Maverick

by Juliana Stone

  “Maverick’s been staying out there and apparently he’s banging the local mechanic.”

  One more dig and Maverick would flatten his brother.

  “Cooper, you’re such an asshole,” Grace said, shoving her cousin. “Maverick I’m glad you’ve found a new girlfriend. Don’t let Cooper get to you, because Mom doesn’t need to deal with a family brawl.”

  Grace moved to the end of the dock and slid between her brothers. She looked tiny next to them and Maverick watched as she linked her arm through Tucker’s, and leaned her head on his shoulder.

  Suddenly feeling defeated, Maverick swore and had to look away.

  “We’ll get him back,” Cooper muttered.

  Maverick wanted to believe his brother, but the reality was that life was fragile and uncertain at the best of times. No one knew when the end was near until you were looking that bastard right in the eye.

  “So,” Cooper said after a while. “A mechanic. That’s really hot.”

  “Yeah. It is.” He paused. “She’s raising a young brother on her own.”

  Cooper’s eyebrow shot up. “That’s a big responsibility.”

  “Yep.”

  “Let me get this straight. This girl with a boy’s name runs the local garage, and can restore a vintage Mustang, and she’s raising her brother.”

  “Yep.”

  “And she’s hot.”

  Maverick grinned. “Definitely.”

  “So when can I meet her?”

  Maverick glanced at his brother and flashed a smile. “I don’t know if she’s ready for this family.”

  “Well, brother. There’s only one way to find out.” Cooper slapped him on the back. “You should call her before she decides that you’re not worth the trouble.”

  Cooper left him to join Jack, Tucker, and Grace. Maverick fingered his cell, noting that it was nearly six o’clock. Charlie should be home.

  He pressed her cell number and waited for the phone to ring. After a few seconds the call dropped and he swore, pressing the number again. This time the connection was strong and he waited impatiently for her to answer.

  He paced the length of the dock, one hand shoved into the pockets of his cargoes, the other holding his cell tightly. Just when he thought it was going to go to her voice mail, Charlie answered, voice breathless, and so damn sexy that he came to a full stop.

  “Rick?”

  “Hey,” he answered, glad that she couldn’t see the silly grin on his face.

  “Hey, yourself.”

  He exhaled and ran his free hand through his hair. “Sorry I didn’t call last night, but my family is here and by the time I got a chance, it was late and I didn’t want to wake you.”

  “That’s sweet. If you’re going to wake me up I’d prefer it in person anyway.”

  Her innuendo was on point, and Maverick’s blood began to boil.

  “I’ll remember that,” he growled into the phone.

  “I hope so.”

  “Count on it.”

  “Rick, I…I don’t know what to say. I mean, Connor was so happy when he came home from Mrs. Kratz’s. He’s been playing the keyboard for the last hour. Can you hear him?”

  She must have walked into another room and held the phone away. He smiled when he heard Connor playing the keys. It made Maverick feel like he’d done something to make a difference.

  “Good. I’m glad.”

  “Seriously. It’s the best thing ever. I don’t know what I can do to thank you.”

  His chest rumbled. “Oh, darlin’, I can think of a lot of things.”

  “Is that so,” she answered, her husky voice full of sex and dark chocolate. “You’ll have to let me know what they are when you’re back.” She paused. “I mean, I guess I shouldn’t assume…”

  “I’m coming back.” As the Stones had said, Wild Horses wouldn’t keep him away. “I just don’t know when.”

  “So your family is okay? Is everything all right?”

  There was so much he wanted to tell her, but it didn’t feel right to explain it all over the phone. “It’s complicated. One of my cousins is in trouble and right now, we’re just waiting on news. It might not end well.”

  “Oh Rick, I’m so sorry. I’ll say a prayer.”

  “You don’t strike me as the religious type, but I’ll take anything that I can get.”

  “I’m not religious, not in the traditional sense anyway, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t have faith. This might sound corny, but I believe that all things happen for a reason. Even the awful things. And when we’re at our lowest, faith is what gets us through. Faith can be whatever version of God you believe in, or it can be as simple as the belief that all of us are connected.”

