7. Wylder
7
WYLDER
“What are you doing later?” Tate asks as I stop the truck in front of Inked.
“Nothing.”
“Come back here.”
“When?”
“After nine.”
“That’s late.”
“The night is just getting started then, Gramps.”
“Hey now,” I say, reaching out to grab her hand. “I don’t think you were calling me gramps last night.”
She smiles at me as her cheeks pinken. “Is it past your bedtime?”
“No.”
“I want you to meet my cousins. You’re going to love them. We can grab a beer with them, and then maybe…”
“Maybe what?”
She leans across the bench seat and brushes her lips against mine. “Then we’ll see what you deserve.” Her eyes sparkle with so much mischief that my cock is instantly at attention.
“I’ll be here.”
She slides her hand against my legs, nearly touching my dick. “I’m sure you will.” And before I can pull her in and give her a deep kiss, she slides across the seat and climbs out.
“That’s it?” I ask, staring at her in disbelief.
“If you want more, you’ll be here.”
“Don’t worry. I’m coming.”
“If you’re lucky,” she says with a wink before closing the truck door.
“Tease!” I yell out to her as she stalks toward her shop door with her hips swaying, giving me the best show.
“You love it,” she calls out.
I sit there for a moment, watching her as she unlocks the door. I don’t pull away until she walks inside and flips on the lights. All I can do is shake my head. The girl is impossible, and I love that about her. She’s not easy, and she sure as hell keeps me on my toes.
Before I have a chance to pull away from the curb, I get a text.
Ma: Can you drop by? My sink is leaking.
It’s like she has ESP and knows exactly when I’m nearby.
Me: On my way.
There is no need to waste time and put off fixing her sink. I have a few hours to kill, and since the girls aren’t waiting for me, I have more free time on my hands than I know what to do with.
Ma is waiting for me on her front porch when I pull up. She is sitting on the top step, coffee cup in hand, staring out across the neighborhood.
“How was your first night without the girls?” Ma asks as I stride up the walkway to her house.
“Interesting.”
She sits a little straighter. “Do tell.”
I grab her coffee cup from her hands and take a sip as I sit down next to her. “We broke down partway back.”
“Oh dear,” she whispers, snatching the mug from my grip. “There’s a fresh pot inside.”
I give her a smile, loving my ma. She’s never liked to share, especially her coffee. Then there is the germ thing. Even though we are her children, she’s always claimed we are dirtier than most people solely because we’re boys.
“Your cup is always better.”
“Two spoons of sugar and a splash of cream. It’s not magic, baby.”
“It’s always more delicious when you make it.”
She groans and hands her coffee over to me. “I’ll make a fresh cup.”
I knew she’d give it over. Not because she doesn’t want me to make my own, but because I already took a sip and she doesn’t want my cooties. I love my ma, but she is a bit of a germaphobe and has been as far back as I can remember.
“Were you stuck in the truck all night?”
“No. We found a B&B nearby, and Thumper brought me the part this morning.”
“You should really get a newer car. Something that you can easily get the parts for when you need them.”
“Ma.”
“Vintage doesn’t mean better. You need something reliable. And that old thing—” she points at the black Scout “—is not.” She bumps me with her shoulder. “So…”
“So,” I say before taking another sip of the coffee.
“How was your night?”
I turn my head, finding her hopeful expression. “Ma.”
“What?” she asks innocently. “Did you get separate rooms?”
I shake my head. “They only had one room.”
“Ooh,” she coos. “How romantic.”
I groan into the mug, hating talking to my mother about these things, but she always wants to know everything.
“First, let’s talk about your brother driving all the way out there for you, and then we’re going to get to the good stuff.”
I flatten my boots out on the bottom step and rest my elbows on my knees, bracing myself. “Thumper was Thumper.”
“But he brought you the part?”
“Yeah.”
“I guess he’s not always an asshole.”
I stare at her, waiting for her to come to her senses.
