The Little Maverick Matchmaker

Chapter Two

That evening on Sunshine Farm in her cozy little cabin, Josselyn sat cross-legged on the couch and stared blankly at the TV perched in one corner of the living room. After a very long day at the town picnic, she’d thought she would unwind by watching one of her favorite programs, but so far her mind refused to latch onto the plot. The characters could’ve been speaking in a foreign language for the past thirty minutes and she would’ve never noticed.

Josselyn aimed the remote at the TV and pressed the off button. She was wasting her time, she thought. Ever since the school picnic had ended and she’d driven home, she hadn’t been able to think about anything except Drew Strickland and his adorable son.

When the two of them had first approached her, she’d guessed the mother had been somewhere in the crowd visiting with friends. But then Dillon had made that comment about finding his father a wife and blown her assumption to pieces.

So where was Dillon’s mother? she wondered for the umpteenth time. Even if the boy’s parents were divorced, the mother should’ve found the fortitude to put her differences with her ex aside and attended the school picnic with her son.

With a sigh of frustration, she tossed aside the remote and left the couch. Darn it! Why couldn’t she quit thinking about the dad and son?

Probably because the dad was drop-dead delicious, she thought as she gazed out the window at the shadowy patch of lawn in front of her cabin. Even now, hours after their impromptu meeting at the park, his image was still burned in her brain. Tall, long-legged and lean, Drew Strickland was a genuine Doctor Dreamy. Dark brown hair, cut in a short, ruffled style, had framed a face dominated by brown eyes and a pair of firm lips that were bracketed by the most gorgeous dimples she’d ever seen on a man.

The doctor ought to be carrying a warning hazard to all women who came within ten feet of him, she thought with a wistful sigh. And if that wasn’t bad enough, his son had been so cute and endearing she’d wanted to snatch him up in a tight bear hug.

So Dr. Drew Strickland has enough sex appeal to rob a woman of her breath. And his son is the kind of kid that touches the very middle of your heart. That doesn’t mean you have any business thinking about them. They’re both heart trouble walking on two legs. You need to forget them and get on with your life.

Yes, getting on with her life was the very reason she’d moved to Rust Creek Falls in the first place, Josselyn reminded herself. She hadn’t studied long and hard to acquire a master’s in library science just to get herself mixed up with a lost cause. One that would end up dealing her far more misery than happiness.

A few weeks ago, Josselyn had been living in Laramie, Wyoming, in an apartment not far from her parents, Velma and Walt Weaver. Her two older brothers, Lloyd and Cameron, both worked on a prominent cattle ranch outside the city, while her younger sister, Patti, was still living with their parents as she finished up her last year of college. The Weavers had always been a tight-knit group, and none of them except for her mother had understood Josselyn’s need to move and start a life away from the place where she’d been born and raised. If her father and siblings had it their way, she’d still be there, making the same rounds with the same group of people she’d known since kindergarten.

Earning her diploma had opened a whole new world to Josselyn, where fresh faces and exciting opportunities waited around each corner. Ignoring her family’s argument to remain near Laramie, she’d begun searching for jobs in neighboring Montana. Once she’d landed the library position at Rust Creek Falls Elementary, she’d turned her focus to finding a place to live. Somewhere far away from concrete and busy streets.

The moment she’d spotted an article somewhere about Sunshine Farm located near Rust Creek Falls, she’d been instantly intrigued. The piece had been about Amy Wainwright and how the woman had visited the farm to attend the wedding of a friend and eventually ended up finding her own true love, prompting the journalist to dub the farm the Lonelyhearts Ranch.

The story of Amy’s happy ending had perfectly fit Josselyn’s sunny attitude about life. Sunshine Farm was a place where loving couples chose to take their wedding vows, plus it had a guesthouse for folks who wanted to forget the past and make a fresh start. Josselyn wasn’t running from a heartbreaking past. Nor was she planning a wedding for herself. She didn’t even have a boyfriend, much less a fiancé. All the same, Sunshine Farm, or the Lonelyhearts Ranch, whichever name a person chose to call it, was the perfect home for her.

Thoughtfully, she turned away from the window and plucked up a white shawl from the back of a chair. After being in a crowd of people all afternoon, the quietness of her cabin should have been soothing. Instead, it was allowing her to think far too much.

