“Congratulations, Mason. You’re a dad.”

Mason was about to grunt a reply when his brother continued. “A bachelor dad, of course. A single father. An unwedded man.”

“Thank you, Last. You can go now.”

Last turned serious. “Mason, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. Just be nice to Mimi, okay? That’s your future lying in there next to the little pink giraffe. You don’t want to goof up the thing that means the most to you.”

Last thundered down the stairs and went out the front door. Mason sighed, taking one last look at his daughter, then headed toward his own room.

Last was right about one thing. Nanette was his future. However, he would allow Mimi to visit whenever she wanted. Underneath his anger, he didn’t really intend to keep her away from her child. As long as everything went his way.

As long as Nanette stayed here with him, where she belonged.

Dear Reader,

The wild boys of Malfunction Junction meant so much to me to write, and I greatly appreciate the love and enthusiasm you have shown for the wily Jefferson brothers. They are a tightly knit family who tried to do right, and now they have their own happy ending. I lived with these brothers for three years, and am delighted that you took them into your hearts, as well. My mother, sister and grandmother were not able to read any of the series, so I was fortunate to have you to love the stories, which were very much a part of my heart. Your letters meant a lot.

It’s always hard to say goodbye, but through the blessings of fate it turns out we are saying goodbye only temporarily. In Crockett’s Seduction we met a trio of determined ladies who happened upon Valentine’s special Men Only Day. These women have a very stubborn sheriff back in their small town—and some tricky characters to outwit—so they are taking some of the good ideas they learned in Union Junction back to their tiny town of Tulips, Texas. Please join me in the next chapter of fun as the Forrester family learns that tea at the Tulips Saloon is anything but sanely predictable, and Ladies Only Day is introduced in a town where men think they are in charge.

Best wishes and much love,

Tina Leonard

Mason’s Marriage
Tina Leonard

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To the readers who have loved the

Cowboys by the Dozen—every one of these

stubborn Malfunction Junction men—

thank you with all my heart.

Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Epilogue

Prologue

I was sure as hell no hero. I don’t know why she loved me. But she did, and I loved her for it, with all the love a man can give anyone.

—Maverick Jefferson, from a notation in his private journal, which was delivered to his son Mason by family friends.

Mimi Cannady took a deep breath as the election results came in. Of course, there had never been any doubt that Mason Jefferson, popular cowboy and owner of Union Junction Ranch, affectionately known in these parts as Malfunction Junction, would be elected sheriff by a landslide. The only doubt she’d had recently was when she would tell Mason the truth about his daughter.

Mason came to stand beside her, after everyone had finished congratulating him and filed out. “Thanks for all your hard work on the campaign, Mimi. Although I’m not sure what kind of adventure you’ve gotten me into this time.”

Knowing now, when he was happily elected, was probably the perfect time for the truth, she smiled wanly. “Mason, I have to talk to you about something.”

“I’m listening,” he said. “What does my campaign manager want to tell me?”

Mimi tried to stop her hands from shaking, but she couldn’t. She willed her heart to be brave and told her spirit that she had faced more difficult challenges.

Friendship was really all she’d ever had from Mason Jefferson—and she’d desperately tried to hang on to it over the years. But she knew hanging on to Mason’s goodwill was selfish when she thought about what her daughter and Mason were missing by not knowing their true relationship.

“Mason,” she said softly. “Maybe I’ve waited too long to tell you this, but there’s something you must know. I hope you can forgive me for not telling you sooner.” Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to speak. “Nanette is your daughter.”

The victory smile he’d been wearing faded from his face. He stared at her, clearly dumbfounded. “Of course she is,” he said. “I mean, I love her as if she were my very own flesh and blood.”

Mimi’s heart thudded low and slow, heavy and hard and almost painful. “Mason, the night before I got married—”

“Don’t say another word,” Mason commanded, his voice like cold, hard marble. He stared at her, obviously remembering that night, and suddenly looking like a complete stranger she didn’t know at all. The longest seconds of her life passed as he studied her face, his gaze hawkish and suspicious. She could almost hear a door slam shut between them.

He strode from the campaign “war room.” Mimi hurried after him, but Mason turned, holding up a hand so that she wouldn’t follow. Helplessly, she watched as he went to Widow Fancy, who kept the town paperwork records, and whispered something in her ear.

The two of them walked down the hall of the old courthouse and into the records room. A loud click erupted as Mason locked the door behind them. Realizing what he was about to do, Mimi ran to bang on the door.

“Mason! Let me in!”

But there was no reply.

Chapter One

There were many important memories in Mason Jefferson’s life, some so poignant that they were etched like sand-scratched glass in his mind. One was realizing his father had gone away, leaving him in charge of a family of rambunctious, grieving boys. That was the moment Mason had first learned the meaning of the word responsible.

After that, he’d been responsible for a hell of a lot. It wasn’t easy being a parent when all he’d known how to be was a boy.

Another sharp memory was the day Mimi had gotten married. Right up until the moment she’d said “I do,” he’d believed she would not marry another man. He’d had every right to think that, since just the night before he had made wild, uninhibited love with her. It was the only time in his life he could truly say he’d let loose the mantle of responsibility that he’d worn over the years—and he’d loved every sweet moment of it.

“May God forgive me,” he muttered to himself as he sat in a hard-backed wooden chair, one of the pieces of furniture that came with the sheriff’s office. “May God forgive me for the sin of loving another man’s wife.”

But there was no forgiveness for that, which he knew too well by now. The price to pay for stealing forbidden love was that you paid forever. He’d paid every time he’d seen Mimi, every holiday, every waking moment of his life.

The price was never enough to stop a man from the folly of his ways. Love would not stop just because a man knew the price was out of his reach.

Mason crossed his ankles and rested his boots on the old, well-worn desk that had belonged to Mimi’s father, the former sheriff, Sheriff Cannady. This was his office, and it would take a long time for Mason to be able to believe the truth of the bronze door placard that read Sheriff Mason Jefferson.

In contrast to the office, the sign was bright and shiny, with its black letters stern against the bronze. So official. So steeped with responsibility. He had the sheriff’s office, and his chair, and his desk. But he did not have the sheriff’s daughter.

And now, whether he liked it or not, the final price to pay for all he’d been given, for all he’d pushed aside to be with Mimi that one night, was learning that Nanette was his daughter. Mason sighed, and stared at the ceiling, barely noticing the new coat of paint.

