by C. M. Owens
He gestures around, and I continue to stare at his profile, feeling relaxed just sitting in his calm presence.
“We may not all like each other in town, but when push comes to shove, we’ll have each other’s backs. We always pull together when the times are the hardest, and we do it because we care. The Wild Ones are just another branch of family for us,” he adds quietly. “Families fight. Families make up. Families get crazy and loud when they’re all together. At least for us.”
“I like your version of family better than mine,” I tell him honestly. “Our family doesn’t fight. Even try to tell someone they’ve hurt your feelings, and somehow they flip it to where you’re the bad guy instead. Or hell, they might say you need therapy because of just how fucked up the shit they say is. The parents have always had all the say, and the children are nothing more than decorative ornaments to brag about or be ashamed of, depending on how impressive-slash-unimpressive said children are. They truly believe they know more and broker no room for compromise. Money has always been a controlling substance used to try and force us to appreciate them, adore them, and metaphorically get down on our knees before them—”
He grimaces, making the first facial expression yet, and I stop talking, worrying that I’m sharing too much.
“That’s fucked up,” he finally says.
I nod in agreement. “Manipulation is demonstrated more dominantly than love in our family. Well, we get tough love, if that counts. Our parents have the final say in what’s wrong, what’s right, and what’s allowed.”
“Why do you stick around for that?” he asks quietly.
“Because they’re the only family I’ve got,” I tell him on a sigh. “They just have a distorted sense of family values, and a really twisted set of priorities. We were raised to be show ponies, but it could have been worse. Trust me, they’ll let you know how much worse it could have been, while indebting you to them for the rest of your life.”
Rapping my fingers on the door, I exhale harshly.
“Our brother’s in rehab, and he refuses to see anyone. Reese and I were party girls with zero self-respect for about six months until something scary almost happened. Neither of us knew how attention starved we were until we decided to start our own joint account as fashionista sisters on Instagram when it first came out.”
I pause, realizing how that sounds.
“It’s not bragging rights, but it did really well, and suddenly we had tons of attention. It went to our heads, and…honestly, for a little while, it was nice feeling like our parents loved us as much as they said they did. In all actuality, they just loved how popular their daughters had gotten. My mother is two women: She’s cold when she doesn’t get her way, and can cut you to the bone, while making you feel guilty for all you’ve ever done wrong to her. And she’s a silly little girl when she’s in front of people, hugging us and doting on us to the point where it’s disgustingly uncomfortable.”
Laughing humorlessly, I let out a long groan. Now I’m definitely oversharing, but I can’t seem to stop the words from tumbling out. What’s wrong with me?
“Or at least that’s how it seems, considering they never acted proud before then, and the high certainly faded quickly,” I add quietly, glancing out the window. “I didn’t know how much I wanted their approval until I got it. Now it just feels…hollow.”
The chill ebbs in my bones when his fingers suddenly twine with mine. The simple, comforting touch warms me through to my core, and I remind myself that I have to leave in two weeks.
“The second you consider leaving the family, my grandmother—my dad’s mom—has a fit and drags you back in with an abundance of guilt trips and family-is-all-you-have speeches,” I murmur to myself. “She did, however, always try to get us to go meet mom’s mom. We just never listened.”
After I’ve word vomited my entire family history to him, I sit quietly for a while, regretting every damn thing I’ve said. Just like I always do when I word vomit my family drama.
I swear, this is why it’s important to keep the filter on.
He holds my hand until he’s forced to let go and shift gears as we enter the town.
“Was your sister throwing an axe last night, or was that my imagination?” I ask him.
“Not your imagination,” he says as his lips ghost a smile. “She gets queen every year, and as queen, she has the right to challenge the king. Every year, Killian crushes her. This year he only beat her by three center hits. It was still a win, even if it was a loss.”
I don’t know why that makes me smile. Maybe it’s the pride in his tone over something as simple as a town axe-throwing competition.
“What’d you do as a party girl? A weed virgin doesn’t seem like much of a partier,” he notes.
I snort, and then I outright laugh. Eventually it turns into a sadder laugh.
“Lost all my self-respect for a while. Fortunately, boys don’t really care for desperately broken girls who are trying to mend in all the wrong ways. It helped save me some regret. Let’s leave it at that,” I tell him.
He shrugs like it’s no big deal to him.
“What are we doing?” I ask when he drives on through town, heading down a road I’ve not been on yet.
“Finishing up a project I started this morning. Hale slept in, so I didn’t get to complete the task. I needed to get back and make sure you got food in you,” he tells me, which only has my Grinch’s heart growing three more sizes.
I swear, I could fall in love so easily with Kai Wilder that it’s terrifying. I’m glad he’s driving. Otherwise, I’d probably be throwing myself at him over something that simple.
“Hale’s supposed to be meeting us. I went and borrowed Ma’s phone to check in. Hell, maybe I will get one of those,” he says.
“A phone?” I ask, too amused to help myself.
“Yeah. It was a lot easier and safer than traveling all the way to the Vincent side of the lake just to see why that lazy ass forgot we had plans,” he gripes.
