Page 17 of The Maverick’s Forever Home (Montana Mavericks: Behind Closed Doors #2)

Maggie’s chest hurt for him. “Those are the worst dreams. I’ve had some, too.

Not that Cody ran away to Florida but that he’d tried to find his father—” Oh, no .

She rushed on. “Or he joined the rodeo or stowed away on an airplane. As a parent, there’s nothing scarier than losing your child.

So these nightmares are our worst fears come true. ”

“That’s good to know.” He sighed. “I don’t know anyone else with a kid, so I appreciate you, Maggie.

You and Cody making time for Delilah and me means a lot.

” He chuckled. “Delilah, especially. She talks about Cody all the time. When are we going to see you two, and what do I think Cody is doing, and would he like it if she drew him a dinosaur picture. In her eyes, your son is basically Superman.”

Maggie laughed.

“You’re laughing. That’s better.” He cleared his throat.

Oh, my . All the tingles. She pressed her hand to her cheeks. As she suspected, they were hot.

“I’m fine with whatever you decide about Friday morning. You can text me, if that works?”

“Sure.” She was still awash in tingles.

“But we are still on for the football game Friday night?”

“Yes.” She answered awful fast. “I can’t do that to Cody. And you gave your word and all. So, we will meet you there.” And just thinking about it made her happy. Too happy.

“Sounds great, Maggie.” He cleared his throat. “I can’t give you much parenting advice but… Well, I’m here. We’re friends now. Friends can rely on one another.”

Friends . She flopped back on her bed and stared up at the ceiling overhead. “I really appreciate that. The same goes for me, Braden. I’m only a phone call away.”

“See you soon.”

“Bye.” She disconnected and draped an arm over her face.

“Friends, Maggie. Only friends. Stop it. All of it. Now,” she moaned aloud.

“Friends don’t tingle over one another.” She took several deep, calming breaths.

Friends didn’t get breathless or flushed or lie on their bed overthinking reactions to their conversation—like being breathless and flushed.

You’re laughing. That’s better. He’d said that in that dreamy voice of his.

“Enough.” She shook her head, willing all thoughts of Braden Parker away.

She lay there another minute, mentally preparing herself for what was to come with Cody.

Talking to Braden had been surprisingly helpful.

Instead of telling her what she should or shouldn’t do, he’d listened.

He’d been a real friend. And he was grateful for her.

She got up, twisted her hair up into a bun and secured it with a clip, and tried to smile at her reflection.

No matter how challenging things were at the moment, her son loved her.

And she loved him more than anything in the whole world.

That was a good place to start. From a place of love, with a lot of patience, and a dash of parental discipline.

I can do this. And if she needed to decompress later, she had someone she could call who would listen and support her. Overzealous reactions aside, she was truly happy that she and Braden Parker had become friends.

* * *

“Football?” Miles was leaning against the bathroom door frame.

“Uh-huh.” Braden patted some aftershave on his freshly shaved jawline.

“High school football?” Hayes didn’t bother hiding his amusement. “You’ve got it bad, don’t you?”

Braden shook his head. “You two are starting to sound like a broken record, you know that?”

They both laughed.

“Delilah’s never been to a football game before.” Braden ran a comb through his hair.

“And? We only went in high school because there was nothing else to do.” Miles scratched his head then elbowed Hayes in the side. “Now you’re going because you want to?”

“It is odd,” Hayes said. “But a man will do all sorts of things when it comes to the woman in his life.”

Since they were so determined to give him a hard time over Maggie, he might as well have some fun with them. “You’re right. That’s the only reason I’m doing this.” He set his comb aside and waited.

He was talking about Delilah but his brothers assumed he was talking about Maggie. Their reactions were better than he’d expected. They were staring at him, open-mouthed—like he’d grown wings or was speaking in tongues or something. It took real effort to stop himself from laughing.

Braden rolled his eyes and pushed between the two of them, enjoying himself. He walked down the hall to his daughter’s room and peered inside. “Delilah, you ready?”

Delilah jumped out from behind the door. “Ready!”

Braden was momentarily speechless. He didn’t know how he was going to break it to her but she was not, in the least bit, ready to leave the house.

“You might want to change, hon.” Miles was standing behind him.

“That won’t work, Delly.” Hayes eyed her outfit in concern. “You look real pretty, Delilah.”

Phoebe had worked at one of the big theme parks in Florida, and as a result, Delilah had almost as many princess outfits as she had everyday clothes.

