Wild Child

by Katie Cross

  Wild Child

  Katie Cross

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Author’s Note

  Acknowledgments

  Do you want to join my community?

  Also by Katie Cross

  About the Author

  Wild Child

  Contemporary Romance

  Text copyright © 2021 by Katie Cross

  This is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places, events, or incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity or resemblance to events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Cover designed by Jenny Zemanek with Seedlings Online

  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the US Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the author. For information regarding permission, send a query to the author at katie@katiecrossromance.com.

  Published by KC Writing.

  Visit the author at katiecrossromance.com to learn more.

  To JaiHo and Christy.

  Who first read and loved Ellie so many years ago.

  Prologue

  Ellie

  The smell of alcohol stained the air.

  Grimacing, I hovered around the edges of a crowd of sweaty high school bodies clad in elaborate strappy gowns and dark tuxedos. Hairspray and perfume thickened the air. A simple dress of deep blue rustled around my legs with no design except a layer of sheer, shimmery fabric over the top. The bodice was a little tight, but my chest felt tight anyway.

  Anyone would, wearing a dress.

  Not to mention the fact that I hadn’t been asked to this prom. My best friend was here with the sweetest, most popular girl in the school, and I hated crowds with an introvert’s fiery passion.

  Still, I pressed on.

  The high school gym hadn’t truly transformed despite the sparkle lights, food table, and crepe banners clogging the air. You can’t hide a run-down school with cheap decorations, no matter how hard you tried. Certainly not for the last dance of the year.

  The sudden absence of pulsing music left shuffles and whispers in the air. The principal, Mrs. Comstock, tapped across a stage on the far side of the gym. She wore a pair of bright pink high heels and a skirt of sheer black. Teenage couples pulled apart, turning their attention to a spotlight that illuminated her salt-and-pepper hair pulled back into a bun. She stopped at a microphone in the middle of the stage, an envelope in her left hand.

  “Boys and girls,” she said, voice fuzzy from the speakers. “Hope you’re having a good time and thank you for behaving yourselves. The time has come to announce the King and Queen of this year’s prom.”

  A round of applause and whoops rippled through the room, followed by a drumroll from the DJ, who worked in the corner. My stomach clenched. As if any of them needed Mrs. Comstock to tell them who would be King and Queen. We all knew who would get the crown. I crossed my arm in front of me, tucking my icy fingers away. At least I wasn’t late.

  Where was the perfect couple anyway?

  My heart thumped as a familiar set of broad shoulders came into view on the other side of the room, near a punch bowl guarded by the towering football coach Mr. Bell. Coach Bell glowered behind the bowl in a challenge to anyone who tried to get past him with alcohol. Not far away stood my best friend Devin Blaine. His sandy, dark hair had been combed into submission for the night. I preferred it unruly. He had his arm around a girl named Cassidy, who wore a brilliant, strawberry-pink dress that fluffed around her legs.

  Devin tugged her closer to the middle of the room, where a few of his football buddies had congregated. When Devin leaned down to whisper in her ear and she grinned broadly, I clenched my fingers together and resisted the urge to dart away.

  This was a mistake. I shouldn’t have come. It didn’t matter that it was Devin’s senior prom, that he’d surely take the crown with Cassidy. Both of them ruled the school with their unsought-for-popularity. I, on the other hand, kept to the shadows. Occasionally, Devin’s spotlight put me in the public eye, but he largely protected me from it. His friends were his friends at school and football practice. I got the rest of him. They knew to leave me alone, and I lived happily at his side where I belonged.

  This was our only opportunity to have a dance together before he exited the teenage world and stepped into the adult one.

  I shouldn’t have come.

  But something—maybe innate loyalty or deep desperation—kept me glued to the spot as Mrs. Comstock ruffled through the envelope to pull out a piece of paper. Everybody already knew the two names there, but the formality lent a sense of routine to the whole event. Soft music started in the background, a royal accouterment with dramatic violins. Two of Devin’s friends nudged him from behind. He rolled his eyes at them good-naturedly.

  I wanted to vomit.

  Mrs. Comstock leaned closer to the microphone, gazed out on the crowd, and grinned. The spotlight washed out her tanned face as she purposefully delayed the suspense. Given the chance, I’d willingly slash at her like a cat. Somewhere in the crowd, a girl tittered. Another called out, “Just say it already!”

  My heart hiccupped as she paused for another seemingly endless minute before crying, “Devin Blaine and Cassidy Tanner!”

  Music crashed through the speakers, drowning out the shouts and cries of almost everyone in the room. Applause thundered. Balloons, strapped to a net on the ceiling, rained all over the floor. Glitter cluttered the air in a metal shimmer. Devin, with his heart-stopping smile, held a bent elbow out for Cassidy. A hand covered her mouth. Her eyes—so perfectly warm and kind and compassionate I wanted to hate her but couldn’t—sparkled with shock.

  Really? I wanted to say. You’re surprised? No one else is.

