Unmasking The Maverick

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“She has a date but won’t tell us who she’s going out with,” Keegan informed his father.

“Whoever he is, he’s a very lucky man.” Paddy’s eyes were filled with paternal pride. “You’re the image of your mother and she had the men falling all over themselves for a chance with her.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Fiona felt a lump in her throat.

“So who is this fortunate fella?” His eyes twinkled, proof he knew he wasn’t fooling her. Information was what he wanted. “Are we going to have an opportunity to meet him?”

“Not if I can help it.”

Oh, dear God. He would be here any minute and she wanted to spare him the awkward family once-over. Now the guardians of the Galaxy were standing shoulder to shoulder, ready to grill the guy. The poor man had done them a favor and this was how they repaid him!

With her shawl and purse in hand, she turned on her heel and hurried to the living room, planning to slip out the door. But the plan was doomed to failure and if she wasn’t so darn nervous that would have been clear to her.

All of them followed in her wake, including her mother. They were assembled behind her like the Atlantic Wall on D-day. And before she could even tell them to back off, there was a firm knock on the front door.

This was going to be a disaster. The worst part was that she actually cared her night was going up in flames. And not in a good way.

Chapter Four (#u97b03bc2-4543-55d0-be8e-c6f45e0dd20e)

The door opened onto Fiona standing there in a dark green dress, and Brendan could only stare. The material hugged her curvy body and made him ache in places he never knew he had. And the earthy color of it released the fire in her red hair. Not for the first time he thought she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. So beautiful, in fact, that it took him several heartbeats to take his eyes off her long enough to notice the four other people lined up behind her. An older man and woman, probably her parents, and two big strapping men. No doubt the brothers she’d mentioned—Ronan and Keegan.

Right then he felt really stupid in general, but even more so with the single rose in his fingers. Her family was staring at it—and him—as if he was from another planet.

Brendan held the flower out to her and said, “This is for you.”

“I figured.” She glanced over her shoulder at the lurkers, then met his gaze and rolled her eyes. “Brendan Tanner, these are my parents, Maureen and Paddy O’Reilly. And my older brothers, Ronan and Keegan. Everyone, this is Brendan.”

“Tanner,” Paddy said as he shook his hand. “So you’re the fella who fixed my tractor when I couldn’t.”

“I’ve seen the problem before, Mr. O’Reilly. I’ve worked on a lot of ranches that had tractors, a lot of different models. Including that one. I knew what to look for so it wasn’t a big deal.”

“I suppose that makes me feel a bit better,” the older man said a little grudgingly.

“It was very nice of you to come by and look at it.” Maureen O’Reilly was still a beautiful woman and her daughter was her spitting image. “And very neighborly of you not to charge us for your time.”

He glanced at Fiona, who wouldn’t quite look him in the eyes. So she hadn’t told them that his fee had been taking her to dinner. She’d apparently told them he did it as a favor, out of the goodness of his heart. That almost made him laugh, since the jury was out on whether or not he had a heart.

Actually he was glad she hadn’t told them the whole truth. He would feel ten times as stupid as he already did. Neighborly wasn’t exactly how he felt looking at her in that dress. And the three men staring him down knew it. Could this get any more uncomfortable?

“So, how do you like Rust Creek Falls?” Ronan’s tone was friendly enough, but the look in his eyes said, Hurt my sister and I’m coming for you.

“It’s a nice town.” Brendan met his gaze, refusing to look away.

“People around here have each other’s backs,” Keegan said. “We protect our own. It’s how we roll.”

“Understood.” Brendan met the other man’s steely gaze and took some satisfaction when Keegan blinked first.

“Where are your manners, Fiona? We’ve been talking out here and you should have invited the man in.” Maureen looked at her daughter, then back at him. “Would you like to come inside, Mr. Tanner?”

“Mom,” Fiona said, “we have a dinner reservation.”

Brendan was pretty sure the look she gave him was saying she knew that probably wasn’t true but just go with her on it. That worked for him. “We should get on the road. Thanks anyway, Mrs. O’Reilly.”

“It’s Maureen.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He looked at Fiona. “You ready?”

“So ready.” She slid a black shawl around her shoulders and stepped outside, onto the porch. “’Bye, everyone.”

“Nice to meet you all,” Brendan said, then settled his hand at the small of her back. The gesture was polite, but also selfish, an excuse to touch her. And it backfired. The contact made him want to pull her close. Suddenly, being polite was the last thing on his mind.

After opening the passenger door, he glanced over his shoulder and saw light still spilling out from the front door, telling him the family continued to watch. Maybe the reminder to mind his manners wasn’t such a bad thing, after all. He helped her inside the truck and closed the door. When he walked around the front of the vehicle, he gave the O’Reillys a farewell wave, then got in and headed for the road that would take them out of Rust Creek Falls.

“About that having a reservation remark—” Fiona started. “I was afraid you were going to take my mom up on the invitation to go inside.”

“No.” He couldn’t imagine the seventh level of hell being more uncomfortable than that. “Hope that’s okay.”

“Very much okay.”

“Good.” That meant he’d interpreted her look correctly. His instincts in a combat situation had saved lives more than once, but understanding a woman’s expression was a thousand times more complex. He often read women’s signals wrong but tonight wasn’t one of those times.

“Ironically,” he said, “I did make a reservation.”

“That’s good.”

“No big deal. I did it online.”

“I meant the part where I wasn’t actually lying to my mother. That’s never good.”

“I guess not.”

Probably he’d told his mother whoppers but he couldn’t remember because he’d been five when she left. And growing up watching his dad be sad without her was pretty bad. No one had ever come right out and said it was Brendan’s fault, but he figured a case could be made.

“I’m sorry about that.” Fiona’s voice broke into his dark thoughts.

