Chapter 11

Maverick

Before this moment, I might have speculated that Ruby had secrets, that there was something going on in her life that she desperately wanted to keep me out of, and it would have been just that, speculation. But after a few hours spent at the carnival, I was more certain than ever that she was a woman with deep secrets.

It wasn't just that she went out of her way to avoid telling me anything specific about her life or her past, it was now as clear as day in the way she constantly looked over her shoulder, in search of some invisible boogeyman. Someone was following her or after her, of that much I was certain. I was still fuzzy on the details like who it was and why, though.

Just a feeling, she said, as if that was a reasonable explanation for her acting like a woman on the run. The man in me was relieved that her skittishness had nothing to do with me and more to do with her circumstances, but I couldn't deny the unease that wound through my body at the truth.

"I wanna go on the big ride," Leo declared as if he was a three-foot tall kid who didn't know real fear. "You do too, Sophie, right?"

Sophie's eyes widened in shock, and she looked up at the colorful cages that twirled around and around, before her gaze turned to her mother. "No. No, I don't."

"Aww, man," Leo declared. "I thought you would."

Sophie looked uneasy, but nothing a kid like Leo would recognize. "I don't wanna," she said simply and leaned against my leg.

I didn't know if Ruby was looking for an escape or if she was feeling sorry for a little boy with an adventurous spirit, but she knelt down and smiled at Leo. "I'll do it with you as long as you promise not to laugh if I get scared."

Wearing a solemn expression, he nodded once. "I promise. Mama said laughing at someone's fear makes you a doody-head."

She laughed. "Your mama is right. But you promise?" Ruby held up a pinky finger and Leo hooked his around it.

"I promise. Super-duper promise."

"Okay," she sighed. "That's good enough for me." She spared a glance for Sophie and smiled. "Stick close to Maverick, okay?"

"I will," she promised softly.

My gaze was fixed on her small waist and the flare of her hips as she guided Leo to the line, where she squatted down and took several photos of them making goofy faces. Ellie would love it and I was grateful for Ruby, even though my skepticism was higher than ever.

Sophie squeezed my hand, and I smiled down at her. "You okay? Roller coasters are nothing to be afraid of, you know that, don't you?"

She nodded quickly, bobbing her head easily. "I know."

I spotted a bench and we sat down, side by side, and watched as Leo and Ruby progressed towards the cages. "What scares you?"

She crooked her finger in my direction, and I leaned down to listen to her secret. "I'm not scared of heights or roller coasters. I love them."

I pulled back with a frown that showed my confusion. Little kids loved roller coasters, the thrill and the danger, and they lacked the proper motivation to avoid such thrills. "Don't tell me you're pretending for Leo?"

"No." She wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "Mommy said that when we came here to start our new life, we had to give up some of the things that would make us easy to find. My daddy knows how much I love roller coasters, so I can't go on one."

That didn't sound like something Ruby would say. By all accounts she loved her daughter beyond reason. "Ruby told you that?"

Sophie shook her head. "No. But I know it's true. If I go up there, he'll find us and it'll be bad. Really, really bad for Mommy."

My fists clenched unconsciously at my sides at Sophie's words. She was so matter of fact about their fate, what they'd suffered before leaving. "You know what? There are thousands of roller coasters all over the country, I'll bet if you went on one, no one would notice."

Her eyes widened and curiosity highlighted the golden color in her hazel depths as she weighed her options. "Are you sure?"

"I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure."

Sophie looked left and then right, resembling her mother so much it was hard to bear. Then she gripped my shoulders and whispered in my ear. "Will you come with me?"

"Yeah, Sophie, I'll come with you. But you're a big girl, aren't you? Strong and brave."

She smiled. "I am?"

"Yeah, you are."

She sat up a little taller and aimed her gaze at the blue cage her mother and Leo had disappeared into. "It's high up."

"And perfectly safe. I'll bet no one has fallen out in at least a hundred years."

She gasped and turned wide, skeptical eyes on me. "No way! You're making that up."

"Am I?" I shrugged, trying to keep my focus on the little girl and not the secret she unintentionally revealed, or the secret her mother had kept from me. I couldn't be mad that Ruby didn't trust me yet. She didn't know me, and by the sounds of things, I was the last person she might trust.

Ever.

Even still, she shared a home with my grandmother, the person who meant the most to me in this whole fucking world. We had to talk about her past, hell, her present. And we had to do it sooner rather than later.

"I like you, Mr. Maverick. A lot."

I smiled at Sophie's words and squeezed her hand. "You do? That's good because I like you too. A whole lot."

She grinned and laid her head on my shoulder, relaxed and content to wait for Leo and Ruby to finish up their adventure. She had more patience than I did.

The moment they stepped from the car, smiling and slightly tipsy from the ride, I stood and closed the distance between us until Ruby and I were face to face. Eye to eye. "We need to talk."