Chapter 35
High Tackle: When the tackler grasps the ball carrier above the line of the shoulders, most commonly around the neck or at the line of
the chin and jaw. A high tackle is potentially dangerous and results in a yellow or red card.
Translation: A high tackle might be better than three mountain men.
Wolf
I can’t wipe the smile off my face as I watch Everly take my sister upstairs to my apartment to introduce her to Rugby, our
dragon.
Our dragon.
More and more, I love the sound of that.
And I like the feeling of my sister seeing this life Everly and I have built over here. It feels meaningful and important,
and I’m not sure Everly feels the same way or if this was just a fun birthday surprise and nothing more.
I ponder those thoughts as I muck the pens out in the barn below so we can prepare for a night out. Weeks ago, I would have
been anxious and nervous about what my sister thought of me kissing her best friend—now, I just don’t care.
She’s become too important to me to prioritize anyone else. Even my twin. Which is exactly why I impulsively kissed her in
front of her family.
I couldn’t help myself.
The gift she gave me of surprising me with my sister in this moment . . . it couldn’t have been more perfect. More right.
All is right in the world . . .
Until I push the wheelbarrow outside to dump it behind the barn, only to be stopped in my tracks by three brooding, scowling,
angry-looking mountain men standing there waiting for me, like a bloody firing squad.
Calder’s got his arms folded as he leans against the red barn. Wyatt’s holding an axe eerily like a murder weapon, and Luke . . .
Christ, Luke has a mug of coffee in his hands like this is a casual Tuesday afternoon and not an ambush.
I stand to my full height and pull my gloves off as I point to the pile of manure behind them. “Is this where you’re planning
to hide my body?”
Calder smiles. Wyatt scowls. Luke looks back at the mess like the idea just occurred to him.
Wyatt tips his chin toward me. “You have something to tell us, Wolf?”
I clear my throat and shrug. “If this is about the kiss—”
“It is,” Luke interrupts, taking a long sip of coffee like he’s got all day.
“Right.” I plant my hands on my hips and force myself to meet their stares. I’m not about to shrink under their scrutiny.
Their niece is an adult and can make her own mind up about who she spends time with. But perhaps I didn’t need to shove it
in all their faces without talking to her first, so a little humility here is probably in order. “I’m sorry for all of that
down there . . . I guess I was just overwhelmed in the moment.”
Calder barks out a laugh. “Overwhelmed? So, it meant nothing?”
“No.” My brows furrow defensively.
“So, it meant something?” Luke asks, pinning me with a look.
“Yes . . . and no. Yes,” I stammer, unsure how to answer that.
“What is it, then?” Wyatt bites, looking unimpressed by my wavering answers.
“Because we all assumed something was going on after we saw you two at poker night, but we let you live because her dad was there, and Cozy threatened him with bodily harm if we did anything bad to you that night. Now you’re just grabbing our niece right in front of us like she belongs to you or something. ”
“She does belong to me,” I reply, my jaw tight.
All three of their eyes narrow, and I swear one of them growls.
“Come again?” Wyatt takes a step toward me, and my eyes flash down to his knuckles as they turn white around the axe handle.
“She . . .” I struggle to find the words but tip my chin up to feign confidence. “She’s important to me.”
Wyatt pauses, waiting for me to continue.
“She has been for a long time,” I reply honestly, stating the words I have barely even said to myself. I feel a heat spread
in my chest as I flash back to the past four years. It’s like she’s always been a part of me in some way or another. And now
that I’m a part of her too, I refuse to be scared off. “I looked out for her at Trinity when she had no one, and I guess I’m
doing the same thing here. I won’t apologize for caring about her.”
“Explain,” Wyatt says, looking positively murderous.
I swallow the knot in my throat. “I just made sure she got home when she was out at night. That’s it, I swear.”
“Hmm,” Luke huffs, his eyes introspective and giving me absolutely no indication if that’s a good hmm or a bad hmm.
Calder tilts his head curiously. “So, what exactly are your intentions with our niece, then?”
That question brings me pause because a lot has gone down today. I got a call from my coach that an Irish team might want
me, my sister showed up unexpectedly, and I kissed my girl in front of her whole family.
There are a lot of unknown variables at play here, which means I should dodge this question. Laugh it off or mutter something generic. That would be the smart thing to do. But the words don’t come out that way. Instead, the truth slips loose before I can stop it.
“I’m trying not to fall in love with her, if you really want to know. And I’m doing a shite job of it.”
All three pairs of eyes bore into me, and I hear Millie bleat from back inside the barn like she’s eavesdropping on this whole
conversation.
Wyatt shifts his axe, his jaw working. Calder studies me like he’s weighing every word. Luke just lets out a low whistle.
“You sure about that?” Calder asks finally.
“Sure about what?”
“Falling for our niece. Girl’s got a big heart for everyone else, but she keeps her own locked up pretty tight.”
“I’m aware,” I admit, and my chest tightens with fear because I don’t even know where Everly’s head is at with all of this
either. I shrug helplessly. “Unfortunately, I’m not sure I have a choice in the matter. Just like that poker night with you
guys, I’m all in, I think.”
