22. Wyatt
WYATT
“You don’t think this is too... I don’t know, casual?
” Lark looked down at herself as my eyes raked up her body.
Annie had invited her out for a night downtown at the Grudge, and Lark had chosen a blue-and-white shirt dress with short sleeves and a matching belt.
The long vertical stripes made the perfect path for my eyes to trail over her.
The dress was almost to her ankles, but she’d left the line of buttons open starting at midthigh, and wedge heels made her legs look a mile long.
She’d have the attention of every man in town.
A hard lump lodged in my throat. “No.”
“You look so pretty, Lark!” Pickle beamed up at her from the couch, and they shared a smile that nearly broke my heart.
“Thanks, Penny! Are you excited for movie night?”
“Aunt Tootie said we could watch Die Hard !”
I pointed at my little girl. “Not. Happening.”
Tootie came up behind me and patted my back. “Don’t you worry. I’ll fast-forward through the bad parts.”
When my scowl deepened, my aunt and Lark erupted in a fit of laughter.
“That Bruce Willis...” Tootie lifted the front of her shirt to fan herself. “He is something.”
Lark walked over to Penny and ran a tender hand down her hair. The simple maternal gesture looked so natural. “Maybe one of the live-action Disney movies would be a better choice.”
“ Beauty and the Beast !” Penny chimed in.
Lark nodded. “Solid choice.”
It was surprising, and kind of nice, not to be the bad guy ruining everyone’s Die Hard fun. “Almost ready?” I asked Lark.
She turned and hit me with her million-dollar smile. We said our goodbyes, and as we left, I held the door. For a casual night downtown, it felt an awful lot like a date.
Once we were in the car, Lark shifted her legs, and the slit up the side draped open, exposing the long, smooth column of her thigh. My hand immediately landed on her silky skin. Our eyes met, but neither of us said a word. Lark only settled herself into the seat and smiled.
“Are the guys meeting you at the bar?”
I nodded as I pulled out of the driveway and headed down the dark country road toward downtown Outtatowner.
“We’ll grab a beer or two before Duke gets itchy and wants to bolt.
Head down to the beach for a bonfire.” I risked a glance at her, from the sharp line of her collarbone to the soft swell of her breasts in the vee of her dress. “You could come, too, if you’d like.”
Lark gave me a soft smile as her eyes lowered to where my thumb was drawing soft circles on her skin. “You mean you’re not sick of seeing me every day?”
I chuckled. “Not yet.”
The tension in the car was palpable. Though my hand stayed on her leg, I wanted to run it higher, explore her body again.
I hadn’t planned on asking Lark to come out to the bonfire, but the moment the words left my mouth, I was glad I had. A tiny wave of disappointment washed over me when Lark tipped her head and smiled. “Girls’ night.”
“Got it.”
Lark’s long fingers toyed with the hem of her dress. Her nails were painted a soft cotton candy pink—one I recognized from Penny’s collection of nail polish. My own toes were painted the exact same shade.
“I like your nails.”
She smiled. “Thanks. We had a spa day.” Lark grew quiet, and I pulled the soft perfume of her hair deep into my lungs. “Hey... um, I’m a little worried about her. Penny.”
My jaw went tight.
When I didn’t comment, Lark continued. “So I noticed that she hasn’t really made any friends. I know she’s new here, and I’m sure she’ll have a ton of friends once school starts, but...”
I nodded, my jaw working overtime.
Lark gently cleared her throat. “And I love hanging out with her, don’t get me wrong. But I was thinking that maybe signing her up for one of the activities at the library or a summer camp or something might be a good way for her to meet some girls her own age.”
Worry flickered through me. Penny and I had moved around a lot in the last few years, and while I worried about her making friends, it had never seemed to be an issue until now. Penny had always gravitated toward adults, particularly any babysitters or nannies that had come into our lives.
My hand squeezed her thigh. “Thank you.”
Lark gave herself a little satisfied smile, and I couldn’t seem to get over how perceptive and good-natured she was. I realized that maybe I had been too quick to judge her when we’d first met. God knows she had been surprising me left and right lately.
When we pulled into a parking space, we walked side by side toward the local bar. The crowd was picking up, and a little jolt of pride ran through me when Lark entered and immediately turned to the west side of the bar to sit with the Sullivans.
With one last smile just for me, Lark peeled off and joined Annie at a table with a few other women. Lee was at a high-top table with Duke, who was already looking uncomfortable and ready to bolt. Lee lifted a hand to signal me over and slid a cold beer in front of me as I walked up.
“You look hungry.” Lee’s grin spread across his face.
I picked up my beer and tipped it toward him. “You mean thirsty?”
His smile widened as he looked over at Lark. “Nah.”
What a shit.
Duke looked up from his phone. “Beckett is driving in. Said we can meet him at his place in an hour or so. He’ll have the fire all set up.”
I nodded. Beckett’s family had summered in Outtatowner for much of his life.
One summer he and Duke had struck up a friendship, and they’d kept in touch over the years.
Beckett had taken a job as some big-shot contractor in Chicago but came back every few months to visit.
His little brother, Declan, was the piece of shit who strung Katie’s along and broke her heart.
