Page 65 of Protecting Her Secrets

“He’s the king of one-night stands, yeah, I get it.” I smirk, since this isn’t new information for me and it’s kind of funny to watch him combust.

“No, that’s not. I just. . .” He runs a finger along the collar of his button-down. “Look, my parents got divorced when I was real young, and my dad remarried shortly after. I didn’t get along with Carol, so I was out. The last time I saw him was when I was six, so I know it happens, and I don’t want that for the four of us guys. If you could help me out, that would be great.”

All the humor I was feeling dies as I take his words to heart. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that even grown men are just a product of their upbringing, even if they never talk about it.

I rest my hand on his forearm. “I’d never do that, Wilder. I love Walker, and I want him to be happy. If monthly poker nights or hunting trips or just having a beer on a random Saturday afternoon with his friends makes him happy, then I’m all for it. I’ve just been messing with you today. I’m sorry if I made you think I didn’t like you.”

After a few thoughtful seconds, he gives me a tight-lipped smile, my words seeming to appease him. “Good. Now let’s get this report filed.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Walker

I’m drainingthe noodles for a simple pasta dish I decided on for dinner when my phone alerts me to someone turning on the road. I take a glance at the monitoring app before getting a tub of butter out of the fridge.

It’s about damn time Wilder returned my woman. She has been gone for hours, which makes no sense because it should’ve been a quick trip to town. Since my best friend doesn’t like anyone except Ridge, Rowan, and me, I find it hard to believe she wasn’t begging to come home to get away from him. Even more than that, I thought Wilder would return her as quickly as possible.

Sprocket’s attention shifts from me to the door, and I see the indecision in his dark eyes.

“I promise not to drop any food while you greet them,” I say with a jerk of my head. “Go on.”

He breaks from his place next to the island and darts off, barking loudly. It’s an annoying habit of his I’ve made no effort to correct. The biggest deterrent a homeowner can have is anoisy dog. Animals are unpredictable, and bad guys don’t like their odds.

“Well, hello,” Skylar coos from the mud room. “How was your day, angel baby?”

“It was good. How was yours?” I turn the corner in time to see Sky crouched down, giving Sprocket some love.

“You’re so corny.” She grins before striding over to me. One arm goes around my middle, the other up to scratch under my chin like I’m the dog, and in the same baby voice she was talking to Sprocket in, she asks, “Were you a good boy too?”

I bend over and nuzzle her neck, tickling her with my beard and making her squirm. “Now who’s corny?” A throat clearing has me righting myself and pulling Skylar into my side. “How’d things go?”

Wilder scratches the back of his neck. “Fine. Tall Mike was towing the rental as we passed up the hill, and the car company is filing the insurance claim.”

“Yeah, I was watching him earlier. He had to do a lot of shoveling. I’m pretty sure I could hear the storm of curse words from all the way up here.”

“I’ll bet. Anyway, I promised to return her safely, and here she is. I’ll see you later.”

“You should stay for dinner,” I say. “I actually planned on it, so I made a shit ton of food.”

“No, I don’t want to intrude.”

“Since when? You’ve never had a problem intruding before.”

He glances down at Skylar, and I wonder if I was right. Maybe they did have a hard time getting along today.

“For fuck’s sake, Wilder. I thought we squashed this earlier.” She kicks off her boots and moves toward the kitchen.

“Did things get weird?” I ask.

“No.” He hangs his coat. “Not at all, but I think I’m in love with your girl. You better not fuck this up because I’ll be right there to steal her away.”

We both cut up. Of all the things to worry about with Skylar reappearing, his loyalty isn’t one of them. He’s my brother in every sense of the word. “Wait until you see her eat. Then you’ll change your mind. She says it’s because of the baby, but?—”

“Fuck you, Walker.” Her middle finger appears from around the corner. “For your information, he’s already seen me eat. He had Jazzy pick us up some Greek food for lunch.”

“Exactly. So I feel justified when I back Walker up on this one,” Wilder says.

“Assholes. Both of you.”

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