Maverick (Carter Brothers Book 5)

by Lisa Helen Gray

  “No, I’m serious,” she cries, wiping her eyes.

  Everyone looks sad. Even my own heart is cracking at their pain. It was these two who showed me what love was―what love is. Without them…. I shake my head. That’s never going to happen. It’s not a possibility. I won’t let it.

  “Why?” Malik asks, his voice cracking.

  Fuck!

  I’ve never seen him like this. Out of all of us, he’s always kept his emotions hidden, pasting on a blank expression. Well, unless he’s angry. He’s never had a problem showing his anger.

  “Because we don’t have a future.”

  Her answer sounds grieved, anguished, her eyes filled with so much hurt and sorry it’s gut-wrenching.

  “We’re having twins, Harlow. We love each other,” he tells her, pleading now.

  She shakes her head sadly, tears still falling as she hiccups. “But I want more. I want to get married, and I know how you feel about marriage. I understand why, but my parents wouldn’t want me having kids when I’m not married. You could leave me at any given moment,” she rushes out hysterically.

  I start to piece it all together. Malik has always said he’d never get married because of our parents. A sickening feeling washes over me and guilt slams into me. What he or the others don’t know, only Granddad, is that Mum and that piece of shit we called a dad weren’t actually married. But telling Malik that now would cause more questions and I don’t have all the answers. Most of the stuff I pieced together myself growing up.

  “So we’ll get fucking married,” he responds, shocking us all. He’s always been up front about his feelings about marriage, even when he and Harlow got together, so knowing he’s willing to put all that aside to keep her happy is overwhelming.

  “You don’t believe in marriage,” she yells, throwing her hands in the air before breaking out into another sob.

  The front door slams shut in the middle of her outburst. We all turn in time to see Max running down the hallways towards us with a big grin on his face.

  “I got attacked by a shit ton of MILFS at the school. Holy fuck, they wanted me. I’m the maaaan…,” he says, just as he goes ass over tit. Literally.

  He rushed in looking so cocky and self-assured that when he falls on his ass, I can’t help but laugh. I watch in amusement as Lake walks over, looking down at him flat on his back. She tilts her head to the side, a look of worry and concern across her features. But I know Lake well enough to know she’s laughing her ass off on the inside.

  “I meant to do that,” he groans, lightening the tension in the room. We laugh at his expense―well, everyone but Malik and Harlow who are in the middle of staring down at the floor.

  “Are you okay?” Lake asks, helping him sit up.

  “Good, I’m good.” His words come out as a mumble as he rubs the back of his head, wincing.

  “Good. How’s your dignity?” she asks in all seriousness, which causes a burst of laughter to bubble out of my mouth.

  He gives her a dry look before turning to the room, his eyes widening. I turn to in the direction he’s looking, finding Harlow still crying into her hands and Malik staring at her helplessly.

  “What’s wrong with Harlow? I swear it wasn’t me who ate all the chocolate bars…. Okay, I had like, three…. Fuck, I had the whole packet, but I’ll replace them.”

  Everyone but Lake ignores him. She slaps him across the back of his head, shaking her head at him in warning. He shuts up, looking chastised.

  “I swear, we’ll get married whenever you want to, Harlow. You’re not leaving me. I won’t let you,” Malik whispers, taking her hands in his.

  “Marriage is a bit extreme, dude, and let’s not mention incest. I’m not going anywhere,” Max replies, his eyes drawing together in confusion and disgust.

  Lake slaps him again and he winces, shaking his head as he glares at her. We all roll our eyes before turning back to Malik and Harlow, hoping they sort this out.

  “But you don’t want to get married. I’m not forcing you into something you don’t want, then have you hate me.” Harlow sniffles.

  “You’re not making me do anything. I’d marry you tomorrow, Harlow. I’m gonna spend the rest of my life with you. Nothing on this earth could force me into that, and if you need the piece of paper to rectify that, then we’ll get the damn piece of paper. Either way, I’m not leaving you. I’m not going to walk away. You and I are forever,” he says.

