“Well, I think the first step is, you kiss me.”
“I can do that. What's the second step?”
“I said it earlier. You gotta let me love you, darlin’.”
“What if I'm bad at it?”
He shook his head. “Not a chance.”
I smiled, letting my guard down, giving myself over to the possibility of love with Maverick Wilde. I had to admit, the thought of being his was enticing.
“You still want to keep it under wraps, though?”
“Yeah, I think until we settle in and, you know, really get to know what it's like to be together, I'd rather not have interference from anybody else.”
“I agree,” he said.
That surprised me. “You do?”
“Yeah. New things like this, baby, they need time to develop on their own. We don't need our families or friends intervening, putting in their two cents. Not until—”
“Not until we're sure,” I finished for him.
“Well, I'm sure. I've never been so sure in my entire life.”
I wanted to say the same, but I couldn't. Not yet.
He stopped me with a gentle finger against my lips. “It's okay, darlin’. I know you're not sure. I haven't given you a reason to be, but I will. I'm gonna prove to you that I am the right man for you.”
I nodded.
“Now let's go to sleep. Maybe when we wake up, the power will be back on, and I can cook you some breakfast.”
“I do love to watch you in the kitchen.”
He laughed. “And I love it when you watch me.”
“You do?”
“You get this hungry look in your eyes, and I know it's not just because of the food.”
“It isn’t.”
“There, isn't it nice you can admit you want me?”
“Yes. Very nice. Do you know what's even nicer?”
“What?”
“That you can have me whenever your heart desires.”
“That is nice. Now, get over here. I’m cold. I need my girl to warm me up.” He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close.
I sighed as happiness flowed through me. His girl. It was kind of surreal, but I liked it a lot. Being Maverick Wilde’s girl was going to turn out to be one of the best things that ever happened to me. I just had to let myself believe in him. In us.
But could I?
The next morning I woke up to a lightly snoring cowboy wrapped around me and still no sign of the power returning. The low hum of a generator in the distance told me that things were up and running on the ranch. Nothing was going to stop Wilde Horse Ranch from getting the job done. These cowboys worked like no one else. All the ranchers did.
I wanted nothing more than to snuggle closer to Mav and fall back to sleep in his arms, but that storm had come in fast and pretty much without warning. There might be things I needed to attend to this morning. Horses that spooked and got hurt. Structures that fell and injured animals.
Maverick groaned and wrapped his arms tighter around me as I shifted.
“What time is it?” he murmured.
“I don't know; the power is still out. Sun's up now. I should get going.”
“I told you I was going to make you breakfast.”
“I know, but I think I'll have to take a rain check. The fact that the power is still out has me worried.”
I snagged my phone off the bedside table, thankful I still had five percent battery life left. Sure enough, I had voicemails and missed calls from just about every ranch in the area.
“Everything okay?”
“No, it's gonna be a hectic day.”
“Do you need help?”
“No. Actually, I don't think I mentioned this to you, but do you remember my friend from school?”
“Yeah.”
“He's coming in today, and he'll be joining the practice for a while.”
“Oh, he will?”
“Definitely. I figured when I get pregnant, I’ll need some help. So he'll be moving to Sunrise and joining the team.”
“Does he know about your plan?”
“Yes, I told him.”
“Does he know about me? About us?”
“Well, until yesterday, there was no us.”
“Darlin’, there's always been an us. We were just too blind to see it.”
“True, but no, I didn't tell him I have a non-boyfriend boyfriend.”
“Non-boyfriend? What does that even mean?”
“I don't know. Listen, it's all just . . . it's really new to me.”
“Okay, I get it. It's fine.”
Someone started hammering on the door, pulling both of us from bed and scaring the life out of me. “Oh God,” I murmured.
“Hey, Mav?” Sutton's voice filtered through as the door opened. “Mav? Maverick, you got to get up. We got a situation.”
“Oh my God, he's gonna see me.”
“Go on to the bathroom. I'll take care of him,” Mav said.
I did as he told me, heading to the big bathroom where we'd done so many dirty things to each other. Once I was dressed and did not look freshly screwed, I walked out into the living room. Sutton stared at me, mouth agape, eyes wide.
“Clara?” he asked. “What’s going on here?”
I opened my mouth, trying to come up with the excuse I'd built in my mind while I was getting ready. But Mav stopped me.
“Storm was real bad last night, and she came over to make sure Turbo was doing okay. Once the thunder and lightning started, and all that wind, I made her come inside.”
Sutton’s expression said he didn’t believe the line we were selling him one bit.
But Mav continued. “I slept on the couch. She took my bed.”
I wasn't sure Sutton bought it from the look in his on his handsome face. “Really?
I looked at him dead on and nodded. “He insisted. You know your brother.”
“I do. Well, I'm glad you're okay. It was probably smart since that tornado took out half of Ryker Ranch. Could have easily hit us instead.”
My stomach felt like a rock had settled inside. “Tornado?”
“Yeah, a big one. They lost a lot.”
“What? Oh my God. Was anyone hurt?”
“No, thank God. They’re all fine. But the main house is a wreck, and the stable is gone.”
“What about the horses?”
“They let them run free. We’re heading out to help find them and bring them back.”
“And the cattle?”
“Not sure yet. We think it's pretty likely some of them are gone, but everyone's headed down there, Winston, Langston, us . . . everybody who can spare a hand.”
“Okay. I'll head home, get my kit, and load up. I'll meet you there.”
“All right.” Mav flicked a worried glance to me. “You want me to come with you?”
“No, I'm fine. I just need to get things settled and . . . oh God, Ben. He's coming in today. I have to pick him up.”
I didn’t miss the slight twitch in Mav’s jaw when I mentioned Ben. But he hid it well enough it escaped Sutton’s notice. “Don't worry. We'll be fine.”