A Maverick for Christmas

Abby felt something inside her rip. The beginning, she feared, of turning into a rocket and shooting through the roof. If she didn’t get out of here. “Gotta go,” she said, tossing the towel she held on the counter. “I’ll be back later.”

Laila shot her a bemused look. “Where are you going?”

“I need to do some research for a paper,” Abby manufactured, although it was partly true.

“Can’t you do it online?” Laila asked.

“Nope. Tell Mom when she gets off the phone,” Abby said and grabbed her coat. She jammed her hands through the sleeves and raced outside. Full of so many different emotions, she walked blindly away from the house. She skipped getting into her orange Volkswagen Beetle, hoping the cold air would freeze her feelings.

She was torn between swearing a blue streak and crying. She hated to cry, so she began to swear under her breath. Walking toward town, Abby whispered every bad word she could call to mind. At a younger age, she would have gotten her mouth washed out with soap, but there was no one to tattle on her unless she counted the bare November trees and whistling wind. Unfortunately she used up her repertoire very quickly, and despite her best efforts, her eyes filled with tears.

Chapter One

It had been a long day and it was colder than a well-digger’s backside. Cade had been working like a dog and wanted a little reward. He wouldn’t be getting it from a woman tonight, so Cade Pritchett looked inside the café, trying to decide whether or not to indulge in a slice of cherry pie.

Cade looked away. Since that insane moment he’d proposed to Thunder Canyon’s beauty queen, the woman he’d dated casually the past few years, he’d become all too aware of his burning need for a family of his own. It didn’t make sense because Cade wasn’t interested in falling in love. He’d done that once and lost the woman to an accident. He wasn’t interested in risking his heart, but he wanted more than what he had now. A partnership in his father’s business, his own spread just outside of town and his hobby rebuilding motorcycles. Oh, and his hound dog, Stella. He should have listed her first.

From his side, he heard a sniffling sound. Curious, he glanced over and saw Abby Cates wiping her nose as she leaned against the café window. His stomach clenched. Abby, little sister of the woman he’d asked to marry him during the Frontier Days celebration. That had been a monumental mistake.

He heard Abby sniff again and Cade felt a surge of concern. He should check on the girl. The poor thing looked upset. He moved toward her.

“Hey, what’s up? Or down?”

Abby glanced up in shock, her wide eyes blinking in surprise. “Hi,” she said and gave another sniff and surreptitious wipe of her nose with her tissue. “What are you doing here?”

“Thinking about getting a piece of pie,” he said. “Long day.”

She nodded and blinked away her tears. “This is the beginning of one of your busy seasons, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, how’d you remember?” he asked.

“Osmosis,” she said. “I guess I eventually noticed during the last few years when you didn’t hang around the house as much.”

“Yeah,” he said. “So, what’s with the sniffles? I don’t think it’s allergies or a cold.”

She shrugged and lowered her gaze, her eyelids hiding her emotions from him. “I don’t know. Lots of changes going on at my house. I guess I’m going to miss Laila now that she’s getting married,” she said, then froze and met his gaze. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to say—”

He waved his hand in dismissal. “No problem. My pride was hurt more than anything else. Laila and I were never crazy in love. I shouldn’t have been such a darned fool by proposing to her,” he said.

“You weren’t the fool. Laila was. She should have never let you get away,” she said.

Cade laughed and shook his head. It felt nicer than he’d like to admit for Abby to rush to his defense, but he knew more than most that romance and emotion could be fickle and elusive. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his sheepskin jacket. “You shouldn’t be out here in the cold,” he said. “Let me buy you a cup of hot chocolate.”

She met his gaze for a long moment, and he saw a flurry of emotions he couldn’t quite name except one. Defiance.

She licked her lips. “I’d like something a little stronger than hot chocolate.”

Surprise punched through him. “Something stronger,” he said. “You’re a little young for that, aren’t you?”

She gave a husky chuckle. “Are you suffering from a little dementia due to your advanced years? I’m twenty-two.”

“Whoa,” he said. “When did I miss that?”

“I guess you weren’t looking,” she said wryly. Her chocolate-brown eyes flashed with humor, and his gaze slid over her silky, long brown hair.

“I guess not,” he said. “So you want to go to the Hitching Post?”

“Sure,” she said with a shrug, and they walked down the street to the town’s most popular bar and hangout. It was crowded when they walked inside, so he hooked his hand under her elbow and guided her to the far end of the bar.

“Hey, Abby,” a young man said from halfway across the room.

She glanced up and shot the guy a smile.

“Hi, Abby,” a young woman called.

“Hey, Corinne,” she said.

“You seem pretty popular here,” Cade said, finding a space next to the bar. “How often do you come?”

She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “I know those people from my classes at college. I’m usually too busy to spend much time here. They’re probably surprised to see me here.”

He nodded. “What do you want to drink?”

“A beer’s okay,” she said with a shrug.

He noticed her lack of enthusiasm. “What kind?”

“Whatever you’re having is fine,” she said.

He felt a twinge of amusement. “You really don’t like beer.”

“I’m working on it,” she said. “At least once a year.”

He laughed out loud. “I’ll get you one of those pink girly drinks. Cosmo,” he said to the bartender. “And a beer for me. Whatever you have on draft.”

Moments later, she sipped her pink martini and he drank his beer. “It’s loud in here,” he said.

She stirred her drink with the tiny straw. “Yeah, I guess that might bother you older folks,” she said with a naughty smile.

He shook his head. Her teasing gave him a kick. “Yeah, I’m thirty. Don’t rub it in. What have you been doing lately?”

“School. College,” she corrected. “I’m also working at the youth center. And as you know, my family can get a little demanding. I have a part-time job teaching skiing lessons at the resort when I can fit it in. What about you? How’s that new motorcycle coming?”

He was surprised she’d remembered. “Close to perfection, but I’m still tinkering with it.”

“You wouldn’t know perfection if it slapped you in the face,” she teased.

Cade liked the way her long eyelashes dipped over her eyes flirtatiously. Someday, Abby could be trouble, he thought. “What do you mean by that?”