Page 22 of I Choose You (Wilder #2)

Reid

Winter was officially here. It was cold as ice as my crew and I were offloading the stained glass sections for the windows.

The panes were heavy as fuck and extremely valuable.

It was going to take all hands on deck all day to get this truck fully offloaded without breaking anything.

I was already down a man since Dale had to work another job for me today fixing Kelly Woodson’s roof.

Luckily, Wyatt had some free time available and agreed to help us out for the morning before he had to leave for an appointment.

We had a pretty good system down, working in teams to get everything moved.

I had already been out to Kelly’s place twice this month for repairs that didn’t seem to need a carpenter, so when she called about her roof, I gave her the names of a few roofers that I knew.

She refused to call them, getting so worked up over the idea that she was in tears.

I agreed to look at her roof, but what I didn’t tell her was that someone from my crew would be out there, not me.

“Things are really coming along here, man. It’s looking good. How’s things been with Claire?” Wyatt asked .

“Fine. She’s not here today. Had some all-day meeting with her boss.

” That was all I knew. We hadn’t talked much since the wedding a few weeks ago.

She had tried to keep things friendly when we got back to town, but the last thing I needed was my crew, or my family, to find out I took off to another state for three days to help Claire out of a jam, donning a suit and tie and parading around some social elitists that I wouldn’t have been caught dead around any other time. I would never hear the end of it.

Especially if they knew how she had taken over my every thought. How I could still feel the way her soft lips felt on mine. Hear her breath hitch just before I captured her mouth.

Shit. This was exactly why I had been avoiding her. With just one kiss, she had me all tangled up.

So I kept my distance instead. It was better that way.

“You should bring her to dinner at Dad’s one week. She got along with everyone during the tree lighting. I know Maeve and her still keep in touch.” I stilled, causing Wyatt to jam me with the pane we were carrying. “Jesus, you alright? Why’d you stop?”

“Yeah, sorry. Thought I stepped on something.” Had Claire told Maeve about me showing up at her parents’ house unannounced?

Did Wyatt know now? He hadn’t said anything about it, so maybe not.

Or maybe he was just waiting for me to say something about it.

Fuck that. It wasn’t any of his business. He could just keep on waiting.

We set our load along the wall where we were storing all the panels. I turned to head back for the next one, but Wyatt grabbed my shoulder to stop me. “What’s going on with you? You seem edgy. Talk to me.”

Wyatt had always been the person I could talk to about anything.

He was the oldest of us Wilders and the most laid-back.

Except when he and Maeve lost Jane for a bit.

That had pretty much gutted him, to the point that he lost Maeve too.

But typically, he was pretty chill. Luke was the person I went to when I needed advice, but Wyatt was the person for talking things out, for when I needed a shoulder to lean on.

He was the first person I’d gone to when Kayleigh and I broke up.

When Luke would tell me what to do and how to act, Wyatt just let me fall apart, knowing that he would be there to help pick up the pieces.

I glanced around the doorframe, peeking into the vestibule to make sure Richie and Shawn were still outside getting their next load from the truck.

“I don’t know, man. I feel like ever since the tree lighting, since that night, things kind of shifted between us.”

Wyatt nodded, his lips twitching as he tried to hold back a smirk. “I mean, you did race down there like a bat outta hell the moment she called.”

“She didn’t have anyone else to call. She needed me,” I said.

“So, you like her. What’s wrong with that?”

“I didn’t say I liked her.” I sighed. “I just don’t like being away from her.”

Wyatt blinked a silent reply. “Okay. Sure. We’ll pretend those are two different things.

” I shot him a glare. When he was in denial about his feelings for Maeve, he was happy to say that those two feelings were entirely unrelated, but now that he was all in love with her, he couldn’t see it.

Not that I was in denial about my feelings for Claire.

I wanted her around at all times—just so I could watch out for her and make sure she was okay—while actively trying to avoid getting closer to her .

Jesus. I couldn’t even make that make sense to myself. There was that tangled-up feeling again.

“Didn’t Maeve tell me that Claire had to go home for a few days not long ago? You must have hated that.”

