Page 64 of Shot to the Hart

“Lily.” I exhale. Her body tenses and face pales. “She called, she’s in town and she wants to meet up. I. . .I don’t know what to do, Ko.”

“You should talk to her. It might be important,” she states plainly with a terse nod and tears welling in her own eyes. Oh God, I’m going to lose her because of this. She thinks Lily showing up means I’m going back to her. I’m not, I can’t, I won’t. I can’t even explain that to her right now, my head beginning to pound.

“I. . .” Taking a shaky breath. “What if she found a way to take her from us, Kodi?”

36

KODI

THE AFTERMATH

What if she found a way to take her from us, Kodi? That question plays on repeat in my head. Take her. From us. Not him, but us.

Bella and Maverick mean so much to me at this point that this heartbreak would hurt worse than any I’ve ever experienced. If I lose Maverick, I don’t think I could keep working for him, especially if I had to watch him with another woman. We said that if we didn’t work out that I would continue to care for Bella, but we didn’t account for her mother coming back. There’s no way they would want me around, and if Lily found out about us then she definitely wouldn’t want me in the house.

All I can do at this moment is support Maverick. His face is filled with anguish, eyes wildly searching mine for an answer that I don’t have. I wish I did. I wish that I could take that fear and anger out of his eyes, but I can’t.

“Let's go to the couch, babe.” That’s all I manage to get out through my own clogged throat. Taking his hand and guiding him into the living room.

Sitting down, I pull Maverick down between my legs, his head resting on my chest so that I can run my fingers through his hair and rub his back.

“I know that you’re freaking out, but remember she can’t just swoop in and take her from you.” I finally answer his question from earlier. I don’t want to lose Bella either, I love her just as much as I love Maverick. The thought of losing them both is almost unbearable. “She?—”

“But she could have found a loophole in the paperwork she sent. She could demand something if I want her to sign the papers.”

“And if she did, then you have a really great legal team that will help you through it. Maybe you should call your lawyer.”

“I don’t know, baby.” His breathing slowly began to even out. “I’ll call them before I talk to her.”

He blows out a loud sigh after a moment.“I can’t. . .I can’t see her Kodi. Hearing her voice took me right back to that night.”

“I know it seems like you can’t handle seeing her, but I know you and you can.”

“I’m just. . .I don’t know what she wants, and this situation feels totally out of my control. I think that’s why I feel like I can’t see her.”

“You have to, Mav. If you want to guarantee a future for all of us, you have to go see what she wants. And I’ll be here when you get back to help you process whatever that conversation entails. When do you have to meet her?”

Blowing out a breath after a few strained moments, he says, “I haven’t told her yet. I told her I would text her. I just needed to get home to you.” He finally looks at me. His hair is disheveled, his eyes red rimmed and puffy. The light that normally shines through his baby blues has gone dim. My heart aches for the pain that he is experiencing in these moments. I would shoulder that burden for him if I could.

Grabbing his cheeks, I place a gentle kiss on his lips. “It’ll be okay, Mav. We will get through whatever this is about. Call Jeremy and then text her, might as well get it over with.”

He grabs his phone and dials Jeremy. He doesn’t put it on speaker, so I only hear his half of the conversation. “Hey Jeremy, sorry for calling on a Sunday.”

“So, Arabella’s mom called today. I don’t know what she wants yet, but I want to make sure that you guys are available in case I need help.”

“No, I don’t want to bring her into the office. I want to talk to her first by myself.”

“I understand that she can use what I say against me if we aren’t sitting in front of you, but it’s been three years, I don’t want our first conversation on display for a room full of legal counsel.” He sounds like he’s getting agitated.

“Thank you, I will call you afterwards.”

I watch him type out a text to Lily after he hung up the phone with Jeremy.

Maverick

3:30 PM. Wake, Bake, Repeat.

She immediately responds.

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