  I’ve never heard him be so meaningful, so deep. He’s an action person. Malik is not one for words, but as speeches and declaration of love goes, he did pretty fucking good.

  She looks up, her eyes round with hope. “You really want to marry me?” she asks, like it’s Malik bringing up the subject. She seems so surprised that he would, and she shouldn’t. Malik loves her. He’d die for her. Anyone with a heartbeat knows that.

  “Yes,” he says, no hesitation.

  “Before we have the twins?”

  “Yes,” he repeats, leaning down to cup her face.

  “I love you,” she cries, falling into his arms.

  “Um, aren’t the twins due in, like, five weeks?” Max asks slowly.

  “Mase, get Joan here. We have a wedding to plan,” I order.

  “On it,” Mason says, grabbing his phone. The relief on his face that Harlow and Malik aren’t breaking up is evident. Even my shoulders have relaxed, the tension seeping from my body.

  “Another wedding?” Max moans.

  “Shut up. You’ll be helping too,” I warn him. “You okay now?” I ask Harlow.

  She contemplates for a minute before shaking her head.

  “No―” she starts, but Malik interrupts.

  “Now what?” His once relaxed face is now tight again with tension. He looks ready to bust balls if it means keeping her happy.

  “I’m really hungry,” she says, looking away shyly.

  “You saying the food isn’t ready?” Max groans from where he’s still sitting on the floor.

  “Max,” I start, not ready to have this conversation right now.

  “I’ll start it,” Denny says hurriedly. She, better than all of us, knows how Harlow gets when she doesn’t get her food.

  “I’ll help,” Teagan offers quietly.

  My eyes catch hers in a smouldering stare. I love how easily she gets on with my family and how much they’ve all taken to her and Faith. Not only that, but I love how easily she fits into my life. How nothing with her feels uncomfortable or forced. It feels right and until she walked in my life, everything felt wrong.

  “Joan’s on her way. She said she just needs Granddad to get her wedding albums down,” Mason informs us as he walks back into the kitchen.

  “Wedding albums?” I gulp.

  “Plural?” Max swallows, looking scared.

  “Um, yeah,” Mason says.

  “Oh God.” Myles plops down into a chair.

  “Oh God” is about right.

  Maybe we should have kept Joan out of the loop until the actual day of the wedding.

  “You only want something small though, right?” Malik asks, looking at Harlow, his face pale.

  “Yeah, small,” she says, staring down at him lovingly. “Small.”

  “Why do I have the feeling she’s―” Myles starts.

  “Lying,” Max finishes.

  The girls all giggle at our expressions. For Denny’s wedding, we were all run ragged, doing jobs that were too girly and too stressful. The errands Mary had us on…. Fuck, I still think she did it for her own amusement.

  None of us argue with Harlow though. Why? Because none of us want to be the reason she isn’t smiling the way she is right now. Her whole face is lit up, glowing with happiness.

  And I know each and every one of my brothers would kill anyone who tried to take that look away from her.

  “Small it is, then,” I say, thankful everything is right in the world now that they’re okay.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  TEAGAN

 
I laugh as all the girls tease Harlow relentlessly over the way she had Malik propose to her―even if it was unintentional. Watching that unfold in Maverick’s kitchen broke my heart. You could see the two were torn up over it, that neither wanted to leave the other, yet Harlow’s emotions got the best of her.

  “I swear, you put us through something like that ever again, I’ll strangle you myself,” Denny tells Harlow.

  “I told you it was that dream. It felt so real. I can still feel their touch and hear their voice,” Harlow says softly, a sad expression crossing her face.

  “What dream?” I ask, curling my feet under me. This is the first time I’ve heard about any dream.

  Harlow turns towards me with a sad expression. “My mum and dad died two years ago. And the night before I went all hormonal on Malik, they came to me in a dream. They told me they wanted to see me married, that I would have a boy and a girl and that if I didn’t get married, my future was ruined. But then the dream went back to Malik and the time he told me about his upbringing.” She shrugs, trying to come across like it hasn’t affected her, when we can all see the truth. It’s gotten to her that much that she was willing to leave Malik, the man she loves and adores.

