Page 21 of The Maverick's Homecoming

“Where are you going with this?”

“Be patient. I’m getting there.”

She stifled a smile. “Fine. Continue.”

He said, “It was real, that day last spring. I thought so anyway…”

“Fair enough,” she agreed. “It was real.”

He frowned. “True, things got messed up for a while there after that—all my fault. I own it. But we worked it out. And ever since then, it’s been good, Kenz. We’re honest with each other. We talk about things that matter, and you know exactly what I mean by that. We talk about the things you talk about with a good friend, a longtime friend. The kind of friend who knows you deep down. So, yes, we areinvolvedbecause we’re longtime friends with history who know each other all too well.”

Was her mouth hanging open? She shut it and gulped. “Fair enough then. We’re…involved.”

“That’s what I wanted to hear.” He put his hat back on and adjusted the brim. “Let me give you a hand.” Grabbing her medical bag, he stashed it in the back of the Bronco and shut the liftgate. “So here’s the deal. I’ve got to give a speech tomorrow at the Dinosaur Center. I would like to bring a friend. You. Will you go with me?” By then, he actually looked nervous.

She wanted to grab him and hug him, and promise that it would all work out great. “Why are you nervous? You know, everybody in town loves you. You’re the hometown hero.”

He actually winced. “Yeah, that’s what they’re calling it.”

“It?”

“The series of events at the Dinosaur Center—including the event tomorrow. They’re calling the whole thing The Hometown Heroes Series.”

Suddenly, she understood. “Right. It’s all about leaders in the community talking about the work that they do.”

“Exactly,” he said glumly.

“So why the attitude? In case you haven’t heard, it’s agoodthing to be considered a hero.”

“We both know I’m no hero.” His words surprised her.

“I don’t get it,” she said. “Back in high school, everybody called you a hero and you ate it up.”

“Yeah, well. I had an ego the size of the Anaconda Smoke Stack back then. I also had a whole lot to learn. Just because a guy can play football, that doesn’t make him a hero.”

“Maybe not,” she replied. “But stepping in to help out the home team, inspiring a bunch of kids who didn’t win a single game last year to shoot for the moon, giving everyone in town something to root for—Finn, those things matter. If people want to call you a hero, let them. And then knock yourself out to prove them right.”

He was silent for several awkward seconds. Finally, he muttered, “That was beautiful, what you just said.”

“Great. Then do it. Prove them right.”

He nodded. “I’ll try.”

“And tell me the truth…”

“About what?”

“How come you waited until now to ask me to go with you tomorrow?”

He hesitated. But then he shrugged. “I was afraid you’d say no. It took me this long to work up the nerve.”

“The great Finn Monahan nervous about asking a woman to spend an afternoon with him? Please.”

“Think about it, Kenzie. We have all this history together and you’ve grown up to be very…independent. Plus, you turned me down last spring, remember?”

She pressed her palm to the swell of her belly. “You know why I turned you down last May.”

“Yeah.” He looked so solemn right then. “But we’ve gotten past that. We know where we stand with each other now.”