Merry Christmas, Baby Maverick!. Brenda Harlen

dabbed on some lip gloss and grabbed her keys.

      “Where are you going tonight?” her mother asked when Kayla came down the stairs.

      She’d mentioned her plans at dinner—when she’d asked her dad if she could take his truck into town—but her mother obviously hadn’t been paying attention. Ever since Ryan put a ring on Kristen’s finger, her mother had been daydreaming about the wedding.

      “I’m meeting Natalie at the high school,” she said again. “We’re going to see A Christmas Story tonight.”

      “Is it just the two of you going?” her mother pressed.

      “No, I’m sure there will be lots of other people there.”

      “Really, Kayla, I don’t know why you can’t just give a simple answer to a simple question,” Rita chided.

      “Sorry,” she said automatically. “And yes—it’s just me and Natalie tonight. We’re not sneaking out to meet boys behind the school.”

      “Your turn will come.”

      “My turn for what?” She was baffled by the uncharacteristically gentle tone as much as the words.

      “To meet somebody.”

      “I’m not worried about meeting somebody or not meeting somebody,” she assured her mother.

      “I had sisters, too,” Rita said. “I know it’s hard when exciting things are happening in their lives and not your own.”

      “I’m happy for Kristen, Mom. Genuinely and sincerely.”

      “Well, of course you are,” she agreed. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t be a little envious, too.” A career wife and mother, Rita couldn’t imagine her daughters wanting anything else.

      She’d been appalled by Kristen’s desire to study theater—worried about her daughter associating with unsavory movie people. She’d been so relieved when her youngest child graduated and moved back home to teach drama. Unfortunately, Kristen had faced numerous roadblocks in her efforts to get a high school production off the ground, causing her to turn her attention to the community theater in Kalispell.

      Kayla was actually surprised their mother had approved of Kristen’s engagement to a Hollywood lawyer. But Ryan had fallen in love with Montana as well as Kristen and was planning to give up his LA practice—as his sister, Maggie, had done just last year when she moved to Rust Creek Falls to marry Jesse Crawford.

      But, of course, now that Kristen and Ryan were engaged, it was only natural—to Rita’s way of thinking—that Kayla would want the same thing. Her mother would be shocked to learn that her other daughter’s life was already winding down a very different path.

      “Getting out tonight will be good for you,” Rita said to Kayla now. “Who knows? You might even meet someone at the movies.”

      Meet someone? Ha! She already knew everyone in Rust Creek Falls, and even if she did meet someone new and interesting who actually asked her to go out on a date with him, there was no way she could say yes. Because there was no way she could start a romance with another man while she was carrying Trey’s baby.

      And no way could she be interested in anyone else when she was still hopelessly infatuated with the father of her child.

      “I’m meeting Natalie,” she said again. Then, before her mother could say anything else to continue the excruciating conversation, Kayla kissed her cheek. “Don’t wait up.”

      * * *

      When Kayla arrived, Natalie was standing outside the main doors, her hands stuffed into the pockets of her coat, her feet—tucked into a sleek pair of high-heeled boots that looked more fashionable than warm—kicking the soft snow.

      “Am I late?” Kayla asked.

      “No, I was probably early,” Natalie admitted. “I needed to get out of the house and away from all the talk about weddings.”

      She nodded her understanding as she reached for the door handle. Natalie’s brother had also recently gotten engaged. “When are Brad and Margot getting married?”

      “That was one of the topics of discussion. Of course, Brad was married before, so he just wants whatever Margot wants. But Margot lost her mother almost three years ago, and her father’s been AWOL since the infamous poker game, so as much as she’s excited about starting a life with my brother, I think it’s hard for her to be excited about the wedding, and I don’t think my mother’s being very sensitive about that.”

      “Believe me, I understand about insensitive mothers,” Kayla told her friend.

      They paid their admission at the table set up in the foyer for that purpose then made their way toward the gymnasium.

      “I always get such a creepy feeling of déjà vu when I’m in here,” her friend admitted.

      “I know what you mean,” Kayla agreed. “It doesn’t help that Mrs. Newman—” their freshman physical education teacher “—works at the concession stand.”

      Natalie nodded her agreement. “Even when I count out the exact change for her, she gives me that perpetual look of disapproval, like I’ve just told her I forgot my gym clothes.”

      Kayla laughed. She was glad she’d let her friend drag her out tonight. Not that much dragging was required. Kayla had been feeling in a bit of a funk and had happily accepted Natalie’s invitation. Of course, it didn’t hurt that A Christmas Story was one of her all-time favorite holiday movies.

      “Oh, look,” she said, pointing to the poster advertising a different feature for Saturday night. “We could come back tomorrow for The Santa Clause.”

      “Well, I’m free,” Natalie admitted. “Which tells a pretty sad tale about my life.”

      “Actually, I’m not,” Kayla realized.

      “Hot date?”

      “Ha. I’m helping out at the theater in Kalispell tomorrow night.”

      “Well, even working in the city has to be more exciting than a night off in this town,” Natalie said. Then she stopped dead in her tracks. “Oh. My. God.”

      “What?” Kayla demanded, as alarmed by her friend’s whispered exclamation as the way Natalie’s fingers dug into her arm.

      “Trey Strickland is here.”

      Her heart leaped and crashed against her ribs as she turned in the direction her friend was looking.

      Yep, it was him.

      Not that she really believed Natalie might have been mistaken, but she’d hoped. After a four-month absence, she’d now run into him twice within hours of his return to town. Whether his appearance here was a coincidence or bad luck, it was an obvious sign to Kayla that she wouldn’t be able to avoid him while he was in Rust Creek Falls.

      Natalie waved a hand in front of her face, fanning herself as she kept her attention fixed on the ginger-haired, broad-shouldered cowboy. “That man is so incredibly yummy.”

      Kayla had always thought so, too—even before she’d experienced the joy of being held in his arms, kissed by his lips, pleasured by his body. But she had no intention of sharing any of that with her friend, who she hadn’t realized harbored her own crush on the same man. “Should we get popcorn?” she asked instead.

      “I’d rather have man candy,” Natalie said dreamily.

      Kayla pulled a ten-dollar bill out of the pocket of her too-tight jeans and tried to ignore the reason her favorite denim—and all of her other clothes—were fitting so snugly in recent days. “I’m going for popcorn.”

      “Can you grab me a soda, too?” Natalie asked, her gaze still riveted on the sexy cowboy as he made his way toward the gym doors.

      “Sure.”