Page 50 of Wilde About You

"Serves you right for taking on six at once, but you held your own." A flicker of a grin followed. He rarely gave out compliments, so I was going to savor that one.

"Finn, I'm really sorry about last night." Sadie handed over the plate of cookies to help sweeten her apology.

"What were those fools after?" Dad asked, then shoveled in a cookie.

"I took a photo of something that will no doubt cause great scandal in the UFC world."

Finn nodded. "Impressive. Well done."

The front door opened. All of us were still on edge enough that we shot to our feet. Although I didn't really shoot, and Dad took a few seconds to get up.

"Just me," Nate called from the entry.

Dad's face lit up, like it always did when his youngest came home. Nate was always on the road with his band, so we hardly saw him anymore. "Nathaniel, is that you?"

Nate walked in and dropped two duffle bags on the ground. "Shit, it's good to be home."

Dad walked over. He wasn't the hugging type, but he did give Nate a hearty pat on the head. "Good to see you, son."

Nate looked at Sadie. "I'm Nate, since Colin is too much of a caveman to introduce us."

I pointed to the ice pack and then my fat lip. "I'm on the mend. Sadie, this is the youngest and so obviously most spoiled Wilde brother, and yes, you can say it. We all know he's fucking adorable."

Sadie shrugged shyly. "Oh, is he? I hadn't noticed." She giggled—a usual reaction when a woman met Nate. "Nice to meet you, youngest Wilde brother. I hear you're a rock star."

Nate rolled his eyes. "Nope, just a singer in a band. Not always rock and definitely not a star. And right now, a burned-out singer in a band. Are those home baked cookies?" He made a beeline to the plate without waiting for an answer. He sat on the spare chair.

"What happened? Barroom brawl?" Nate asked.

"More like barnyard brawl but forget that. Why the hell are you home? Thought you were in New York." I picked up another cookie. There hadn't been many homemade cookies in our house since Stevie, Nate's mom, left. She stuck around the longest of all the moms, so we all considered her our second mom. She was awesome, but even she could only stand Finn Wilde's charms for so long.

Nate stretched his legs out and crossed his ankles. "Raider and Kyle were getting on my nerves. You know how it is when you're stuck on the road, in close quarters and always in each other's space. We needed a break. Our last two gigs were pure shit. Instrument and sound equipment problems, and it was like none of us were on the same page about anything and that threw off the music. So I'm home for a few months, rethinking everything. How about you and that knee?"

"I'm rethinking shit, too."

"Seems like all of us are," Sadie said.

"Speak for yourselves," Dad said. He was on his third cookie. "I'm done thinking. I'm just going to sit here in this house until I'm dead."

Nate looked at me. "Well, on that cheery note, I was hoping to get the dirt bikes out, but seems like you aren't really in shape for a ride."

"Yeah, not sure."

"I am," Sadie said enthusiastically. "We could wrap your ribs to hold them steady and you can avoid jumps."

"What's a ride without jumps?" I asked. "But I could probably putter along with you guys like an old man."

"Think there's some medical wrap in the bathroom," Dad said. "I was using it when I twisted my ankle last year."

"So now I'm going to wrap it around my body?" I asked.

Dad shrugged. "Don't care what you do. Are there any more cookies?"

Sadie picked up the empty plate. "I'll get a refill, and I think we can make the wrap work."

Nate picked up his bags. "I'll go change and meet you guys out at the shed."

I walked to my room and pulled off my shirt. The bruise had gotten bigger, but the swelling had gone down. Sadie came in holding the roll of gauze, but she was wearing a sort of horrified expression.