The More Mavericks, The Merrier!

“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.