Chapter 5

"Tonight's the night."

Hazel rubbed her practiced hands over Tiny's udder. It was tight and engorged. The mare had also been running milk all day and had waxed up, the secretion on her teats another sign that she was foaling.

"You sure?" Maverick stood on the opposite side of Tiny in the large area of the barn they reserved for foaling. He was skimming her full abdomen. "She doesn't feel like she's dropped."

Hazel smoothed a hand across the mare's belly too, feeling the tautness and the slight movement of the unborn foal. "Usually I'm spot on."

"Not last time." Maverick's tone held a note of teasing.

"I've only been wrong twice this spring." She brought a comforting hand up to Tiny's chest, rubbing the mare affectionately. She was a mahogany bay Morgan but had been born more petite and delicate in appearance, earning her the name Tiny. "I have a pretty good record."

"I reckon it's all right."

She paused and straightened, glaring at Maverick over Tiny's withers.

He grinned back at her. He'd discarded his hat and coat, and now the last rays of the evening light coming in the high barn window glistened on his dark hair. Even messy from a full day of work, his hair was wavy and scattered over his head in a way that practically begged a woman to drag her fingers through it.

His eyes were equally enticing, the blue almost a violet color the same shade as the sky outside. And that grin? It was a killer just like always, making his handsome features come to life.

"Aw, c'mon now, Hazel." He drawled out his words, almost as if he were flirting with her. Almost. But she'd watched him flirt enough over the years to realize the difference between his teasing and flirting. For one, his grin was different. With her he always kept it friendly, without that devilish gleam. And for two, he never called her darlin' the way he did all the other women.

Just once, she wished he'd give her his devilish grin and call her darlin'. She was embarrassed to admit it, but she'd been filled with a strange, keen longing ever since earlier in the week, that first day she'd been back at work when he'd come out to the corral and told her the truth about Violet at the wedding.

She couldn't be sure, but she thought she'd caught him looking at her bosom. If he really had, he certainly hadn't done it for long. Even so, she'd felt a strange awareness of his presence ever since, as if somehow her body was attuned to his nearness and came more fully to life whenever he was around.

It was silly, really. He'd never looked at her as a woman, only as a sister, and he wouldn't start now. Not when everything was so tense between their families. Sterling had pressured her several more times during the week to stop working for the Oakleys. Even though Alonzo had continued to drive her over to High C Ranch every day, his glare was always in place as he pulled up in front of the horse barn.

Thankfully, Clarabelle and Clementine had welcomed her back to the ranch as easily as Maverick had, treating her with as much friendliness as always. And Mrs. Oakley was always welcoming. The dear woman had grown increasingly frail and rarely got out of bed anymore. She slept for long stretches, but whenever she was awake, she was as easy to talk to as ever.

The local doctor, Dr. Howell, hadn't been able to diagnose her ailment. The only conclusion he'd been able to draw was that she might have cancer.

Whatever the case, Hazel did her best to check in on Mrs. Oakley as often as possible. She'd always been like a second mother over the years, so sweet and kind and inviting. During the early years, she'd made the transition to the West more bearable, becoming like family to fill the empty spot created when they'd left all their family and friends behind.

Hazel had only been nine at the time her father had decided to move his law practice from Wisconsin to the West. Like many others, he'd been lured by the tales of gold. Since he'd always had a small farm, he'd wanted land in Summit County too.

At first they'd homesteaded the one hundred sixty acres allowed under the Homestead Act. But her father had eventually purchased much of the surrounding countryside, so that he'd become the largest cattle rancher in Summit County.

He'd also invested in several mining claims that hadn't netted him much in terms of gold. But just last year, silver and lead had been discovered in one of his mines, and now he'd turned his attention to the lucrative deposits, leaving the overseeing of the ranch to Sterling.

Maverick's brows rose. "You know you're the best at foaling in these parts. Ain't no one who can do it better than you."

She snorted and bent to finish her examination of Tiny. "You're just saying that because you know if I go home with Alonzo, you'll be stuck doing the foaling all by yourself."

Alonzo was still waiting outside the barn, and she didn't want to send him back to the ranch without her, not if Tiny wasn't really in labor. In the past, Maverick would have hitched a wagon and brought her home himself. But they both knew he couldn't do that tonight, maybe not ever again.

Yet if she stayed overnight and Tiny didn't go into labor, she'd risk angering Sterling all the more for lingering unnecessarily. And this week, and maybe for many weeks, they all were treading carefully around Sterling, trying not to do anything that might make him more upset.

"Maybe I should go." She tossed the words out halfheartedly.

"You know I can't come get you later. If I step foot on your ranch, Sterling's gonna shoot me full of lead—"

"He won't do that."

"I wouldn't put it past him."

"Deep in his heart he knows the truth..."

Maverick had stopped examining Tiny and was waiting for her to finish her thought, his broad shoulders and rugged muscular frame outlined in the evening light.

Her pulse gave a traitorous skip—one she wished she could control better. It was always hard to think straight with his blue eyes upon her, but she forced herself to ignore how good-looking he was just as she'd always done. "It'll take some time for Sterling to realize you're not to blame for Violet's rejection and to acknowledge that she wasn't ready."

