Page 43 of August 20

He missed her mouthy replies and her attempts to escape him.

With Skye in school all day, he'd worked on his motorcycle in the garage while Brooke got caught up on laundry and cleaned Skye's bedroom and bedding.

Because she refused to talk with him, he'd taken her to the school to enroll Skye. To his surprise, she never pulled her hand away when he led her into the school.

If he hadn't lived with her for almost three months, he would've thought they were a real married couple with only their daughter's best interest at heart.

He had to admit it was nice to have Brooke hand over Skye's school records and immunization records, making enrollment a breeze. It kept him from having to talk. Most of the questions they asked, he had no answers for, anyway.

His respect for Brooke rose even higher. She'd dealt with Skye attending kindergarten, first grade, and now second grade. That was a bigger deed than he had imagined, and he appreciated her ensuring his daughter adapted to school.

For how much he wanted to take care of his daughter, he had no clue how to raise an eight-year-old. Brooke knew all of it.

"What if nobody talked to her?" Brooke exhaled loudly. "It's hard to be a new kid at a new school."

"She's fine." He coughed.

Brooke glanced at him. "Sometimes, Skye can be quiet and come across as shy."

Suddenly, Brooke wanted to talk.

He tapped the side of his head. "She's strong."

"She's a little girl," mumbled Brooke. "Girls overthink everything. She might look strong, but she's silently questioning everything."

He looked to see if Brooke would turn back to him again, but she stayed gazing out the window. He had a feeling she was talking about herself and not Skye.

"There she is." Brooke pulled the handle, having it snap out of her fingers without opening the door.

Finally, Brooke looked at him. "Can you please unlock the door?"

He pushed the button.

Brooke scrambled out and met Skye on the sidewalk, hugging her. The two of them talked enthusiastically and too low for him to hear. Once Brooke found out Skye was okay, she escorted her to the back of the car, opened the door, and ran to the passenger side.

Brooke barely took a breath before she bombarded Skye with questions. "Do you like Mrs. Schaff?"

"I guess." Skye clicked her seatbelt into place. "She has a cat."

"Really?" Brooke acted as if that was a miracle. "Did the other kids talk to you?"

"A little." Skye tried to reach her backpack, but it'd fallen on the floor. "I got a book."

Maverick pulled forward and went around the other cars parked along the curb. He wasn't going to sit here for another half hour.

By the time they got home, Skye had started to yawn. Brooke hustled her inside the house and had her change clothes. Then she went into the kitchen to start dinner.

Maverick locked the front door with the key, went into the garage, and texted Jagger. It was time for him to get back to work.

While he still pulled from the Havlin pot each month with the other members, he wasn't pulling his full weight. He'd taken off too much time.

His phone vibrated with a reply. Meet me at ten.

He put the cell in his vest pocket. Skye would be at school. He'd have to take Brooke with him or have one of the prospects come and watch her.

The skin on his back crawled, and he rotated his shoulders. His gut told him it was too soon to trust her. She was only playing along to try and outsmart him.

But he wouldn't make any headway with her if she dwelled on ways to escape him every day. She needed to get her mind on things besides the living situation and Skye.