Fifteen
Wyatt
Ihad no idea what was wrong with me. it was after midnight, and instead of driving back to vern’s place, i found myself parking my car outside rocky ridge.
jed had given me a ride to rocky ridge midday, when it became apparent daisy wasn’t going to give birth to her calves any time soon.
covertly, i’d picked up my car and driven back to jed’s, which meant vern and i could take shifts.
Of course, Vern had already left for the evening when the real fun started; Daisy had given birth, though it had nearly killed her and both calves. All three were doing fine now, although I was shaky.
Which was why I’d driven to Rocky Ridge. Something in me longed to see Cam. I wanted to be comforted, and I had no idea why, but my brain had decided Cam was the man for the job.
But it wasn’t rational, I realized, driving over there after midnight. Even though there were lights on in the house, I didn’t think the Carlyle brothers would be exactly pleased to see me.
I couldn’t help myself. I was exhausted after spending all day at Jed’s place, waiting for the calves, then finally dealing with their arrival.
I probably shouldn’t have gotten behind the wheel; it was like I was on autopilot, which was how I’d ended up here and not back at Vern’s, where I could have collapsed into my bed and slept.
I was just about to get out of the car when the front door peeled open and someone stuck their head outside.
I blinked as I took in the face of a woman with hair about the color of Cam’s and amber eyes. She blinked owlishly back at me. Then she hollered, “Calvin! Somebody’s here—you expecting company?”
“At this hour?” Cal nearly bowled her over as he poked his head out the door. He shook his head, like he thought he was seeing things. “Wyatt?”
I hustled out of the car, closing the door. “Uh, hey,” I said, “sorry. I know it’s late, but I just wrapped up at Jed’s and I wanted to check in on—”
The woman’s eyes lit up. “You’re Wyatt?” she asked with something like glee in her voice. Her gaze raked up and down my form. Then she turned back to the house and shouted, “Cameron! Your boyfriend’s here!”
I almost toppled over, I was that surprised to hear the word out of her mouth. “Uh! We’re not—”
“He’s not my boyfriend, Aunt Caroline!” Cam protested over me. He slapped a hand to the doorjamb, nearly knocking the petite woman out of the way.
The woman—Caroline—put a hand to her mouth, barely disguising an evil chuckle. Then she slipped away, while Cam stared at me, and Cal stared awkwardly at his brother.
Just the sight of Cam was balm to my uneasy mind. I wanted nothing more than to rush into his arms, to hold and be held.
Thankfully, I was too tired to do much more than drag myself toward the door, like a shuffling zombie from some horror movie. “Hey,” I greeted.
“The hell are you doing here?” Cam practically growled, glaring down at me.
I recoiled, his words stinging me almost physically. Why was he angry? Didn’t he want to see me?
My stomach lurched. Had I misread the entire situation, and he just wanted a one-night stand with me? Oh God.
I felt heat rising in my cheeks. “I, uh—”
Cam raked his amber gaze over me. “You look like death warmed over,” he continued. “You should be at home, sleeping, not out here driving around! And look at you. Where the hell have you been, you’re covered in …”
He leaned in to sniff at me. “Is that cow shit?”
I pulled back, both embarrassed and offended. “I was up at Jed’s. One of the cows was calving. Took forever.”
Cam opened his mouth, but Cal butted in, saying, “He said he wanted to check in on you.”
Cam snapped his mouth shut, expression still twisted with displeasure. Cal tossed me a look. “I think what my numbskull brother is trying to say is you should come on in, Wyatt. We’ll get you a shower and something hot to eat.
Thank God one of them had some sense. “Thanks,” I said numbly to Cal, not taking my eyes off Cam.
Cam, who was still scowling when he finally turned to his brother. “I can handle it,” he said in a low, dangerous voice.
Cal seemed to broaden his shoulders and stand taller. “Can you though?”
“I got it,” Cam said, his teeth flashing, and despite how tired I was, my stomach did flip-flops at the thought of those sharp canines …
I drew a breath, and Cam’s attention snapped back to me. “Well,” he huffed, “come on in. The night’s pretty chilly, you’ll catch your death standing around out here.”
I swallowed, then shuffled over the threshold.
Inside, it was like there was a veritable party going on.
I blinked a few times; I hadn’t ever seen the foyer lit up with the hall lights, which cast the room in sharp shadows.
There was music playing somewhere, although I could barely hear it over the sound of Mario Kart in the living room—the TV was blasting, nearly drowning out someone shouting, “Blue shell, blue shell!”
I turned back to Cam and Cal. “Sorry,” I said, “I didn’t know you were having a party.”
“We’re not,” Cam grumped. I blinked; maybe he wasn’t mad at me? Maybe he was just in a bad mood?
Cal cracked a smile. “Our brothers are back for spring break,” he said, ushering me past the den, where I spied two gangly teenage boys sprawled on the floor, both of them staring with intent at the enormous flat-screen TV mounted on the wall.
Behind them, on a well-worn sofa, was Caroline, who had her ankles crossed and her hands folded neatly in her lap.
Beside her was a mountain of a woman, who was drinking a beer.
