Page 13 of The Maverick’s Legacy

The woman looked up, waving to them. “Hello! It’s good to see you all. Thanks for coming out to support our boys.”

“They’re going to go all the way this year!” Shane said before grumbling under his breath, “They better. I’ve got twenty dollars on it.”

Remi gave her fiancé a mock glare. “That money could have gone toward the wedding.”

Shane wiggled his brows at her. “Don’t worry. I took it out of the bachelor party fund.”

Carly only half listened to their exchange, her focus locked on Jesse. He was dressed casually in a light gray sweatshirt that shaped him and worn jeans that looked soft to the touch. He was just as handsome as she remembered. More so under the lights of the stadium. He hadn’t noticed her yet. He was staring at the team on the field where they were warming up, a frown on his handsome face.

Amy noticed her staring and cranked her head to look at Jesse. “Is that him? Please tell me that’s him. He’s delicious.”

“Um, hi, remember me?” Josh teased.

“Of course, and obviously he’s not as handsome as you,” Amy assured, kissing her husband on the cheek. She turned back to Carly. “But is that him?”

Carly’s face heated. Her family didn’t know the meaning of the word subtle. “Yes, and please lower your voice. The stadium announcer isn’t as loud as you.”

“That’s Grayson Abernathy’s brother,” Shane remarked, joining the conversation. “He and his kid recently moved to town, but he’s a bit of a loner.”

“Is he married?” Remi asked.

“Don’t know,” Shane replied. “All I heard was that he moved in with his brother and he’s building himself a house on the other side of the Abernathy ranch.”

Carly’s heart thumped at that. What was Jesse’s story? There hadn’t been a wife riding with them the other day, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t one. Maybe she hadn’t moved to town yet because she was closing up their house back from wherever they used to live.

Embarrassment made Carly wince. What his wife must have thought of her if she found out Carly had brought her husband a pie. Carly had been so focused on not being a bad neighbor that she hadn’t given a thought to the fact that he might be married.

She closed her eyes. That’d be all she needed—for the news to pick up that storyline… After ugly breakup with Fletch Alistair, Carly Hawkins sets eyes on married man.

“Are you worried about Oscar’s mom?” Remi asked as if reading her thoughts.

“No… I mean, it doesn’t matter. It’s not like I’m about to date the man or something.”

Amy cocked her head, her eyes squinting. “I don’t see a wedding ring.”

Carly quirked an eyebrow. “How many ranchers do you know who wear wedding rings? It’s a bit of a hazard, isn’t it? Last thing they need is for the ring to get caught on equipment or they get ring avulsion because some steer ripped it off their finger.”

“If you’re worried about it, just ask the man,” Amy replied.

“What if they had a horrible breakup?” Carly said. “That’ll be a great way to sour any potential romance. Or worse. What if she died or something? I don’t want to bring up any bad memories.”

“Maybe he’s a criminal on the run,” Remi joked. “And he has a woman in every city. Oscar’s mom could be one of many women he left behind.”

Carly gave her a sardonic look. “Thanks for that.”

“You need to stop reading those dark romances you’ve gotten into lately,” Amy told their cousin as she reached for a handful of popcorn.

Carly’s face scrunched. “When did you start reading dark romance?”

“I needed something to distract myself from all the wedding chaos. Faith suggested a particular book, and I’ve been down a rabbit hole ever since,” Remi explained, mentioning Amy and Carly’s sister. She gave Amy a sly smile. “I’m happy to loan you a few books if you need something to spice up your life. Trust me, Shane loves some of the ideas I discovered in these stories.”

“My life is spicy enough, thank you very much,” Amy replied.

“Amen to that,” Josh said. He picked up her hand and kissed the back of it, making Amy blush.

Thankfully the whistle blew announcing the start of the game.

“Later,” she mumbled. But she knew she wouldn’t. Because as much as she found Jesse Abernathy attractive, there was no way that man was single.