He nodded.

“Of course you will,” she said. “Now, do you have a handshake or hug for Luke’s mother?”

He just stood there, uncertain. Maureen wrapped her arms around him, pulled him close and rocked him. “Ah, yes. So wonderful of you to help Luke. So wonderful to meet you.”

When she released him, he said, “My mother’s gone now.”

“Is she dead, Art?” Maureen asked gently. And he nodded. “Then I’m so sorry. And you must need a mother’s hug even more.” She grinned. “Let’s have another.” And he freed up his arms to hug her back.

Luke found himself smiling in spite of the fact that he was trying to remain insulted by the whole invasion.

The one thing that would make any man—at least a normal man—happy, was tougher than a two-dollar steak for Luke to swallow. Maureen won them over. Not just Shelby, not just Shelby’s family, the entire town. To be fair, Maureen hadn’t met every resident of Virgin River, but she’d met the crowd Luke considered to be his new friends. And she not only impressed them, she made Luke look good.

They started out with dinner at Jack’s the first night she was in town and of course Shelby was there when they came in, so the introductions began early. Of course, why wouldn’t Shelby be there? She had nothing better to do; she hadn’t been invited to Luke’s. Her face lit up in a way that made Luke feel guilty; Sean grabbed her and hugged her like they were old friends, then made the introductions himself because he was like that—out in front, the gregarious one. The general wandered in with the famous Muriel and they all stayed for the usual gang dinner with Mel and Jack, Brie and Mike. Maureen couldn’t be kept out of the kitchen, asking Preacher and Paige a lot of questions about the operation of the bar and while doing so, holding their new baby. Luke peeked into the kitchen to see what she was up to and got the hell out of there before she started harping on the fact that she had five healthy, handsome, successful sons and no grandchildren.

Maureen had a gift for getting to know people, for putting them at ease and showing her finest qualities. For example, she kept Art near her and was often seen holding his hand, something that showed her kindness, her tenderness. She made the general laugh, endeared herself to Mel and Brie, nurtured and courted Shelby, and she was best friends with Muriel in minutes. A covert glance at the general told Luke he was close to thrilled with Luke’s gene pool.

Dinner the next night was an intimate family meal with Art and Shelby included—the steaks that had been kept waiting. It was then that Luke learned more about Shelby’s life than he had made time to ask. Shelby’s cousin Vanni’s first husband, Matt, was a fighting marine who lost his life in Baghdad; Paul was his best friend and the best man at their wedding. After Matt was gone, it was Paul who was with her for the birth of their child and, after a lot of stumbling, finally confessed to Vanni that he’d loved her since the first moment he’d laid eyes on her—but Matt had gotten to her first. No self-respecting man invades his buddy’s territory. And now they were together, Paul parenting his best friend’s son. The romance of the story made Maureen sigh and fan at tears that gathered in her eyes.

Shelby shared other stories of the town—how Mel came to Virgin River after the violent death of her first husband, the saga of Brie and Mike, how Preacher found Paige and built a life and family he never expected to have. Maureen was enchanted by the history of Luke’s friends, history Luke hadn’t even known. Luke knew few of the details about the people who’d become his friends. Men don’t share stories in the same way women do.

Thanksgiving Day was a stellar success at the general’s house. Maureen met the rest of the family, there was a lot of laughter and the family stories that were shared were the safe kind, unlikely to ruffle any feathers. He was proud of his mother. She was a force of life, with her strong good looks, humor, compassion, energy. And there was not so much as a glimpse of her rigid side. It was obvious after getting to know her even a little bit that she was on the proper, straitlaced side, but she only judged her sons, no one else.

With a jolt, he realized—she gave him credibility. He’d been accepted well enough, but he remained a mystery to the Booth household, to the town. Known as a career soldier, single but interested in women, solitary, he presented himself as the kind of guy it wasn’t easy to get close to. Enter Maureen, and he becomes a beloved son, the kind of generous man who would take on Art, a safe man for Shelby, a normal guy from whom good things should be expected. The way he was regarded by the general and Paul took a slow but noticeable turn; they treated him like one of the family, like someone they could trust rather than someone to be suspicious of.

Any normal guy would be grateful. Relieved. But for Luke it presented complications. It was bad enough worrying about Shelby’s expectations, but he could keep that under control. He didn’t know what the hell he’d do with the expectations of her family, of an entire town who’d recently begun to see him as a trustworthy man with honorable intentions.

It left him quiet. Morose. And at the same time, very ready for Maureen and Sean to go, give him back his private life with Shelby, who he was aching to hold, to make love to.

And finally Sunday morning came. The bags were packed, Art had breakfast with them before heading down to the river to fish, and Sean was ready to take his mother to the airport. He’d drive her to Sacramento and put her on a plane to Phoenix, then he would make the trip back north to Beale AFB where he was stationed.

Luke took a mug of coffee out onto his porch. The sun was shining, but it had gotten cold. He had a morning fire blazing in the hearth. It wasn’t long before Maureen came outside, wearing her jacket, holding her own cup of coffee.

“All set?” Luke asked.

