Page 147 of Stay Wild Darlin’

Beau crossed the patio and came to stand next to me, both of us watching over the party.

“A little over a year ago, I was standing right here, gettin’ married. You brought over a baby in a car seat.”

I chuckled, shaking my head at the memory. “That I did.”

I’d never forget the day Brooke dropped Cora off . . . ever.

“I told you we’d figure it out.” Beau took a sip of his drink. He paused, smiling out at the patio where Poppy was now dancing around with Cora on her hip, both of them laughing like they didn’t have a care in the world.

“I was wrong,” Beau said, bumping his shoulder lightly against mine. “You didn’t figure it out, brother. You built it.”

I let out a slow breath, watching Cora throw her arms around Poppy’s neck like she’d won a gold buckle herself.

“I’m proud of you. I don’t think I ever said that out loud. I should’ve.” Beau chuckled to himself, then glanced over at me with a crooked smile. “You remember the night I met Fable?”

I groaned. “Hell. That night.”

“I’ll never forget it. We’d already hooked up. She was in the shower, and I’m standing there, still trying to process what the hell happened when there’s this knock at the door.”

He paused, waiting for the cringe to hit me. It did.

“You show up drunk off your ass, slurring something about how I needed to get downstairs and pay for the rideshare.”

I dropped my head into my hands. “Jesus. Why do you still talk to me?”

“You were a mess there for a while, but I’ve always loved you like a brother.”

“I was a wreck. The drinking, the arrogance . . . all of it. I was either trying too hard or not trying at all. There was no in between.” I paused. “I think . . . I think the shit with my parents messed me up more than I ever let on. It made me think being needed meant being invisible. I had a lot of growing up to do.”

Beau nodded, but didn’t interrupt.

“I got lucky,” I continued, eyes drifting back to Poppy again. “Because somewhere along the way, I stopped being invisible. I became hers.”

Beau exhaled, smiling broadly. “You always had it in you, Dalton. You needed someone to see it.”

“I think I needed someone to believe it too,” I said quietly.

He clapped my shoulder. “Well, you got a whole damn yard of people who do.”

“Time for cake,” Poppy called.

Everyone shifted into motion—chairs scraping, voices rising in cheerful tones, kids laughing as they scrambled toward the patio. I moved to help wrangle a few of the younger ones, grabbing little hats and sticky juice boxes off the railing. The pink cake was already on the table, its frosting swirled and sparkling under the soft afternoon light.

SLAM.

The sharp sound of a truck door slamming shut echoed from the gravel drive at the front of the house.

Then came the voice.

High-pitched and slurred.

“Are we celebratin’ my baby? Her mama’s gotta be here first.”

Everything stopped.

Kids. Conversations. Laughter. All of it. Frozen like the moment before a storm breaks.

I turned, and there she was . . . Brooke.