CHAPTER11
WYLDER
I sitdown on the porch swing next to Tate. “Sorry you were stuck with us all day.”
She takes a sip of her wine, using her bare toes to push us backward. “I had a good time today. I didn’t feel stuck at all.”
“I know I’ve already said this, but they’re good kids. They appreciated you hanging out with us, and I did too.”
“They have a good dad, Wylder,” she tells me, staring out across the front yard. “You don’t give yourself enough credit. You held it together pretty well most of the day. You did better than I expected.”
“I fucked up with the last outfit, huh?”
She smiles but keeps her eyes straight ahead. “Nah. It’s forgotten because you let her get those clothes.”
“It’s that easy?”
She turns to look at me, her brown eyes meeting mine. “Sometimes.”
“Are you that easy?”
She smiles and shakes her head. “We get harder as we get older.”
“Great,” I mutter. “Lucky me.”
“Are you easier?”
“I’ve never been easy a day in my life.”
“Shocking,” she teases before taking a sip of her wine. It’s not the good stuff, just an old bottle I opened a week ago when my sister dropped by for dinner.
“I want to talk about—”
“No,” she says before I have a chance to finish the statement.
“No?”
“No.”
“Did he hurt you?”
“Your brother?”
I nod, curling my hand into a fist. “If he did, he and I are going to have words.”
“It’s not your business, and it was a long time ago.”
“How long ago?”
“Five years…maybe a bit more.”
I slide my body over, tucking a leg underneath me so I can face her. “I know how those guys are. What happened? If you don’t tell me, I’ll go to my brother and find out.”
She goes back to staring out across the front yard like she’s deep in thought. “Can’t you leave well enough alone?”
“No. I’m not built that way.”
“Maybe you’re defective.”
