Page 17 of Reckless Hearts

When she finally looks up, there’s fire in her eyes. That stubborn Callie spark.

“Since you’re so determined to fight, I’ll ask Luke if I can ride with him. That way, we can keep it fair.”

“Like hell you are,” we say in unison.

She smirks, smug. But I know we’ve lost.

“We’ll take turns,” I say.

“Turns?” Her eyes narrow. “Am I some kind of shareable object?”

My mouth opens and shuts like a fish out of water because wasn’t that exactly how I was treating her?

“It’s not like that. We both missed you, and we have our own trucks.” He glances my way, jaw tight, then says, “Switching back and forth will give us both time to hang out with you. Don’t you want that?”

Hell… did he just agree with me? DidMaverick Kanejust compromise? I have half a mind to check his temperature. Still, it must’ve been the right thing to say because she softens.

I think we’ve won this but then her eyes grow misty, and I know in that second I’d do absolutely anything to make it go away.

“I don’t have much time here, and most of it will be spent on the road,” she says, voice trembling. “I don’t want to waste any of it.”

“We’ll take my truck,” Maverick says. “You ride passenger. He can sit in the back.”

“Why do you get to drive?” I grumble.

He grins. “Because I offered first.”

Chapter 6

Callie

Hot air blowson my bare feet, perched on the dash, my purple polka dot nail polish looking out of place against the masculine tan leather. The scenery is repetitive, all smooth roads and open plains. And I love every moment of it.

The baking sun, the dust kicking up from the sides of the road, the prairie flowers lining the ditches there’s beauty in its simplicity, something a city could never have.

Things worked out okay. Colt bribed some ranch hands to drive his truck to his parents’ place, leaving no more excuses for why we can’t all go together.

It would be perfect if it weren’t for these two sour idiots.

The silence between Maverick and Colt holds an underlying tension that’s impossible to ignore. When we stopped for gas, Colt’s shoulder brushed Maverick’s arm, and you’d think they’d been burned for how fast they jerked apart.

This was not what I was expecting when I’d finally made the decision to come back. Maybe I was naive to think everything could be the same, the way I’d frozen it in my mind. It’s not thefirst time I’ve realized that my fantasy about their happy life was more about my comfort than reality.

I had to believe it so I could keep living without them.

My gaze traces the side profile of Maverick’s face, the rough arch of his nose, likely broken more times than he can count. His brows are heavy, a five-o’clock shadow covering his sharp jaw, and the purple bruises under his eyes revealing his lack of sleep.

He’s wearing that stoic expression he likes, one that makes him appear unbothered. It probably works on everyone else, but the prominent tendons running along his throat give away his agitation.

You never know what you had until it’s lost… That thought threatens to defeat me, but screw that.

I still have time to fix this before I go back.

“I can’t fucking take this anymore,” Colt groans, head hitting the back of my seat. “At the very least, turn on some music. Do you always drive in complete fucking silence, man? Are you a masochist or something? Is this some new form of torture?”

Colt sounds so miserable I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face. Maverick glances at me from the corner of his eye, and I shrug.

“He’s not wrong. Any more of this and I’m going to overthink my entire life.”

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