“What’s wrong with Faith?” Joan asks and I look over the garden, seeing her sitting on a blanket talking to Lily in hushed tones. She doesn’t even turn around when she hears her name.
Since Maverick and Teagan adopted Lily twenty years ago, she and Faith have become more than sisters―they became best friends.
“Fuck knows. She kicked me out the other day before she had the chance to feed me,” Mark, Maverick and Teagan’s eldest son, whines.
“Yeah, she wouldn’t make me any chocolate cake either. She texted, telling me to go and buy one,” Aiden scoffs, looking at his sister, hurt.
“It’s probably just work,” Teagan murmurs, but I can see she’s concerned for her daughter too.
From the corner of my eye, I notice Maverick staring intently in the girls’ direction, a frown creasing his forehead.
I dread the day that boy finds out what’s up with our girl. I just hope she finds the courage to tell them all soon. I can see she’s hurting and I wish I could make it better for her, but as time has proved, only she can do that.
“Uncle Maverick, did you put some veggie burgers on?” Charlotte, Myles and Kayla’s eldest, asks quietly, her cheeks turning pink. She’s so much like her mother―quiet, soft-spoken and as shy as they come, and she’d go out of her way to do anything for anyone.
“Yeah, girl,” he answers just as softly, and she smiles wide.
“I don’t know how you eat that crap,” Jacob, her brother, mutters, looking disgusted. I chuckle, knowing the growing boy needs his meat.
“Well, I don’t know how you eat meat,” she mutters back, making me smile.
“Food’s ready,” Myles calls. They all move to the table where the food has been laid, grabbing their plates.
Joan coughs once more and my chest tightens. I rub her back soothingly, wincing when I see spots of blood come away with the hanky she was coughing into.
“We should tell them, dear.”
She turns to me, her once bright blue eyes now a dull grey. Her skin is pale and pasty, and when I take her hand in mine, it’s freezing.
“No. They can’t know. They’re not ready.”
“They’re stronger than you give them credit for. Look at them, my love. They have each other. They’ll be fine.”
“You okay, Grams?” Hayden asks, walking over with her plate of food.
“You do look a little pale,” Harlow mentions, looking concerned.
“It’s just the heat getting to me, sweetheart. I think I’ll go lie down for a little while.”
“I’ll come with you,” I tell her, squeezing her hand gently.
“Want some help up the stairs?” Maverick asks.
“No, no. I’m fine. I have my man,” she tells him, forcing a smile.
The exhaustion is clear on her face. How she’s managed to hide her sickness this long is beyond me, but as always, my woman is stubborn and gets her way. I’d give her anything as long as it made her happy. It just doesn’t mean I agree.
As we stand, her legs wobble before giving out. Liam moves quickly, helping her to her feet before she can reach the floor, and I let out a breath.
“I’d say no to his ugly mug too, but you wouldn’t say no to your favourite grandson, now would you?” he pouts.
“Oh, you charmer.” She giggles, slapping his chest.
“Such a suck-up.” Hayden laughs, and Liam flips her off.
“Come on, milady,” he says, looping one arm around her waist, taking her hand.
After helping me escort Joan to bed, Liam turns to me, his face pinched with worry. “I’ll be up in a little bit to check on you.”
“We’re good, son. You get some grub in you before the others eat it all.”
He shudders at the thought. “I’m not eating veggie burgers again. That shit was nasty.”
I chuckle watching him rush from the room like his ass is on fire. Seconds after I hear the back door slam shut, I hear him shout, “Who swapped my burger for a fucking veggie one again?”
Laughter echoes up through the open window, making me smile as I walk over to the bed. Joan gazes at the window, a small, tired smile on her face.
“They’re all so happy.”
“They are,” I agree, lying next to her on the bed. I turn on my side so we’re facing each other, linking our hands together between us.
“We did well, huh?” she says, her voice weak.
“We did, my love. They’re great people, fantastic partners, and have raised amazing children. They’ve all overcome so much, but they’re stronger for it. They’re a family―our family.”
“I’ll miss them.”
“They’ll miss you too, sweetheart. But I firmly believe our souls are all joined together, that we’re destined to find our way back to each other. One day we will. We won’t be apart forever.”
“I’m tired,” she tells me, fighting to keep her eyes open.
I watch her chest closely, rising and falling slower and slower as each breath shallows.
“Sleep, my love,” I tell her, kissing her forehead.
I keep watching long after her eyes close, my own growing heavy. I watch the last breath leaves her body, my eyes closing as a lone tear drops, slipping down my cheek and dropping between us.
“Forever, sweetheart,” I whisper, not wanting to say goodbye to my one true love.
That day, I died in my sleep, next to the woman I love, and forever belonged with.
The End…
Or is it?
Acknowledgements and Surprise Reveal
No matter how much I’ve tried to end this series, I can’t. I’ve written the ending about a million times, but nothing ever felt right. It needed to be epic, to be brilliant… but no matter what, my heart wasn’t in it. I just couldn’t let them go, and I think that’s why it took me forever to write.
I really, really hope you guys loved this book, and that I did Maverick’s story justice. Out of all of them, he really did deserve it.
But it won’t be the last you hear of the boys.
I’m proud to announce that the Carter Brothers will continue as The Carters, Next Generation. The books will be set twenty years later, with each of their children grown up. Although they won’t be focused solely on the brothers, you’ll still get to see them and learn what has happened over the past twenty years.
I mean, aren’t you wondering what job Max got, or Myles for that matter? Are you not wondering if Lily ever finds out about her dad actually being her brother? Well, this is why I couldn’t simply finish the book off the way many of you probably hoped I would. The answers you want will be in the new series.
I don’t know when I’ll publish the first book, but I do have it planned out. As some of you may have guessed, Faith’s book will be the first―that much I do know.
I want to thank all my readers from the bottom of my heart for letting me continue these books. Your messages, reviews and kind words are what kept me writing. You gave me the inspiration to put pen to paper when I struggled for words.
You are the reason I get to live my dream.
So thank you. Thank you for supporting me and believing in me.
I want to thank everyone who has played a huge part in this series and getting Maverick’s book out there. There are too many people to name, but you know who you are and I love you. Without you, I’d be a complete mess, rocking in the corner, wondering what I’m supposed to do first.
If you liked Maverick, please leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads.
Other Books By Lisa Helen Gray.
Carter Brother Series
Malik ~ Book One
Mason ~ Book Two
Myles ~ Book Three
Evan ~ Book 3.5
Max ~ Book Four
Maverick ~ Book Five
Forgiven Series
Better Left Forgotten ~ Book One
Obsession ~ Book Two
Forgiven ~ Book Three
Whithall Series
Foul Play ~ Book One (Will
ow and Cole’s Book)
Wish It Series
If I could I’d Wish It All Away ~ Book One (Standalone)
About the Author
Lisa Helen Gray is Amazon’s bestselling author of the Forgotten Series and Carter Brother series.
She loves hanging out, but most of all, curling up with a good book or watching movies. When she’s not being a mom, she’s been a writer and a blogger.
She loves writing romance novels, ones with a HEA and has a thing for alpha males.
I mean, who doesn’t!
Just an ordinary girl surround by extraordinary books
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Maverick (Carter Brothers Book 5) Page 33