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“I will happily volunteer as tribute; at least until one of us is seeing someone else.”
Oh yeah. That was inevitable, given that she was moving out in six weeks.
He didn’t dignify that with a response, just kissed her hair and whispered, “Go to sleep.”
She easily complied and was soon snoring. Maverick wasn’t surprised, considering they were both operating on minimal sleep, and she’d consumed alcohol for the first time since she found out she was pregnant.
It felt nice to have her in his bed again. Holding her without having to pretend he was asleep was a nice bonus.
He dozed off, too, only to be woken a few hours later when Sawyer’s cries came through the baby monitor on his nightstand.
Sitting up, he switched it off so as not to wake her, rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and murmured, “I’m coming, little man,” before glancing over at Olivia sprawled out, dead to the world.
That made him smile.
Sawyer’s cries got louder and starting to come through the walls, so Maverick quickly shuffled to the nursery to retrieve his son before going downstairs to warm up his bottle.
As he sat in the sitting area of the kitchen feeding his little boy in the dark, he realized he needed to cherish his time with him. Things were going to change soon enough, and he wouldn’t be with him every night.
Not to mention he was going to grow up. Maverick knew it’d be in the blink of an eye and Sawyer would be starting school.
He made a mental note to talk to her about what schools she wanted to send him to. They could afford private, but the public schools in his neighborhood were top-notch. Nick and Nash had both attended middle and high school there. Hopefully Olivia would be agreeable to using his address, like Patricia had.
That brought him back to thinking about his current wife and all the places he’d gone wrong with her. He’d arrogantly thought once she spent time with him, she wouldn’t want to leave. He hadn’t factored in her boyfriend actually being real or that she was in love with him.
But he had her for the next six weeks, and he was going to enjoy the hell out of their time together.
**
Sunlight was peeking through the side of the shades when he woke up the next morning. A smile formed on his lips when he remembered falling asleep with her curled against his side. He reached for her, but wasn’t surprised to find her side of the bed empty. Glancing at the clock on his nightstand, he sat up with a start when he saw it was nine thirty.
He'd gotten a whole six hours of sleep! That was the most he’d had since November thirtieth, the night before Sawyer was born.
It wasn’t until he reached for the monitor like he did every morning, that he realized it was off.
Shit. Did I forget to turn it back on when I came to bed?
No. He distinctly remembered checking on his son one last time before sliding in next to his mother, feeling at peace that his little family was where they were supposed to be.
She must have shut it off when she got up so she wouldn’t wake him. He appreciated her courtesy.
After a quick shower and shave, he got dressed and headed downstairs, stopping when he reached the landing and heard her voice.
“Watch mommy.” There was a brief pause, and then she said, “See? It’s easy! You try.”
Sawyer let out his happy shriek, which made her laugh out loud. “That’s easy, right?”
He quietly approached the entry to the family room, where he found her laying on the quilt next to his son, manually rolling him over. Then she rolled onto her back and asked, “See how mommy did it?” like she expected an answer.
Sawyer kicked his arms and legs while squealing encouragement to his mother for her efforts.
This. This was what Maverick didn’t want to miss out on.
A sense of sadness washed over him. He only had six more weeks before his little family imploded.
And you’re not going to waste it moping.
With new resolve to make their remaining time together memorable, he stood up straighter. Yeah, he was unhappy things were going to change, but he was determined to use this time to prove to her they could coparent and get along, and end their marriage on good terms.
