Page 47 of Maverick

Unable to resist, Maverick reached out to touch her once again. “Are you alright?”

“I’m wonderful,” she replied with a blissful smile.

“I definitely am,” he agreed, grinning at her. “Parker, I’m crazy about you. I don’t want to scare you off—”

“You’re not scaring me off,” she reassured him. “I feel the same way about you.”

He leaned over and kissed her tenderly. “I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of you.”

“Same here.”

He rolled out of bed. “I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere,” he teased.

Parker laughed. “Couldn’t if I wanted to.”

Maverick chuckled as he closed the door, disposed of the condom, and washed his hands. He stared at his reflection in the mirror. How in the hell was he going to be without her for who knew how long? He knew he’d miss her every day.

With a deep sigh, he opened the door, entered the bedroom, and strode to the bed, then crawled in, pulling her close.

“You’re going to have to get up awfully early.”

“I know, but I’m not leaving you tonight. When I get back, I want you to stay with me every Tuesday night.”

“I’d like that.”

“Good.”

“Do you ride your horse up there?”

“No, we take the horses in a trailer. We’ll be taking three trucks with trailers. Two for the cattle and their calves, and one for the horses. We’ll camp until we round them all up, then head back.” He kissed the top of her head. “I’ll try to text you, but the service is spotty up there.”

“Okay.” She sighed.

“Are you close to your parents?”

“Yes, I told you I’m especially close to my grandfather. My mom’s dad. I spent all my summers with him and my grandmother. She died a few years ago. I miss her, but my grandfather means the world to me.”

“Sounds like it.”

“I need to go home and see him. It’s been a few months and I miss him.”

“Then you definitely need to visit him.”

“I will once the tourist season ends. I have vacation days, but we’re too busy right now.”

“Makes sense, darlin’. I need to get some sleep. I’ll have to get up early. Earlier than usual.”

“Okay, let’s get some sleep. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, baby.” He kissed her lips, and they fell asleep.

Chapter Seven

By the third week, Maverick was ready to say hell with it, but he knew he couldn’t. He’d lose his job for sure. He just missed Parker so much and wanted to get home to her.

As he rode along the pasture, he saw a few more cattle with their calves, so he glanced around and saw two of the men sitting on their horses… talking. Clenching his jaw, he rode over to them.

“Do you two see those cattle?” He pointed to them.

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