For a couple of beats he was afraid he’d spoken out loud, then realized he hadn’t. So he was forced to ask, “About what?”

“You specifically said no family. Most of the time mine is scattered. Everyone doing their own thing. Sadly, this wasn’t one of those nights. If they made you uncomfortable, I apologize.”

“That’s not necessary. I’m tough. And they obviously love you.”

“I know.” She sighed. “But I’m not a teenager and this isn’t my first rodeo.”

“You’re lucky to have them.” Said the man who had no one.

“Agreed.” She blew out a small breath and looked out the passenger window, but it was too dark to see anything. “So, where are we going?”

“That’s a surprise.”

“Am I overdressed?”

Yes, he thought, glancing at her in the passenger seat, then returning his eyes to the road. He would give almost anything to see her without that sexy green dress. But that’s not what she meant. And from the online intel he’d gathered, what she had on was perfect for the restaurant. He’d added a navy sport coat to his long-sleeved light blue dress shirt that was tucked into his newest jeans.

“You’re fine,” he said. “You look really nice, by the way. I should have said so earlier but the welcoming party kind of threw me off my game.”

“And I should have thanked you earlier for the rose. But my family circled the wagons and sucked all the oxygen from the air.” She let out a sigh. “And you look very handsome.”

“Shucks, ma’am—”

She laughed and the sound was like sunshine. It was warm and bright and made him grin. Smiling wasn’t natural but there was no holding it back even if he wanted to.

The light moment dissolved his tension and he felt relaxed for the first time in longer than he could remember. Between military deployments and watching his father waste away from cancer, there hadn’t been much to smile about. But he’d had a clear understanding of his mission in each case. Sunshine Farm had caught his attention because it was a place where someone could find a fresh start. So far he didn’t feel the objective was coming together. So he continued his plan to get back in shape and reenlist.

“It’s awfully quiet over there,” Fiona said. “Except for the part where I can hear you thinking.”

“Oh? How?”

“There’s a strange sort of whirring, clunking sound.”

“That’s just me concentrating on the road.” He chuckled again, feeling his connection to her strengthen.

“Hmm,” she said thoughtfully. “I could help you watch the road if I knew where we were going. Although it has to be Kalispell. There aren’t many places in Rust Creek Falls that require a reservation.”

She was right about their general destination, but he wasn’t going to confirm. “Good try, but I’m not going to reveal anything.”

About thirty minutes later the lights of the city glowed and twinkled in the distance. From browsing the internet he knew Kalispell was a city of about twenty-two thousand. It was definitely bigger than Rust Creek Falls, which had a nice restaurant at Maverick Manor. He just figured the two of them would draw attention there, which he didn’t want. This would be better. Just dinner; no expectations. Always best not to have any.

Enough with the dark thoughts. As best he could, for the rest of the night he was turning them off. It was just a couple of hours. Surely he could manage that.

A short time later he pulled into the restaurant parking lot and turned off the truck engine. “Surprise.”

“North Bay Grill. This looks nice. How did you find it?”

“How does anyone find anything these days?”

“Internet,” they both said together.

Brendan did a quick scan of the outside and surrounding area. An old habit from deployment days. The wood siding was light blue with white painted shutters bracketing the windows. There were neatly trimmed shrubs and flowers around the perimeter.

“It looks like a New England fishing village.” Fiona glanced over at him and smiled.

There it was again. That look as if he’d done just the right thing.

He stared at her for several moments, soaking it in. Then he forced himself to mobilize and open the door. It was either get moving or kiss her, and he couldn’t do that.

“Let’s go in,” he said.

He went around to the passenger side to open her door but she was already sliding to the ground. Shame. He would have liked an excuse to put his hands at her waist and lift her down. Side by side—he was careful not to touch her—they walked to the entrance and he opened the door for her. It was a weeknight and the place wasn’t busy. Apparently a reservation wasn’t necessary. The hostess showed them to a table for two by the dual-sided rock fireplace in the center of the room.

Fiona sat down, then looked around at the pictures of ships on the walls and the antique fishing paraphernalia decorating a shelf near the ceiling. “Very cozy on a cold October night.”

“Yeah.”

A waiter in uniform black pants and a crisp white shirt walked over. “Good evening. My name is Jeremy. I’ll be your server tonight. Can I get you something to drink?”

They ordered—chardonnay for Fiona, beer for Brendan—then perused the menu. By the time their drinks arrived, they’d both decided on salmon. Jeremy put a basket of freshly baked cheddar biscuits on the table, then discreetly withdrew. Fiona took one and buttered it before biting.

“Mmm.” She closed her eyes and savored the taste.

The look of ecstasy on her face was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. She looked like a woman who’d been well and thoroughly made love to and he badly wanted to be the man who was responsible for it. The knot in his gut tightened another notch.

Fiona pushed the basket closer to him. “You have to try these.”

Anything to take his mind off sex. He snagged one, buttered and bit into it. “Good.”

“That’s the best you’ve got? It rocked my world.”

Before he could answer, the salads arrived and they both dug in.

Fiona wasn’t one of those women who ate two leaves and called it a night. She enjoyed her entire meal and he liked that about her.

“Wow,” she said, setting her fork on the empty dinner plate a while later. “I was hungry.”

“Me, too.” He took a swallow of beer and sat back. “So tell me, have you finished your article?”

She nodded. “I’m working on another one now.”

“Already?”

“The extra money is nice.” She shrugged.

“What is this one about?”

“Holidays in a small town. ’Tis the season coming up and the best rule is to write what you know.” She toyed with the stem of her wineglass. “Halloween isn’t far off and next thing you know Thanksgiving will be here. Big cities have their professionally decorated store windows but the people of Rust Creek Falls are every bit as enthusiastic about our traditional ways of celebrating.”