With the shawl wrapped around her shoulders to ward off the evening chill, she went outside and walked across a grassy slope, past a big yellow barn and on toward the main house of Sunshine Farm.

A porch light illuminated a door at the back of the house. After rapping her knuckles lightly on the door frame, Josselyn let herself in and found Eva Stockton at the counter putting a snack of homemade cookies and mugs of coffee onto a wooden tray.

The room was warm and Josselyn caught the faint, lingering scents of grilled beef and green peppers. With Eva cooking hearty meals every night for her husband, Luke, it came as no surprise that the kitchen was one of the first rooms the man had remodeled in the old farmhouse.

“Oh, hi, Josselyn,” the pretty blonde said cheerfully. “You’re just in time to join us in the living room. The cookies are chocolate chip with macadamia nuts. They’re rather good, even if I did make them.”

Since Eva worked at Daisy’s Donut Shop in town and was considered one of the best cooks around, Josselyn had no doubt the cookies were scrumptious. “Please don’t tempt me, Eva. A person can’t eat just one of your desserts. And I stuffed myself at the school picnic today.”

“Well, if you’d like coffee just help yourself,” Eva offered.

“Actually, I thought I’d check in on Mikayla,” Josselyn said. “Is she in her room?”

“I think so. And I’m sure she’ll be glad to see you. With little Hazel still in NICU, she can’t help but be a bit mopey.”

Josselyn gave Eva an understanding nod. “Having a premature baby can’t be easy. I’ll take her some coffee and see if I can cheer her up a bit.”

Picking up the tray, Eva shot her a grateful smile as she started out of the kitchen. “I knew the first moment I met you that you were going to be a perfect boarder here at Sunshine Farm.”

Josselyn laughed lightly. “How could you have known that?”

“Something about the kind twinkle in your eyes,” she tossed over her shoulder.

With Eva gone, Josselyn helped herself to the coffee. Once she’d placed two mugs on a tray, she decided to add a couple of cookies, just in case Mikayla might be hungry for a treat.

Carefully, she carried the lot upstairs and knocked on the door to Mikayla Brown’s room. After a moment, the door swung open and Josselyn gave the other woman a cheerful smile.

“Room service,” she announced. “Coffee and cookies. Want some company?”

With a lopsided smile, the pretty brunette gestured for Josselyn to enter the room. “You’re too sweet. How did you guess I needed a pick-me-up?”

Josselyn put on her cheeriest smile and hoped it would rub off on her friend. “I didn’t. I’m really just being selfish. I needed a little company.”

She carried the tray over to the far wall of the room, where a rocking chair and a stuffed armchair sat at an angle to each other in front of a tall-paned window. Situated between the chairs, a low wooden table held a small old-fashioned lamp with a glass globe.

Josselyn placed the tray next to the lamp. When she straightened, Mikayla was there to give her a brief hug.

“Thank you for coming,” she said, her voice cracking slightly. “I only got home from the hospital an hour ago and I’m already wishing I was back there. I need something to take my mind off Hazel.”

“Then we both needed company,” Josselyn said. “Which chair do you want?”

“I’ll take the armchair,” Mikayla told her. “Being in the rocker makes my arms ache to hold my baby. I’ve decided I’m not going to sit in it until she comes home from the hospital.”

Josselyn eased into the wooden rocking chair with a red cushion tied to the seat. “I understand why you want to stay at the hospital to be near your baby, but you do need to rest, Mikayla. You need to recuperate, too, so you’ll be feeling your best whenever Hazel does get to come home.”

“That’s what the nurses keep telling me. That I need to give my body a chance to bounce back from giving birth. But it’s very hard to leave my daughter. Even long enough to get a night’s sleep.”

Josselyn could hear the desperate longing in Mikayla’s voice, and though she didn’t yet know what it was like to have a child of her own, she could very well imagine how torn her friend was feeling.

“Do you have any idea when Hazel might be released from the hospital?” Josselyn asked.

Taking a seat in the armchair, Mikayla took one of the mugs and a cookie from the tray. “Thank God, she’s doing really well. Her doctor says she might get to come home at the beginning of next week. I’m afraid if I start counting the days I’ll jinx things. But I’m so excited.”

