Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 77936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“The will fucked us over.” He gestured with one hand. “The will and associated trust require us to stay a year before we sell.”
“A whole year?” I whistled. I wasn’t going to let on that I was damn relieved. At least this way, the town had time to prepare for the inevitable. “In Lovelorn? Damn, that’s gotta be harsh for a jetsetter like you Hollywood types.”
“I’m not Hollywood.” Maverick pursed his lips, and I had no business remembering how full they were.
“That reality show of yours begs to differ,” I countered to avoid more lip-related thoughts.
“You watched?” A slow smile crept across his face. He always did have an appetite for attention.
“Nah.” I wasn’t lying. “Willow likes remodeling shows, so she might have had it on a time or two, but she likes house flips more than your hotel renovation deal.”
In his years away from Lovelorn, Maverick had apparently built himself something of a reputation, taking struggling independent hotels and turning them profitable. Someone with a camera had the bright idea of following his efforts, and the result had been a minor success of a show. My aunt and Willow, and undoubtedly other Lovelorn residents, had followed along, but I had largely avoided that siren pull.
“And so the low ratings agree.” Maverick gave another dismissive flick of his wrist before stabbing a french fry in a puddle of ketchup. “Show got canceled, in case you didn’t hear that.”
I had. I’d also heard that his marriage to the producer blew up in a very public way, but I wasn’t about to admit to following gossip.
“You at loose ends?” I drawled instead. “Sounds like you’ve got a ranch to run.”
Maverick opened his mouth as if to snap at me, closed it, and swallowed hard. “I don’t know the first thing about running a ranch, Colt.”
His honesty hit me square in the chest and zapped my urge to agree. Mav was hurting, as evidenced by the deep brackets around his eyes and that sinful mouth of his.
“Luckily, you’ve got Gray.” I nodded firmly despite knowing there were limitations on what a foreperson could accomplish without a decent owner. “He’ll do right by you.”
“He’s always seemed like a good guy.” Maverick paused for his last bite of burger. “No idea why he stayed on after his dad passed away.”
“The ranch is bigger than Melvin Lovelorn.” I wasn’t about to betray confidences, but Gray was something of a drinking buddy these days, and his loyalty was to the ranch, not Maverick’s cantankerous father. “I know it’s hard to believe. But it’s true.”
“Nah. Dad was the ranch. His name is on the gate. His name is on the town.” The set to Maverick’s jaw said he wasn’t about to be dissuaded from this opinion.
“Guess you’ll have to ask Gray why he stayed then, but he’s a damn good foreman. Turned down a chance to run a huge operation in Texas a few years back.” I offered that tidbit precisely so Maverick would value Gray and trust him to do his job. “Who knows, if the year goes well, maybe you could be a long-distance owner. Keep it going—”
“A year, Colt. I’m giving it a year.” Mav pushed his empty basket away. “Sooner if we can get out of the damn will. That ranch isn’t for me. Never was.”
He was wrong, of course, but I doubted I’d been the one to change his mind. Maverick Lovelorn likely wasn’t sticking around to find out either, which was something I needed to keep in mind. He wasn’t for me. Never had been.
Chapter 6
Colt
Then: Spring, Senior Year
As I rushed out of Disappointment County High School, which served Lovelorn along with the other small communities in the county, I wasn’t surprised to see Maverick’s shiny black truck idling in the lot, but I exhaled hard nonetheless. I’d lost track of time talking to Betsey and Lulu, and I wouldn’t have blamed Mav had he driven on.
“You waited?” I was damn grateful for the ride because Disappointment County High School was a fair distance from my home and the bus was long since gone.
“For you?” Maverick shrugged. “Always.”
I wasn’t precisely sure what I’d done to earn the loyalty of Maverick Lovelorn, but at some point while playing arcade games our freshman year, we’d become best friends. Never called it that or talked about it. We just were. Kind of like him waiting. I’d known he would, just like he’d known I’d show up eventually.
“Another few days and that part for my truck should be here.” I buckled up as he headed out of the school parking lot. Maverick had received his shiny black truck for turning sixteen, delivered special to the ranch. His older sister Faith might’ve been neck-deep in wedding planning, but she’d made sure Maverick’s birthday wasn’t forgotten. Naturally, though, his old man had slapped a Lovelorn Ranch logo on the truck in case Maverick wanted to forget who he belonged to. I’d worked all damn summer to afford my own fourth-hand beater truck that kept breaking down.