“An asshole wouldn’t have driven hours to bring you a part, baby.”
“Sometimes, and I mean very rarely, he has a moment where he’s normal, before his asshole side comes roaring back.”
“Well, I’m glad he could help.”
“He started talking shit about Tate.”
Her mouth drops open. “Fuck.”
“Yep.”
“Why would he do that?”
“She has a past with the club. It’s too much to explain, but he was rude, and I made sure he knew I wasn’t about to let that slide.”
“Did he apologize?”
I bark out a laugh. “Does he ever?”
My brother is a lot of things, but sorry for anything he’s ever done wrong to me or those around him…never.
“I’ll speak to him.”
“Don’t.” I lean over, stretching my back after such a long ride. “Either he does or he doesn’t, but I want it to be on him and not because his mom made him do it.”
She places her hand on my back, rubbing gently like she used to when I was little. “Okay, baby. I’m sure he’ll come to his senses.”
I peer over at her.
“It could happen.”
“I’m not holding my breath.”
“You really like her, huh?”
“I do, Ma. I’m all twisted up over her, and I don’t know how I feel about that. I swore I’d never?—”
“Don’t let that bitch Katie ruin everything for you. Not all women are careless, heartless jerks like her. I’ve known Tate since she was a little girl. She’s a good one, and her family is the best too. No one better than the Gallos.”
“It’s hard to trust.”
“I’ve never known her to be a liar.”
“No, Ma. I mean to trust myself. I thought Katie loved me. I thought she was something that she wasn’t.”
“She was a chameleon, that one. I never liked her, but I bit my tongue because you were into her.”
“Don’t hold your tongue ever again.”
“But how you got two beautiful and sweet girls out of such a monster is beyond me.”
“I wouldn’t change a thing, Ma. Without my time with Katie, I wouldn’t have Hazel and Maddox.”
“Sometimes the best things come out of a flaming pile of crap.”
I snort at her statement. “You’re so eloquent.”
“Well, tell me I’m wrong.”
“You’re not.”
“So, baby, you and Tate officially a thing now?”
“I think so.”
Ma rolls her eyes. “What the hell does that mean?”
“We didn’t really talk about our status, but I kind of made some claims in front of Thumper.”
“Claims?”
“I said she was mine.”
Ma smiles so damn big, I’m surprised she is able to keep her eyes open. “I like that. But, son, you need to talk to her about it. You don’t get to make relationship decisions without the other person agreeing to whatever it is or isn’t.”
“He pissed me off.”
“You’re a Romeo,” she teases.
“It was shitty. I knew it when the words came out of my mouth, but he pissed me off so much, I couldn’t stop myself.”
“Men,” she breathes.
“I’ll talk with her.”
“Good, sweetheart. Don’t fuck it up.”
I bark out a laugh. “Ma.”
“When are you seeing her again?”
“Tonight.”
“You better have the talk—and fast. Don’t leave the girl hanging any longer than you already have.”
“Yes, Ma.”
“Now, come inside and look at the sink and tell me about how the girls did when you dropped them off at camp. I want to hear everything.”
“Okay,” I tell her as we push ourselves up from the step. “But there’s not much to tell.”
“I want to hear everything that happened yesterday.” She holds open the front door for me, waiting for me to go in first. “And don’t leave anything out,” she says.
In no time, I have my head buried under the sink and every pipe taken apart. The pipes are old, probably older than me, and really needed to be replaced entirely, but Ma refuses.
“Just get it where there’s no water dripping. We’ll think about doing more later.”
It’s always later with her.
“Ma,” a voice calls out, and my blood instantly burns hot. “I’m here.”
I dislodge myself from underneath the sink and glare up at her.
She only smiles at me as she calls out to Thumper. “We’re back here, baby.”
“What did you do?” I whisper, trying not to raise my voice at my mother.
She’s playing dirty, but I should’ve known better. The woman has never played fair a day in her life.
“Zip it,” she tells me.
