Mommy and the Maverick

Good book. Autry is the third of the Jones brothers to come to Rust Creek Falls. His brothers Hudson (The Maverick’s Holiday Surprise) and Walker (Maverick vs. Maverick) have already left the big city for life in small-town Montana, motivated by the love they found there. Autry is the jet-setting brother, who travels the world carrying out the family business. He’s come to Montana for a couple of reasons. One, he has some vacation time and wants to use it to spend some time with his brothers. They haven’t been close and he has come to regret that and would like to change it. Two, his father has charged him with getting Walker and Hudson back to Tulsa “where they belong.”

It was interesting to see Autry’s first impressions of Rust Creek Falls. He doesn’t understand the appeal of the town, or what kind of hold it has on his brothers, but he’s determined to find out. He’s especially confused about their involvement in the daycare business. He’s a little freaked out when he arrives at the daycare to meet his brother, as he has cut the possibility of kids out of his life. After a bad breakup with a woman who had a child, one that he had come to love, Autry has decided that there will be no more single moms in his dating future. Having missed his brother at the daycare, he arrives at the Ace in the Hole just in time for the premiere of the reality show The Great Roundup, where his attention is grabbed by Marissa Fuller.

Marissa is a widow with three daughters, who moved in with her parents after her husband’s death. Her girls are the center of her life. She is very independent and is sometimes frustrated by having to rely on her parents. She also has to deal with her nine-year-old daughter’s frequent attempts to find her a boyfriend. The latest choice is the good-looking man who just entered the bar with Hudson and Walker Jones.

It was fun to see the immediate attraction between Marissa and Autry. She’s embarrassed to be caught staring, while Autry is definitely intrigued. He has the idea that getting to know her would be a pleasant way to spend the next three weeks before he has to leave for Paris. He gets quite the shock the next day when he runs into her at the grocery store. Once he finds out she’s the mother of three, his head tells him to back away slowly and leave. Instead, he finds himself accepting the little girl’s invitation to their picnic. I loved seeing him with little Kaylee, where he shows himself to be a much nicer guy than I had expected. Autry’s head continues to tell him to make the encounter short and quick, but he can’t make himself walk away.

I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Autry and Marissa. Both of them admit to the attraction that has flared between them, but each is aware of the pitfalls of getting involved. Autry does not want to risk getting his heart smashed again by getting attached to the family. Marissa knows it would be all too easy to fall for Autry, then be brokenhearted when he left. But because they enjoy each other’s company, they agree to be friends. I loved seeing how easily Autry fit into Marissa’s life. He was fantastic with the girls. The way he jumped in to help Abby when she wanted to be in the kids’ version of The Great Roundup was awesome, as were all his other sweet and thoughtful actions. Marissa loved having Autry around and seeing the happiness he brought to her daughters. But she also worried about what would happen if they got too attached and then had to see him walk out of their lives. She realizes that it’s too late to protect her own heart when she gives in to the attraction between them. I ached for both of them because they knew what they wanted but couldn’t figure out how to make it happen. I loved the bit of advice that Autry got from Travis and the effect it had on him. I liked Autry’s big moment at the end and wasn’t at all surprised by the solution he came up with. The epilogue was sweet.