Chapter 21
Twenty-one
Mabel
Spending the afternoon watching my daughter want nothing more than to spend all of her time alongside Maverick warms something in me that I never knew could be awakened.
Watching Maverick smile down at my daughter, laugh with her and take a genuine interest in the stories that she’s telling him warmed my once stone-cold broken heart.
As I come out from the kitchen after the food is sorted out to be enjoyed, my eyes look around for Ellie, only to notice that she’s eating a plate of well portioned food, next to Maverick, watching him with wonder in her eyes.
I decide to hang back into the background, nursing my glass of wine that I finally get to enjoy now that my jobs for the day are done and everyone’s finally eating.
Considering we were running behind only a few hours ago, everything’s going off without a hitch, and I can finally relax into our holiday festivities alongside those who lay claim to our ranch every year on this amazing holiday.
As the sun sets, we all move towards the large firepit that daddy put in for these types of occasions, taking sanctuary in one of the many yard chairs that’s set up around the pit.
Colter drops onto one knee next to the wood piled up in the middle and I lean back in my chair, letting out an exhale of true peace.
My eyes flicker over towards Maverick, who’s now sitting in between his brother and Luke, nursing over a glass of whiskey, laughing alongside them at some terrible joke that Jake’s just said.
I can’t help myself but smirk at the sight, pulling my own glass of wine to my lips. Ellie’s housed on my daddy’s lap, snuggling into his chest, eyes drooping heavy, yet refusing to give up into the sleep she clearly needs.
It’s a little passed nine-thirty in the evening and she’s so tired, refusing to give in, scared she’ll miss out on something important.
My eyes divert back towards Jake as I see him pull his guitar over his knee and the strap over his head. Colter takes this as a sign and throws a match onto the wood, igniting the campfire into burning ember of orange flames.
Strumming his hand over the strings on his guitar I hear the idle chit chat that’s happening around us come to an automatic stop and I take another sip of my wine, clearing my throat.
“Right, y’all,” he says and everyone looks towards him. “Me and Mabel actually done something a little differently this year and we’ve prepared a little something for ya,” Jake starts to speak, while I sit up in my seat, preparing myself.
“This one’s for the parents,” Jake winks at his mama before gliding his hand down the strings once again, starting the instrumental.
Jake and I decided this year to dedicate a couple of songs towards our parents and the wonderful legacy that they all would be leaving us one day, a proof of some sort that we could let them know that we are grateful to them for the small empires that they had built throughout the years.
Cody Johnsons – Dirt Cheap fills the air, and as I lean forward, taking the blanket that’s wrapped around me off my shoulders, leaving it to hang on the chair.
Jake begins to sing the first verse, and I look at him in awe. His voice always sounds like the heavens just opened, no matter what he chose to sing, especially in this type of environment. I start to sway along to the music.
Jake comes to the end of the first verse, and I see his eyes automatically lock to mine. As the chorus starts, I breathe in a deep breath through my nose, open my mouth and start to quietly sing along with him. Heads turn towards me, smiles on each one of their faces.
I catch my daddy’s eye and continue to sing the chorus to him, my daughter looking at me from his lap and her eyes full of admiration at our harmony together, my confidence grows more as the song goes on.
I let Jake take charge of the song, only singing along to the chorus.
His voice is so much better than mine, more trained and precise.
My voice is okay; I can hold a tune alongside a country song. It’s not anything special but done the job when it came to being a back-up singer. I’m certainly not about to be the new Lainey Wilson any time soon; nor do I want to, my place is right here, in this small world, with the people I love.
As the song finishes, Jake and I lock eyes once again, both with huge smiles on our faces as we hear the group burst into an applause. I move my gaze from Jake over to Maverick, who’s now standing, clapping his hands in an aggressive fashion, face beaming with pride at me.
Catching his glare, my cheeks burning with embarrassment when I notice the subtle wink that he sends my way.
Jesus Christ…
I feel the heat rising in the pit of my stomach.
Is it hot out here, or is it the wine?
No, it’s got to be the fire.
Right?
I exhale a ridged breath which makes my hair move away from my face.
Seeing him here, interacting with Ellie and my family like nothing’s happened, is becoming increasingly difficult.
It’s like I can’t stop myself from forgetting all the pain and devastation that was left upon my life.
My heart flutters every time he looks at me, making my brain act like it has amnesia over the last thirteen years.
Shaking my head and taking another swig of my drink, Jake fires up our next song on the guitar. Another Cody Johnson song; The Fall.
This time feeling the courage from the fuck ton of alcohol I’ve consumed today, alongside Mavericks eyes glaring into my soul from across the firepit, I decide to sing the whole song alongside Jake.
Doing my best to keep in pitch with my best friend, Jake smiles longingly at me, tears forming in his eyes at the sound that we manage to create together with little to no effort.
Coming up to the part where he speaks about the pain behind the life we were all so accustomed to and wouldn’t change for the world, my eyes flicker back to Maverick, doing my best to make it known of the mistake he made by leaving the life that we all adore so much, singing my words directly to him.
