Page 34 of The Maverick’s Legacy

“How are things going at your place?” he asked. “Are you scratching at the walls to get back on the road?”

“Definitely not,” Carly said. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his hands loosen slightly on the steering wheel at her proclamation. Maybe she wasn’t the only one nervous about tonight. “In fact, I started making inquiries to get my riding school up and running.”

Jesse seemed content to let her prattle on about some horse rescues in the state that she’d been in contact with.

“Sounds like you’re making progress,” he said as they pulled into the parking lot of a historic-looking building. There was a blinking sign that was mounted on the brick wall above a set of stairs leading to the building’s basement level.

“The Tenacity Social Club,” she read. “What is this place?”

He grinned at her. “It’s usually casual dining, but they’re doing a fundraiser tonight. The owner is doing a special menu for the night and brought in a jazz band.”

Once they were out of his truck, he offered her his arm. “Shall we?”

They made their way down the steps. Carly could hear jazz music filtering through the stairwell. They entered the club, which had been decorated to look like a speakeasy from the 1920s with dark walls and forest-green chairs with tables made of mahogany. Candles flickered on tables, giving the atmosphere a romantic ambience. The place smelled like bourbon and wood polish.

A bar was situated in one corner and a stage was in the other, where a live band was performing. Couples swayed together on the herringbone dance floor. A couple of men sat at the bar, drinking their sorrows away, while a few couples sat the various tables eating food that smelled incredible. It was cozy yet cool at the same time. A few people noticed them and waved, making Carly smile in response. She was really starting to love small-town living.

A handsome man came over to them. He had on a midnight-blue shirt that bore the nametag Mike. “Welcome! We’re doing a special event tonight. Do you have a reservation?”

“Yes, for Jesse, party of two,” Jesse replied.

Mike led them to a table near the dance floor and handed them their menus. “Can I interest you in a wine? We have a Dino-themed red wine for the event.”

“That sounds great to me,” Carly said.

“I’ll take that too,” Jesse added.

Mike returned shortly with two glasses of wine. They gave him their food order—Jesse ordered a steak, while Carly ordered a mushroom Wellington—and Mike hurried off to the kitchen.

“I feel like I talked my head off in the car,” Carly said after taking a sip of the wine. It was just as amazing as Mike had said. She smiled softly at Jesse. “How was your week?”

Some of the relaxation that had been on Jesse’s face while he listened to the band, dimmed slightly. “Oh, it was fine.”

“Just fine?”

The side of Jesse’s mouth ticked. “Oscar had a bit of a rough week at school. He thought some boys wanted to have lunch with him, but when he showed up at the table, it was already full. I think I mentioned he struggles to understand social cues sometimes. Instead of walking away like nothing happened, he started stimming at the table—”

“Stimming? Like the day I ran into you outside Town Hall?”

He smiled at her. “That was the light version. He does this thing where he clenches and unclenches his fists. He cut his palms with his nails this time, and they started to bleed, which made things worse. He then started flapping them around, and—let’s just say kids can be really cruel, especially when faced with things they don’t understand. People started laughing and pointing at him.”

Carly reached across the table and placed her hand over his, giving it a quick comforting squeeze. “I’m so sorry, Jesse. What ended up happening?”

“A couple of the football players finally looked up from their lunches to notice Oscar. They were able to talk him into going to see Coach Finn, who then called me. By the time I got to the school, the damage was done. Oscar was red-eyed and sitting in the counselor’s office, rocking himself. I didn’t know what to say…”

He drifted off, and she was reminded of what he told her before—that he thought he was a failure of a parent compared to his wife.

“You were there for him,” Carly said. “That’s sometimes all a kid needs.”

She thought back to her own struggles as a kid, and some of the nightmares of her childhood. There were nights when all she could do was pretend her birth parents were still with her, comforting her when her foster father started yelling or her foster brother began hitting her. It had been a coping mechanism to pretend her parents were still there, offering her comforting words in her ear. She’d get lost in her head, where her reality could never touch her.

“Thanks.” Jesse lifted her hand and kissed it. Tenderness flooded her. He released her to take another sip of his wine. “Anyway, let’s talk about something happier, huh?”

“Sure,” she replied. “But… I’m here for you if you ever want to talk.”

“I know.” His smile was sweet as he looked at her. “I appreciate that.”

“So…change of subject, then. How is it living with JenniLynn and Grayson and all the kids?”