  The perfect couple ascended the stairs on the side of the stage together, toward the awaiting student body president and vice president who held their crowns. Cassidy’s tiara glittered obnoxiously as they set it on top of her head. She looked beautiful, with her dark skin offset by the white gems inlaid in her dress. She waved at her adoring public that had gone wild the moment the crown hit her head.

  But it was Devin that took my breath away.

  The tuxedo cut angular lines across his shoulders, and his hair now had the adorably tousled look I loved so much. Star quarterback had served him well. He looked like a King up there with his bowtie, wide smile, and a genuine affability for people that boggled me.

  I leaned back against the wall, crushing my skirt in my hands. My heart banged so loud in my ears I couldn’t hear the congratulatory screams anymore. Just the race of my blood through my body. There was only half an hour left of the dance, plenty of time to find him in the crowd and fulfill the promise of our dance. Cassidy would let me—she was good and kind that way. She wouldn’t think Devin’s tag-along best friend that was only a junior would be in her way.

  Although I felt she was in my way.

  An ugly truth had occurred to me
earlier that night as I’d watched him get dressed for the dance. It happened the moment I comprehended that I was jealous of him being with a girl as perfect as Cassidy. Seeing him on the stage, as far from me as he’d ever been, slammed the truth into me all at once.

  I freaking loved my best friend.

  Now, watching them dance and whirl together, the truth was confirmed. Devin had always been more than a friend to me. He was soul. He was all. Tears prickled my eyes with heat and I forced them back with one last shot at my crumbling denial. No. I didn’t love Devin. Not like that, anyway.

  Devin was my best friend, not my lover. He was the other part of me. The second side of my heart that beat in tandem with mine. The last seven years living in Pineville, away from the stepfather that wanted to kill me, had been bearable because of Devin. Amazing because of Devin.

  Safe because of Devin.

  “Dammit,” I muttered as the weak strands of my denial began to fade. Why did I even try? There was no denying the truth.

  I did love him.

  And how could that ever work? It couldn’t. Because love was fickle and men left. Even the ones you loved. Mama had made that lesson very clear.

  You fall in love, she told me, and men leave. It’s the way of things for girls like us. Besides, baby, you’re the kind of girl that will always take care of yourself. You deserve the truth. Stay away from them.

  Never mind that Mama had had some weird views on life and had led my older sisters down terrible paths with her advice. While Mama whispered sweet tales of romantic passion to Lizbeth, she told me the cold hard facts of life and love. Men leave. Love fades. Take care of yourself first.

  Jim, my abusive stepfather, made it very clear that I wasn’t good enough for him. And my real father had left me to die with Jim. While I had glowing examples of worthy men in my life now that Mama was out of it—my adopted father Maverick, my brother-in-law JJ, and of course Devin—the truth always rang in my ears like a high-pitched reminder.

  Men leave.

  Love dies.

  You take care of yourself.

  So, no. If I loved Devin and lost him too, I’d lose myself. Was it worth the risk? Well . . . maybe. Because wasn’t Devin already inextricably tied up in me? Besides, I thought as I watched him and Cassidy twirl around the stage to an especially pungent romance song, Devin deserves the princess, and I am the sword maiden.

  Dev and I were too alike.

  It would never work.

  That felt easier. Brutal, cold hard reality. Not the dreams of me being the girl in his arms. Me in the tiara. Me in the dress and actually enjoying it, which would never happen. No, this was reality, and reality was far safer than dreams.

  With all my strength, I swallowed back my emotion. Pushed back the truth that had dangled at the edge of my mind for years now and tipped it into a safe, metal box that it could never escape. The lid slammed shut. Even though I’d only just acknowledged my feelings for him today, I happily shoved that box into the corner of my mind to ignore. There it would pulse like a little heart, reminding me that it knew the truth, even as I strove to live a lie.

  The crowd surged into the dance as Dev escorted Cassidy off the stage. Suddenly, my tendency to keep to myself and ignore almost everyone but Devin swamped me. There was no one else here I knew well aside from a few acquaintances who waved while we passed in the halls. Most of them were friends with Devin, and they accepted that being friends with him meant tolerating me taking up his time outside of school. No reason to stay.

  Stay and dance and tell Devin how I really felt?

  No thanks.

  Locked away now.

  A tap on my shoulder distracted me. My shoulders bunched as I glanced to my left, then relaxed. My only other friend in the junior class, Jax, stood there with a wry smile. His long, wiry arms and legs were hidden in a tuxedo tonight. He had the gangly look of someone that still hadn’t grown into his body yet, even though his blue eyes had always been kind.

  “Ellie?”

  “Hey.” He tilted his head to Devin. “How you doing?”

  My tension faded. No punch in Jax’s hand. No alcohol on his breath. Instead, I swallowed and said, “Great. Just wanted to see it happen.”

  “You knew they’d get it?”

  “Who didn’t?”

