Maverick (The Family Simon 3)

“Forget it, Samuels. I’m not sharing.”

She giggled and for what she hoped was going to be the last time, slid underneath the truck. She waited a few heartbeats and then when her nerves were settled, began to work.

Chapter Nineteen

By Monday afternoon, Teague’s status and whereabouts was still unknown. It was hard—the not knowing—but with a house full of Simons, there was room for some lightness considering the somber occasion. It’s how they were, his family, and Maverick hadn’t realized how much he missed them all until he’d seen their faces.

He loved them. Plain and simple. But the problem with family was that they don’t leave you alone, and he’d been hankering for some alone time for hours. If only he could find five minutes to make a phone call, he’d be one happy guy. By the time he’d managed to grab some time the night before, it was nearly one in the morning, and he didn’t want to call Charlie that late. He knew she’d be in bed and he didn’t want to be responsible for disturbing her sleep.

He smiled to himself. Lord knew the woman had barely gotten any the night before.

Maverick grabbed a cold beer from the cooler and leaned against the boathouse. It was still hot and muggy, more than normal for this time of the year, but the breeze from the ocean kept his skin cooled.

He glanced up to the two-tiered decking that ran the length of his Uncle’s house and spied his mother, her new boy toy Theodore, Tucker’s fiancé Abby, and Aunt Eden. Donovan was just weeks away from giving birth and had gone up to her room for a nap and well, Uncle Noah hadn’t left his office much over the past twelve hours.

Cooper, Jack, and Tucker were sitting at the end of the dock, voices muted as they talked. And just coming in off the water was his cousin Grace. She’d taken the Jet Ski out but hadn’t managed to convince anyone else to go. None of the guys seemed to have it in them.

Maverick took a long gulp from his beer bottle and set it down, walking over to the lift so that he could help Grace maneuver the machine into place.

“Thanks,” she said, jumping off the Jet Ski. She tossed her bright orange and blue life jacket and nodded to him. “Anymore of those left or did the boys drink them all?”

“I think you’re in luck,” he replied, grabbing a bottle and opening it for her. Grace’s wet hair was plastered to her neck, the blond ends now vibrant blue spikes.

“How long have you had that look?” he asked with a wry grin. The last time he’d seen her, half of her head had been shaved, and the other half had been pink—or maybe it was purple. Or both. He got her need to express herself—he’d been doing it for years.

She shrugged. “A week? Maybe?”

With a sigh, she joined him and leaned back against the building, shading her eyes from the sun. “I don’t think Beau and Betty are coming.”

“No, that’s what Jack said.”

“Probably for the best. If those two showed up, it would send the press into a feeding frenzy.”

The couple’s publicist had just announced Betty’s pregnancy—forced to because of rampant rumors—and at the moment, a Betty Jo Barker pregnancy bump was worth big bucks. With a possible family tragedy added to the mix, the press was relentless.

As it was, even though he and Cooper had arrived by boat the night before, they’d apparently been spotted on the water and the press could smell a story. Their numbers outside the compound had doubled overnight.

“How you holding up?” he asked.

Grace shrugged. “About as well as everyone else.” Her voice wavered a bit. “Mom’s hard as a rock, you know? And the boys…it’s Tucker I’m worried about. I don’t know if it’s a twin thing or what, but he seems really rattled.”

Maverick glanced over to his cousin and nodded. Tucker had been quiet the night before, brooding almost, and it wasn’t the norm for him. But then, these weren’t normal circumstance.

Cooper joined them just then, grabbing the last beer from the cooler and pointing up to the deck. “Grace, I think your mother made enough food to feed a small army.”

“She likes to cook when she’s upset. It’s what she does.”

“Yeah,” Cooper said softy. He picked at the label on the bottle in his hands. “So what’s new with you these days? Are you still in school?”

Maverick took a few steps back as his brother and cousin passed the time making small talk about a bunch of stuff that didn’t matter all that much. At least not right now.

With nerves strung so tight his shoulders were sore, Maverick rolled his neck and grabbed up his cell from his pocket. He quickly scrolled through several messages from work colleagues and acquaintances, offering support or just letting him know they were thinking about him and his family.

There was nothing from Charlie.

“Why the hell don’t you just call her,” Cooper said.

“Call who?” Grace piped up, eyes wide and full of questions.