I pull his hand into mine and hold it tight, not looking away from Clay and Quinn. I want to be Maverick’s shield here, but I also want them to know that I’m here for them as well. I hate the dread I see in both of their faces, especially knowing that fear will quickly morph into hurt.
“Fuck,” he hisses, and I feel his forehead against my shoulder. He stays like that for a second before getting whatever he needs to continue. “I found Mama a few years after I left Pine Oak.” He pauses when Quinn gasps. I see Clay’s jaw flex and his lips thin. They keep their silence. “I’ll tell you whatever you want to know about her, but after. Our first meeting was fuckin’ shit, but in the end I learned a whole lot I never fuckin’ knew. I always wondered why Buford treated me like crap, but never took it that far with y’all. He was shit to both of y’all, to be sure, but not like he was to me. It was my talk with her that had me searchin’ out a trainer I hadn’t worked with before: Trey Mavericks.”
He clears his throat. “I never wanted to tell y’all this. You have to understand, I kept this from you both because I was fuckin’ terrified that it would be too painful, but I’ve recently realized you might need this to put whatever might be hauntin’ y’all two behind you forever. Trey, he became the closest thing to family I had while I was gone. Not just because he ended up bein’ my trainer for the majority of time I was ridin’, but also because he’s my family.”
“I don’t understand,” Quinn whispers.
“I’m gettin’ there, Quinny,” he breathes. “Trey’s my uncle. My biological father’s older brother.”
“What?” she says with a gasp.
I steal a look at Clay to see his own shock present with wide eyes.
“When I finally managed to track down Mama, she told me about her affair. My real father was a cowboy named Trent Mavericks, who’s since passed. She named me Maverick after him, but in doin’ so she gave Buford a constant reminder that she fucked around on him. Knowin’ that, he used his hate for her and her actions as the fuel to hate me, well . . . it made sense. He hated me. Not for any other reason but because of the reminder I was. My dreams of ridin’ just made him spite me more. I know there wasn’t a thing I could have done to change that.”
“Goddammit!” Clay exclaims, standing from his seat to pace, his shoulders pulled tight.
“I love you both so fuckin’ much that it killed me knowin’ that you might see me like he did. The bastard.”
“Mav,” Quinn cries, tears rolling from her eyes. “None of that changes a damn thing. You have to know that,” she pleads.
Clay turns at her words, his features carved in granite. “Nothin’ they did would ever make you less of my brother. I don’t give a fuck shit about the blood that runs through your veins. You are our brother.”
Maverick’s grip turns painful, but I don’t dare show it. My eyes pinging from both Clay and Quinn, wishing I could ease their pain.
Maverick pushes on, the words spilling out of him now that he’s gotten going. “I want you both to know, I never wanted to tell you this, but I know now it wasn’t right to keep it from you. Leighton, well . . . she’s been here when I wasn’t. She knows you both better than I probably do now. She’s been my rock workin’ through this shit, but more important, my voice of reason. I pray I don’t cause you more pain with this knowledge. And maybe give you peace so you can put some shit behind you. I’ve had a lot of time to come to terms with this shit, but it’s because of her that I’ve been able to put it behind me and start to move on. You both deserve that in your life. I know now in order to move on you have to open your hearts and don’t let our fucked-up history repeat itself. Don’t live your lives with the anger we were taught.”
Quinn is openly sobbing now, her head pulled down into both of her hands. Clay moves to her side, pulling her to her feet before wrapping his arms around her. He looks at Maverick, the silence thick. My own heart is lodged high in my throat, but I don’t move. Whatever happens next will tell me everything. If I need to build a wall around my cowboy to protect him from heartache or if I break down like a baby while a family heals.
“Brother,” he grunts, his voice even deeper with the heaviness now weighing on him. “Get over here,” he commands with conviction, pulling an arm away from Quinn and stretching it wide.
I hurry to stand, almost tripping over Maverick’s big booted feet. I whip my head back, watching him climb from his seat, a sob catching my throat when I see one silent tear fall from his sad eyes. He walks past me, catching my hand and pulling me with him before falling into his brother’s arms. I give him a squeeze, my gaze holding Clay’s. He gives me a bleak smile before mouthing to me “thank you.” That was all it took for the floodgates to open wide. I press my forehead to Maverick’s shoulder, giving him whatever he needs by keeping me close during this moment.