My neck was uncomfortably warm, my muscles tense.

I rubbed a hand along the back of my neck to try to ease some of the tension, keeping my gaze on the floor.

Screw it, he would probably find out anyway with Claire and Maeve being friends.

“I kind of met her in Connecticut. She needed a date to this wedding. Her mother—a real piece of work, that one—was trying to push her back with her ex. Claire needed backup, and… like I said, I didn’t like being away from her. ”

Wyatt let out an obnoxiously loud laugh. “Fuck, brother. You are screwed.” He gripped my shoulder tightly, his broad smile taking up his whole face.

I shot him a death glare, not finding this conversation nearly as amusing as he did.

“You like her. Admit it,” Wyatt said, shaking his head at me.

“I get it. You thought that you wouldn’t be able to love again after Kayleigh, but you can.

Your heart is still beating, brother. Claire is good for you.

She’s pulled you back into the world of the living.

I’ve seen it happening. We all have. When you get out of your own way, you’ll see it too. ”

“Shut up. You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, but my words held no heat. I walked out, flipping him the bird over my shoulder. He followed me outside, ready to keep moving, chuckling like a giddy schoolgirl the whole way.

We worked for a few more hours before it was time to break for lunch.

“Thanks for helping out today. I really appreciate it,” I told Wyatt with a slap to his back .

“No problem. Sorry I couldn’t stay all day. Harpoon’s later?”

“Yeah, sounds good.”

Wyatt left for his appointment, and I sat on a foldout chair with my lunch bag. I pulled my phone out to find a missed text. I hurried to open it, but my shoulders slumped when I saw it was from Luke and not Claire.

We had been throwing ideas around on what I could get Dad for Christmas. It was less than two weeks away now, and I still hadn’t got him anything yet.

Luke: What about a pair of slippers?

Me: He doesn’t need another pair of slippers. What about an electric bike?

Luke: Ha. Can you see him cruising the streets on an electric bike?

Me: I don’t know, man. I’m trying to think outside the box.

I texted him back and brought up my text chain with Claire.

Maybe I’d just reach out and see how her meeting was going.

I knew she was nervous about it. She was scheduled to do a two-hour presentation on the progress of the Delano Library project, including budgeting and funding. My fingers hovered over the keys.

I hit Send before placing my phone on the foldout chair next to me and opening my sandwich. The text alert dinged a second later, and I almost knocked my phone to the ground with how quickly I lunged for it.

Me: You killing it in that meeting or what?

Claire: I think I might be

Me: Never doubted you.

Claire: It’s your work they’re impressed with. Not mine.

Me: I didn’t take you for a liar. When did that start?

Claire: GASP… “Never doubted you”? And you call me a liar! cry-laughing emoji

A laugh burst out of me.

Fuck.

I was screwed, wasn’t I?

* * *

My vision took a minute to adjust to the dark interior of Harpoon’s Tavern. I saw Wes sitting at the bar by himself, so I went to join him for a beer while we waited for the others. Ronnie took my order and had the drink poured and in front of me in seconds.

Ronnie was the best. Her dark skin almost blended into the dark wooden planks behind her, but her bright makeup, nails, and jewelry made sure no one could miss her.

She decided to go all in on the Christmas theme tonight, from her bright red nails to her Christmas tree earrings to her red and green eye makeup.

“Thanks, Ronnie.” I shot her a quick smile when she placed my beer on the Harpoon’s coaster.

“You bet, kid. It’s just nice to see you smiling again.” I wasn’t sure what she meant by that. I smiled, sometimes.

I turned to Wes, about to strike up a conversation, when Luke came in and clapped me on the shoulder.

“Hey, Reid. Wes,” he greeted. He raised a brow at Wes and seemed to be waiting for a reaction.

Wes stared back at him for a beat. “Luke,” his deep voice rumbled.

My eyes bounced between them. Wes was a private investigator—and a damn good one from what I understood—but he and authority often didn’t see eye to eye. A smirk lifted at the corner of Wes’s mouth. Luke chuckled and shook his head.

