Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Maverick

N ova and I spend the morning cooped up in my truck. Who the fuck knows why I brought the massive beast? She's annoyed and tired of being cramped in the back seat. I'm sure she thought this was going to be a fun mission. Her favorites are search and rescue and anything where she's allowed to subdue combative assailants.

Instead, we're stalking Brooklyn's apartment.

Bless straight-up threatened to cut mine and Gunner's balls off if we hurt Brooklyn in any way. She didn't seem pleased to learn we've met before, but I'm not a threat to Brooklyn.

I just ache to get to know her better.

Nova tosses her front half up on the middle console, and her nails scratch across the leather. She's such an intuitive dog. She bumps her face against my hand until I bury my fingers in her long hair and give her scratches.

Well, she's either intuitive to my anxiety…

Or she's spoiled.

It's definitely one or the other.

It takes what feels like hours for Brooklyn to finally come out the door of her apartment building. Lennox is at her side, but she gives her niece and sister a kiss and heads off like she's going in the opposite direction.

It's fucking wild.

Brooklyn has a kid .

I trusted what Gunner said, but seeing it with my own eyes is an entirely different story.

My gaze stays on Brooklyn as she gets her daughter into the stroller, but I pat around for Nova's leash.

I grab it, and Nova flattens on the middle console, so I can clip into her harness.

My mouth is suddenly dry as fuck.

What if Brooklyn tells me to get lost?

Or politely asks that I keep her safe from a distance?

Fuck, that would suck.

"Okay, so, game plan," I tell Nova, pulling her face to mine. "You win over the kid, and I'll work on the mom. We can do this. What woman can resist a man who loves his dog? None. I've clearly proven that I'm capable of caring for another living being. That should instantly win me points." I check the spot where Brooklyn was and panic when I see she's taking off toward the sidewalk. "Oh shit, we gotta go."

I toss the door open, flip around my baseball cap, and climb from the vehicle.

Nova follows me, shaking out her massive frame as I grab my backpack from the passenger seat.

It's bulky but necessary.

I'm not dressed to conceal my arsenal, so I had to get creative.

I've barely shut the door and clicked the locks when Nova barrels toward Brooklyn, and I give her leash a solid tug.

"You're a lady; act like it," I remind the ninety-five-pound mutt as she tugs me forward. She's also been trapped in that truck for a while too long for her to do anything but act a fool.

Brooklyn's head whips up as she spots Nova barreling toward her. She tugs the stroller backward to give us room to pass, but it's clear the exact second she spots my face.

Her dark waves fall around her shoulders as she jolts, and my heart drops. That face doesn't exactly scream that she's happy to see me.

God, she's so fucking pretty.

She's wearing a dress that kinda reminds me of a bag. There's no shape to it at all, and she's wearing a cable-knit sweater over it. I think that's called a cardigan…maybe?

Fuck if I know.

It's got buttons, but the sweater is open at the front.

It's the middle of summer.

All I know is, seeing her in a sweater throws me off.

She's got to be burning up.

I'm in a plain white T-shirt and basketball shorts, but again, I was sweating in the truck with the AC blasting to keep Nova cool.

"Hi." I flash her my signature smile as Nova heads around to the front of the stroller. She sits, waiting to be told whether she can engage.

"H-Hey," Brooklyn says, swiping at her hair. She shoves it behind her ear, but the wind catches it, and it flies back out. "You look good." Her eyes rake over my chest, and I find myself pulling my shoulders back.

My arm stretches to ensure the leash has plenty of room, and I move closer to the potent little omega.

"Can I have a hug?" I bite my lip, desperate to erase the few feet between us.

My brain is obsessed with figuring out if she truly does have the most enticing scent I've ever smelled, or if possibly, my system has exaggerated the memory of it.

Her head darts from side to side, like she's frantically checking for something, but eventually, she nods. "I really hope you understand how much I appreciated the save that night in the bar."

"It was nothing." I erase the distance between us to give her a quick squeeze.

Brooklyn's daughter, whose name I still don't know, squeals, chattering away to Nova as my heart races.

My hand cradles Brooklyn's shoulder as I bend low, allowing my nose to dance through her hair.

It was no trickery.

She smells like tart green apples and cinnamon with hints of vanilla.

It's a delectable scent that makes my teeth ache as my mouth waters. It's difficult to comprehend the wave of memories that wash over me from just her smell.

I truly thought that night was going to be the beginning of something special.

It doesn't matter that it makes me sound pathetic to admit how invested I was in a delusional future that never came to fruition.

Brooklyn's face ends up against my T-shirt, and she kind of rolls her face around. It appears she's as desperate to search out my scent as I was to pick up hers.

"Mommy, I said, can I pet the puppy ?" the toddler asks, twisting around in her seat to try to find her mom.

Brooklyn shutters out a heavy breath and glances up at me. "That's Liberty, my daughter."

"It's nice to meet you, Liberty."

"Libby," the little girl squeals. "Can I pet him?"

I glance at Brooklyn. "Nova is great with kids, and she's just waiting for me to give the command to release her so she can introduce herself."

"Um, yeah, Libby loves dogs," Brooklyn says, wiping her hands off on her sweater.

My phone rings, and I tug it out of my shorts pocket.

