Page 12 of The Maverick’s Forever Home (Montana Mavericks: Behind Closed Doors #2)

I t’s a playdate. Not a date-date . Maggie slid a hanger aside and held out the sleeve of the blue and gray sweater. It was comfy and warm, but it was stretched out and shapeless…

So what? She wasn’t dressing to impress anyone. So why was she spending so long trying to pick out her outfit? And why was her stomach inside out and upside down?

“Not that one, Ma. It’s old,” Cody said as he came running into her room. He hopped up onto the side of her bed. “Wear the green one.”

“Which green one?” She had several green sweaters. Her mother said the color made her eyes huge and bright and had gifted her with many green tops for birthdays or holidays.

“That green one—with the flowers.” He pointed.

“This one?” She pulled the dressier sweater from the closet. It was a mossy green with tiny pink and red flowers stitched around the collar and cuffs. It was not the sort of thing one would wear for hiking. “But it’s—”

“Nice.” Cody kept pointing at it. “And you look nice in it. I like it. You should wear it.”

“Okay.” This was the first time Cody had ever taken an interest in her attire.

If he really wanted her to wear it, she would.

“But I’ll be wearing my coat, too.” After being in a tropical climate last fall and winter, she was having a hard time with colder temperatures.

“You probably won’t even see what I’m wearing underneath. ”

“It’s not real cold out, Ma.” Cody shrugged. “Might not need a coat.”

“Maybe not.” She smiled at her son, pleasantly surprised by his attitude.

He seemed fine with today’s hike—even a bit eager.

She’d expected him to push back or argue.

And, in a way, she’d have understood if he had done either of those things.

He was nine, Delilah was five—and a girl.

Probably not Cody’s first choice of companions. “I really appreciate you going today.”

“It’s cool.” Cody shrugged again.

“You’re the cool one.” She winked at him, then pulled some jeans from her dresser and tossed them on the bed beside him. She was not going to agonize over which pair of jeans to wear—she wasn’t. Jeans were jeans and this was only a hike. And yet, the jitters in her stomach said otherwise.

No. Absolutely not. There would be no more jitters or flutters or nerves. None. She was a grown, practical woman who was not going to entertain such childish things. “I’m taking way too long to get ready,” she murmured.

“You gotta look good, Ma.” Cody slipped off the bed. “Uncle Mike put some snacks in your backpack.”

“That was thoughtful of Uncle Mike.” Of course, her brother was here.

“Yeah.” Cody ran to the door. “He told me I gotta be the chaperone on your date.” And with that, he pulled the bedroom door closed behind him.

Date? “Seriously, Mike?” She stared at the closed door.

What was wrong with him? Did he think he was being funny?

He wasn’t—not in the least. Mike knew that her and Cody’s relationship was strained—why add Braden to the mix and complicate things even more?

Maybe Cody wouldn’t want her dating anyone.

Had her brother stopped to think about that?

And yet… Cody hadn’t seemed mad about any of this. Not when he’d been opening his presents or when he’d heard about her phone call with Braden or just now, when he’d helped her pick out her clothes.

You gotta look good, Ma.

All the flutters and nerves in her stomach were replaced with dread. Maybe this wasn’t all Mike’s doing… Maybe Cody was already excited about her dating Braden Parker.

No. Oh, no. This was bad. She had no intention of dating. Not Braden—not anyone. The sooner she straightened this out, the better.

She dressed quickly, braided her hair and decided against the lipstick.

Lipstick was not required for a playdate.

And now, more than ever, she needed to affirm to one and all that this was just that: a playdate .

She shoved a tube of lip balm into her coat pocket, frowned at the curls already sliding free from her braid, grabbed her scarf and coat and headed out of her room and into the kitchen.

Finding her parents at the kitchen table was the first sign that something was up.

When she walked in, they smiled up at her as if the two of them frequently sat at the kitchen table on a Saturday morning.

But her parents never sat around. Her father was up with the sun doing one of the hundred or so things that needed doing on their small but working ranch.

When he came in, he’d eat dinner and fall asleep in his recliner by nine pretty much every night.

Her mother, too, was in constant motion. Maggie didn’t push her mother to retire from nursing because she understood that going and doing kept her mom happy.

“What’s going on?” She saw no point in beating around the bush.

Her father was a straight shooter. “We’re here because Cody said you were going on a date—”

“Larry,” her mother cut in, sighing in exasperation.

“What, Ellen?” Her father shrugged. “It’s true, isn’t it?”