  He grinned. “They look great together, don’t they? The two nicest people in the school deserve the crowns.” His eyebrows rose with an intentionally interested gaze. “Don’t you think?”

  “Yep.”

  “You all right?”

  I tilted my head to crack my neck. The room felt like a warm swamp filled with cheap perfume. Mr. Bell abandoned the punch bowl to escort a kid out of the room by his shoulders. Two other kids slipped up, emptying a new bottle of what appeared to be rum inside the punch with a snicker. Idiots.

  “I’m good.”

  He nodded knowingly as if I’d said something wise, but I caught the hint of sarcasm in his face. “Sure. You’re good. You just got here?”

  “Yep. I’m on my way out now.”

  Wrinkles appeared in his brow. “Why? Don’t you want to dance with D–”

  “Nope.”

  “Ellie—”

  “You look handsome tonight, Jax.” I patted his lapel, where a red rose graced the pocket. “I need to go.”

  His gaze darted behind me, then his lips twitched. I sensed someone approaching as Jax stepped to the side a little.

  “Good luck with that,” he sang. A second later, a hand grabbed mine. I whirled around, coming face-to-face with a grinning Devin.

  “Hey E. I knew you’d come, even though you threatened not to.”

  My heart stalled like a dying star at the excitement in his tone. I sucked in a breath to get it going again, arrested by the overwhelming presence of Devin, my best friend. The guy who was usually sweaty, smelly, and fell asleep with his body half on top of mine most Friday nights while we watched zombie movies. The guy that made a mean grilled cheese sandwich and never had a sip of alcohol just for my sake.

  The little box in the corner of my brain, built from metal and reinforced with sheer grit, exploded.

  Somehow, I managed a smile. “Hey.”

  As easily as breathing, he tugged me closer, put his hand on my waist, and whisked me onto the dance floor. I caught a quick glimpse of Jax over Devin’s shoulder as I whirled away. Concern waited in his furrowed brows. Before I could figure it out, Devin spoke.

  “So . . . you came.”

  An undercurrent of joy infused his words, not to mention surprise. Annoyance washed through me. Of course I came. But I let it go. Parties were not my thing and he knew that. His words were a comment on my loyalty to him, in a roundabout way. Still, the sparkle of the gaudy, fake crown, tipped a little sideways on his head, made everything more real.

  “Of course,” I said quietly.

  I couldn’t look him in the eye. For the first time in my life, I didn’t see the muddy little boy that caught fish with me. I saw Devin the almost-man. The graduating senior. The guy that planned to work a filthy construction job for the next nine months until I graduated high school early, and we moved to the state university together.

  If he looked in my eyes, he’d see it all.

  The utter vulnerability of my feelings took my breath away. Still, with his smell banishing the trace amount of alcohol in the air, I couldn’t help but relax. This was Devin. Devin was home. Even in a crowd of people that thought me reclusive and strange, Devin was safety.

  “You looked great up there,” I managed to say. “Cassidy is beautiful. So . . . congratulations?”

  He made a noise in his throat. I risked a quick glance up and couldn’t help a laugh when I saw his crown. Up close, it appeared cheap. A pliable metal with laurels and berries on it, sprinkled with green glass gems that mimicked the school colors of gold and emerald.

  Devin smirked. “Laugh it up,” he muttered. “I can’t wait to take this thing off. Will you have food for me when this f
inishes? I’m taking Cassidy home as soon as it’s over, and then I’ll head your way. I’m freaking starving.”

  “You ate like three cheeseburgers three hours ago.”

  “I know! And I’ve been dancing and talking all night. That makes a man hungry.”

  Suddenly, I relaxed. The irony in his voice. The ease of his escape to me. Even if I wasn’t Cassidy, I still had Devin.

  “Of course, Your Highness. All the bananas, fudge, and ice cream a high school quarterback could dream of.”

  He pinned me with a glare. I laughed.

  “Calm down. Bethany just went shopping and also bought your favorite pizza rolls, bread, milk, and fruit.”

  He pulled me a little closer. I closed my eyes as we moved together, breathing in his scent. I’d hate myself for it later, even as the gentle hint of pine lifted from his skin. We’d gone on a hike before he left to pick up Cassidy. I could still smell traces of the outdoors on him.

  “Thank you,” he said quietly, and I knew he meant for coming. For braving a crowd with hidden alcohol that made me extremely uncomfortable. For venturing out in a dress, with my hair freshly washed and straightened. For being here with him in this transitory moment, even though I didn’t have to be. I should have been flattered, but instead, I felt scared. His breath was hot on my neck and sent a shiver down my spine.

  “Always,” I whispered.

  His hold on me tightened. My temple pressed to his jaw. Could he feel my heartbeat? Did he sense how breathless this made me?

  “There’s something I wanted to tell you tonight,” he said.

  His voice turned down slightly. With the music still blaring around us, it was almost imperceptible. I thought I imagined it, but then his palm turned clammy against mine.