Page 58 of Falling Stars (Wild at Heart #2)

MAVERICK

Standing in my brother’s kitchen at the ranch, I feel rooted to the floor. I can’t stop staring at Baylee and Leo, who are passed out on the couch in the living room. I never want to forget this moment or how much I need them in my life. Or forget how they’re worth every sacrifice.

It’s been a few hours since we got here, and I’m still processing what happened.

“What did the paramedics say?” Rhett asks as he hands me a beer.

“Aside from the fact that he was sitting in a soiled diaper and has a rash, Leo’s fine. They said he wasn’t dehydrated, which is good. But I’m sure he’s freaked out. Look at how he clings to Baylee.”

Rhett nods as he glances at Bay and Leo. My brother shakes his head. “Still can’t get over Lorraine Ashbury being behind this.”

Reynolds found a half-empty bucket of red paint at the cabin. It’s likely what she used to destroy Baylee’s bedroom.

Lorraine admitted that one of the security guys at the Ashbury Feed and Seed helped her hack into Baylee’s security system.

As for how she got in through the front door of the salon after it was locked, apparently the Ashburys also own the LLC that acquired the property last summer, so they have access to the master locks for every shop on that block.

“I can’t get over her thinking Leo was mine. Why the hell would she assume that? He has light hair like Sean.”

Rhett grabs his phone and slides his finger over the screen, then turns it to me. “You and I had light brown hair when we were little. Maybe she remembered that.”

I stare at a pic of me as a toddler tucked in my brother’s arm. He’s carrying me like I’m a tree trunk he needs to move, but I’m laughing. Sure enough, my hair was light.

Sean clears his throat from the other side of the kitchen. “I’m gonna go, but I just want to thank y’all for everything you did to find Leo.” His voice cracks, and he pauses to pull me into a hug. “Appreciate you, man.”

Awkwardly, I pat his back. “Glad he’s home, safe and sound.”

When Sean steps back, he pulls out his car keys. “Please tell Baylee I’ll swing by tomorrow. If it’s okay with you.”

I nod. “Sure thing.”

I have to admit Sean’s okay.

After he leaves, Rhett takes a long pull from his beer. “Didn’t want to say this in front of Sean, but I’m guessing Lorraine saw what we all did. That you and Baylee have always loved each other in one way or another. Then she just made some assumptions.”

I guess that makes sense.

Rhett points his beer bottle toward Baylee. “Have you told her about your gift yet?”

“It hasn’t been the right time. Just wanted to focus on finding Leo. ”

Paige places a tray of food in front of me. “I think her fridge is pretty empty, and y’all need to eat something.”

“Thank you.” I hug her and my brother.

Rhett leans back against the kitchen counter. “Are you gonna be okay in that camper? It’s a far cry from your posh little condo.”

“We’ll survive. Hopefully, we won’t be there for long.”

He chuckles. “She’s in for a surprise.”

“I hope it’s a good one.” The whole time I was in New York, I kept thinking about what Rhett had said, that I can’t just give Baylee pretty words.

That I need to back that up with action.

So I didn’t want to come home empty-handed.

I needed to give her something to show how serious I am about our relationship.

Paige smacks his arm. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”

Rhett points his beer at me. “You owe me for keeping this from my wife. Because now I’m in the doghouse and that means I’ll probably have to build her another chicken coop or rescue some baby raccoons or something.”

“Aww, a baby raccoon! I’ve always wanted one!” She laughs and tosses her arms around his neck. “I’ll think of a way for you to make this up to me.”

When he grabs her ass to hoist her higher for a kiss, I turn away because no one needs to see that.

Baylee yawns on the couch, and I head to the living room and sit by her side. “Babe, let’s go to the camper.”

She nods. “I need to call Vera and Rory. I need to apologize for letting them get dragged into this.”

“Babe, they understand. I already spoke to them. The sheriff ruled them out right away. I promise they’re not mad. They were just as freaked out as we were that Leo went missing.”

“I feel bad.”

I kiss her forehead. “They said they’ll handle everything at the salon this week so you can rest. That’s how much they love you.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want my clients to be upset.”

“They’ll be fine. After what you and Leo went through, we should take some time to regroup. You can always stop by, but let them handle the bulk of the work.”

After a second, she nods. I take Leo and hold him for the first time since he’s been home. He starts to fuss, and I turn him onto his belly and cradle him across my arm, and he settles.

