Lindsey could empathize with that. She went in and checked on Lucy several times during the rest of her shift. She was now complaining of heart pains so the staff couldn’t make her leave.
Good. They could deal with that after their awful behavior.
Maybe she related so well to Lucy because she was afraid she would end up like her—alone and in need of companionship. Maybe it was because she generally liked the woman.
Whatever it was, she decided she wasn’t going to keep pushing people away. She wanted friends and family surrounding her when she was seventy. She did not want to be alone at all. Lindsey was grateful she was going home for a visit.
Suddenly she missed her mom and dad something fierce. She even missed her very over-protective brothers. Lindsey just hoped Maverick wasn’t scared off by the lot of them.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Maverick’s nerves were slightly wound up as they turned off the road and shot down the long, tree-lined driveway. He’d never actually met a girl’s parents before. Of course, he wasn’t meeting them, meeting them. He was just going to dinner with a friend.
As he had that thought, his mind immediately went to Lindsey’s bedroom a few nights ago and how she’d moaned as his mouth was devouring her. Yeah. She was a bit more than a friend.
Even if she were more right now, though, it wasn’t something that either of them wanted to last past a few weeks, a month tops. He had to get back to work soon—his arm was already much better. And Lins, well, she was doing great and soon wouldn’t even need him. He’d already seen an amazing transformation in her.
She’d been afraid for a long time but that was because no one had shown her she had nothing to truly fear. There were bad people in the world, but if a person chose to live his or her life in fear, then those monsters were the ones who won.
He had seen too many bad men during his time in the Air Force. He didn’t want to give them any more victories than they already had. And Lindsey was too good a woman to let anyone hold her down.
“We’re here. Are you ready?” she asked as he pulled up to the huge ranch-style home and parked his truck.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” he said with a grin.
He was Air Force. He didn’t fear anything, except maybe parents—okay, okay, and rats. They were creepy little beady-eyed things. No one knew that, though, not even his brothers. Luckily he lived in a place where you didn’t see too many rats unless you went to a pet store. Anyone who chose to own one as a so-called pet had to have a screw loose.
“No one is ever ready for the chaos of my family.”
She opened the door, and he put his arm out to stop her. “What are you doing?” Looking confused, she waited. “A gentleman always gets the door for a lady,” he finished.
The confusion went away. In its place, a beaming smile took away any shadows of fear about the upcoming visit. He wanted to haul her over the center console and kiss her breathless. Knowing she had five brothers who were probably waiting on the other side of that door stopped him—but just barely.
“You make me want to do dangerous things, sugar,” he whispered as he leaned across the console and gave her a quick kiss, unable to help himself.
She blushed before looking down. “I don’t know what you mean,” she mumbled.
He chuckled as he jumped down from the truck and ran over to her side, wrapping his hands around her waist and pulling her from her seat, the two of them partially blocked from the house by his open truck door.
“You know exactly what I mean,” he corrected her. Then he leaned in and gave her a far-too-short kiss. Her taste lingered on his lips as he pulled back, and the glow in her cheeks had him wanting to haul her off to bed.
“I better get you inside before I do something foolish and end up getting myself shot,” he said before taking her hand and moving away from the truck.
The second they hit the bottom step of her parents’ massive porch, the front door opened, confirming his suspicions that they had an audience. Seven people piled out of the house. Lins hadn’t told him how large her brothers were. It wasn’t that Maverick was afraid. Hell, he was about the same size as them. But he sure as hell was outnumbered at the moment.
“You’re late,” one of the men said with a scowl aimed at Maverick.
Mav didn’t break the eye contact, but he nodded at the man. The message was well received. The guy was telling him he’d better not be screwing with his sister. Mav could respect that.
“We are not, grumpy,” Lindsey said.
But it was odd because as they drew closer to her family, Lindsey scooted just a tad bit tighter to his side. What was going on with that? She wasn’t afraid of them, was she?
Maverick checked out the group with a bit of a wary eye. She’d never said anything about abuse. Matter of fact, when she spoke of them, she only said good things. Sure, she said they were overwhelming, but she said it with love.
“I’m so glad you’re here, baby girl. It’s been a while,” the woman who was obviously her mother said. She stepped closer, and Lindsey’s hand tightened in his for a moment before she released him and moved over to her mother, giving the woman a hug.
Mav saw the surprised elation in the other woman’s eyes, and it nearly broke his heart. How long had it been since Lindsey had allowed her family to show her affection? He didn’t want to think about it.
She kissed her father on the cheek, and then she moved right back over to Mav’s side, her hand finding his. He squeezed her fingers, but he didn’t fail to notice the suspicious look her brothers were sending his way.