Page 16 of I Found You (Wilder #1)

“I wish Jackson would be more serious sometimes. He doesn’t seem to see rules as guidelines so much as chains holding him back. He flees in the other direction at the slightest sign of them.”

Wyatt took Jane to the sofa, laying her in his lap so he could play with her. He was so good with her, like he was made for this. I bet he would make a great dad.

I sat on the other side of the sofa. “Does she need a diaper change?” I asked.

“Yeah, I think so. Where do you keep the clean diapers?”

“I’ve got it.” I jumped up to collect a diaper and the wipes I stored in a little basket in the living room. Scooping Jane from Wyatt’s arms, I laid her on the floor and knelt in front of her, making funny faces at her just to see her smile.

Wyatt knelt right beside me, the scent of him intoxicating.

“I did this once and failed miserably. Then again, I was pretty drunk.” He turned to me with a smile.

His hat was blocking his eyes, and I wished I could take it off so I could see him fully.

Like he could hear my thoughts, Wyatt turned his hat backward and pushed up imaginary sleeves. “Show me how it’s done, doll.”

I wanted to shake out my arms, get the jitteriness out of my system, but I held it back.

Jane was looking up at us, her hand in her mouth and her chubby little legs kicking about.

I walked Wyatt through the diaper change process.

He was paying such close attention, like he really wanted to learn how to do it.

“You make it look so easy. Watch, I’ll give it a try, and the damn thing will probably fall right off her,” he laughed.

“No way. You’re a natural with her. You make a great dad.”

The shine in his eyes made my heart beat faster. I tracked his gaze as it dipped to my mouth. Instinctively, I swept my tongue across my lips. What was I supposed to do if he kissed me? Was he thinking about kissing me? No. That wouldn’t make any sense.

Jane started fussing, breaking whatever was happening between Wyatt and me.

Wyatt scooped her from the floor and stood, extending his free hand to me to pull me up. Even the touch of his hand was making me feel things. I really needed to get my head on straight if Wyatt was going to be coming by to see Jane.

He dropped my hand, his fist clenching and unclenching a few times.

“Will you tell Reid I said thank you for his help today? That was really good of him to give up his Sunday to work with you,” I said, cutting through the tension in the air.

“Yeah. Reid’s a good kid. He runs his own construction company, so this type of work is exactly what he does.

New porches or fences, installing windows, that kind of thing.

He’s absurdly talented. He can do so much more than general residential stuff, but it’s hard for him to get those big contracts.

He’s going to do big things though. He’s got so much potential. ”

My chest tightened when I thought about all the love in that family. I could feel it pouring out of Wyatt every time he spoke about them.

My phone rang, Jackson’s name displayed on the screen.

I wanted to be as proud of Jackson as Wyatt was of his family. Jackson was more than just a little brother to me. Ten years separated us, and for the last twelve years, I’d had to be a mother for him too.

“I have to get this, sorry.”

“No need to apologize.” Wyatt took Jane for a walk through the kitchen while I answered Jackson’s call.

“Hey, is everything alright?” Jackson didn’t usually call. He was more of a texter, so it made me nervous when he took the time to actually call me.

“Hey, hold on…” Jackson was talking to someone else in the background for a moment.

It sounded like they were finalizing a deal.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll make sure it’s off the street.

I’ve got a driveway I can use…” He returned to me.

“Hey, Mae. I bought a truck, but it doesn’t run.

I need to leave it in your driveway, okay? ”

“What! No, not okay. My driveway only fits one car. If you have a truck there, I’ll have to park on the street. Why can’t you just bring it to the apartment?”

“It’s not registered. The apartment manager won’t let me. Come on, Mae, please? It’s a badass truck. It will make your house look way cooler.”

“Hey, my house is cool.” I glanced at Wyatt and found him watching me. I lowered my voice and turned away from him. “How did you even afford a new truck?”

“It was a steal.”

“Jackson!” I hissed.

