Page 70 of Wilde Ride

“I hope I meet my new best friend!” he said with a smile as he scanned the crowd of adults and younger kids.

Feeling a tug in my chest, I ruffled the hair on the top of his head, only to have him push my arm away.

“Dad! You’re treating me like a baby.”

I held up my hands in defense. “Habits are hard to break, kiddo.”

As I surveyed the crowd and smiled, I watched all the kids filled with excitement. Mine included. I had insisted they let me pay for Rhett to attend. Of course, that was only after Vivianne and I had argued about it for thirty minutes straight. We had the means, and Rhett wasn’t going to attend unless they allowed me to pay. We haggled over a number, and she eventually agreed.

But…once some of these people found out Rhett was the son of the new veterinarian in town, they might start to question why he was attending.

“Shit,” I mumbled.

“What’s wrong?”

The sound of Emeline’s voice behind me made my stomach feel like I’d just tipped over the peak of a roller coaster and started the freefall.

What in the hell is that about?

I quickly told myself she’d simply scared me. Turning—my breath got caught in my throat.

Her hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, and she wore jeans that hugged her curvy body in all the right places. Her white T-shirt had River Falls Summer Camp on the front, and she was wearing a baseball cap. Fuck, if she didn’t look adorable.

“Em.”

The way I said her name softly caused her to look a bit surprised. My cheeks heated, and I started talking too fast. “I just got to thinking. What if people think Rhett isn’t paying for the camp, since none of the other kids have to? We’re not from an underprivileged family. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this sooner.”

Emeline smiled as she put her hand on my arm and gave it a slight squeeze. A bolt of heat raced through my body.

“It’s okay.” She chuckled. “We have kids at camp who are part of our family all the time. My uncles’ grandkids all attended. And even though my mother argued about it, you insisted on paying. We won’t share that, of course, but it’ll be okay.”

“I just don’t want him…” I glanced down at Rhett, who was talking to a young girl around his age as they both pet Moose, who’d made an appearance after all. “To be treated differently by the staff or the kids. I don’t want them to think he’s…”

“Privileged? He is, if we’re being honest. And don’t worry, I plan to have Rhett do a lot of helping out, so it doesn’t seem like he’s being treated any differently. It would really only be the older kids who’ll likely figure out who he is.”

“I see you’ve already thought about this.”

She shrugged. “When my uncles’ grandkids come to camp, we do the same for them. The kids who’ve been coming to camp the longest know that the Wilde kids attend, as well, but that they’re required to help out a bit more. Pull their weight, if you will.”

It felt so damn nice to know that Rhett was being treated as if he were a Wilde. “That means a lot to me, Em, that you think of Rhett as part of the family.”

A wide smile broke out across her beautiful face. Christ, when did this girl become such a beautiful woman? A flash of desire swept over me, and I fought the urge to pull her into my arms. I quickly turned away to see the young girl and another boy, also around the same age as Rhett, skipping away hand in hand.

Moose and Rhett watched after them, the dog not moving from my son’s side.

“Moose is trained well.”

Emeline nodded. “He’s a good boy.”

“Who was that?” I asked Rhett.

“That’s my two new friends! Katie and Jimmy. They’re twins and they live in a place called River Haven. They don’t have a mommy or daddy.”

Crouching to get to his eye level, I nodded. “I know, bud.”

“They said none of the kids from there have a mom or a dad. How come?”

I glanced up to Emeline in a silent plea for help in explaining this to my six-year-old.