Chapter 16
Sixteen
Maverick
The realisation that Mabel became a mom shakes me to my core. Shattering my already broken heart with the realisation that I’m not the man she has a baby with.
Mabel and Ellie left us as we got the herd into the field, Mabel refused to look at me for the remainder of the ride, instead keeping her eyes locked in place of the herd or with her daughter who was flawlessly riding through it, like she’d done it hundreds of times before.
Then again, I wouldn’t know.
I wasn’t here to see any of it.
I look at Colter back in the stable after our days’ work and try to find the words to say to him. The strain in his face is almost too much for me to bare.
“Sorry I didn’t correct you this morning,” Colter breaks the silence engulfing us. I run my hand through my hair, leaning on Storm with the other.
“Hey, no need, I’m sorry I just assumed,” I say, giving him a pained smile.
“Will me being here cause more trouble for her?” I decide to be forward and ask. If Mabel’s taken and happy I won’t stand in her way and make things worse for her.
Hell, I came back here for her because I couldn’t ignore the pull any longer.
Where would it leave me if she has moved on?
“Don’t worry, Mav', it won’t,” he replies, a stutter in his voice. I look at him in the eye but see him hesitate. “It’s not my story to tell,” he says in a rushed tone before I can push further for more.
I place my hands down in defeat, but I respect the fact he has his sisters back.
Does it make me happy that me being here won’t cause her any trouble when it comes to Ellie? Yes.
Does it break my heart that there is obviously a hard story there? Also, yes.
“Okay,” is the only thing I can muster out. My mind is racing at the new information I’ve learned today.
“You coming tomorrow?” Colter asks, changing the subject of Mabel.
“I don’t know, man, am I still invited?” I ask, feeling awkward yet again.
Colter shakes his head and lets out a sigh before tilting his head back towards me. “Of course, nothing’s changed in that aspect around here, Mav,” he says, with a smile, hope sparkling in his eyes.
I place my hand on top of his shoulder. “Then I’ll be here,” I nod back at my friend. I’ve really missed the Fourth of July celebrations at this ranch.
Sure, it was fun in Cali. I’d hit the parks with some coworkers, and we would drink ourselves silly until we ended up in a bar or two, looking for someone to take away the sting of loneliness during the night.
But it wasn’t the same…
Colter’s phone ringing snaps me away from the memory of Cali and back towards him.
“Yeah?” He answers.
I watch the anger in his face as he leans against his horse.
“Fuck sake, I’m on my way,” he says rolling his eyes as he ends the call.
“All, okay?” I ask.
“No-” he starts. “Jimmy’s stalled the truck and can’t get it started,” he huffs out.
I give my friend a stern look. “Why did you hire him anyway?” I ask.
“Don’t look at me, it was my dad.” Colter huffs back to me. Mr Riggin’s loved the thought that he could save people.
“Say no more,” I laugh out. “I’ll finish up here.” I nod at him.
“Stalls from here down need mucking, I’ll be back shortly,” he says as he storms toward the barn door before stopping in front of a stable.
“Careful of this one, he’s a live wire.” He turns back to me before walking off again.
Grabbing the shovel that Colter abandons, I finish Dash’s stall in record time. Leading him back into his home, I give him a pat before turning on my heels only to see him rolling around in his neatly made bed. I let out a laugh and shake my head at the beast.
Looking down at the row of stalls, I decide to take on the live wire’s first as he’ll no doubt be the most difficult, listening to Colter’s warning.
I look into the stall to see a beautiful black stallion standing before me. I hold out my hand to let him have a sniff, before he starts nodding his head aggressively.
Pulling the halter off the nail on the side, I move to unlock the stable door. Before I know it, I’m being shoved onto my ass on the floor, and the live wire’s bolting from his stable and out the large barn door.
“Fuck!” I shout before getting to my feet and starting to make my way over to where the beast flew out.
Adjusting my hat on my head, I turn the corner coming out of the barn door. For the second time in the space of seconds, I find myself back on the floor, this time on my front and with someone underneath me.
“What the fu...” I start before opening my eyes, looking deep into those sky-blue eyes that I’ve missed so much.
