Talk About… Rivalry (Rockwood Valley Omegaverse #2)

26. Sidney

Sidney

I t was still strange being alone with Maverick. We were side by side in his pickup truck, his hand resting on my thigh, and I swear my heart hadn’t stopped slamming in my chest since I let these men past my defenses.

As if he could sense me thinking about it, he glanced over.

“Sidney, I’m going to need you to breathe before you give yourself a heart attack.”

A strangled, hysterical sort of laugh belted out of me. He looked surprised at first but then he couldn’t help himself, chuckling along with me.

“I hate that things are weird between us now,” he admitted. “It used to be so easy.”

“I’m sorry,” I started but he gave my thigh a squeeze, quietly telling me that that was enough. “I don’t need you to apologize to me, Sidney, I need you to be comfortable with me again.”

“I’m trying,” I admitted with a groan. I was just as frustrated as he was. “Right now I’m more nervous about going back to the ranch again. When I was getting ready for the baby shower I ran into Uncle Dale and pretty much told him that I had a pack. The truth is, I just left them high and dry. I was taking care of the horse, then my life just fell apart.”

“I don’t know how I feel about you finding a pack being chalked up to falling apart,” he said dryly.

“It’s not that simple, unfortunately. Not for me,” I whispered.

His hand tightened on my thigh again.

“Sidney, I need you to listen to me and listen well. I meant what I told you at dinner. You are mine and nothing is going to ever change that. I know it in my bones. Hell, I’ve known it for years.”

How long had I longed for him to say that?

“It doesn’t feel real, Maverick. I’ve wanted you, too, I just knew that it was unfair of me to lead you on knowing that I couldn’t be your future.”

I gasped and clutched the dashboard as Maverick swiftly pulled over to the side of the road. He threw it into park before turning his full body to face me.

“ You are my future,” he said, his voice more of a growl than anything. He unbuckled and moved towards me. It wasn’t easy, Maverick was a big alpha and his truck was also huge, but not enough to accommodate his broad frame.

He unbuckled me first before pulling me closer, his mouth pressing against mine.

It was more of a question than a kiss and I couldn’t help but melt into him. This was the alpha I’d pined over for years.

My fingers gripped at his hair, pulling it from the bun so I could wind my fingers in his dark locks like I’d always dreamt of.

“Fuck,” was all he said before deepening the kiss. The moment I parted my lips he was there, sweeping his tongue inside and tasting every inch of me, demanding more.

Maverick was never gentle and I shouldn’t have expected anything less. My body responded to him, slick pooling between my thighs. Fuck, I’d never wanted to scent anyone so bad in my life.

I just knew his scent was strong and masculine. Maybe holding a hint of spice and that alpha musk that everyone described.

Even without a scent he was overtaking all of my senses. His calloused hands were rough as they danced over my exposed skin. His mouth was demanding, but his lips were soft.

He let out a groan that sounded pained. The gravel in his voice sent another shock of pleasure through me.

“I can’t claim you right here on the side of the road, but I would if I could, Sidney. Whatever doubts you have about me, forget them. You are mine.”

“Yours,” I relented, finally believing it for the first time. He leaned back, carefully buckling me back in before doing the same to himself.

We were on the road again and he sat, hand back on my thigh and a grin on his face. My fingers pressed lightly against my tingling lips that were swollen from his demanding kisses.

My heart was racing for a different reason this time, heat coursing through me more intensely than I’d ever experienced. The ache between my legs was so prominent I wanted to scream.

Fuck, this heat was going to be brutal if it was affecting me already.

Or maybe that was all Maverick.

I only had a few minutes to get myself together. Maverick stayed quiet, giving me that space so I could remember how to breathe again.

By the time he pulled onto the familiar gravel road, the wooden sign hanging over the entrance announcing our arrival at Vance Stables, I was finally put together.

