“You got into a fight with Tucker Weston. That's not like him. He's not a fighter.”
“Not until I came in.”
“Why?”
“I’d rather not talk about it.”
“Think I need you to explain. Because I’ve got you in my car, and I do want to talk about it. So spill, little brother.”
“I may have told him about the night I spent with Sam.”
“Excuse me? What night you spent with Sam? You didn't spend a night with Sam Ryker.”
“Yeah, I did. A few years ago.”
“Okay. Did you make him think you fucked Sam Ryker?”
“Maybe.”
“Jesus Christ, Killian, what is wrong with you?”
“I was in a shitty mood, and I wanted to make somebody else feel shitty too.”
“That's not a good idea. Especially not here.” I frowned at him, frustrated beyond belief. Something had fucked him up enough that he wanted to hurt. But going looking for trouble with a group of ranch hands? Fuck, he was lucky to be standing. “I called Sam. He’s coming to pick up Tucker.”
“Fuck, I’m an asshole. I did spend the night with Sam Ryker, but we didn't do anything. We hung out after a festival show the band played years ago. He and I got a drink afterward, went back to my room . . . and nothing fucking happened.”
“So why’d you make it seem like something did? Why do that to Tucker? We just fixed things with the Rykers, and here you go torpedoing everything. What's going on with you?”
“Like you fucking care.”
“Killian, I picked you up, didn't I?”
“Sure. You picked me up. You don't care. You're gonna bring me home, sober me up, and then get rid of me. Just like you did last time.”
“Last time, our dad died, and we all had a bunch of shit to deal with.”
“Our dad died and ruined my fucking life. Everything changed for me. Now I’ve got to live in our family’s shadow, and because it came out that I’m the secret Wes Wilde kept for years, I have to be reminded every single time I go on stage that he didn’t even acknowledge me until it was too late.”
I pulled through the gates of Wilde Horse Ranch and drove back to my house. “Kill, it shook us all when Dad died. It changed everything for everybody. You think I like going back and forth here to Texas over and over, not knowing where to land? Not to mention now I’ve added Seattle to the mix. You think Luke likes having to share the responsibility of the ranch? He was running this all on his own, and now he’s got to deal with all of us. He can’t wipe his own ass without making sure we’re okay with it first. And Sutton, he had a whole other life planned, a career running his mama’s charity. Now he’s entrenched here. But it turned out to be the best thing for both of them.”
“Yeah? You think this is the best thing for me? So far, being a Wilde has only sent my life into a tailspin.”
“What are you talking about? Your band is tearing up the charts. You’re all over the place, touring, recording, doing all the things you want to do.”
“No, I’m not. The band doesn’t even exist anymore.”
“What are you talking about?”
“They’re gone. All the guys. They left. Big Sky doesn’t exist. It’s just Killian Wilde and some band they hired. Some guys I don’t even know.”
“Are you serious? I knew they were branding you as a solo act, but the guys have all still been there in your publicity stuff.” Killian had been with his band since high school.
“Yeah, I'm serious. They didn't like the direction my name and our producer were taking us. The label was just fine with letting them go. They didn't even ask me.”
“So you just headed for Sunrise?”
“Yeah. I was gonna just show up on the ranch and ask for a job. Instead, I stopped at the Silver Spur, had a drink, smoked a blunt, smoked another, and I got into a fight with Tucker.”
“You can stay here as long as you need to.”
Relief flooded his features as I parked and shut off the engine. “Thank you. I just need some time to work out what I'm gonna do.”
“It's fine. No problem. We’ll put you to work. It's been a long time, though. You haven’t been on a horse in years. It's gonna be rough.”
“Oh, I haven't forgotten how to ride. I’ll get back in the saddle again, just you wait.”
The two of us got out of the truck and walked toward the front door. I didn't miss the way he favored his ribs or the slight limp as he walked up the few stairs to the porch. Tucker had gotten him good after all. There was no way I’d be leaving him alone tonight, no matter how much I wanted to see my girl.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and sent Clara a short, direct text.
Me: Gotta do family stuff. See you tomorrow at the appointment.
She texted back almost immediately.
Clara: Everything okay?
Me: Yeah, I just have to take care of my brother.
Clara: I’ll be waiting.
19
Clara
I sat in my car, staring down at the blurry little image in my hand. Just a tiny slip of flimsy paper, black and white, grainy, and it meant everything to me. Absolutely everything.
A tear slid down my cheek as I looked at the first picture of my baby. The heartbeat had been strong and powerful. Just right for twelve weeks, Doc had said. So why the hell was I so sad?
“Get it together, Clara,” I whispered, swiping at the stupid trail of tears now running down my cheeks.
Maverick hadn’t shown up. He’d texted me saying he was caught up with something Killian was dealing with and couldn’t get away. I was so mad. Hurt. And most of all, resigned. I don’t know what I’d expected from him, though. He’d told me from the time we first met he didn’t want to fall in love. He wasn’t a family man. He didn’t want to be a dad. I should’ve believed him and not gotten caught up in the magic of the two of us being together. But fuck if the man wasn’t convincing. He made me think he’d changed.
People don’t change, Clara. My sister’s voice ran through my mind, taking me back to a time in our lives best left forgotten. The last time we saw our parents.
But people grew. That was something I’d witnessed with my own eyes. The Rykers were a perfect example. Tristan settled down, fell in love, found the family he needed. Sam came into his own and became the man he’d been destined to be. Why couldn’t Mav change if he wanted to?
But did he want to?
When I pulled up to the clinic and parked around back, there he was, sitting on the steps, hat in his hands, guilt written on his face.
“Is everything okay? You didn’t text me back . . . I . . . fuck, Clara. Is the baby okay?” The wobble in his voice nearly did me in.
I pasted a smile on my lips and nodded. “Heartbeat is strong; everything looks good. But you’d know that if you’d shown up.”
“I’m sorry, baby. I’m so sorry I let you down. Killian is going through something I wasn’t prepared to deal with right now. He’s at my house, eating my food, drinking every last drop of liquor I have, and it’s all I can do to keep him from going off the deep end and getting himself thrown in jail again.”