“I know. That’s why I made it for you.”
Maverik sat at the table, relaxedly cutting off a piece at a time of his battered and pan fried cube steak. He’d dip the piece in mashed potatoes, then in the pile of buttered green peas next to them. Place it in his mouth and close his eyes, sitting back in his chair savoring one of his favorite meals.
They enjoyed their meal in companionable silence for almost six whole minutes before Maverik pinned her with a look that said he wanted to know now. “So, tell me about her.”
“She’s a beautiful young woman raising two very smart, very well behaved children on her own.”
“She’s nice?”
“Very nice. Very capable. Very well spoken. There’s more to her story than just falling on hard times, though I don’t know what it is yet. She’s educated, she’s got administrative skills. I’m not quite sure what happened to her, other than the obvious, but I like her. She’s strong and resilient and not afraid to stand her ground. Not to mention she’s not bowled over by the fact that Ronan is paying attention to her. Most humans would swoon right away.”
“And she didn’t?” Maverik asked.
“No. In fact, she was working on sending him out of the building — respectfully, because of her kids standing right there being excited about him — but sending him away nonetheless.”
“I don’t like this, Val. I mean, I really wanted more for him than a ready made family. He’s young, you know?”
“I do know. But I also know that Ronan is the more logical and the more grounded of all of them. And you should have seen how excited those boys were to see him. Maybe, now that she knows he’s not some stranger and he’s part of our family, she’ll allow herself to relax a little instead of being such a guardian to herself and her kids.”
“Maybe,” Maverik said.
“If he wants her, you can’t try to stop him. He’ll fight you. He’s the more even-keeled child, but he’s also partly you and partly me.”
“I know. I need to find some even ground with him and let him know I’m there for him regardless.”
“That’s a very good idea.”
“Even if I do have to kick his ass first,” Maverik grumbled.
“You are not going to kick his ass.”
“I might.”
“What did Daniel tell you?” Valerie asked.
“I think he knows more about her than we do. But other wise, he said basically what you did. And he’s right. You’re right, too. I know that. I just hoped for more for him. He’s a good kid, and he’s got a heart of gold, and he’s so damn painfully honest.”
“He’s getting more than the average mate, Mav. He’s getting a whole family. Trust his instincts, and watch him make you proud.”
Maverik nodded and took another bite of his dinner.
~~~
The kids were happily eating their dinner, and Ronan was doing his best to keep things low key and relaxed for their firstmeal together. He’d tried a time or two to lure Giada into a conversation but she’d only given him partial one or two word answers, so he’d stopped and just enjoyed the feeling of being with them. Talking wasn’t necessary.
“So, you’ve already got a degree in, what was it? Bio molecular…” Giada asked.
“Biomedical Engineering,” Ronan said. “I’m working on my master’s, and when I’m done with that, I’m going straight into the doctorate program for my PHD.”
Giada looked at him, really looked at him and shook her head.
“What’s that for?” he asked.
“You don’t look old enough to have finished your bachelor’s degree, much less be almost finished with your master’s.”
“I kind of load up on my classes, finish about a year and half’s worth of classes each year to everyone else’s standard class load. I’ve done that all my life. Not to mention that I took dual enrollment classes all my high school years — well, as soon as they’d let me — so I entered college as a sophomore.”
“Ahhh, I see.”
