“There’s a note,” he says, pointing to the side of the container.
“A note?” I peel off the yellow Post-it and read it aloud. “I heped to.”
“He meant to writehelped,” Maverick supplies.
Clancy looks confused, so I explain, “Maverick has the cutest four-year-old nephew in the world.”
“Oh, you mean Sammy?” he says, and I bristle, forgetting these two have hung out a few times. Not that it bothers me.
Okay, maybe it bothers mea little.
Maverick is slowly worming his way into my life, and I don’t know how to feel about that. And when I don’t know how to feel about something, I usually default to my go-to emotion—anger.
“I’ve been instructed to mention Sammy did all the vegetable washing, and his stirring was a lot better than mine,” Maverick says, still smiling, still way too cute for his own good.
Picturing him and Sammy working together on making us soup softens me.
A little.
“Please tell him a big thank you from both of us,” I say. “And be sure to mention that I agree with him and am one hundred percent sure his stirring was better than yours.”
Maverick grins, nodding. “I will. It’ll make his day. Anyway, I’ll leave you guys to it. Happy Fourth of July.”
“Stay.”
Maverick and I snap our necks to Clancy.
“We have more than enough food, and I’d love for you to meet my granddaughters and their partners.”
It’s impossible for me to glare at Clancy without Maverick noticing since he’s standing right in front of us, so I start expelling heavy, growly breaths instead. Subtle, I know.
Maverick notices. “Thank you, Clancy. But I really don’t want to intrude.”
“You’re not,” Clancy says firmly as I feel his elbow getting into position by the side of my body. “Unless you have somewhere else to be?”
“Uh, well, no. Wagner took Sammy to the parade in town, and my best friend lives in Everleigh and is spending the day with his boyfriend?—”
“Then I insist you join us.”
Maverick looks at me helplessly, but what can I do? I can’t outright say,No, don’t come in, and I’m sure the last thing he wants to do is be rude to Clancy, so I cave and give him a small nod.
He aims an apologetic smile at me, then looks at Clancy and nods. “Sure. I’d love to.”
“Great. I’ll put the soup away. Jackson, introduce Maverick to everyone, won’t you?”
“Of course.”
Clancy skips away, brimming with more energy than he’s had in days.
“I’m really sorry,” Maverick whispers the second we’re alone. “I didn’t mean to intrude.”
I sag against the doorframe. “I know you didn’t.”
He looks at me for a beat. “And how are you feeling?”
“I’m fine.”
“Good. I’m glad you’re both on the mend.”
