Page 64 of Coming Home to Maverick

Bailey sent a text.You really going?

Yep.

We’ll come watch as many as we can.

He responded with a thumbs-up. He’d wanted to say something snarky about them bringing Daniel. But that would have been just straight-up wrong. So instead of saying something stupid, he just sent the emoji. It might have seemed cold or too vague, but that’s all he had right now.

Was he overreacting about Bailey having Daniel over? Probably. But it bothered him that she hadn’t told him about it. It scared him like nothing else ever had. Daniel had some kind of sick power over her, some dangling carrot of success that Maverick couldn’t match. In the past, Daniel had offered adventure, a singing career. And Maverick had offered roots and loyalty. She’d gone with adventure. And now Daniel was sweeping back in with a tie as strong as blood. He gripped the steering wheel. Oh, how he wished Gracie were his daughter.

But he wasn’t gonna wait around while Bailey ran off with Daniel again. And he wasn’t gonna watch while a man who didn’t deserve a second of that young girl’s time weaseled his way into her life.

What did Daniel want with them? Maverick just couldn’t believe that a man who had treated them both so callously for years could suddenly have a change of heart.

He hoped Bailey would come to her senses. Even if Maverick wasn’t around to remind her of what they had together.

It was late at night when he arrived in Mesquite. His truck pulled into the training arena where he’d work with the team before the circuit started. His old boss, Jeremiah, was there to meet him.

He hopped out of the truck, and Jeremiah clapped him on the back. “Does this mean you’re in?”

“I’m in.”

His grin warmed Maverick. “Let’s get Thunder situated and have a talk.”

“Is there a trailer for me?”

“You know it. Right next to mine.”

Maverick nodded. If he didn’t think about what he was leaving, this new adventure could really get him excited.

* * *

Bailey couldn’t believeMaverick had just left. She had told him to go, but Willow Creek without Maverick was something she’d never experienced before. As she got ready to head into work the next morning, she dreaded leaving the house.

Daniel had decided to stay for two days, so he was still there. Bailey didn’t want to leave Gracie with him alone. Something didn’t sit well with her when it came to Daniel. He said all the right things. He seemed like a good and changed man, but she couldn’t shake her unease. So she’d put Gracie in her parents’ care. “Don’t leave her alone with Daniel.”

The concern in their eyes told her what she asked was not a simple task. But they nodded, determined.

“When is he leaving?” Her mama made no secret of the fact that she did not approve of Daniel.

“Tomorrow. First thing.”

Mama nodded.

Bailey headed off to work after a quick kiss from Gracie. Her daughter whispered, “I miss Maverick.”

“I know, sweetheart.”

“Who’s gonna help me with Nash?”

“We’ll figure it out. I could help you, you know. I used to show pigs myself.”

“You did?”

“Yeah, I totally won a ribbon one year.”

“Okay, then you’ll do.” Her serious pout was part amusing, part tragic.

Bailey missed him too, like she would a hand or an arm or her ability to sing. What did any of it mean without Maverick? She kissed her little girl goodbye again and then walked out the front door.

---