“Your loss,” Thumper says as he throws a leg over his bike and starts her up. “Someday you’ll take that big stick out of your ass and figure out I’m not your enemy.”
Before Wylder can reply, Thumper guns the engine and takes off.
“Asshole,” Wylder whispers.
I shrug. “I’ve met worse.”
Wylder only shakes his head in response.
“Need my help?”
“No, princess. Go inside and wait. I’ll work as fast as I can, but it’ll probably be an hour or so.”
“Go inside and do what? Compare cross-stitching patterns with the old ladies? I’m going to walk around and see if there are any shops. Text me when you’re ready.”
“Don’t get into too much trouble,” he says as he leans over to kiss my lips, the tension from moments ago vanishing.
I snake my arms around Wylder’s neck, rubbing my nose against his with a smirk. “Baby, you’re the only one causing trouble around here. I’m an angel.”
Wylder lets out a chuckle as his one free hand finds my ass. “You were an angel last night.”
“I remember you moaning something about God.”
He gives my ass cheek a rough squeeze. “It was a heavenly experience.”
I drop my arms and give him a playful push. “Go, or we’ll be stuck here another night. No more touching my ass until we’re back in the city.”
He doesn’t argue with me. I know he wants out of this small-town hell just as much as I do. “I’ll be quick.”
“No worries,” I say as my phone vibrates against my ass. When I pull the phone out of my pocket and glance down, it’s exactly who I thought it would be. “Hey, baby brother.”
“I really wish you’d stop calling me a baby,” Brax says, his voice a little saltier than usual.
“Well, you’re younger, and I didn’t call you a baby. I said you weremybaby brother, which you are.”
“I tower over you.”
I roll my eyes even though he can’t see me. “You’re right. You’re big. You’re bad. You’re the master of the universe. Happy?”
He grunts his displeasure with my attitude. “It’s a start.”
“What do you want, Brax?”
“Where the hell are you? I stopped by the shop, and you weren’t there.”
I stroll down the sidewalk of the small town, if you can even call it that. It’s minuscule. The entire downtown area could fit in half a block in my neighborhood. “I went with Wylder to take the girls to summer camp, and we broke down in the middle of nowhere.”
“Sucks.”
“We’ll be out of here in an hour or so, though. I’m killing some time while he fixes the truck.”
“Cool. Cool.”
“Why’d you stop by the shop?” Sometimes getting information out of Brax, even when he’s the one who initiates the conversation, is like pulling teeth.
“I needed your opinion.”
“Well, you got me now. Shoot.”
