Chapter 49
Chapter forty-nine
Heart Like A Truck
Cheyenne
Bad gripped Maverick’s shoulder, similar to the way Cash had when he’d tried to get him off Nate.
And just like with Cash, Maverick swung, wild and furious.
Bad caught the punch easily, and pulled him into a hard, unrelenting embrace.
Maverick struggled for a moment, reminding me of that little red filly the first time I’d watched him work with her—all anger and fire and brimstone.
Bad spoke to him, his hold on Maverick unyielding. Bit by bit, inch by inch, the anger slowly dissipated from Maverick—the tension in his muscles, the anger lingering in every fiber of his being melting away like ice in a glass on a warm day.
I watched in stunned silence, tears slipping down my cheeks as Bad moved back a step.
All the fight was gone from Maverick, a hollow shell of despair in its place as he glanced down at his hands.
He looked pained, haunted, tortured. And then Bad’s hands gripped Maverick’s shoulders as he pressed his head to his nephew’s.
Bad spoke to him, even from the distance I could see his lips moving, though I didn’t know what he said—I probably never would. But it seemed to bring Maverick back to himself.
Cash came up to them then, and Maverick let go long enough to pull his cousin in for a tight hug.
Ryder joined the fray, even as Nate struggled and moaned on the ground. His friends tended to him, casting worried glances Maverick’s way. Almost like they were scared something might set him off again and he’d come at them next.
What would happen now? The unease still hadn’t left me; I still felt like a ticking time bomb was about to go off inside my heart. Would the cops come? Would Nate press charges? Would Maverick go to jail?
My breath sawed in and out of my chest, a strangled cry falling from my lips. It was all too much. Too. Too. Much. A warm set of arms was there to catch me as I felt the world start to tilt, the smell of magnolias filling my nose. Violet held me in her arms, as sob after sob wracked me.
I don’t know how long I stood there like that, but my entire body went still as I felt Maverick’s stare on me.
Slowly, I peeled myself out of Violet’s grip and turned to face him fully.
He looked every bit the dark angel as he picked up his discarded hat off the ground, examining it a moment before replacing it on his head and striding toward me.
I wiped at my tears.
There wasn’t a trace of the monster in him. Almost like it had been purged in the fight. Another woman might have been afraid of him…. worried that that monster would poke back through at some point down the line. But I wasn’t.
He’d never hurt me. Never lay a hand on me.
He wasn’t his father. He was the same man who’d run into a burning trailer to save my dog, the man who’d picked up all the shattered pieces of me when I’d fallen apart the first few days we’d been together.
He was the same man who’d driven me damn near two hours away to an abortion clinic when every fiber of his being fought that notion.
He was the same man who loved me, and loved this little girl like she was his own.
Maverick’s face, his eyes, shone with worry. Without him saying a word, I knew just how terrified he was. Terrified that I’d seen this side of him and would leave.
So, as he came to a stop before me, as his guilty gaze met mine, unshed tears hanging like drops of starlight in his eyes, I pulled him to me and let him fall apart.
Maverick paced back and forth, so fiercely it was a damn miracle he hadn’t carved a path into the concrete. He’d removed his hat a while ago, leaving it in the back of Ryder’s truck. As he paced, he speared his fingers through his close-cropped hair.
I watched in silence, not knowing what to do. He wouldn’t talk to anyone, save Bad, and only enough to mutter, “I can’t go to jail, Bad. What am I gonna do?” Or some variation along those lines.
I was honestly more than a bit surprised the cops hadn’t showed up yet. It was crazy though, within a few minutes of the fight breaking up, the crowd dispersed, people going back to their night as if Maverick hadn’t just smashed Nate’s face in.
To them it was probably just two guys getting in a fight over me. If only they knew how much deeper and darker it was than that.
I shivered at the thought of seeing Nate’s broken, bloodied face. He looked almost unrecognizable as his friends all but dragged him away. At least he was alive and breathing. It was more than he deserved, but I didn’t have to worry about Maverick having murdered someone.
“Ouch! Mama, it’s fine. I’m fine,” Cash grumbled a few feet to my left.
Violet dabbed at his bloodied eyebrow. He was fine for the most part, aside from a blooming black eye that was halfway swollen shut.
Ryder was better off appearance wise, but he’d injured his ribs from the looks of the way he held them—the same ones he’d broken back in March.
Guilt welled in me. I knew it wasn’t my fault.
I’d literally done nothing wrong, but Maverick had gotten involved because of me.
Okay, that was a lie. Maverick struck me as the type to defend a woman’s honor regardless of their relationship to him.
But still, this had all started because Nate had found out about the baby.
I glanced down at my stomach, a hand going to my belly as I tried to feel her. I’d not felt any kicks or somersaults or any of the usual movement I’d grown so used to, but then again this was the first time I’d thought of it after finally coming down from the craziness of the fight.
Worry knotted in my chest, but I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to add more problems to the bunch. I’d keep an eye and start worrying when I needed to.
My gaze drifted to Maverick once more, who continued his pacing while Bad reassured Maverick to the best of his ability—a near impossible feat it seemed.
Maverick’s eyes shone with unshed tears as he choked out to no one in particular, “What am I gonna do?”
“Cheyenne.” Bad’s voice sent my heart racing.
“Yes, sir?” I asked, hopping off the tailgate and making a beeline for him.
Bad appraised me for a long moment. “How’re you doin’?”
I blew out a breath. “As good as I can right now.”
He nodded. “You two are ridin’ with me. Violet’s gonna drive the others.”
I glanced at Maverick before turning back to Bad.
I was glad he was the one taking us home.
I didn’t know what to do with Mav. How to break through the paranoid episode he was going through.
Truth was, I was trying to navigate my way through a sea of emotions as well.
I still couldn’t quite comprehend all that had transpired. “Yes, sir.”
I turned to Maverick, holding out a hand before him. “Hey… hey, Mav. Come on. Let’s go home.”
His gaze lifted to meet my own, the worry exuding from him making my heart squeeze painfully in my chest. “What about the cops? Don’t we need to wait?”
Bad moved before Maverick, gripping his shoulders firmly while leaning in close. “Don’t worry, boy. Everythin’s gonna be okay.”
“But—”
“Maverick. Listen to me.” Bad spoke quietly, but no less stern. “Nothin’s gonna happen to you. Everythin’s gonna be alright. Just get in the damn truck.”
His harsh voice seemed to finally cut through some of the cloud of worry that hovered over Maverick. He blew out a deep breath and nodded, silently moving to me and offering me a hand. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, as he led me toward Bad’s truck.
Everyone else was piling into their designated vehicles. After a quick goodbye to Cash, Ryder, and Charlie, I helped Maverick into the backseat, before climbing in myself…