Resolved to Make Her Mine

  Resolved to Make Her Mine

  Love Demands a Holiday

  McKenna Rogue

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Dear Reader

  Holidays with the Romance Chicks

  Also by McKenna Rogue

  1

  Sean

  I’d avoided coming home to Jubilee Falls for ten years.

  At first, it was about practicality—School, joining a band, and getting my first tattoos all seemed like good reasons to skip out on family holidays or summer vacations back in Nebraska. Besides, L.A. had sun, sand, band practices, and good surfing days to keep me busy.

  It grew easier to fly family out to see me. With shows all the time, and then getting locked into a tour schedule and studio time, I hardly had time to breathe, let alone spend hours on a plane, not working.

  No matter how many concerts I performed, or how many songs I sang, they all came back to her.

  Maisie Turner. My high school sweetheart. The woman I thought I’d share the spotlight with, who I thought would be by my side through thick and thin.

  The woman I couldn’t get out of my head, no matter how many others I fucked, or how long I went without talking to her.

  But she wasn’t why I was back in Jubilee either. I didn’t even know if Maze was still around, or if she’d followed her own dreams, gotten the hell out of town. It didn’t stop me from thinking about her or wondering about her. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to run into her or not.

  Driving past town square felt surreal, like I was stepping back in time. It was decorated for Christmas, with a huge pine tree taking up space next to the gazebo, lit up like it was trying to recreate noon, even though it was dark out. Just like every year growing up. This town’s nutty holiday craze was insane but comforting in a weird way.

  As I parked in the garage at the Jubilee Falls Davenport Memorial Hospital, I tugged on a baseball cap, pulling it low over my eyes before I slipped on my sunglasses. They were a poor disguise, but between the frigid Nebraska air and the late hour, I doubted anyone would notice me. I didn’t want to be Sean Cavanaugh, rock star and front man to Heroes to the Moon.

  I just needed to see my grandfather at least once more, before the cancer took him. Guilt ate at me and I was looking forward to drowning it with the hotel minibar.

  And, if my bandmates were to be believed, I needed to get my head out of my ass and back into the music where it belonged. My grandfather’s declining health wasn’t the only thing fogging up my head.

  Grandpa was the one who first taught me how to play the guitar. He used to sing Frank Sinatra tunes, always out of key, mixing up the words, and humming bits he didn’t have even an inkling about.

  But he instilled in me the love of music, the power of song, and the strength that came from sharing your truth.

  Values that took me from the obscurity of playing dive bars, to sold out concerts in stadiums.

  I didn’t know what I’d do when he finally passed on.

  My parents were MIA, but my grandpa had always been there for me. He was the one person I could count on and the one person I knew would forgive me for being a douchebag.

  Sighing, I headed into the hospital and got onto an elevator. Mom had shared Grandpa’s room number with me, so I wouldn’t have to spend time talking to nurses or risk exposing myself.

  “Hey, why are you wearing sunglasses inside?”

  A curious young voice shook me out of the fog I’d been lost in, and I looked down to see that I wasn’t alone in the elevator. “Must’ve forgotten to take them off.” I pulled them from my face, not quite looking at the kid. I doubted he’d be able to recognize me, but I still didn’t want to risk it.

  “It’s nighttime.”

  I chuckled. “You got me, kid. What’s your name?”

  “Liam.” He looked up at me, tilting his head curiously.

  Why did he look familiar? He wasn’t old enough for me to remember from when I was here last. Let alone be recognizable.

  “Sean.” I smiled. “What are you in for?”

  “My mom is visiting with a friend.”

  “You bored?”

  He nodded, looking a little guilty. “They always talk about boring stuff.”

  I chuckled. “Adults can be pretty boring.” Lord knows adults bored me to death still.

  As the elevator chimed and I stepped out. “Go find your parents, kid. Hope they talk about something you like.”

  He followed me off the elevator. “Bye, Sean.”

  Shaking my head, I walked down the hall.

  I heard her voice before I even stepped into Grandpa’s room.

  Maisie.

  Liam ran past me, into the room, and for a second, I was sure I had the wrong room. I pulled out my phone and double-checked the number Mom sent against the one on the wall.

  Same room.

  The nurse’s station was right down the hall, so I headed over. “Can you tell me what room Liam Cavanaugh is in?”

  The brunette nurse typed on her computer for a moment, and then said, “Three-twelve. But visiting hours are almost over, you’re only going to get a quick hello in before I’m going to kick you out for the night.” She looked sympathetic, but stern.

  “I thought visiting hours weren’t a real thing.” I gave her a wink and a crooked smile that got me a lot of things I wasn’t supposed to have.

  She giggled. “We’re usually pretty lenient, but Mr. Cavanaugh is really sick, and he needs his rest.”

  I frowned. “Thank you for your help.”

  I headed back to the room, but it didn’t make any sense. Why was Maze in my grandfather’s room? And who was the kid, who had my Grandpa’s same first name?

  2

  Maisie

  I hated seeing Liam like this.

  I knew these visits made my Liam antsy, which was why I had let him go down to the elevator and ride up and down a few times. It was better than the incessant questions about why Liam was in the hospital and when would he get to leave.

