Page 121 of Savage Heart

“You loved him, right?” he asks.

“So much.”

“Like you love Maverick?”

I lean back and look at him. “I loved your dad very much, but no, it wasn’t like that.”

“Do you think you would have married him if—”

We’ve never talked about this before, and I wonder why he’s thinking about it now. Maybe because he’s never seen me date anyone.

I shake my head. “No,” I say softly. “We were only ever best friends, and I’m pretty sure we would have stayed that way forever. We knew we weren’t supposed to be anything more than that.” I smile, remembering how Lincoln couldn’t wait to leave Ironwood. “He was excited to go make his mark as the world’s greatest quarterback.”

He grins wistfully. “I wish I could’ve known him.”

“Oh, baby. I wish you could’ve too.”

I spend time with Maverick, in bed and out. We talk a lot too, but it’s impossible not to jump the man whenever we’re alone. I can’t get enough of him, but it also feels so good to have my best friend back . . . the person I used to tell almost everything.

I tell him about my conversation with Linc about Lincoln’s ceremony as he walks me back out to my car. My head falls back as I lean against the car and take in the starry night.

“He’s right—you should both be there,” Maverick says, running his fingers down my neck. “And I’ll be there, by your side.”

“What the hell is going on here?” The voice is sharp.

I turn slowly and Jennifer stands near us, her chest rising and falling heavily, like she can’t quite catch a deep breath.

“Jennifer,” Maverick says, his voice careful. “Hey.”

Her eyes never leave me. “How long? How long have the two of you been betraying my son?”

Maverick flinches and steps toward her. “I wanted to tell you about Iris and me as soon as you got over being sick. I should’ve told you a while ago.”

Her head snaps toward him then, pain and anger flashing across her face. “Yes, you should’ve. I trusted you.” Her voice cracks, and my heart hurts. “You were family.”

He swallows hard. “I still am.”

Her gaze swings back to me. “When will you stop finding ways to make me suffer?”

“Jennifer, I—”

“No, really. It’s like you can’t get enough of hurting me.”

Maverick moves beside me. “That’s enough, Jennifer. You have every reason to be hurt that I didn’t tell you, but you need to stop lashing out at Iris.”

Her shoulders tense. “You don’t get to decide how I talk to her,” she says.

“I don’t want to lose you,” he says, voice low and rough. “But this has gone on long enough. We’ve been wrong to treat Iris so horribly. I won’t allow it to go on any longer. Lincoln wouldn’t have wanted this for Iris or their son.”

That lands.

Her expression hardens again.

“This ranch,” she says, turning to me, “is the last place I have left that still feels like him. And every time I see you, I see what you took from me.”

My throat burns.

“Stay out of my sight,” she says, like it’s taking every effort to get the words out.