"And what if he never realizes that?" Maverick's expression grew solemn, just as it did every time they talked about Sterling.

"He's smart. And someday he'll have to accept the truth."

"And what's that?"

"That Violet left him because she didn't love him and not because she loved you."

Maverick peered beyond her, clearly deep in thought.

She liked that about him, that he respected what she had to say, valued her opinion, and treated her like an equal even though she was a woman.

After several long seconds, his gaze flicked back to her. "You should stay. Send Alonzo home."

"Does that mean you agree I'm right about Tiny foaling tonight?"

"Fine. I'll cancel my trip to town."

Trip to town? Were the rumors true about him starting to court Winnie Sue Wheeler? She let her hand drift over Tiny's abdomen again. "If you want to go courting, don't let Tiny stop you."

"Courting?"

She moved toward Tiny's hind quarters and lifted the mare's tail. Sure enough, the mare gave little resistance, another sign the birthing was near.

"Who exactly am I courting this week?" Maverick's voice held a trace of humor.

She didn't find it funny and shot him a narrowed look. "A couple of the ranch hands were talking about you and Winnie Sue."

His brows rose. "What's wrong with Winnie Sue?"

She pressed her hands into her hips, not sure why his question needled her, but it did. "Are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Courting Winnie Sue?"

He opened his mouth to respond, then halted, his eyes lightening as he took in her expression. "You're jealous."

"What?" She could feel her cheeks flushing just like they had the other day when she'd been trying her best to ignore Maverick and he'd confronted her about it.

Why did he always have to be so direct? Why couldn't he be more subtle when he was teasing her?

"Of course I'm not jealous." She ducked lower, pretending to be busy with checking Tiny's thighs. "Why would I be?"

"Because you don't want me courting anyone."

This time she released what she hoped was a nonchalant snort. "I don't care who you court."

"Then why'd you bring it up?"

Why had she brought it up? If only she hadn't said anything.

"Admit it." His tone held a gloating note. "You want me all for yourself, darlin'."

She froze. He'd just called her darlin'. And no doubt if she glanced over at him, he'd be grinning one of his flirtatious grins.

Was Maverick Oakley, her longtime and forever girlhood infatuation, flirting with her?

Warmth spilled through her. She'd dreamed of such a day, when he'd no longer see her as a girl but would instead view her as a woman. Was that actually happening?

She hardly dared to breathe just in case she woke up and found that she'd only imagined their interaction.

She could feel Maverick watching her, waiting for her to banter back. But she wasn't an expert at flirting the way he was. In fact, she'd never gotten serious about any of the men who'd paid her attention, mainly because she'd always been too busy with her work.

Regardless, she had to say something, couldn't let awkward silence linger between them. "You're wrong." She tried to make her voice as nonchalant as his had been. "I don't want you all for myself, because I've got my eye on someone else."

The moment the fib slipped from her lips, she regretted it. What was she doing? She couldn't lie about being interested in another man. Not when the only one she'd ever liked was him.

Maverick straightened, and his easy grin faded. "Who?"

"Who?" Did he want her to name a name? A real person?

Maverick crossed his thick arms over his equally thick chest. "Yep. Who?"

Was he calling her bluff? She crossed her arms too and stared back.

His gaze dropped to her chest. Then it shot right back to her eyes. For a second, she glimpsed heat there—a heat that said he liked her body.

But just as quickly as the heat was there, he seemed to douse it with one blink. Before she knew it, his lips were curling up into a crooked grin.

Maybe she didn't need to be embarrassed after all. If he could so easily push aside his desire, then she'd do the same.

As two of the High C Ranch hands came in through the double doors on the far end of the barn, leading their mounts and teasing each other, she tried to remember their names. For a second she couldn't think of either, then when the taller of the two winked at her across the distance, she snapped her fingers. "Ross."

Maverick's gaze shifted to the newcomers, and his brow rose. "You're interested in Ross?"

From what she'd been able to tell from her infrequent interactions with the cowhand over the past year, he was a nice fellow—polite, respectful, and kind. He certainly couldn't compare to Maverick with his good looks. But there were qualities a whole lot more important than having a handsome face.

"I've had my eye on him." That wasn't entirely a lie because she had looked at him from time to time when he'd offered her a hand with the mares or foals.

Maverick watched Ross until he disappeared into a stall with his horse, then he turned his attention to Hazel, his forehead furrowed with obvious disbelief.

She needed to do more to convince Maverick. "Maybe you can give me some tips for how to get his attention."

"What kind of tips?"

"Oh, I don't know. Since you're the expert at flirting, maybe you can teach me everything you know."

Maverick's eyes widened. He opened his mouth as though he intended to respond, but nothing came out.

She leaned her head against Tiny to hide her smile. She'd rarely seen Maverick speechless. And she liked that she'd been the one to disarm him.

Maybe she'd have to find other ways to do so. If he taught her how to flirt, what would happen if she turned around and used his techniques on him?

Would she dare?

The very thought sent her heart into a dizzying spin. No, that would be entirely out of character for her, and he'd realize something was going on.

Yet, he'd called her darlin'. Surely that had to mean something. The only thing she could do was try to find out what.