Chapter 15
fifteen
. . .
Jameson
I t wasn't easy, but I got Rio to finish her report. Her friend, Bella, texted, inviting her to spend the night, right as Rio put the finishing touches on it. I couldn't say no, and I didn't want to. Nate's band is playing at the Gold Rush. They've mostly outgrown the hole-in-the-wall bar, but Nate is doing it as a favor for Harry. Harry has been the owner of the place since we were old enough to drink and even before that. And since we all spent a lot of our twenties sitting on his wobbly stools, chugging down his beer and even occasionally asking his advice on life, he's like family.
The bar is in walking distance, and the strange, unexpected start to the weekend has me in the mood to get drunk, so I leave my truck at home. The moon is half full and thin clouds dance around it. My phone beeps. It's Rio. I stop to read the text. She's been known to get homesick when she's at a friend's house for the night. Having her get homesick, for my home, makes me stupidly happy. This time it's not a plea for me to pick her up and come up with a good excuse why she has to leave.
Bella got a new kitten.
She sends a selfie of her squeezing a fuzzy gray kitten against the side of her face. The kitten looks less pleased about the whole thing.
They said the lady has two more kittens. Please, please, please.
She doesn't even bother with the formality of asking the question.
I'll think about it. Love you. And get some sleep tonight.
Fat chance.
She sends another picture of her dropping a long piece of licorice into her baby-bird style open mouth.
I'm in candy and kitten heaven. Don't want to waste a minute of it sleeping.
"Great," I mutter as I push the phone in my pocket. The good news is I won't be getting a late-night call to pick her up early, so I can get drunk. The bad news is I will be dealing with a sleep-deprived kid in the morning, and that's never a good thing.
I can hear the band tuning up, and people are piling into the place. The front of the Gold Rush is your typical bar with a small dance floor, slightly raised stage, a counter with plenty of stools. A second room in the back is where patrons can play pool. On a night like tonight, both rooms will be crowded. Harry has been fined before, so he's strict about fire codes. He keeps a close count on the patrons. Tonight especially. Nate's band is a local favorite because everyone is convinced Sarkasm will become huge and then we can all say they got their start in Rockhurst. I'm not entirely sure which way it'll go, but I think they have a good shot.
Ronan and Colin have a table near the dance floor. Most people stand around the barroom at the counter-height tables that surround the room. The stage is small, and the lighting and sound system are poor, but Nate and his band brought their own. Nate is on the dance floor, and there's a long line of people, mostly women, waiting to take selfies with him.
Harry looks rounder and grayer than the last time I saw him, and that was only a month ago. "Guess Dad got a night off." He chuckles and motions me past the door. I reach the table. The twins have already finished off a pitcher of beer, and a second one is being delivered.
Marcy, the server, smiles at me and pulls an empty glass off her tray. "Is the big guy coming too?" she asks, referring to Zander.
Colin shakes his head. "Not too sure about that, but leave a glass anyway."
I top off my glass, and my brothers wait for me to take the first swig. I wipe off the foam mustache and sigh with satisfaction.
"Ro, I think our brother, James, is in need of a few pitchers of beer." Colin turns to me. "I see you found someone to pawn squirt off on tonight." Colin and Ronan turned 29 this year. They were born on the same day just five minutes apart, but they are as different as any two brothers. Colin is a champion snowboarder and skateboarder. He makes money through sponsorships and cash prizes, and his whole life has been about sports and competition. He's thin and muscular with dark blond hair, a mustache and a goatee. Ronan was never disciplined enough to excel at a sport even though he's just as athletic as Colin. He's got black hair and green eyes like his mom.
"Rio is spending the night at a friend's house, and I'm going to take full advantage of that by drinking a lot of beer. Where's Zander tonight?"
Ronan nearly spits out the beer he just gulped. "Our big, yeti-sized brother got popped off that new colt so often, I told him it was as if he had a spring jutting out of his ass. I think he took one fall too many. He was leaning over and holding his back as he walked the horse to the barn." Ronan looks pointedly at me. "I told him that's what happens to you old people when your bones get rattled."
"Hey, don't look at me. I wasn't thrown out of the saddle today."
"No but I'll bet you're still going to be rattled," Colin says over the rim of his glass. He's looking toward the door. Ronan and I turn back to see what's caught his interest. Indi is walking in with Kinsley.
