Maverick vs. Maverick Page 13

  Before they dug in, at the other end of the table Anderson tapped his wineglass with a knife. “I’d like everyone’s attention,” he called out over the din. When it was quiet, he raised his glass. “I’d like to propose a toast. To my sister, a great lawyer.”

  Lindsay couldn’t believe his words. Hadn’t he heard what happened in court today? She felt her stomach clench as she looked at her oldest brother. “But I—I lost the Marshall case.”

  Anderson gave her a nod. “I know.”

  She looked around the table at her siblings and their families, all of whom were nodding as well. Then she turned to her mom and gave her a smile, now knowing why she’d called this rare weeknight meal. She took a moment to count her blessings for having the best family any woman could ask for. Then she sipped her wine and told them the woeful tale of the court case.

  “In the end,” she concluded, “my case just wasn’t as strong as I’d hoped, and Walker had a better lawyer.”

  “Nobody in this town’s a better lawyer than you,” Anderson said as he scooped up a spoonful of mashed potatoes. “Except maybe Dad. And losing a case doesn’t make you a bad lawyer. At least you went in there and tried to fight for what was right.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Lindsay said. “From what I heard at the hearing, Walker Jones had everything up to par in the day care. And there’s a possibility that Georgina got sick from the neighbor’s. Maybe my entire case was a waste of time.”

  “You’re still a fabulous lawyer,” Travis said, popping a whole buttermilk biscuit into his mouth. “Just do yourself a favor and win the next one.”

  He flashed her a patented Travis smile, and Lindsay laughed. Her brother was right. She had to put today’s loss from her mind and keep on going. She’d done the best she could, and she had tried—and that’s what mattered.

  Suddenly hungry, she was just reaching for her fork when the doorbell rang. Travis, sitting on the corner of the table, got to his feet. “I’ll get it.”

  Lindsay started to ask Marina about how Jake was doing in school when she heard a deep voice emanate from the foyer. A familiar deep voice. No...there was no way he was here. At her parents’ house, during family dinner. Lindsay turned in her seat...and there he was.

  Walker Jones, still wearing his suit from court, now darkened by rain, standing in the foyer.

  Lani whispered, “That’s Walker Jones,” and the rest of the table fell silent as everyone looked from Lindsay to Walker and back again.

  Lindsay shook her head and pushed back her chair. “Excuse me a second.”

  The only sound in the house came from the kids in the kitchen, oblivious to the tension in the dining room. Lindsay strode up to Walker, hating that just looking at him, all neat and pressed and handsome in a charcoal-gray suit, his jacket and hair wet from the rain, made her heart skip. “What are you doing here?”

  “Finishing something.” He took a step closer, then another, and she held her breath, expecting him to gloat over the court case or say goodbye—anything other than what he did.

  He reached up and cupped her jaw, his touch tender and soft. “I don’t want to leave town, Lindsay, not before we see where this thing between us is going.”

  For a heartbeat, she stood where she was, entranced by his touch, the look in his eyes, the words he’d spoken. Then she heard someone cough, and she remembered where she was and who she was. A Dalton, first and foremost, who remained true to her family, her town and her standards. Walker Jones didn’t fit into that equation. No matter how good he looked in a suit.

  “This thing, which isn’t even really a thing, isn’t going anywhere.” She stepped back and his hand dropped away, and she told herself she wasn’t disappointed.

  “Pity. Because I really like you, and I think you like me, too.” He drew in a breath, flicked a quick glance at her watching family, then returned his attention to her. “So I came here to officially ask you out on a date.”

  To ask her out? On a date? The words took a moment to sink in. Her siblings were hanging on every word, not making a secret of their eavesdropping.

  “I... I...” She shook her head. Her entire family was staring at her, waiting for her to say something that involved real words. A second ago, she’d had a thousand reasons why she shouldn’t be with Walker Jones, but for the life of her, she couldn’t remember a single one right now. “I...can’t.”

