“Bro, that’s cold.”
“Thanks,” he said, unsmiling.
“Okay, how about I coach you? Dial her again.” He straightened his back and shoulders.
“I don’t need you to do that.”
“Apparently you do.”
“I’m thinking it’s best if we just leave it as is.”
“With her thinking you’re a dick?”
“Whose side are you on?” Was it a dick move to not call her? If she was worried about a friend’s health, he didn’t want to add any stress or impose on her to have a conversation with him. He could wait a few days, let their annoyance with each other die down.
“I’m on love’s side,” Hunt said matter-of-factly.
“Come again?”
“You two are wild about each other. I mean, have you seen your face when you look at her?” Hunter made what Maverick assumed was an exaggerated lovesick face, his eyes crossing and his mouth twisting.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Look me straight in the eye and tell me you haven’t fallen for her.”
“It doesn’t matter if I have or not. We’ve been over this. She’s going to Boston; I’m going on my trip and coming back here.”
“Here’s my take on the situation.” Hunter looked him right in the eyes. “If you’re lucky enough to meet someone extraordinary not once, but twice, then it’s worth figuring out a way to make it work. You were planning to leave the ranch for Nicole. You can leave it for Kennedy. Do your pesticide thing in Boston.”
“You know about that?”
“When I said I know not to go through your stuff, I meant some of the time.” A grin that had gotten him out of more trouble than was reasonable spread across his little brother’s face.
Maverick shook his head. Not angry, but relieved. He hadn’t intentionally kept his family out of the loop with his business plan; it had just seemed easier.
Safer.
Ever since Nicole had passed away, he’d played it safe.
He took a seat on the barstool next to Hunter’s to collect himself. He’d stopped playing it safe with Kennedy less than a day after seeing her again…and he’d never felt better.
“Look,” Hunter said, “we don’t need to get into your Lone Ranger attitude right now, but we should figure out the Kennedy sitch.” At Maverick’s frown, Hunter said, “Situation. Jeez, you’re only two years older than me, dude. Get with it.”
“Okay, dude.” Maverick moved his gaze to his hands atop the counter. “Here’s the thing. I don’t want to leave the ranch. On the drive back today, I decided this is where I need to be, with my family. If things work out with the pesticide, we’ll do it from here. And if they don’t, we’ve got enough to keep us hard at work.”
“We can’t get rid of you?”
“No.”
“That complicates things.”
“Exactly.” He reached for his phone. He wasn’t a chicken, but more than that, he couldn’t leave Kennedy to wonder about how he felt. “Hey, Kennedy, it’s Maverick,” he started after he got her voicemail again. “I’m sorry you had to leave the ranch like you did, and I hope your friend is okay. If you want to keep in touch, give me a call back. Or a text. Whatever you want. And good luck with your interview, not that you need it. I’m sure the job is yours already. Take care.”
He hung up, placed his cell facedown on the counter.
“Not bad,” Hunter said.
“I’m good with it.” Mostly. He should have said, Please keep in touch. He should have said, I wish I had a chance to say goodbye in person. He wished they’d had one more kiss.
“And if she doesn’t get back to you?”
Then his heart would privately break. “Then she doesn’t. Nothing I can do about it.”
“Man, I wish I had your composure when it came to love.”
Maverick wished his brother would stop using the L-word. Because every time he said it, Maverick’s pulse sped up. “Did something happen?” he asked, more than ready to switch the conversation to his brother.
“Just me running into Callie in town this morning and making moon eyes at her and her asking me if there was something wrong with me.”
Damn. He hated the creases of anguish etched on Hunter’s forehead.
“So then I went and made an ass of myself with one of the bridesmaids before the wedding.” Hunt slapped his hand on the counter. “That’s it. I’m officially off women until further notice. Do not pass ‘hello.’ Do not look at them for longer than absolutely necessary. ”
“With me leaving town in a week, you’ll be plenty busy here.”
“True. You have a return date yet?”
“No, but anytime you start to slip, call or text me and I’ll straighten you out.”
Hunter slid off his stool, and they gave each other a one-armed embrace. “Thanks. Mind if I crash on your couch? I think it’s best I hide here and skip the reception.”
“Go for it.”
Maverick’s phone pinged with a text. He quickly lifted it up, hoping to see Kennedy’s name. Instead, disappointment swamped him at seeing a message from Cole. Checking in to make sure you’re okay.
He debated what to text back. He wasn’t okay, but normally he’d keep that to himself. Text an, I’m okay and forget about it. Things were different now, though.
He was different.
Thanks. I’m not, really. Come by for a beer later?
Chapter Twenty-Five
One day after the wedding
“Have you seen my phone?” Kennedy asked, padding into the living room Sunday morning and dropping down on the couch next to her sister. “I can’t find it.”
Ava looked up from her magazine. “Where was the last place you remember having it?”
“Outside the hospital before Andrew picked me up. I slid it into the outside pocket of my bag.”
“Maybe it fell out in Andrew’s car?”
“Will you text him and ask?”
While Ava did that, Kennedy walked into the kitchen to make coffee. Sitting on the counter was a box of doughnuts from the grocery store, and her thoughts immediately slid to Windsong. To Baked on Main. To Maverick.
She didn’t think it possible to miss someone after only a day, but she missed him. And she didn’t like it. She wanted to be mad at him. She was mad at him, despite Ava’s thoughtful and logical interpretation of his note. She hadn’t known she could miss someone and be hurt by them at the same time.