Ronan whistles low under his breath. "Just remembered why they called her the school jewel. Those legs—" He turns around. "You still have it bad for her, don't ya? Zander told us that?—"
I pick up the glass. "Zander should stop clucking like a busybody hen in the farmyard."
The twins laugh. "Oh, I'm totally going to tell him you said that," Ronan says. He pulls out his phone. "Sending that text right now."
"Whatever." I'm too focused on the beautiful woman talking to Harry. Harry is smiling ear to ear, and his Santa-style belly laugh rolls through the crowded room. Indi's wearing shorts and a light green tank top that hugs every curve. Long, smooth legs stretch between the hem of the shorts and the tops of her ankle boots.
Kinsley takes her hand and pulls her along through the crowded room. Indi's gaze sweeps our direction and lands directly on me. We stare at each other through the chaos. For a second, it feels like we're the only people in the room, the only people on earth. Her lips curl into a sweet smile. She pulls her gaze free of mine and follows Kinsley to the bar.
"Yep, he's a goner." Somewhere next to me, Ronan and Colin are continuing the conversation, but I'm still reeling from the few seconds caught in Indi's gaze.
Colin knuckles me on the arm. "Earth to Jameson. Hello, remember us?"
"What the fuck do you want from me? Just let me drink my beer."
"Hear that, Ro? The man just wants to drink his beer."
"Yep, Zander's right. He's still obsessed," Colin says confidently.
"Heard about enough from you two idiots." I down my glass of beer and get up from the table.
"That's it, bro. Make your move. You're Jameson Wilde, for fuck's sake." The twins' laughter follows me as I head across the bar to where the girls found a niche to stand in. I'm only halfway there when I spot Zach making a beeline for the same spot. He's wearing his big toothpaste-commercial smile and the stupid Hawaiian shirt he always wears to the bar. He calls it branding . I take a sharp right toward the stage. Nate is still taking pictures with fans. He spots me and tells the last few people in line to come back after the first set. There are a few disappointed groans as they turn and shuffle away.
"My brother, the rock star," I tease.
"You'll know I've reached rock star status when you have to make an appointment to see me backstage, and I sure as shit won't be standing in the middle of this dive taking selfies with people I went to school with. Couldn't turn Harry down, you know?"
"I'm glad you're here. Haven't heard you guys play for a long time."
"Guess we better get things rolling." Nate jumps on stage.
I turn back around. Zach is still standing with the women. He's standing close to Indi, and they're laughing about something. Everyone always said they belonged together, but I never saw it. Zach never deserved her. I didn't either.
Ronan waves me back to the table. The twins are no longer smiling or laughing. I walk back over. "Did you see who walked through?" Ronan asks before I can even sit.
"You mean Zach?" I ask, not entirely sure why that would upset Ronan.
"What? No, not Zach. Shit, you're one-track minded," he mutters.
Sometimes it's easier to get a solid answer from Colin. "What the hell is he so pissed about?"
"While you were talking to Nate, the villains of the east just walked through to the poolroom."
It seems I'm wrong about Colin being a more solid choice. "Who?"
Ronan smacks the table with his fist. "Shit, you're so busy braiding hair and talking about who the cutest boy in school is, you don't even know what the hell is going on in the adult world anymore. Those imbeciles that they hired up at the sawmill—Zander calls them the Basset Boys, but they're not even from Basset, only staying there until they move on to the next town to shower it with their stink. It didn't take them long to realize Basset was a sleeper town. They keep showing up here at the Gold Rush, trying to start trouble. Harry says there's a whole group of them. They rolled in together on Harleys, nomads looking for seasonal work. They leave shit in their wake and then move on to the next town."
"Zander mentioned them. And you're right—I have been busy with hair braiding and twelve-year-old gossip, Ro, but I'm not going to apologize for being a dad to my kid. None of this, none of the shit that happens in this town or this bar matters. All that matters is Rio being safe and happy and healthy."
My little speech wipes the attitude right out of Ronan's posture. I glance back toward the poolroom. "Maybe they'll just play a few games of pool and leave," I say. Zander mentioned something about them looking for the Wilde brothers, so they could knock some heads. It seems to me the place is too crowded to start any real trouble.
The music starts up, and there are a few screams of glee from the women watching the stage. Nate does have that thing lead singers need to pull all the attention toward them.
I'm regretting my visit to the bar when I spot Zach leading Indi by the hand toward the dance floor. Indi glances my direction, but it's so fleeting, I convince myself she wasn't looking my way at all. I down two more beers before they finish their dance.