Mikayla had come to Sunshine Farm seven months pregnant and single, after she’d discovered the father of her child having sex with his paralegal right in his office. However, since then, Mikayla’s life had taken several drastic turns. Only last month, she’d met wealthy businessman Jensen Jones and the two had fallen in love. Then unexpectedly she’d gone into premature labor.

Josselyn picked up the remaining coffee mug and took a cautious sip. “That’s wonderful news, Mikayla. And it sounds like we’ll be hearing wedding bells pretty soon, too.”

Mikayla sighed. “As soon as we can have Hazel safely with us at the ceremony. Jensen and I are waiting to see how things go with the baby before we set a definite date for our wedding. But we’re hoping we don’t have to wait too long. For now, he’s searching high and low for the perfect house for the three of us to move into.” Her smile full of love, she added, “Jensen wants me and our baby to have the best.”

“Of course he does. And I’m so happy for you, Mikayla. You and Jensen and little Hazel are going to have a wonderful life together. And you certainly deserve it.”

“Well, things were going pretty awful there for a while,” she admitted, then, smiling wistfully, she glanced toward the lace-covered window. “But coming here to Sunshine Farm has changed all that. I’m beginning to see why folks are starting to call it the Lonelyhearts Ranch. Something about people finding love in Rust Creek Falls has spilled over onto this place.” She slanted Josselyn a sly glance. “So are you going to be next on the wedding planner’s list?”

Josselyn laughed. “Really, Mikayla. You know I haven’t even been on a date since I moved here. Well, maybe one if you count the lunch I had with the sixth-grade history teacher.”

“By the way, you never mentioned how things went that day.”

Josselyn shook her head. “I wish I could say the guy made my heart flutter. Instead, I struggled to keep from yawning. Raymond is nice enough, but he’s about as dull as the paint on my little car. And that’s pretty dull.”

Mikayla chuckled. “Never fear. You’re working in Rust Creek Falls now—where love is in the air, or the water, or something. I’m positive that you’re going to meet a handsome guy that will sweep you off your feet before you ever realize what’s happening.”

Josselyn sipped her coffee while the image of Drew Strickland paraded through her mind. “I’m not really hunting for a man to love, Mikayla. If it happens, that would be nice. But I’m not sitting around pining over the fact that I’m twenty-five and still single.” She looked thoughtfully over at her friend. “Actually, I did meet a really cute guy today. At the school picnic.”

Her interest piqued, Mikayla leaned forward in the chair. “Oh, now this is the kind of news I want to hear. Tell me. Is he someone new in town?”

“That’s the impression I got. He said he was here on a temporary basis. I haven’t seen him around Rust Creek Falls before today. And believe me, Mikayla, he’s the type that a woman doesn’t forget. But I was thinking you might know something about the man.”

Mikayla’s brown eyes widened. “Me? How would I know? I’ve not exactly been a social butterfly since I moved here.”

“He’s an obstetrician,” Josselyn explained. “Dr. Drew Strickland. I thought you might have seen him around the clinic.”

A clever smile suddenly spread across Mikayla’s face. “I’ve seen Dr. Strickland more than you can imagine. He was the doctor who attended me that night I went into premature labor.”

The information shouldn’t have surprised her. Rust Creek Falls was a small place. It wasn’t like there was an abundance of obstetricians around. “You mean he delivered baby Hazel?”

Mikayla nodded. “I have to admit he’s a terrific doctor. Very caring, serious and thorough. Although, his bedside manner could be a bit better.”

“Grumpy, huh?”

“No. Actually, he was very kind. It’s just that he keeps his conversations to the minimum and as best as I remember, he never cracked a smile. But to be fair, he wasn’t exactly dealing with an easy situation when he delivered Hazel.”

Somehow Mikayla’s observation about the man didn’t surprise Josselyn. Drew Strickland had seemed only too eager to let his son do all the talking. Until the boy had started chattering about finding his dad a wife. Then the man had seemed to be totally embarrassed and even a bit angry. Why he’d reacted in such a way Josselyn could only guess.

“No,” Josselyn agreed. “I don’t suppose either of you had reason to smile during that stressful situation.”

“So what was Dr. Strickland doing at the back-to-school picnic?” Mikayla asked. “Or did you actually talk to the man?”

“We talked. Briefly. After his son walked up and introduced himself and his father.”

It was Mikayla’s turn to look surprised. “The doctor has a son?”