He remembered the day Nanette had been born. He’d helped deliver her, his own hands trembling with amazement as he’d held her. Stubborn Mimi had refused to leave her very ill father to go to a hospital, and her husband, Brian Flannigan, had been working in Houston or Austin or somewhere. Mason had stepped in, the mantle of responsibility heavy on his shoulders, to help Mimi, though the biggest part of his heart was fiercely glad that he’d gotten to share that moment with the woman he cared so much about.

The baby had let out a fierce wail of welcome to her new world, and the sound was another sharp-scratched memory he would never forget—God’s miracle writhing between his big palms. Mason had shaken a mental fist at the price he would pay for being unrepentantly glad that it was he in that room and not Brian.

He had never cared about mental costs, anyway. If he had one goal in life that he would never speak aloud—not to his youngest brother, Last, not to anyone, not even Mimi—it was that he would never, ever crack as his father had.

“Damn it,” he whispered under his breath. “I will never leave anything behind that I love.”

In spite of the anger and too-deep sense of betrayal he felt for Mimi now, Nanette was never going to think that her father had left her behind. It was his solemn vow. For stealing forbidden love, he was willing to pay the price forever.

Mimi was just going to have to deal with that.

THERE WAS NOTHING HEROIC about a man who decided that he would be a father to his child, no matter what, Mimi decided, watching Mason pack up Nanette’s things.

“Mason,” she said, “you’re being an ass. You cannot take my daughter and move her out to Malfunction Junction.”

Mason didn’t stop folding Nanette’s clothes as he put them methodically in her little pink suitcase.

“Mason!” Mimi reached out to take the suitcase away from him. “No.”

Silently, he looked up and met her eyes. His gaze was so flat and devoid of the friendship they’d once shared that Mimi released the suitcase when he put his hand on it.

This was not the result she’d envisioned when she’d confessed her secret, and her heart was completely broken. Not only had she lost Mason, who was her best friend and the man she’d loved all her life, but he seemed determined to take the one fragment of her world that she’d hung on to with gratitude and wonder. Nanette was her salvation, her dream come true, her only piece of Mason—Mimi had accepted that there would be no more than the child of their one stolen night.

“Mason, please,” she said. “You know a child needs its mother. Nanette won’t understand.”

He snapped the suitcase shut. “Nanette would understand even less a father who didn’t put her first in his life. She belongs on my ranch, and that’s where she’s going to live.” His tone had flattened out, and now he picked Nanette up in his big arms. “A father puts his family in front of everything else on the planet. And if you don’t agree, ask your father if he was putting you first all the years he raised you after your mother left.”

She stepped back from his words. “Mason, it’s not the same thing!”

He walked out the door and her words fell unheeded. Over his shoulder, Nanette looked at her with big eyes, completely satisfied to rest her chin on her father’s shoulder and go with him. And why shouldn’t she? All she’d ever known was that Uncle Mason was one of the three people who loved her most: her mother, her grandfather and her uncle Mason.

Only Uncle Mason was really her father, and it was time Nanette knew it. Mimi blinked back fast tears and resisted the urge to run after Mason. He couldn’t just take his child, Mimi thought wildly. But who would stop him? He was Nanette’s father, he was completely within his rights to at least partial custody and he was the sheriff.

A growing sense of desperation filled her, tightening her stomach. She ran out the front door to his truck as he switched on the engine. The truck window was open and she put imploring fingers on Mason’s strong chest. “Mason, I’m coming, too! Don’t rip us apart!”

He removed her fingers and shook his head. “You’ve done enough, Mimi. Some space between me and you is what is badly needed.”

He drove off, leaving Mimi stunned. Watching the truck pull away felt like a slow-motion tragedy from a movie. Her breath caught in her throat and her chest cramped, hurting more than anything she had ever felt. It was her heart, she was certain it was. Two of the three people she loved most on the planet had just left her, and the pain was more than she could bear.

She sank to her knees. Yes, she’d made the wrong choice. She’d lied. But she couldn’t believe that the man she’d grown up with had turned away from her in her hour of greatest need.

Chapter Two

Somehow Mimi made it through the night, but by the next day, she knew she was going to need help getting through to Mason. He wouldn’t answer either the house phone or his cell phone. She was growing desperate. How long did he intend to keep their child away from her?

“Dad,” Mimi said, striding into the living room where her father sat playing cards with Barley, Calhoun Jefferson’s father-in-law. Calhoun was one of Mason’s younger brothers, and he was crazy in love with his wife, Olivia, as she was with him. “When you have some time, I really need to talk to you.”

Barley stood. “Good. I’m going to Baked Valentines to get a box of cookies, Sheriff. Me and you are going to go hit some skeets and snack on some chocolate chips.”

When her father had fallen ill with liver disease, Mimi had spent a hellish year thinking she was going to lose him. But he’d recovered miraculously, thanks in part to the scrawny rodeo clown who spent so much time dragging the sheriff to social events. But skeets weren’t a social occasion that required chocolate chip cookies, since skeets weren’t real birds.

“I don’t remember skeets liking cookies from Baked Valentines,” she said.

Barley laughed and waved goodbye. “Be back in a bit.”

“He’s crazy,” her father said happily. “He’s determined to fix me up with Widow Fancy, so we’re going over there tonight.”

Mimi blinked. “Widow Fancy? I had no idea you—”

“No. Now don’t you get started on that.” The sheriff chuckled. “Barley’s just stirring things up. I’m fine the way things are. I’ve got you and my granddaughter, and that’s all I need.” He walked into the kitchen, taking out a big pot. “But I am going to make some soup to freeze for winter. Widow Fancy gave me a recipe.” He grinned. “Think I can make the base for tortilla soup?”

“Yes,” Mimi said, amazed that her father was apparently taking up cooking lessons from the widow.

“Now, what’s on your mind? Tell me while you chop some poblanos for me. Got them fresh the other day, and they are hot!” He looked around. “Nanette gone to Mason’s? Or Olivia’s?”

Mimi told the tears rimming the sides of her eyes to go away, and when they wouldn’t, she wiped them.

“Hay fever?” her dad asked.

“I told Mason the truth,” Mimi said.

The sheriff stopped, turning to give her his full attention. “The truth?”

“About Nanette.”

Her father frowned. “What truth?”

Mimi sank into a chair, her legs no longer holding her. “Dad, I’ve made a big, really awful mess.”

He sat across from her, his face etched with concern. “There’s nothing that can’t be fixed.”

“This cannot be fixed.” She took a deep breath, gazing toward the ceiling for a few moments. “No one knows this except Bandera and Holly. And Brian. I mean, of course Brian always knew. Bandera…I don’t know why I told him. The guilt was beginning to eat at me. Or maybe it wasn’t guilt. Conscience. Was I right, or wrong?”