It didn’t bother him for her to wear them out, but she’d chosen to wear a fairy outfit that didn’t cover much and it was expected to drop below forty tonight.

“I do?” She smoothed her tulle skirts.

“Of course, you do.” Braden chose his words with care. “But let’s pick a warmer outfit for tonight, okay? Otherwise, I’m afraid you’ll wind up being cold.”

“I don’ wike the cowd.” She frowned at him.

“I know you don’t like the cold.” He knelt in front of her. “And I don’t want you turning into a snowman.” This was a reference to another one of her favorite princess movies.

“’Kay.” She sighed heavily and walked to her dress-up box. “I wiw change.”

“Why don’t you wear the Brave dress? Since Maggie looks like Princess Merida?” That dress was long sleeved, had a long skirt and was made of velvet so she wouldn’t freeze.

“Oh, yes!” Delilah clapped her hands together and started digging through her costumes. “You awe so smart, Daddy. Maggie will wuv it.”

“I know she will.” He helped her tug off the tulle-and-sequins-covered leotard and put on the long velvet dress. “Perfect.” He peered at the flip-flops on her feet. “How about you put on some knee socks and you can wear your boots.”

Delilah wiggled her toes. “No bwue toes.”

“No blue toes.” He waited for her to ask for his help with the knee socks.

The last thing he wanted was to stifle his daughter’s independence.

He remembered Maggie’s advice and took it to heart.

He wanted her growing up confident in her own skin and of her abilities.

That sort of thing started here and now—with knee socks.

He pulled the door open to find his brothers were still waiting for them. There was no faking the regret on their faces. It wasn’t their fault, really. They were totally clueless when it came to kids.

“You look great, Delly.” Miles gave her a thumbs-up.

“Mmm-hmm.” Hayes nodded. “I like that color green.”

It meant a lot to see his brothers trying for his little girl. More than they’d ever know.

Delilah’s smile was blinding. “Thank you, Unca Miwes. Thank you, Unca Hayes.”

Braden rarely saw Miles and Hayes rattled but, then again, his brothers had never been face-to-face with anyone half as charming as his little girl. Her smile packed quite a punch—and his brothers weren’t immune to that fact. He chuckled. “I think we’re all ready to go.”

“Yay!” She grabbed his hand. “Wet’s go! I wanna see footbaw. And Cody. And Maggie.”

“Hayes and I were thinking tonight might be a good night to go to a game, too.” Miles glanced at Hayes. “Renee and Chrissy are off doing something together.”

“Been a while since I cheered on the Tenacity Titans.” Hayes nodded.

Braden glared at his brothers. This was not about football or spending time with him—this was about checking out Maggie. He’d gone and made things worse by letting them misunderstand his earlier comment. And if he tried to set the record straight now, they wouldn’t believe him.

“Fine.” It’s not like he had anything to hide. He and Maggie were friends. If they needed to see that for themselves, he wasn’t going to stop them.

The Tenacity High School football field hadn’t changed a bit. The bleachers were solid, even if they could use a little TLC. Braden thought that was a pretty good analogy for his hometown and the people that lived there: solid and tough if a little rough around the edges.

He held Delilah’s hand as she tugged him toward the stands. The moment she spied Maggie and Cody, she squealed and let go of his hand and took off running. “Cody! Maggie! I’m here!”

“That’s your friend?” Miles whistled.

“Delilah’s right, she’s pretty.” Hayes chuckled.

Braden ignored them and walked ahead. He wasn’t all that excited to introduce them to Maggie—especially if they were going to act like idiots.

“Hey, Braden.” Cody waved at him.

“Hey, Cody.” He smiled at the boy. “Nice hat. You ready for some football?”

“Yessir.” He tipped his black felt cowboy hat back on his head. “Ma got Delilah some pom-poms so she can cheer.”

“And I got some for me, too.” Maggie held the pom-poms high.

Maggie stood, taking the hand Delilah offered her. “Let’s go find some seats before they’re all gone.”

A strong breeze hit, catching Maggie’s curls so her long hair seemed to dance in the wind. All Braden could think about was how, even with a red nose and wild hair, Maggie Cooper was prettier than any woman he’d ever seen.

“I should have worn my hat.” Maggie reached up to smooth her hair. “That would have helped to tame the curls a little.”

Braden was glad she’d left her hat at home. He liked her hair this way, untamed and free.

