Page 76 of Maverick

“You would have,” she whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek.

“Cupcake, I’ll be okay. I’ll be reunited with your grandmother soon and I want that. I miss her every day. I want you to know that I love you, but it’s my time to go.”

Parker reached out and held his hand, unable to find the words to say goodbye. She stayed by his side as he watched another war movie, until he fell asleep. Then she turned off the TV and quietly left the room, heading upstairs to her own room.

Sitting on her bed, she cried for her grandfather and for keeping Maverick from meeting such a wonderful man.

The door opened and her mother peeked in.

“Are you alright?”

“No. I did a terrible thing.”

Her mother came into the room and sat beside her.

“What happened?”

“The night before I left to come home, Maverick came over and asked if he could come along. I said I didn’t think it was a good idea.” She looked at her mother with regret. “And now, I wish I had let him come. Pops would have loved him.”

“Why did you think it wasn’t a good idea?”

“Because even though I wanted Maverick to meet everyone, I didn’t feel like the timing was right. But Pops told me he wished he could have met him. So now I feel guilty for keeping them from meeting each other. They both mean so much to me, and I regret not having them meet.”

“Parker, you can’t blame yourself for that.”

“Why not, Mom? Maverick was willing to leave his job and come here just to be with me during this difficult time. But I pushed him away and told him it wasn’t a good idea. Now all I can think about is how much I wish he was here with me.”

“I’m sorry, honey. You were upset and not thinking clearly at the time.”

“I know, but now Maverick is probably upset with me for not letting him come. He barely spoke to me earlier and he must have been hurt when I turned down his offer. He probably thinks I didn’t want him around when all he wanted to do was support me.” She sobbed.

“Don’t worry, Parker. When you get back home, talk to him and explain everything that was going on with you. If he’s as great a guy as you say, he’ll understand.”

“I hope you’re right.” She sighed. “I’m going to take a bath then get to bed.”

“Alright, honey. We’ll see you in the morning. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Mom. I love you. Tell Dad for me please.”

Her mother nodded, then walked out the door, closing it behind her and leaving Parker to her thoughts of hurting Maverick.

****

Maverick was sitting in the office of the barn, going over the list of tasks for tomorrow. The ranch had fallen behind on its work due to bad weather, so they needed to catch up as soon as possible. Grady walked in, his coat and hat covered in snow. He headed straight to the stove and removed his gloves, warming his hands by the fire.

“Fuck, it’s freezing outside,” he exclaimed.

“Is it snowing again?” Maverick asked.

“Yeah, and it’s getting worse.”

“Damn. We’ll never get caught up at this rate.”

“I know.” Grady took a seat across from the desk. “I was hoping we could paint the inside of the third barn today, but it’s just too cold.”

“Yeah, it sure is.”

“What’s been bothering you?”

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