“Honey, you’re not making any sense.”

“Dad,” Mimi said, desperate to sort her emotions, “Mason is Nanette’s father. Not Brian.”

Her father blinked. “Mason?”

“Yes,” Mimi said, feeling shame and embarrassment sweep over her. “Oh, God.”

“And Brian knows.”

“Yes.”

“That’s why the two of you didn’t stay married.”

“Well,” Mimi said miserably, “we never planned to stay together. I got married so that you would know I was happy in my life. I thought you were going to die, and I wanted you to see me settled with a good man and security.” She breathed deeply, though it never felt as though her lungs fully expanded. “I wanted you to have a grandchild before you passed away. We just wanted you to be happy. Both of us did.” She wiped errant tears away.

“So you two were never…husband and wife.”

“No.”

“It was never a true marriage, but somehow there is Nanette.”

“The night before,” Mimi whispered.

“Yegods,” her father said. “Mimi, I do not want to know one more thing than what you just told me.” He leaned back in the chair, staring at her. “Damn it, I do! Mimi, if you and Mason were together the night before your wedding, why didn’t you just…call the whole damn thing off?”

“I couldn’t!” Mimi jumped to her feet. “What would it have changed, Dad? Mason wasn’t going to walk with me down the aisle! I could have spent the rest of my life loving him, and it wouldn’t have made a bit of difference. And at that point, I had you to think about! How many years did you think of me first before yourself, Dad, after Mom left?” She shook her head, her tears too great to keep back. “I was determined that you leave the earth knowing I was happy if it was the last thing I did. And I did it.”

“Yes, you did.” Her father rubbed at his chin. “And that baby brought me right back, I’ll admit. Brought out the fighting spirit in me. But, Mimi,” he said, his tone still surprised, “what does Mason say now?”

“Mason is a miserable mule.” Mimi tore at her eyes with a piece of tissue, swiping away the water but not the pain. That would never go away. “He took Nanette.”

A frown crossed her father’s face. “Took her?”

“To live with him. For good.” Mimi sat again, feeling faint. “He said that a child needed its father.”

“And its mother, when matters work out best,” her father said.

“I don’t feel any differently than he does,” Mimi said, recognizing a trace of bitterness in her own voice. “I know the pain of abandonment. I would never allow Nanette to grow up without her mother.”

“I’m sure Mason isn’t thinking clearly right now,” he said, “but you two need to talk.”

Mimi shook her head. “He’s not in the mood to talk to me.”

“I don’t care about moods. I care about Nanette.” Her father patted her hand. “She’s blessed, you know. She has two parents to love and care about her, even if they neither one think straight all the time. Surely it’s not as bleak as it seems, honey.”

“It feels horrible.”

“Mason wasn’t walking out on you,” her father said. “It’s really all about his child.”

“What does that mean?” Mimi asked. “I should stop loving Mason? Or be glad that he’s so stubborn about being with Nanette?”

“Maybe yes, maybe no. But you’ve got two different emotional paths warring inside you, Mimi, and that’s no way to help yourself. Or Nanette. Decide if you want to fight for your daughter, or fight for Mason. Because right now your heart is breaking two ways.” He rubbed her cheek and touched her hair. “I’m sorry I made you feel that you had to take care of me.”

“Oh, Dad,” Mimi said, taking his hand in hers to rest against her cheek. “I’m never going to apologize for loving Mason, and I’m never going to be anything but deliriously happy that Nanette is my daughter. You got well. Brian married his girlfriend. Somehow I thought everything would work out….”

Mimi lowered her head. And that was when she realized what she’d really thought would work out, her deepest secret: she’d been waiting for Mason.

She was his for the taking, and she always had been.

MASON LOOKED DOWN at his daughter as she lay sleeping in the guest room, which would now need to be converted into Nanette’s bedroom. He felt a sense of excitement at the thought and an overwhelming need to catch up in her life. How did he tell this child that he was her father and not her beloved uncle? When should he tell her?

When I have completely absorbed it myself. And that was going to take some time. But he missed the moments when she might have called him Dad or Father. Daddy. Many of his brothers had children, or had them on the way. He’d never known when or with whom he’d have children.

Maybe because he’d always been waiting on…something. He didn’t know what. Impatiently, he brushed away those wistful thoughts and focused solely on the child sleeping soundly in front of him.

My daughter. My child. My very own.

It was a heady thought, even more wildly satisfying than staying on the meanest bull, or being elected sheriff, or anything in his life, for that matter. He’d done a lot of good things, and some not so admirable, but this…this child was as near to an angel as he figured anyone could be.

He had to tell his brothers, when the time was right. He went to sink into a rocking chair so he could sit and watch Nanette sleep, and as he sat, the terrible thought hit him that maybe his brothers already knew.

Last, for example, had looked at him strangely once when Mason had told Nanette that one day he wanted a little girl just like her. In fact, Bandera had asked him if he wanted to take Mimi and Nanette up in one of their hot air balloons at their honeymoon resort. Be a real family, Bandera had said, but Mason had waved him off, as he waved off all his brothers about everything.

“Damnation,” Mason said under his breath, wondering just how much his brothers had figured out. And if he found out that they did know—or that Mimi had told any of them—he was going to put a firm boot up any brother’s ass that hadn’t shared the news. If he found out that any brother of his had sided with Mimi by keeping such a secret from him…

His neck felt tight, and his skin turned hot. Mason told himself to calm down. He wouldn’t be so angry if Mimi had told him in the first place, and for that he would never forgive her. Anger brewed deep inside him. How could she?

Because life was a game with Mimi Cannady. She was fun and high-spirited, and he’d always loved that side of her the best. Funny how he hadn’t expected the very side that lured him to be his downfall.

His chest became even tighter as he wondered who else had known he was a father. Brian, of course. Widow Fancy knew because he’d made her look up the birth certificate Mimi had filed in the county records. There, plain as could be, was Mason Jefferson typed on the line for Father. No doubt the sheriff knew, as well.

Embarrassment burned inside him.

“Bro.”

“Shh.” Mason turned to look at Last, who had poked his head around the door. “What are you doing here?”

“Valentine and I left a cake on the table for Helga. Tomorrow is her birthday. We want you to hide—What’s wrong?”

Mason shook his head. “Nothing.”

“Something’s wrong. You look like you’ve got a stomachache.”

“No.”

Last frowned at him. “Okay. I still say you look like you ate something that didn’t agree, and you’re always pretty sour looking, Mason, so if I think—”

“Last, get the hell out,” Mason said, his voice low.