  “Oh, Harlow,” I say compassionately, knowing firsthand what those kinds of dreams can do to a person.

  It was a dream I had of my mum and dad that led me to wake up and hear Lynn and Travis’s talk about selling my body. They warned me to leave, to find Nan.

  “It’s fine,” she says, her eyes watering. Her phone goes off, interrupting what I was about to say. “Malik is here. He’s waiting outside for us. Thank you for tonight.”

  I giggle, watching her struggle to get up from the sofa, her round stomach getting in the way.

  “It’s fine,” I tell her once again.

  After last week’s fiasco and her meltdown in the kitchen over Malik, Joan turned up with albums full of article cutouts from wedding magazines. When they got to the flowers, I finally had something to contribute, so I offered them to her for free. The minute my offer left my lips, Maverick and Harlow were quick to shut it down. Of course, I won in the end, reminding them that I work at a flower shop and can get them at cost, so it wasn’t like it was going to break my bank balance. Plus, the chances of her getting another florist to see her on such short notice is not likely to happen, especially with the wedding in three weeks.

  Denny takes pity on the heavily pregnant woman and helps her to her feet.

  “Girl, after you drop them aliens, you’re gonna be doing fanny exercises for years,” Tish says, interrupting us.

  I groan, looking apologetically at Harlow, who has taken everything that has come out of Tish’s mouth in stride.

  “Tish,” I warn, narrowing my eyes at her before turning back to Harlow. “I’m sorry. Just ignore her. She’s just jealous because hers looks like a soggy hamburger and is the size of the Mersey Tunnel.”

  “Bitch,” Tish snaps, but there’s no heat in her voice.

  We all start laughing, including Tish, who doesn’t care what I said. It’s how we’ve always been together. She knows I’m only joking and would never say something malicious or hurtful.

  Harlow’s phone goes off again and she sighs, typing back.

  “We have to go. Thank you so much for helping us with the flowers on such short notice. I do wish you’d take the money though,” she says as she pulls her bag strap higher up her shoulder.

  “Hush.” I wave her off. “I’m just glad I could help. Plus, my nan will want to contribute when she finds out too.”

  “She loves this shit,” Tish says before Harlow can say anything else. “And I best be getting an invite, girl. I’ve never been to a fancy wedding, or any for that matter. I wants to get all glammed up and shit.”

  I roll my eyes, but Harlow smiles big as she turns to Tish. “Of course you’re invited. You both are.”

  The way she answers makes it sound like we should’ve already known we were going to be a part of the big day. I’m honestly shocked. I didn’t offer to do the flowers to score an invite.

  “I can’t wait for you to meet Max.” Lake giggles.

  “He good-looking?” Tish asks, eyes sparkling with hope.

  Oh Lord! She did not just say that.

  “Max is her boyfriend,” I tell Tish dryly.

  Looking baffled and slightly disturbed, Tish rears her head back, looking at Lake. “Why the fuck you want me to meet yo man? I ain’t into no threesomes. I did that shit once and shit the bed the next day.”

  I groan, covering my face with my hands. I know what she’s talking about, and the fact that she’s just spilled that crap to everyone is disturbing. No one else needed to be traumatised by that nightmare.

  I move my hands slowly away from my face, seeing nearly everyone staring open-mouthed and shocked. Denny looks amused as she eyes her feet. Tish, damn her, is fine, like she’s just announced she had cereal for breakfast.

  “Um….” Lake blushes, not knowing where to look, which causes us all to start giggling. Feeling sorry for the poor girl, I help her out, putting her out of her misery.

  “Tish, she meant because you’re both nuts. I, for one, think you two should never meet. Maverick feels just as strongly,” I clarify, amused.

  “I ain’t fuckin’ nuts. And why, you ashamed of me, woman?”

  I shake my head, amused at her bug-eyed expression.

  “No, now shush. Malik is waiting for them,” I tell her before turning back to the girls. Poor Lake still can’t look at Tish, her cheeks bright red.

  “I’ll make another cuppa,” Tish grumbles before shuffling her way over to the kitchen.