Then the nerves hit again. I think the worst part of this was knowing that my dad likely wasn’t going to react. He wasn’t going to care that I was leaving. Normally a dad would warn the alphas of his daughter’s pack to keep his daughter safe, give them some sort of wisdom or a speech.

I doubted my dad had even noticed my absence.

A heaviness settled into my chest as I climbed out of the car. Mav had parked right in front, the closest spot to my cottage.

We got a few stares, new faces I didn’t recognize watching us as we headed over.

It had barely been a week or two of me being absent and I was already replaced. Tears burned behind my eyes but I didn’t let them fall.

As we neared the training yard, I veered us that way to check on my girl.

“Is this the latest horse?” Maverick questioned.

“Yeah. She’s a sweet girl, just traumatized,” I admitted. Her usual bag of treats was right there by the gate and I held out an apple. She wouldn’t even bother to come close to me now that Maverick was with me so I tossed it in, watching as it rolled to her feet. She let out a huff and dipped down to bite it, crunching it as she stared at me.

“She’ll be okay without you,” he promised. “It’ll just take more work on their part but you were never meant to be here forever, Sidney.”

“I don’t even know what I’m going to do when I leave here, Maverick,” I admitted. “What happens when these two weeks are up, or however long it takes my heat to kick in?”

“What do you mean?” he questioned.

“I don’t have skills or another job lined up. There’s nothing for me to do right now and Rockwood Valley isn’t brimming with work,” I explained.

“Work with me,” he said as if it was that simple. “I’m losing my mind trying to coordinate this Artisan Fair and you know this town as well as I do. If we want to make this a full-time thing I’m going to need the help.”

“That’s not really a paying job, Maverick. I’m willing to help you, obviously, but I need an income, too.”

He looked at me, hazel eyes full of understanding. Maverick was likely biting back an offer to take care of me and I appreciated that.

I needed a backup plan still.

“You have savings, right?”

I nodded. We both knew I barely spent any of the money that I had been paid over the years. I wasn’t into high fashion, fast cars, or anything that would take much of it.

“Then help me while you figure it out. You don’t have to know your whole life right now. Let us help you find yourself.”

I think this was the most that Maverick had ever spoken to me in the entire time I’ve known him. As I stared up into those hazel eyes, they were familiar but a little warmer than they usually were. I couldn’t help but buy into the picture that he was painting.

Could it be that easy? I let them in then the pieces would fall into place?

I swallowed hard and reached out, putting my palm in his larger hand. He wrapped his fingers around mine and brought my knuckles to his lips, brushing a kiss over them.

“No looking back.”

“I’ll try,” I agreed.

Maybe having someone in my corner, someone that truly cared about me and wasn’t going to just walk away, would help me realize that it was okay to find myself. That I didn’t have to be guarded at every turn.

He pulled me into his side, placing a kiss on top of my head as we watched the horse tug at some grass and eyeball us.

I breathed in the moment, soaking in his presence before I felt strong enough to be able to go pack up my life.

It wasn’t like I was going to take the furniture here. It was all there when I moved in, none of it was truly mine.

The moment I pushed open the door my gray tabby was streaking inside ahead of us, nearly tripping us both. Maverick steadied himself against the door frame with one hand, the other holding me steady.

“What the hell was that?”

“Sully,” I answered with a laugh. “He was a barn cat that decided to adopt me. He stays in here almost as much as he is outside.”

“Are you bringing him with you?” Maverick asked. My gaze shifted to Sully and I frowned.

“I don’t think so. This ranch is his home,” I admitted, hating that pang of sadness that hit me.

“I didn’t even know you had a cat, Sidney,” he said, his voice so low that I had to strain to take in every word. I stepped closer to rest my hand on his cheek.

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Everything,” he admitted. “I wasted so much fucking time thinking I knew you and I’m realizing there’s all these things that I don’t know. You have a cat. I’ve always had you figured out in my head that you’ve been this strong outgoing woman, and now I realize that you are just as much an introvert as I am at times.”