Last disappeared from the doorway. Nanette turned over in her sleep, her eyes closed tightly like a china doll’s. Surely she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever laid eyes on, Mason decided. She’d always been a lovely little sprite moving through his life; he’d always loved her. But now that she was all his, love for her nestled even deeper inside his heart.

He was very angry with Mimi for stealing his time with Nanette from him, but she’d given him a wonderful miracle, too, he slowly admitted. Who could have imagined that something as sweet as a child could come from such a moment of fiery lovemaking?

After that night with Mimi, he’d felt guilt. He’d felt remorse, and he’d felt crazed in the head. But he’d never regretted it. It would be a lie to say he had. Even when she’d walked down the aisle with Brian, Mason had been glad he’d loved her. All practicality told him that she was better off with Brian, and he’d let her go. It had never been his intention to steal her away from her intended.

Only he supposed he had. Mimi couldn’t have conceived a child with Brian while she was pregnant with Mason’s child, and he supposed Brian hadn’t wanted to raise another man’s baby. It would have been too much for a new marriage to handle. He felt momentary guilt that perhaps she’d never had a chance to make her marriage work because of him.

The fact was, he couldn’t keep his thoughts away from her, and that night he couldn’t keep his hands off her. She’d been upset over her father’s condition, and he’d comforted her. Without planning it, he had allowed that comfort to spiral into acting on his feelings and he had made love to her with every fiber of his being.

No, he didn’t regret that. And her marriage…well, that was one more seed of guilt he’d end up reaping one day.

He sat up, astonishment hitting him. “Nanette Jefferson,” he said out loud. Not Cannady. Jefferson!

“Mason,” Last said, peering around the door more cautiously this time, “I hate like hell to bother you, but—”

“That’s my child,” Mason said, pointing to Nanette gleefully.

“Yes, yes, she’s our child, all of us adore her. But, Mason—”

Mason got up, barely able to keep the grin off his face. “That’s my daughter. Not Brian’s. Mine.”

Last stared at him. “Are you insane? Mason, I really think you need to come downstairs and let Calhoun and Fannin and me spell you for a bit. You’ve been working too hard.”

“Nanette Jefferson,” Mason said, stubborn in his joy.

“Are you…getting married?” Last asked.

“Hell, no,” Mason said. “I’m getting proper papers filed, is what I’m going to do.”

“Proper papers?” Last frowned. “To do what?”

“To declare Nanette as mine. To change her name. All that stuff that fathers do when they become fathers.”

“Did you fall down the stairs and hit your head?”

“No,” Mason said, “and when you figure it out, you’ll realize you’re Uncle Last.”

Last blinked. “You’re going to scare Mimi with all this crazy talk.”

“Mimi scared me,” Mason said. “She told me yesterday that Nanette is my child.”

Last’s jaw dropped. “So that’s what Bandera was hinting about!”

“Bandera?” Mason stared at his youngest brother. “Does he know? Has he known all this time? And kept it from me?”

“Uh, I don’t think so,” Last said, clearly backtracking or confused. “Now that I think of it, he said that he wished Nanette was your child so he could be Uncle Bandera.”

“I’m going to put my boot—”

“I know, I know.” Last held up his hand. “What difference does it make if Bandera knew, Mason? If Mimi had taken him into her confidence, he wouldn’t tell you. None of us would go back on a confidence.”

“She’s my daughter!” Mason exclaimed. “I had a right to know!”

Last pulled him into the hall, closing the door. “Would you stop shouting into her subconscious?”

Mason blinked. “What?”

Last looked at him impatiently. “Nanette is hearing every word you say!”

“She’s asleep.”

“And hearing you bellyache. Now look, you can’t be sore at all of us because once again you’re all twisted up at Mimi. Mimi’s had enough to deal with, and if she didn’t figure you’d be much of a support system, then she didn’t lean on you. She probably didn’t tell you after she found out she was pregnant because she was married. For heaven’s sake, Mason, you can understand that. After all, it’s not exactly like Valentine was thrown a welcome reception by any of us when she told us she was pregnant with my daughter.”

“Yeah, but you were having a weird phase.”

“And you’ve been having a weird phase for years. I’m sure Mimi was scared out of her wits that you’d react somewhat the way you’re reacting now.”

“Mimi kept her from me,” Mason said, angry.

“It’s okay, Mason. It’s not like Mimi had her in a different city and you never got to see her.”

Mason glared at him. “She should have been on the ranch, where she belonged.”

“And she was, most of the time. Mason, you should be happy you’ve got flesh and blood of your own without a wedding ring. You never wanted to get married, anyway.” Last looked at him curiously. “So quit yer bitchin’.”

Mason felt his chest heave. Last didn’t understand. Mason didn’t understand, himself. Too many new and different emotions were roiling his good sense.

“Jeez, Mason, I didn’t spend any time with my daughter when she was young because I was being a jerk. You at least got to spend all the time you wanted with Nanette, and still can. Don’t waste time being a dunce. That’s all I have to say.”

“It’s not that easy.”

The front door slammed. Both men peered over the stairwell in time to see a tiny blond whirlwind rush up the stairs. “I’m coming to kiss my daughter good-night, Mason,” she said, brushing past the both of them, “so shut the hell up before you even say a thing.”

“Whoa,” Last said, “female troubles?”

“I don’t know,” Mason said, frowning. “I’d be the last person she’d share that with.”

“Not her, Mason. You. Are you having female issues?” Last sighed with exasperation. “Are you and Mimi fighting?”

“Yes,” Mason said. “I can answer that question affirmatively.”

Last peered in the bedroom. Mason did, too, not really all that surprised that Mimi had decided to run right over his line in the sand. “Did you take Nanette from her, Mason?”

“Nanette belongs here, on the ranch that is her birthright,” Mason said. “With her father.”

“You ass,” Last said under his breath. “You have no concept of how to woo a woman.”

“I don’t want to woo Mimi. I want to kick Mimi’s little tail.”

“Sure.” Last nodded. “And you were saying that the whole time she was going down the aisle with Brian—after you’d made love to her? I seem to remember sitting near you, and you looked pretty stone-faced, very determined to be Your Royal Hardheadedness.”

Mimi stood, after making sure a sheet was tucked around Nanette. She placed Nanette’s favorite small pink giraffe next to her, then Mimi walked to Mason and Last. “You’re going to have to find a better way to handle this,” she said. “You can’t have everything your way. I know you’re angry, but you’re going to have to eventually calm down and think through what’s best for Nanette.”

She left, her sandals moving smartly down the stairs and out the door, which she closed quietly.

