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 of the close-knit community, and the more he craved that sense of belonging again.
The town had come together and had made impressive headway with respect to the repairs that were needed. It never ceased to amaze him how people managed to overcome their differences and work together in times of crisis. In fact, Collin and Nate had worked side by side on the Recovery Committee with Sheriff Gage Christensen—Willa’s brother—and Thelma McGee.
Sutter had pitched in wherever help was needed and, as a result, had occasionally crossed paths with Paige. Each time he saw her, he was reminded of what they’d once had—and what he’d lost. And almost every night since his return, he dreamed of her when he went to sleep.
That was just one more reason that he was looking forward to going back to Seattle—so he could sleep through the night without dreams of a sexy, dark-eyed brunette disturbing his slumber. Not that the distance had helped him forget about Paige completely, but it had forced him to accept that she’d chosen a life without him. And he knew the best thing for him now was to get back to that life without her. Except that he’d made his brother a promise, and that meant that Sutter was going to be in Rust Creek Falls until the last ballot was counted.
His faith in his brother had not wavered once since Collin had announced his candidacy. If anything, the more he learned about his brother’s plans and ideas for the town, the more convinced he was that Collin was the right man to lead Rust Creek Falls through this crisis and toward a better, stronger future. Unfortunately, instead of promoting his own ideas, Nathan Crawford was more interested in slinging mud at the Traubs.
For some reason that Sutter couldn’t even pretend to understand, the Traubs and the Crawfords had been at odds for generations. According to the widely circulated rumors around town, the feud had originated with a business partnership gone wrong. Of course, that was only one version of the story and, depending on the telling, even it had several variations and discrepancies as to which party had done the wrong.
In any event, the animosity that existed between the families since before Sutter could remember had come to a head a few years earlier when Collin and Nate had gotten into a fight over accusations that Nate’s girlfriend was stepping out with his nemesis. Collin’s announcement that he would run against Nate in the election had further exacerbated the tensions.
“Where did you disappear to?” Collin demanded when Sutter finally got back to town hall.
The majority of the crowd had dispersed, leaving only a handful of people in the building: volunteers stacking up chairs and sweeping the floors, Willa in conversation with a young couple who were just as likely to be talking to her about their daughter who was in her kindergarten class as an issue regarding Collin’s campaign.
“I needed some air,” Sutter told his brother.
“You didn’t follow Paige?”
He scowled. “I’m not a stalker, but yes, I did talk to her. I wanted to thank her for the things she said.”
“Her words did interject rationale and reason into an uncomfortable situation—at least for the moment.”
“She promised that you have her vote,” Sutter told him.
“I’m grateful for that,” Collin said. “But I’m more concerned about you.”
“You’ve got my vote, too.”
His brother cuffed the side of Sutter’s head. “I meant that I’m concerned about you and Paige.”
“There
