Chapter 23
CAMMIE
Dinner with the entire Wilder family had been pretty crazy. Surprisingly, everyone fit around the huge table. Mr. and Mrs. Wilder. Beau and Lainey. Trig and Ellie. Colt and Molly. Bray and Katie. Cam and Taylor. Buck, Hayes, and Shep. Plus me and Zeb, the only two who didn’t live in Devil’s Ditch.
Lainey, Ellie, Molly, Katie, and Taylor were all pregnant, with Ellie being due first. Their men sat beside them, loading their plates with food, rubbing the back of their necks, refilling their glasses. I had a feeling all of them would go pee for them if it were possible.
I found it amusing, especially seeing Beau dote on Lainey. For such a gruff guy, he was sweet with her. She wasn’t so sweet back.
There was so much food, so much talking over each other. Laughter. Shouting.
“Sorry we missed the game yesterday,” Bray said to Zeb.
Zeb waved him off and shovelled another piece of peach cobbler in his mouth. He’d already had three pieces of chicken, mashed potatoes smothered in gravy, green beans, three rolls, and strawberry jello.
“It’s fine. It was a crazy week with midterms. I was distracted.”
“By midterms or Cammie?” Shep asked, grinning.
I could feel my cheeks heat, but a roll went flying across the table. My brother launched the thing like a missile. Or a football.
“Were you at the game?” Mrs. Wilder asked me, ignoring the antics.
I nodded, then pushed my glasses up. “Yes, ma’am. My first one, actually.” I took a sip of my water.
“Do you have pictures we can see?”
Her innocent question had me swallow funny and I needed to wipe my mouth with my napkin. The photos. Holy shit. There were very naughty photos in my camera! It was one thing to agree to them in the moment, but now? Surrounded by Wilders? Gah!
I glanced at Zeb and he winked. Winked!
“We need to add her to the group text so she can share,” Mrs. Wilder added.
I wanted to slide under the table and hide. If Beau ever saw the pictures Zeb took of me, that rifle would be back out and Zeb would be full of holes.
Zeb pulled out his cell from his pocket and a few seconds later, my own cell chimed. I pulled it free and saw he’d done what his mother wanted. I was now part of the Wilder family group text.
I looked down the table to Mrs. Wilder. She gave me a big, expectant smile.
“Okay, um, let me find one,” I said, putting my phone in my lap and flipping through the photos. Using the slider bar, I jumped right over the ones Zeb took. I’d look at them later when I was very alone.
I swiped through the photos from the game. Rose in the crowd. The scoreboard showing Zeb’s team in the lead. The players on the field. Rose, Angela, and Faith screaming with the win. Then the three of them outside the locker room. Another one. Another–
I stilled, then swiped the photo with my fingers to zoom in. There, in the background behind Rose’s left elbow was Chase Trout and the other guy swapping drugs for money.
Zeb, sitting beside me, tipped his head toward me to snoop.
That wasn’t necessary because I handed him the phone, then pointed.
He stared, then his eyes widened. “Holy shit,” he whispered.
His gaze lifted to mine. He grinned, hooked his hand behind my neck and kissed me. Right there at the table in front of his entire family… and my brother. “That’s my good girl,” he whispered.
Because I had the proof that was needed to bring down Chase Trout. It wasn’t he said, she said any longer.