"Think I might take off," I say.
"Why?" Colin asks.
"Just not in the mood for this crowd."
Right then, someone lets out a loud yell. "Whooee, you call this a band? They're shit." The guy is well over six foot, half muscle and half fat, but that doesn't make him any less scary.
"That's Kettle, the leader. I figure he got the nickname because he's shaped like a fucking kettle," Ronan says through gritted teeth.
Nate, a true performer, keeps singing, but he's keeping an eye on the beast standing in the middle of the room. Then three more, nearly his size and even uglier, come trickling out from the poolroom. One is carrying a pool cue. He stops and smashes it on a chair. Everyone in that corner of the bar scatters for cover.
Harry scurries to the office with his phone to his ear. I assume he's calling the police. Nate lifts a hand to stop his band. He stares hard at the guy as he lifts the microphone to his mouth. "Hey, asshole, take your flock of trolls and get out. People are here to have a good time, and you assholes are stinking up the place."
A few low laughs make their way through the crowd, but for the most part people are cowering in the far corners. A few people are hurrying out the door.
"So, is it true, pretty boy? You're a Wilde?" Kettle sprays spit as he yells toward the stage.
Ronan, Colin and I jump to our feet. The assholes all look our direction.
"Oh look, boys, more Wilde vermin. Your dad is a piece of shit. My dad's in jail because of him."
"Should we take out our tiny violins?" I ask as I move in front of my brothers. The last thing I want is to get in a brawl with these fuckfaces. I don't want to explain a black eye to my daughter.
"The police have been notified," Harry says shakily from behind the bar.
"Just texted Zander in case we need to take all these guys down," Ronan says quietly behind me.
Kettle's laugh is filled with spittle too. "Why the cops? We're not here to make trouble. We just came in to drink some beer and dance. Where's the damn music?"
Nate hesitantly gives his band the go ahead to start playing. Zach and Indi walk off the floor. Indi hurries over to Kinsley, who looks pale with fear. Zach comes over to our table. We all sit, cautiously, with our beers, waiting for one wrong move or something to trigger a brawl. It's the last thing any of us want.
"What a bunch of assholes, eh?" Zach helps himself to our pitcher of beer.
"Don't need a fight," Colin says. "I'm leaving tomorrow for a skate contest down south."
"So, you're saying you're going to be a pussy and let James and I handle them by ourselves?" Ronan asks.
"Nate's here too," Colin reminds him.
"Yeah, great, pretty boy is here too," Ronan says, but he knows damn well that Nate can hold his own in a fight. We all can. It was a necessity growing up in the Wilde household.
"Let's hope they get bored soon and leave," I say.
Ronan laughs. "Yeah, just like they were here to play pool."
The four men are at the bar now ordering beers. Kettle is surveying the room with a lecherous grin, and women are going out of their way to hide in the shadows. When Kettle's predatory scowl lands on Indi, my chair scrapes the floor as I jump to my feet. The noise can barely be heard through the music, but somehow, Kettle notices. He looks my direction, then looks toward Indi. He grins.
"You just gave the whole fucking thing away," Ronan says. "He now knows he's zeroed in on the right girl."
Zach sits up straighter. "Is he looking at Indi? I'm going to flatten him." He says it with conviction but doesn't make a move to get up.
"Shit's about to get ugly real fast," I hear Colin say behind me.
Adrenaline is coursing through every muscle in my body, and the second he moves her direction, I'm storming across the room. Indi doesn't seem to understand what's going on until the asshole is only a few feet away. Her face loses color, and she quickly looks around. She sees me heading her direction.
"Take Kinsley and move out of the way," I say sharply.
Kinsley looks frozen in fear as Indi reaches for her hand. Kettle's big hand shoots out, and he grabs Indi by the wrist. She winces as he tightens his grip. He glances back over his shoulder, and an evil laugh spurts from his blubbery mouth. "Does this little gem belong to you, Wilde? Thought I might take her for my?—"
My fist plows directly into his fat mouth. Blood spurts across my knuckles. The beast stumbles back, and I swoop and pull both women out of the way before he hits the ground. Chairs scrape everywhere, and people are running for the door.