  Would this woman ever stop surprising him? “Thanks for that. I appreciate the thought.”

  “No problem,” she said softly.

  “There’s a lot you don’t know about me,” he began.

  “Oh my God. You are a serial killer.”

  He laughed. “That would still be a no.”

  “You have been in jail.”

  “Again, no.”

  “Rick, it’s all good. I don’t need to know your family’s darkest secrets.”

  He frowned, chest tight as the realization hit him square in the chest. “Thing is, Charlie,” he murmured. “I want you to know everything.”

  For a few moments there was silence and then she cleared her throat.

  “You know where I am,” she said softly. “I’ll be waiting.” She paused. “And thinking.”

  He shook his head and grinned. “Thinking about what?”

  “IT.”

  “IT.” Hot damn—the images that sprang to mind.

  “Yes, IT.” She giggled.

  “I’m glad I got to hear your voice. It’s made things better.”

  “Glad I could help,” she whispered into the phone. “And Rick?”

  “Yeah.”

  A heartbeat passed. “I…” Her voice trailed off and for a few seconds, there was nothing but silence.

  “I know,” he said, clearing his throat. “I’ll call you when I know more.”

  “Okay. No worries. I gotta run though. Connor needs dinner and leftovers aren’t going to cut it tonight.”

  “See you soon,” he said, thinking that perhaps he should have said more. But what did you say to someone you were in an undefined relationship with?

  Shit. Had he just thought of the R-word?

  The phone went dead and he pocketed it once more. I know, he’d said. What a bunch of bull, because Maverick didn’t know shit. Charlie Samuels was rocking his world but he had no idea how long the ride would last.

  And for the first time in his life, he realized that he wanted it to last a long, long time. The ball was in his court so to speak, so the question was, what was he going to do about it?

  Chapter Twenty

  Charlie should have known that Saturday was going to be a shit show. Davis was sick—down with the flu—and not only was her shop full, she’d promised Jackie from the diner that she’d get her car back to working order. The fuel pump was toast and her carburetor was running like crap. Of course the fuel pump she’d ordered hadn’t come in on account of another snowstorm moving into the region, and she had more oil changes than she could handle.

  And for what had to be the tenth time in less than an hour, the business line rang and by the time she reached the phone, whoever the hell it was on the other end hung up without leaving a message.

  Charlie glared across the garage at the extension, extending her middle finger when the bright orange light lit up as the darn thing rang again. No way was she running for it. If they didn’t want to leave a message, then screw ‘em.

  She glanced around her shop and sighed. It’s not like she had time for anymore work anyway.

  She decided to get her oil changes done so that she could move the vehicles out of her shop. With the Shelby taking up her last bay, she was short on space.

  The Shelby
.

  She eyed the Mustang with an appreciation that was genuine. Damn, but it was a hot looking piece. She just wished….

  She wished her dad were here to see it.

  As always, thoughts of her father brought a lump to her throat, and today Charlie didn’t have time for lumps or phone calls or even another cup of coffee. She got to work and wasn’t sure how much time had passed when the door to her shop swung open. She smiled when she spied Ava and when she saw the take out bag from A Charmed Life, she fist pumped.

  “Please tell me that’s chowder,” Charlie said, reaching for a rag. The fact that she had no time to spare didn’t matter when it came to Jackie’s husband’s chowder. She caught a whiff and her stomach growled. Loudly.

  “I heard that,” Ava said with a giggle, setting the bag on the workbench. They both slid onto the high stools and while the radio played some old Lynard Skynard, Charlie and Ava dug into hot biscuits and the best clam chowder on the East Coast.

  “Thanks for this,” Charlie said after she’d eaten half of her bowl. “I was starving.”

  Ava shrugged, a soft smile on her face. “I thought you might be. Davis is home sick with the flu and I know that Rick is gone for a few days, so I thought I’d help a girl out.”

