I start to laugh to myself about how ridiculous I was for thinking he was ignoring me. Although you can’t blame me, that’s how it startedlast time.
Maverick pulls in to park the truck right outside my house and I stay put in the position I’m standingin on my porch, waiting for him to come to me.
Maverick places the truck into park and then swings open the driver’s door, placing his hat back onto his head.
I watch his sheepish grin, before he throws a wink my way and I let out another laugh, holding onto the bannisters of my porch.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, still watching Maverick make his way up the steps and onto my porch.
“You said you missed me?” He asks giving me a concerned look. I feel my cheeks burn. “I did,” I shrug out.
“Well, here I am,” he says, reaching me, pulling his arm around my waist and grabs me close to him, which I gladly follow his lead.
When I text him it, did I mean it?Of course.
Did I expect him to show up?Absolutely fucking not.
I take Maverick’s hand and lead him to my sitting area on my porch. “Beer?” I ask him as he takes a seat. “Please,” he replies.
I walk through the sliding doors and over to my fridge to get him a beer, I tend to keep my fridge stocked in case one of the boys are here.
That and whiskey.
I walk back outside, hand Maverick the beer and retake my seat on my favourite swing, pulling my right leg up to rest my chin on.
“Ellie in bed?” he asks, taking a swig.
“She’s actually over the big house tonight,” I point over towards the house.
“Ahh, home alone then?” He throws another wink back at me and I let out a laugh.
“Home alone indeed,” I take another sip of my wine, trying to relax the fire that started in my belly the moment I saw Maverick’s truck pulling up to my house.
We sit in silence, looking at each other for a few minutes before Maverick opens his mouth to speak, but then shuts it again.
“Oh no you don’t, what’s on your mind, Cowboy?” I push. We’re beyond the point of not speaking to each other freely.
He takes his hat off and places it upside down on my table. “Why the house, Firefly?” It was almost a whisper.
I let my shoulders sag, I know what he means. He’s asking me why I built our house.
“When you left, I tried so hard holding out hope you’d come back-” I start before pausingat my words, trying so hard to find them.
I watch Maverick lean forward, listening to every word I am about to say to him. “In the beginning I thought something had happened to you, but Kay told me that you were alive, but you were refusing to talk to anyone,” I pause again, should I be telling him this?
Fuck it.
He needed to know.
“So that brought me some comfort you know?” I shrug. “Knowing that you were alive.” I look to Maverick who has his eyes firmly on me, his face showing that pain I saw when he came back.
“The weeks turned to months, and then by the time I knew it three years had gone by-” I pause, taking another sip of my drink.
“And then I found out I was pregnant, and yet again my world was turned upside down. You were gone, my future was so different from what I had always imagine it to be,” I say, trying so hard to fight the lump that was forming in my throat.
“That’s when Mama and Daddy started pushing me to build out to the East, like we always planned.” I offer him a light smile, and I watch the tear fall down his cheek.
I decide to take his hand, because watching him in this moment, eyes full of heart ache andpain, I couldn’t not try and comfort him in any small way I can.