Call it a last will to make him feel slightly guilty about leaving his family in the shit, as well as mine.
Leaving me.
Leaving the life, we should have had together.
His gaze never leaves mine and I continue to sing the lyrics to the song without effort, watching the faces of those around us through my peripheral vision, never faltering on the last attempt I’ll do to make him feel a little guilty before I know I’ll more than likely give in to him.
I feel a tear roll down my cheek as Jake finishes off the song on his guitar before once again, we are met with applause and once again, I feel my cheeks flush.
Maverick stands again in applause, and I refuse to take my eyes away from him staying sat in my seat, no emotion being shown in my face, like an ultimate stare down between the pair of us.
Not through anger or heartache, but through sheer stubbornness, neither wanting to look away from the other first.
I feel my heart thump against my chest, alongside the muffle of noise in my ears, my breathing hollow and deep.
The lust that I still feel for this man coming through in the way that I’m looking at him, and the desire that oozes from his skin when he stares me down.
My pussy starts to throb at the way his piercing green eyes look from my face towards my tits that are slightly on show through the V-neck top I chose this morning.
Maverick bites his bottom lip before running his tongue over it and my pussy becomes wetter as the moments drag on. The only thing between us being a fire pit and a shit ton of unanswered questions and devastation.
I squirm in my seat but refused to back down on the staring competition we have unknowingly started.
Little arms wrap around my neck in a tight squeeze, pulling my thoughts away from the hold that this man clearly has over me still, as I look down at Ellie who’s squealing in my ears at my performance, I finally break my hold with Maverick to grip her tightly back and a heartfelt grin spread across my cheeks.
“Mama, that was amazing!” Ellie squeals from in between my arms.
“Thanks, baby-girl.” I reply, pulling her back into the nape of my neck.
Releasing her from my grip, I hear Jake strum into another song and my heart leaps at the tune.
The fresh liquor running through my veins I take Ellie’s hand and twirl her around.
Blake Shelton vs Post Malone’s – Pour me a drink flies through the air, Jake singing as Luke bang’s his drum sticks on the table next to him.
Twirling Ellie around, Iris and Hope get up to join us when I hear the familiar sound that I’d spent years trying to block from my mind.
Maverick’s singing alongside his brother, and I stop dead in my tracks again.
Ellie notices of course, and she stops dancing with me, halting her pair of Stetsons to one spot, cheeks spread wide at her uncle and his brother singing.
The boys finish up their song and Colter shouts a loud “Yee-haw!”, banging his foot alongside Luke to make the rhythm as loud as we could.
Funny part is, my brother could play. Growing up he always had a guitar in his hand alongside Maverick, but as the years went on, I saw him pick it up less and less, hardly ever now days.
He pretty much stopped the day Maverick left.
“Turns out, you ain’t bad, Mr Maverick,” Ellie shouts from where she stands and we all give each other a knowing look, before bursting into fits of laughter at my girls comment.
“You tell him, Ellie-Belly,” Iris manages out with a hiccup, leaning onto Hope’s shoulder, clearly far too drunk to keep herself up-right. I laugh at her, and the state that we all decide to get ourselves into whenever the opportunity arises.
Because we do, at any opportunity.
I look back at my mom and dad who are laughing at our stupid antics, alongside Aunt Kay and Rhett.
I throw out my best drunken smile towards the four of them, before throwing my hands in the air at the next song that Jake decides to grace us with.
Billy Currington – We are tonight starts to play and I decide to sing along with Jake to this one; it’s one of my favourites after all.
Hearing my voice alongside his own, Jake stands from the tree stump he took solace on when we came over here earlier and bops his shoulders along to the melody, strumming his hand down the guitar.
Shaking my ass, I lean onto his shoulder and belt the song out with everything that I have, a smile never leaving my face. As the instrumental starts, I pull my arms up and do a terrible impression of an air guitar; but I don’t care.
I hear Maverick on the other side of me, singing along and when I look in his direction, he’s up from his seat and spinning my daughter around in circles and on impact, I lose my footing and fall straight onto my ass, still breathless from the dancing and from the man who’s spinning my nine-year-old around.
The same one he didn’t even know existed a few days ago.
Jake cuts the guitar and looks at me with panic, holding his hand out to mine. Maverick rushes down to my side like he used to when we were kids. I look at the brothers and pull my head laughing at my stupidity.
“I’m fine, y’all, stop fussing!” I say, swatting both hands away before pulling myself back on my feet. “Two left feet, I tripped,” I say, laughing at myself, trying to style out the real reason why I fell flat on my ass.
Pulling myself onto my knees and back standing upright from my fall, I dust myself down, making sure my top is firmly secured over my stomach.
I catch Jake and Maverick giving each other a look, but I brush it off almost immediately as I did falling straight onto my ass.
“Fire it back up, pretty boy,” I wink back at my best friend and Jake throws his head back into a laugh, his devilish grin on full view. He strums his guitar, beginning the next non-love song on his very long list of songs he plans to play tonight.