“Hey.” Miles’s voice snapped Braden out of it.

When his brothers had joined them, he didn’t know. But the two of them were standing by, watching, wearing identical goofy-as-hell grins.

Great .

“You must be Maggie.” Hayes touched the brim of his hat. “I’m Hayes. This is Miles. We’re Braden’s brothers.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Maggie’s smile was warm and welcoming—and only made her prettier. “This is my son, Cody.” She paused so they could exchange greetings before saying, “My brother, Mike, and his partner, Danny, are here somewhere, too.”

Was that part of the original plan or was her brother being nosy like his?

Then again, if he’d been around when Rylee was courting Shep, wouldn’t he have done the same?

A brother had to make sure his sister wasn’t meeting up with some delinquent with ill intentions. It was part of the job description.

They headed into the stands to find seats. When they found a row with enough room, Delilah sat first, then him and Cody, and Maggie at the end.

“We’re gonna sit higher up,” Hayes said. “I see Shane Corey over there, isn’t it?” He pointed farther down the bleachers. “Looks like it. When did he get back in town?”

“Let’s go find out.” Miles touched the brim of his hat and smiled at Maggie. “It was nice to meet you two.”

“There’s plenty of room.” Maggie pointed at the mostly empty row.

“Oh, no… There’s a better view from up there…” Hayes mumbled to a stop and headed up the bleacher steps with Miles on his heels.

“Did we scare them off?” Maggie asked him, looking puzzled.

“Kids.” Braden watched as his brothers sat three rows above them. From there, they would have a clear sight line for the field—and Braden and Maggie, too.

“They don’t like them?” Maggie whispered.

“More like they are kids.” He loved that he could make her laugh. After their last conversation, he suspected she could use more laughter. He was all too happy to help with that. When he realized he was staring, he turned to Cody. “Thanks for letting Delilah take the bone for show-and-tell.”

“Cody, I did good.” Delilah climbed over Braden and wedged herself between him and Cody. “Teacher said it was the bestest show-and-te-ll ever.”

Delilah was instantly distracted by the cheerleaders running onto the field. “Oh, wook.”

The cheerleaders had lined up along the track, and the players came running across the field to their benches.

“Here we go,” Cody said. “Get ready to cheer.”

And they did. He worried Delilah’d be hoarse in the morning but she was having too much fun to stop her.

Halftime meant bathroom visits for the kids, hot chocolate purchases from the booster club booth and Maggie retrieving the blanket from her car.

When the second half started, the four of them were huddled together under the thick fleece-lined fabric.

Delilah had chosen Maggie’s lap while Cody sat between them.

All in all, they were all toasty and warm.

They were only fifteen minutes into the second half when Delilah’s eyelids grew heavy. Another five minutes and she’d burrowed into Maggie and fallen into a deep sleep.

“How can she do that?” Cody asked, getting heavy-lidded himself. “It’s so…” He yawned. “Noisy.”

“Beats me.” Braden reached around Maggie to tuck in the blanket more securely. “You two warm enough?” The wind had picked up and there was a definite bite to it.

Maggie nodded. “Thank you.” Beneath the fluorescent stadium lights, her eyes were a deep emerald.

He swallowed against the tightening in his chest. “I can take her, if you want?”

“She’s good. It’s been a long time since Cody let me cuddle him like this.” She glanced at her son with such longing Braden didn’t know what to make of it.

“I’m a man, Ma.” Cody yawned again. “Men don’t cuddle their mothers.” He could barely keep his eyes open.

“But they can sleep on them,” Braden whispered, watching as Cody’s eyes shut and he leaned, heavily, against his mother. “You sure you got them both?”

“I think so.” From the smile on her face, she’d suffer any discomfort to keep her son close.

Braden slid closer, adjusted the blanket again, then propped his arm behind her on the bleacher’s seat. “You can lean on me, if they get too heavy.”

“Oh, I’m fine, but thank you.” She blew at a strand of hair that had fallen across her face.

Without thought, Braden reached up and tucked the curl behind her ear. When his fingertips brushed behind her ear, her breath hitched, and he wanted nothing more than to stop time. Long enough to drink in the look on her face and the heat in her eyes.

Damn, but he was a fool.

There was no pretending this wasn’t real—not anymore. The longer she stared at him, the more he wanted to touch her. Not as her friend but as a man. A man who really, desperately, wanted this woman.