Baylee laughs. “I’ve never held him like that.”

I wink at her. “It’s just like holding a football.”

Leo snuggles my arm and I smile. We take the food Paige made for us and return to the camper.

I help Baylee bathe him in the sink and dress him afterward.

“I can’t believe that woman left him in that dirty diaper the entire time.” She takes a moment just to hug her son.

“No one takes care of a baby like his mother, and you’re a fantastic mother.”

“Thanks, but I feel terrible about what happened. Like I shouldn’t have left Leo in my office that night.”

“Baby, the sheriff even said you did nothing wrong. I’m sure it’s gonna take some time for you to shake that feeling, but I’m with him on this.

You can’t beat yourself up over what happened.

Lorraine is a fucked-up woman. All the blame should rest on her head and her family’s if they were involved. ”

Although Judd and Nicole swear they knew nothing about what Lorraine was plotting, they admitted she’s been acting erratic lately. The sheriff says he’s getting warrants for the Ashburys’ phones to verify whether they’re innocent.

Baylee sighs. “I’m afraid I’m going to have nightmares about this forever.”

“Maybe we can find someone to talk to. A therapist maybe? We could even find someone who does it online. ”

“That’s a good idea.” She goes quiet, almost like she’s bracing herself for more bad news. “When… when do you have to go back?”

“To New York?”

“Yeah.”

I tilt my head. “Bay, why do you think I came home?”

She puts Leo on the bed and tucks pillows around him so he doesn’t roll off. “At first I thought you’d heard about Leo and came to help. It finally dawned on me that was impossible.” Turning to face me, she shrugs. “But then I figured you were here to rehab some more.”

I’m about to respond when she places her hand on mine.

“Wait. Before you say anything, I need to apologize for breaking up with you. I’ve been sick about it all week.

If we have to do long distance, I’ll give it my best shot.

I’m sorry I gave up so easily. I know I can be stubborn, but I’ll never forgive myself if I lose you. ”

Knowing she would’ve met me halfway only confirms I’ve made the right choice. “Thank you, baby. That means the world to me. But I’m not home to rehab. And just to be clear, had I heard Leo was missing, I would’ve jumped on a plane in a heartbeat. No matter what else was going on.”

Her eyes go glassy, and she hugs me. “Thank you.”

I kiss the top of her head. “I don’t need thanks for doing what’s right.”

Leaning back, she glances up at me, a furrow to her brow. “Then why are you home?”

I smile. “I flagged my physical. I’m officially retired. Surprise.”

That furrow deepens. “Why do you look happy about this? I thought you wanted to play for a few more years.”

“When I got back to New York I realized what you were saying, that I needed to figure this out on my own. So I made my choice for myself. I would’ve been home sooner, but I had a mountain of paperwork to sign and meetings all week. And I needed time to wrap my head around this decision.”

She swallows. “I just don’t want you to regret this.”

I rest my finger over her lips. “There’s no regret.

I’m at peace with everything. If my options are to play a game that might paralyze me or kill me because I’ll never be healed enough, or live a life with my best friend?

I’ll take option two. All I did was see the first neurosurgeon, who stood by his earlier statement that I shouldn’t play.

While I’m feeling better, he’s still concerned the right hit could do some serious damage, and given the position I play, I wasn’t crazy about those odds. ”

“If you’re sure.”

“Babe, I’ve done a lot of soul searching this week. Do you know why I started playing?”

“Because you love the game?”

“That’s one reason. But the other one was to get away from Gus. And here’s the thing, I’m not running from my father anymore.”

She laces our fingers together. “I’m so sorry he was an asshole to you.”

“It was tough at the time, but I got through it because of you, my brothers, and football. And Bay, when I got injured, I thought that was the worst thing that could happen to me. Turns out, losing you was. I love you, peach. I came home to build a life with you. I wanna see my brothers and our families grow old together.”

The smile she gives me makes my heart beat faster. “I love you too, Mav. So much.”

We kiss, and I’m ready to forget anything exists outside of this camper.

Except my phone buzzes on the counter for the millionth time. Vance .

“How did your agent take the news?” she asks after she sees his name flash on my screen.

“He’s pissed. But I suspect he’s just upset about his salary cut getting diminished because I can’t return.”

She rests her head against my chest. “I’m so sorry. I know how badly you wanted this.”

