Chapter 23

Lucky barely had time to gasp before Maverick reacted, promptly guiding her away. “Nope! Keep moving,” he insisted.

The bumper car followed, stalking alongside them like a predator until the barrier forced it to stop.

“But do you—did you see?!” Her excitement made her stutter as the goose bumps from being cold multiplied at a steady rate.

“I saw.” He physically blocked her view with his body as they continued walking. A loud crashing sound echoed behind them—like an empty metal trash can falling to the ground and rolling. It happened twice more, closer and louder, making both of them flinch. “It’s testing us. Don’t look back. You can’t.”

“What if—”

“You agreed to do it my way,” he reminded her. “That means we keep going.”

Lucky groaned. “Maverick, don’t do this to me.”

“Don’t do what?” He laughed nervously. “Do you want your hair to turn white?”

“Georgia said it was only a patch,” she reasoned, laughing too. “It’ll turn gray someday anyway.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“I am a well-seasoned supernatural researcher. It takes more than a phantom bumper car to stop me.” Her stomach didn’t even react. They’d be fine.

Maverick led them back to the middle of the path just as it began to make its first curve and the park instantly quieted down behind them.

Lucky grinned. “That didn’t scare you, did it?”

His intense side-eye was all the answer she needed.

“I’m sorry,” she said, gaze on her feet. “I told you I-I don’t really get scared. Stuff like that barely registers anymore.”

“Rebel is out there.” Maverick was quiet for a moment before adding, “I wasn’t scared of the bumper car. I was worried about what you might do because of it. None of this bothers you. Just…how?”

“Practice, I guess.” She shrugged. “My stomachache system keeps me in check. That didn’t feel dangerous at all.”

“Stomachache system,” he repeated.

“Yeah, you know how like when you can tell something is wrong? You get a bad feeling? I figured out how to reliably use it to my advantage.”

“Mmm.” He nodded. “How did you even figure out you wanted to be a…supernatural researcher?”

“Not sure if I mentioned this but I have ESP.”

A rustling pair of bushes directly on their right grabbed their attention. Their flashlights caught three raccoons in mid-scurry. One of them froze in place standing on two legs as they passed it.

“Poor little guy.” Lucky laughed.

“You know what I meant,” he said. “How did you go from knowing how to read people to living in Hennessee House? I want to understand.”

“Everyone has a calling. This is mine.” She shrugged. “Thank you, but also no offense. I’m not sure I care all that much if people understand my choices as long as they respect them. That’s the biggest issue I have.”

“You told me that. I remember,” he said. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t take you seriously or believe you.”

“Yeah because you’re in it. You know it’s real. I don’t have to prove anything to you. But outsiders, like my family and the people I thought were my friends? They didn’t get it,” she said. “That’s why I made the decision to just be alone.”

Maverick shivered suddenly—their eyes locked. He gave a quick nod for her to continue.

According to the legend and Georgia, the entity had a vested interest in emotions shared between people. Lucky wondered if that meant they needed to be solely romantic in nature. As long as she was genuine, she might get an answer.

“I don’t talk to my family,” she began. “I don’t date at all. I don’t think I’m the kind of person who was made for other people. I can be a lot sometimes. Intense. Impulsive. Obsessive in a way people don’t understand. No one ever really sticks around, and I don’t blame them. It’s okay.”

Maverick frowned as his teeth began to chatter. “Being a lot doesn’t mean you deserve to be alone. Not if you don’t want to be.”

As he spoke, Lucky’s goose bumps returned with a vengeance. “I don’t know if I have much of a choice. My ability helps me see people in ways I probably shouldn’t. One of the first lessons I ever learned was that people don’t really change. If they don’t want me, as I am without lying or pretending to be I’m something I’m not, there’s nothing I can do to change someone’s mind. I can delay it, but never stop it.”

“I don’t think that’s true. People can change.”

“On the surface it might seem that way,” she said. “Everything starts as promising as it should, but then I’ll watch as their behavior takes a turn. They’re not as nice. They make fun of the things I like only to claim it’s a joke and call me sensitive. It’ll steadily get worse: they ignore me, insult me, accuse me of things that aren’t true. They act like that in response to me. It’s my fault.”

“No, it isn’t,” he said through clenched teeth. He was shivering so bad, their hands shook. “No one has the right to treat you that way.”

Strangely, Lucky didn’t feel any colder. “Your jacket…”

“No,” he said, with a fierce glint in his eyes. “Why do you believe people can’t change?”

