Page 4 of The Maverick’s Forever Home (Montana Mavericks: Behind Closed Doors #2)

“Yes.” Her son—who was standing right beside her.

She tore her gaze from Braden and smiled down at Cody.

“This nine-year-old birthday boy’s name is Cody.

” Nine years old. Where had the time gone?

Wasn’t it just yesterday that he’d been an adorably round toddler?

Now he was growing like a weed and losing the baby fat from his cheeks.

Before long, he’d look like a little man.

She resisted the urge to ruffle his curls.

He would not appreciate that sort of public display of affection from his mother.

“Cody is nine, Daddy.” Delilah held up nine fingers to show her father. “And his brain is real smart.”

“That’s good to hear.” Braden Parker’s crooked grin had her tingling and a bit breathless.

Stop with the tingles .

She had no room in her life for tingles. None. All of her attention and energy was for Cody and Cody alone. Beyond that, she had to rest and get healthy again. She could not get involved with Braden and Delilah Parker—no matter how tempted she was.

* * *

Braden set the milk on the food tray and moved down the lunch line.

When he saw they were serving pizza, his heart sank.

This was bad. Even though he’d never seen her eat pizza, and she’d not had it with him so far, Delilah was convinced she didn’t like it.

One thing he was learning about his daughter: she was stubborn as a mule.

His father said she’d inherited that trait from him.

Braden was a lot of things but stubborn wasn’t one of them.

Not that it mattered right now. He had to come up with a plan, fast. He’d just calmed her down over the cupcakes.

He didn’t know how she’d respond to this new dilemma.

He wasn’t one for self-pity but today was testing that.

“Pizza?” Delilah had followed closely behind them. “I don’t wike pizza.”

Here we go . He braced himself for her imminent meltdown.

“You don’t like pizza?” Cody looked at Delilah like she’d grown a second head. “It’s awesome. You should try it.” He leaned closer and lowered his voice before he said, “Or you get a cheese sandwich and it’s gross…” He stretched the o out, twisted up his face and stuck out his tongue in disgust.

Delilah thought Cody’s antics were the funniest thing ever. Her giggles were so infectious, Braden was laughing, too. So was Cody. And Maggie.

He didn’t know what to make of the way Maggie was watching him. She was trying to be subtle about it, but he’d caught her a time or two.

She probably didn’t have the highest opinion of him. How could she? She’d seen Delilah booking it down the hall away from him. Not exactly the best first impression… And yet, there was no judgment in her green eyes—just curiosity.

Maybe that was why he wanted to explain himself to her.

Delilah’s little voice saying, “Pizza, pwease,” had Braden staring down at his little girl in shock.

He didn’t know whether to thank Cody or ask him what he’d done.

There were no tears or fussing or running away—just a big smile for the lunch lady.

He didn’t know what was happening, but he figured it was wise to keep his mouth shut.

He didn’t want to say anything and risk ruining the good that had been done here.

“Thank you,” Delilah said.

“You’re welcome.” The cafeteria worker nodded. “You make sure and clean your plate, little miss. So you’ll get big and tall like Cody.”

“I’ll try.” But Delilah didn’t sound optimistic.

Braden would be happy if she ate a third of her pizza. He was always worrying about how little she ate or the foods she preferred. When it came to Delilah, it was one thing on his long list of worries.

While Cody helped Delilah pick out the rest of her lunch, Braden hung back to wait for Maggie. He didn’t know why he wanted to explain himself to her, but he did.

“I wanted to thank you,” Braden murmured. “For earlier.”

She looked up at him. “Rough day?”

“You picked up on that, huh?” He managed a smile.

“I did.” She nodded, her long brown curly hair bouncing. “Some days are harder than others.”

“You can say that again. All I wanted was for her to be happy—it being her birthday and all.”

“She’s happy now.” She glanced at Cody and Delilah talking together a few feet ahead.

“Pretty sure I’ve got Cody to thank for that. If he hadn’t worked his magic, I’d probably be chasing her down again.” He paused. “That wasn’t a joke.”

“Parenting is hard.” Maggie Cooper had a nice smile.

He figured she was a nice person, too. “That’s so cliché.

But it’s true. It’s really hard. We just have to keep trying to do our best.” She shook her head.

“Well, crap, that sounded cliché, too.” Then she covered her mouth and looked around them.

