Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 78542 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78542 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
“Three,” I whisper.
With each step she takes, Maverick moves a little further away.
“You got this, Bug.” He pulls his hands close to his chest, and Ada toddles to him. He catches her, wrapping her in his arms, raining kisses all over her face. “You did it!” he says excitedly. Ada claps her hands, content to be in his arms.
Maverick’s eyes find mine, and they’re alight with pride. “How many, Momma?”
“Eight,” I say, wiping the tears from my cheeks. “That’s her most yet.” And she did it for him. For the man who has shown us so much kindness and friendship. The man I can’t seem to get out of my head.
“Eight!” Maverick cheers. He hugs her again, and she grabs a fist full of his hair and tugs. He doesn’t seem to mind.
I watch them for far longer than I should until I find my voice. “What are you doing here, Maverick?”
“I was bored sitting at home, so I decided to take a drive. When I saw the two of you out here, I thought I’d stop and say hi.”
“No plans tonight?”
“Nah. Merrick is with Orrin, working on a dent in the door of his truck. The house was quiet. I was actually going to grab some dinner. Have you ladies eaten?” he asks.
“We have.”
“Then how about some ice cream? It’s the perfect night for some ice cream, right?”
“Ada’s bedtime is soon.”
“We can go to Dorothy’s. Just across town.” He’s not begging, but I can hear the hope in his tone. “What do you think, Bug? You want some ice cream?”
Ada snuggles into him, and he smiles, rubbing her back. “Okay, bedtime is close. How about this? I’ll go grab me some food, and both of us dessert while you put her down?”
“You really don’t have to do that, Maverick.”
“I know, but I want to.”
Shit. I can’t be alone with him. Sure, my grandparents are inside, and Ada will be as well, but still, that’s too close. It’s still too soon. I need more space to process what happened last weekend.
“We can all go. She can stay up a little later.”
He smiles. “You sure?”
“Yeah. I just need to grab my purse and the diaper bag.”
“I’ll get Bug loaded in the truck.” He stands effortlessly with Ada in his arms, and bounces her on his hip, making her laugh all the way to his truck.
Quickly, I gather the blanket with the toys wrapped inside and carry it into the house.
“Is that Maverick Kincaid?” my grandpa asks.
I swallow thickly. “Yeah.” I’m not ready for the questions that are sure to follow.
“I thought that was him.”
I wait, but no questions follow that statement. “We’re, um, we’re going to take Ada for some ice cream.”
Gramps nods. “Be safe. You have your phone and key, right? Do you need money?”
My heart swells in my chest at his easy acceptance of me and my life decisions. “I have both, and no, I don’t need money. Thank you for the offer.” I start to walk away when his words stop me.
“The Kincaids are a good family, Stella. You can trust him.”
I don’t know why he thought he needed to tell me that, but his words deserve an answer. I turn to glance at him over my shoulder. “Outside of you, he’s the best man I’ve ever met. Love you, Gramps.” With that, I turn back toward my room to grab what we’ll need. I probably gave too much away. I probably let him see too much, but my grandparents have been my solid foundation through all of this. He deserves my honesty.
A few minutes later, I walk out to the truck with the diaper bag that holds everything Ada and I need. Maverick is waiting at the passenger side door, pulling it open for me. “You didn’t have to do that,” I tell him as I climb into his truck.
“Get in the truck, Stel.”
Instead of going to the diner, we hit the only drive-thru in town and make our way to the picnic tables that line the edge of town right along Willow River. Maverick grabs Ada and his bag of food while I gather the diaper bag and our two milkshakes. Ada is going to share with me. She doesn’t really need the sugar this close to bed, but this is a treat for her. For both of us.
“Wow. It’s really serene out here this time of night.” There are about half a dozen picnic tables and several benches for visitors to sit and look at the river.
“Yeah. On the other side of the river, it’s not this nice, but it’s great fishing.”
“Do you fish a lot?” I ask him.
“Not really. We used to go a lot when we were younger. Now that we’re all older, have jobs, and most of us have families, we don’t get to go as much. We’ll fish next weekend.”