“Because I’m helpless as all that stuff happens.” If he wouldn’t take his jacket from her, then they’d just have to walk faster. She changed their pace to a speed walk, still huddling close together. “I’ll be completely clueless as to how to fix it because my impression of them never changes. That’s how I know people can do bad things and still be a fundamentally good person. They’ve just lost their way and need time to sort it out. But knowing that doesn’t change how much they hurt me in the process.”

It also didn’t mean she had to forgive them or give them a second chance. That was for her to decide.

“If that’s the case, I think it’s fine if you blame them for leaving. You shouldn’t be the only one trying to make it work. If they refuse, then you’re right, you are better off without them.” His voice trembled, halting and gasping from the cold. “But being alone isn’t the answer if it hurts you this much.”

Lucky stared at him in confusion. “What?”

“The more you talked, the colder I got and I am freezing. I think the entity is on your side.” His laugh was a ragged exhale. “I think it’s warning me to not fuck this up.”

Her eyes widened as she thought of an idea. “It’s not me. It sides with whoever is more emotionally honest. You had its attention initially, but I stole it from you.” And maybe he could steal some of it back. “Share something personal with me, anything as long as it’s honest,” she demanded.

“Uh.” He blinked hard repeatedly as if it would help him concentrate despite the cold. “I can honestly say I’ve never met anyone like you.”

“I said personal!”

“That was personal!”

They couldn’t walk any faster without it turning into a sprint, but they were hustling like their lives depended on it. “Tell me something else!”

“I love how amazing you are with Rebel!”

“Maverick!”

“Okay! You make me feel like I don’t have to compromise! I don’t have to choose between being Rebel’s dad and trying to find someone for me! But I don’t know if you want us!”

Cold ricocheted through Lucky, from the top of her head down to her feet. Her knees nearly gave out, making her stumble, but Maverick caught her in time. He held her steady as ever as they continued to the end.

By the time they made it to the final stretch, the cold had penetrated every part of Lucky. It prickled like needles in her bone marrow. She’d never be warm again. Never be able to feel the sun or fire again. “I’m so excited but I’m so cold!”

Maverick had gone silent after his last confession. Could’ve been from the cold. Could’ve been shock from what he’d said.

Still, he unerringly guided them into the shadows of the shaved ice stand to find the tree stump, marking the end of their walk. Their token lay in the notched center: a single shiny penny. The second he picked it up, the cold flowed out of her body so fast she needed to lean on him for support.

“It’s gone.” He closed his eyes in relief, breathing deeply as he pressed a hand to his chest. “My lungs. Oh, they hurt.”

Lucky balled her hands into fists, wiggling her fingers. “No frostbite. Circulation normal.” Her own breaths were deep as well—her chest could fully expand again. “Can I see it?”

He handed her the penny and then proceeded to bend over, hands on his knees.

She inspected it with her flashlight. It was dated 1982, and other than appearing polished, it was unremarkable. “I wish there were cameras. We have no proof the entity left this for us.”

“So? We have no proof that you have ESP. We all choose to believe you do.” Maverick righted himself, a serious expression on his face. “And I choose to believe that the Penny Place entity believes in us too. We passed, Lucky. We did it.”

This man was impossible.

The same way she’d used her ability to decide they would never work, he found a way to use the supernatural to show her they could. They were literally on the right path—even a decades-old entity thought so.

How was he real?

The penny slipped from her fingers. She was kissing him before it even hit the ground.

Maverick’s lips felt just as exquisite as they had on her palm, so the strangely pleasant sensation of his facial hair rubbing her skin surprised her most. He held her so tightly at the waist that when he moved, she did too until her back was against the wall. Her skin felt like it was on fire, burning with a mixture of relief, confusion, and tenderness, and somehow, he burned even hotter as he pressed firmly against her. She’d literally thrown herself at him and he’d given her soft kisses in return.

Soft, but not gentle.

They felt insistent and impatient as if he needed more, he needed all of her, and he would use all of him to get it. His tongue sweetly coaxing hers, his teeth tugging at her bottom lip, his legs carefully sliding in between her thighs, one hand caressing the arch in her back, and the other firm against the back of her neck. Maverick kissed her with his entire body, a contradictory choreographed dance.

And in her kiss-drunk haze, she had a feeling this was only the first step to lure her in. His irresistible kisses were a promise—one she might not know how to accept.

Maverick’s timer cut through their haze. “We have to go,” he whispered against her mouth.

“Okay.”

He kissed her again.

“Okay, now, now we have to go.” They ran off into the night back to the entrance.