The silence stretches again. Then Calder finally cracks a grin. “Well, Wyatt, maybe you don’t need your axe after all.”
Luke chuckles, raising his coffee in a mock toast. “Been in a similar situation myself, and I can’t say I have any good advice
for you. Sorry, Rugby, but I do wish you luck.”
“Thanks,” I murmur and grip the back of my neck.
Wyatt still doesn’t smile, but the edge in his stare softens just enough that I don’t feel like I’m about to be chopped up
into little pieces and buried under the goat shite. So at least I have that going for me.
They make their way past me, patting me on the back as they go like it’s just a normal day on Fletcher Mountain. I exhale, shoulders loosening. I came down here to muck out stalls, but I think I mucked out some of my soul instead.
Everly
“Oh my God, he’s huge!” Cliona squeals as she stares into the cage of our bearded dragon, Rugby.
“Do you want to hold him?” I ask, opening the top and reaching inside.
“No, I do not. Not even a little bit. In fact, I don’t even want to be in the same room as him. I’m freaked-out!” She takes
a large step back. “Fletcher, please tell me you don’t have any lizards in your cabin where I’m sleeping tonight, or I’m going
to go sleep in a stable down at Mount Millie.”
I laugh and shake my head. “My cabin is animal-free.”
Cliona’s brows lift. “Except for my brother, apparently.”
I glance toward the steps, where Wolf is currently downstairs, finishing the chores up so we can have a night out tonight
for their birthday. “Are you mad?”
“No, I’m not mad,” she replies with a laugh. “I’m a bit shocked, I guess. I didn’t think you fancied him, but seeing you two
together earlier, I don’t know how I didn’t see this before.”
I frown at that. “Oh, it’s not serious.”
“What?”
“Me and Wolf . . . we’re just . . . hanging out.”
“Hanging out? What the fuck does that mean?” Cliona crosses her arms over her chest and watches me thoughtfully.
“I mean . . . we don’t have a label. Like, we’re not officially together or anything.”
She hooks her thumb toward the window. “He snogged you pretty officially in front of your family a few moments ago.”
An awkward laugh works its way up my throat.
“I know, but I think that was just him being so happy to see you. It was a big surprise, you know? He was grateful. But like . . . we’re not making this a big thing.
I know he wants to end up back in Ireland.
” I state the last part and look away, trying not to spill the beans about Wolf’s big news to his sister because I’m sure he wants to be the one to tell her.
Cliona licks her lips and nods. “So, it’s the distance you’re worried about?”
“Um . . . yes and no. I just . . . I just know he doesn’t see me like that.” I force a laugh, but it sounds cracked.
“Like what?” Cliona asks, her eyes grave on me.
“Like a long-term thing.” I shrug and try to smile through it, but the ache in my throat is severe. “He’s told me before he’s
not a happily-ever-after type of guy, and that’s kind of my whole identity. We are far too different.”
This is the pep talk I need to get through the rest of this summer. Maybe that call from his coach came at just the right
time. I was getting carried away. Forgetting who Wolf is. Who I am. He’s not happily ever after. And I really only know how
to help others with happily ever after.
“That’s rubbish,” she bites back at me, looking defensive.
“It’s not rubbish. It’s reality,” I bite back, shoving my hands in my pockets. I love Cliona, but she doesn’t know the full
story yet, and when she does, she’ll realize that this thing between me and Wolf can’t be serious.
“Sorry to be blunt, but this thing between us is just sex, and that’s okay. That’s what I needed for the summer.”
“What about what he needed?” Cliona asks, her brows pinched with concern.
“He needs to focus on rugby, and I know you can attest to that,” I snipe, feeling my throat close with emotion that I’ve been doing a damn good job of hiding up until now.
“I know he’s your brother, so you want to defend him, but he’s still figuring himself out, and I think I’m doing the same.
I’m a matchmaker, and I know without a doubt that me and Wolf in a real relationship would be a horrible idea. ”
Cliona’s head jerks at a sound, and we both turn to see Wolf’s giant frame standing in the doorway with a stormy look on his
face.
“Hey, Moon, we were just chatting about plans for tonight!” Cliona says with a forced, cheery voice. “I’m only here for twenty-four
hours, so I want to see all the things you’ve been up to here in Colorado.”
I clear my throat, my cheeks flushed red. “I think we do the Mercantile tonight. It’s great in a rural-mountain-dive-bar sort
of way.”
“Sounds brilliant!” Cliona agrees. “Everly, maybe you can take me up to your cabin so I can get a shower and wash the stink
of the plane off me?”
“Yeah, absolutely,” I say and follow Cliona toward the door. I smile at Wolf as we walk by, but he refuses to make eye contact
with me, and I’m suddenly having flashbacks of how he was toward me at Trinity.
Cold, distant, angry.
But I can’t be surprised. If I heard him saying to Cliona what I just said, I’d be just as hurt. Me and Wolf in a real relationship would be a horrible idea. I don’t actually believe that, but what choice do I have here? He wants to return to Ireland. He wants to play rugby and be
the Reilly Rugby Twins. I won’t get in the way of that.
So let him be angry.
Let him be distant.
It will just help us both get a head start on his departure.
Never mind the broken hearts along the way.