As soon as I was done with the last full-body circuit, I asked Rick—who had flown in the night before with the rest of the crew—for a quick break to check on Maggie. While I was digging the phone out of my gym bag, I heard Travis' voice behind me.

"Trav, what the fuck? You're supposed to drive Maggie to see my Ma!" I asked over my shoulder as I continued to fish for my phone. From my excitement earlier, thinking of Maggie, I'd distractedly threw my phone into the pile of dirty clothes in my bag.

Travis walked up to me with a stupid grin on his face. "Yeah, I stopped by Bailey's for a bit and got distracted." He had his hand up facing me, waiting for me to congratulate him for scoring that morning.

I shook my head and straightened, pushing his dumb hand away. "So, you forgot about Maggie?"

"What? No! No way, man! I sent Bailey to do it. Girl worked me real good." His hand was up again. This time, he knew he was going to get a punch in the face rather than on his hand.

"Are you fucking insane?" I yelled. Frustrated, I gripped the ends of my sweat-soaked hair and groaned. "You let Maggie be alone with Bailey? Are you trying to get me in trouble?" With this news, I returned to digging for my phone. It was just here on top of the clothes, I thought. Unless, if I'd left it in the locker room in a rush to get back to training. "Bailey's the least discreet person in the world, Travis! Are you guys trying to ruin any chance I have with Maggie?"

"Hey, Bailey's not going to talk. I...she won't, man, come on." Spinning on my heels, I had him by the neckline of his shirt and up against the wall. He was larger than me, but I was so mad that all I could think of was beating the stupid out of him.

"You don't know that, do you?"

"Shit, Zach, don't lose your shit!" It was too late for that as I had my forearm pressing on his throat.

Two guys came running toward us and pulled me away from Travis. He bent low and charged after me, but a few other guys had seen what was happening and were able to stop him from barreling toward me.

"I'm not trying to mess with you. Bailey's not like that. She won't say nothing to Maggie. She knows!"

"She doesn't know how to shut her mouth."

"Hey!" Rick came in, pressing his palm on my heaving chest. "Calm the fuck down, the two of you. What the hell is going on here?"

We'd gotten the attention of the rest of the gym. Not all of them knew about or had met Maggie. What they did know was that I'd never reacted this way before because of a girl. Maggie wasn't just any other girl.

"Get back to your spot, guys," Rick told the rest of the guys. "You two, start talking."

Neither Travis nor I spoke first. The adrenaline continued to surge through me, and I could feel my fingers and toes going numb from it. Rick knocked us both on the backs of our heads like how he'd done when we were a lot younger. But it worked, and it shook a bit of anger out of me. I didn't address Rick; I spoke right to Travis.

"There's a reason why I wanted you or Ed to take her. I could have insisted on Ed if I'd known that you'd screw this up."

Rick continued to stand between us, his arms crossed over his massive chest. He looked over at Travis for a response.

"She won't say nothin'. Look, I'll even call her." He pulled a phone out from his sweats pocket and dialed. "Hey, Babe. Maggie still with you?"

The numbness in my fingers increased. I didn't realize I'd stepped forward until Rick gripped my shoulder to stop me. I nodded at him, letting him know I wasn't about to do anything stupid...hopefully.

"No, I don't need to talk to her. Just don't say anything, okay? And I mean nothing...no, I know, babe...it's just Zach thinks you'll tell her stuff, you know?"

I shook my head. Travis was faltering. Any other time, I would have given him a hard time with it, but right now, all I could think of was Maggie. What if she found out something about me that she wouldn't like? I couldn't lose her like that. I couldn’t lose her again. I stretched my hand to Travis.

"Give me the phone." We both turned to Rick, who nodded. Travis handed me his cell phone. "Hey, Bai."

"Hey, Zach. What the hell is up with you guys?"

"Bai, is she with you? Maggie?"

"Yeah...It's Zach, he's asking about you...do you want to talk to her?"