I tried not to hold it against Beckett, but it was hard not to when Lee so accurately recalled how hard she cried over what Declan had done to her.
Their family owned one of the large beach houses along the shore. Built into the side of a dune, it was massive, and the entire wall that faced the water was made of glass, but the beach was private.
While we drank our beer and made small talk, I was acutely aware of Lark.
Nothing about her seemed out of place in my little hometown.
The women laughed and talked and danced along to the music coming from the band.
Any outsider could easily mistake her for someone who’d been a part of our community forever.
Across the bar, I spied the King brothers.
Mostly they seemed to be keeping to themselves, shooting the shit like we were.
I didn’t miss the way Royal’s eyes locked onto Lark as she and her friends danced.
The familiar wave of jealous possessiveness coursed through me, but I only gripped my bottle tighter.
I wouldn’t embarrass either of us by starting shit and ruining Lark’s night.
“You ready?” Duke had drained his beer and was already wanting to leave.
I tipped my bottle to my lips and set it down with a hard clank. Leaving was a good idea, because if I stayed any longer, I wouldn’t be able to help myself. I was pretty certain it was only a matter of time before I wound my arms around Lark and pulled her into me on the dance floor.
And I never danced.
* * *
Mitch
I think I met a girl.
Oh yeah? Another one?
Mitch
Dick.
Something different about this one.
Jersey chaser?
Mitch
Sure hope not.
Good luck.
The fire crackled in front of me as the sun slowly dipped into the water on the horizon of Lake Michigan. Orange and peach faded into deep indigo as the sun set into the water. Barefoot, I dug my toes into the soft sand.
Lee plopped into the Adirondack chair next to me and handed me a beer. It was some fancy IPA from the local brewery, one I hadn’t tried yet. I scowled into my beer as I sipped.
“What’s got your panties in a twist?” Duke sat diagonally across the fire from me, Beckett to his left.
Lee was next to me and bumped my arm as he leaned in. “He’s pissy that we left the Grudge, and Royal was there eyeballing his woman.”
I pushed his arm off mine. “Fuck off.”
Lee laughed as though my reaction confirmed his suspicions. “Told you.”
“You should have danced with her, man.” Lee loved the Grudge and the attention from townies and tourists alike.
My jaw tightened as I thought of her on the dance floor. “Probably. But I don’t care about that arrogant prick.” Lie.
Lee tipped his bottle toward the fire. “You cared enough to stake your claim against Royal King and nearly knock his head off his shoulders the first time she stepped into the Grudge.”
“That was different. She was new and didn’t know how things are here.”
“Seems she’s figuring it out,” Duke added.
I stretched my legs. Relaxing at beach bonfires with my brothers, just shooting the shit, was something I had missed.
There was a sliver of comfort in our shared history, no matter how depressing it was.
Despite the fact that I was fundamentally disconnected from them, in the growing darkness, we shared the peaceful silence of the fire crackling and waves lapping against the beach.
I stared into the bonfire, watching the flames lick the wood and dance in front of me. “I don’t want Pickle getting too attached.”
“Like you’re not already attached?” Duke shook his head. I didn’t miss his implication that it wasn’t solely my daughter whose feelings for Lark were changing.
“We’re all attached. Lark is great. Is that a bad thing?” Lee asked.
I shook my head, ignoring his comment that Lark had already woven herself into the fabric of my town—and my family—with her grace and sunshine.
“Maybe not. Lark is really sweet with Penny. It’s just.
.. the last nanny we had was her only real friend.
Then she met one of my teammates, and when he got traded, she went with him. It was hard on Penny.”
And now I’m fucking this one just to make it extra complicated.
“It was bound to happen, though, right? It’s not like she’s got a lot of women around her.” Duke’s comment was particularly insightful, and it grated on me.
“Yeah, we see the news,” Lee chimed in. “You don’t date. Ever.”
Beckett took a pull of his beer. “Probably smart.”
The reality was that after Penny and the demands of a high-profile career, there wasn’t much left to give anyone else. The women who were happy with next to nothing were the same ones I could make happy with money instead.
Lark is nothing like them.
I couldn’t get my gorgeous brunette and her flirty summer dress out of my head. “Lark’s... thoughtful and kind. Aunt Tootie loves her.”
“Tootie loves everyone,” Lee quipped.
I saw the opportunity to turn our discussion away from Lark and the warm, fuzzy feeling that I was certain was from more than just the bonfire. “I offered to build her a new house. Right there on the property—knock down the old one and start fresh.”
“No shit?” Lee looked into the fire as though he was considering my very logical solution to our problem.
I nodded. “She laughed in my face.”
Duke sighed. “Well, we need to do something . I think she’s holding on to memories of Dad from that house or... I don’t know.”
“I can do it.” Beckett looked up from the fire and around at us. He lifted a shoulder. “The reno. I can handle it.”
Duke reached over to clamp a hand on his best friend’s shoulder. A tightness seized in my chest when I realized I was jealous of their easy, lasting friendship.
Something like that took time to cultivate. It meant staying in one place long enough to set down roots. Permanence. Something I’d learned, city after city and team after team, was never going to happen for me.