Josselyn nodded. “He’s seven and in the second grade. And cute as a button, I might add.”

“Eva told me a little about his family,” Mikayla replied. “But she didn’t mention a son. And I haven’t heard anyone around the clinic mention Dr. Strickland having a child.”

“Hmm. That’s odd. You would think one of the nurses would have said something,” Josselyn mused aloud. “Do you know anything else about the man? I keep wondering about the boy’s mother. She wasn’t with them.”

Mikayla broke off a piece of cookie and popped it into her mouth. Once she’d chewed and swallowed, she said, “Could be the woman was at the picnic—talking to someone else at the time.”

Josselyn shook her head. “That’s possible. Except that Dillon let it slip that he’s trying to find his dad a wife.”

“Awww. Poor little tyke. He must be wanting a mother something fierce.”

Just thinking about the eager way little Dillon had been gazing up at Josselyn sent a pang right through her heart. There had been a real look of longing on the child’s face. One that she hadn’t understood completely until this moment.

“I think you must be right, Mikayla. Maybe...maybe he doesn’t have a mother at all.”

“Sounds to me like the good doctor is either divorced or widowed.”

Widowed. Drew had looked to be in his thirties. At that age, she’d not considered the possibility that he might have lost his wife. But that could definitely explain the lost look she’d noticed in his eyes.

“If you’re wondering about Dr. Strickland’s marital status then you must be interested in the man,” Mikayla remarked.

Clutching her mug with both hands, Josselyn stared into the brown liquid while a blush crept into her cheeks.

“I guess you could say I’m a little interested,” she admitted with a sheepish grin. “After all, the guy is definitely dreamy looking. His son is such a sweet boy—he must be a good dad. Wouldn’t you think?”

“I’ve heard nothing but raves about his services as a physician, but as for his private life, I wouldn’t know. Maybe you should find that out for yourself,” Mikayla suggested impishly.

Josselyn sighed. “I doubt I’ll ever run into Dr. Strickland again. Besides, it was obvious he wasn’t the least bit interested in me.”

“Hmm. How could you tell?”

Josselyn let out a cynical grunt. “As soon as his son mentioned the word wife, he couldn’t get away from me fast enough. And since I never spotted the two of them again, I assume Dr. Strickland must have left the park and taken his son home.”

“I wouldn’t take his sudden disappearance personally,” Mikayla told her. “The man was probably embarrassed that his son said such a thing to you.”

“Now that you mention it, his face did turn a little red,” Josselyn murmured.

“Well, just in case you might actually be interested, I do know that he lives at Strickland’s Boarding House. Old Gene and Melba are his grandparents.”

“Oh. I hadn’t made the connection to the boardinghouse,” Josselyn said. “Do you know if he has any other relatives around Rust Creek Falls?”

“Three cousins, all of them sisters. Claire, Tessa and Hadley. Claire is married to Levi Wyatt and I believe they have a little girl, Bekka. She goes to the day care here in town. Claire cooks for the boardinghouse. Tessa is a graphic designer. She’s married to Carson Drake and they have twins. Hadley is a veterinarian who’s married to Eli Dalton. As far as I know they don’t have any children yet.”

“Hmm. I wonder about his parents or if he has siblings.” She felt her cheeks growing even hotter as Mikayla continued to study her closely. “Forget I said that. Something is wrong with me tonight, Mikayla. I’m saying and thinking things that are completely off the wall. Maybe I need something to eat to get my brain back on track.”

Laughing softly, Mikayla gestured to the other cookie still lying on the tray. “A little sugar should make you forget all about the sexy doctor.”

Josselyn reached for the cookie, but as she bit into the scrumptious treat, she had an uneasy feeling that it was going to be a long time before she managed to push Drew Strickland and his son out of her mind.

Chapter Three

Early Monday morning while he waited for Dillon to dress for school, Drew sat at the kitchen table in the boardinghouse, eating the last of his breakfast of toast, bacon and dark black coffee.

Most of the other boarders chose to take their meals in the dining room of the old four-story house, but Drew liked his privacy. Gossiping back and forth across the table wasn’t his thing. And to make matters even more uncomfortable, as soon as the tenants had learned he was a doctor, he was constantly approached for free medical advice.

