Page 62 of Maverick

“Grace.” He let out a heavy sigh as though I was some small child who just didn’t get it, but I did get it. I got it loud and clear.

“I know, Maverick. I need to find another job, and I will, but I can’t enroll Sophie in school yet, not when he still has legal rights to her. Not when he could show up and just take her out.” I wrapped my arms around my middle and shivered. “I need to know what’s going to happen, so I know how to move forward.” My shoulders slumped forward because the truth was that this wasn’t Maverick’s problem, it was mine. It wasn’t his responsibility either. It was mine. “I’ll figure it out. I promise.”

“At this rate, it could take months before we find him.”

I bit back tears and blinked hard and fast, forcing my emotions down deep where they wouldn’t interfere with my ability to do what needed to be done. “I understand, Maverick.” I got the message loud and clear, there was no free ride in this life. Period. “I’ll go back to the Bald Eagle, and if that’s not enough, Sophie and I will be on our way.” I knew nothing lasted forever. It was the one lesson I’d learned time and time again. “Don’t worry about it. Or us. We’ll be fine.” I pushed away from the bar, desperate for fresh air and space from this man who made me feel too much of all the things I vowed never to feel again.

“Dammit, Grace, I’m not saying you need to get a job right now and earn your keep. It’s not about the fucking money, I love having you both around.”

I sighed. I loved us being around him too, but I knew it was too good to last. “Then what are you trying to say? Because that’s what it sounds like to me.”

“I just want you to start thinking about the future. I don’t want you or Sophie living half a life while you wait for Trent to make his next move. You need to move forward, forge ahead, and think about the next chapter in your life. No matter what.”

“There is no next chapter until Trent is dealt with. I can’t afford to start over, to rebuild only for him to rear his mean head and ruin it all the way he always does.” A holding pattern was better than a good life ruined by a bad man. Wasn’t it?

“I won’t let that happen. I’m happy to take care of you, both of you, for as long as you need me to, but I want you to think about your future, about where you belong and where you see your life once Trent is no longer an issue.”

I laughed bitterly and shook my head. “I don’t know how to do that, and I’ll never learn until he is no longer an issue.” Our gazes collided in a fiery tangle of emotions, spoken and unspoken. “I don’t want to put any pressure on you, Maverick. This really isn’t your problem no matter how willing you are to take it on as yours. I should probably figure out an alternative.” Leaving him would hurt, but maybe this was just the kind of hurt I needed to move forward and remind myself why I couldn’t let myself care. Couldn’t get involved.

“You don’t need an alternative.” He gripped my bicep. “I’m right here, Grace. Here and I want to take care of you both, to keep you safe. Why won’t you let me?”

“Because,” I whispered, and looked away. “I’m scared that if I let myself lean on you, I’ll never learn to stand on my own.”

“I don’t want to cage you in, I want you to stand on your own. Just let me stand beside you and hold your hand, dammit.”

That was a novel idea, one I hadn’t considered. “Is that what you want?” Why was he so eager to help, to take care of my little girl and me? “I don’t understand.”

Maverick turned to face me. “You don’t understand because all you know is bad men who want to use you and control you. I want you safe because I like coming home to you and Sophie wearing smiles, happy to see me. I like knowing that I add something positive to your life, that you want me around. Isn’t that enough?”

“I don’t know.”

He pressed a kiss to my forehead and hugged me close to his chest. “Well, you’ll learn soon enough.”

I hoped so.

I really, really hoped so.

Chapter 31

Maverick

“What are your plans with Grace?” Diesel asked the question quietly so that Sophie and Leo, who walked right ahead of us, couldn’t hear.

I shrugged, honestly surprised by my president’s question. He didn’t often bother with our personal lives unless it somehow impacted on the club, which meant he thought Grace might. “My plan is to make her mine. Plain and simple. Both of them.”

“Are you ready for that? Trust me when I tell you that kids aren’t easy.”

I laughed. “You trying to talk me out of it?”

“Not at all, just making sure you understand what you’re signing up for. Leo is great, he’s the piece of me I didn’t know was missing. But he’s inquisitive as fuck, talkative as hell, and the boy has never met a stranger. It’s exhausting, but at least I know what’s coming up with the twins and I wouldn’t miss a single minute.”

I smiled at the kids as we walked towards the park. They were talking using their hands, smiling and laughing. “Sophie is the same, and with each day she’s coming out of her shell more and more.” I shook my head thinking about what kind of asshole would dim that little girl’s light. “From what little Grace has told me, she’s spent a lot of time at home on her own or just with Grace. She deserves a life out in the open.”

“You’re expecting me to disagree?”

“No,” I sighed. “But I got the impression you’d prefer it if they both went far, far away.”

“Stay where we can see you,” he called out to the kids before turning to me with a serious expression on his face. “It’s not that I want them gone, it’s just another fucking thing for the MC to deal with, feel me?”

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