Page 58 of Deserving Maisy
“Well, shit. This is going to be interesting,” Owl mused.
“You ready to get going?” Brick asked as he walked up to the two men.
Stone looked at Maisy. She looked lost and confused, but her gaze was locked on him. As if he was her safety net in a world that had suddenly turned upside down.
“Jack?” she asked softly.
Stone wanted to keep his distance. Couldn’t forget her role in everything that had happened. But with her looking so unsure and worried, he couldn’t stop himself from reaching for her. He pulled her to his side and let her snuggle in close. “It’s okay, Maisy. We’re okay.”
She nodded and let him take some of her weight.
“Come on, let’s get home.”
Home. Man, that sounded good.
They walked toward Brick’s Jeep and Stone got Maisy settled in the backseat then climbed in after her. She fell asleep almost as soon as they pulled out of the parking lot. Stone spoke quietly with Brick and Owl about the last few weeks as they drove toward Los Alamos and The Refuge. Less than an hour later, Brick pulled up next to the mainlodge and Stone couldn’t help but smile at seeing the group waiting for him outside.
He roused Maisy and got her out of the Jeep, but lost track of her almost immediately when he was surrounded by his friends. Stone hugged Lara hard, pulling back to look into her eyes, wanting to make sure she was all right.
She smiled up at him. “I’m good, promise.”
“Heard you flew the shit out of that chopper,” Stone told her.
She blushed. “It wasn’t pretty.”
Stone was so damn thankful that things had turned out the way they had. “You’re here, so I’d say it was fucking beautiful.” Then he hugged her again and whispered into her ear, “Thank you for saving my best friend.”
Her eyes were filled with tears when she finally let go of him. Then Stone made the rounds, hugging all the women and giving man-hugs to his friends. Even Robert, The Refuge’s cook, was with the group, promising to make Stone’s favorite pork chops the next night to welcome him home.
Satisfaction coursed through Stone. When he’d first agreed to invest in The Refuge, he wasn’t sure if he would stay long-term. Now he couldn’t imagine himself anywhere else.
A niggling voice in the back of his mind told him that he’d been ready and willing to make a life in Washington with Maisy, and that he would’ve been perfectly happy doing so, but Stone ignored it.
Thinking about Maisy made him wonder where she was. He felt guilty that he’d completely forgotten about her for a moment.
Turning in a circle, he searched for her, momentarily panicking when he didn’t spot her immediately.
“Ryleigh’s got her over there,” Tiny said, pointing to a bench on the lodge’s porch.
Turning, Stone saw Maisy slumped on the bench with Ryan—no, her name was apparently Ryleigh, or Ry, as most people called her. Maisy’s eyes were cast downward and she looked uncomfortable and out of place. Stone was moving before he’d given it much thought.
He walked over to where Maisy was sitting and knelt in front of her, putting his hands on her knees. Stone nodded to Ry, then turned his attention to Maisy. “You feel all right?” he asked.
She nodded but didn’t look up. Stone frowned. He looked at Ry again. “Thanks for sitting with her. I’ve got her from here.”
Ry stared at him with a look he’d never seen before. The housekeeper had generally kept to herself around the place. She’d been polite and friendly, but now that Stone thought about it, she hadn’t really opened up to anyone. She’d stayed on the peripheral. But now she met his gaze with a look so intense, Stone was surprised he didn’t burst into flames right there on the spot. It was a little irritating. He hadn’t done anything wrong. Maisy was the one who hadn’t told him what her brother had planned. But he couldn’t help but like how protective Ry was over Maisy. He felt the same protectiveness toward her…even after everything that had happened.
“Be good to her,” Ry told him with a bite to her voice.
It instantly made Stone feel defensive. “I’m thinking you know nothing about what’s between us,” he retorted.
But instead of making Ry back off, her back straightenedat his tone and she narrowed her eyes at him. “You haven’t been here, so I suppose I should cut you some slack. But here’s the deal…I’m the one who found Jasna, who tracked Reese’s tile so you could fly in like a hero and snatch her before she was taken across the border. I’m also the one who’s been working nonstop to find your ass and make sure you came home.
“Since you called Brick less than a day ago, I’ve read every text message you sent, every email, and seen every picture on your phone. That guy from the ranch you interviewed with wants to hire you, by the way, and has sent an email offering you the job, so I’m guessing you need to let him know you won’t be working there after all. But more importantly—I’ve done the same with Maisy’s phone.”
She took a deep breath before continuing. “I have all her pictures, all her emails, and she even made some recordings that I can only assume were done in secret because of what was said. I know your wife probably better thanyoudo in some cases, and I’m telling you that you need to go easy on her.”
Stone’s eyes narrowed. “What recordings?”
