Page 103 of Deserving Maisy
In the month since they’d returned from Washington, nightmares aside, Maisy had blossomed. She’d lost the haunted look she sometimes got in her eyes, and she seemed to walk taller. She was becoming more and more outgoing. Stone loved the changes, loved that she was gaining confidence in who she was. Her brother had told her often enough that she was stupid and weak, when in reality she was anything but.
Stone had heard about her scores on the GED and was encouraging her to look into taking classes at The University of New Mexico at Los Alamos. She was considering it, but she didn’t know what she wanted to major in. There was a lot of time for her to figure out the rest of her life, and honestly, Stone was just thrilled to have her there with him, and for them both to finally be able to live a normal, if hectic life.
She’d taken to living at The Refuge as if she’d been here forever. She loved hiking with the guests, helping Lara and Cora plan activities for the children of guests the next time they opened The Refuge up to families, andevery time he turned around, Maisy was helping someone else with their job.
They’d finally hired a new housekeeper, since Ry’s…skills…were better served elsewhere. It was Maisy who’d showed the guy, Joshua, around The Refuge and introduced him to everyone. Jess and Carly liked the young man, and he seemed to be fitting in really well.
Stone had finally had a chance to call his parents and bring them up to speed with everything that had happened in his life. About losing his memory, although he’d downplayed the part where he’d been kidnapped…again. They’d been through enough when he was a POW, and he simply wanted to protect them. He did tell them all about Maisy though. About being married. They, of course, were thrilled, and while they couldn’t come out to New Mexico to see them just yet—they had a three-month cruise that was leaving in a week or so—they’d insisted on FaceTiming with him and Maisy so they could meet her. The call went on for two hours and by the time it was over, Maisy had won them over completely simply by being herself.
The helicopter The Refuge had bought was finally scheduled to be delivered next week, and both Stone and Owl were beyond excited. Brick had hired a team of pilots to fly it down this time, after everything that had happened. Owl, Stone, and Brick would meet the men at the airport in Los Alamos, go over the paperwork, do an inspection of the bird, then Owl and Stone would do one more test-flight to make sure all was well. Then they’d fly her to the lodge. The landing pad and hangar had been completed the week before, and everyone was excited to start a new chapter at The Refuge.
But Stone had something very important he needed to talk about with Maisy. And he was extremely nervous.
“Are you okay?” Maisy asked with a small frown as she walked toward him.
Stone nodded. “Yeah. You have a good morning?”
Maisy beamed. “Yes! Tonka’s talking about getting a couple more goats, and maybe selling their milk to a woman in town. She makes the most divine goat cheese and yogurt. And…goats!”
Stone loved seeing her so excited, so exuberant.
“Luna’s been talking to me about her classes, and…I think I do want to at least dip my toe in next semester with her. I mean, I haven’t been in school in forever, and I’m not sure I’ll remember how to study, but I want to try.”
“You’ll do awesome,” Stone told her.
“Anyway, I also chatted with one of the guests. I don’t know how Henley does what she does. I get so sad and upset for people when I hear what they’ve gone through. And before you say anything, no I didn’t ask her to tell me anything about her PTSD, she volunteered the info.”
“I didn’t think you had,Stellina,” Stone told her. The last thing his wife would do was pry into anyone’s demons.
“Anyway, I guess after the story about what happened to us made the rounds on social media, she saw it and wanted to tell me she was sorry. She empathized with me because she also had a bad experience with family. I guess she had a sister who was their parents’ favorite. Like,reallytheir favorite. They treated her like a princess, and locked our guest in a closet, barely fed her, made her sit in her own waste, and she wasn’t allowed outside or to go to school or anything!”
Maisy was getting worked up, but Stone couldn’t blame her. He’d read the info sheet on the guest she was talking about, and her story was horrific. Over the years, he’d heard stories about this kind of thing happening, but hadn’t allowed himself to think too hard about the details. And for good reason. After reading the details on this poor woman, it reminded him of how horrible humans could be.
But then there were people like his Maisy. People who bent over backward to do the right thing, to be kind, to help where they could.
“Anyway, it sucks. But the good news? She’s doing wonderful,” Maisy said with a smile. “She had an incredible foster family who adopted her when she wasseventeen. I even got to meet her fiancée. She’s amazing and they’re so cute together!”
Stone grinned. He’d met the couple when they’d checked in earlier that week.
“That’s good,” he told Maisy.
His wife wrinkled her nose. “Sorry, I’m going on and on and haven’t even asked about your day.”
Now he chuckled. “Maisy, it’s nine thirty-one. I haven’t had much of a chance to evenhavea day yet.”
She giggled. “Okay, good point, but it’s been what, three hours since we got up? What have you been doing while I was gone?” She leaned into him, staring at him with so much love, it was all Stone could do not to toss her over his shoulder and throw her back down on their bed. He’d woken up in the middle of the night with a sudden urge to make love to his wife. He hadn’t had a nightmare, hadn’t really dreamed much of anything, but the need to make sure Maisy knew how much he loved her hadprompted him to slide a hand up her side and then between her legs.
She hadn’t complained about him waking her up, and they’d made long, slow, sweet love to each other. Every time he was with her, Stone was more certain she was his perfect match.
“Jack?”
And that was another thing. He loved how she called him Jack. Everyone else, and he meanteveryone, called him Stone. But not his Maisy. She insisted on using the name she’d first known him by. He was her Jack, and he freaking loved that.
“Sorry, was thinking about last night,” Stone told her.
Her cheeks flushed as she gave him a shy smile. “Yeah?” she asked.
“Yeah. And while I’d love nothing more than to drag you back to bed, there’s something I want to talk to you about. Something important.”
