing to admit, even if only to herself, and Alex certainly deserved better than to be an afterthought.