His three equally disgusting wingmen are on top of me before I can turn around. Two of them grab my arms while the third throws a fist in my stomach. The only face I see in the rows of horrified onlookers is Indi's. She's pale, and her hand is covering her mouth. "Get out," I grunt to her before I get another fist, this time to my face. The two guys holding me pull away as Ronan and Colin haul them off to give them what they've got coming. Kettle has recovered, and is lumbering toward me. A chair breaks over his back, and he yells out in pain. I look past him. Indi is holding a broken chair. Kettle spins around and lunges toward her. I sweep my leg out and take him out at the knees.
"Get out," I tell her again. Zach and Nate have joined in the fight. A chair and table hit the wall, both splintering into pieces. Shards of glass are everywhere. Kinsley grabs Indi's hand, and they rush outside along with most of the other patrons. Nate's mouth is bleeding, and Ronan's swinging at anything that moves. He's got dad's quick temper and rage, and he's doing a number on the guy he's fighting.
Kettle is back on his feet, like one of those horror movie monsters who just won't die. He outweighs me by a solid fifty pounds, and he moves pretty fast considering his size. He is practically foaming at the mouth as he lunges at me. I don't notice the knife in his hand until the dim light catches the silver blade. It slices my forearm before I can react. I throw a punch with the other arm and manage to hit the side of his face hard enough to knock him senseless for a second. I press my cut arm against my stomach to stop the flow of blood. At the same time, I'm having to fend him off with my left arm. His meaty fist pulls back like a rock in a slingshot. I'm quickly strategizing to see which way I'll jump to get out of the way when Kettle's beady eyes roll back in his head. He falls back hard and lands with a grunt and a thud. The floor vibrates beneath my feet. There, standing in the wavering light of the entrance, is my big brother.
Zander is shaking his hand and pulling at his knuckles. "Never cold-cocked someone from behind. That guy has a rock head." He looks at my arm and shakes his head. "Did you at least get a few good blows in before he cut you?"
"Nothing to write home about."
"Fatherhood has made you soft." Zander steps past the lump on the floor and gives him a kick for good measure. "Wish I'd seen it from your side. Did his eyes roll back?"
"It was a classic roll back," I say. The others are still fighting though my brothers have done some damage to Kettle's mates.
Zander whistles loudly to stop the action. Everyone looks up through swollen eyes and bleary gazes. "This is done. I suggest you carry this dead whale out of the bar. Maybe drop him in the ocean, so the sharks can finish him off."
Kettle is groaning and trying to sit up. His buddies help him to his feet and lead him out of the bar. Some of the patrons who stuck around, Indi and Kinsley included, step cautiously back inside. Zach is nursing a bloody lip. Indi grabs a napkin from the bar and hands it to him. I'm still pressing my arm against me. My shirt is warm from blood.
I walk over to Harry. He's got his elbows resting on the bar, and his face is in his hands. "Harry, hey, Harry. You send me the bill, right?" I say. "I'll take care of all of it, and get your electricity brought up to code, too. That old wiring is going to start a fire."
Harry looks up and stares at me. "Jameson? How are you going to pay for all this?" He shakes his head. "I've been thinking of selling, and maybe it's time."
"Send me the bill. I'll cover it all, and if you want to sell afterward, we'll talk."
I turn around and find Indi standing behind me. The color hasn't returned to her cheeks. Her gaze drops to the arm pressed against my black shirt. "Is that blood?" she asks weakly.
"Maybe you should sit down," I say.
"No, I'm fine. We need to get you to the emergency room." She glances around. "Zander, he needs a doctor."
Zander is picking up broken furniture and piling it in a corner. "Yep, I've got the truck. I'll meet you two out there."
Zach comes over, wincing as he presses the napkin against his cut lip. He's looking for more sympathy from the beautiful nurse.
"Zander can take me, Indi," I say. "It's fine. Probably just a few stitches."
"I'm coming with you," she says.
"James is right. Zander can take him. Did you see the way Zander took out that big wall of blubber? Classic. Let Zander take him," Zach repeats.
Indi shakes her head. "Nope. Go put some ice on that lip, Zach. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
Zach's brows deepen into a scowl. He's pissed. "Yeah, all right." He stomps away.
Indi pushes a strand of hair off my forehead. She has no idea how much it stuns the hell out of me. "You took care of me the other night, so it's my turn to return the favor. I'll hold your hand through the whole thing," she teases. "I'm just going to be looking in the entirely opposite direction, like I do when I get blood drawn." She wraps her hands around my good arm and leads me toward the door. "By the way, thanks for coming to my rescue tonight."
"Anytime, Jones."