cow. And not just any cow. A certain brown and white one. Her daddy searched high and low and finally found a woman who made the cows out in Idaho.”
“I take full responsibility for that,” Mike said. “We had gone to the county fair with the kids, and the boys wanted to go on the rides, but Mads wanted to see the farm animals. She and I spent hours looking at them. She was completely enamored with the cows, and one of the kids there had that particular colored cow. After the fair, Mads wrangled Zeke into reading her just about everything he could find on cows. That’s how she learned that unbranded cattle that weren’t part of a herd were called Mavericks.”
“She named that stuffed cow Maverick and slept with the darn thing every night,” Preacher said as he put his arm around Reba. He kissed her head and said, “You tell her the rest, darlin’.”
“After I told Mads about Justin’s family, she went into her bedroom and got her cow and her favorite blanket. Justin was sitting on the couch stewing about his world being upended yet again, as well he should have been.” Reba blinked several times and looked up at the sky. “Sorry. I always get a little choked up when I think of that day.”
Preacher pulled her closer, the same way Justin had done to Chloe on the beach the other night.
“Mads climbed up on the couch beside Justin and gave him her cow,” Reba explained. “She said—”
“Now you’re not alone anymore,” Justin said, sounding emotional. “Now there are two Mavericks, you and him.”
“Mads curled up with her favorite blanket and her head on Justin’s shoulder, and Justin sat stock-still, as if he was afraid if he moved she might break,” Reba said warmly. “In that moment I knew he was meant to find us. He might have wanted us to believe he was big trouble, and I think he even believed it himself. But I’d known enough kids to see that on the inside that boy was special. He was pure goodness.” She looked up at the sky and fanned her face. “Now I’m going to cry, so don’t mind me.”
“Special is right,” Dwayne mumbled. “A special pain in the ass.”
Justin flipped him off, and they both chuckled, but the emotions passing between them were as real as the tears in Reba’s eyes.
“That’s the sweetest story.” Chloe gazed up at Justin and said, “So Mads gave you your road name?”
“I had to earn my road name.” Justin looked at Preacher and said, “It was one of the greatest honors of my life.”
Preacher gave a manly nod and said, “Madigan coined his nickname. The brotherhood gave him his road name. His road name is Maverick, but not because he wasn’t branded. By then Justin was a Wicked. He had a family who loved him. But it turned out that Mads knew what she was doing, because Maverick also means independent minded, which was the perfect description for the angry boy who fought us with everything he had, and became a good, strong man.”
Sidney came out of the shelter, breaking the mood, and said, “Are you about ready to let me put your boy to bed?”
“We’re calling him Shadow,” Justin said.
“Can we go with you?” Chloe asked. “Is that okay? I’d love to see the other dogs, but I’d also like to keep visiting with everyone. Will you guys be here when we’re done?”
“Yes, honey. Go give them some love,” Reba said. “We’re not going anywhere.”
Chloe and Justin went with Sidney. They gave Shadow an abundance of kisses and pets before she put him in his kennel. He whined as they walked away so Chloe could meet the other dogs, but Chloe couldn’t take it and went back to give him more love. Justin ended up sitting with Shadow while Chloe went with Sidney to meet the other dogs. They were in even worse shape than they’d looked in the pictures. They had puncture wounds, areas of missing fur, old wounds that hadn’t fully healed. Some were more timid than others, but eventually even the shy ones gave Chloe kisses.
After loving up Shadow one last time, Sidney headed home for the night, and Justin took Chloe into the other building to see the dogs and cats that were available for adoption.
When they finally made their way back outside, she said, “If I had the space, I’d take them all home.”