  “Thank you for letting me help, and for coming here tonight. Nan was busy so I had no one to watch Faith. And Tish wouldn’t let me go without her.” I chuckle.

  “No, thank you. You’ve done me a huge favour and I’ll never be able to repay you,” she says, hugging me.

  “Do not fucking cry again,” Tish shouts from across the room.

  I roll my eyes and Harlow chuckles under her breath. We all hug each other goodbye, except for Tish. She just grunts, giving us all a ‘don’t fucking ask me to hug you’ look from the kitchen. Tish isn’t a hugger, never has been.

  Exhausted after saying goodbye, I sit back down on the sofa, taking the fresh cup of tea Tish kindly made.

  After a few moments of silence, I feel her eyes on me, so rolling my head to the side, I look in her direction. “What?”

  “You really like this bloke, don’t ya?” Tish asks, a concerned expression crossing her face.

  I sigh, knowing how she feels about Maverick. As much as she wants me to have fun and clean the cobwebs―her words, not mine―she doesn’t want to see me get hurt. And to her, relationships equal pain and hurt. She doesn’t believe there are good men out there, thanks to her absent father.

  “Yeah, I do. He’s got a hard exterior, but I see inside him, Tish. He’s soft as a teddy bear. I see the darkness swimming in the depths of his eyes, but I also see flashes, moments of vulnerability whenever we’re together,” I tell her, divulging more than I meant to. “He’s not who you think he is, Tish. He’s more. He’s so much more.”

  She remains quiet for a few minutes before nodding, her eyes softening.

  “Okay. I’ll give the dude a chance, chica. I’m just worried about you. You go from not dating to hearing wedding bells within a short time.”

  “I’m not hearing wedding bells,” I scoff.

  “Whatever. I’ll leave it be. I guess hearing the girls telling me about his whorish behaviour made me question what he was really after. But if you say I’m wrong, I believe you. Just know that if he messes with my girl, I’ll cut his dick off and shove it up his arse.”

  The mere mention of Maverick with other girls causes a painful pang in my chest, like a hand around my heart, squeezing tightly.

  I shake those thoughts away. I may not know everything about Maverick or his life, but I know him. Seeing him, kno
wing him, it’s imprinted on me. The connection is as real as the air I breathe and nothing anyone, even Tish, can say will make me believe differently.

  I’m not stupid. I know I’m not the only girl Maverick has ever been with, but there’s no denying the powerful connection between us. I feel it with every inch of my body and soul.

  My mouth opens, ready to defend him, but Faith starts crying, shouting for me from her room.

  “I’ll go and let you deal with the little human in peace,” Tish says, getting up.

  I give her a hug, even though I know it makes her uncomfortable. “Speak to you tomorrow. And Tish?” I wait until she looks up at me before continuing. “Thank you for always looking out for me. I love you.”

  “Shit, woman. Quit with the mushy fucking shit and go see to your kid,” she says, looking like she has a thousand ants crawling over her.

  “Shut up,” I tease, shaking my head in amusement. Giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, I turn, rushing down the hall to a distressed little girl.

  I run into the bedroom, finding her sitting in the far corner of her bed against the wall, clutching her Build-A-Bear Elsa to her chest. Her hair clings to her wet cheeks as more tears fall.

  My heart stops at the sight of her looking so scared and upset.

  “Hey, sweetheart. What’s wrong?” I ask softly, pulling her into my lap.

  “I had a bad dream, Mummy. It was―” She hiccups. “It was bad, and really scary.” She sniffles, wrapping her arms around my neck.

  “C’mon now. It’s not real. It was just a bad dream. Mummy’s here.”

  “A monster came and took you away from me.” Her cries are louder as she clings to my chest, her tiny arms tightening around my neck.

  I run my hand up and down her back soothingly. She relaxes somewhat, but not enough to stop crying.

  “Calm down, baby. Everything is going to be fine,” I assure her, feeling the last of her shakes start to subside. “How about a hot chocolate?”

  She pulls away, her watery eyes mulling it over. “Could I have some warm milk instead?”

  “Of course. Anything for you. Now, let’s put on your fairy lights so you won’t be in the dark.”