"Sure, but wait, Bai..."

"Yeah?"

"Don't say anything to her okay? And I mean nothing, Bailey. Nothing, even if she asks."

"Geez, Zach, thanks for the trust." Shit. I didn't like the tone of her voice. Bailey didn't get mad much, but she was hell whenever she did. She could do so much damage to a person with just one sentence. The amount of information she knew about me, about any of the guys I trained with, was enough to turn any person's stomach inside out. "Here. Talk to Maggie." Before I heard Maggie's voice, I heard Bailey mutter 'asshole'.

"Zach? Is everything okay?" I had to pinch the bridge of my nose when I heard her voice. She was worried. I might have made a mess without meaning to.

"Yeah, babe. Just wondering where you're at."

It took her a while to answer, and her voice sounded a lot smaller when she did. "We're in front of the nursing home now. We had to stop at a drive-thru for breakfast...Is everything okay?"

"Ah, yeah. Just wanted to know how it's going. I couldn't find my phone so..." Shit. Even I didn't believe what I was saying. I ran a hand through my hair. "Say hi to Ma for me, okay? I'll see you in a little while."

"Sure, Zach. I'll see you later."

As soon as I hung up the phone, I gave Travis an apologetic look. Ma always said that only those who had something to hide got nervous. I sure as hell was beyond nervous.

* * *

Because of my outburst, Rick kept me for another hour. He knew I wasn't focused. I struggled a little with the extra grip work he had me do, almost dropping the 45-lb plates on my feet. It also didn't help that I stayed up later than I should have last night with Maggie, although every single second of that was absolutely worth it.

On top of that, I didn't have enough time to do the things I wanted ready for Maggie's Birthday. I cut my shower in half, drove quickly home to change into something decent, then back out again. Travis caught me on the phone while I waited for the woman at the bakery to finish Maggie's cake.

"Are we good now?" Travis asked.

"Yeah. Sorry about that. It's just Maggie, you know. I can't mess this up."

"I get it, man. You owe me though. Bailey gave me an earful when I saw her."

"Shit. Yeah. I'll apologize to her later when she's calmed down."

"Oh, she's calm." Travis chuckled, which meant only one thing.

I laughed with him. "You're a dog. So, you guys are serious?"

"Nah. I dunno. She's great to be with. I don't want to define our relationship right now."

I laughed even harder, tipping my head back and hitting the wall behind the chair I sat on. "You sound like an ass. If you didn't want that, you shouldn't have hooked up with her."

"What about you and Maggie? Must be serious if you're ready to send your best friend into a coma."

Just thinking about the possibilities of what I could have with Maggie made my chest tighten. I gripped the phone harder, looking up at the peeling ceiling of the bakery. "Well, I'm getting her a cake for her birthday so yeah, I say it's serious."

"Birthday?" Immediately, I regretted telling him. He yelled in the background. "Yo, Bai! It's Maggie's birthday! Did she tell you?"

"Shoot. Trav, stop..."

Then it wasn't just Travis I was talking to. "It's her birthday? She didn't tell me!"

"Hey, Bailey. Ahm...sorry about earlier."

"Yeah, you owe me. What are you guys doing tonight? We're partying, right? Oh my god! You have to go to this new club. We'll get on the VIP list. This is awesome. I can't believe she never told me. We spent like a whole half hour in the car. She was so quiet too. Oh my gosh, it's going to be so much fun. You have to take her out. We have to party. I'll do her makeup and hair. I know she doesn't like doing that. How old is she turning?"

I had to take a breath for her, and felt a little bad for Maggie being stuck in the car with her for thirty minutes. Her voice got higher and more excitable as she talked and I thought there was a ringing in my ear when she was done. "Twenty."

She screamed right into the phone, and I had to keep it away from me. I garnered a curious look from the customers in the bakery. Bailey kept yammering away, and since I felt bad for what I did this morning, I let her, but I was wise enough to hold the phone an arm's length away from me. The baker called my name and showed me the cake before closing the box.