“I’ll get over it. Besides, I have plans.” I wrap my arms around her and breathe in her peachy scent. “Football was my dream, but so are you and Leo.”

She runs her hands through my hair. “This doesn’t feel real. You’re really back to stay?”

I kiss her. “For as long as you’ll have me.”

She laughs. “Then you’d better get comfortable.”

After we share a quiet dinner, we sit together on the couch. “I want to be up front about something. You mentioned being transparent with each other, and I never want to give you any reason to doubt me. So even though this might upset you, I want you to hear it from me.”

“You’re scaring me.” She lets out a weak laugh.

“It’s not scary. Not really. But I know how rumors get started, and while I don’t give a shit what other people think, I always want you to know you can trust me.” After she nods, I tell her about my apartment full of strippers.

Her expression flattens. “Of course they gave you a welcome home party with strippers.”

“All I did was wave hi to my teammates and head to my bedroom where I flipped on the lock and questioned my life choices.”

She chuckles. “Thank you for telling me.”

“Are you mad?”

“No. I appreciate you sharing that with me.”

I grab her hand and kiss it. “Just know I would never do anything to jeopardize our relationship. You mentioned that Nicole was talking shit at the rodeo? What was that about?” Because Baylee never told me.

“She was trying to get under my skin, saying that you told her details about how you were leaving and the extent of your injuries.”

“Babe, I swear to you that she and I never had that conversation. I told Coach Taggert those details, and she must’ve eavesdropped.”

Nodding, Baylee squeezes my hand. “I believe you. And I’m sorry I let her worm her way between us like that. It really annoyed me that she got to see you coaching the kids, a side of you I haven’t. I need to get over it.”

I pull her onto my lap. “Or you could just come see me coach. Now, as I seem to remember, you said something about me settling for you ’cause I was injured?”

Covering her face with her hand, she shakes her head. “That was a terrible thing to say.”

Gently, I grab her wrist so I can see her. “I understand why you said that, and I’m sorry you felt that way. I never told you this, but… You know what? Maybe the past is best left there.”

“Oh my God. You can’t say that and leave me hanging. Now you have to tell me whatever it is you were going to say.”

I hope I didn’t just open a can of worms, but I nod. “The reason I was afraid to sleep with you in high school is because things didn’t go well with me and Nicole after we did the deed.”

“Go on,” she says slowly.

“I couldn’t stand being near her after sex. Like, I had to flee. I wasn’t a dick or anything. I said goodbye and that I’d talk to her later. But I literally jumped out of her window to get away from her.”

She snickers. “Is that when her mother caught you?”

“Christ, yes. It was humiliating. Did Nicole tell you that too?”

“No, Lorraine cornered me at the trading post and kindly reminded me that you and Nicole were high school sweethearts.”

“That’s a fucking stretch.” Damn the Ashburys for meddling in my relationship with Baylee. “Anyway, by the time I realized I had feelings for you, I was scared I had some weird problem with intimacy and was worried I’d flip out on you too, and then you’d hate me.”

“Aww, that’s kinda sweet.” She grabs my face and kisses me.

“And Kira always told me I was emotionally unavailable, so I don’t think I ever got over that issue exactly. Until you and I got together.”

She rubs her nose against mine. “Are you sure it’s not because I got your dick to work again?”

I laugh and pull her closer so she’s straddling me. “I don’t think it was a quid pro quo.” I brush the hair out of her eyes. “But back to my point. I might not be a star high school football player or an NFL tight end anymore, but would you settle for the head football coach?”

Her smile widens. “You’re taking the job at the high school?”

“I’d like to, but I wanted to discuss it with you first because you and I are a team now. If I accept it, I’ll be gone to a lot of away games, and the season will still be intense. And high school players can be little shits, as I well know, so I suspect I’ll have to wrangle cats occasionally.”

“Will it make you happy?”

“I think so. Taggert has a great program, and he said he’ll stick around to help me get situated.”

“Then you should take it. You should know I’m going to be at every home game cheering you on.”

“I’d love that, Bay.”

I start to kiss her again, but she pulls back. “Mav, I’m filthy. I haven’t showered since the day before last.”

I lift a brow. “Think we can fit in the shower together? ”

We turn to look at the tiny bathroom. How the hell did my brother live in this camper? “I’m not sure, but I’m willing to try. It’ll be a tight fit.”

Biting her neck, I squeeze her close. “I love a tight fit.”