Maverick

“I’M NOT GOING back.”

“Honey, you made a commitment,” Cassidy said. “You have to go back.”

My parents had reluctantly convinced me to go home with them after Lily had fallen asleep on my lap and didn’t appear to be waking up anytime soon. I’d carried her up to bed and tucked her in, kissing her gently before letting my mom drag me out of Lily’s room.

Payton took over with Lily but only after hugging me tightly. “For the record, I objected to her not telling you,” she whispered.

“I appreciate that, Payton. But from now on, no more secrets.”

She smiled. “I can do that, honey.”

“Thanks.”

I walked home with my parents, and now, we were sitting in the kitchen, an argument in full swing.

“Dad, back me up,” I begged.

Ace raised his hands. “I think you should go back.”

“What? Why?” I snapped.

“Because you need to tell your coach face-to-face that you can’t play football for his team this year.”

Cassidy gasped. “Carter!”

“Babe, don’t. You can’t be surprised I’d take this tack. If I’d had any say in you not leavin’ me back in the day, you don’t think I would have taken it?”

My parents had known each other since they were in grade school, but in high school, a pretty significant misunderstanding led to them going their separate ways for over six years. Once they reconnected, Dad was determined not to let Mom get away again.

Dad squeezed my shoulder. “You want me to come with you, I will.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

Cassidy groaned. “You’re going to lose your scholarship.”

“If I lose Lily in order to keep the scholarship, it’ll be worth nothing, Mom. But if I keep Lily and lose the scholarship, I’m willing to take that trade.” I reached over and took my mom’s hand. “She’s everything to me. Look at Uncle Aidan. He changed his whole major and went to vet school two years after he could have. If I put off college for a little while, it’s not the end of the world. Losing time with Lily, though, would be.”

Dad stepped behind Mom, laying his hands on her shoulders, and she looked up at him. “Why did we raise such a mature and grounded young man? Right now, I’d settle for a Mama’s boy.”

“Maverick?” Tillie called.

“Yeah?”

“Can you help me get to the next level, please?”

“Sure, sis, hang on a sec.” I rose to my feet, leaning down to kiss my mother’s cheek. “I love her, Mom. Just as much as Dad loves you. So I’m gonna go back, pack up my stuff, and move home until she’s cured.”

She sighed. “Okay, honey.”

“And Dad?”

“Yeah, bud?”

“I need you to shave my head.”

My mom groaned. “Not your hair, too.”

My dad smiled. “Yeah, bud, I’ll shave your head.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“Mav?” Cassidy grabbed my arm. “If there was anyone on the planet worthy of you, it’s Lily. I’m so proud of you, honey.”

I saw the sheen of tears in her eyes and knew they weren’t tears for my hair. She loved Lily almost as much as I did. “Thanks, Mom.”

“But she loves your hair as much as I do.”

I laughed, kissed her again, and headed into the game room to help my sister. I’d let my dad deal with my mother’s obsession with my hair.

* * *

Lily

The next three years were a blur of doctor visits, chemo treatments, and touch-and-go moments of will it or won’t it return. I felt like my knowledge of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets grew to a level I neither desired nor required. However, it did give me a sudden passion to be a nurse, which had never been on the radar before.

Maverick gave up his scholarship to Notre Dame. He’d gone with his dad to the coach in Indiana and explained what was going on, and they’d been really understanding. What I hadn’t expected was that he’d come home without hair.

“Not growing it back until you can grow yours, baby doll. We’re in this together.”

Even though I wasn’t happy he’d shaved off all of his glorious hair (and kept it short despite my pleas for him to grow it back), I’d thrown myself into his arms and kissed him until we both weren’t able to breathe... something we wouldn’t get to do much over the next year as my immune system would go from bad to worse at times. But the second I was allowed out of the “germ-free bubble,” I was on him like a stripper on a freshly cleaned pole. Seriously, I don’t know how we didn’t get pregnant (I didn’t give him a whole lot of time to get a condom on)... or get caught by my dad, but Maverick got pretty creative with date nights, often booking a hotel so we could have alone time. I referred to myself as his high-priced hooker for an evening romp in the sheets—he wasn’t amused. I was, though, which meant I took the joke as far as he’d let me.

Maverick had taken the rest of the year off to go through the worst of the chemo with me, but then when the fall semester came around, I was better, so he was ready to start again. Because cancer sucks, and there’s no real logic to it, Maverick decided to go back to his second-choice school, Oregon State, and see if he could salvage anything there. It was only his second choice because we’d both really wanted to go away... have some time together without the influence of our families and out of the reach of the Dogs. But life kind of kiboshed that, so he reached out to OSU, and they gave him a chance to play for them.

He’d decided to follow in his uncle’s footsteps and become a vet, although he was doing a small animal major. Knight had focused on large animals, due to his horse obsession. One of the great things about the Dogs—and the Quinns in general—was that they took care of their own. And since Knight owned a large veterinary practice, he was able to offer Maverick an internship after he graduated. It was a win-win.

