Wilder (The Wild Ones 3)

As if all the attention turns to her, Penny grins broadly. “Say, you’re actually a very pretty girl.” Her smile falls. “Are you a little screwed up in the head or something? Why’re you with Hale?”

“I heard that!” Hale calls from somewhere upstairs now.

Reese swallows thickly.

“I’m a fucking catch,” Hale adds.

When Reese grins and struggles to wipe it away, Penny and Lilah’s eyes widen in unison.

“She actually likes him!” Lilah shouts, pointing a finger at my sister like it’s an accusation.

“I’m going to get babies from Hale!” Penny exclaims, spinning a circle and shouting in celebration.

A snort slips out of me as I work damn hard to muffle my laughter, while Reese turns about four shades paler.

Lilah wipes her forehead as though in relief, while Penny comes to sit down next to Reese, devoting all her attention to her.

“So what sort of family history do you have? Everyone got all their fingers and toes?” Penny asks, pulling out a pad of paper and a pen as though they’ve materialized from thin air.

“I-uh-I-uh,” Reese stammers, casting a helpless look toward me.

I let her sink, pretending I don’t know her anymore, and leaving her to fend for herself. That’s what she gets. She got us into all of this by wanting a hot mountain man for the stay.

There really is baby fever going on in this town…

“So your grandma owned the cabin on the Wilder side of the lake,” Benson states, looking at me, while Reese tries to let Penny down gently.

“You knew her?” I ask, my interest perking up.

He shakes his head. “Not really. She kept to herself most of the time. She only came to town to people watch, and she got a little aggressive toward anyone who tried to speak to her. She preferred isolation.”

I nod, considering it looks like she was pretty much a dedicated hermit, judging by both her homes. This one has more of her personality in it than the other one did.

Kylie Malone is sliding down the bannister as Wild Child starts to play, and she hops down, dancing and singing every single word. Her boyfriend or fiancé or whatever he is just pulls her to him, smiling like he’s loving every second of it.

A somewhat wistful sigh escapes me. I don’t think I’ve ever had a guy look at me like he’s looking at her.

“That’s Liam. He’s already got a girl. Kylie will claw your eyeballs out of their sockets if you think about it,” Lilah says as she takes a seat on the other side of me.

Shock hits me, and I blink like I’m guilty for a second, when I’m not. “That’s not what—”

“Kai would probably put Liam’s head through a wall if he saw his girl checking him out like that,” Lenny points out while gnawing on a turkey leg. “He wanted to clobber me just for introducing myself.”

Another knock at the door has people darting to their hiding spots, and Nila once again wrestles Krysta to the ground. I’m relieved for the distraction. Apparently, Krysta wants to ‘cut a bitch’ for bringing ‘her man’ food.

Deacon sighs and swings open the door.

Benson grins as Deacon blankly stares at the newest girl on the porch, but she doesn’t have a dish in her hands. She’s holding a stack of paperwork instead.

“I’m sorry to bother you. I’m here on behalf of the Harper family, who are searching for their missing relative, Liam Harper,” she says, which causes Liam to dive to the floor and quickly crawl out of sight.

I blink a few times as Kylie tosses a blanket over him, even though neither of them can be seen from that angle.

“Liam Harper,” Deacon says, tapping his chin and staring heavenward as though he’s giving the name serious thought. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of him. It’s a small town. You sure he’s here?”

“We believe he’s purchased two homes here, yet we’ve been unable to clarify this. It seems a Kylie Malone’s name is on the most recent one he purchased, yet she also claims to have never heard of him,” the woman states so professionally.

Reese shoots me a curious look, as if I’ll somehow magically know more about this situation than she will.

Deacon moves to the porch, shutting the door behind him, when the woman tries to invite herself in.

“I’m gonna have to cut that bitch for real if she puts any moves on him,” Krysta says as she manages to get her foot up to Nila’s stomach and shove her off.

In the next instant, she’s scrambling by me and peering out the window.

“Stalk much?” Lilah quips.

“If I lick it, then it’s mine,” Krysta states absently.

“You’ve licked him?” Nila, Kylie, and Lilah ask at once.

Where’d Kai go? Isn’t he supposed to be my date?

“Not yet, but it’s inevitable,” Krysta answers with a prim tone, standing a little taller.