  Charlie bit off the end of a biscuit and raised an eyebrow. “You could help a girl out by filling her in on the current status of your relationship with said girl’s best friend.”

  Ava’s face broke wide open with the biggest smile ever. “Oh my God, Charlie. I know right?” She frowned. “Wait. He didn’t give you any details?”

  “Nope. Nothing.”

  Ava stirred her bowl of soup for a few seconds. “That’s so sweet.”

  “Yeah. I guess it is, except I want to know how the hell it happened.”

  Ava burst out laughing. “Well, Charlie you take A and insert it into B and—“

  “That’s not what I mean.” She made a face. “And ewwww. Not only have I known Davis my whole life, I work with him every day. I don’t need to picture him buck naked doing the nasty with you.” She paused and winked. “In the hot tub.”

  “Holy hell, but the hot tub was amazing. He did this thing where he—“

  “You’re veering away from the details that I want,” Charlie said, giggling. “Seriously. It took you forever to hook up when everyone in town knows it should have happened years ago.”

  Ava took a biscuit from the bag and nibbled on the end of it. She shrugged. “I’ve always liked him. You know that. I mean, he’s Davis. He’s got everything. Looks. Personality. But he was always a player.”

  “Most guys are until they meet the one the girl who knocks them on their ass.”

  Ava frowned and shoved another piece of biscuit into her mouth. “I know, Charlie, but he’s Davis. The guy can charm a nun out of her panties. He flirts with everybody and the few times that I thought maybe there was something there, well, I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I didn’t do anything about it.”

  Charlie was surprised. “That’s not like you, Ava. If you knew he was into you, why the hell wouldn’t you just go for it?”

  “Because I was afraid.”

  “Afraid?”

  Ava nodded. “I think deep down I always knew Davis could be that one guy who could be everything to me. I was afraid to act on my feelings because I was afraid of getting hurt. Afraid that he wouldn’t feel the same or that for whatever reason, it wouldn’t work out.”

  Charlie was silent for a few moments. “I get that.”

  “So it seemed better to just ignore how I felt and hope that I’d meet someone else, you know?”

  “Yes,” she murmured, thinking of Rick and not liking just how much he was coming to mean to her. Was Charlie setting herself up to take another hit?

  The phone rang out again and she swore.

  “You’re not going to get that?” Ava asked.

  “Hell no. I want the details. What happened on Saturday to change your mind about Davis?” She dug into her bowl of chowder, grinning as Ava blushed.

  “The band was playing some slow song and Davis grabbed me to dance—”

  “But Davis doesn’t dance.”

  “Exactly.” Ava’s grin widened. “Anyway, the song went on and on and I don’t know, there was something about how he was looking at me. How he was holding me. And I glanced over to Seth and I realized Seth was just place holder.”

  “Ouch.”

  “It sounds bad, I know, but it’s not as if Seth and I were a thing. We went out a few times. Heck, I didn’t even sleep with him.”

  “That’s got to be some kind of record,” Charlie teased.

  “I know, right?” Ava giggled. “The thing is, when I was dancing with Davis I just knew that if I let this moment slip past me I’d regret it. Didn’t matter if I ended up hurt or disappointed because at the end of the day, if you don’t take a chance how will you ever know?”

  “If you’ve never been hurt then you’ve never truly lived.” The words slipped from Charlie and she continued in a whisper. “Because if you haven’t experienced that kind of pain, it doesn’t mean that you’re lucky. It means that you haven’t loved.”

  “Wow. That’s deep.”

  Charlie exhaled, trying to loosen up the tight ball of emotion in her chest, and looked at her friend. “My dad told me that once. He said that even though my mother had broken his heart, he would gladly do it all over again.” Tears poked the corners of her eyes again and she scrubbed at them angrily. “He said the pain was worth it. That Connor and I were worth it.”

  But he was a liar.

  “I’m sorry. I should get back to work.”

  “Sure,” Ava said softly. “Okay.”