Maggie held up both hands. “I need everyone to listen, please.” She made eye contact with her parents, then her brother. “This is not a date. I repeat, it is not a date. It is a playdate for Delilah and Cody—”

“I’m too old for a playdate, Ma. Or to hang out with a kindergartner.” Cody snorted.

Her son’s immediate dismissal compounded the dread.

Did Cody want this to be a date? That was why he’d been happy about the whole thing.

“But…but she’s new in town. Delilah could use a friend.

And you’re a good friend.” She swallowed.

“Just like I plan to be for Braden—a good friend .” The emphasis on the last word was not in the least bit subtle, and it wasn’t meant to be.

She didn’t want there to be any misunderstandings about today.

“Friends.” Cody blew out a breath, lifting his curls off his forehead. “Okay.”

Mike covered his mouth, but Maggie heard his muffled laughter all the same. She’d deal with him later.

“Are you ready?” She glanced at the kitchen clock. “We should probably get a move on.”

“Yep.” Cody grabbed his Carhartt jacket off one of the pegs by the back door. “Ready.”

“Here.” Mike handed her a backpack. “There’s water, granola bars, some trail mix and some apples.”

She took the backpack. “Thank you.” There was a definite snap to her words. But, really, she had every reason to be irritated.

Mike’s brows rose and he whispered, “You better work on controlling your face because, right now, you look a little too pissed off to be going on a playdate.”

“We are so going to talk when we get back,” she whispered. She grabbed her keys and purse. “See you later.”

“Watch out for bears.” Her father stood. “Heard someone say they’d seen tracks along the eastern trail yesterday. There’s bear spray in the truck glove box. An air horn, too.”

“Bears?” Cody was far too excited.

“Thanks, Dad. We’ll be careful.” Maggie held the back door open for Cody.

The entire drive to the park, Cody rattled off all sorts of interesting—and terrifying—bear facts. According to Cody, a male grizzly bear could reach up to seven hundred pounds, run up to thirty-five miles an hour and take down a moose.

“A moose? That’s impressive.” Maggie was beginning to question this morning’s choice of activities. But, hopefully, the bears would all be too busy bulking up for hibernation to pay much attention to them. She glanced in the rearview mirror. “We’ll keep an eye out.”

“Yep.” He nodded. “And bears have long claws so they can dig.” He was peering out the windows, as if a bear would walk along at any minute. “One time, Grampa showed me a scratch mark on a tree and it was bigger than Grampa’s head.”

“I bet Braden could chase off a bear. He’s real big.”

Maggie smiled at that. Braden was a big guy. But that didn’t mean he could chase off a bear. She hoped he’d never be in the situation where that was ever a possibility.

Braden had sent exact coordinates to the trailhead where they were meeting.

When Maggie pulled off onto a side road, she was pleased to see it was a parking lot of sorts—and that there were a couple of other vehicles parked there.

One thing she did know, bears didn’t like people any more than people liked bears.

She was unbuckling her seat belt when she saw little Delilah Parker hopping up and down and waving at their car.

“There’s Delilah.” Maggie waved back.

Maggie grinned as she grabbed the backpack from the passenger seat, then climbed out of her old SUV and felt her knees lock up the moment she saw Braden Parker walking her way.

Goodness gracious . She drew in an unsteady breath.

He was… He was one of the most manly men she’d ever laid eyes on.

His flannel shirt encased broad shoulders while his faded jeans hugged long, muscular legs.

And his face… She swallowed hard. The blue-and-black-plaid flannel shirt he was wearing made his eyes as blue as the sky overhead.

Get a grip, Maggie . He wasn’t the only handsome man she’d ever laid eyes on so why was she reacting this way? But he was the only man she’d dated since Cody was born. Definitely the only man who’d set off such sparks inside her.

Not that this was a date. It isn’t . She shook her head.

Like it or not, her stomach was knotted with anticipation and, yes, jittery, too. This would not do. She leaned against the hood of her SUV, waiting for the ground beneath her feet to steady.

“Maggie.” When Braden smiled, there was just the right number of wrinkles at the corner of his eyes to say he wasn’t stingy with his smiles.

Until now, she hadn’t considered smiling to be sexy. But Braden smiling was a whole lot of sexy. No, wait. Sexy? Words like sexy weren’t appropriate for this morning’s playdate. This is so, so bad . “Morning.” Her voice was high and brittle.

Braden’s blue eyes swept over her face before he turned to her son. “Cody. How’s your morning going so far?”