When I settled in my truck, I returned to the one-sided conversation with Bailey. "I gotta go pick her up."

"So, do you agree with my plan?"

Plan? "What?"

"Oh my god, Zach. Were you even listening?"

"Ah yeah," I replied, suppressing a laugh as my truck's engine turned over.

"You're such a liar. We'll meet you at your place at nine. I can help Maggie get ready. Let me know if she needs a dress or something. I'll bring all my stuff. Oh, it's going to be madness!"

"Yeah, madness. I'll see what she thinks."

"She'll love it. Don't even pretend. I'm going to call her later and see what she needs."

I groaned in my hand. "Yeah. Fine." If I wasn't such a dick to her earlier, I wouldn't have to go through this.

But as I drove to the nursing facility to meet Maggie, the idea warmed up to me. Why shouldn't we go party on her birthday? I couldn't imagine there was much nightlife in Fresno, and I did promise her a Vegas-size party. Knowing Maggie though, she'd worry about a lot of things. Before stepping out of the parked truck, I sent Travis a text that we were on for tonight, but begged to keep it simple.

When I entered Ma's room, it was sunny and clean and empty. Maggie's bag rested on the side table, right beside her cell phone. Ma's wheelchair was gone too, so I readily assumed that Maggie had taken her outside. Not wanting to waste time and miss more of Maggie's Birthday, I decided to look for them. I was about to step out when her phone vibrated on the table. My jaw tightened when I saw the message and whom it was from—the dip shit, her ex-boyfriend, June:

Happy 20th Birthday, Maggie.

Why the hell would he be messaging her on her birthday? Idiot. I picked up the phone, and my thumb hovered over the button. I could delete it, and Maggie wouldn't have to worry about this asswipe. If this was his way of getting back together with her, he had another thing coming. He had me to contend with. There was no way I'd let Maggie go back to him, little snake. No matter how tempting it was to delete the asshat's message, I decided to leave it alone. Maggie would know what to do with it. I placed it back down on the table when it vibrated again, and the next message had me fuming:

I miss hanging out with you. Your birthdays were always fun. I hope you have a great day. You deserve it.

Was he kidding? This little shithead was asking for a beating. I didn't want to delete the first message but the second one was pushing it. Without another thought, I did just that. Next time I saw him, I wouldn't think twice about pummelling him to the ground. He'd caused Maggie a lot of pain. I couldn't let him do that again.

Not a second after I'd put the phone down, the door swung open, and Maggie came back wheeling my Ma in the room. They both had huge smiles on their faces, cheeks pink from the sun outside.

"There you are! How are my ladies doing today?" I relaxed my shoulders, comfortable with my decision with June's message, and eased a smile on my face.

"We had such a good day! Didn't we, Lisa?" Maggie parked my mother's wheelchair beside the bed and knelt down in front of her, pushing a single pink rose over Ma's left ear.

Ma reached up and held Maggie's hand. There was brilliance in her eyes as she gazed at Maggie. It had been a while since I'd seen this much life in her. Something gripped at my throat, and there were prickles behind my eyes. I found it hard to breathe. Maggie had brought happiness in Ma's life. Something I hadn't been able to accomplish for years.

I stepped back, feeling that emotion clog my throat, and sat on the bed, content at watching the two of them connect. Ma hadn't looked at me once since they came in. That was fine with me. I'd rather let her see Maggie's beautiful face, rather than the face of her son who reminded her too much of a painful past.

"Her afternoon snack should be here soon," Maggie said, stretching back up from kneeling. "I have to go to the bathroom. You're okay with her?" She was right to ask me that question. I was, of course, but the real question was if my mother would be comfortable with me?

I nodded, and before she left, Maggie leaned forward and gave me a quick peck on the lips. That small gesture fired up my gut. She mussed up my hair. "I missed you. I'll be back, okay?"

God, I love her.

