A Maverick under the Mistletoe

Three years earlier, he’d opened Traub Stables, and he was gratified by its success. He was also pleased that his business had created a second market for CT Saddles—Collin’s custom-made saddles and leather-goods business. That was all Sutter wanted—all he needed. Or so he’d believed until he’d come back to Rust Creek Falls again.

When he’d left town five years earlier, he’d vowed that he would never return. Of course, he’d been younger and more impulsive then, and the simple fact that his family was in Rust Creek Falls guaranteed that he wouldn’t be able to stay away forever. Despite the harsh words that had been thrown around in the Traub household, he could never really turn his back on his family—even if he felt they’d turned their backs on him first.

So when he’d heard the news about the flood, he had to come home to make sure everything was okay at the ranch. Of course, it had taken him some time to get everything in order with his business so that he could feel comfortable leaving for a couple of weeks. And even then, his apprehension had increased with every mile that drew him closer to the Triple T. There was still tension in his family—most notably between Sutter and Forrest—and it had occurred to him that he might not be welcome. Especially if his war-hero brother had also decided to return.

Both Forrest and Clayton were living in Thunder Canyon these days with their new wives and, in Clayton’s case, children. But Sutter was certain they would also be drawn back to Rust Creek Falls, eager to do anything they could to help out not just the Traub family but the larger community.

Another reason that Sutter had questioned his impulse to return was the possibility that he might run into Paige Dalton. A possibility that had turned into a certainty when he found out that Collin was marrying Willa Christensen—a friend and colleague of Paige’s.

Of his five brothers, Collin was the only one who got Sutter and who hadn’t judged him for his less-than-enthusiastic support of Forrest’s decision to return to Iraq. So when Collin had asked Sutter to be his best man, he hadn’t even considered refusing. He hadn’t found out until later that Paige would be Willa’s maid of honor.

The wedding had been simple but beautiful. And Sutter and Paige had both focused on their respective duties and pretended to be oblivious to one another. At least, Sutter was pretending. And he’d tried to focus on his duties, but Paige had always been a distraction.

She was the most beautiful girl he’d ever known. Now that girl was a woman and even more of a distraction. Willa had been a gorgeous bride, and Sutter had been thrilled to see his brother so obviously in love and more contented than he’d ever been, but it was the bride’s maid of honor who had caught—and held—Sutter’s attention.

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 there 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