Page 14 of Maverick

“I did and I had company.”

“Oh, yeah? Who did you have lunch with?”

“Parker.”

“Parker? As in Parker Tisdale?” Wes asked, eyebrows raised in surprise.

Maverick nodded. “Yep.”

“How did that come about?”

Maverick recounted how they had met and his impromptu offer to help her move. “I ended up inviting her for coffee, but it turned into lunch. And we’re going out to dinner next Saturday night. Damn, I need to call the restaurant or Grant if I can’t get a reservation.”

“Better do it now. You know how busy that place gets,” Wes advised. “She’s a beautiful woman by the way, and if you tell Shay I said that I’ll have to fire you.”

“I’m pretty sure Shay knows men find Parker attractive.” Maverick chuckled. “I think you’re safe.”

“Let’s hope so.” Wes slapped him on the shoulder before heading back out to work.

Maverick toiled away in the sweltering heat of the barn; his shirt drenched with sweat within minutes. With a frustrated sigh, he finally gave up and peeled it off, revealing his chest and arms glistening with perspiration. The air inside the barn was thick and heavy, offering no respite from the scorching sun outside. But Maverick couldn’t stop now. There were stalls to be mucked out and horses to be tended to.

Most of the ranch hands worked around the cattle or doing maintenance, but since Maverick was a foreman, he worked around the barns with the horses.

As the day wore on, he drove back home and gratefully stepped into the coolness of his house. He heard the familiar sound of the pet door flap and saw his Australian shepherd, Blue, bounding toward him. She stood in front of him, her back-end wiggling excitedly before she suddenly stood up on her hind legs and waved her paw, causing Maverick to chuckle. He squatted down and rubbed behind her ears.

“Hey there girl. Did you have a good day?” Maverick chuckled as Blue barked in response and spun around in circles. “I suppose you think that deserves a biscuit?”

At another bark from Blue, Maverick made his way to the box of dog biscuits, grabbing one and tossing it to her. She caught it deftly in her mouth before scampering off to the living room to devour her treat.

Maverick headed for the bathroom, eager to wash off the grime and sweat from a long day’s work. As he entered his bedroom, he shed his clothes until he was completely nude. Stepping into the bathroom, he reached into the shower stall and turned on the water, letting out a sharp hiss as the cold water hit his skin.

“Shit,” he swore as he quickly adjusted the temperature to warm it up. Once the water warmed up, he picked up his shampoo and lathered up his hair, relishing the feel of water against his scalp. Once he was finished washing his hair, he moved on to washing his body with soap, scrubbing away the dirt and grime.

Suddenly, he heard the door push open and knew it was Blue entering the bathroom. She hated being apart from him when he was home, and Maverick often took her to work with him on the ranch. He had quickly learned that Aussies didn’t take kindly to being left alone when she had destroyed an entire sofa in protest. But despite her mischievous tendencies, Blue was a good dog and incredibly smart. She would join Maverick on cattle drives without any training, her natural instincts kicking in to help herd the animals.

The shower curtain rustled, and Maverick looked down to see Blue peeking in curiously.

“I’ll be out in a minute, girl.” He chuckled as Blue barked at him again, clearly impatient for his attention. No wonder they were known as ‘Velcro dogs’.

After showering and drying off, he threw on a comfortable T-shirt and sweatpants. He made himself a sandwich in the kitchen and carried it to the living room, where he settled into his recliner. With the footrest up, he turned on the TV and tuned into the news.

A commercial for the Hartland Restaurant caught his attention, causing him to curse under his breath. He grabbed his phone and attempted to make a reservation, only to be told there were no openings for Saturday night. Irritated, he called Grant and after some teasing from his friend, managed to secure a reservation. Maverick then tried calling Parker but received no answer. So, he sent her a text message informing her of their dinner plans before placing his phone on the arm of the chair and returning to watching the news. Eventually, he leaned back with his eyes closed.

He was jolted awake by the buzzing of his phone after dozing off for a few minutes. He picked it up to see a text message from Parker.

Great! I’ll see you Saturday

Yes, ma’am. Maverick replied.

To his surprise, he found himself eagerly anticipating seeing Parker on Saturday. Even more surprising was the fact that he secretly hoped this could lead to something more. It had been a while since he had been in a relationship, and his last one hadn’t ended well. But with Parker, he felt like there might be potential for something special. It didn’t hurt to find out.

****

Parker smiled as she read Maverick’s message. Cowboys and their jargon. She remembered when she’d first moved here and started working for Shay. When Shay’s husband, Wes and his brother, Warren, came into the shop one day, Parker couldn’t stop staring at them. She’d always been fascinated by cowboys.

When she was younger, she loved western movies, and when she got older and started reading romance novels, the first contemporary cowboy romance captured her heart and now that’s all she would read. At first, she was sure those men didn’t really exist, until she moved to Clifton, Montana and met quite a few who could have stepped right off the pages of a book.

“And now, you’re going out with one,” she said, giggling as she unlocked the door and entered her apartment.

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