“Yeah, he um… he offered me the cowboy job last night.” Maverick shrugs, refusing to meet my gaze.
This couldn’t be any more awkward if we tried.
I lean back in my chair, causing it to squeak at the weight. I don’t know what to say back to him, I guess I’m in as much shock as I was last night.
Without saying a word, I automatically get up as if on autopilot and walk over to one of the metal file cabinets, pulling out the application forms we needed to keep on record for any employee of the ranch. I hand it to Maverick with brunt force.
He looks up at me, and then at the papers I’m handing to him. Taking the opportunity with his gaze averted, I take a seat back onto my chair, which again, lets out a squeak.
“I can take a look at that…” he says, lifting his eyes away from the paper I’d just handed to him.
I look at him for a moment, the lump sitting in my throat. The same one that’s been there since last night when he turned up at my door.
I shake my head. “I’m good, it’s on the list.” I interrupt again, offering professional smile.
He shifts in the chair, looking uncomfortable at my response. He looks back down at the papers I handed him, and I watch his eyes scan over the writing.
“Can I, uh, borrow a pen?” he stutters.
I lean over my desk, grabbing a pen out of my pink cactus pen pot and hand it to him.
I don’t think it was intended to be a pen pot; however, I found it online, thought it was adorable and now use it to house the office pens.
Taking it from my hand, his fingers graze mine and I instantly feel the same bolt of electricity that would course through me all those years ago.
I gasp a little too loudly.
Moving my eyes up to his, I see the same look staring back at me.
He felt it too.
I quickly move my hand away from him and look back at my laptop screen. I need to calm myself down and remove myself emotionally from the horrible situation I’ve found myself in.
“Thank you,” he says, but I don’t look back at him. I keep my eyes firmly on my laptop screen and pretend to work as he begins to fill out the form I handed to him only seconds ago. I do my best to keep my breathing as shallow as possible.
I can’t let on that the bolt of what felt like lightening coursing through my veins has affected me. I flick my eyes back to look at him, and then I see it.
The pain in his beautiful green eyes.
The same look of pain I’d been carryingaround with me for the last thirteen years.
I feel myself soften at the look in his eyes, even though this man completely ruined me, I can’t help but feel the nudge of guilt creeping up inme.
All through seeing the look in his eyes.
Twelve
Maverick
Fourteen years ago…
Looking out at the horizon of my parents ranch, I pull in a deep breath. The air around here is certainly something else. Being perched above my other favourite girl in the world, Storm let’s out a whine.
“Easy, girl,” I say, running my hand along her neck.
Looking out at the sea of fields, I see the boarders that stop my land and begin Mabels.
Aside from our field, this is my favourite place to be. It reminds me how one side of the river startsand the other ends. I feel at deep peace here.