  But I couldn’t let Sean’s grandfather die alone.

  Not when he was the one member of the Cavanaugh clan who helped me out when I got pregnant. The only one who hadn’t believed me when I claimed the baby wasn’t Sean’s. He’d been incredibly good to me and Liam over the years.

  “Mom, I met a cool guy in the elevator.” Liam hopped up on the foot of his great-grandfather’s bed, laying across the end and swinging his feet in the air. “But he was wearing sunglasses inside.”

  “Get off the bed, Liam.”

  Mr. Cavanaugh gave a weak chuckle. “I would if I could, Maisie.”

  These visits got a little confusing. But I named my son when I was nineteen. I hardly thought about moments when both Liams would be in the same place.

  “I know. But you’re not the one crushing someone’s feet.” I swatted at my son and made him move to a chair. “Visiting hours are almost over. We should get going.”

  “It’s always good to see you, Maisie. But I wish one of these days you’d bring a guy in with you. A woman like you should have a man in her life.”

  I rolled my eyes as I laughed. “Haven’t needed one since I was eighteen. And it’s just a matter of time before the littler Liam is old enough to be the man in my life.” I leaned over and gave him a gentle hug. “Take care of yourself, would ya?”

  “Hey, I’m doing my best here.” He grinned, but I could see the tired behind his eyes, and I could hear the weariness in his voice.

  “We’ll be by in a couple days. I’ve got appointments late tomorrow, but
I’ll make sure Margot sends over some contraband.”

  He chuckled. “You’re going to get me kicked out of here.”

  I kissed his cheek. “Anything to get you back on your feet, Liam.”

  His eyes drooped shut, and I gestured for my son to follow me.

  And on the way out the door, I ran right into the last person I’d ever expect to see in Jubilee Falls.

  Sean Cavanaugh.

  “Hey, Maze.” His lips curled up on one side, just enough to be tempting. That same smirk had gotten me in trouble more often than I cared to remember.

  “What are you doing here?” I gently nudged Liam behind me before I crossed my arms over my chest and scowled at him.

  “That’s the cool guy I met, Mom. His name’s Sean.” Liam’s excited voice made my stomach drop. Of course, he already thought Sean was cool.

  Sean was magnetic. It didn’t surprise me in the least that he’d made a name for himself in the music world. He’d always had a presence, a draw that made people adore him.

  But I wasn’t falling for it, not again. And I wasn’t going to let my son get sucked in either.

  “You look good, Maze.” Sean’s voice drew my gaze back to him.

  He’d aged, but his face hardly showed it. He still had that devil-may-care look in his eyes, that same tempting smirk, that same dark, almost black hair that I’d run my fingers through a million times. He looked damn good. Not that I was about to tell him that.

  “I asked you a question.”

  “He’s my grandfather. I could ask you the same thing.” Sean’s arms crossed over his chest, revealing tattooed forearms under the rolled sleeves of his button-up.

  The artist in me wanted to inspect his ink, to study who he’d dare to let tattoo him, to weigh whether they were worthy artists.

  The woman in me just wanted to run my fingers over his strong forearms.

  And the ex-girlfriend wanted to grab Liam and make a beeline for the exit.

  Sean sighed and dropped his hands back to his sides. “I need to get in to say hello to Grandpa before the nurses chase me off for the night. But I don’t want this to be the last time I see you. Can I call you?”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Sean. I’m not the girl you drove away from anymore.” I grabbed Liam’s hand and tugged him toward the elevators. “It’s good you came home, Sean. Your grandfather needs you.”

  Just before we got to the elevators, Liam called down the hall, “She works at Inked Goddess on Tenth! She’s there all day tomorrow!”

  3

  Sean

  Damn, Maisie looked incredible. She’d grown into her curves, filling out that tight sweater dress she wore like it was designed just for her.

  And between the bright, bubblegum pink hair, and the glimpse of tattoos, it looked like she was just as much of a free spirit as she’d been in high school.

  I didn’t know what Inked Goddess was, but I knew one thing for sure. I was making a stop tomorrow.

  “Sean, I didn’t think you were going to make it.”

  Grandpa looked weak and frail, a complete one-eighty from the man I’d grown up knowing. It rocked me to my core to see this giant of a man resigned to a bed while a disease chewed him up from the inside out.

  “The concert schedule’s taking a break for the holidays. I thought I’d come home and see all the old town traditions.” I took the chair next to the bed, the chair I imagined Maze had just been sitting in. “How are you feeling?”

  “Old. You didn’t have to come all this way,” he growled.

  I’d flown him out to see me a couple of times, but then he started to refuse to come. I think he was disappointed in me, but I didn’t know why. The man was my hero, the person in my life who believe in me. And to see him look so small was unsettling.

  “I think I did. I should’ve come here sooner.” I put my hand over his.

  He gave me a curt nod and squeezed my hand.

  We chatted for a few minutes, but I could tell that he was tired. Had he just grown tired during his visit with Maisie and Liam? Or was it just his constant state?

