Page 67 of Coming Home to Maverick

“You too.” He looked at Decker. “Brothers.”

“Maverick.” Nash grinned. The others nodded.

Then he turned to Bailey. She looked away, and Gracie ran to her. “Look, Mama! Maverick came back!”

“I see, honey. Thank you.”

Maverick’s boots moved in a steady path to stand in front of Bailey. “Hey.”

“Hey.” She glanced at him and then looked away again.

“I was wondering if we could run through our show tomorrow?”

“Sure.”

He turned to the others. “You all ready for the Dawson Ranch showcase?”

“Yes sir,” Nash answered for all of them. “We convinced Bailey to barrel race too.”

“Did you now?” Maverick raised his eyebrows.

She shrugged. “Yes, I thought it only fair that I do my part.”

He nodded. And then he didn’t know what to say. She looked away. And in their whole on-again, off-again history, things had never felt more awkward.

Bailey shifted. “Hey, look, I’m gonna go get some sleep.”

“Oh, okay. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“We better practice early.”

“I’ll come by at first light.”

She nodded. “Good night. Come on, Gracie. Time for bed.”

As soon as she was out of sight, he joined his family at the fire.

“Well, that was the dumbest apology I’ve ever heard.” Nash dug a stick into the fire.

“Who said I was apologizing?”

“Weren’t you? I thought for sure that’s what you would be doing.” Nash glanced up, his eyes serious.

“Oh yeah? And just what do you think I should be apologizing for? For leaving? I was under the impression that she wanted me to leave.”

“For not speaking to her or us for all this time. For leaving on such a negative note. For not trusting her or appreciating the fact that she’s there for you.”

Maverick narrowed his eyes. “Sounds to me like someone has feelings he didn’t have when I left?”

“Oh, stop. No feelings you need to be worrying about.”

Mama patted the chair next to her. “Come and sit, Maverick.”

He joined her. “What’s wrong with everybody?”

“Oh, nothing’s wrong with them.” She looked into the fire.

Nash snorted.

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