“I can’t believe I said crap… And I just said it again. If Cody had heard that—”

“He didn’t. No one did.” She was so mortified by what she’d accidentally said that he hurried to reassure her. He thought the whole thing was hilarious but figured she wouldn’t appreciate him laughing. “And I won’t tell anyone.”

“I owe you one.” She pressed a hand to her cheek. “Am I blushing?”

“Yes, ma’am, you are.” And, red cheeks or not, she was pretty. The way she got all animated, blushing and embarrassed, was so genuine that he found himself taking a longer look at Maggie Cooper—and he liked what he saw.

“Maybe you shouldn’t be taking advice from a woman who cusses in her child’s school cafeteria.” She sighed, the red slowly draining from her cheeks.

“Was that cussing?” He shook his head. “Even so, I’m willing to give you a pass this time. And, cliché or not, I’ll take any advice I can get. It’s all still pretty new to me.”

Maggie paused, her green eyes meeting with his. “Oh?”

“This is Delilah’s first birthday with me and her first birthday without her mom. Moving back to Tenacity was a big change, too. Most days are like a roller coaster—up, down and all over.” He glanced at Delilah. “It’s been a lot for her.”

“And for you.” She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“I… Yeah. It is.” There was no point arguing. She was right. “It’s…complicated. But I’m hoping this’ll be a fresh start for both of us.”

“You said moved back to Tenacity. So why don’t I remember you?” She tucked one of her long curls behind her ear.

“I’m thirty-six. I’m thinking I’m older than you.”

“Only eight years.” She shrugged.

“You might know my brothers, Hayes and Miles?” When she shook her head, he said, “But my sister, Rylee Parker, is closest to your age. You two might have gone to school together.” He paused. “She married Shep Dalton so she’s Rylee Dalton now. They live over in Bronco.”

“Rylee Parker?” She seemed to consider this information before shrugging.

“The name’s familiar, but, to be fair, I was painfully shy and had next to no friends back in high school.

Now I travel a lot for work so I’m always out of the loop on who’s who and what’s what.

And I guess I’ve still got a shy streak. ”

Shy and next to no friends? He hadn’t expected that. Would Rylee remember her? He’d be interested to know.

“How has it been going since you got back?” Her gaze swept over his face. “What’s that saying? You can’t go home again. Any truth to that?”

“I’m not sure yet. It’s been…something. Showing up at my brother’s wedding with a kid no one knew about was… something.” He risked a glance her way.

“I bet.” Like before, there was no judgment in her voice or on her face. “They have to adore her, though. I mean, how could they not?” She smiled up at him.

Damn it all but that smile had him doing a double take.

He ran his fingers through his hair and took a slow, deep breath.

“They do.” When it came to his family things weren’t that easy.

The whole reason he’d brought Delilah to Tenacity was so she’d have the supportive family and loving home she deserved.

Just because he hadn’t had that growing up didn’t mean he might not be able to build that for her—at least, he hoped.

The few times he’d been in touch with Hayes, his brother had sworn that their irascible father, Lionel—the reason all the Parker brothers had fled the ranch over the years—had mellowed, sort of, due to his troubled health.

Braden was willing to risk coming back to the family ranch—he believed the move was best for his daughter.

He hoped like hell it’d been the right call.

“I need this move to work—for Delilah’s sake. She’s my top priority.”

Maggie gave him a long, considering look. “Then you’ve got your priorities straight, Braden. You’re going to be fine. Both of you.”

Her words were like a life raft—lifting his spirits and giving him hope. And he was beyond grateful to her.

“I should go sit with Cody.” She took a step, then hesitated. “It was nice to meet you, Braden Parker.” There was such warmth in her smile and in her eyes.

“You, too, Maggie Cooper.” He wanted to savor that smile a little longer, but Delilah came running up to tug on his arm.

“Come on, Daddy.” She bounced on the balls of her feet. “I’m so hungry. I wanna eat pizza.”

“Have fun.” Maggie waved before making a beeline to where Cody sat. She didn’t look back once.

He knew because he watched her. He’d lost his chance to say something witty or memorable before they’d parted, and he was surprisingly disappointed.

“Daddy.” His daughter was getting impatient.

“Lead the way.” He took her hand and followed her. When they reached her class table, he slid onto the bench beside her and draped her lap with a couple of napkins. When she picked up her pizza and took a bite, he held his breath.

“Daddy, Cody is right,” Delilah said between bites. “This is yummy .”