“Yes, you do. What’s the issue?”
“She’s older than he is. She’s got two kids. She’s had a rough life, been though some shit most females wouldn’t survive. He’s not even out of college yet.”
“He’s got his bachelor’s degree. He’s halfway through his master’s. It won’t take him long to finish the master’s. He loads himself up with almost double the class load the average student takes every semester.”
“I know that. It’s just that, he’s the steadiest of all of them. He’s talking about taking on a whole family and he’s not even ready to support himself yet.”
“It’s his choice, and he’s not a child anymore. So, if they’re his, or meant to be his, why are you against it?”
“I’m not, exactly. I just don’t want to see him walk away from his dreams to support somebody else. And don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying Giada isn’t a good woman. From the little bit I know and the way those kids are behaved — she’d done a hell of a job in some of the worst circumstances. But that don’t mean I want my son to pick up her pieces.”
Valerie turned back to the fridge and poured herself a glass of orange juice. When she turned back to him, she leaned against the counter sipping her juice thoughtfully. “Maybe she doesn’t want anyone to pick up her pieces either. Maybe she wants to pick them up herself. And maybe, it would be nice to just have someone stand beside her and have enough faith in her to let her do just that, on her own, as they watch proudly.”
Maverik shook his head and sighed before he walked toward the door himself. “Going to see if Daniel is home.”
“You do that. And maybe on the walk over, be glad that somebody had enough faith in you to watch proudly as you picked up your pieces.”
Maverik swung around to face her just before he walked out of the door. “Had to go there, didn’t you?” he asked.
“Yep.”
He walked through the door and closed it behind himself. He was halfway across the front deck before he smirked and called out for Valerie to hear him. “ Love you!”
“Love you, too!” she shouted from inside their house.
Chapter 2
Maverik was still smirking by the time he got to Daniel’s and Avaleigh’s door. He knocked and waited for somebody to come let him in.
The door opened and Daniel stood there, eyeing Maverik over the rim of the coffee cup he was sipping out of. “It’s early.”
“Yep. And you been up for at least an hour already.”
Daniel grinned at him and took a step back, ushering Maverik in with the wave of one hand.
Maverik stepped inside and closed the door behind himself.
“So, how’s things?” Daniel asked as he led the way to the kitchen.
“Things fucking suck,” Maverik said.
“What’d you do?”
“I didn’t do a thing! Nothing. I woke up, made some coffee, was considering breakfast, and Ronan dropped all this shit on me about finding his mate and getting a whole damn family, and now his whole future is jeopardized and I’m not real fucking happy about it!”
Daniel nodded slowly as he finished pouring another cup of coffee. He walked over to the kitchen table and sat down as he pushed the fresh cup across the table to Maverik. “I’m guessing you didn’t get to enjoy that coffee you made.”
“Not a damn bit,” Maverik snapped, reaching for the coffee Daniel offered and sighing as he held it in both hands, inhaling the aroma before taking a sip. “Good coffee. Just like Avaleigh’s.”
“She taught me.”
“Had to. Yours sucked. Like fucking motor oil.”
Daniel chuckled lightly. “Thanks would have done just fine.”
Maverik looked down at the coffee, then sipped again. “Thanks,” he managed.
“So he’s found his mate?” Daniel asked.
