Wilde Fire (Forever Wilde 3)

When I entered the house in scrubs, Jolie’s jaw dropped. “What happened to you?”

“A bad auto accident last night. Spent some time at the hospital with the families.” I let the implication that I’d gotten the scrubs at the hospital stand because I honestly didn’t want to deal with another conversation about Otto right now.

“Did anyone die?”

“No. It was four teenagers. One lost a lot of blood but got transfusions in time. Another had their leg crushed and will require several surgeries, I think. They were lucky. Seriously lucky. When I pulled up to the car, all I could think about was what if it was Tish and her friends six or seven years from now?”

Jolie walked over to me and slid her hands around my waist to hug me. I knew she meant it as a gesture of comfort, but I also knew I probably smelled like Otto Wilde’s spunk.

“Um,” I said, gently extracting myself from her embrace. “I’m gonna take a shower and get ready to take Tish on that horse ride.”

Her nostrils flared, and her eyes narrowed. “Where were you before you came home? Where did you sleep last night?”

Did I tell her the truth, a lie, or that it was none of her business?

“Do you really want to know the answer to that, Jolie?”

“Yes,” she snapped. “I’m your wife. Of course I do.”

Luckily, before we got into a fight about what it meant to be my wife, Tisha came barreling into the room. “Uncle Seth! Is it still okay for me and Cody to ride the horses?”

“Cody and I,” Jolie mumbled.

“Yes, Tishie-poo. Just let me clean up and get dressed, okay? Then we can go pick up Cody from Uncle Johnny and Aunt Beth’s. Did you eat lunch already?”

She nodded and continued jumping around with excitement while I disappeared into the bathroom.

When I was finally dressed and ready to go, I asked Jolie if she wanted to join us. Obviously, I hoped like hell she’d say no, but I extended the invitation anyway as a gesture of goodwill. If I was still going to be in Tisha’s life, then Jolie was going to have to get used to seeing Otto Wilde. I just hoped Otto would be okay with it.

“Is he going to be there?” she asked, looking down at her fingernails.

“Yes. He’s the one who issued the invitation. And he’s the one whose horse it is,” I replied. “And he has a name. It’s Otto.”

“Don’t you think I know that?”

“I wasn’t sure. The way you were talking…”

“I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t want me there,” she said. I could tell it was a test.

“Not true, actually. He’s a kind person, Jolie. He would want you there because he would want you to see your daughter ride a horse for the first time. He would never want you to miss that experience.” And I knew as soon as I said it, it was the truth.

Jolie’s face seemed to soften. “Well… when you put it like that…”

I smiled at her and reached for her hand. “Come with us. It’ll be fun. I promise. Haven’t you ever wanted to ride a horse?”

Her cheeks turned pink and she looked like a teenager again the way she was when I met her. “Yeah. Actually, I have. Do you think he’d let me ride one too?”

I tugged her out the door where Tisha was hopping around like crazy waiting for me to unlock the vehicle.

“I’m sure he will if I ask him nicely.”

Otto, please forgive me for doing this to you, I thought before getting in the car and starting the engine.

When we pulled up to my brother John’s little rental house, Cody was already outside chomping at the bit. I got out to make sure John and Beth knew we were there, and I made my way into the house through the front door.

“Anyone home?” I called out.

“In here,” Beth said from the direction of the kitchen.

I made my way through the tiny space they used as a dining area, stepping over some of the kids’ toys and narrowly escaping knocking over a stack of mail hanging halfway off the table.

Beth was just taking something out of the oven when I came in, and John was grabbing a beer out of the fridge.

“Just wanted to let you know we were here. We’ll probably bring Cody back before dinnertime unless you think he wants to stay over at our place tonight?”

“Can I stay over too?” Their daughter Eliza came racing into the kitchen from the family room with eyes as big as saucers. She was always trying to be a part of Cody and Tisha’s friendship, and I felt sorry for her every time she got left out. I’d already tried begging my brother to let Eliza come ride the horses with us, but he and Beth thought she was too young. Inviting Hal had been pointless. He was way too cool to hang with his uncle and cousin, not to mention he was a stereotypical moody teenager.