  Before he could reply, her mother came striding into the foyer. “Mr. Jones, come on in,” Mary said, extending her hand to Walker. “We’re just sitting down to dinner, but you’re welcome to join us.”

  What was her mother doing? Didn’t she know who he was? Before Lindsay could protest, Walker was handing his damp suit jacket to Travis and stepping further into the foyer.

  “Thank you, ma’am. Don’t mind if I do.” Walker gave her mother a smile, then headed for the table. Anderson grabbed an extra chair out of the kitchen and made room for Walker across from Lindsay’s seat. Travis got him a plate.

  “What are you doing?” Lindsay whispered to her mother.

  “That man is interested in you,” Mary said. “I can see it all over his face. And I can see the same in yours.”

  “I’m not interested in him.” Okay, so that was a lie. “Not really.”

  “Uh-huh. That’s exactly what I said when I met your father.” Understanding softened her mother’s features. “That court case is all over, right? So you have no reason not to see where that thing between you two is going, like he said.”

  “There’s nothing going on between us.” Well, not exactly... There’d been a couple of kisses. And what had almost happened in his hotel room the previous night.

  Okay, so maybe there was something. But it was done now. For sure.

  “Nothing?” Her mother just arched a brow. “Then you won’t mind if I invite an out of towner who drove all the way to the ranch in this storm to dinner?”

  Walker was already talking to her family, with Anderson handing him dishes and encouraging him to fill his plate. He seemed to fit right in, as if he’d always been there. Even Lani had softened toward him. Was this some kind of alternate universe, or was her family seeing a side of Walker that Lindsay had convinced herself didn’t exist?

  She thought of how he’d paid the Marshalls’ medical bills, even though he won the case. How he’d helped set up for the fair, even though it didn’t win him any brownie points with the town. How he’d held Georgina with that look of amazement on his face. How all those things had shown her new dimensions of the man she was trying so very hard not to like.

  “Go on,” her mother whispered, giving Lindsay a little nudge, “and give the man half a chance.”

  Lindsay returned to the table and took her seat across from Walker. His gaze met hers, and a smile curved across his face. Her heart did that little flip again, and she found an answering smile lifting her own lips. “You may regret this,” she said to him. “My brothers are hard on any man who comes here to see us girls.”

  “That’s because none of the guys you dated before were worth much,” Anderson said. “Hell, half of them couldn’t lift a hay bale or know which end was which on a horse.”

  “That’s your test for good boyfriend material?” Lani said. “Some kind of strong-man-in-the-barn competition?”

  “I think it’s a good idea,” Travis said. “Weeds out the weak.”

  “Survival of the fittest in dating,” Caleb said. “It would make a great reality show.”

  “Sign me up,” Walker said. “There’s nothing I like better than a challenge.”

  “Then you’re dating the right girl,” Anderson said, giving Walker a little nudge. “And dining with the right family.”

  The rest of the dinner went on that way, with the Daltons teasing Walker in between asking him questions about Tulsa and his family. She l
earned he’d never had a pet but he loved dogs more than cats, and, yes, he did know how to ride a horse and hoist a hay bale, thanks to the same grandfather who had taught him carpentry skills. By the time dessert was served, Lindsay half expected her mother to offer to adopt Walker.

  The whole time, her heart and her brain went through a tug-of-war. Get close to Walker or push him away? Even if he was here now, he was going to leave eventually. So she hushed her heart and listened to her common sense.

  Lindsay opted out of a slice of a pie and gathered up some of the dishes. “I’m just going to get a head start on these,” she said and hurried out of the room before anyone could argue with her.

  She stood at the sink, washing the plates, listening to the laughter and chatter in the dining room and the play of the kids behind her. Having her family like Walker so much made resisting him ten times harder.

  Give the man half a chance. Her mother’s words echoed in her head. But what if she did and he turned out to be just like Jeremy? What if she fell for him and ended up disappointed and alone again? Better to just stay alone.

  Lani came in, grabbed a dish towel and started drying the plates. Her sister knew, without Lindsay saying a word, why she’d left to do the dishes. “You know, he’s not such a bad guy after all.”

