Page 77 of Maverick

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit.”

Maverick snapped his head up, staring fiercely at his friend.

“Why do you say that?”

“Because ever since Parker left for Oregon, you’ve been like a bear with a sore tooth.”

Maverick leaned back in his chair and tossed his pen down on the desk.

“She didn’t want me to go with her.”

“To Oregon?”

“Yes. The night before she left, I offered to go with her. You know, to support her during this tough time. But she said she didn’t think it was a good idea.”

“Damn. Did she say why?”

“No. Then she just said she had to pack and went off to her room without even looking at me.” Maverick shook his head. “Maybe I’m mistaken, but I thought she’d want me there with her. If the roles were reversed, I would have wanted her by my side. I won’t lie, it hurt.”

“I’m sure it did. Look, Maverick, she was probably going through a lot of emotions and didn’t realize what she was saying. When she comes back—”

“If. If she comes back.”

Grady raised his eyebrows. “You don’t think she will?”

“I honestly don’t know. She called me, but I couldn’t bring myself to talk to her. I just can’t get over her saying it wasn’t a good idea for me to go with her.”

“You didn’t talk to her at all?”

“A little, but all I could hear were those words. I used you as an excuse and said I had to hang up.”

“Great, now I’m involved in this mess.”

“Don’t worry about it. I just needed an excuse, and your name was the first one that came to mind.”

“I’m flattered. But seriously, Maverick, you two need to talk. She probably has no idea why you were distant with her.”

“If she comes back, we’ll have to talk.” Maverick picked up his pen again. “I should get back to these chores.”

“Alright, see ya later.” Grady left the office.

After a few hours, Maverick finally arrived at his home and let out a sigh of relief as he stepped into the warm air. Just the short walk from his truck to the front door had left him shivering in the subzero temperatures, especially with the fierce wind howling around him.

After removing his hat and coat and hanging them up, he sat down on the bench to remove his boots and couldn’t help but smile as Blue came running into the kitchen. Her whole body wiggled with excitement at seeing him. “Hey, girl. Have you been outside?” He laughed when she flopped onto the floor, resting her head on her paws and looking up at him with adoring eyes. “I’ll take that as a no. But you have to go out eventually.” The dog stood up and barked at him, as if in protest. “Go,” Maverick said, pointing to the pet door.

Blue gave him one last look before reluctantly walking through the door. If he had any doubts about her gender before, they were certainly cleared up now by that sassy expression she just gave him. It seemed that females had a way of scolding a man with just one look and making him feel like he should just shut the fuck up.

After stripping off his cold, damp clothing, he made his way to the living room. He placed his phone on the recliner’s arm and plugged in the charger before heading to the bathroom. The water would be scalding hot; that’s how he liked it. He turned the shower on and stepped into the steamy stall, feeling goosebumps rise on his skin as the heat penetrated his chilled body.

He missed Parker terribly. He knew he should call her, but what could he say? He feared she wouldn’t want to come back to him. Perhaps after being with her family, she would realize how much she missed them and her hometown of Oregon. Whenever he visited his family in Wyoming, he couldn’t help but feel homesick for them and his childhood home. But he loved Clifton and his job at the Triple C too much to leave. That might not be how Parker felt, though, and it scared him.

After washing himself, he grabbed a towel and dried off before wrapping it around his waist and stepping in front of the mirror to shave off his scruff. Once done, he hung up the towel in the shower stall and walked into his bedroom where he changed into a T-shirt and sweatpants.

Even though he wasn’t hungry, he knew he needed to eat something. But when he entered the kitchen, he saw Blue covered in snow and staring at him as if saying ‘you wanted me to go out.’ Chuckling to himself, he grabbed an old towel from the laundry room and gave Blue a rub down before she took off running through the house.

As he stared at the frozen dinners in the freezer, he let out a sigh and closed the door before heading back to the living room to sit in his recliner. He noticed a missed call and text message from Parker on his phone.

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