Page 12 of Maverick

As I took a step up the stairs, Mama Crawford came barreling through the front door.

“Oh my goodness, you made it!” She gave me a huge hug as she pulled me into the house. “I was hoping Silas would bring you tonight!”

I just laughed as she pushed me towards the large dining room table, Orion right under my feet. “Well, thank you for having me. I certainly don’t want to intrude on family time, I know how important that is.” Memories of my lack of family time started to flood my brain, but I quickly pushed them down. I was not going to ruin the moment by bringing up my baggage.

“Oh, Willow! You are never intruding on anything!” Mama Crawford gave me another big hug as she pulled out a chair for me. “Let’s properly introduce you to everybody.”

The large man I saw Maverick talking to came over and put his hand out, “I’m Striker. President of the club. This is my wife, Lilah. And those two rascals are our sons, Colton and Knox.”

The little blonde woman, Lilah, came over and wrapped me in a huge hug. “I’m so glad Mav is helping you! We don’t live far from his house so if you need anything at all, just come on over!”

Maverick came in and plopped into the chair next to me. “She’ll be fine, Lilah. I got shit under control. Where’s Goose?”

Mama Crawford cleared her throat from the head of the table, “Silas Charles Crawford! You watch your mouth when you’re at my dinner table.”

Striker and Lilah stifled a laugh behind their hands as they put the twins into their highchairs. Mama Crawford went back into the kitchen and brought out two huge plates of food. One plate was filled with chicken in some kind of sauce and the other was filled with vegetables.

Maverick leaned in close to me and whispered, “Pulled chicken and veggies, babe. Veggies are fresh from Mama’s garden. Chicken is from our farm.”

I was amazed that none of this came from a store. “I thought this was going to be small? And all of this is from your land?”

Maverick just smiled as he grabbed my plate and piled it full of food. “Eat up, baby girl. This is just the beginning.”

We had all stuffed our faces until we couldn't move, then topped it off with Mama Crawford’s strawberry rhubarb pie. The twins, Colton and Knox, were passed out on the couch cuddling with Orion. Lilah and Striker wished us all a good night as they carried their boys upstairs.

I grabbed Orion as Maverick and I walked Mama Crawford to her little cottage back down from the main house. She talked my ear off about the local farmer’s market and how it needs some new fresh faces. Mama Crawford kissed us both on the cheek and shuffled her way into her house. Maverick placed his hand on my back as he walked me down the path to his home.

As we neared the end of the path, I could see a beautiful A-frame home. It had natural, wood siding and a black metal roof. A small set of wooden steps led up the front to the porch. Under the porch, I could see stacks of wood lined all the way under the house. At the top of the house, was a triangular window and right underneath it was a large picture window. Right underneath the large window, were black framed french doors.

Maverick walked up the stairs and let Orion run right into the house. “Welcome to your new digs, babe. Let’s get you all settled for the night.”

I slowly walked up the stairs and into his home. The beautiful siding on the home matched the interior. Black beams were all throughout the first floor and looked stunning against the natural wood. A brown leather couch sat against one wall, burnt orange pillows and a white blanket were piled into the corner. Right across from the couch sat a beautiful, round, fireplace. It sat hovering above the ground. Just beyond the living room was a sleek black kitchen. The cabinets were a matte black and the countertops were the same natural wood as the exterior and interior of the cabin.

Maverick dropped my bag on the couch and led me to the back. “This here is my room. The bathroom is right next door to it. You can sleep here tonight.”

I turned and looked at him, “I told you, I am not sleeping with you.”

Maverick just laughed as he led me toward the open, wrought iron and wood stairs that hovered over the kitchen. “Let’s go. Up the stairs, babe.”

The stairs led up to a huge space above the rest of the house. It was completely empty except for a few boxes. “This is why you’re sleeping in my room. I don’t have another bed. There are two bedrooms on either side of this empty space, but no beds. I’ll take the couch tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll grab a bed and bring it up here for you.”

I turned and looked at him then slowly stood on my tippy toes, kissing him on the cheek, “Thank you, Maverick. I really appreciate all of this.”

Maverick’s green eyes lit up and I could see him battling with himself. “No problem. Let’s just get your stuff set up.”

We walked back down the stairs and into his bedroom. A black wrought iron bed sat in the middle with two small nightstands on either side. The bed was neatly made with a white comforter. A dark blue quilt was folded on the bottom with another burnt orange flannel blanket. Maverick set my bags down then went outside and grabbed more of my things.

“When did you grab those?”

“Prospect brought them. What the fuck is in these things? Heavy as shit.”

I ran over and grabbed them from him and gently put them on the floor. “Careful! It’s my art supplies.”

Maverick grabbed another bag and brought it back to the bedroom as I followed him with my art supplies. “You paint?”

I carefully took out my easel and set it up in the corner of the bedroom. “Yeah, a little. I don’t know. Not a big deal or anything.”

He gently placed a flat bag on the bed and started to go through it. “Babe, are these all paintings you’ve done? These are amazing!”

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