Teresa Southwick - Unmasking The Maverick

Underneath the workbench was a basket of broken toys. Eva Stockton, the wife of Luke, who owned Sunshine Farm, had given it to him. She’d said she kept them around for her niece and nephews and asked him to repair any he could. The kids were hard on them, she’d said, and after meeting Jared he understood what she meant.

He pulled the stash out into the open. “Maybe he’d like to look through these?”

“You’re a lifesaver.” The woman looked at him as if he’d hung the moon.

The lifesaver part was truer than she knew, Brendan thought. He’d saved lives, and buddies had saved his, too. They shared a bond unlike anything he’d ever known, the tight-knit family he’d never had. A brotherhood forged in battle. But a different sort of skirmish ensued when the redhead set little Jared on his feet. The toolbox was forgotten as he started in on the toys.

“Car!” Jared held one up that was missing a wheel. He squatted down and set it on the hard-packed clay floor and made the universal sound effect used by boys to simulate an engine revving.

“Here’s to the short attention span of a two-and-a-half-year-old.” The woman’s eyes were big and blue and beautiful. The laughter shining there was really something special. “He hasn’t seen those broken toys for so long they’re like brand-new to him.”

“I haven’t had a chance to check them out and see if they’re salvageable.”

“Eva and Luke are keeping you busy?”

“Understatement. Fix a broken clothes dryer and suddenly you’re a Jedi knight who can use the force to put Humpty Dumpty back together.” He shrugged. “And they tell all their friends.”

“So, do I call you Sir Jedi? Or do you have a name?”

He nearly winced. Obviously his social skills were as rusty as his smile. “Brendan Tanner.”

She held out her hand. “Fiona O’Reilly.”

He took her hand and something crackled up his arm, shocking the words right out of his head. He barely managed to mumble, “Nice to meet you.”

While his brain was frozen, the rest of him was hot as a Texas sun on the hard-packed plains.

Before it turned awkward, Jared struck again. He’d emptied every last toy from the basket. Apparently the process of taking them out was playing with them and he was on to bigger and better things. Like the toolbox he’d temporarily forgotten. He opened a metal drawer, the one with various saw blades.

Without thinking it through, Brendan grabbed him up before he could touch anything and hurt himself. There was an instant screech of protest.

“I think they heard that in the next county.” He looked at Fiona. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle him, but those things are sharp.”

“You have pretty good reflexes.” Instead of being upset, she looked impressed. The kid, however, was ticked off and held his arms out to her. She took him and ignored the loud grunts and the struggle to get back down. “No way, Jared. How come you don’t know by now that I’m not a soft touch?”

Brendan begged to differ with her on that. She looked plenty soft to him, in all the right places. But he knew that was not what she meant. “I can’t imagine herding two more like this one.”

“That’s why I’m here. Luke and Eva invited the family to dinner and I’m part of the reinforcements. Fallon has Henry. The last time I saw them he was chasing a chicken and she was hot on his heels. Jamie was keeping Kate from going headfirst into the horse’s water trough. And I drew the short straw. We call him jackrabbit because he’s so fast.” She kissed his cheek and made smacking noises, getting a giggle out of the squirmy boy.

The sight of this woman with a child in her arms struck a chord deep inside Brendan. Her brightness flashed a light on the dark emptiness he carried around, the dusty place where he stored any hope of having a family.

“There you are.” Luke Stockton walked into the workshop.

It was getting like Grand Central Station in here, Brendan thought. For some reason he didn’t completely mind the invasion. He had liked Luke Stockton the first time they met and hadn’t changed his mind since he’d been here at Sunshine Farm. His blue eyes projected honesty, integrity, and the deep tan was a result of hard outdoor work.

He shook hands with Brendan, then looked at Fiona and his nephew. “Your sister was getting worried. About you. And keeping up with Jared.”

“Oh, please.” Fiona rolled her eyes. “I’m onto this little man.”

“I see you two have met,” Luke said, glancing between her and Brendan.

“We introduced ourselves,” she confirmed.

Luke took the squirming little boy, who was holding out his arms. Probably hoping this time he’d get put down. But Luke held him tight. “What are you up to, jackrabbit?”

“He’s not happy,” Fiona said. “Brendan wouldn’t let him juggle the saw blades in his toolbox.”

“You’ve got a mean streak,” Luke teased.

“That’s me. Making kids cry. It’s a gift,” Brendan said.

“Yeah. Speaking of gifts...” Luke looked at Fiona. “This guy can fix anything from a can opener to a car engine.”

“So I heard.” Fiona’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “You’re working him so hard the poor man hardly has time for anything else.”

“Me?” Luke shook his head. “I just mentioned to a couple of people that he’s got some skills repairing broken things. It’s not my fault folks in Rust Creek Falls ran with it.”

“So he should be flattered while working his fingers to the bone?” She folded her arms over her chest.

Luke lifted the wriggling kid above his head and got a snort of laughter out of him. “It’s clear to any enterprising person that there’s a need around here for this kind of service. I’m trying to talk him into opening a repair shop.”

“And?”

Brendan noticed a questioning look in her eyes, along with something that might have been female interest. If he was right about that, the attraction was mutual. “And I keep telling Luke that I will likely be gone in a few months.”

“That’s not a definite,” the other man said. “I’m telling you there’s money to be made and we need to spread the word.”

“If there’s one thing folks in Rust Creek Falls are good at, it’s talking. It’s almost a competitive sport around here,” she joked.

“A business venture isn’t the only reason to stick around.” Luke glanced at Fiona, then back. “This is a close community with good people.”

Brendan couldn’t swear to it but he’d bet money that Fiona blushed.

All she said was, “This town has a charm, for sure.”

And then another redhead appeared in the workshop doorway, holding an identical version of Jared. That must be Henry. And if the feather he was tightly clutching in his little fist was any indication, he’d caught up with that unfortunate chicken.

“See?” He held it up proudly.

“So the party is in here.” This was Fallon Stockton.

Even if Brendan hadn’t already met her, he would have guessed a sibling connection to Fiona just because of the coloring. She was pretty enough, but...she wasn’t Fiona. And he was going to forget that thought had ever entered his mind.

“It is getting crowded in here,” Luke agreed. “Also it’s not a safe place to turn these little guys loose.” Again he held up Jared, who squealed with delight.

“Eva sent me to find everyone. Dinner will be ready soon. We have to get the kids washed up,” Fallon said.

“On it.” Fiona took Jared. “Nice to meet you, Brendan.”

“Likewise.” Politely he touched the brim of his Stetson.

“You should join us for dinner,” Luke said to him.

That caught him off guard. “I don’t know...”