“She has a point, you know,” Last said. “This could get weary for everyone if you don’t chill out a bit.” Last clapped him on the back. “Whoever would have thought you had it in you, you ol’ sourpuss? After all the years you sang the Condom Song for us, specifically for me, it turns out you had a shower without your raincoat.” Last grinned hugely, not about to be denied his crowing.

Mason sighed, knowing he full well had it coming—from all his brothers. “One time,” he muttered. “One time.”

“One shot’s all it takes, bro,” Last said gleefully. “If your rifle’s straight and well-oiled. And it appears you’d been taking good care of your equipment.”

“Last,” Mason said, his tone warning.

“Well,” Last said, “I never thought I’d say this, but congratulations, Mason. You’re a dad.”

Mason was about to grunt a reply when Last continued. “A bachelor dad, of course. A single father. An unwedded man who will one day pay for prom gowns and wedding dresses.”

Mason jutted out his chin. “Thank you, Last. You can go now.”

Last turned serious. “Mason, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. Just be good to Mimi, okay? It’s your future lying in there next to the little pink giraffe. You don’t want to goof up the thing that means the most to you.”

Last thundered down the stairs and went out the front door. Mason sighed, taking one last lingering look at his daughter, then headed toward his own room.

Last was right about one thing: Nanette was his future. And she was staying right here with him, where she belonged.

He would be generous and allow Mimi to visit whenever she wanted, though. Underneath his anger, he really didn’t intend to keep her away from her child.

As long as everything went his way.

Chapter Three

Mimi knew one thing: Mason could not have his way, at least not the way he was trying to have it. She opened the door to his house early the next morning and set her own suitcase down. “Good morning, Helga,” she said to the housekeeper, who was cleaning up after a very early breakfast. Two plates. One for Mason, one for Nanette. “Tomorrow, you can make breakfast for three.”

Helga laughed. “Good. I wondered how long you’d stay away.”

“Where are they?”

“In the fields. Nanette is going to learn how to ride fence this morning.”

Mimi picked up her suitcase. “I’m going to hide this upstairs for now. At least until I spring some changes on Mason.”

“Mr. Mason doesn’t handle change very well,” Helga said with a smile.

“He’d better learn to adapt. He’s about to meet the even more stubborn side of Nanette’s family tree.” She went upstairs, trying to decide on the best place to sleep. There were several empty bedrooms that had been occupied by the Jefferson brothers over the years, and Nanette had been sleeping in the guest room.

Mason slept up here, too. A slight chill traveled over her skin as she gently swung open his bedroom door. His bed was made, and his dresser was tidy. A pair of jeans lay on the bed, as if he’d changed his mind about what he wanted to wear today. On the dresser was a picture of Mason and Nanette, posing beside Olivia’s horse, Gypsy.

She knew she should be grateful that Mason was so crazy about their child.

“You can sleep in here,” Helga said, her grin broad. “We can move Nanette here, too, and put Mason down the hall.”

“I don’t think so.” Mimi backed away from Mason’s room.

“A mother needs to be with her daughter,” Helga commented. “Always I had Kelly with me.”

Helga’s daughter, Kelly, had married Fannin, one of Mason’s younger brothers. Mimi needed no reminder of how important the mother and child bond was. But moving into Mason’s room was bound to start a fire of some kind. “Maybe we could push a small bed into the guest room Nanette is using.”

“Hmm.” The German housekeeper nodded. “We could. Mason is planning to decorate for Nanette. You might not like to stay in a room that is decorated with angels and bows.”

Mimi smiled. “I really don’t care about that.” She crooked an eyebrow. “Angels and bows? Did Mason pick the decor?”

“Yes. In a catalog from England.” Helga took a catalog from Mason’s side table. “This is Daddy’s idea of what his little girl should have.”

Mimi was stunned. “It’s breathtaking. And it costs a fortune!”

Helga grinned. “She’s his only child.”

Mimi blinked. “But such extravagance! That’s not like Mason at all!”

“It’s good for him. Let him spend. He is celebrating.”

“I guess so,” Mimi murmured. He was crazy. “I don’t suppose he ordered the matching pink three-story dollhouse, as well?”

What sounded suspiciously like a giggle escaped the stoutly built woman. “Of course. Nothing less than heaven for his little girl.”

Mimi’s heart curled tightly inside her. A very sad part of her was saying that they’d messed this whole thing up very badly. She and Mason would have been a good team: friends, lovers, excellent parents. Why had he not loved her enough to ask her to marry him?

Now it was really too late. She knew that by the way he was making plans without her. What father selected his little girl’s room decor on his own? “What did he say when he told you?” Mimi asked, her heart so tight she could barely stand it.

“He told me that Nanette was his child. Which I had already known.” Helga shrugged.

“You couldn’t have,” Mimi said. “I didn’t tell anyone except Bandera, whom I swore to secrecy.”

“Pfft. You and Brian were never together long enough to make anything happen.”

“Neither were Mason and I, really,” Mimi said.

“But it happened. And she looks just like him, anyway.” Helga folded her arms with satisfaction. “I was making dinner when he called all his brothers, and I can tell you that he was quite proud. He bragged, actually, about his little daughter.”

“He can be so odd,” Mimi said with a reluctant smile. “I want to be so angry with him for taking Nanette out of my house like a caveman, but part of me admires the side of him fatherhood has brought out.”

“Very possessive. Good in a man,” Helga said with a nod.

Mimi wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know.” She sighed. “We grew up playing with goats…and rope swings…and playing pranks on people for fun. We were a renegade band, me and the Jefferson boys. I would have been so lonely without the Jefferson kids. She’ll be lonely out here.” Mimi sighed. “At least in town there are many children for Nanette to play with.”

Helga laughed. “Have another baby.”

Mimi stared at her. “I don’t really know what to say to that. How? Why? With whom?”

The housekeeper smiled. “Same way as the first time. Why? So Nanette won’t be lonely. Although I think another baby would be more for you. And the only man you want to father your children is Mason. So, with Mason. That would be best for everyone.”

Mimi jumped as she heard Mason’s boots coming up the stairs. “Uh-oh.”

Helga drifted away, leaving Mimi to face Mason alone.

“What are you doing?” Mason said when he saw Mimi. He noted her suitcase and frowned.

“Well, if you won’t come to the mountain, the mountain must go to you. Or something like that,” she said, feeling very, very nervous.

“Meaning?” he asked with a bigger frown.

“That I’m moving in.” She lifted her chin defiantly, waiting for the storm to erupt.

He shrugged. “Make yourself at home. Pick a room, and ask Helga for towels. Excuse me.”

He disappeared into his bedroom and closed the door. She stood in the hall, her mouth open. Helga peeked her head from around a door frame and gave her a grin before disappearing again.