“You’re a goddamn menace, Winters,” Luke said with a smile.

Wes shrugged. “Just investigating some insurance fraud. You know damn well it wasn’t harassment.”

“Yeah, and when I told the lady that you were within your rights and hadn’t broken any laws, she nearly threw her purse at me,” Luke grumbled.

Wes rose his brows, the ghost of a smirk tugging at his cheek, just as Wyatt met us at the bar, bringing Jane with him in a front carrier.

“You brought a baby to a bar?” I asked.

“Maeve made plans, and Dad had a date night with Sheila planned. She doesn’t get many evenings off, so I wasn’t about to saddle them with a baby,” he said, stroking the top of Jane’s head. “Thank you, beautiful,” he said to Ronnie. She already had his drink poured before he made it to the bar.

Ronnie pointed her finger at him, “You spill a drop of this on that little girl’s head and I’ll only ever serve you in a sippy cup from now on.”

The guys and I made our way over to a table, a server bringing over a high chair for Jane.

Seb joined us a few minutes later. After our food was ordered and delivered, we all started digging in.

Wyatt pulled out his wallet and tossed a folded-up printout onto the table.

He was already grinning before anyone even knew what it was.

Wes furrowed his brow with suspicion, and Luke glanced at Wyatt while I reached for the white paper .

“The fuck is this?” I turned to him, my eyes wide, jaw on the ground. “Are you serious right now?”

He finished chewing and broke into a huge grin, nodding his head.

I passed the paper down, and a flash of pain crossed Luke’s face but was gone in an instant.

He threw the black-and-white ultrasound photo back down on the table and turned to Wyatt with a smile.

“Seriously?” We all knew that Luke wanted to be a father, wanted to start a family of his own.

Juliet had been putting it off for years.

Their marriage was under a lot of strain most of the time, and I wondered if maybe not having a baby would end up being a blessing.

Wes had picked up the paper and, eyes wide, passed it to Seb.

“Jesus, man. Congratulations. You and Maeve must be ecstatic,” I said.

We both stood, and I wrapped him in a bear hug.

My brother was having a baby. He and Maeve already had Jane.

They were going through the adoption process with the state to make it official, but to all of us, Wyatt already had a daughter.

But now, he’d have two kids about fifteen months apart.

“We just found out. I’m so fucking happy, man. I need that back, by the way.” He grabbed the ultrasound photo from Seb, staring at it for a moment before folding it up and putting it in his wallet.

“Is this good news?” Luke asked. “Your relationship is still relatively new.”

I kicked Luke under the table, and I was pretty sure I heard Wes growl. Wyatt met his eyes with a wide-ass smile, not bothered in the least by Luke’s question.

“Yup. This is the best fucking thing to ever happen, brother. We’re both really fucking happy about this.”

“Well then, congratulations, old man.” Luke grinned. Wyatt accepted hugs and back slaps from all around. The back slap that Wes gave Wyatt looked like it hurt, but that was their love language. We all cheered to Wyatt and Maeve, and Jane becoming a big sister.

I was genuinely thrilled for him. Never, in a million years, would anyone have thought that Wyatt would be the Wilder brother that was madly in love, starting and growing a family of his own.

The man was walking on clouds. I was happy for him, but I didn’t envy him in the least. He could keep the lovey-dovey family life.

There was a time that was what I thought I wanted too, but now the idea that I could put my heart in someone else’s hands like that was laughable.

He wanted me to fall for Claire, for us to be a thing, but to what end?

Claire wasn’t sticking around. This wasn’t her real life.

After getting a glimpse into the lifestyle she grew up in, I couldn’t believe she’d lasted as long as she did at the Cove’s End.

She was tenacious, I had to give her that, but the idea that she would want to stay here, in my little coastal town with one stoplight and two general stores, was ridiculous.

She was made for grand things. She might not want the same life as her parents, but she wasn’t cut from the same cloth as us townies either.

Maybe Wyatt was right though. Maybe, someday in the future, I could find that kind of love again.

Long, toned legs, wild blonde hair, and a stop-your-heart smile filled my mind, because of course they freaking did.