Chapter 6

Grace

"Okay, girls, and Maverick, lunch is served." I spent the morning running around, back and forth between my old place and Mabel's place, which I guess was now our place, dropping off bags of clothes and toiletries, and then the pharmacy and the grocery store. Mrs. P was all set for a couple of days, and she said she was happy about my new job, though she looked a little sad to lose the company of Sophie. She cheered up when I promised to bring her by regularly.

"It smells good, Mommy."

She's safe. She's happy.That's what I told myself each time Sophie unleashed one of her smiles. Which meant I'd done the right thing, the only thing I could do, really. "Thanks, honey. Eat up."

"She's right," Mabel agreed. "It smells delicious, and it doesn't taste at all like cardboard."

I laughed at her praise. "It's just oven roasted salmon, sweet potatoes, and bell peppers. Flavorful and home cooked."

"Even better." She smiled and scooped up another mouthful. "This deserves cookies. What kind should I make, Sophie?"

Her hazel gaze darted to me first for approval and when I gave it, she brightened. "Peanut butter and chocolate chips!"

"All right, let's call it a plan for after lunch, shall we?"

Sophie nodded excitedly and gobbled up her lunch like the good little girl she was. My heart felt at ease knowing she had more people to love her. It was all I ever wanted for her. For us.

As soon as lunch was over, Sophie and Mabel went to the living room to make a plan for baking cookies, leaving me alone with the sexy as sin biker who was somehow my knight in shining armor, or leather. Or something like that.

"Where are you from, Ruby?"

And there it was, the inevitable questions. At least at The Den, no one asked questions, and if they did, they didn't really give a damn about the answers. But I sensed Maverick was different. Mabel meant a lot to him, and it was reasonable he would be curious about the woman he invited to live with her. "The Midwest. How about you?"

"I'm from right here. Grew up in this house, as a matter of fact." His piercing gaze bore into me. "Midwest is a big place."

I nodded. "It is." I should've realized that he would be curious and come up with a story that was close enough to the truth that I could remember it. "I grew up in Cleveland." It was just outside of Cleveland, which only mattered to locals, so it wasn't technically a lie. "I want to thank you, Maverick. I didn't like that job but it paid well, so…" I let my words trail off because I didn't want to reveal too much. "I appreciate it and I will take good care of Mabel. I promise."

He nodded, his gaze never leaving me. "I know. And I'm pretty sure she's going to take good care of you and Sophie too."

It was a nice sentiment, but I shook my head. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"I'm sure, but we all need some help every now and then. Unless you're some sort of super woman?"

"Nope, I'm just me." I pushed away from the table, standing to clear the dishes and then load the dishwasher. Usually, when the time for cleaning up arrived, Trent parked himself in front of the television.

"I'll rinse and you load," Maverick said as he stood beside me, towering over me at the sink.

"You don't have to."

"I know. But here I am." He turned on the water and grabbed the scrub brush, getting to work, so I pulled the dishwasher door open, and we worked together in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. "Is Sophie's father around?"

I froze and then shrugged. "Not really, no."

He grunted in response.

We fell into another round of silence, but it was far less comfortable. I felt the questions, the curiosity that radiated off Maverick. "You can talk to me if you're in trouble, Ruby. I won't let any harm come to you."

I scoffed. "Even if you could promise that, I don't know you well enough to trust you."

"Yet," he said in a firm tone.

"What?" I looked up, which was a mistake because those blue eyes were sharp and deep, too deep.

"Yet. You don't know me well enough to trust me yet. You will."

Doubtful. "Why?"

He shrugged. "For starters, I'm a decent guy, and if someone is in trouble and I'm in a position to help, I will. Also, I'd like to know if trouble is coming your way since you have a little girl and an old woman in your care."

He was right about that, and I nodded. "Well, I still don't know you well enough to tell you my secrets, Maverick. So let's just let it rest, okay?"

"Nah, that's not my style. I propose we get to know each other. I'm guessing other than Mrs. P, you don't have a lot of friends here yet."

I frowned.

He laughed. "Sophie said you haven't been here long."

"Chatterbox," I murmured to myself. Usually, she was skittish around men thanks to Trent's explosive and unpredictable behavior, but other than that first hiccup when they met this morning, she took to Maverick easily.

Too easily.

"People talk when they color together." He laughed. "I also learned a lot about fairies. Who knew there were so many types of fairies?"

I laughed against my will, but his smile and his words showed he was a decent man. Trent never colored with Sophie. Hell, he never did much other than tell her to get the hell out of his way, which was fine by me. His indifference meant he was never angry enough to hurt her.

"More than you ever wanted to know, huh?"

"Now I do, I find I'm fascinated."

"By fairies?" My tone was skeptical.

"Among other things, yeah."

Oh no, I needed to shut down the flirtation. I'd become a pro at it because one simple smile could mean a black eye, a polite farewell to a cashier might mean a broken rib or two. "I'm sure you have better things to do than help me do my job, Maverick."

His grin went impossibly wide as if he knew what I was doing and found it amusing. "None I can think of at the moment," he finally answered. "And I'm not helping you do your job, I'm helping to clean up after lunch with my grandma."

I could have argued with him, but it would've been pointless, and it was nice to see a man so willing to jump in and help. For Sophie, it was good for her to see what it was like in the real world.

At least that's what I hoped it was like. It had been too long for me to know for sure.