Page 30 of The Maverick

“If the kids are awake, we all go. Otherwise, it will be just you and I.”

Nick smiled and then kissed her. “Deal.”Why would I suggest the kids joining us? Am I afraid to be alone with Nick? Afraid I won’t control myself after waiting so long?

CHAPTER8

They arrived home at half-past eight. The children were in bed, and Sarah had left a note on the breakfast bar.

I let the children stay up until eight. I hope you had a wonderful time.

Sarah

Nick snapped his fingers. “There see. I told you they would be in bed.”

“I still want to check on Jake. He has nightmares sometimes since the last time Greg put me in the hospital, though he hasn’t had any since we started staying here.”

“I guess the fresh air and learning something new has been good for him,” said Nick.

“It definitely has been...for both of us. I start my new job on Monday. And, thanks to you getting me in to register him, Jake also starts school. I can’t keep him out any longer. Despite all the turmoil, he needs to have the stability of school.”

“Well, at least he’ll have Bailey when he heads back. It will be good for them both. I think they are becoming best friends, like us.”

Rachel set her clutch on the breakfast bar next to the note. “I think you could be right. Jake was never allowed to have playdates when we were in New York. I’ve always thought he was missing out that he didn’t have someone like we did. But now, he has Bailey. I think it’s great I could get him into the same school. Thank you for helping me.”

“Of course.” He wrapped his arms around her waist. “Shall we go peek in on our kids? I know you want to, and so do I. I’m used to kissing her goodnight. It feels weird not to.”

“Yes, that would be nice. I’m the same way with Jake. Ever since he was newborn, I’ve kissed him goodnight.”

Nick took her hand. “Let’s go then.”

They walked up the stairs and split outside their children’s bedroom doors, which were kept closed in case of fire. She’d had his open for the first few days so he wouldn’t get lost, but once he was comfortable in the house, they closed the door again.

Rachel walked quietly into Jake’s room. The light from the hallway illuminated the room enough to see him in his bed. He looked like an angel. She realized, not for the first time, he really was her angel. He’d saved her so many times, just by being there. Greg didn’t beat her up as much when Jake was there until finally he couldn’t stop himself and sent her to the hospital. She’d had to lie to the hospital staff, telling them she fell down the stairs or got hit by a door.

They never believed her but couldn’t prove anything else, so let it go.

She leaned over and kissed his forehead, then tucked the blankets around him before tiptoeing out of the room.

Nick was in the hall waiting. “You seemed to watch him a long time before moving toward the bed.”

“I was just thinking how lucky I am to have such an angel. Although, if you tell him that, I’ll deny it. It would embarrass him greatly, and I would never do that, especially around Bailey.”

Nick lifted his hands in surrender. “I understand. I would never do such a thing to Bailey, either.”

They walked down the stairs together.

“Nick rather than swim, how about a glass of wine and we watch the stars? We haven’t done that in years.”

He put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed her close. “I think that’s a wonderful idea. It will be like we are kids again.”

“I don’t think we’ve done it since we were kids. It would have been the last sleepover at your ranch, and we were about twelve. After that, my parents didn’t let us have sleepovers any longer.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, they thought we were too old for sleepovers. I think my parents agreed.”

“They were probably right.” Her heart ached for the children they’d been then. She’d known even then that Nick was special. That he was the one for her. Why hadn’t she trusted herself. “We were too...curious.”

“I was the curious one. You were still?—”

She shook her head. “Nope. We were both curious and having a sleepover would have gotten us in trouble. They were right to keep us apart. I would think that given you’re the father of a daughter, you would feel that more keenly than I do.”