The Maverick's Thanksgiving Baby. Brenda Harlen

effect on the other man, who leaned closer for a more intimate discussion. Jesse finally unglued his feet from the floor and walked out of the community center, berating himself for his awkwardness.

      His cell phone started ringing before he’d hit the bottom step, and he pulled it out to answer the call. At this point, he didn’t even care who was on the other end of the line—he was grateful for any distraction.

      After a brief conversation with Brett Gable, he was feeling marginally better. The local rancher was having trouble with an ornery stallion and wondered if Jesse could take a look at him and let the owner know if he was wasting his time trying to tame the animal or if he just needed to adjust his tactics. Jesse promised that he’d go out to the Gable ranch the next day.

      As he tucked his phone away again, he resolved to keep his focus on four-legged creatures and forget about women. Because while horses might not look as good or smell as pretty, they were a lot easier to understand and a lot less likely to trample all over his heart.

      Or throw themselves into his arms?

      “Whoa.” Jesse caught her gently as she bounced off his chest.

      Maggie’s wide, startled gaze locked with his. “I’m so sorry,” she said breathlessly.

      “Everything okay?”

      She shook her head, an introspective look now competing with the panic in her dark chocolate-colored eyes. “Are you married?”

      “What?” He had no idea what thought process had precipitated the question, but he immediately shook his head. “No.”

      “Engaged? Involved?”

      “No and no,” he said, just a little warily.

      “Then I’ll apologize now and explain later,” she told him.

      “Apol—”

      He’d intended to ask what she thought she needed to apologize for, but that was as far as he got before she lifted her hands to his shoulders and pressed her lips to his.

      To say that he was stunned would have been an understatement. But the initial shock was quickly supplanted by other stronger emotions: pleasure, happiness, desire.

      He wanted this. He wanted her. As if of their own volition, his arms wrapped around her, pulling her against him as he kissed her back.

      Somewhere in a part of his brain that was still capable of registering anything beyond the heavenly feel of this woman in his arms, he heard the crunch of gravel beneath heavy, impatient footsteps and a frustrated voice muttering, “Where on earth could she have... Maggie?”

      The woman in question eased her mouth from his.

      There was desire in her eyes—he wasn’t mistaken in that. But there was something else, too—a silent plea?

      A plea for what, he didn’t know and didn’t care. Right now, he would have promised her anything. Everything.

      She finally turned to look at the other man, and Jesse did the same.

      Jared Winfree’s brows were drawn together, his expression dark as he glanced from Maggie to Jesse. “Are you making a move on my woman?”

      Since Jesse had no idea how to respond to that question, he was glad that Maggie spoke up.

      “I’m not—and never have been—your woman,” she told the Romeo.

      But Jared continued to scowl. “We were supposed to be going to grab a bite to eat.”

      “No—you offered to take me for a bite to eat and I told you that I already had plans.”

      “With this guy?” His tone was skeptical.

      She took Jesse’s hand and lied without compunction. “We’ve been dating for the past several months.”

      “Then how come I’ve never seen you with him before?” Jared challenged.

      “We’ve been trying to keep a low profile and avoid being the topic of gossip,” she said easily.

      It was obvious by the stormy look in the other guy’s eyes that he wanted to challenge the claim, but with Maggie’s hand linked with Jesse’s and her lipstick on his mouth, the evidence was pretty convincing.

      “When you decide you want a real cowboy, give me a call,” Jared told her, and stormed off in the direction from which he’d come.

      Maggie blew out a breath. “Thank goodness.” She released the hand that she’d been holding on to as if it was a lifeline and turned to him. “And thank you.”

      “No need to thank me for something that was very much my pleasure,” he assured her.

      And the big-city lawyer with the razor-sharp mind and persuasive tongue actually blushed when his gaze dropped to linger on the sweet curve of her lips.

      “Do you want me to explain now?” she asked.

      “Only if you want to.”

      “I feel as if I owe you at least that much.”

      Half an hour earlier, he’d barely been able to say two words to her, but locking lips seemed to have loosened his, and he couldn’t resist teasing her a little. “Or you could just kiss me again and we’ll call it even.”

      Her mouth curved as she held his gaze, and he knew she was giving his offer serious consideration. “I think, for now, we’ll go with the explanation.”

      “Your choice,” he said.

      “I met him at the Ace in the Hole a few months back,” she began. “I was there to have lunch with my cousin, Lissa, but before we even had a chance to order, Lissa got called away. I decided to stay and at least finish my coffee, and he slid into the empty seat and introduced himself. He seemed friendly and we chatted for a while, but when he asked for my number, I told him I wasn’t interested in starting anything up with someone in Rust Creek Falls because my life was in Los Angeles.”

      Which, Jesse reminded himself, was a fact he’d be wise to remember.

      “He seemed to accept that easily enough and said maybe he’d see me around the next time I was in town. And I know Rust Creek Falls isn’t a big city, but every single time I’ve been back since then, I’ve run into him. And every single time, he asks me to go out with him.”

      “So why didn’t you just tell him you had a boyfriend in Los Angeles? I got the impression he would have believed that more readily than he believed you were with me.”

      “I don’t think he would’ve believed anything without proof—which you’re still wearing,” she said, and lifted a hand to rub her lipstick off the corner of his mouth with her thumb.

      And he felt it again—the sizzle and crackle of awareness when she touched him. And when her gaze locked on his, he knew that he wasn’t the only one who had felt it.

      “He hit on Lissa, too, when she first came to Rust Creek Falls,” Maggie told him. “Apparently he even started a bar fight with some other guy who asked her to dance.”

      “I don’t pay much attention to the gossip around town,” Jesse said. “But I remember hearing about that—both the sheriff and his deputy got punched and two guys got arrested.”

      Maggie smiled. “Lissa insisted it wasn’t her fault, but Gage said something about beautiful women being the cause of most trouble at the Ace in the Hole.”

      “Then you better stay away from the bar or you might incite a riot.”

      Her cheeks colored prettily, as if she hadn’t heard the same thing a thousand times before. And if she hadn’t, he figured there was something seriously wrong with the guys in LA, because Maggie Roarke was a definite knockout.

      “So why aren’t you involved with anyone back home?” he asked now.

      “How