“What is this bullshit,” Thumper asks as he stalks into the kitchen with as much rage in his voice as I feel in my body.
“Watch your mouth, Dante,” Ma says to him like he’s a little boy.
My brother may be a big bad biker in his normal life, but when Ma’s around, he turns into a big old softy.
“Ma, I told you to stop calling me that.”
My mother places her hands on her hips and gets as close to him as she can, but she’s a good foot shorter than him. She cranes her neck to look up at his eyes. “It’s your name. I gave it to you, therefore I’m going to use it. Thumper’s a stupid name.”
I bite my lips to hold in my laughter.
“No one calls me Dante. It’s…”
“Beautiful,” she finishes his statement.
“I don’t look like a Dante. It’s a prissy name.”
“It’s a handsome name for a handsome man.”
“I look like a Thumper.”
“You’re not a rabbit,” she sasses. I’m damn sure she’s the only one in his life who talks to him like this, and there’s not a damn thing he can do about it either.
“Why am I here, Ma? It looks like Wylder has shit handled.” He doesn’t look my way as he speaks. We said enough earlier today to last us a few weeks.
“What’s your problem with Tate?” she asks him point-blank, being more confrontational than she’s been in a long time.
He jerks his head back in shock. “What does it matter?”
Her gaze dips to me. “Your brother has a chance at happiness with a nice girl, and you’re going to mess it up.”
“How am I involved? I don’t care who he dips his wick in.”
“You be nice to that girl,” she says, poking him in the chest the entire time.
I haven’t moved from my spot on the kitchen floor. It’s like my ass is stuck to the ceramic tile.
“I like her for him, and I don’t want you to be your usual boneheaded self and mess things up for your brother. You’ve done enough damage to this family, and I’ve had it. You either act right or stop coming around, stirring up trouble for people who’ve done nothing to you except love you. Got it?”
He gawks at her like he’s at a loss for words.
“And not only that, your nieces love her too. You may not care about anyone else’s feelings, but I know how you feel about those two girls. You chase Tate away, and you’re going to crush their little hearts. Do you want that shit on your conscience? They’ve been through enough with Katie. They don’t need you causing more heartbreak.”
“Okay, Ma. I got it,” he whispers. “Geez.”
“You do whatever you need to do to make shit right with her.”
“I don’t have a problem with Tate.”
“Liar,” I mutter, earning myself a glare from my brother.
“Some shit went down with her and the club.”
Ma glares up at Thumper. “What kind of shit?”
“They wanted her dead for something she didn’t do, but somehow he’s still holding it against her.”
Ma gasps, covering her mouth quickly with her hand. “What in the ever-loving fuck, Dante? I didn’t raise you to be this way.”
My brother looks like my mother’s slapped him across the face.
“Leave her alone. I mean it, Dante Allen.”
“Ooh,” I teased because she pulled out the middle name. If we didn’t know how serious she was before, that seals the deal. Cheryl means business.
“Fucking hell,” he mutters, shaking his head. “I’ll steer clear. It’ll be better for everyone. Happy?”
Ma shakes her head, her hands solidly back on her hips. “You’ll make things right because you can’t steer clear forever, especially if she becomes part of this family.”
“You getting married?”
“No,” I tell him as I rub my forehead.
Cheryl has really gone off the deep end with this conversation, but far be it for me to stop her.
“Just be nice,” she repeats to him.
“Fine, Ma. I’ll play nice,” he says, hissing out the last word.
But I know my brother. No amount of my mother’s intimidation is going to work. But I couldn’t care less. He can pretend she doesn’t exist, and I’ll be okay with it. As long as he keeps his shitty comments to himself—or else we are going to have a big problem and not one I’ll shy away from either.
“And you.” She rounds on me. “Talk to her, and don’t mess this up. Make sure you’re clear what you want. Don’t let Katie ruin any more things in your life. She’s already taken enough.”
“Got it,” I tell her, knowing she’s right. Tonight is the night I make Tate Gallo officially mine.