The Maverick's Midnight Proposal

She handed the customer’s change across the counter. “Have a good day, Mrs. Traub.”

“Thanks,” Ellie said, and carried her mug and plate away from the counter.

Eva turned with a smile to the next customer in line but was admittedly distracted by thoughts of Luke Stockton. In fact, she felt a little dazed after the brief encounter with the handsome cowboy, as if she’d been hit over the head with a sack of flour.

Of course, she had a habit of falling hard and fast—and always for the wrong men. But no matter how many times her heart ended up bruised, she refused to give up hope. Just like the fairy-tale princess who believed that someday her prince would come, Eva believed that her soul mate was out there somewhere.

Or maybe, just maybe, he was right here in Rust Creek Falls now.

The rest of the morning passed in a blur. The doughnut shop did a brisk business, which kept her hands busy but didn’t prevent her mind from speculating about the new man in town.

“You trying to rub the Formica right off that table?” asked a voice behind her.

Eva glanced back at Tracie, the cook who worked the lunch shift. “I guess my mind was wandering,” she admitted as she dropped the cloth onto the tray filled with plates and cups that she’d already cleared away.

“Maybe it could wander back to the kitchen and get started making a lemon meringue pie.”

“I thought apple and coconut were on the menu today.”

Tracie nodded. “But I got a call-in order for a lemon meringue.” She looked at the slip where she’d written the customer’s name and number. “Lydia Grant. She’s making dinner for her fiancé tonight and apparently lemon meringue pie is his favorite.”

Eva knew that, of course. Because Lydia’s fiancé was Zach Dalton, a rancher who had recently moved to Rust Creek Falls with his father and siblings after the devastating loss of his mother in a house fire.

Unlike so many men, Zach was a traditional kind of guy who wanted to get married and have children. In fact, he was so determined that he’d even advertised in the Gazette for a woman who was an excellent cook and homemaker and loved kids, dogs and horses.

Eva had gone on a few dates with Zach before he’d fallen in love with Lydia—who didn’t have any of the traits that he’d claimed to be looking for in a wife. Now Eva, who had fulfilled all of his requirements—at least on paper—was being enlisted to make Zach’s favorite pie for his future wife to serve to him.

As she carried the tray of dirty dishes to the kitchen, she acknowledged that this was only the most recent in a string of romantic disappointments.

But her heart wasn’t heavy as she began to measure the ingredients for the pastry. Because she wasn’t thinking about Zach and Lydia’s engagement—she was thinking about the return to Rust Creek Falls of sexy cowboy Luke Stockton.

* * *

Luke sat in his truck in the parking lot outside Just Us Kids Day Care Center. Somewhere inside the brick building with the colorful sign that looked as if it had been written in thick crayon by a first grader, his sister was waiting for him. He took another minute to finish his coffee as he continued to sit and stare at the double doors that would take him from the present to his past.

He lifted the cup to his lips and let his gaze shift to the fenced-in play area where a group of kids, bundled up in thick snowsuits, hats, mittens and boots, were playing in the deep snow. Despite the frigid temperatures, they were laughing and giggling and having a great time. He didn’t know how old they were—three? four?—but watching them reminded him of Bella when she’d been a similar age.

As a child, she’d had seemingly endless energy and enthusiasm, and she’d found joy in every aspect of life. Of course, that was a lot of years before their parents were killed, sucking all the joy out of all their lives.

Before he could go too far down that dark path, he stepped out of the truck and made his way toward the entrance. He lifted his arm to reach for the handle, then hesitated again. Over the past dozen years, he’d never let himself think about a potential reunion with his siblings because he never believed he would come back to Rust Creek Falls. Now that the moment was here, he was paralyzed by his own doubts and fears.

Apparently his sister felt differently, because the door he was staring at suddenly flung open.

“You’re here!”

Those two words were the only warning Luke got before Bella launched herself into his arms. He caught her—a reflex action—and she pressed her cheek to his, covering his face with kisses and tears.

The unexpected outpouring of affection made his heart swell inside his chest, so much that his ribs actually ached.

“You’re really here,” she said again.

“I’m really here,” he confirmed.

“I know you said you were coming,” she acknowledged, “but I’ve been waiting for so long that it feels like forever.”

His arms tightened around her. It felt like forever to him, too. And though he’d had more than a few reservations about returning to Rust Creek Falls, right now, with Bella in his arms, he was certain that he’d made the right decision.

All too soon, she was drawing away again. “Come on,” she said, tugging on his arm. “I want you to meet my husband.” Her eyes sparkled as her lips curved. “We’ve been married for almost six months, and I still get such a thrill every time I say that.”

“I feel a shock to hear you say it,” Luke confessed. But he was eager to meet Hudson Jones—and to thank him for hiring the PI who had tracked him down.

When he stepped into the building, he was immediately enveloped by warmth—a welcome reprieve from the bitter winds blowing outside—and assailed by various sounds and scents: crying and cooing and singing; baby powder and Play-Doh and fresh gingerbread.

“We’re baking cookies for the toddlers to decorate today,” she explained. “And to eat, during snack time.”

“I guess day care isn’t all about story time and building blocks,” he mused.

She laughed. “You have no idea.”

He took a minute to catch his breath and survey the space. The tiles beneath his boots were multicolored, the walls were painted sunshine yellow and decorated with artwork that he suspected had been done by children who attended the day care. “How did you end up working here?”

“The facility was opening at a time when I was desperate for a job,” she admitted. “Jamie’s wife died after giving birth to their three babies, so I came home from college to help him with Henry, Jared and Katie.”

He’d thought nothing could surprise him more than discovering that Bella was married, and now she was telling him that his youngest brother had also married—and been widowed—and was a father. “Triplets?”

She nodded.

“And you left school to be his babysitter?”

“He’s family,” she said simply, as if that explained everything. “And the only brother I had left after you, Bailey and Danny took off.”

“Bella—”

“We’ll talk about that later,” she interjected, hooking one arm through Luke’s and raising her other hand to knock on a partially open door beside the main reception desk.

“Come in.”

She pushed the door open the rest of the way. “Hudson, there’s someone here that I want you to meet.”

The man behind the desk slid his chair back and stood up. The smile that lit his eyes when he looked at his wife assured Luke that he was just as much in love with Bella as she obviously was with him.

Then his gaze shifted, and cooled noticeably. “You must be Luke.”

He nodded and shook the proffered hand. “It’s nice to meet the man who won my sister’s heart.”

“She won mine first,” Hudson said. “And I’d do anything for my beautiful bride, so I was pleased to hear that David Bradford was successful in tracking you down in Wyoming.”

“I’m grateful for your efforts,” Luke said sincerely.