Page 27 of Want You Back

“That and busy pickling her liver.” Maverick sighed heavily as he led Adzuki out of the trailer after I’d secured Firecracker. “Sorry. You don’t want to hear my family drama.”

“No, it’s okay.” Reassuring Maverick was as natural as ever, and I wasn’t lying. I did want to hear. “We’re…”

I trailed off from the sentence I’d uttered a hundred times before.

“Friends?” Maverick’s voice was more tentative than usual. “Think we could try?”

Our gazes met over the back of the horse, something warm and potent passing between us. We’d been friends before and it ended terribly. Friends now seemed risky as all get out, but I’d never been able to deny those pleading blue eyes.

“Maybe,” I allowed. What other choice did I have? Declare us enemies right before we headed off into the backcountry? “I’ve heard worse ideas. And I feel you on the family drama. Sibling stuff never ends.”

“Yours too?” Maverick followed me back to the trailer to retrieve the girls’ horses.

I opened my mouth, intending the same short reply I’d give anyone else, but instead, I found myself spewing all my earlier frustrations and worries from dealing with my text messages to Mom.

“My mom keeps trying to do too much, so there’s that. Then Tiffany wants to have another kid, which means needing help adding a room to their place. Stephanie’s going back to school for a master’s, and Mom’s worried about how she’ll make ends meet. Carson’s deployed, so there’s that concern, along with what he’ll do in a couple of years when his twenty is up. Kane’s raising hell, as always. Rumors say he’s got multiple baby mamas spread out over three counties. He could probably drink Faith under the table, but good luck lecturing him on sobriety.”

“Wow. That’s a lot.” Maverick regarded me with wide eyes. “And you’re the sheriff. Your days never end, do they?”

“Nope.” I shook my head, another moment of understanding passing between us. Damn. I’d missed having a friend like this, someone I could open up to, share the family crap that plagued us both without judgment or a lecture. I’d always appreciated that despite being a born problem solver, Maverick had never tried to solve my issues for me. He was a good listener, and that was probably a big part of why he’d been so successful at turning hotels around.

“Dad!” Willow came rushing up, Hannah close behind her. “Hannah and I had the best idea!”

“What’s that?” I asked with the sort of wariness that came with a dozen years of parenting experience.

“We want to swap tents so we can share, and then you can share with Maverick instead.”

“Sounds good to me.” Maverick spoke first.

Lies.Being trapped in a small tent with my former best friend and first love sounded like a recipe for disaster, but who was I to deny the girls their fun?

“Fine.” I nodded sharply. “Let’s get to camp in one piece first.”

I wasn’t looking forward to nightfall in the slightest. At best, I hoped the trail ride exhausted us all, replaced the thrum rushing through me with something calmer. Friends. We were friends again, but that was all it could ever be.

Chapter17

Maverick

I could watchColt Jennings on a horse all damn day. He was the hottest thing in a black cowboy hat I’d ever seen, that was for sure. Somehow, someway, I was supposed to survive sharing a tent with him tonight without dying of lust for that magnificent ass. Unfortunately, my vantage point meant that I was also on a horse, and by noon, my butt and thighs were sore, yet we weren’t at the campsite. To add to the appeal of the benefit trail ride for tourists and locals alike, two historic wagons followed the line of horses, carting the cooking and camping supplies. The organizers, which included some ranch employees, had ensured the campsite would have feed and water for the horses as well, but it would be on the participants to make camp once we finally arrived.

Assuming I could still walk at that point. The lunch break had been way too brief. However, Colt confidently mastering the horse that made me so nervous was an excellent distraction. Adzuki and I plodded along, having made peace with each other. I didn’t ask him to go faster, and he, in turn, was content to follow Firecracker along the scenic trail.

When I was younger, I’d hated everything to do with horses, but Adzuki’s placid ways, the rhythm of the ride, and the gorgeous scenery I’d taken for granted as a kid had me reconsidering. Wide sweeping vistas of red rocky canyons blanketed by the bluest of skies hit differently after years away. Most of my last twenty years had been in big cities, mainly the concrete jungle of LA. Out here felt a million miles away from that life, and surprisingly, I didn’t hate the distance.

When we finally reached camp, we were divided into teams to tackle a list of tasks. Fate saw fit to put Colt, Hannah, Willow, and me on the firepit team. No one appointed Colt leader, but he took over anyway, directing others on our team to fetch a water bucket and rocks while assigning himself and the rest of us to finding kindling.

“Easy there, cowboy,” he teased as I limped after the girls. “You look like you’ve been riding for days.”

“Feels like it.” I lightly slapped my ass to make him laugh. Tired from the ride, I was content to carry my water bottle and let the girls round up most of the kindling. “I should have signed up to ride in one of the supply wagons.”

“Those wooden seats are no joke either.” He shook a finger at me. “And you better not groan all night about your sore butt. I want to sleep.”

“How am I supposed to sleep with that image in my head?” I shot back as thoughts of all the more fun ways to get a sore butt from Colt flooded my brain.

“What image?” Colt wrinkled up his face before his eyes widened. “Oh. I didn’t mean it that way.”

“I know.” I chuckled. “Which made it funnier.”

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