  “I’m not talking about him.” Lindsay circled the sponge around another plate, then rinsed it and handed it to her sister. “What does he think he’s doing, showing up here?”

  Okay, so maybe “not talking” about Walker needed to be redefined.

  “I think he’s interested in you, like he said. And you know, men have a weird way of showing that sometimes. Heck, Russ put me in jail.” She grinned. “And look how that turned out.”

  “You and Russ are different.”

  “How is that? Because he’s a part of this town now? Because he fit in with the family?” Lani paused for effect. “Hmm, that sort of reminds me of another man...one who is sitting in the dining room right now, purposely subjecting himself to a lot of Dalton family teasing.”

  Maybe Lani had a point. Russ had come from out of town and ended up settling here after he fell in love with Lani. He loved their family and had fit in like a missing piece in a puzzle. But that didn’t mean Walker Jones would do the same. And why did she care if Walker stayed anyway? She wasn’t interested in him.

  Okay, well, maybe a teeny, tiny part of her was interested. And flattered that he’d come all the way out here, knowing her family might very well hate him because of the lawsuit, and yet he’d stayed all the same.

  “Well, yeah, but...” Lindsay handed Lani the clean silverware, and the objection she had readied on her tongue fizzled away. “None of that makes Walker Jones right for me.”

  “Just give the man a chance,” Lani whispered, echoing their mother’s words. “He did, after all, come out in a terrible storm to have dinner with your family. Plus, he survived said dinner. I think that merits at least one date.”

  Out in the dining room, the men were getting to their feet, saying something about taking Walker out to the barn. Walker caught her gaze and held it for a long second. She could see the heat in his eyes, the interest in his features, and cursed that she felt the same way.

  And that she’d just been bamboozled by her own matchmaking family.

  Chapter Ten

  Walker had grown up with four brothers, but never had he seen Hudson, Autry, Gideon and Jensen act like the Daltons. They were warm and affectionate, loud and teasing, and had him laughing more than he could remember doing in a long, long time. Travis, Anderson, Caleb, and even Russ and Sutter all traipsed out to the barn while the women stayed behind to clean up from dinner. Lindsay’s father fell into place beside Walker. The rain had lessened, becoming soft drops instead of the heavy patter from earlier.

  “You know this is all part of them making sure you’re good enough for Lindsay, right?” Ben said. “This isn’t a tour of the ranch—it’s a test.”

  Walker chuckled. “If I had a sister, I’m sure I’d do the same thing.”

  When they stopped at the door to the barn, Lindsay’s father put a hand on the wooden surface and turned to Walker. Ben’s face turned serious, his gaze hard and direct. “Lindsay is my daughter, and I just want to make one thing clear. Just because you were invited to dinner and treated like one of the family doesn’t mean every single one of us won’t come after you if you break her heart.”

  Apparently the hardest grader in the Dalton family was the patriarch. Walker couldn’t blame Ben for being a papa bear with his daughters. He’d do the same for any out of towner who came along, if he’d had a sister or daughter.

  “I... I have no intention of doing that, sir,” Walker said to Ben. To be truthful, Walker wasn’t sure what his intentions were with Lindsay. All he knew was he didn’t want to go back to Tulsa without at least finishing the story they had started.

  “She’s a strong woman and deserves the best,” Ben said. “And I’m not just saying that because I’m her father.”

  “I understand, sir.”

  Ben held Walker’s gaze for a long time, assessing him, measuring him. Finally, he nodded. “Okay, then.” He opened the door to the barn.

  As Walker followed Ben inside and back to the gentle ribbing by the other Dalton boys, Walker had the feeling he’d passed the first part of the test, but that the jury was still out on whether he would pass the entire exam in the Are You Good Enough for Lindsay Dalton class.

  The problem? Walker wasn’t sure where this was going to lead or whether he wanted it to lead anywhere. All he knew was that from the second he’d met Lindsay, she had intrigued and tempted him. The business side of him kept telling him to get on a plane to Tulsa, but for the first time in his life, Walker wasn’t listening.