Mason’s bedroom door jerked open, scaring her half out of her wits, since she hadn’t fully recovered from his acceptance of her decision. She was still in fight-or-flight mode, and the adrenaline hadn’t had time to filter through her body.

“Nanette’s downstairs eating her peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Can you go watch her for me? I need a shower.”

He closed the door. Mimi stood still for one second, then hurried down the stairs. Nanette sat at the table, chewing happily, her hair prickly with straw pieces. “Sweetie!” Mimi exclaimed. “I’ve missed you!” She hugged and kissed her daughter with delight.

Nanette handed her a piece of sandwich. Mimi shook her head. “No, thank you. But it looks delicious.”

“Uncle Mason made it,” Nanette said.

“Oh.” Obviously, Mason hadn’t seen fit to enlighten his daughter to what he was apparently crowing all over the town and to all his brothers. Mimi wondered why Mason hadn’t told Nanette the truth.

Maybe it was because she was so very young. Mimi sat next to her daughter on the bench, wondering how Nanette would react to a truth that would change her life. Was changing it even now.

All thanks to Mason. He was in the process of changing Nanette’s world to the way he thought it should be—and didn’t seem too inclined to include Mimi in his plans.

MASON STOOD UNDER a hot shower, letting the water run over his muscles. He was tense, more from the fact that Mimi was in his house and likely to cause more trouble than from any labor he’d performed.

She had changed his world. With her typical dive into unthinking actions, she had sent him on new paths he’d never thought of exploring. He was a father, had been a father, and she had stolen his chances to experience the wonder of fatherhood fully. She would have justification and reasoning, but this time he would not allow her to sway his mind.

He was extremely angry with her. He wasn’t certain he could forgive her.

And yet, for Nanette’s sake, he was going to have to learn to live with the fact that Mimi was now an inescapable part of his life. There was no running from her or ignoring her now. Over the years, he’d mainly shoved his feelings about Mimi to the background.

Now, in spite of his anger, a very secret part of him was relieved that they were inextricably tied together—and forever so. Another part of him was deeply grateful that she’d given him a child. It was mind-bending, and he hadn’t expected the overwhelming rush of proprietary emotions that came with fatherhood.

So, good or bad, Mimi was impacting him, as always, only on a new level. He should expect Mimi’s influence in his life to grow ever more profound. Good or bad, then: what to do about Mimi?

For Nanette’s sake, he should marry Mimi. Mason stood under the water, unblinking, as the foreign thought stayed in his mind, echoing. For Nanette’s sake….

He shut off the water and toweled off slowly. What other option was there? Providing his daughter with a whole home and family would be the right thing to do.

He had done the right thing all his life. When Maverick left, Mason and his brothers should have been put into foster care. But Union Junction was a small town, and people had known Maverick and his beloved wife. The boys were in church every Sunday and in school during the week. Townspeople weren’t anxious to see a grieved family split up, so Sheriff Cannady stepped in, saying he’d keep an eye on the Jefferson boys. Papers that should have been filed somehow never were; reports to authorities were never made. The family stayed together.

Everyone figured Maverick would come back. By the time anybody finally realized the boys were completely on their own, Mason had turned eighteen, legal age to raise a family if need be. He had done right by his brothers, and Mason was damn proud of it. Family was what made daily existence meaningful. Otherwise life would be simply survival in a lonely, empty void.

Mimi was now part of his family, in a way that no game of pretend between playmates could have made it so. He needed to do right by her and Nanette. But if he was going to marry Mimi, there was a price to pay, and he damn sure expected to make her pay it.

A man needed to be the head of his household. No Mimi-hijinks, or his world would stay continually unsettled. If she thought that because she’d moved herself in here—a fact he admired—she could run his household and therefore his life, she was in for a rude awakening.

If she thought that now that the truth had come out, he would pursue her, she would find herself wrong about that, as well. His brothers had pursued their women, gaga and smitten, until they caught their prey. But he was no hunter. His driving need was for a family that contained no fracture, and he would not play the games of courtship.

Mimi would need to accept his terms.

But first, he intended to let her stew in her own worry and uncertainty, just as he’d done ever since she’d dropped her emotional bomb on him. In fact, she’d dropped a lot of emotional bombs on him over the years, and he was in no hurry to put away his bomb shelter.

Dressed now, he went downstairs to check on Nanette. His daughter sat contentedly working a puzzle, and her mother sat next to her. Mimi looked up at him. “We need to talk.”

He nodded. “I know.”

She hesitated. “Do you have your schedule at hand so I can pencil in an appointment?”

“I have time now.” Might as well see what was on her mind.

“Well, I think it needs to be in private,” Mimi said, her tone uncertain.

“Helga!” Mason called up the stairwell. “Could you come watch Nanette for a few minutes?”

The housekeeper came down the stairs with a smile. “Yes. In fact, I am going into town to check on the sheriff—oh. Sorry,” she said to Mason. “You are sheriff now.”

He shook his head. “Sheriff Cannady will always be ‘Sheriff’ to me, as well.”

Helga smiled. “I have some chicken soup to put on for him.”

Relief was on Mimi’s face, and Mason knew that she hadn’t quite worked out the details of how she was going to stay here with him and Nanette, and yet spend time with her father. Helga had long been taking care of both households. Clearly, Mimi was grateful that could continue, as it would be a bit difficult for her to cook here and then run food into town to the sheriff. Plus, she’d just get under Helga’s feet, though Helga was likely too wonderful to complain about Mimi intruding in her kitchen.

“Thank you,” Mimi said.

“I will take him his granddaughter—if I may,” Helga said to Mason.

Mason nodded. “She’d love to see her grandfather. Thank you.”

Helga gathered up some things as Mason stared at Mimi. Clearly nervous, she plucked at a table napkin. They needed time alone, he decided. This would give him a chance to tell Mimi what he expected from this new partnership between the two of them. He was pretty certain he was calm enough now to discuss what she’d done.

Then again, maybe he’d just roar all over her for keeping his daughter from him. Mason took a deep breath, and kissed his daughter. “I’ll see you for dinner, Nanette. Mind Ms. Helga.”

“I will.” She slid off the bench, gave her mother a hug and skipped out the door with Helga. The front door closed firmly.

“Mason—” Mimi began.

Instantly, he held up a hand. From the first word, he intended to let her know that this was his house, that was his daughter and he was in charge. “Mimi.”

She fell silent. For a moment, he admired her face. Though they were both older now, she retained a sweet expression—when she wasn’t being mulish—and a girl’s curves. Her jeans were filled out in the right places, and her white blouse was untucked and plain, again showing pleasing curves.

