The Maverick's Thanksgiving Baby. Brenda Harlen

her hand away.

      “Steady,” he murmured.

      The mare watched her, its huge, liquid eyes patient and trusting. With Jesse’s guidance, she stroked the smooth hair of its blaze. Honey blew out a breath—an equine sigh of contentment—and Maggie fell in love.

      “Now I really wish I’d learned to ride,” she admitted.

      “I could teach you,” Jesse said. “Not now, obviously. But after.”

       After.

      The word seemed to hang in the air for a long minute, teasing her with possibilities. Neither of them knew what would happen after—they didn’t even know what the next five months would hold, but she couldn’t deny that she liked the idea of after.

      “I think I’d enjoy that,” she finally said.

      * * *

      “What are the rest of your plans for the weekend?” Jesse asked Maggie, as they made their way back to the house.

      “I didn’t really have any other plans,” she told him. “I came to Rust Creek Falls to tell you about the baby, and I’ve done that.”

      “Maybe we could spend some more time together,” he suggested. “Get to know one another a little better before we bring a baby into the world.”

      “That baby’s coming in another five months whether we know one another or not,” she pointed out.

      “Then we shouldn’t waste any time.”

      “What did you have in mind?”

      “Nothing too crazy,” he assured her, opening the back door to lead her into the house. “Maybe a drive up to Owl Rock to see the falls or a walk through town. Dinner at my parents’ house.”

      “I’m sorry—what was that last part?”

      “Dinner at my parents’ house,” he said again.

      “You want me to meet your parents?”

      “And I want them to meet the mother of their grandchild.”

      She blew out a breath. “I didn’t think about the fact that our baby will have a lot more family in Rust Creek Falls than a daddy.”

      “We don’t have to tell the grandparents-to-be right away. I just thought it might be nice if they had a chance to meet you before I told them that I got you pregnant.”

      “I guess that’s reasonable,” she allowed.

      “We don’t even have to spend a lot of time with them,” he promised. “In fact, I’d prefer if we didn’t.”

      She smiled at that. “Are you trying to talk me into—or out of—this?”

      “I’m not sure.”

      “Okay, we’ll have dinner with your parents.”

      “What about your parents?”

      “It’s a long way for them to come for dinner.”

      He managed a wry smile. “Don’t you think I should meet them?”

      “Maybe not,” she teased. “Because they already know I’m pregnant.”

      “Then they should also know that I want to marry you.”

      “I thought we’d agreed that wasn’t a good idea.”

      “You said it wasn’t a good idea, then we spent some time together in bed, proving that it is, in fact, a very good idea.”

      “That is definitely my cue to be going.”

      “Or you could stay.”

      She shook her head. “If I stay, we’re both going to start thinking that this is something it’s not.”

      “What do you think it isn’t?” he challenged.

      “A relationship.”

      He hung his coat on a hook. “We’ve had sex, we’re having a baby, but we don’t have a relationship?”

      “We’ve spent the past four months in different states,” she reminded him. “Does that sound like a relationship to you?”