Mabel’s staring back at me, holding eye contact with me. Lips slightly apart.
Realising that my weight is fully on top of her, I move my hands behind her head to hold my weight off her, but I don’t break our gaze. Feeling my dick hardening as I lay on top of her, I continue to look into her eyes.
I feel my breath shallowing, trying to catch itself with my girl back under me, the bolt of familiar electricity coursing through me.
Mabel parts her mouth and I momentarily get stuck staring at the rosy, pink lip’s that she owns.
“Hi, Mav,” she giggles out, shifting her shoulders beneath me.
“Hi, Mabel,” I reply cocking my head to the side.
Shit, she hasn’t called me Mav for years.
I see her cheeks fill with heat as she blushes.
I feel her move her hand onto my stubble and electricity jolts into my jaw.
We both let out a gasp, and she moves her hand away, but our gaze stays firmly in place.
I lick my lips, trying so hard to resist the pull to kiss her, like I’d done so many times with us in this position.
“Should we?” she gestures her hand for us to get up.
“Shit, sorry,” I say getting up and pulling her to her feet. She brushes herself down and I try to adjust my rock-hard dick without making it obvious.
Reality pulls me back into the room and I scan the area for the live wire horse that’s ended me up in this situation.
I see the black stallion in front of us, eating his fill of grass.
Mabel sees me looking at the horse and looks back at him.
“Ahh, see you’ve met Stallion...” She laughs. “He’s a handful.” She winks at me.
“I can see that,” I laugh back, taking another shy glance at her. She’s no longer wearing her chaps but hasn’t changed from her denim jeans or flannel shirt she was wearing this morning.
“Sorry about knocking into ya,’” I take my hat off and wipe my brow.
“That’s okay.” She shrugs back at me, looking just as awkward as I do in this moment.
Taking the rope from my hand, she walks calmly over to Stallion and pulls it over his head, giving him a gentle stroke to his neck.
He snorts out, causing her hair to move in the wind. I gaze at her in awe, she always had a gift with them, like my brother. Mabel clicks her tongue, and Stallion moves with her, back outside his stall where she ties a knot around the loop attached to the wall.
“There you go.” She smiles back at me.
“Thank you,” I reply, noticing the softness in her voice when she is now speaking to me. I wonder what’s happened since this morning. Maybe the weight of her secret with Ellie has been lifted from her shoulders.
We stand there, looking at each other.
Memories come flooding back of all the times we would do this, looking longingly at each other. I bravely take a step forward, but she doesn’t move.
“How, how have you been?” She whispers out.
I look at her, slanting my eyes.
You know the answer, Firefly, fucking terrible without you.
“Okay, you?” I muster out instead.
“Okay.” She shrugs. I let out a breath.
“This is awkward,” I say, trying to cut the tension a bit.
“Just a little.” she laughs out.
Fuck, I’ve missed her laugh.
I take another step towards her and again she doesn’t move. “I’m sorry I took the job,” I mutter out, looking at her with deep sorrow.
She lets out a sigh, tension moving from her shoulders. “I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have been so cruel to you.” She looks up at me.
“No… no, you don’t get to apologise for that-” I start leaning towards her again, as if on impulse, before I hear a shout from behind me.
“Mama!” Ellie squeals from behind me, I turn to her and offer a wave.
“Mr Maverick, hello again.” She waves back, making her way over to us.
“Hi, Ellie, you done a great job this morning,” I say, kneeling back down to her eye level.
Looking at Ellie, I can’t believe I didn’t see that she was Mabel’s daughter before. She is a mini-Mabel through and through.
The mini-Mabel I always dreamed of.
Ellie blushes and goes shy. “Thank you,” she says.
Before I can say anything else, Mabel starts to move Ellie towards the barn door.
“Come, Ellie, Mr Maverick has work to do.” Mabel smiles at me. “Ohhhh,” Ellie whines which makes me laugh. Mabel as well.
Turning on her heel, Mabel walks back out of the barn door before turning her head towards my direction and lets out a soft wave.
Shit, what’s happened since this morning?
Is this a sign?
Does she want to carry on that conversation?
Fuck, my head’s screwed.