Page 62 of Maverick

“Hey, girl! What’s going on? Everybody is being super weird right now.”

“Well...I left.”

Silence filled the air until Lilah spoke.

“You did what? Why? What’s going on, Willow?”

I sniffled back the tears, “Maverick and I had a fight. He doesn’t love me and doesn’t want me to stay. Thinks the town and you guys aren’t enough for me.”

“That sonofabitch. I’m going to kill him.”

I laughed imaging tiny pregnant Lilah raging against Maverick.

“It’s fine, Lilah. Wrench and I talked. I’ll be okay I promise. He’ll probably be upset so just keep an eye on him.”

“Why is he going to be upset, Willow?”

I groaned and laid back on the bed. “I told him I was going to come back and stay with him. But I have no plans too. I just can’t cause any more issues between the club brothers.”

“Willow. You better get your ass back to my house right now or I will come and find you. Don’t you test me.”

“Don’t stress yourself out. I will be fine by myself. I’ll even check in with you every day. Okay?”

I could hear Mama Crawford in the background and the shuffle of the phone.

“Willow. This is Mama Crawford. You get back to Lilah’s house or I will find you and whoop your ass.”

“Mama. I need to be alone right now. I love you both more than anything, but I need to just be alone with my thoughts.”

Lilah’s voice came back on, “One night alone. That is it. Text me your GPS coordinates so I know where you are. Keep your phone on you at all times. Lock the doors, stay in the light and close to crowds. You best be back at my house tomorrow morning. You understand me?”

“Yes, ma’am. I promise I’ll be fine. I’m just over the town line at the old ranger station. I’m parked out back where nobody can even see me.”

“Be careful, Willow.”

I hung up and closed my eyes. People truly cared about me and I was running away from them. Sitting up, I turned to Orion.

“We’ll go back after tonight.”

He raised his head and barked, licking my face and wagging his tail.

“I know, I know. Maybe we just needed some space. We’ll see after tonight buddy. Let’s get our stuff ready to settle down for the night.”

We hopped out of the van and headed off into the woods. I made sure I had the handgun Wrench gave me. Orion and I gathered up some wood and brought it back to our little spot. I started a small fire and pulled out two camp chairs.

I headed back into the van to scrounge for some food. Opening one cabinet, I found a basket and pulled it out. It had a little note on top and I opened it up.

“Willow. Make sure you keep your eye out and never lose focus. Here’s some goodies to fill you up until you get back. I’ll make a nice steak for you tomorrow night. Love you kid. Wrench.”

I smiled and opened the basket up. There were a ton of Ellie Jo’s little treats inside. Cupcakes, mini cakes, muffins, and croissants. Digging deeper I found beef jerky, tuna, a loaf of bread, beans, and some spam.

“Gross, Wrench. Well, this certainly helps me want to be back home with the promise of steak.”

I laughed to myself and started to eat one of the delicious cupcakes. Orion barked and I hopped out of the van with the basket.

“We’ve got dinner, buddy!”

I opened the packet of tuna and laid it on the floor for him with a little mini cake next to it.

---