My own thoughts surprised me. But it shouldn't have. I'd loved Maggie for so long, and now, I was undeniably in love with her. I watched her leave, pressing my palm on my chest just in case my heart thought of breaking through my ribs from its crazy thumping.

"It's nice to see young love."

Words caught in my throat. My mother said that. Not only did she say it to me, but she also looked right at me when she said it, with a bright, hopeful smile on her face.

"She's a great girl. A keeper. You hold onto her as long as you can," she continued, still staring at me.

I leaned forward and reached for Ma's hand. She didn't pull back. She wasn't afraid of me. Not this time. "I'll tell you a little secret." Ma nodded. I couldn't tell if she knew who I was. Right now, it didn't matter as long as she was having a great day, possibly even the best. "I'm going to marry her someday."

Ma squeezed my hand, forcing me off the bed and kneeling on one knee in front of her. Her head bowed, meeting my forehead with hers. I closed my eyes, struggling not to let tears pour out of them. "You've been saying that since you were a little boy, Zachary." That did it. The tears I was suppressing escaped the confines of my closed lids. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her closer to me and sobbed on her lap.

My mother was here with me today. At this moment. I'd lost her for so long that hope had turned into a nonexistent word. She ran fingers through my hair, muttering words I hadn't heard in so long.

"I missed you so much, Ma."

"Me too, Zach. I'm still here, you know."

"I know. I know."

I couldn't tell how long we stayed like that, but the noises from outside made their way into the room. I was wiping tears from my cheeks when I looked up and saw Maggie by the door. Her eyes were reddened, her cheeks and nose pink from crying. Ma kept me in an embrace, saying over and over, "My son, my son." I mouthed a 'thank you' to Maggie, and she shook her head. She could deny it as much as she wanted, but she was the reason for this. She was the one who brought back a lightness in my life.

* * *

Dusk was filling the sky by the time we left the nursing home. Maggie and I waited until Ma had her dinner and sat with her while Maggie read her a few chapters of a book. I had planned a late afternoon picnic for Maggie, and instead of wasting the food, I brought it up from the truck in a cooler, and we joined Ma for dinner. Nurse Debbie even joined us for Maggie's cake. We all sang her a Happy Birthday song and laughed at the stories Ma told us about the ridiculous stunts I used to pull on my birthdays as a child to make sure I got the presents I wanted.

I reached for the radio to turn it on, but Maggie stopped me.

"I like the silence," she explained. I agreed. We were both relaxed, having the best day possible. I kept hold of her and brushed my lips over her knuckles. "Thank you for the cake. And sorry we couldn't do the picnic."

"I had a better time. Did you?" I glanced at her.

"Yeah, I did."

"Day's not over though."

"Aren't you a bit exhausted? You had a whole day of training and...not enough sleep."

The blush crept on her cheeks when I glanced at her again. "Worth it. I would do it again. In fact, I intend to not get much sleep tonight too."

Maggie pulled her hand out of my grasp and gave me a little push. I pretended to swerve on the road, and she gasped. I chuckled.

"You're so cocky!"

"I'm not arguing with that. Do you remember how cocky I am?" I chuckled again when she gasped louder, bringing a hand to her mouth. I leaned forward, checking out the sky above us. "I think we have enough time."

"For what?" Maggie drew her brows together, but there was a hint of a smile on her lips. She was curious.

She had no way of knowing where I was taking her. I had intended to bring her there earlier after the picnic, but now would be good too. "You'll see." I took another turn and kept going. No matter how much she insisted that I tell her, I wouldn't.

Eventually, she gave up and fished her phone out of her purse. "I forgot to text my friend May."

I gripped the wheel, knowing full well she would see that one message left from her asshat ex. My teeth bit down on my bottom lip to keep myself from saying anything. Maggie didn't make a peep as she swiped through her messages. But I chanced a glance to check for her reaction. She paused for a couple of seconds, but I thought it was a second too long. With the furrow on her brows and her eyes darkening, I didn't doubt she read his text. I waited to see what she'd do.