Dillon, on the other hand, relished sitting around the big dining table and listening in on the conversations. It was no wonder the boy was seven years old going on fifteen, Drew thought wryly. And he could only imagine what Josselyn Weaver had thought when Dillon had blurted out that bit about finding his dad a wife. A full day had passed since the picnic, but the memory of the incident still left Drew smarting.

That afternoon, throughout the short walk from the park back to the boardinghouse, Drew had tried to lecture his son on the right and wrong things to say to a lady. And though Dillon had attempted to show a little remorse at his behavior, it was obvious to Drew that his son wasn’t a bit sorry for all his bold talk.

“Do I hear a sigh over there? Is something wrong with your breakfast?”

Drew glanced over at his cousin Claire, who was busy flipping pancakes on an industrial-sized grill.

“No. Everything tastes great, as usual. Thanks, Claire.”

“Well, you sound like something is wrong. Work getting you down?”

“I love my work. I’m even busier than I thought I would be here in this little town.”

The pretty brunette slipped the browned pancakes onto a warmed plate. “Guess Rust Creek Falls does feel tiny to you after living in Thunder Canyon,” she commented. “You must be missing your parents and your brothers.”

Drew had to admit he’d missed his parents an awful lot when he’d first arrived here in Rust Creek Falls. He hadn’t realized just how much he’d depended on them to keep Dillon corralled until he’d been forced to take on the job by himself. As for his brothers, all four were younger than Drew. Billy and LJ were both ranchers like their father, while Benjamin was a doctor. Trey managed the horse stables at Thunder Canyon Resort. All of them worked long hours, which made it difficult for the brothers to spend much time together.

“I do miss my family,” Drew replied. “To tell you the truth, Claire, I didn’t think I was going to like living in Rust Creek Falls. But the town and the people have grown on me.”

“That’s good. From what I see, Dillon has fallen in love with the place. You might have a hard time getting him to move back to Thunder Canyon.”

“I suppose I should be happy that Dillon’s gotten so close to his great-grandfather. At least he’s not sitting around crying to go home.”

Claire walked over to where he was sitting and looked down at him. “I hear something else in your voice, Drew. Do you resent the fact that Dillon has grown so close to Old Gene?”

Tossing his napkin onto his empty plate, he picked up his coffee cup. “No. I might be a little envious, but I don’t resent it. I suppose what you’re hearing in my voice is a father wondering if he’s raising his son right.”

An understanding smile on her face, Claire walked back over to the stove. “There isn’t a parent alive who doesn’t have doubts about being a good mom or dad. Where Bekka is concerned, I question myself every day.”

That was just normal parenting, Drew thought ruefully. Claire had always been a full-time, hands-on mother. Whereas he’d basically turned his twelve-month-old son over to his parents and asked them to care for the baby. At the time, he’d felt it was the only thing for him to do. Losing Evelyn had jerked the ground from beneath his feet. He could barely function or take care of himself, much less a baby who needed endless attention. Not to mention that every time he’d looked at Dillon’s little face, he’d been consumed with loss and self-blame over his wife’s senseless death.

“You don’t understand, Claire. When Evelyn died—well, I was a pretty worthless human being.”

She frowned at him. “That’s an awful thing to say about yourself, Drew. You were in shock. Anybody in your shoes would’ve been. Evelyn’s car accident was something that rarely happens. A tree toppling onto her car as she drove little Dillon to day care—it was freakish. Nothing about it made sense. I’m sure it will never make sense to you.”

Drew bit back a sigh. He didn’t like talking about Evelyn’s accident. Didn’t like remembering that it had been his turn to drive Dillon to day care that morning. Instead, Evelyn had offered to do it for him and as a result she’d lost her life. It was a fact that would always haunt him and, though six long years had passed, Drew was still living the nightmare.

“No. It doesn’t make sense,” he agreed. “To be honest, I’m still damned angry about the senselessness of it all. And I’m angry at myself for not realizing that those early years of my son’s life were the very time I needed to form a bond with him. Not now—six years later.”

Claire cast him a gentle glance. “You’re a good father, Drew. You just don’t realize it yet.”

He rose and carried his dirty plate and cup over to a big double sink.

“Something I do realize, Claire, is that you’re a good cousin,” he told her, doing his best to give her a smile. “Now I’d better get upstairs to see what’s keeping Dillon. Don’t let Grandma work you too hard today.”