  As I left, I made promises to come by the next day, and every day I could while I was home.

  I just hoped he’d stick around. I wanted him to kick cancer’s ass, but I knew the realism of it all.

  Before I went to bed, needing a distraction, I looked up the tattoo shop on Tenth called Inked Goddess, scrolling through Maze’s digital portfolio like it held the secrets to her life since I’d left.

  She’d always been an incredible artist and seeing her work on skin just made sense. It made me want her ink on my own body.

  I could just imagine it. Spending hours with Maze, her hands on my body, her lips murmuring stories and conversation as she worked over sensitive spots, having a piece of her to wear for the rest of my life.

  Closing out of the app on my phone, I flopped back against my pillows and stared at the ceiling.

  I didn’t know how I’d managed to stay away from Maisie this long. Ten years seemed like an eternity, considering how badly I’d wanted to run after her, how much I wanted to find her even now. Two minutes with her, and I felt like a man who’d grown accustomed to starving getting a snack for the first time in years.

  But it wasn’t just her. Liam, the kid from the elevator, called her Mom.

  That probably meant she had a husband, or a long-time boyfriend. If I had a kid with Maze, wild horses couldn’t have dragged me away from her.

  And if she was alone, I wasn’t sure anything could keep me from her now.

  The next morning, I woke with Maze on my mind.

  It wasn’t the first time I’d dreamed about her, or missed having her in my arms, in my bed. But it was the first time in a long time that I felt like I could do something about it.

  I just had to make it to noon without alerting anyone to my presence in Jubilee Falls.

  Donning my baseball cap and sunglasses again, I headed out in search of coffee and breakfast.

  It amazed me how much everything had changed, but still somehow looked the same. The curse of a small town, no doubt.

  Main Street was decorated for Christmas, just like the town square was. Strings of twinkle lights, wreaths, and garland seemed to be everywhere.

  “Hey, Sean!” A voice drew my attention, and for half a second, I thought I’d been recognized.

  But it was Liam.

  “Hey, kid.” I grinned and waved. “Are you following me?”

  He giggled. “I live here.” He pointed at the apartment building with a grin. “Mom lets me get breakfast sometimes.”

  He was bundled up, from neck to toes, and looked thrilled to be on his own.

  Maybe it had been too long since I’d lived in a small town, but I wanted to scream at Maze. Sure, it was just Jubilee Falls, but a kid shouldn’t be outside alone. Bad things happened everywhere, even Jubilee.

  “Why don’t I come along and help?”

  “I don’t need help.” He pointed at Cherry Blossoms Bakery, just a couple shops away.

  “How about you help me? I need to know what the best things are.” I didn’t want to leave Liam alone, even if it wasn’t far.

  He looked back at the apartment building before he nodded. “Okay.”

  As we walked the short distance to the bakery, I wanted to ask Liam all sorts of questions. I was dying to know who his father was, what Maze had been up to since I left town, how her life had turned out.

  But I couldn’t prod too deeply, not with the kid. I needed to talk to Maisie.

  Liam pulled open the door to the bakery and held it open for me, smiling as he chattered about the kinds of pastries he was going to get.

  The scents of fresh baked breads and sweets filled the air of the small space, and even though the bakery wasn’t very busy, it felt too crowded.

  It made me want to put my collar up and hide as much of my face as I could. Maybe I was an egomaniac. Even if someone did recognize me, would they even care? Everything
had been different here and it wasn’t like we didn’t have our own billionaires who lived on a giant estate and owned half the town.

  “Okay, what kind of stuff do you like? Mom always wants a pecan roll, because Cherry makes them as big as her face. And you gotta try the chocolate frosted donuts. Or the cookies and cream ones!” He pointed at several things in the case, his eyes wide, like he couldn’t decide which of the sweets he wanted.

  “Well, hello, Liam! What can I get for you today?” The curvy brunette behind the counter smiled as she popped open a pink bakery box with cherry blossoms covering it.

  “I’m getting the kid’s order today.” I smiled and pulled out my wallet. “What do you say, Liam? Should we just get a dozen?”

  His eyes grew wider. “Mom would never let me get that many.”

  “Okay, well, let’s start with what Mom says is okay, and then I’ll add stuff for me.”

  He pursed his lips, like he was trying to decide what my angle was, but then he turned to the woman behind the counter. “Ms. Cherry, can I get a pecan roll, a cherry Danish, a chocolate frosted, and a jelly donut? Oh, and a large coffee and a milk.”

  “With sprinkles or without?” She started piling pastries into the box.

  “Sprinkles. The red and green ones.”

  “Can I add a cookies and cream donut, a glazed, and six more of your choice? And make that two coffees.”

  Cherry looked at me carefully, and then at Liam, before she grabbed a second box and put my order in it. “Liam, honey, does your mom know this guy?”

  He nodded earnestly. “He’s Sean. He was at the hospital last night, when we were checking on Mr. Cavanaugh.”

  “Sean…” Cherry looked at me a little closer. “Right.” A slight pink crept into her cheeks, but she didn’t say anything more about it. “Do you take cream or sugar in your coffee?”