Page 7 of The Maverick’s Forever Home (Montana Mavericks: Behind Closed Doors #2)

“Is she your girlfriend?” Her father laughed at the look of horror on Cody’s face.

“Grandpa, she’s a baby. She can’t even talk right.” Cody turned to her. “Tell ’em, Ma.”

“She is in kindergarten, Dad. A teeny-tiny thing.” Just picturing Delilah in her mismatched knee socks had Maggie smiling. “She was absolutely adorable.”

“Nuh-uh. She kept talking about my brain, how tall I was, and she didn’t like pizza.” Cody shook his head. “ And she asked Ma if she could shoot a bow and arrow. That’s weird.”

“Thanks to you, she tried pizza and liked it. I know her father appreciated that.” Maggie had been trying not to think about Braden Parker since she got home.

If she did, then she’d remember she’d given him her phone number.

She’d given her phone number to, basically, a stranger.

It was ridiculous and totally out of character… and she really wanted him to call.

“I guess.” Cody shrugged, then looked directly at her. “You talked to her dad a lot.”

Stay calm . If she started blushing, things would rapidly get out of hand. “We were the only adults in the cafeteria, Cody. Aside from the staff.”

“I guess.” Cory stopped reading the directions and looked at her. “Your face got red, though.”

“Her face got red?” Mike perked up. “When she was talking to this guy?”

“Real red.” Cody grinned.

Great. Just great . Everyone was staring at her. Waiting. The best option was the truth. “You saw that? I said…a bad word. And I was afraid someone—a student—might have heard me.”

“I got embarrassed. And when I’m embarrassed this happens.” She pointed at her face. She could feel the heat in her skin and knew all too well that meant she’d flushed red. “I didn’t want to embarrass you.”

“He wants to call you.” Cody was like a dog with a bone. “And you gave him your number.”

Mike set the directions aside. “What, now?”

“Nothing.” Maggie waved her hand dismissively. “He’s a new single dad and he’s struggling.” She shrugged. “His daughter is precious so I…wanted to help out. That’s all there is to it.”

“I told him she doesn’t have a husband,” Cody informed them all.

“That’s right.” Maggie covered her face with her hand. “He did.”

Her father was chuckling. “He did?”

“Was this man handsome?” This from her mother. She wasn’t asking her, she was asking Cody.

“I guess so. He’s real tall.” He shrugged. “He looks strong.” He eyed his uncle. “Bigger than you, Uncle Mike. Oh, and he’s a cowboy.”

“Well, that’s all that matters, isn’t it?” Her father kept on laughing.

“And he lives here—since his little girl goes to school with Cody.” Her mother didn’t bother trying to hide her excitement. She’d been wanting Maggie to marry and settle down here since she’d graduated from college. “Is he handsome?” Her mother directed the question at her this time.

“I… He…” She did some weird hand flutter thing that had her brother’s gaze narrowing. “Yes, he is.”

“You gave this handsome cowboy, that’s a complete stranger, your phone number?” The protective edge in Mike’s tone had Danny placing a hand on Mike’s shoulder.

Maggie had liked Danny Taylor the instant she met him.

He was a good guy, which was important. Even more important was the way he looked at her brother.

There was no denying how much Danny loved her brother or that Mike felt the same way about him.

There was that ease between them—that unspoken communication that only a deeply connected couple has.

With one touch, one gentle smile, Danny managed to ease the tension Mike had so obviously been feeling.

“What is this guy’s name?” Mike’s brows rose. “I don’t want to scare him off if he calls.”

“His name is Braden Parker.” Cody picked up the directions for the diorama. “He liked you, Ma. He was watching you. Kinda like how Uncle Mike watches Danny.”

Maggie was reeling from her son’s announcement.

That had her brother’s brows going even higher. “You sure about that, Cody?”

Cody nodded. “I think we start with those big pieces.” He pointed at one of the piles. “Right, Danny?”

While Danny, Cody and her father went to work on the diorama, Maggie did her best to avoid making eye contact with her mother or brother.

Her mother was probably already pondering potential wedding dates.

Her brother would try to do that twin thing—study her expressions and stare at her long enough to get inside her head. But there was no point.

She and Braden Parker had only exchanged a handful of words.

The majority of those words had been about kids and parenting—about how uncertain he was and how hungry he was for advice and support.

That was it. In reality, that was a good thing.

She could do friendship. In fact, she’d like to be friends with Braden.

But anything more was not an option. When she’d gotten so sick in South America, she’d made a promise to herself.

