Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 77936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“Just like in the books!” Hannah squealed and hugged her back. “I love it.”
“And we went to the store, so we have special snacks to share.” Willow gestured at a nearby paper bag with some kid-friendly treats. Money was always tight at Tiffany’s place, and I didn’t want the girls gobbling up all their food. “Dad got some for him and your Uncle Maverick too.”
“I get special snacks?” Maverick looked decidedly bemused. He wore what I considered California nice—a pair of cargo shorts paired with a crisp button-down and leather sandals.
“Dad’s doing a picnic for you!” Willow was never good at keeping a secret, and she’d enjoyed helping me pick out a variety of snacky things at the small local store that might add up to a dinner.
“Wait.” Hannah’s eyes widened. “Are you guys going on a date?”
“Don’t be silly. They’re best friends. My dad doesn’t date.” Willow waved a hand dismissively. Neither girl seemed particularly put out, but Willow’s smile dipped slightly. She picked up one of the boxes and the bag of groceries. “Let’s walk to Aunt Tiffany’s now.”
I followed the girls to the front door, watching as they crossed the street and passed my mother’s house. Tiffany and I had lucked into houses on the same street where we’d spent a lot of our childhood, and now that Willow was old enough to walk between the houses, I appreciated the closeness even more.
“So, I get a picnic?” Maverick joined me at the door, resting a hand on my back. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” My voice said otherwise, so I exhaled before continuing, “I hadn’t thought about the girls possibly thinking we were dating.”
“Like Willow said, we’re friends.” The way Maverick rubbed circles on my back wasn’t particularly friend-like. “Doesn’t have to be more complicated than that.”
“You know it is.” My mood had turned sullen.
“Are you worried what she’ll think about you dating a man?” Maverick stepped around me to peer more closely at my face. “Or dating period?”
“Both. Mainly the last one.” I pursed my lips, considering. “She’s been through a lot the past few years.”
“You both have.” Maverick pitched his voice reassuring, but it didn’t soothe my restless nerves.
“Yeah, but she’s just a kid.” I paced away from the door. I already knew I was playing with fire where Maverick was concerned, but I couldn’t stand the idea of anyone else getting burned. “I wouldn’t want her getting attached. It’ll be hard enough on her when Hannah leaves.”
“I don’t want either of you getting hurt.” Maverick kept a patient tone as he followed my pacing. “And for what it’s worth, I took Hannah to the school district office today. I’m trying to convince Faith to let her do the school year here. Faith hasn’t found a way out of the will yet. Hannah needs to know where she’s going to school next month. And I need to be able to keep a close eye on Hannah. I can’t do that if they’re in Houston.”
“Willow would love it if Hannah could do school here.” I stated the obvious rather than let my thoughts drift to Maverick and what it might mean for us.
“And you?” Maverick prodded, not accepting my dodging of the issue. “Any objections if I ride the year out, see what happens?”
“No.” I swallowed hard. Maybe Hannah wasn’t the only one with hopes I was protecting. I darted into the kitchen to grab the small cooler I’d packed and my truck keys. “We should get going if we want to be back before the girls finish babysitting.”
“Where are we going with this picnic?” Maverick asked as we climbed into the truck. Thankfully, he allowed me to drop the subject of dating, and some of my earlier happy mood crept back as I headed out of town.
“You’ll see.” I wasn’t purposefully heading to our old spot, but somehow, all roads out of town seemed to lead me in that direction. I needed a dark sky and middle-of-nowhere vibes, but I could do without the barrage of memories of driving these roads with Maverick back in high school. At least the late summer sunset was spectacular over the red rocks and vast landscape as we left the town behind. Probably sensing I wasn’t in a talkative mood, Maverick played with my stereo until he found a song he liked. I groaned. “Still have the same terrible taste in music.”
“Says the guy who once argued that country and western are two different genres.” Maverick laughed lightly. “And I think you always secretly liked my pop choices.”
“More like put up with you and the music both,” I grumbled, not wanting to reveal that it had been him I’d secretly liked, not the music. After he left, I hadn’t been able to listen to any of the songs he’d played while we’d driven around. I’d managed to avoid pop until Willow got into music more recently, and even now, certain songs could take me right back.