Page 66 of August 20

"How old do you have to be to drink coffee?" asked Skye.

"Old."

She giggled. "Old like you or old like Aunt Brooke?"

He reached behind him and tickled her leg, making her laugh. There was a seventeen-year age difference between him and Brooke. At forty-two years old, his whiskers had started getting peppered with gray hair. Next would be his hair. Before he knew it, Skye would be graduating high school, and he'd need to work out the aches in his bones before he swung his leg over his Harley.

If the age difference was apparent to an eight-year-old, he wondered if Brooke thought about how much older he was than her.

The clubhouse came into view. He slowed and parked out front.

"Is Dio here?"

He shrugged, hopping out of the car. He opened the back door toward the sidewalk and let Skye out. Grabbing her hand, he skipped the parts shop and walked her toward the end of the block. His daughter had yet to visit the coffee shop, and Brooke was anxious to see that Skye was okay.

He opened the door and guided Skye inside. Brooke, at the counter, stopped stacking the cups and hurried around the counter with a big smile on her face. A smile that stopped him in his tracks. He'd never seen her look so happy.

Brooke grabbed Skye, sweeping her off her feet with a hug. Her gaze met his, and she sent him a different smile. She'd worried about him taking care of his daughter on his own. He relieved her stress by bringing Skye back.

That was the difference between Brooke and Skye's mother. Janelle had never cared who watched Skye—a problem he had previously dealt with.

"How was school?" Brooke set Skye down. "Are you hungry?"

"Starving."

"Do you want a donut and hot chocolate?" Brooke grinned.

"Can I?"

"Absolutely." Brooke moved around the counter. "Today, we're celebrating my new job."

"No one is here." Skye wandered over to the nearest table.

"Customers come and go, but it's been pretty quiet." She picked out a glazed donut and looked at Maverick. "What kind do you want?"

He shook his head.

"Coffee?" she asked.

He nodded and took a seat by Skye.

For ten minutes, he listened to Skye tell Brooke about her day at school. He was introduced to Dania when she walked into the shop. The whole time, Brooke glowed.

She was a different woman at work than the one he'd gotten to know at home. He had no idea that she had an ease about her when she talked to others. She never looked uncomfortable, and she made others feel good.

Halfway through her donut, Skye asked to go to the clubhouse. That was the plan. They went to the Havlin building until Brooke finished work at four o'clock. He looked at his phone. That was in twenty minutes.

He tried to pay for the treats, but Dania waved off the offer, telling him it was to celebrate Skye's first visit to Whale's Tail. He sought out Brooke and kissed her, lingering longer than he probably should've, but he needed that connection. Seeing her in a new environment, acting differently, he wanted to remind her that she belonged to him.

She was still his old lady.

Out on the sidewalk, Skye hopped beside him. "Will Flower's momma be inside the clubhouse?"

The cat had stuck around after they'd found homes for all the kittens. Brett was in charge of feeding the stray and ensuring it was brought in during the day when the traffic was too much in town to wander around.

He squeezed Skye's hand, answering her. Then, he led her into the parts shop.

"Hey, hey, hey, who allowed the pretty girl in?" said Dio.

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