Moving forward, Cody would come first. It would take all of her time and effort to earn her son’s trust again.

No matter how handsome and tempting Braden Parker was—she wouldn’t break the promise she’d made to herself and to Cody.

* * *

Having the whole family here on the family ranch, the End of the Road Ranch, was a big deal.

Things hadn’t always been easy for the Parkers but, without hesitating, they’d all set aside time to be here to celebrate Delilah’s birthday today.

Easy or not, the Parkers had learned to stand together and put family first. His little girl was their family now, too.

Braden’s brother Miles and his new bride, Renee Trent, and his brother Hayes and his wife, Chrissy Hastings Parker—who’d been married for just over a year—were there.

Even his sister, Rylee, and her husband, Shep Dalton, had come from Bronco for the occasion.

Their parents’ Lionel and Norma Parker, were there as well.

His father had long been established as a stern taskmaster and curmudgeon—so much so that his hostility had driven he and his brothers away.

away from home. It had been so bad, Hayes had had almost no contact with the family for years.

But Hayes had returned to Tenacity when Lionel was hospitalized last year.

Since he and Miles had also left Tenacity, there’d been no one to help on the ranch and the place had fallen on hard times.

While Braden was dealing with Phoebe and Delilah, Hayes came home and got things back on track at home.

And thanks to Hayes, the family was saved.

He owed Hayes. Hell, they all did. If he hadn’t stepped in, they’d have lost the End of the Road Ranch and their family’s legacy.

“Thank you.” Delilah was staring down at the mermaid doll she’d just unwrapped—a present from Rylee and Shep.

“You’re welcome, sweetie.” Rylee was already smitten with her only niece. “Do you like mermaids? I did when I was your age—I thought they were magical. But I’ve never been to the ocean so I’ve never seen one.”

“I’m sorry, Auntie Rywee.” Delilah’s eyes shifted from the doll to Rylee. “Mermaids are pretend.” Her little voice was full of sympathy as she rested her hand on Rylee’s arm.

Braden chuckled. He never knew what she was going to say. One minute she was comparing Maggie Cooper to the bow and arrow toting princess of her favorite movie, the next she was gently explaining to his sister that mermaids weren’t real.

“Oh, right.” Rylee grinned. “Well, she’s a pretty doll.”

“She is.” Delilah hugged the doll close. “My mommy loved mermaids.”

Dammit . He’d forgotten that being a mermaid had been one of Phoebe’s many part-time jobs.

Her job had been to perch on a rock in one of the large tanks and teach aquarium visitors all about the fish and coral inside.

If Braden had remembered, he’d have steered Rylee away from buying the doll Delilah now had pressed, tightly, to her chest. But no.

He hadn’t remembered. And now Delilah’s chin was quivering and he felt terrible.

He ran a hand over his face, took a deep breath and assumed what he hoped was a pleasant enough smile.

But from the questioning look Rylee was sending him, he wasn’t sure he pulled it off.

“Here. This one next.” Thankfully, Braden’s father jumped in. Lionel slid a brightly wrapped gift box toward Delilah. “I bet you’ll like this one even better.”

Norma shot her husband a look. “Now, Lionel, she can like what she wants to.”

“Fine, fine, I know all that. But it’s still a better present.” He nodded at the box. “You’ll see.”

A quick sweep of the room told Braden his siblings were just as amused by their father’s behavior as he was.

The word to best describe Lionel Parker had always been irascible.

The man was grumpy and direct to the point of rude, held strong opinions he had no problem vocalizing and had a short fuse.

So seeing the gentle affection on his father’s face when he looked at Delilah had him doing a double take.

“Thank you, Grampa and Gramma.” Delilah bestowed one of her sweetest smiles on her grandparents before tearing away the paper. Inside was a child-size boot box.

Braden held his breath. Cowboy boots were a necessity out here. But his little girl had such a hard time with socks—how would she react to a pair of boots?

“Ooh,” Delilah said the moment she opened the box. “They’re so pretty.” She pulled out the leather boot and held it up, turning it one way, then the other. “It is pink on top.”

“Sure enough.” Lionel looked pretty proud of himself about it, too. “Had to get pink.”

“Your grampa wouldn’t rest until we found some with pink.” Norma patted her husband’s thigh.

“Thank you.” She set the boots down and ran across the room. She threw her arms around Lionel for a quick squeeze, then did the same to Norma. “I never had a gramma or a grampa.” She studied them both.

Braden was shocked to see his father get dewy-eyed and red-cheeked with emotion. It was something to see.