Page 49 of Untamed

“The whole Addie thing just bugs me. That’s all. No big deal.” I shrug and kick grass around with the toe of my boot. “I treated River like trash, and I made her feel like she couldn’t even come back for her friend’s funeral. That’s on me. Not getting her support through that…is on me.”

When I finally look up at them, they’re looking at each other, a silent conversation going on that I am annoyingly not privy to.

“What?” I ask them both. “Why’re y’all lookin’ at each other like that?”

“Not our zoo, not our zebra,” Rhett says with a grunt.

“The phrase is not our circus, not our monkey,” I correct. “But what in the hell isn’t exactly your monkey?”

“Uncle Hayes!” Jo singsongs as she prances out of the house, careful not to trip on the makeshift walkway. “River is here.”

She’s got a shit-eatin’ grin on her face, probably remembering our conversation about how her dad and Poppy think I like like her.

“That girl is nothin’ if not ornery as hell,’’ Rhett mutters under his breath, standing up from his chair and giving us a single clap. “Time to get back to work.”

Jo jumps off the decking as Wade hangs back in the doorway to watch us. His sister is off, runnin’ full speed toward River, who is walking around the side of the house and all the tall hydrangea bushes that scent the air.

They must’ve been watching for her inside with Poppy. Shit fire, she looks good enough to eat. Her hair is still damp, hanging past her shoulders. I forgot she wore heels last night, so she’s walked over here barefoot.

If it were anyone else, I’d worry about them walkin’ that far without any shoes. But she’s always been like that, barefoot and running around this ranch. It tugs all those memories of us back to the forefront, the issue about Addie tucked away. She looks like she belongs as Jo goes flying into her arms, fast friends.

I couldn’t ask for more than this.

“River!” Jolene runs full speed at me, jumping into my arms as I swing her around. Guess we’re close enough for this now since I let her and Wade eat far too much cobbler at the birthday party. “Are you here to help my uncles or play with me and Mommy? That’s what I call Poppy now. She’s our mommy.”

Oh, the way my heart swells for this baby girl.

“And me!” Wade shouts. “Quit lumpin’ me in with them,” he says, pointing his thumb over his shoulder at the Black brothers, who are all looking very handsome in the sunshine.

“I am most definitely here to play with you guys,” I tell her, my eyes lingering on the way Hayes’ arm muscles are straining. He winks at me, and I blush, turning back to Jolene. “I’m not doing any kind of manual work on my day off.”

“I have lemonade!” Poppy calls out from the kitchen. Jolene slides out of my arms and runs off toward her uncles and daddy.

Rhett’s house has a window to the kitchen that he’s converted to slide open to an outside bar. Once the deck is finished, they’ll have a great place to entertain people. I walk over to it, climbing on the bare bones of the decking they’re putting up. Poppy smiles when she sees me.

“Hey, Mommy,” I say, smiling at her through the screen.

“I know, right?” She slides it open and sets the pitcher on the counter along with a tray of glasses. “I cried the first time she said it. I handed her a glass of water, and she just looked up at me and said, ‘Thanks, Mommy’, like it was the most natural thing in the world.”

“I would’ve cried, too.” I lift the tray off the bar, and Poppy comes outside, grabbing the pitcher of lemonade. Following her over to a large wooden outdoor table, we set the drinks down and take a seat.

“Rhett made this,” she says, running her hand along the smooth wood. “I asked him if we could make an area outside so we could have the family over. Two days later, this thing is sitting out here. And a few days later, he started on the deck.”

“It’s gorgeous. It’s going to be perfect out here.” I lean back and try desperately not to look over at Hayes. But I can feel his stare like a damn brand. He’s watching me. “So…do you live here now?”

She goes as pink as her hair as she shrugs.

“Kind of.” She looks past me, presumably at Rhett and the kids. “Most of my stuff is here, and I spend most nights here. I was worried about moving too fast for the kids, but every night I try to go back to my little cabin, they get sad. And that kind of rips my heart into pieces.”

“So, move in.” I shrug.

“Probably will. We went and picked out rings the other day.” Her eyes go all wet and dreamy. I’m thrilled for her. They just seem so fucking happy together. “We’ll do a little trial run living together after the fair in a couple weeks. The kids will be back in school, and we’ll see how they do with me being a permanent fixture in their life.”

“I’m sure Rhett can’t wait to have you in his bed every night.”

“Speaking of beds,” she says, clearing her throat and leaning forward, her elbows on the table. “I hear you may not have been in your own last night?”

Good god. Word travels faster than lightning.

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