Nothing, it seemed. She pressed the button on her phone then slipped it back into her purse. As glad as I should be that she decided not to reply to his message, I was still curious to know what she felt. I went for it, "You okay?" She didn't look up or answer right away. I gave her a little nudge. "Maggie, everything okay?"

She squeezed my hand and drew circles under my thumb while she gazed out of the window. "June sent me a text."

Honesty. How refreshing, but I still clenched my jaw and bit the inside of my cheek from saying anything dumb.

"I didn't expect him to text me or even remember my birthday. He always had to be reminded. It was just a little surprising since...I haven't talked to him..."

Since he left her waiting at the altar. The best person anyone could ever know. How could he do that to her? How could anyone do that to Maggie?

She didn't continue, and I let her remain quiet, not wanting to push her back into sadness. After a while, she began noticing our surroundings. When I parked the truck, the stars still hadn't dotted the skies, but it was beautiful nonetheless.

"Wow. What is this place?"

"Welcome to Red Canyon. We only have less than half an hour here, but I thought it would be a nice spot for you to see."

"It's beautiful." She pushed her palms on the seat, bringing herself off it as she looked out of the truck. "Was this where you were going to take me on a picnic?"

I laughed. "No. It would have been too hot. I was going to take you somewhere else, but I thought it was still good for you to see this."

"No, this is good. Can we take pictures?"

I nodded, and we both stepped out of the truck. The heat clung to my skin, but since the sun was out of the way, it wasn't too uncomfortable. Maggie twisted her hair up and in a bun before extending her hand to me. She pulled me right beside her and ordered me to smile. We took a few pictures with both our phones, but I wasn't going to let her go too easily. I tightened my arm around her waist and pressed her body against me before I planted a big, wet kiss on her lips. That kiss turned into something else when Maggie responded to it, leaning her lithe body on my chest, her hips on my crotch and the bulge in my jeans. I walked us to the side of the truck, refusing to keep my mouth off of her.

With her legs wrapped around my hips, I lifted her back into the truck. We both crawled in, and somehow, I managed to have her sit on my lap. Maggie was wearing a flimsy cotton shirt, and I had trouble stopping myself from ripping it off her. She ground her hips against mine. I gritted my teeth when I reached underneath her shirt and bra.

"Maggie," I rasped against the hollow of her throat, then I licked the underside of her jaw. I squeezed her ass when she squirmed on top of me. "I want you so bad."

"Hmmmm..." Maggie found a sensitive spot underneath my ear. A jolt of electricity traveled from that spot all the way down to my straining erection. "I want you too," she whispered in my ear.

As hard as it was to do, I had to stop. Not the right place. Not the right time. There were still enough people milling about, tourists taking photos, hikers crazy enough to go out in the hot weather.

I groaned out, "Not here. Not here."

Maggie started giggling. Her warm breath tickled the shell of my ear, which only heightened my desire for her. While she laughed, she bounced slightly on my lap. She wasn't helping the situation at all. When she kept laughing and grinding against me, I clued in. She was doing it on purpose.

"You..." It was time for retaliation. "You're being a tease, Maggie." She lolled her head back when I tickled her ribs.

"Okay, okay. I'll stop. Stop!" I wouldn't let her squirm away from me, holding her down with my arm around her.

"Nope. No. You've done it." I kept going until she couldn't stop laughing that tears had welled in her eyes. When I finally relented, she leaned her head on my shoulder, trying to get her breathing in order.

I lifted her weak arms and wrapped them around my neck, and with two fingers under her chin, I made her look right at me. Some of her hair had gotten loose from her bun, and I brushed it off her face with the back of my fingers.

"Maggie, Maggie Stewart..."

She rubbed her nose on mine. "Yes, Zach, Zach Faustino."

Letting a smile spread slowly on my face, with her lips, not an inch away from mine, I offered Maggie Stewart my heart. "I think I've fallen in love with you."