Turbulent Desires(42)

He'd been in a bear of a mood for the past two weeks. And his damn  family didn't want to leave him alone. Mav knew the mood would pass. His  behavior wasn't dependent on if he missed a woman or not.

Time would make things better. That was, if his family would just leave  him alone. He was back at work, and happy to be there. Hell, he'd just  come back from a flight to Oregon where he'd done some low maneuvers  that normally would put him in a great mood.

It seemed nothing was putting him in a good mood these days, though.

Mav was always the life of the party, the one to smile when everyone  else was scowling. He was the one who laughed when other people were in  foul moods. So why in the world couldn't he pull himself out of this  constant anger he seemed to be feeling?         

     



 

It certainly wasn't over a woman-even a woman as amazing as Lindsey.

Moving over to his liquor cabinet, he undid his shirt, letting it hang  open as he poured a double shot of whiskey. He threw his head back as he  let the amber liquid burn its way down his throat.

Even the fire pouring through him wasn't enough to help. He seriously  needed to pull himself together. Looking over at the phone again, the  temptation to call Lindsey was almost so overwhelming he thought about  tossing the phone through his window.

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.

"What do you mean?" he asked, not agreeing to anything.

"There's a get-together in a couple days at my friend Joseph's place. You're invited."

Well, there really wasn't a chance of him running into Lindsey at Joseph's. It might be nice to catch up with old friends.

"Okay. I'll come," he told him.

Mav could practically feel Sherman smiling through the phone. Maverick  couldn't find a reason to take back his assent at going, though, even  though he knew he was doing exactly as the old man wanted.

"Good, then I won't keep bugging you tonight. I'll see you soon."

With that, Sherman hung up the phone before Mav had a chance to say his own good-bye.

Mav didn't move from his easy chair for a long time, and when he did, it  was only to grab a bite to eat and shower before he climbed into his  cold, empty bed. Maybe one more visit with Lindsey wouldn't be such a  bad thing.

No! He pushed the weak thought out of his head. He couldn't do that to  her or him. Another good-bye wasn't what they needed to move on with  their lives.

If only that nagging feeling in the back of his mind wasn't telling him  that all he needed to feel better was to admit how he felt. It wasn't  going to happen. Once again, Mav didn't sleep well at all.





CHAPTER FORTY

The hospital was hopping as Lindsey rushed from patient to patient in an  attempt to keep up with the influx of people stumbling in through the  large sliding doors. Exhaustion had become a constant for her. Sleep  hadn't been coming to her so easily since her last night with Maverick.

Even having Princess beneath the covers with her every night wasn't  helping much. She adored her dog, but it wasn't the same as having  strong arms pull you in close, making you feel protected from the entire  world.

She was getting ready to suture a patient when the new intern turned too  fast and cut her arm with a scalpel, making Lindsey's eyes instantly  start to water.

"I'm so sorry, Lindsey. I don't know how that happened," the new girl  said, her own eyes filling and spilling over as she panicked and grabbed  gauze, pushing too roughly when she placed it over Lindsey's wound.

"It's fine," Lindsey told the young nurse through gritted teeth. Lindsey  then moved away from the patient so her blood wouldn't get on her. Both  the patient and the nurse looked a little freaked out.

"I'll send the other nurse in," she told the woman before turning and walking away, the intern on her heels.