“Ready. Sean’s using your shower. He should be done in ten, fifteen minutes. I thought maybe you and I could have that time. We haven’t really talked.”

“We’ve been together for five days,” he said with a shrug. “Almost a record.” But he knew that wasn’t what she meant.

“It’s been a long time since Felicia, Luke,” she said gently. And she lifted her cup to her lips.

“Long time,” he agreed. “I’m over that.”

“She was the exception, not the rule,” Maureen said. “You shouldn’t assume relationships can’t work just because you were treated badly by one woman.”

Luke said nothing, but what he wanted to scream was Badly? Badly? I thought she was having my baby and I came back from a war to find out it wasn’t mine!

“Shelby is a wonderful young woman. You’re good together.”

“Mother…”

“It isn’t just her. Oh, it’s obvious she loves you. But it’s also you. The second she’s near you, all those tense lines in your face relax and you soften up. That grumpy, self-protective shield drops and you’re warm and affectionate. She’s good for you, she brings out your best, makes you fun. You have something special with her.”

“She’s twenty-five.”

Maureen shook her head. “I don’t think that’s relevant. It doesn’t seem to have anything to do with how you two communicate…”

“There are things you don’t understand about Shelby,” he said. “She’s not just young, she hasn’t had many relationships. She’s been taking care of her mother and hasn’t really looked at the world. In a lot of ways, she’s a child.”

“I know all about her mother, but she’s no child,” Maureen said. “It takes maturity and courage to do what she did. So she didn’t have a lot of relationships with young men, it doesn’t mean she lacks worldly experience. And your age doesn’t matter to her.”

“It will. I’m too old. I’m not going to stand still while she gets older. She’ll be thirty-five and I’ll be almost fifty. She’d find herself with an old man.”

“At fifty?” She laughed. “I liked fifty,” she said with a dismissive shrug. “Fifty was good. I was only twenty-three when I married your father and I never thought of him as too old for me. To the contrary, it made me feel better in so many ways, to be with a mature man, a man of experience who didn’t have doubts anymore. He was stable and solid. It brought me comfort. And he was awful good to me.”

Luke straightened his shoulders. “I’m not getting married. Shelby will move on, Mom. She wants a career. A young husband. She wants a family.”

“You know this?” Maureen asked.

“Of course I know that,” he said. “You think we haven’t talked? I didn’t lead her on. And she didn’t lead me on. She knows I don’t want a wife, don’t want children…”

Maureen was quiet for a long moment. Finally she said, “You did once.”

Luke let go a short laugh that was tinged with his inner rage. “I’m cured of that.”

“You have to think about this. The way you’ve managed your life since Felicia hasn’t exactly brought you peace. I suppose it’s normal when a man gets hurt to avoid anything risky for a while, but not for thirteen years, Luke. If the right person comes along, don’t assume it can’t work just because it didn’t work once, a long, long time ago. I know this young woman as well as I ever knew Felicia. Luke, Shelby is nothing like her. Nothing.”

Luke pursed his lips, looked away for a second and then took a slow sip of coffee. “Thank you, Mom. I’ll remember that.”

She stepped toward him. “It’s going to hurt just as much to let her go as it hurt you to be tossed away by Felicia. Remember that.”

“You know, I don’t think I’m the one guilty of assumptions here,” he said impatiently. “What makes you think all people want a tidy little marriage and children? Huh? I’ve been damn happy the past dozen years. I’ve been challenged and successful in my own way, I’ve had a good time, good friends, a few relationships…”

“You’ve been treading water,” she said. “You’re marking the years, not living them. There’s more to life, Luke. I hope you let yourself see—you’re in such a good place right now—you can have it all. You put in your army years and it left you with a pension while you’re still young. You’re healthy, smart, accomplished, and you have a good woman. She’s devoted to you. There’s no reason you have to be alone for the rest of your life. It’s not too late.”

He’d met her soft gaze while she talked but now he turned away from her instead of arguing. He didn’t see it that way; he thought it was too late. What he saw was a beautiful young woman agreeing to life with him, having a child or two, then waking up one morning to realize she hadn’t really lived yet. She’d have gone from her mother’s sickbed to Luke. She would still be young, beautiful, vibrant and sorry she hadn’t looked a little further, for someone with more to offer her. Maureen was wrong. If that happened, if Shelby gave him a few years and then came to her senses and walked away, it was going to hurt a lot more. A lot more.

She spoke quietly to his back. “Listen, I have no idea what possessed Felicia to do the things she did. She could have had everything with you—finding a man who knows what he wants and cherishes it every day, that’s not easy. But she was so foolish and shortsighted. On a stupid whim she gave it up. Maybe she thought she had logical reasons. She had a chance to have it all. But she walked away from a good man, a good life, a hopeful future.”

Luke turned around and there was anger in his eyes. “Stop it,” he said. “You don’t have to draw me any more pictures. I know Shelby is nothing like Felicia.”

“I wasn’t talking about Shelby,” Maureen said. “I was talking about you. In this case you’d be the one in love who, on a stupid, illogical whim, throws it away. Think, Luke. Don’t throw away the best chance at happiness you might ever get.”