Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 78542 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78542 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
It’s gold.
Maverick lifts her into the air, holding her over his head. They’re both smiling, and again, I snap the shot.
“Time to switch it up.” Maverick hands Ada off to me and takes the camera. “You ladies, take a seat on the bench.”
“No, we don’t have to.”
“Yes, we do.” He nods, and I know I’m not getting out of this. I take a seat on the bench and hold Ada. He makes faces, and her arms go up for him, and he snaps a few pictures.
“Now, a selfie.” He moves to sit next to me, sliding in close. One arm goes around my shoulders, while the other flips the camera around, and he snaps a few pictures. When he looks at the screen, he nods. “Not bad, considering I couldn’t see where I was aiming.”
Ada fusses, so I stand with her. “I think she’s had enough. She lasted longer than I thought she would.”
“Because she’s a natural, right, Ada?” She reaches for him, and he takes her without delay. “You hungry?” he asks her.
“She’s probably getting there.”
“What about you? Hungry?” he asks me.
“Yeah, I could eat.”
“Come on, then.” He starts walking back to our spot under the tree. “Okay, this is what we’ll do. You can see most of the trucks from here. Tell me what you want, and I’ll make a few trips to get what we need. I’m thinking fries for short fry here.” He taps Ada on the nose.
“Oh, I can get ours.”
“Stella.” His tone is full of warning. “Since when do you pay for your own celebration dinner?”
“Since you bought my daughter a dress, and you bought a camera, and bubbles, and a blanket. Since you do so much for us.”
“Nah, still not happening.” He hands Ada over. “Tell me what you want, or I’ll get one of everything.”
I know he’s not joking. “I can split some fries with Ada.”
“And?”
“Maybe a pulled pork sandwich.”
“Got it and to drink?”
“Lemonade or sweet tea.”
“Got it. We’ll start with that and go back for seconds and dessert.”
I don’t bother to tell him that’s too much. I know I’d just be wasting my breath. Instead, I sit on the blanket and pull a sippy cup of milk out of the small cooler bag I filled with ice packs before we left. Ada takes it and drinks greedily.
“He’s one of the good ones. When you get older and you’re ready to settle down, I hope you find a man like Maverick to spend your life with.”
She drinks, staring up at me. She does not understand what I’m saying, but that’s okay. One day, she will. One day, I’ll be able to tell her about this amazing man who came into our lives when we were down on our luck. I’ll be able to tell her all the wonderful things he did out of the kindness of his heart. I’ll be able to show her the pictures from today and tell her the story.
Maybe, if we’re lucky, I’ll find us a Maverick of our own before that day gets here.
“Here’s the first round.” He places two sandwiches and a massive bucket of fries on the blanket. “I thought we could let her get started. One of those is yours. I’m going to go grab our drinks.” He walks off, and Ada sits up, reaching for a fry.
Ten minutes later, Maverick is back with two lemonades and cheese sticks. “We can split these too.” He settles himself on the blanket. He spreads out his legs, locking in an area for Ada to crawl between us.
“Thank you for this.”
“Congratulations on the new job.”
“Thank you. It feels good to be employed and not in a job that was created for me by my grandparents.”
We grow quiet as we eat our food. Ada feeds us each a french fry as she crawls back and forth between us, staying within the barrier that Maverick has made for her with his legs.
“She almost took a step last night. Grandma was sitting in the chair holding her hands and I was on the floor. She stood there for a few seconds after Grandma let go. She lifted her foot, but she started to fall, so Grandma caught her.”
“Caden, Brynlee, and Beckham are her age, and they are doing the same. It won’t be long.”
“How many nieces and nephews do you have?”
“Let’s see. I’ll start with the oldest brother and move on to the youngest. Orrin has one—Orion is two. Declan has two. Blakely, who just turned eight, and Beckham, who’s one. Then we have Brooks. He has Remi, who is two, and Leo, who is just a few months old. Rushton has Caden, who is one as well. Jordyn and Alyssa are both expecting. Then we have my cousin, Ramsey. Her little girl, Brynlee, is also one.”
“So many. I don’t know that I’ll ever remember all the names.”