He hadn’t been carrying his cellphone just to avoid the temptation of shooting the woman a quick text, or simply caving in and dialing her up. He missed her—more than he’d ever thought possible.

They’d said good-bye. Sure, it hadn’t been a long, drawn-out occasion, but that last date had been their good-bye and they both knew it. She was working full time and he was back at the base most days. They were living their lives.

After taking another double shot, Mav finally moved back over to his phone and pressed the button. He might as well find out what was happening on the home front. No one other than his family was bothering to call him these days. His mood was enough to send people fleeing in the opposite direction.

“It’s Uncle Sherman. Call me ASAP.”

No other messages followed. Mav didn’t want to call back. Didn’t want to talk to anyone right now, but he knew from personal experience that if he tried to avoid his uncle, the old man would just keep on pestering him.

The phone barely had a chance to get through one ring when his uncle picked up. Uncle Sherman skipped the usual greetings.

“I left you a message six hours ago. I see where I sit on your priorities,” Sherman said with obvious annoyance in his voice.

“I’ve been at work, Uncle. How are you doing?” Mav said as he moved over to refill his glass. He wasn’t flying tomorrow. He could drink whatever the heck he felt like drinking. This night, it might be a lot.

“I’m fine. It’s you I’ve been worried about,” Sherman responded.

His uncle had called him every possible negative name when he’d told the old man he wasn’t dating Lindsey, that he’d just been helping her out for a while, but their time was over.

Mav was doing better than his uncle over the breakup—not that it was a breakup. You couldn’t end something that had never begun in the first place. But Sherman sure was a meddler. He just didn’t know when to keep out of other people’s business. That was a fact.

“There’s nothing to worry about, Sherman. I’m busy working or I would be coming around more,” he said, feeling like a broken record.

“There’s more to life than just work, you know,” Sherman told him for the thousandth time. “I thought you were starting to learn that, had wizened up from watching the example of your older brother. Look how good Cooper is doing with a beautiful wife and son. You’re all alone in a big empty house.”

“I’m not alone. I have Benji,” Mav told him as he moved across the living room and sat down. The dog immediately rushed over to him and gave Mav those sad eyes. Mav was sure Benji missed Lindsey too, or maybe that was all in his head.

“You need more than just a dog,” Sherman grumbled.

If Maverick didn’t love his uncle so much, he would simply hang up the phone and then unplug it. Heck, he might even think about transferring to another base where he wouldn’t have to listen to his family tell him how much he was screwing up.

But as soon as the thought entered his thick skull, it went right back out again. He wasn’t going anywhere. This was home and it was where he wanted to be. Even if he would prefer the family leave him alone.

“You’re a great kid, Mav. You just need to quit being so stubborn,” Sherman said, switching gears.

Mav couldn’t help but smile. He guessed it didn’t matter how old he got, he still liked to hear encouraging words from a man who was more than an uncle to him.

“Thanks, Sherman, and I wonder where I learned that stubbornness from,” he said, the corners of his lips tilting up the slightest bit—a first in the past couple of weeks.

“I might be stubborn, but I’m also wise enough to know when I’m being a fool,” Sherman told him. “I want you to be happy.”

“I am happy, Uncle. I love my career, and my brothers. I have a great mom who I get to spend time with. What more do I need?”

As soon as he said the words, he wanted to take them back, because he knew for sure that Sherman would have no problem telling him in detail what he needed.

“Stop being a fool and go get the girl. Lindsey is perfect for you and you just walked away. I don’t like it one little bit,” Sherman said.

“She’s not mine. She never was,” Mav said with a sigh.

“All you have to do is tell her how you feel and she would be yours,” Sherman countered.

“How do you know that?” Mav snapped.

“Because I saw the two of you together. And right now, she’s just as miserable as you are since you’ve been apart.”

That sentence stopped Mav in his tracks. No one had said she’d been miserable. From everything he’d heard, she was doing great—thriving, in fact.

“Where did you hear she was miserable?” Mav asked. He shouldn’t play into what his uncle was saying, but he couldn’t seem to help himself.

“I saw her just a couple days ago and she seemed so sad. Not even one of her beautiful smiles was shared with me,” Sherman said.

“That doesn’t mean she’s miserable, Uncle. It might just mean she’s tired or had a stressful day at work,” Mav told him.

Maverick didn’t want her to be upset, but he wouldn’t mind her missing him just the slightest bit. He admitted that only to himself.

“Okay, I promise to leave you alone if you come out of hiding and spend some time with your family,” Sherman said, once again changing tones.

Maverick was instantly suspicious.