Page 15 of Maverick

As soon as lunch was over, Sophie and Mabel went to the living room to make a plan for baking cookies, leaving me alone with the sexy as sin biker who was somehow my knight in shining armor, or leather. Or something like that.

“Where are you from, Ruby?”

And there it was, the inevitable questions. At least at The Den, no one asked questions, and if they did, they didn’t really give a damn about the answers. But I sensed Maverick was different. Mabel meant a lot to him, and it was reasonable he would be curious about the woman he invited to live with her. “The Midwest. How about you?”

“I’m from right here. Grew up in this house, as a matter of fact.” His piercing gaze bore into me. “Midwest is a big place.”

I nodded. “It is.” I should’ve realized that he would be curious and come up with a story that was close enough to the truth that I could remember it. “I grew up in Cleveland.” It was just outside of Cleveland, which only mattered to locals, so it wasn’t technically a lie. “I want to thank you, Maverick. I didn’t like that job but it paid well, so…” I let my words trail off because I didn’t want to reveal too much. “I appreciate it and I will take good care of Mabel. I promise.”

He nodded, his gaze never leaving me. “I know. And I’m pretty sure she’s going to take good care of you and Sophie too.”

It was a nice sentiment, but I shook my head. “I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

“I’m sure, but we all need some help every now and then. Unless you’re some sort of super woman?”

“Nope, I’m just me.” I pushed away from the table, standing to clear the dishes and then load the dishwasher. Usually, when the time for cleaning up arrived, Trent parked himself in front of the television.

“I’ll rinse and you load,” Maverick said as he stood beside me, towering over me at the sink.

“You don’t have to.”

“I know. But here I am.” He turned on the water and grabbed the scrub brush, getting to work, so I pulled the dishwasher door open, and we worked together in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. “Is Sophie’s father around?”

I froze and then shrugged. “Not really, no.”

He grunted in response.

We fell into another round of silence, but it was far less comfortable. I felt the questions, the curiosity that radiated off Maverick. “You can talk to me if you’re in trouble, Ruby. I won’t let any harm come to you.”

I scoffed. “Even if you could promise that, I don’t know you well enough to trust you.”

“Yet,” he said in a firm tone.

“What?” I looked up, which was a mistake because those blue eyes were sharp and deep, too deep.

“Yet. You don’t know me well enough to trust me yet. You will.”

Doubtful. “Why?”

He shrugged. “For starters, I’m a decent guy, and if someone is in trouble and I’m in a position to help, I will. Also, I’d like to know if trouble is coming your way since you have a little girl and an old woman in your care.”

He was right about that, and I nodded. “Well, I still don’t know you well enough to tell you my secrets, Maverick. So let’s just let it rest, okay?”

“Nah, that’s not my style. I propose we get to know each other. I’m guessing other than Mrs. P, you don’t have a lot of friends here yet.”

I frowned.

He laughed. “Sophie said you haven’t been here long.”

“Chatterbox,” I murmured to myself. Usually, she was skittish around men thanks to Trent’s explosive and unpredictable behavior, but other than that first hiccup when they met this morning, she took to Maverick easily.

Too easily.

“People talk when they color together.” He laughed. “I also learned a lot about fairies. Who knew there were so many types of fairies?”

I laughed against my will, but his smile and his words showed he was a decent man. Trent never colored with Sophie. Hell, he never did much other than tell her to get the hell out of his way, which was fine by me. His indifference meant he was never angry enough to hurt her.

“More than you ever wanted to know, huh?”

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