  Instead, he listened to the Dalton boys riff as they headed through the stables, greeting the horses. This was a family. A real family, with all the inside jokes and shared memories. The kind of family he’d always wished he could have.

  Maybe if he stayed in town longer, he could have more time with Hudson, too. Or maybe they were too old, too set in their ways, to develop the easy camaraderie the Daltons had.

  He glanced through the stable window, back at the lights blazing in the house. Even through the rain, the Dalton ranch was warm, welcoming. A true home.

  The one thing Walker had been looking for all his life, and he’d found it in the most unlikely of places. The very place he was going to have to leave.

  * * *

  The rain had finally stopped. Lindsay stepped out onto the porch and leaned against one of the posts, watching the clouds part and the first stars twinkle. The men emerged from the barn and headed back toward the house. She could pick out Walker’s tall, lean frame in an instant among the sea of Dalton boys and the men who were becoming part of the Dalton clan.

  She knew she should turn around and go back into the house, but something kept her rooted there as the men drew closer. Walker peeled off from the group, heading up the stairs two at a time to her.

  “See you later,” Anderson said, giving Walker a clap on the back. “And if you want to go riding tomorrow, just text me.”

  “Thanks, Anderson. I will.”

  The other men said good-night to Walker and headed inside, leaving her and Walker outside alone. The only sound came from fat raindrops sliding off overburdened leaves and plopping on the damp ground.

  He looked handsome and relaxed, the kind of man she could curl into and feel comfortable and safe with. But Lindsay held her ground, maintained her distance. If she didn’t, the temptation to be in his arms would overpower all rational thinking.

  “Why did you come here?” she asked him.

  “I told you. I wanted to ask you out on a date.”

  “Why? You’re going back to Tulsa any day now, so any ‘relati
onship’ we could have—” she put air quotes around the word “—would end just as fast as it began.”

  He stepped closer. She caught the spicy notes of his cologne. Desire rose inside her, overriding her mind, her common sense. “Are you saying that going on a date with me would be a waste of time?”

  “Well...yeah.”

  “I disagree. And I’d like the chance to prove it to you.”

  She shook her head. Why did he have to keep trying so hard? Why did she stand here, hoping he wouldn’t leave? Why couldn’t she just forget this man? “You don’t give up easily, do you?”

  “Nope. Which is a good thing in business, and in law, as I’m sure you know.” He took her hand in his, his touch warm and secure. “We’ll see if that principle holds true when it comes to dating you, too.”

  Was he implying he wasn’t going to give up on trying to win her heart? But more to the point, did she want him to keep trying? What if they ended up apart and alone anyway?

  “I’m not so easily swayed.” Except right now, she could be swayed into almost anything. A simple touch on her hand and she was ready to melt into his arms.

  “I noticed.” He gave her hand a little tug. “Come on, let’s take a walk. It stopped raining and the stars are coming out.”

  She hesitated. She shouldn’t get any more involved with this man. He didn’t want the same things out of life that she did, he wasn’t staying in Rust Creek Falls and she had been burned like this once before. But the feel of his hand on hers was so nice, and his smile so inviting, and damn it—she wanted him. He was like the last slice of chocolate cake, something decadent and wrong but too good to resist.

  They walked along the flattened path in the grass that led past the stable and over to the corral. It was dark and quiet, and it seemed like the land beyond the ranch stretched forever into the distance. Lindsay drew in a long, deep breath. “I love the way the air smells after it rains. The world just seems...new again.”

  Walker drew in a breath, too, then nodded. “You know, I don’t take enough time to enjoy these kinds of things. I go on maybe one vacation a year but rarely take any time off otherwise. Most days I’m working from sunrise to sunset, and the only time I spend outdoors is when I get in my car. I’ve spent more time in the fresh air in the few days I’ve been in this town than I have in the entire past year. Heck, more than I have on any vacation I’ve ever taken.”