“Reese was probably rewarding him for being a good and decent human being, if he took care of her last night,” I tell him.
He rolls his eyes. “That motherfucker sounded happy, so you’re probably right.”
And it’s official. I suck. I should have rewarded Kai. Instead, I dumped all my baggage on him. Not that he seems to want a reward from me.
Is it arrogant to refer to my vagina as a reward? Because, it’s more likely that I’d be the one feeling rewarded…
Sheesh, I’m a bigger mess than I realized until this moment. Reese is more thoughtful and better at appreciating someone than I am.
I had no idea I was a bigger mess than she is, damn it.
It’s decided. It is arrogant to think my vagina is some sort of reward. It’s not like it’s a dolphin that does tricks or slaps high-fives.
It’s just an ordinary vagina. There’s not even any magic in it.
Obviously, I keep this particular inner ramble to myself. He’s heard enough of my insecurities for one day.
It’s probably good that this is ending soon. There’s no way I know how to treat a guy like Kai the way he deserves to be treated. It’s not like I’ve had the best role models when it comes to relationships.
I spot Reese and Hale up ahead of us, a Jeep abandoned on the side of the road, and my inner musings cut out completely.
“Why is Hale dragging a sled with two huge barrels on it?”
“Because he failed to show up for the rest of the job. That means he got the hard part,” Kai tells me.
I’m confused…
“What job?”
“Revenge on Porter and Tate,” he answers as he parks and abruptly exits the Jeep before I can even formulate a response.
I sit and blink a few times, watching as Reese excitedly waves at me. In stunned silence, I absently pull on my gloves and beanie until the stupor wanes.
Quickly, I hurry to join them, as they all start walking down the street. Hale huffs and puffs, grunting
with the effort it takes to drag those—
I cover my nose when a putrid stench assaults me.
“What is that?!” I hiss.
“Shhh!” they all three snap at me.
Blinking a few times, I shuffle my feet as quickly as possible, as Kai moves in beside Hale and starts helping him pull the sled.
“What’s going on?” I ask Reese, who loops her arm through mine and starts guiding me to some sort of camouflage shelter.
I don’t get any answers as Hale and Kai start jogging, and we watch through the opening of the shelter as they turn the barrels on their sides and dump them into some huge hole in front of a small cabin I haven’t noticed before now.
Fish? Is that fish in a barrel?
Is that what that horrible smell was?
I’ll never be able to eat fish again without remembering this scent that is singed into my nose.
I can’t see what they do next, but it looks like they’re pulling something over the hole and layering it with snow.
In the next instant, they take off sprinting toward us, huge smiles on their faces. I watch, too confused to do anything else. Reese is practically hopping from foot to foot with excitement, her eyes bright and happy.
You can’t tell if our family’s latest drama is weighing on her or not.
Hale steps in, and grabs her at the waist. I look away from their smiling kiss as he essentially starts devouring her.
Kai comes up behind me, arms slipping around my waist, as he surrounds me with just his presence and touch. It’s really distracting, since the feel of his body against mine seems like a rare treat.
It’s nothing as showy and over-the-top as what Hale and Reese are doing without shame. I envy her for her go-get-em attitude. Sometimes I wonder if Kai is just a little more reserved. Sometimes I think it’s because he tries to let me lead…which is stupid, since I’m wishy washy and indecisive.
My brain and heart don’t have much in common, so they stay in a constant stalemate.
My distracted mind gets a reprieve when all my attention lands on the Nickels walking out of the house.
Tate and Porter are laughing, and Tate howls into the air…
Holy shit. That howl sounds so real that a tremor wracks my body with undeserved fear.
Kai’s low rumble of laughter sounds next to my ear as he bends to put his head next to mine. We both watch as they jog down the steps together and…
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”
The scream echoes for miles as they both abruptly disappear from sight, snow spraying into the air.
“Fucking Wilders!” Tate shouts as a fish goes flying in the air.
It’s as though we’re in a perfect spot, because the sound carries directly to us.
I suppose this is a pretty normal thing, given the chuckles Hale and Kai are both badly suppressing.
I’m torn between feeling bad about this and laughing, so I simply settle for a stunned stare.
“This means war!” Porter shouts as loud as he can.
There’s also a lot of gagging going on between threats and exclamations.
Hale finally loses the battle, laughing like he can’t help himself, as Porter and Tate argue.
“I can’t lift you if I can’t even stand up, you dumbass!” Porter shouts. “It’s too slippery!”
“They’ll have to get rid of all the fish before they can even attempt to climb out,” Kai says with a large grin.
“How did you dig through the frozen ground so fast?” I ask in confusion.
“You learn tricks and tips over the years,” Kai answers in his non-answering way.
Fish start flying over the edge, one right after another.
“This is going to take for fucking ever! There’re too many fish!”
Another round of gags follow Porter’s gripe.
A smile finally breaks across my face as the fish continue to get chucked all around the yard.
“Wild animals are going to be sniffing after those gross fish if we don’t hurry. Damn it! Stay on your side! You stink!”
“No, you stink!”
