Our baby.
I smiled, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. “I love you.”
A broken sob escaped her. “And I love you,” she replied, bringing her hands up to cup my wrists.
Pain shot through my hand at the pressure, and despite my best efforts, I pulled away, wincing.
Worry knotted her brows. “What happened? Is that from last night?”
I blew out a breath and glanced beyond her to the porch column for a moment. “No… I uh…I went up against the column on the porch, and…well, I lost.”
She shook her head, a disbelieving chuckle escaping her as she gently grabbed my arm to inspect the makeshift splint. “Oh my God, Maverick. And you roped like this?”
I shrugged. “Well, yeah. I wasn’t gonna scratch.”
She huffed. “Stubborn cowboy.”
“Now, that’s a bit hypocritical, don’t you think?” I asked, but there was warmth in my words as I drew her against me.
She tilted her head back to meet my gaze, a vulnerability I rarely saw shining in her bright eyes. “I’m sorry for leavin’ like that. I was just…well, I was scared. I know that don’t make it right. But…that’s what I’ve always done. It’s second-nature to me.” She blew out a deep, shaky breath. “I’m sorry that I hurt you in the process, though. You didn’t deserve that.” She pressed a hand to my chest, her gaze dipping down for a moment. “I don’t want you to think that I left because of what you told me last night. It was never because of that. You don’t know how much it means to me that you shared that piece of you with me. That you found me worthy enough to bare your soul like that.” Her gaze traveled up my body once more, the intensity in her gaze paralyzing me in place. “Ineedyou to know that it wasn’t that.”
My good hand traveled up her curves, between her shoulder blades, and knotted in her long, wild curls at the nape of her neck. Leaning in, I murmured softly against her lips, “I know.”
She resisted a moment, putting pressure on my chest so we remained but a breath away from each other as she spoke. “I can’t promise that I’m never gonna get scared and run off again. It’s been a part of me for so long, it’s a habit that’s gonna take a while to break. Like with the red filly, you know…” Her shoulders lifted in a shrug. “It don’t matter how many times I go into her stall, I can’t just go grab her or else she runs. I gotta be patient… Just like with her, sometimes, I spook myself, and I need some time to come to terms with what’s happenin’. So, I can’t in good faith tell you somethin’ like this ain’t ever gonna happen again, but Icantell you that I will always, always come back to you. I ain’t givin’ up on this. On you. On us.”
Bad’s words rang in my mind from earlier. He’d been right. I’d been so dead set on the idea that I’d lost her, that I hadn’t seen reason. Seen the signs. She was like every wild or abused horse I’d ever dealt with. Having her say that aloud though…I understood now. Understood and knew exactly how to deal with it.
Patience and love. Both of which I looked forward to showing her for the rest of my life.
I pulled her to me fully and claimed her mouth in mine. She opened to me, deepening the kiss, matching my intensity with a hunger, a want, a need of her own.
I loved that about her. How wild and open she was with her passion. She loved so deeply, so intensely.
Need and love thrummed to life in my chest as I got lost in her. The familiar feel of her lips on mine. Her tantalizing scent. The way she fit so perfectly in my arms.
She was here. She was home. And I’d never let her go again.
Chapter fifty-six
Scared to Live Without You
Cheyenne
Maverick’s touch was likefire, and I wanted nothing more than to be burned.
I’d expected… Well, honestly, I didn’t know. A part of me had thought he’d shrug me off, push me away, tell me to leave. But I preferred this much more.
I would have understood had he done any of those things. But that wasn’t the way Maverick worked. He was resilient, stubborn, and patient. So, so patient. He had a fierce understanding for hurt and broken things. Because he was broken himself.
I think that’s why we worked so well together. We were both broken. Both suffering from childhood traumas that shaped us into who we were. How we interacted with the world around us. Individually, we were wrecks in our own right, but together…well, together we had the patience and understanding to recognize and heal the cracks in one another.
I didn’t know what would happen with Nate. I hadn’t gotten anymore texts since about midday. Something toldme he wasn’t done, though. But for now…for now I wouldn’t worry about that or bring it up to Maverick.
Not when the most amazing man I had ever had the pleasure of knowing kissed me breathless.
Tomorrow we could deal with it.
Thank God he’d come back when he did. A part of me was afraid he’d have been gone all night, and I’d have sat here waiting until he got back. I’d almost left five times, to be honest—my worries and fears creeping into my chest and sowing seeds of doubt. But for the first time in my life, I ignored them. I pushed them away andstayed.