He did remember he’d enjoyed the act of creating Nanette, even if he hadn’t known they were doing so at the time.

“Mimi,” he said more sternly to get his mind off his wandering thoughts. “I will probably never forgive you for keeping my daughter from me.”

Her shoulders stiffened. “I don’t expect you to. I’m not asking you to.”

He felt his teeth go slightly on edge at her unyielding reply. “All right. What topic did you think was important enough to call a caucus?”

She looked around. “Caucus? It’s just you and me. That’s a conversation, one between two people who now have similar goals. Mine is to see Nanette happy as she grows into a responsible young lady, and yours is to see Nanette happy as she grows into a responsible young lady.”

His mouth twisted. “The conversation topic, then, please. I have a lot to do today.”

“I want to be present when you tell Nanette that you’re her father. I think we should do it as a family.”

He blinked, caught by surprise. He’d expected her to argue about Nanette living with him. Actually, he had deliberately left his mind open to any shock she might throw his way, because it was Mimi he was dealing with. But this one was bigger than he’d expected.

He narrowed his gaze. “I would think that would be the obvious way to go about it.”

“You always thought everything was obvious. Most of us couldn’t measure up to your vision of plain-in-sight.”

Now he was getting steamed, and he really had meant to stay calm, rational and focused in all his dealings with the mother of his child. Respect, he told himself. Respect the mother of your child, even when she has that tone that only Mimi knows how to deliver so effectively.

“Us?”

“Never mind.” She waved a hand. “Let’s just focus on the future.”

“Fine by me.” He crossed his arms, glaring.

“Would you grant me that, Mason? I need to be present when you tell Nanette that you’re not her uncle. She’s going to be so surprised, and she’s going to have a lot of questions. I think I’m the appropriate person to give her the level of information she will need.”

He didn’t want to upset his child, that was for certain. And if Mimi could help smooth his transition from uncle to father… “We should probably talk as a family,” he conceded.

“Thank you.” Mimi flashed him a smile women usually gave men in black-and-white Westerns, as if he was a hero or something.

Mason knew he was no hero. She was working him like a steer. “Mimi, no drama.”

“What are you talking about?” The grateful smile slid off her face.

“I want to keep it very simple between you and me. While I appreciate the fact that you’ve moved into my house, we need to establish some basic rules. We make appointments to chat with each other about Nanette. You cause no disruptions. You make no decisions for me or my household. In return, you can stay here rent-free.”

Mimi gasped. “You jerk! You arrogant, pigheaded son of a—”

He held up a lordly hand. “Mimi, no drama, no disruptions.”

Mimi’s lips pursed. “You are an ass, as always. I will never know why I loved you all those years.”

Her hand flew over her mouth, but Mason couldn’t say who was more shocked, Mimi or him. They stared at each other, dumbfounded. He couldn’t process her confession fast enough, her statement too large to take in, and before he understood what she was doing, Mimi had grabbed her purse and run out the front door.

His jaw could hardly be more loose if it was a separate, oiled and hinged piece of his face. “Loved me?” he repeated to himself, stunned. “Loved me all those years?”

Chapter Four

What in the hell was Mimi talking about? Mason told himself not to listen, not to get sucked into Mimischemies, but his bomb shelter wasn’t completely protected against such an onslaught. He stalked out after her, catching her before she could back her truck down the driveway. Without thinking, he jerked her door open. “Stop,” he demanded.

“No, Mason.”

He reached in, switched off the engine, pulled her out and kicked the door shut with a boot, gently dragging a reluctant Mimi into the house. “Explain.”

“No!”

He sat her on the sofa and walked a safe space across the room. “I think you’d best speak now or forever hold your peace.”

Mimi was silent. Then she sighed. “Mason, it’s no secret to anyone in this town, or to your brothers, or just about anyone else. I did love you. I guess all my life.”

“We were friends! You couldn’t have loved me.”

Mimi shrugged, wiping away something on her face. Mason told himself stubbornly that it was a piece of grass, or dirt—anything other than tears.

“You might not have loved me, but I loved you.” Mimi looked away from him. “I’ve made jokes about being the girl who could never get her man. So if your feelings are hurt because I didn’t tell you that Nanette was your child, think of how I felt loving you and finding myself pregnant with a child I knew you…wouldn’t want.”

“I would have wanted her,” Mason said, feeling himself get angry again.

“You want her because you know her now,” Mimi said, “but if I’d come to you and told you I was pregnant, you would have thought I was trying to trap you into marriage. You’re always suspecting me of a scheme.”

He froze, right in the middle of thinking that very thought.

“Would you have been able to conceive of what having a child would mean to you, Mason? Now you know Nanette, and the two of you are inseparable. But I don’t think you would have welcomed the news of a pregnancy then. You were dealing with Last, and your father, and I was married…it was far better to continue on the course I was on. At least I thought so at the time. You know, sometimes life is messy, Mason, but it’s not always because I want it to be that way.” She took a deep breath. “Actually, all my life I’ve wanted stability. I think any child who grows up without a mother wants that, and since you and I both lost ours, you should understand more than anyone how much I want a stable home life for Nanette.”

“I’m sorry,” Mason said, surprising himself. “So you did love me?”

“Mason,” Mimi said impatiently. “Don’t make me repeat it.”

He shook his head. “But you said it past tense.”

She looked at him. “Past tense?”

“You said you’d loved me.”

“Oh.” Mimi blushed a becoming pink that went nicely with her blond hair and delicate features. “Well, it was a long time ago.”

“I see,” Mason said, somewhat deflated. Gathering his pride, he nodded. “Thank you for your honesty. It makes having to live under the same roof easier.”

Mimi turned to go. Mason felt as if he needed to say something to make her stay. “For what’s it’s worth, I never stopped thinking about that night.”

She slowly turned to look at him.

“And I mean, I guess I could say that I knew she was my daughter, that there was this instant connection. But I thought that connection was because I helped you deliver her. Nanette was just this writhing, wailing bundle of baby, and I never doubted she was Brian’s. So you’re right. I wasn’t ready to be a father. I’m sure I wasn’t. I’d been avoiding it too long, because I’d already raised eleven brothers.”

“So try to forgive me,” Mimi said. “I’m certainly going to try to forgive you.”

He straightened, all his good intentions flying away. “Forgive me? For what?”

“All the times you were a donkey’s butt. When you never noticed me. When you didn’t notice that I was desperately in love with you. I forgive you for not noticing that I wanted to be more than a friend to you, more than a sister. And I forgive you for not psychically knowing that Nanette was yours so I wouldn’t have to make such a difficult confession.”

