A Maverick under the Mistletoe. Brenda Harlen

when Sutter had tried to convince her to stay out with him instead of going home to finish her homework or study for an upcoming test. And a lot of times when she’d let herself be convinced. And when he’d finally walked her home, they’d still been reluctant to part, so they’d stood in the shadows of the back porch of her parents’ house and kissed good-night. He’d spent a lot of time kissing her good-night.

      Obviously he was remembering the same thing, because he took a step closer and said, “Are you going to let me kiss you good-night?”

      “No.” Though she knew she should hold her ground, she took an instinctive step back.

      Sutter smiled knowingly. “Are you busy Thursday night?”

      This second abrupt change in topic made her almost as wary as his previous request. “Why?”

      “It’s election night,” he reminded her. “And the candidates and their supporters will be gathered at town hall for the results. Since you’ve declared your support for Collin, I thought you might want to be there.”

      She did believe Collin was the best candidate and he was definitely going to get her vote, but hanging out with his family and friends at town hall meant being around Sutter, and she wasn’t sure if that was something she could handle.

      “I’ll think about it,” she finally agreed, because once he’d made the offer, she knew that she wouldn’t be able to not think about it. But she also knew that there was no way she could go.

      The only hope she had of protecting her heart was to stay as far away from Sutter Traub as possible.

      * * *

      Since it wasn’t an outright refusal, Sutter decided not to press Paige for a firm commitment. He simply waited until she’d unlocked her door, then he wished her a good night and headed back to town hall. He hadn’t realized how far they’d walked until he had to make the trek back again without the pleasure of her company.

      He’d enjoyed walking and talking with her like they’d done so many times before. But that was the past. He retraced his steps as he’d lived the past five years of his life—without her. And he tried not to think about everything they’d once meant to one another, and everything they’d lost.

      Paige Dalton had been his soul mate and best friend. His heart had belonged to her, wholly and completely. She was the one woman he’d imagined spending the rest of his life with. He’d even proposed marriage before he’d left town, but she’d turned him down and turned her back on him, and he’d gone to Washington alone.

      The transition from Rust Creek Falls to Seattle hadn’t been an easy one, and for the first several months Sutter had doubted it would be a successful one. He’d tried working at various office jobs in the city, but he never found one that seemed to fit. Or maybe he was just too restless to sit behind a desk all day. It was only when he heard about a job opening for a horse trainer at a local stable that things began to turn around for him.

      He’d always been good with animals and he’d quickly established a reputation for himself with the local horse set. After a couple of years working for someone else, he had both the money and the confidence he needed to venture out on his own.

      Three years earlier, he’d opened Traub Stables, and he was gratified by its success. He was also pleased that his business had created a second market for CT Saddles—Collin’s custom-made saddles and leather-goods business. That was all Sutter wanted—all he needed. Or so he’d believed until he’d come back to Rust Creek Falls again.

      When he’d left town five years earlier, he’d vowed that he would never return. Of course, he’d been younger and more impulsive then, and the simple fact that his family was in Rust Creek Falls guaranteed that he wouldn’t be able to stay away forever. Despite the harsh words that had been thrown around in the Traub household, he could never really turn his back on his family—even if he felt they’d turned their backs on him first.

      So when he’d heard the news about the flood, he had to come home to make sure everything was okay at the ranch. Of course, it had taken him some time to get everything in order with his business so that he could feel comfortable leaving for a couple of weeks. And even then, his apprehension had increased with every mile that drew him closer to the Triple T. There was still tension in his family—most notably between Sutter and Forrest—and it had occurred to him that he might not be welcome. Especially if his war-hero brother had also decided to return.

      Both Forrest and Clayton were living in Thunder Canyon these days with their new wives and, in Clayton’s case, children. But Sutter was certain they would also be drawn back to Rust Creek Falls, eager to do anything they could to help out not just the Traub family but the larger community.

      Another reason that Sutter had questioned his impulse to return was the possibility that he might run into Paige Dalton. A possibility that had turned into a certainty when he found out that Collin was marrying Willa Christensen—a friend and colleague of Paige’s.

      Of his five brothers, Collin was the only one who got Sutter and who hadn’t judged him for his less-than-enthusiastic support of Forrest’s decision to return to Iraq. So when Collin had asked Sutter to be his best man, he hadn’t even considered refusing. He hadn’t found out until later that Paige would be Willa’s maid of honor.

      The wedding had been simple but beautiful. And Sutter and Paige had both focused on their respective duties and pretended to be oblivious to one another. At least, Sutter was pretending. And he’d tried to focus on his duties, but Paige had always been a distraction.

      She was the most beautiful girl he’d ever known. Now that girl was a woman and even more of a distraction. Willa had been a gorgeous bride, and Sutter had been thrilled to see his brother so obviously in love and more contented than he’d ever been, but it was the bride’s maid of honor who had caught—and held—Sutter’s attention.

      Her long dark hair had been fashioned into some kind of loose knot on top of her head, but a few strands had escaped to frame her delicate heart-shaped face. Her dark eyes had been enhanced with makeup, her sharp cheekbones highlighted and her sweetly curved lips had been painted a glossy pink color.

      Her dress was a long, strapless column of pale lilac silk that hugged her curves. She’d been more skinny than thin as a girl, but there was no doubt she was a woman now. A woman with silky-smooth skin and beautiful shoulders that had seemed rather chilly whenever she’d turned them in his direction.

      Unfortunately, her obvious disinterest had done nothing to cool the blood running through his veins. But he’d managed to get through the wedding without giving in to the desire to touch her, and he’d breathed a sigh of relief when the event was over.

      He’d done a pretty good job of avoiding Paige in the months that had passed since then—until tonight, when his need just to see her and talk to her had overridden his common sense and sent him chasing after her.

      When he’d offered to manage Collin’s campaign, he’d claimed it was simply because he believed that his brother truly was the best person for the job—especially considering that the only other candidate was Nathan Crawford. He hadn’t been willing to admit, even to himself, that Paige Dalton had been a factor in his decision to stay in Rust Creek Falls a little longer. Maybe he’d been an idiot where she was concerned, but he wasn’t a masochist. Once bitten, twice shy and all that.

      But now, three months later, he was still in Rust Creek Falls and still hoping to catch a glimpse of her around every corner. And that, he knew, was a definite sign that it was long past time to go back to Seattle.

      He’d been making occasional trips back and forth, not so much to keep an eye on his business, because he trusted his stable manager absolutely, but to ensure that he was able to give the personal touch to his major clients. But he’d never stayed in Seattle more than a few days before he’d found a reason to return to Rust Creek Falls again. He decided now that he needed to get back to his real life before he let himself start believing that he could ever come home to stay. Because the more time he spent here, the more he remembered how it had felt to be part