I was dancing again, which meant ballet consumed a lot of my time but less than before. I realized that even though I loved dancing, it was no longer more important than most things in my life. Other than Maverick, I had always put dancing before friends, my parents, my brothers, everyone. Now, I was much more balanced.

Once I had salvaged my relationship with Maverick, I finally felt like my life was back on track. Auntie Kayla was convinced that part of the reason I was healing so beautifully was that I’d done what I should have done at the beginning... let Maverick love me through the cancer. I’m sure she was right, but I still appreciated the fact she only ‘told me so’ once, dropping any future reference to the subject.

My parents insisted I live at home, and quite frankly, I was okay with that for the moment. I loved my family, and never having been particularly independent, I liked feeling protected and part of the “pack.”

Maverick also continued to live at home... he had no desire to live in a dorm situation again, and until he and I could “cohabitate,” he said he’d stay put.

Admittedly, though, I couldn’t wait until we could start our lives together fully. I desperately wanted to get him naked whenever I felt the desire (which was a lot lately), but when you’re separated by a two-story drop and a fence below, it kind of killed the mood.

Maverick promised he’d find a way, and I believed him... because he was Maverick Quinn.

* * *

Two years later...

I was cured. Okay, I was in remission. But I’d been cancer-free for more than two years, so things were certainly looking up. Even Rex had dropped his vigil and was back to being the family dog.

Tonight was the final game of the season, and the Dogs were heading down to OSU as a convoy. I was so excited; I could barely contain myself. I hadn’t seen Mav play in a long time, and I didn’t know if I’d be able to stop myself from running out on the field with him.

Maverick and I were both graduating this year (I was officially a nurse), and we couldn’t wait to start our journey together. We were going to find a little house and move in together as soon as we could find something we could afford.

“Lily,” Dad called up the stairs. “Get a move on!”

“Coming!” I grabbed my phone, made sure the ring Maverick had given me when I was ten was firmly on my finger (it had turned it green, but I didn’t care; it was his promise to me) then I ran downstairs and jumped in the truck with the rest of my family.

If we’d been in some Hollywood movie, I was sure there’d have been a drone shot of trucks, SUVs, and Harleys pulling out of our little community as the group of Dogs who lived in our neighborhood (and a few who’d come up just to join in the fun) drove in a line toward the freeway.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out to find a text from Maverick: Love you, baby doll.

I smiled and texted back: Love you more, Möosh. Kill ‘em on the field. I’ll be the one screaming the loudest.

Maverick: You always scream the loudest.

Me: It’s because you’re good at everything you do.

I waited for his little emoji response before deleting the last two texts. It would not go well for me if Dad found those little nuggets on my phone. Not that he’d look, but the fact of the matter was, it didn’t matter that I was an adult, I was still his little girl... the one who’d nearly died... and I was still living in his house, so I did my best to respect that.

After parking and finding our seats, I sat with Poppy and her best friend, Grace, and we caught up on life as we waited for the players to come out. Poppy and Grace were both going to school in Atlanta, and I missed seeing Poppy every day. For now, they were home for a few days and joined us for the game.

“How’s it going with Evan?” I asked Poppy. Grace was deep in conversation with Flea about surrealism or something random.

“Evan is way over.”

“Uh-oh.” Evan was probably guy number seven in what she called her “dating disasters.”

She sighed. “Between Sid and Devon, I just need one guy who doesn’t pee his pants when they come pick me up.”

I giggled. Hatch was the Sergeant at Arms for the Dogs, and he’d married Poppy’s mom, Maisie, when Poppy was thirteen (Poppy’s dad had died when she was a baby). Ever since Hatch and Maisie’s wedding, Poppy had called Hatch, Sid (Stand-in Dad). Devon was Hatch’s nephew and a new recruit for the Dogs. Maverick seemed to think Devon might have a thing for Poppy, but if he did, he wasn’t sharing that with Poppy.

“It’s hard for guys who aren’t raised in this,” I commiserated. “I mean look at them all. If you don’t know them, they’re scary looking.”

“I guess”—Poppy shrugged—“if you think drop-dead gorgeous men who take care of their women and kids are scary looking.”

“It’ll happen,” I assured her.

A roar from the crowd indicated the players were ready, so I jumped up and made a run for the railing so I could be close. Cassidy and Ace were right there with me, and I grabbed Cassidy’s hand as the players filed onto the field.

Maverick was third through the arch. His eyes found mine, and he smiled as he patted his chest, just over his heart, and then kissed his fist. I kissed my fingers and mouthed, “I love you,” and then he nodded at his parents and continued to his teammates.

The rest of the game was kind of a blur. They won, but it was close. Twenty-eight to twenty-four. With twenty-three seconds left on the clock, the quarterback handed Maverick the ball, and he broke three tackles to run in a touchdown. I was so unbelievably proud of my guy; I thought I might burst.

Maverick’s parents and I waited for him to shower and change. Everyone was meeting at Hatch’s place (his house was the biggest) for a celebratory party, but I was riding back with Maverick, so we could have a little debrief time alone.

