Page 19 of Wild Mistake
“Oh, stop. You were hiding out in some bunker.”
My spine straightens with irritation. “I was absolutely not.”
“Then where were you?” Will leans forward. “What were you doing?” He sets down his beer and points at my chest. “Why did Maeve call me for almost four weeks straight asking if I’d heard from you?”
I know what he’s doing, but it’s not gonna work. I laugh, leaning back into my chair. “I can’t tell you. If I did, I’d have to kill you.”
“Might be worth it.” He grins. “You’re such a badass. Seriously, how did my scrawny little cousin go from picking his boogers to this.” He motions toward my body.
I lift my glass to my lips and snicker. “Every kid picks their boogers.”
“Some more than others.” He levels me with a pointed stare.
“You’re ridiculous.” I swallow a gulp of beer.
“I’ll keep working on Tim.” He stares into the bottom of his glass. “I would give anything to have my pops back, just for one more conversation, one more laugh, one more round of beers.” He smiles, but it’s the kind that breaks your heart. “But I can imagine it’s a special kind of hell watching your father forget who you are.”
“It’s gonna be hard.” I swallow back the urge to cry. It’s gonna be more than hard. But I’ve been through worse. “I’m just grateful I came back when I did, before he doesn’t remember me.”
“I wish you’d come back sooner.”
“Yeah? Not enough Wilders in this town?” I steer the conversation back to a lighter topic.
“Not enough close to my age!” He throws his hands up.
“Speak for yourself, Mr. Fifty.”
“Oh, fuck off.” He laughs. “You’ll be fifty soon enough.”
“Not for another decade,” I tease.
“God, little cousins are so annoying.”
“It’s not easy being this young, or this good looking.”
“Yeah? You gonna flaunt that too?” He shakes his head. “Please don’t tell me you’re going to take after your little brother and sleep your way through all the single ladies in town.”
“No.” No need for that.There’s only one woman in this town I’m interested in.
“You see Sarah’s back?” Will raises his brows.
“Yeah.” I take a sip of beer and cool my expression, though it’s probably pointless. Everyone in town knows how committed I was to Sarah, and how devoted she was to me. Talking to her is bound to stir up rumors. “I went and saw her at the diner today.”
“Oh?” Will leans back, a shit-eating grin on his face. “Didn’t waste any time.”
“It’s not like that.”
“But you want it to be.” He grins over the rim of his glass.
“May-be.” I draw out the word, debating how honest I want to be with him. “I need to see if there’s still something there.”
“Right.” He’s still smiling. He chuckles and shakes his head.
“What?” I hate that look. “Say whatever it is you’re thinking.”
“I just don’t want to see you get hurt again.”
“I can handle myself.” I’m a grown man. I’ve learned to guard my heart. I’ve been disappointed enough by life to understand things don’t always turn out the way we expect. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
