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)
I wanted this to be real so badly my toes curled inside my boots, whole body tensed with the craving. Yet, I also knew way down deep that I’d never find the courage to ask Maverick to stay.
Chapter 26
Maverick
Adler and the girls made the county fair seem more fun than Disneyland, and surprisingly, I loved watching them eat their weight in junk food and try all the games and rides.
“This is the coolest little town.” Adler raved as he devoured a large elephant’s ear pastry, a sweet, doughy confection that rivaled the girls’ funnel cake in size. “And it’s yours.”
“It’s not mine.” I snagged a fry from the basket we’d all been sharing in the center of the picnic table. Colt and I had bought BBQ beef sandwiches from the rotary booth, one of the few offerings that wasn’t deep-fried. A tiny speck of sauce clung to his bristly chin, distracting me from Adler’s praise for Lovelorn. “Some pioneer ancestor thought too highly of himself, that’s all.”
“Dude. You have a town named after you.” Adler shook his head, eyes wide as if I were missing the point entirely. “I think that makes it yours.”
“Mine…” I said the world slowly, rolling it around in my mouth. The food court smelled like sugary grease and music from various rides filled the air. All around us, families had gathered for their suppers. The whole county had turned out for the fair, as always.
The same ancestors who’d slapped their name on the town that would become the county seat had chosen to put down roots here in the Disappointment Valley, a place so devoid of gold that the miners had left it to the farmers and ranchers. The rocky earth turned out to be good for growing beans and not much else. And even now, it was one of Colorado’s smallest and poorest counties in terms of economic impact. Indeed, this fair wasn’t put on for the hundreds of thousands of tourists who flocked to the state each year, but rather, this event was for the county itself.
I’d likely gone to school with half the folks here. They shopped at the Lovelorn Market, read the Lovelorn Press, played in Lovelorn Town Park. They were Lovelorn, not me. However, for the first time in my entire life, I considered Adler’s words. This was my town. If the ranch sold to corporate interests, what would become of the town? The longer I stayed, the more Colt’s worries carried weight. Faith was only too ready to find a developer. What did I personally owe to this area?
“I think it’s awesome that the town has our last name.” Hannah grinned. She was a Lovelorn by virtue of being born amid Faith’s second divorce, and her pride gave me a new perspective. Maybe it was kind of neat. And these people, the ones I’d grown up with, the ones I’d left behind, the ones who had welcomed me back, they weren’t my father. How long would I punish the area for his shortcomings as a parent?
“You’re the best Lovelorn ever.” I beamed right back at Hannah with so much love that my chest hurt from trying to hold it all. A few short months, and now I couldn’t imagine life without Hannah in it.
“Can Willow and I ride the Ferris wheel?” she asked as we finished the food.
I glanced at Colt to make sure he was in agreement. He nodded, so I said, “Sure.”
“Here. I’ll take the trash.” Adler scooped up the empty fry basket and various wrappers. “I can stay here, babysit the stuffed unicorns. You and Colt should go ride too.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary.” Colt frowned. For whatever reason, he hadn’t taken to Adler, which was funny because everyone loved Adler. “Let the girls have their fun.”
“Come on, Uncle Maverick!” Hannah bounced on the balls of her feet.
“You too, Dad.” Willow was only slightly less wired as she gestured for us to follow them toward the big Ferris wheel at the far end of the midway.
“Do you want me to ride in the seat with you or with Maverick?” Colt asked Willow, voice surprisingly serious, and Willow considered his question with answering solemnity, taking a long pause before replying.
“You should ride with Maverick.” She nodded as we reached the ride. Her dark eyes were cloudy as she gave Colt a tight hug.
“What was that?” I asked him as we waited for our turn to board the Ferris wheel.
“I dunno.” Colt sounded a little dazed. “Guess maybe she’s okay with you.”
“That’s a good thing, right?”
“I hope so.” He continued to be far too solemn even as we settled in the tiny seat, side by side, hips touching.
“Look how far we can see.” I pointed, trying to earn the smile I’d wanted all afternoon.
“Seemed farther when we were younger.” Colt stared down at the fairgrounds rather than off into the horizon like me. When we were younger, the future had seemed as wide open as this vista, the solution to all my problems, a shiny beacon of hope. And now, I was an adult who knew better, but even rooted in the present, the view was stunning, the contrast of vast landscape and small county fair.