“They both probably stink by now,” Reese states with a wry tone. “I could barely stomach the smell from inside the Jeep, even though the barrels were on the trailer we were pulling.”
“It’ll take weeks to get that smell off them,” Hale says as though he’s speaking from experience. “He marinates them in something first, because he’s secretly a sadist like that.”
He shoots a glare toward Kai, and Kai just grins without ever looking at him.
“Let’s get out of here before they manage to get out,” Kai says, grabbing my hand and pulling me with him.
I glance back, seeing more and more fish flying into the air.
“Stop throwing them like that! They keep coming back in and slapping me in the face, you fucker!” Porter shouts.
“Maybe it’s your stupid face that’s the problem!” Tate shouts back. “I told you not to make that stripping joke!”
“You’re the one who wanted to get them drunk!”
Kai’s fingers tighten on mine, and I smile to myself, shaking my head at the most interesting morning I think I’ve ever had. Shark pancakes and a show.
We load up and head into town, since by some miracle, Kai and Hale don’t smell like stinky fish.
I realize what it means to do drunken karaoke onstage in front of a small town before we even make it to the town square where everyone has gathered.
Every single person we pass is humming the Baby Shark song with a mocking grin on their lips.
Reese buries her head against Hale’s shoulder.
I groan and do the same against Kai, who laughs under his breath as though he’s enjoying this.
Even though I’m slightly mortified, I smile to myself.
When I came here, everyone stared like I was some alien life form walking around. Even though everyone deliberately gives us all a wide berth, I’m starting to realize that has more to do with Kai and Hale than us.
Seems no one gets too close to a Wild One unless they’re willing to risk the consequences of being sucked into something reckless or destructive.
I don’t know why that also makes me smile.
I do, however, know that I want to enjoy the two weeks I have left, and I’m tired of playing it safe.
A new decision is made. I’m shutting my brain off for a little while so I don’t feel conflicted.
Seeing Reese and Hale so comfortably pressed against each other and so openly affectionate…I find myself genuinely envious.
As stupid as it probably is, I make a mental note to ask my sister for advice. I think I’m a little too subtle for Kai.
Wild Ones Tip # 650
Screaming doesn’t make the fall any shorter.
Chapter 17
PIPER
*******
Reese helps me tighten my harness, as I check the strap on my helmet, while Hale and Kai do something very close to the huge drop off where the iffy zipline platform is.
“This is terrifying,” I say to Reese as my body continues to shiver.
“Yeah, but just remember that when you get to the bottom, you can talk about how exhilarating it was, and use the adrenaline pumping through your veins like liquid courage. Fling yourself into his arms, let your eyes lock, and boom. He’ll be all over you.”
“It’s a long way to the bottom,” I tell her as I swallow the knot in my throat.
She grabs my shoulders, shakes me a little, and I stare into her eyes as she continues with the pep talk.
“Woman up and take the plunge—both literally and metaphorically,” she says as she forcefully turns me, slaps me on the ass, and then shoves me forward.
“Ready?” Hale asks us as we move toward them.
It really is freaking high.
Reese is forced to answer when all I can do is gawk.
Kai flashes me a smile, winks, and steps onto the ledge. “I’ll catch you at the bottom,” he tells me as he sho
ves off and zooms down the line.
My eyes widen in horror, and I scream like he’s plummeting to his death. It’s a really fast zipline, and the drop is way more dangerous than they seem to fathom.
“Don’t worry. Kai got certified to do this shit, and there are backup safety precautions,” Hale is saying as he begins instructing us on what to do.
I don’t even know when I climbed the steps of the platform. I don’t know how I’ve moved so much closer to the ledge. I don’t know when Hale started snapping me up to the cable. It’s like everything is happening, but all I can do is stare.
“You can back out,” Hale says to me, laughing under his breath.
Shaking my head, I slap both sides of my faces, give myself a mental shove, and take a deep breath.
If I survive, I’m going to have all the rush I need to hurdle myself over that barrier of the fear of rejection, and this will all work out in my favor.
I’ll have no regrets when I leave.
I’ll have incredible memories of Tomahawk.
And a time to look back on when I fall too far into the routine of just existing.
“I can do it. I’m ready!” I shout, fist-pumping the air, feeling hella empowered when my voice echoes back to me.
Reese snorts, but I ignore her. I need courage in any form it presents itself.
I listen to the instructions again, especially the part about not trying to brake too much, and when to actually brake, and how to brake, and why I can’t brake too much, and…basically, I listen to all the brake stuff. It seems to be the most important out of everything else he’s saying, because Kai disappeared damn fast.
“Just go when you’re ready,” Hale tells me.
“I’m ready!” I shout, loving that echo of confidence that rings back.
I start and stop at least twenty times, getting less and less confident I can do this by the second. It seems to be harder to leave solid ground than I expected it to be.
“I’m ready!” I shout again, making it to the edge…and stopping in the nick of time.
“This looks like it could take a while. Did you bring snacks?” Hale asks Reese.
“I’m ready!” I toe the edge, but when I try to pull back this time, I slip.