I'm expecting it to be Gunner checking in, but it's Bless.

"Shit, I think it's for you." I hold out my phone. "I had to straight up beg for her to swap us over to keep an eye on you. I get the feeling she wants to double-check that it's all right with you."

"Oh." Brooklyn grabs the phone. "Okay, thank you."

She stares at the screen, blinking.

"You can answer it. I'll step over and introduce our kids," I joke.

I squint.

Is it insulting to compare my dog to her toddler?

Brooklyn answers the call, moving a few feet away toward her building.

I did say I was going to supervise Libby and Nova.

Christ…

I think my palms are sweating.

Libby looks at me with her big hazel eyes, and I get my shit together. She looks so much like Brooklyn; it's uncanny. Dark curls fall around her shoulders, and she has the same heart-shaped face as her mother. She's wearing a white T-shirt with a heart on it and jean shorts. It makes it even more obvious how overdressed Brooklyn is for the heat.

"Hi," Libby says, like she's trying to remind me she's waiting.

Damn, Gunner wasn't exaggerating when he said it seems like she could be the product of cloning.

And that's a good thing.

The more DNA she got from Brooklyn, the less she got from Avan fucking Barrett.

Okay, I'm pretty sure that's not how biology works, but still.

Nova sits, like she knows she's supposed to, but her entire body wiggles with pent-up energy.

My eyes dart between Brooklyn and Libby as I stop in front of her stroller.

Grabbing a treat from my pocket, I squat down. "Your name is Libby?"

"Yep," she says, nodding so dramatically her curls bounce.

"That's a pretty name. I'm Maverick." I chuckle. Based on how hard it is to decipher the words she's already said, I have low expectations on her not butchering it. "You can call me Mav."

It gives me such a sense of déjà vu. I said something similar to Brooklyn that night at the bar.

"What's he's name?" Libby asks, pointing to Nova.

Gunner was right. I got the general gist of what she means, but that was a grammar disaster.

It's still cute as fuck.

"Her name is Nova." I break the dog bone in half. "She wants to meet you."

"Okay." Libby's hazel eyes get huge. "She likes me?"

A silly smile breaks out over my face.

I've been around my friends' kids and Aurora, my boss's daughter, but most of them are babies.

Libby has a lot more personality than that.

"She does, but I know she's big. If she scares you, just tell her, down, Nova, and she'll listen. Can you hold your hand out flat for me?"

"Like this?"

"Yeah, just like that. Keep it flat, though, okay?" I flatten my hand under hers to show her what I mean.

"I can do it!" she declares.

"Come." I give Nova's leash a tug, and she bolts forward to stand at my side. I give her the command to scent Libby and let her know she's a friend. Once that's done, I tell her, "Greet."

Libby giggles as Nova's nose bumps around our hands. "Hi, puppy."

"Go on, you can have it," I tell Nova, nodding to the treat. She hasn't been around a ton of kids, but she has been around a few. She's extra careful as she licks her reward from Libby's palm. "You can pet her now."

I give Nova's head a scratch and murmur, "Protect." Her ears jump as her head tilts, like she wants to make sure. "You heard me. This is a guard-only situation."

Nova's entire body starts to wag. She knows that her goal is to keep Libby safe, but she can't engage unless there's a threat.

Honestly, I trust her judgment better than my own most days. And she's happiest when she has a job to do.

It's a win-win for all of us.

My eyes fly up, and Brooklyn stands at the back of the stroller. Her eyes are wide, but she's got a timid smile on her face.

"Would you like to come say hello, too?" I smile, pushing myself up to stand.

"She's yours?" Brooklyn asks, shaking her head. "I mean, of course, she is. You didn't borrow someone's dog to…" She steps around to the front of the stroller, and I fish another treat from my pocket.

Before I can even give Nova her greeting commands, she's got her snout plastered to Brooklyn's stomach as she nuzzles her massive, blocky head around.

Huh, that's bizarre.

She knows better.

Bless reluctantly gave me a heads-up that Brooklyn brings her daughter to the park every Sunday morning.

It's a huge part of the reason I dragged Nova with me. Not only is she built-in backup in any situation, but I figured she would be a good buffer with Brooklyn and maybe even make her feel more at ease.

We finally make it to the park, and it's not packed, probably because of the heat.

There's a large playground and a smaller area with moderately sized equipment.

Brooklyn heaves Libby out of her stroller, and it's a little shocking to see how tall her daughter already is in comparison to Brooklyn's height.

Libby runs off and makes her way into the area with the smaller equipment. There are a few other kids that seem to be around her age. Some parents lean against the fence, while others seem to be splitting their attention between the two areas.

Brooklyn grabs a bag from under the stroller and glances back at the picnic table shaded by a tree a few feet away. "I think I'm going to have a seat. That walk was more intense than I remember."

"I have water in my bag. It's probably warm, though."

"That's very sweet, but I have a couple of bottles straight from the fridge." She reaches into the bag and pulls out a toddler cup and two bottles of water. Once she's done, she leans over, shoving the bag back where she grabbed it from.

My eyes widen as her dress gets caught in her thighs, making the material, which has been baggy, mold perfectly to her stomach.

Holy fucking shit.

I'm pretty sure that's a baby belly.