Maverick and Noah were both relieved when she walked through the door. She took her crying son from Maverick and went straight into the bedroom. She closed the door. He could hear Noah scream a bit, and then there was silence. Maverick busied himself with cleaning. It took him damn near an hour to get the place in order, and she didn’t reappear until an hour after he was done.
“You know you’re in trouble with my mother,” Delilah said.
“What did I do now?” he asked.
“You sent my father home with a ton of gas in his belly and drunk too,” Delilah looked around at the place. “What happened here?”
Maverick smiled. “Your father is a special kind of man. He entertained Noah and helped me.”
“I bet. He is special, but you can’t indulge him. He’ll take advantage,” she warned. “He can’t have all of this. His heart condition is serious. One slip-up is okay. No more when it comes to my dietary rules, or I’ll put you on a plan too.”
“I swear. I won’t mess up again.” He put up his left hand and put his right on his heart as he took the vow.
“Good,” she smiled. “What do you want to do? I bet I know,” she said and pulled her sweater up above her head. She wore a tank top beneath and no bra. Her nipples pointed at him, making his groin go tight. The mere promise of touching them had him craving her.
“Wait, sweetheart,” he said.
Delilah blinked at him in confusion.
“There’s a new movie on Netflix. You up for watching it with me? It’s pretty good.”
She looked over at the television and then back to him. “You want to watch Tv? Now?”
“Yea, why not? I miss your company,” Maverick said.
“My company? Is that what you call it?” She walked over and hugged him. She kissed his chest and ran her hands up his back. “I missed you too, baby.”
“Then relax with me. Let’s watch TV,” he said. He took her by the hand and led her to the sofa. She sat on his lap and rested her legs across the couch. She started to kiss him, and he kissed her back because he wanted to, but the movie began, and he found the right reason to stop her. They laughed and enjoyed the comedy stretched out on the sofa. Soon after, they fell asleep. It was one of the best days and nights he’d had in a long time.
Chapter Twenty
THE LAST WALL TO FALL - Three Weeks Later
Delilah closed the door. Three weeks had come and gone, and her routine remained the same. She was careful to do so with a gentle touch. It was far too early to wake the house. When she last checked the time, it was close to five in the morning. Her father was often up and downstairs right at six to take his medicine.
She smoothed her hair back and held down her tears. The things Maverick said really hurt her. She felt like all of her emotions were balled up in one single fight that she would never forget. She held her jacket closed with both hands and moved fast. The battle ended with him ripping off her shirt and stretching her sweater. Fighting was new to her. She didn’t fight with Charles. She pretty much got her way, and he pretty much got his. She’d never met a man like Maverick. Everything said by him often burned hotter than an inferno. Not since they first battled in court for Noah had they disagreed. They made love twice, but it wasn’t enough. The rift between them could not be solved through sex. She understood that now. It was emotionally exhausting, although exhilarating. She felt alive with Maverick. Whether it was good or bad, it felt like a new life to her. When she turned to go to the stairs, the light in the kitchen flipped on. Caught in a beam of brightness, she was trapped. She squinted in defense of the glare. Her vision focused on her father. He stood by the refrigerator in his robe.
“Is it Noah? Is he awake?” Delilah asked.
“Your mother said he doesn’t have a fever. She woke me and told me to bring up his medicine out of the refrigerator,” her father said. In his hand was the prescription Queen dropped off for them from the pharmacy since they were in Quarantine and couldn’t make it into town.
“Where are you coming from?” her father asked.
Delilah had spent another night sneaking around her ranch. It was her routine. The sun would set. Her father would retire first. He’d go upstairs to shower and get in bed with the remote. Her mother would follow her to his own bed around eight or nine, only after chasing Noah and smothering him with her love or complaining when he was with Maverick spending the night. Like clockwork, she would make the walk in the snow to Maverick. And each time she knocked on his door, he let her in.
“I had to take something to Maverick. He isn’t feeling good. It must have gotten the same thing as Noah. Oh, let me go upstairs and see about my baby.”
“I want to talk to you,” her father said.
“Not now, daddy, I—”
“Now, sweetheart,” her father insisted. His commanding tone was firm and final. Yet, he didn’t appear angry. The disappointment in his eyes really looked more like concern to her. He walked over to the kitchen table and sat. He waited for her to do so as well. Delilah joined him, but she wasn’t sure of what to share. Maverick and her father had become closer. During their fight, Maverick said her father knew all about them.
“Tell me why?” he asked.
“Why what?” she replied.
“Why would you sneak in and out of your own house?” he asked.
“Not wait a second—.”
“This isn’t the first night I’ve seen you run out to that cottage. You do it in the snow and then turn around and sneak back in,” he said. Delilah gave a nervous chuckle. She had to continue to hold her jacket together to keep from showing her ripped shirt beneath.
“I’m serious. I’m concerned about you, baby-girl,” her dad said.
“You know me. I’m just being nice. Making sure that man is not plotting anything against us. I go over there when Noah is spending the night, and sometimes I just go over there to talk and get out of the house. When this pandemic is over, he’ll go back to New York. The custody hearing is going to proceed—.”
“That’s enough, Delilah. I didn’t like when you lied to me when you were little, and I don’t like it now.”
“Daddy?” she sighed.
“What are you afraid of, girl? Your mother? Me? What Queen and Shelly would think?”
She looked away.
“Stop saying I’m afraid. I’m not a child,” she mumbled.
“Can’t you trust us?” he asked.
“I trust you,” she said.
“Can you trust yourself? Your own judgment?” he asked.
She looked back into her father’s eyes. It was a question she wasn’t sure how to answer. Her father was the kindest man she’d ever known. And he was resilient, very protective during some of the most critical times in her life. She didn’t blame him for his failings. She was the same way—resilient and protective. Delilah could still feel the bitter hollowness when they almost lost him three years ago.
“Then what is it?” he asked. “What are you afraid of?”
“I’m not afraid of anything, daddy. There’s nothing going on.”
“Then it’s more serious than I thought. Because you wouldn’t fight it so hard to push us away if you didn’t feel the need to protect yourself.”