He walked out of the locker room with Don Bradley, the quarterback, and Steve Moss, one of the other receivers. Whatever they were talking about was put aside as Maverick dropped his duffle and rushed me, picking me up off my feet and kissing me deeply in front of everyone.

“You were amazing,” I breathed out.

“You’re my good luck charm.” He lowered me back to the ground then hugged his mom.

“I’m so proud of you, honey,” Cassidy said.

“Thanks, Mom.”

Ace hugged him as well. They shared some silent message, and then they left me alone with Maverick. He took my hand, picking up his bag on the way back to his friends. “Come say hi to Donnie and Steve.”

Donnie hugged me. “Thanks for winning the game for us.”

“What?” I squeaked.

He laughed. “Mav still doesn’t shut up about you. Says you’re the reason he made that touchdown.”

I bit my lip. “Sorry about that. I kind of have him whipped.”

All three men laughed while Maverick shook his head. “You guys gonna come up with us and eat?”

“Yeah, man, that’d be cool,” Steve said.

“Follow us.” Maverick wrapped an arm around my waist, and we headed to his truck.

“Ohmigod, that last touchdown was so... heart stopping,” I said. “I thought for sure you guys were going to lose the game.”

He grinned, opening my door for me and throwing his bag in the back. “Yeah, I thought their safety had me for sure. I still can’t believe I got past that guy.”

I climbed up into the cab and cupped his face. “Mr. Calm, Cool, and Collected. Me, on the other hand? I thought I was going to puke.”

Maverick kissed me, and I nibbled his lower lip gently. “Fuck, Lil.”

“Yes, please.”

“Hold that thought.” He grinned. “We’ve got the whole weekend.”

“Mmm.” Maverick and I were heading to the beach the next day, but I honestly didn’t think I could wait to get him naked until then.

Maverick closed my door, and I buckled up as he climbed into the truck. We headed back to Vancouver, his buddies following, parked outside his house, and then walked over to Hatch and Maisie’s place.

Our walk through the front door was met with yelling and congratulations as Maverick and his teammates were pulled aside by the men and forced to give a play-by-play (I mean, really, they’d all been at the game) of the final touchdown. I joined Poppy and a few of the other girls and waited for the adoration to die down so I could figure out a way to get Maverick alone, even if it was just for a few minutes.

“I wish I understood football better,” Poppy said.

“I don’t really get it all that much either,” I admitted. “I mean I get it enough to follow along. You’d think after how many years I’ve been with Maverick, I’d ‘get it,’ but I don’t.”

Poppy giggled. “It doesn’t really matter. Just watching all that delicious man-meat’s good enough for me.”

“I’m only interested in one piece of meat.”

“Right answer, baby doll,” Maverick said from behind me.

I dropped my head back and looked at him upside down. “For a beefcake, you’re way too stealthy.”

He chuckled, leaning down to kiss me. “Up.”

I stood so he could sit and pull me onto his lap. Donnie sat in the chair opposite Poppy and smiled. “I’m Don.”

“Poppy.”

“He’d be a good fit for her,” I whispered in Mav’s ear.

Maverick’s gaze went somewhere over my head, and I followed it to see Devon stalking toward us, making a beeline for Poppy.

“Poppy,” Devon said.

Her eyes flashed with irritation, and she stared up at him. “Yes, Devon. What do you need?”

Devon crossed his arms, looking every bit the biker he was. “Your mom’s askin’ for you.”

I rolled my eyes at Maverick. I was pretty sure that was a lie.

“I’ll come with you,” Donnie offered as he stood, holding his hand out to Poppy. She took his hand, but Devon stepped forward.

“I’ve got her, man,” Devon countered.

I felt Maverick’s body lock, but he stayed seated.

“It’s all good, man,” Donnie said. “Poppy’s a grown-ass woman, so how about we let her decide?”

I watched Poppy’s face light up with surprise and delight. Donnie was the first guy who’d ever stood up to Devon. He hadn’t met Hatch yet, but I knew getting through Devon was pretty huge in Poppy’s book.

“I’m good, Dev,” Poppy said and then smiled at Donnie. “Come meet Mum.”

They headed out of the room, Devon following, and I grinned. “Well, someone’s met his match.”

Maverick nodded. “Yeah, but Donnie’s a player, so let’s watch that.”

I watched Devon stalk after them. “I think Devon’s on it.”

“Except Poppy might do something with Donnie just to get Devon off her back and Donnie’ll exploit that.”

I frowned. “Why are you friends with him if he’s such a dick?”

“I can be friends with the guy and still not want my other friends to date him.”

I sighed. “You’re such a guy.”

He chuckled. “Are you packed?”

“Yep.”

“Wanna go tonight instead of tomorrow morning?”

“Yes!” I said without hesitation. “Can we?”

“Yep,” he mimicked.

I scrambled off his lap and headed for the front door, texting Mom on the way out that we’d be back in a bit.