Maverick (The Family Simon 3)

Teague’s right arm was in a cast and he had two broken ribs. The guy was sporting a pair of black eyes as well as a broken nose, and he’d also taken a bullet to his leg. Luckily, that particular wound had been superficial.

But it was the wounds beneath his skin that Maverick was worried about. Teague was too quiet and had refused any type of counseling that had been offered. He’d been debriefed, did the bare minimum required of him and then wanted out. Maverick had no idea what had gone down over there, but it wasn’t good.

He didn’t hear Cooper’s answer to his cousin’s question, but he could hear the men talking, their voices low. He pulled out of the private airstrip and headed toward Fisherman’s Landing. His GPS told him the

y had about an hour until they reached their destination, but he was figuring it would take longer on account of the snow.

“So who is this woman? The one who’s waiting for you?”

Startled, Maverick didn’t answer at first. His fingers drummed along the steering wheel as he peered into the night.

“She sounds interesting,” Eden Simon continued. “A mechanic. I don’t think I’ve ever met a female mechanic before.”

“She’s pretty amazing,” he responded, navigating a sharp turn in the road.

He felt his aunt’s eyes on him and snuck a look when it was safe. “What?”

His aunt was a petite little blond woman who a lot of people thought of as fragile. They would be wrong. Very wrong. All of the Simon men knew that Eden Simon was fierce and she packed a lot of backbone into her small frame.

“How long have you known this girl?”

“A month? Maybe?” Hell he didn’t know because it seemed as if he’d known her for a lot longer than the reality.

“This girl is different from the other’s you’ve been with,” his aunt said.

He couldn’t argue with that.

“She means something to you.”

He nodded. “She does.” He liked saying that. Liked the thought of it.

His aunt settled into her seat. “It’s about time. I was just telling Jack that you needed to expand your social circle because women like that Elle aren’t what you need.”

He smiled. Eden sounded just like his pal Donovan. “Oh? And what is it that I need?”

She laughed and looked at him as if he was crazy. “Well apparently it’s someone who can change a flat tire.”

“Yes,” he said with a huge smile and a warm feeling in his chest. “That’s exactly what I need.”

“Good,” she murmured, looking over her shoulder into the back of the SUV. “Now if only we could find whatever it is that Teague will need to get through this.”

“He’s strong just like you. He’ll be fine,” Maverick found himself saying. Probably because it felt like the right thing to say, but mostly because he hoped like hell it would be true. Teague wasn’t the same. Truthfully, over the last few years the guy had seemed to drift away from all of them. Slowly, like sand in an hourglass.

The Simons wanted him back. Plain and simple.

Maverick banished those thoughts from his mind and concentrated on driving. It took almost two hours to get to Fisherman’s Landing. The snow was falling faster than the road crews could keep up with and the going was slow. By the time they pulled into the driveway, it was nearly ten at night and all of them were tired. It had been a grueling week and sleep was much needed.

Maverick cut the engine, eyes on the house and the soft glow of light that fell from the windows. He liked knowing that Charlie was in there waiting for him.

“Look’s like someone plowed the driveway,” Cooper said.

Maverick spied Charlie’s truck off to the side. A large snow blade was attached to the front of the thing, and he smiled.

“Guess we can thank your girlfriend,” Cooper said, slapping him on the shoulder as he opened up his door.

Maverick slid from the truck and with his uncle Noah’s help, retrieved the bags and led the way to the house. Cooper and his aunt followed behind them with Teague.

The long gallery that ran the length of the house was shoveled clean as well, though with the steady fall of snow he was pretty sure there’d be a ton for him to do in the morning.