Cal herded me down the hall, toward the kitchen. “Our aunts,” he explained as I kept twisting my head toward the living room. “Cody and Connor are staying with them until they graduate.”
“Ah,” I said. Vern had mentioned that two brothers were staying with an aunt. He hadn’t mentioned the aunt was a lesbian.
Cam followed us to the kitchen, like a black cloud. Cal pointed toward the laundry room, where Cam’s makeshift pen had been. “There’s a shower just past there,” he said. “You know where the linen closet is, right?”
“I’ll show him,” Cam said, turning.
“You’ll stay right here, Cameron.” Cal’s tone brooked no argument, but Cam tossed him a glower.
I cleared my throat. “I’ve got a good idea where it is,” I offered, then darted down the hall before either brother could protest.
I felt like I was floating, even though I could hear my feet slapping the tiles of the floor. Were they … fighting over me? Honestly, it seemed like Cal was trying to keep Cam away from me, and Cam …
I stopped at the end of the hall, leaning on the door to the closet as my knees threatened to give out on me. I’d never felt like this before, my head swimming.
You’re tired, I told myself sternly. It had been a long day, and I certainly hadn’t slept well the night before, not with Cam keeping me up until the small hours.
But this didn’t feel like any tiredness I’d ever experienced before, and I was no stranger to pulling all-nighters.
I blinked, then took a deep breath and forced myself to straighten up slowly. I opened the closet door, grimaced at the selection of worn and threadbare towels, selected the least offensive, and headed to the small bathroom off the laundry room.
I leaned against the shower stall as the warm water flowed over me. I closed my eyes, willing the murky feeling to lift. Showers usually helped. That, and big pots of black coffee.
I scrubbed down as best I could—there wasn’t a scrub brush and I’d forgotten a cloth, and there wasn’t that much soap on hand. Still, it was probably better than being covered in cow shit.
I paused, realizing I didn’t have a change of clothes with me in here. I scowled. I probably had a spare set in the car, but …
A knock at the door almost made me jump out of my skin. The door handle turned, and I realized I’d forgotten to lock it.
“Uh,” I called out.
“Just me, sugar!” That was Caroline. “Cal said you didn’t bring any clothes with you, and Cam was ready to run five miles to wherever you’ve got your stuff stowed, but I convinced Connor to loan you something instead.”
“Er—thanks.”
She laughed. “I’ll leave it here on the counter for you. Nothing like a change of clothes to help you freshen up!”
With that, she stepped back out of the room, closing the door tightly. I waited a few seconds, then breathed a sigh of relief.
I cut the shower spray, then stepped out of the stall. I wrapped the towel around myself and dried off as quick as I could. The air was cool now, and I was going to start shivering. Then I’d never be able to get warm again—my body did a shit job at temperature regulation when I was tired.
I investigated the clothes Caroline had brought me—a pair of gray sweatpants and a worn tee with some kind of band logo on it, maybe? I didn’t recognize it.
Shrugging, I tugged the clothes on and tried not to think about how a high school senior’s clothes fit me. Cal was a beefcake, and Cam wasn’t that far behind him. I, on the other hand, was a stick person, so they were just trying to find something that might have a hope of fitting me.
I glanced in the mirror. Not that the clothes fit me all that well. The pants were threatening to slide off my hips. Thankfully, the tee was oversized and long, so it wasn’t an issue.
I dragged the towel through my hair a few times, then sighed and pitched it toward the washing machine as I exited the room.
The tiles were even colder on my bare feet as I made my way back to the kitchen.
I blinked at the four adults at the table as I entered the room.
Caroline and Karla were sitting at the table, Caroline primly, Karla grinning broadly.
Cam had his back to me, arms crossed, and Cal was just pulling out a chair.
I blinked at them. “Uh.”
“Come have a seat,” Caroline invited, smiling. “You look worn out. Have you had supper?”
“Er.” I’d eaten something, though it hadn’t been much of a meal.
Caroline’s expression softened. “Long day, huh?”
“Yeah,” I replied, hesitantly making my way to the table. There were two open seats: one beside Cameron and the other between Karla and Cal.
I opted for the one beside Cam. After all, it was the thought of seeing him that had driven me over here in the first place.
Caroline and Karla shared a look.
“Now, sugar,” Caroline started.
“Let the man eat,” Cam huffed, glowering at his aunt. Cal shoved a plate my way.
“It’s not much,” the older Carlyle brother said apologetically.
“Thanks though,” I said, glancing down at what seemed to be reheats from their dinner—chicken and mashed potatoes, with some paltry boiled vegetables on the side.
Silence descended over the table, like they were all waiting for me to finish. I took maybe two bites before it became too much to bear. I choked down what I could, then glanced up to find three pairs of eyes fixed on me. Watching. Waiting.
“Uh,” I said.
Cam glanced at me, then glared at his relatives. “They can wait,” he said gruffly.
I sighed and pushed the plate away. “I can’t eat with all of you watching me like that.” I flushed; it sounded far more petulant than I meant it.
“Oh,” Caroline said, putting a hand to her mouth, like she hadn’t even thought it might be awkward to have an audience.
Karla had no such compunctions. She dropped an arm on the table, leaning forward, staring at me intently. “Tell us—how’d you meet your fated mate?”