Page 37 of Fourth Wheel
And for some inexplicable reason, the more she takes, the more I want to give her.
I blow out a sigh of frustration and drop her hand, then casually run my fingers through my hair to brush off the dismissal.
What the hell am I supposed to do? I don’t want her at mine. She doesn’t want to be home alone. I can’tnotbe at home tonight. And my brother clearly won’t be any help. We’re idling at the main intersection of downtown Hampton, which means I have a decision to make.
Straight, and I’ll drive under the train bridge toward the Wheeler house, where I’ll what? Force her out of the car and insist she suck it up and lock the doors once she’s inside?
Right, and I’ll drive out of the town center, down 303, and toward my place. I’ll be forced to let her see the mess that is my life. We’ve got eight guest rooms, any of which I could put her up in, but being under the same roof as Maddie feels like the exact sort of trouble I don’t need tonight. Or ever.
“Hey,” she says quietly, pulling me out of my thoughts and forcing me to look over at her. She’s got her knees tucked under her now, sitting in a way that makes me furious as I recall the panic on her face when she asked to go with us. Ihateseeing her like this.
“You don’t have to worry about me. I’m out of fight tonight.”
My jaw ticks of its own volition. This girl has been nothing but spunk and sass since the moment she stepped into The Oak last weekend. Since the moment she led me to believe she was a stranger looking for a one-night stand. What the fuck happened at that party to completely steamroll her spirit?
“I’m not worried,” I assure her—and myself—as I make the right-hand turn and head toward home.
“Holy shit,” she murmurs as she steps in from the garage to the side hallway of our house. Fielding perks up and stands straighter beside me at the sound of her voice, like he just noticed she was still here.
“You let Little Wheeler come over?”
Believe me, brother. I’m as surprised as you.
“It was the least I could do after she saved your ass,” I retort, breathing heavy as I support most of his weight and drag him into the house.
He’s favoring one side and grunting with each step we take. I won’t be surprised if he broke a rib. There’s no point in suggesting he go to the hospital, though—he’ll refuse, like he always does. And we’ve got plenty of painkillers to choose from. Just another rowdy weekend for my brother.
The sound of music hits us, and he stiffens under my arm.
“Fuck… it’s that kinda night, huh?” We both know what sort of mood our mother’s in if she’s blasting Joni Mitchell.
I knew I was in for it this weekend when she came down for dinner with that glassy look in her eyes and told me how she loves me so much and that I’m such a good son. She was with it enough that I knew she hadn’t totally gone off the deep end, but she was definitely on something.
“Why do you think I texted you and told you to fucking behave tonight?” I scold, loosening my grip on my brother near the kitchen island as I hustle around and gather what I need.
Water… tea… Unisom. If I can at least get her settled for the night, I’ll only have to worry about one of them until morning.
“Why don’t you go shower?” I suggest as I dig through the pantry in search of crackers. I doubt my mom’s eaten anything all day, which is probably exacerbating the effects of whatever she took. “I’ll patch you up when I’m done.”
“How can I help?” Maddie asks, leaning her elbows on the quartz countertops of one of the kitchen islands.
Shit. I’m on autopilot like it’s any other night. But tonight is different. I don’t have two people to take care of… tonight I have three.
“I’m gonna need help getting my clothes off for that shower,” Fielding leers, giving her the up and down as he shifts closer to her on one side of the island.
I’m about to scold him when Maddie speaks up.
“Nice try, fuck boy.” She scoffs and pitches one eyebrow in his direction. “Now that I know your brother specifically told you to stay out of trouble tonight, you’re even lower on my list.”
“But I’m still on the list?” Fielding gives her a pointed look and tries to wink, only to end up cursing because his eye’s so swollen.
Dumbass. Serves him right.
Maddie puts her hands on her hips and turns to me. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t pass out in the shower. You go take care of your mom and find me when you’re done.”
With that, she turns on her heel and holds out one arm, indicating Fielding should lead the way. They disappear down a long hall toward his section of the house.
Okay then.