  The phone rang yet again, and Charlie thought that she just might lose her shit and throw a wrench at the damn thing.

  “Hey,” Ava said, sliding off her stool. “Let me grab it.”

  “Go for it.” Charlie tossed her garbage into the bin and glanced at the clock. Shit. She needed to get back at it or she’d never be home in time for Mrs. Kratz to bring Connor home from school. She was just about to get started on an oil change when Ava walked over, a strange look on her face.

  “That was Danielle Mason. She said to turn on the TV. She said something crazy about Rick being related to Beau Simon? Is that possible?”

  “The actor?”

  Ava nodded vigorously. “Like holy shit, right?”

  Simon.

  I…” Charlie had nothing. “I don’t know. I mean, he’s never mentioned any of his family really, other than his brother. He just said that he had to go home because of an emergency.”

  “Can you imagine if he is one of them? They’re like famous. Oh my God and the one brother is married to that country singer right? Donovan James.”

  “I don’t know.” Charlie wasn’t big on following pop culture, not with everything she had on her plate.

  But Rick had mentioned something about country music. Hadn’t he?

  Ava was nodding excitedly as she led the way into Charlie’s office, where there was a television set for Connor when he was there with her.

  “One of the Simon’s, the political guy got married last year to Donovan James and then Beau married that Barker girl on New Year’s Eve.”

  “How do you know this stuff?” Charlie asked, irritated and not really knowing why.

  “I read People Magazine when I’m at the doctor or the dentist.”

  Ava reached for the remote. “Apparently one of Beau Simon’s brothers was rescued or something. I don’t know the details, other than he’d been held hostage overseas. Why in hell he was over there, I don’t know.” Ava’s eyes widened comically. “Maybe he was kidnapped for ransom or something because that family is loaded.”

  “Wow,” Charlie murmured, as Ava flipped through the channels until they found one that served twenty-four hour news.

  Breaking News scrolled across the bottom of the screen in bold, and Charlie turned her attention to the news anch
or as he read his script.

  “Today the Simon family welcomes home one of their own. Teague Simon, a former Navy Seal, along with several men who were reportedly part of a military unit, were taken hostage over two weeks ago. There are reports that the unit was operating deep in Syria, though it hasn’t been officially confirmed. What we do know is that five of the six men have been returned to US soil, while the whereabouts of the seventh is unknown. According to an inside source, the rescue mission was launched three days ago. Teague Simon, a well-known photojournalist and brother to actor Beau Simon and to Jack Simon, a rising star in the Democratic party, has been released into the care of his family and no comment has been given at this time.”

  A picture flashed across the screen just then and Charlie held her hands over her mouth. It was a photo of a bunch of guys on a beach, all of them arm in arm, smiling into the camera.

  “Holy. That’s hotness overload.” Ava pointed to the man on the far right. “That looks like Rick, right?” The man in the photo was younger and his hair was longer, his body leaner, but those eyes and that mouth were unmistakable.

  “I don’t know,” Charlie said, shocked and unsure.

  Her cell phone went off and she pulled it from her coveralls without thinking. She fingered it for a few seconds, and when she tore her eyes from the TV and glanced down at her phone, her heart took off like a rocket.

  It was Rick.

  “I’ve got to take this Ava.” But her friend was engrossed in the report and Charlie hurried out to the shop where she’d have some privacy. She took a deep breath and pressed, answer.

  “Charlie?”

  “You sound like you need a hug.” And he did, which made her heart turn over.

  “I need more than a hug, but hearing your voice is a good start.”

  She had to take a moment, and exhaled slowly before answering. “I’m glad. I’m here.”

  “I was going to call earlier, but there’s been some stuff going on and—“

  “I know, Rick. I just saw a report on TV. I know about your cousin. I mean, I know who he is.” She swallowed. “I know who you are.”

  There was a long pause and then he swore, his voice rough. “Shit, Charlie. I wanted to tell you in person. You have to know that it wasn’t a secret or anything. Not really. I’ll fill you in when I see you.”