Page 63 of Coffee Shop Girl
He quirked one eyebrow in question.
I shrugged. “No, Mama didn’t love Jim. Jim gave her a safe place and steady food. She kept things running in the house while he worked the fields. She didn’t seem bothered by the hints of darkness in him.”
Maverick tightened his fingers, pressing them into my skin. But it didn’t hurt. It felt more like a possessive caress.
“Did he ever hurt you when you visited?”
“No.”
His subtle grip relaxed.
“He never said much, not even to Lizbeth or Ellie. Lizbeth always tried. Ellie ignored him. He ignored her. Mama made up for everything Jim wasn’t. She was like a spirit with nowhere to wander.” Unable to stop now, I launched into the heart of the matter. “I was so jealous of Lizbeth and Ellie. They had her all the time in person. She laughed with them. Was carefree with them. When I had lived with her, everything had been so stressful. Minute to minute. Terrifying.”
“Sounds like she was doing the best she could.”
His compassion tugged at my heart. Only after her death was I better able to understand that. Her parents had died, and she had no siblings. There was a druggie aunt somewhere in Florida and a distant uncle who had cut ties and moved across the country. Neither came to her funeral.
“She did,” I said softly.
“What happened with your dad and his heart attack?” he finally asked, his expression puzzled, as if he wanted to put something together.
“I came home for a weekend visit from college last fall, and he was sitting outside in the canoe, hunched over. When I got to his side, he could barely breathe. I called an ambulance. A helicopter came to take him to the hospital in Jackson City. He died in the middle of the ride.”
“You clearly adored your father.” A hint of a smile appeared on his face. “Considering what you’re doing for his legacy.”
Tears welled up in my eyes. Mama I could talk about all day. I’d resigned myself to her death years ago. But Dad?
I still couldn’t yield.
“Life was so much better with Dad and Pappa. Between the two of them, I had stability and safety. They were my team. I think ... I think I’ve been chasing it ever since,” I added quietly.
He tilted his head back, looking outside. The span of silence allowed me to collect my frazzled, scattered thoughts. For half a second, this all felt like a huge mistake. He hadn’t asked for this. He was my business mentor. A coach. Sometimes, he felt more like a boss ... but most of the time he felt like my friend. I’d just vomited my past all over him like a sick toddler.
That was a friend thing, right?
Maverick’s hand turned into an arm, and before I knew what was happening, he’d pulled me into him. All space between us evaporated, and so did the air in my lungs. The feeling of his body against mine was the first steady anchor I’d felt in the last eight months. I quickly curled into the proffered warmth with a sniffle, tucking my head under his chin.
“Bethany, I...” He trailed off, unable to complete his thought. His loss of words soothed my prickly heart.
“I know.”
“This seems daunting.” He tightened his hold, which was already encompassing. “Straightening up this business and taking on two girls who need you, but it’s not more than you can handle. And you aren’t alone. You have a team again. This is all going to work. I promise. I can see it in my mind, and I’ve never lost when I’ve bet on my own ideas. We’ll make sure you can prove yourself to a judge before the end of summer.”
I forced myself to lean back and meet his gaze. He meant it—I could tell. His certainty, the logical way he approached each problem, convinced me. My body sank shamelessly closer to him.
“You really believe that.”
“Really.”
My eyes dropped to his lips. The next thing I knew was the searing heat of his lips on mine. All the blood left my body, replaced with fire. Maverick’s grip tightened on my arms, crushing me against him. My heart beat an uncertain, eager staccato.
He tore away. “Bethany—”
I closed my eyes. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Never kiss a business consultant! “I’m sorry, I—”
A hand slid up the side of my face until he palmed my cheek with a calloused hand. Seconds later, another kiss stole my breath. This one was soft. Gentle. Perhaps a little wary. It trapped me on this side of magic. I leaned into him until there was no more space in my head.
Nothing but him.
