Page 44 of Want You Back

“I want to win a unicorn.” Hannah sighed in front of one of those hard-to-win baseball toss games with a row of giant stuffed rainbow unicorns on display.

“Me too.” Willow was only too quick to agree.

“The games are a waste of money,” I groaned, the wisdom of my teen years making me reluctant to part with my cash now.

“I want to try.” Willow took on an unusually stubborn expression. Before I could give in, Adler bellied up to the booth.

“Here, let me.” Adler proceeded to get balls for both girls to try to win the prize. Predictably, their attempts came nowhere near toppling the pyramid of milk bottles. Adler, however, wasn’t done showing off as he took a turn. He smashed one of the pyramids on the first try. “There you go.”

“Lucky shot,” I muttered as Adler handed Willow one of the unicorns before doing the same for Hannah.

“He’s good.” Maverick whistled appreciatively, and I disliked Adler that much more.

“Thanks.” I managed the barest of manners as Adler returned to Maverick’s side.

“No problem.” Adler offered a toothy grin. “Growing up in Jersey City should be worth something.”

“I’ll say.” Maverick laughed. “Let’s get you some food.”

“Oh my goodness, Maverick, they have funnel cakes!” Adler had the same enthusiasm for the fair food offerings as the girls. “And deep-fried Twinkies.”

Adler almost tripped over himself hurrying toward one of the bright-yellow food carts with the girls following close behind.

“He’s a character.” I tried for something charitable to say, falling back on a favorite line of Aunt Georgia’s.

“He is. And he’s afriend.” Maverick put extra emphasis on “friend.” “Adler is at loose ends career-wise, and he’s also helping me figure out what to do about Faith.”

“Did you settle the school question, at least?” I asked as I watched the girls bounce around in line for food. Willow needed Hannah in her life, and that was a fact.

“Faith told me to fill out the paperwork.” Maverick slumped onto a nearby bench at an empty picnic table. “Which, I suppose is progress, but it would be nice if she’d resume parenting.”

“Hannah’s lucky to have you in the meantime.”

“I’m lucky to have her.” Maverick’s gaze was also locked on the girls, a new softness there. Faith could so easily wound them all if she yanked Hannah away. There might come a time when I’d have to draw on my law enforcement experience to help Maverick, explain custody laws and options, but I dearly hoped Faith didn’t force him or Hannah into that corner. “Hannah is so excited to see Willow ride. Says next year she wants to compete too.”

“A Lovelorn who loves horses. Imagine that,” I teased. The fair swirled around us, and with plenty more “Hey, Sheriff” greetings lobbed my way, the grounds were far too crowded to do anything other than merely enjoy Maverick’s nearness. Over by the food truck, the girls squealed as they purchased giant ears of buttery corn and a funnel cake bigger than Hannah’s head.

For a second, I let myself pretend this was real. Maverick and Hannah were staying at least a little longer. Only too easy to pretend it was forever, pretend we might be the kind of partners who made it last, raised the girls together, built a life. What would it be like to be publicly out? Would I still hear the chorus of “Hey, Sheriff” echoing everywhere I went? Even that question wasn’t enough to dim the want that bloomed in my chest.

I wanted this to be real so badly my toes curled inside my boots, whole body tensed with the craving. Yet, I also knew way down deep that I’d never find the courage to ask Maverick to stay.

Chapter26

Maverick

Adlerand the girls made the county fair seem more fun than Disneyland, and surprisingly, I loved watching them eat their weight in junk food and try all the games and rides.

“This is the coolest little town.” Adler raved as he devoured a large elephant’s ear pastry, a sweet, doughy confection that rivaled the girls’ funnel cake in size. “And it’s yours.”

“It’s not mine.” I snagged a fry from the basket we’d all been sharing in the center of the picnic table. Colt and I had bought BBQ beef sandwiches from the rotary booth, one of the few offerings that wasn’t deep-fried. A tiny speck of sauce clung to his bristly chin, distracting me from Adler’s praise for Lovelorn. “Some pioneer ancestor thought too highly of himself, that’s all.”

“Dude. You have a town named after you.” Adler shook his head, eyes wide as if I were missing the point entirely. “I think that makes it yours.”

“Mine…” I said the world slowly, rolling it around in my mouth. The food court smelled like sugary grease and music from various rides filled the air. All around us, families had gathered for their suppers. The whole county had turned out for the fair, as always.

The same ancestors who’d slapped their name on the town that would become the county seat had chosen to put down roots here in the Disappointment Valley, a place so devoid of gold that the miners had left it to the farmers and ranchers. The rocky earth turned out to be good for growing beans and not much else. And even now, it was one of Colorado’s smallest and poorest counties in terms of economic impact. Indeed, this fair wasn’t put on for the hundreds of thousands of tourists who flocked to the state each year, but rather, this event was for the county itself.

I’d likely gone to school with half the folks here. They shopped at the Lovelorn Market, read the Lovelorn Press, played in Lovelorn Town Park. They were Lovelorn, not me. However, for the first time in my entire life, I considered Adler’s words. This wasmytown. If the ranch sold to corporate interests, what would become of the town? The longer I stayed, the more Colt’s worries carried weight. Faith was only too ready to find a developer. What did I personally owe to this area?

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