“So, you weren’t scared of havin’ one over the other?” I’d been stressing about what the baby was. A girl hopefully meant cute outfits and hairstyles and adorable sassiness, but it also meant boy drama and girl problems, and periods, and catty friends and sassiness aimed at me. Boys had their whole slew of issues as well, though.
“Oh, I was scared as hell at the idea of both, but in the end, it don’t matter. You got no control, so why bother worryin’ about it?You get what you get, and you raise ‘em up with the same morals, respect, and kindness you would if it was a boy of girl.”
A soft smile toyed on my lips. “Wise words.”
Another huff from him. Silence fell over us for another moment or so before he spoke again. “I ain’t the type to put my two cents in to places where it ain’t asked for, but I’m gonna offer you some now. Take it, leave it. I don’t care.”
I watched him as we walked, a silent request for him to continue.
“A lot of people are gonna have a lotta shit to say about you, Maverick, and that baby. They’re gonna tell you all sorts of things, and try to make you do what they say…” He met my gaze. “You don’t listen to a damn word of it unless you and Maverick feel it’s right. Ain’t nobody gonna be an expert on that baby the way you are. Not me. Not Charlie or Ryder. Not even Violet. And for the love of God, not Cash.” I chuckled at that. “That’s your baby and you do what’s best for it.”
I nodded. There was something so oddly soothing about his gruff, gravelly voice. In the last few moments, all the tension I’d been carrying around melted like snow in the spring sun.
“Your parents know?” he asked.
“I told my daddy. He’s happy. I haven’t talked to my mama since she left when I was four.”
He nodded, but didn’t press. For which I was grateful. Talking to him reminded me a lot of talking to Maverick. Neither man pressed and prodded for information, but they had a way of making youwantto talk to them.
“Give Violet a few days and she’ll cool down. She might blaze bright and hot at the beginning, but the good thing about her is she simmers down real quick.”
“You sure about that?” I asked in disbelief.
He chuckled as we came to a stop by the pond’s edge. I hadn’t even noticed we’d moved from the gravel to the grass. The last rays of the dying sunlight cast a weak reflection on the pond's relatively smooth surface. Bending over, he grabbed a stray rock and bounced it off the water, causing it to skip three times before making a splash. “I’ve been with that woman for damn near forty years. Trust me. Give it a few days and you’ll be wishin’ she was still mad at you. She’ll be talkin’ baby names and plannin’ your shower by the end of the week, I guarantee it.”
I watched as he picked up another rock and wound his arm back before letting it fly. This was my hero, my idol growing up. I’d spent so many years as a child imagining what I’d ever do if I ever met him, and here I was not only talking to him, but talking about me and my baby, no less.
He’d managed to somehow replace all of the anxious energy within me and turn it to calm just by his presence. Picking up a rock as well, I mirrored his actions. For a while, him and I just stood there, neither of us talking, just throwing rocks.
It was dark by the time I finally said, “Thank you.”
He paused mid-throw, meeting my stare. “For what?”
I didn’t even have the words really. For calming me down, for taking me away from the party to have a moment, for beingas awesome of a person as I’d always imagined him to be. “For everythin’, I guess.”
His brow rose.
I huffed a nervous laugh, tucking a curl behind my ear and shrugged. “They always it’s never good to meet your heroes, cuz you always end up disappointed, but I’m glad to have met you, Mr. Mooney. I’m even more glad that I get to date and have this baby with your nephew.”
His features softened, even as his eyes sparked with amusement. “Hero? Girl, you need to find yourself some better heroes.”
I laughed. “Nope. You’ll do just fine. I don’t think I’d get as lucky a second time.”
He chuckled as we started back for the house. His voice reminded me of the gravel we walked on as he said, “So, I was really your hero?”
“I knew all of your stats for years. Went to every rodeo you were competin’ in that I could get to. I forced my daddy to take me to NFR your final year.”
He laughed. “You were just a little thing then, weren’t you?”
“I may have been little, but Daddy knew there was no changin’ my mind once I got an idea.”
He laughed. “Tenacious… I like it.”
I smiled, pride swelling in me that Clint “Bad” Mooney called me tenacious with a smile on his face.
Everyone left shortly afterBad and I got back from our little walk. My heart didn’t feel so heavy, and even though the tension remained thick between Aunt Violet and I, Bad’s words echoed through my mind.“Give Violet a few days and she’ll cool down.”
Charlie and Ryder left quickly after Cash’s parents. They’d had to pick up Cason from his friend’s house. Getting rid of Cash had been a bit harder, but after Maverick threatened to wake him up at the ass-crack of dawn to do chores, Cash let Maverick drive him back down the road to his house. He’d drank half a twelve pack in the course of the night.