“So okay, I forgive you for not psychically knowing that you should have told me sooner! Mimi Cannady, you waited too long to tell me!” he thundered. Then he took a deep breath. “Let’s just stick to the basics. We tell Nanette together and otherwise peaceably coexist.”

“Thank you,” Mimi said, in that snippy tone he knew too well, “that was all I wanted.” She turned to leave again, opening the door, but by now, his emotions had the best of him.

“Well, it’s not all I want,” he said, closing the door and picking her up. He carried her up the stairs, ignoring her wriggling. “First, I’m going to give you what you deserve.”

“You’re going to do no such thing!”

Mimi bit his arm lightly, but he ignored that, too. He’d been through a lot of pain in his life, and a little nip didn’t bother him. “I believe I overheard you tell Helga you were worried that Nanette would be lonely out here on the ranch, so let’s just see what we can do about that, shall we?”

He laid her gently on his bed. “You’re beautiful,” he said. “Stubborn, but beautiful.”

She tried to sit up. He sat next to her, kissing her the way he’d wanted to the night they were together. “I never forgot that night,” he said, his throat husky. “I always wanted to be with you again.”

His words melted her resistance. She lay back down, pulling him with her. “Come on, cowboy. Keep talking sweet. I’ve waited years to hear you romance me.” She pulled off his shirt and unzipped his jeans.

“It’s only fair to tell you that I don’t have marriage on my mind,” he said, yanking off her shirt and pulling her jeans down.

She laughed. “I don’t recall proposing to you.”

He hesitated. “I’m supposed to do the proposing.”

Her smile was seductive. “Mason, you worry too much about being the boss. If you want to be a man, take my panties off.”

“Mason!” he heard bellowed up the stairwell. “Mason, are you home?”

He got into bed next to Mimi and pulled the covers up over both of them. “It’s Calhoun,” he said. “Don’t say a word. Probably wants me to help fix his windmill. Or corral Gypsy. Or watch the kids. If we lie here, he’ll go away.”

Mimi giggled. The door echoed with pounding, and then it swung open.

“Ya napping, Mason?” Calhoun asked, peering around the door. “I need…oh.” His gaze widened at the sight of Mimi and Mason propped against the pillows, sheets up to their armpits. “I beg your pardon.”

“It’s worse than it looks,” Mason said with a sigh.

“Actually, it looks good to me,” Calhoun said. “I’ll be going now.”

“Is it an emergency?” Mason asked.

“No. Kenny and Minnie want to play with Nanette, so I was going to help you fix the dock so they could swim. But it can wait. Bye, Mimi. Good to see you finally caught the old cuss.” Calhoun slammed the door.

Mason rolled his eyes, preparing to strip his jeans and make sweet afternoon delight with Mimi, but she jumped from the bed and began dressing as fast as she could.

“Hey!” he exclaimed. “Get back in my bed!”

“No,” Mimi said, going to the door so he couldn’t haul her back in. “Do you know, I forgot about Minnie and Kenny?”

“What the hell do they have to do with this?” Mason asked, pointing to the bed.

“Nanette won’t be lonely. We don’t need to have more children. In fact, we shouldn’t have more children. We don’t even know if we work together. As we are, that is,” Mimi said. “It could be awkward, you know. Both of us under the same roof. Parenting together. Et cetera.”

“It’s already awkward,” Mason grumbled, feeling as if the tent in his jeans was pressing the breath out of him. “Mimi, let’s continue our discussion.”

“Not a good idea, and we’ve been frugal with good ideas our whole friendship,” Mimi said, hurrying out the door. “We should be frugal with the bad ones, as well. Bye, Mason!”

Mason could hear her feet tripping lightly down the stairs. Sighing, he knew full well he’d missed a prime opportunity to get on top in their relationship.

And it wasn’t just sex he was worried about.

He picked up her bra off the floor and smiled. Oh, he would get on top—and it would be sooner rather than later, he vowed. Mimi Cannady was going to learn that he was a man to be reckoned with, and if she thought he was going to chase her, she was quite mistaken. Mimi was going to do all the chasing, until she understood that not only had she loved him, she still did.

He was the only man she would ever love, no matter how much she wanted to believe otherwise.

Then it hit him: Mimi had turned the tables on him. She had tricked him into wanting her. Despite his best promises to himself, he had fallen into her charming net, happily and gladly.

Now that he’d kissed her again, and tasted her, it might even be an irrevocable fall—which was exactly what he’d been avoiding for years.

He didn’t want to fall mindlessly as his brothers had. He’d seen what that had done to their lives. While the end results might be happy and beneficial for them, getting there looked messy and torturous.

He’d had enough of that.

She’s right. No more bad ideas. No more Mimi, he told himself for the thousandth time.

The problem was, as wonderful as it had been to make love to the girl she’d been, the woman she was now would be far more satisfying. His soul ached to its very core that he must deny himself that sweetness. But he had to, or he would be lost—like Maverick, the father who had eventually succumbed to his broken heart.

Chapter Five

Word of the afternoon she hadn’t really spent with Mason somehow got around like cookies at a bridal shower. Mimi couldn’t understand how so many people seemed to think that she and Mason were now destined for the altar. The knowing winks and happy smiles and the well-meaning question Where is Sheriff Jefferson this afternoon? were all somewhat embarrassing.

Darn Calhoun and his big Jefferson mouth.

“He means well,” the stylists at the Union Junction Salon agreed once they heard her story. All the girls were there, including Valentine, who had closed up at the bakery. Everyone gathered to sit out on the lawn, enjoy some lemonade and a gossip among girls. Sighing, Mimi recognized how much these special times among her “sisters” meant to her.

“Calhoun might have meant well, but what he thought happened, didn’t. The truth is that Mason and I are farther apart than ever. I don’t even know why I say ‘Mason and I’ in the same breath. Separate is what we have to be.”

The women looked at her. There were nineteen stylists who’d come to Union Junction several years ago and stayed through the night of the big storm that had nearly leveled the town. They’d worked for a while in Lonely Hearts Station before Last’s girlfriend, Valentine, accidentally burned down the salon. Now they were all back here. The only missing “sister” was Annabelle Turnberry Jefferson, who lived in a different city with her husband, Frisco Joe. Over the years, all the women had grown close, a family who had learned to be strong despite whatever bad circumstance had originally brought them here.

Mimi felt certain she shouldn’t complain about her life, when it was as wonderful as it was, but one too many people had asked about Mason. Mimi had replied that she wasn’t in charge of his social calendar, which had gotten the girls to gossiping.

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