“These are little things,” I told him, reassuring him now instead of the other way around. “We’ll keep getting to know each other, Maverick. It would be boring if we knew everything, wouldn’t it?”

That seemed to relax him and he nodded, pulling me in for another kiss.

It seemed now that he had a taste, he wasn’t going to hold himself back. I could get used to this. He made me feel cherished.

It was weird, but good, and it made me feel less like running.

When he released me he started looking around my place.

“Sidney, you really don’t have a lot,” he pointed out. “I figured we’d have to take a few loads and get more boxes, but we might have enough in the back of the truck.”

“You do, I promise. The furniture belongs to the cottage, the quilt was just an old one I found in the house. I’m not attached to any of it other than my clothes, some books, and my personal items.”

He looked at me with pain in his hazel eyes. “You live like a ghost.”

That hit me square in the chest. Had that been what I’d been doing? Keeping my things minimal so when I was inevitably tossed out of someone’s life that I wouldn’t have to take long to gather my things?

He pulled me in again like he couldn’t help but crush me in a hug.

Having someone as big as Maverick wrapped around you was an amazing, comforting feeling.

It chased away the doubts even more.

“I’m going to go grab the boxes,” he finally said, letting me go.

“I’ll come, too,” I rushed out. I refused to stay in here alone ever again.

He didn’t argue, just held out his hand for me. When my fingers intertwined with his, he pulled me with him, heading back for the truck.

My steps faltered when I saw my dad standing there, looking at the boxes in the back of Maverick’s truck bed, arms crossed.

When he heard us approaching he turned. His face was as stone cold and unreadable as always. Maverick’s hand tightened around mine, a silent reminder that I wasn’t alone.

“You leaving?” my dad questioned. Then his green gaze shifted to Maverick “With him?”

“Yes,” Maverick answered for me. “She has a pack now.”

“Were you even going to say goodbye?” my father questioned.

The fact that he sounded hurt was insane to me.

“Yes, I was,” I said firmly. His shoulder slumped a little and he nodded.

“Not that I deserve it. I should have been there for you, Sidney.”

For the first time in my entire life my father looked small. The years had taken a toll on him. There were weathered lines on his face, his hair and beard were gray now, and he looked downright sad. It was like my father aged overnight. Or maybe I hadn’t looked at him closely in a long time.

“All I wanted was for you to show me that you cared,” I admitted, refusing to hide from the fact that he never tried to be close to me. “I lost my mom and then I had you who wanted nothing to do with me.”

He winced at the truth in my words.

“I have a lot of regrets in my life, Sidney, but having you was never one of them. I’m proud of you and I’m glad you have someone that can show you how amazing you are.”

My eyes burned and a tear fell down my cheek. My dad walked forward, pulling me into a quick hug. It was so fast, there and then he wasn’t.

“Love you, kid. Don’t be a stranger.”

Then he turned and walked away, leaving me stunned and shaken.

I never imagined my goodbye turning out this way.

Maverick gave me a moment to process before he pulled me over to the truck. He gathered up the boxes in one hand, never letting go of me for a second.

His hand in mine was like a lifeline and I clung to it through the entire process of packing up my cottage.

He didn’t let go of me until he helped me into the front seat of his truck, going back and forth only three times to put everything in the back.

Just as Maverick was about to pull out of the lot, he turned to me, eyes full of frustration, but pride.

“We’re coming back for that cat.”

I was still too numb to argue, trying to process the fact that my dad had cared about me all along.

He just didn’t know how to show it.

That didn’t excuse the years he made me feel so alone and unwanted, but I didn’t want to hold on to that resentment.

Finding my pack and finding myself was far too important and I owed it to myself to try and move on.

When Maverick pulled onto the main road, I’d already forgiven my father.

I just hoped one day he learned to find his own happiness. He needed to learn to tell people he cared before he ended up alone forever.

I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, especially after years of condemning myself to that fate.