“Not literally, Jesus. I don’t think so anyway. I just mean it was dirt fucking cheap because it doesn’t run. But I’m going to fix it up in no time.”

I let out a sigh. “Fine. You can bring it here.”

“Yeah, it’s all set. I’ll get someone to come by to collect it…” I heard him say to whoever he was with before he disconnected the call. Great, now I was going to have a beat-up, old pickup truck in the driveway.

A second later, my phone dinged with a text message.

Jackson: THANK YOU. UR THE BEST

“Does he have any way of getting it to the garage?” Wyatt asked.

“Huh?”

“The truck. I’m guessing it doesn’t run. Rather than bring it here, why doesn’t he have someone drop it off at the garage?”

“No.” It was surprising I didn’t get dizzy with how quickly I swung my head back and forth. “You’ve done so much already. You don’t need to be taking on Jackson’s project on top of everything else.”

“I’m not going to,” he said with a smirk. “I can give him a space to work, access to tools, and a little guidance if he needs it. If he wants to.”

“I can’t ask you to do that.”

“You’re not asking. I’m offering. There’s a difference.”

Tears tried to pool in my eyes, but I blinked them away. “Are you sure? I don’t want to put you out. You don’t need some kid getting under your feet while you’re trying to work.”

“Maeve, he’s nineteen, not nine. He’s not a little kid. I’m sure I’ll be fine. Call your brother. Tell him to bring the truck there. If he needs help towing it over, just let me know. I have plenty of contacts.”

He was looking at me expectantly, so I picked up the phone and shot Jackson a text message. I laid Wyatt’s offer on the table and got an immediate reply back.

Jackson: Seriously? I’ll find a way to get it over there if he’s serious.

Me: Yeah. I asked him twice, he’s serious. He said you could use his tools and stuff, too.

Me: But don’t break anything.

Me: And don’t be a pain while he’s working

Jackson: Any other rules I should know about? Am I supposed to ask him his intentions with you? LMAO

Me: DON’T YOU DARE! I swear Jackson, if you embarrass me, I’ll make him rescind his offer.

“Everything okay over there? You’re typing awfully aggressively,” Wyatt asked, his brow raised.

“Yeah. Brothers are the worst. He’s going to get the truck over to the garage. But if he says something dumb to you, feel free to tell him he needs to go.”

Wyatt just laughed and proceeded to take Jane on a tour of the house, pointing out every item and telling her its name. Lamp, table, picture, fan, wall. My ribs felt too tight or my heart too big, watching them together.

I made dinner while Wyatt played with Jane. She started to get fussy, but my hands were dirty from breading the chicken I was making.

“Shoot. Hold on. I have to wash my hands, then I’ll get her bottle ready.”

“Keep doing what you’re doing. I’ve got her bottle.” Wyatt pulled a clean bottle from the drying rack and found the can of formula. “How much do I put in?”

I talked him through how to make the bottle. He measured everything to a T and carefully added the formula and water to the bottle one-handed while he cradled a crying Jane .

“Shhh, baby girl. You’re okay. Food is on its way. Full bellies make for happy babies.”

I finished dinner while Wyatt fed Jane and rocked her to sleep.

“Why don’t you make a plate. I’ll just put her down for a nap,” I told him, taking a sleeping Jane from him.

It felt like this was the first time I’d held her since Wyatt finished working earlier.

He was definitely a baby hog, which honestly was kind of hot.

But I missed my baby snuggles. I kissed the top of her head and laid her down in the bassinet attached to the portable crib.

After we finished dinner, I started to clean off the table. Wyatt pulled the plates from my hand, grabbed me by the shoulder, and spun me around.

“Go sit. Relax. I’ve got this.”

“Are you sure? You don’t have to,” I said.

“You have fed me four times. It’s usually paper plates or paper towels, so I don’t think much of the cleanup.

But this was a full-course dinner. A delicious one.

That I didn’t have to cook. Let me clean this up.

” His stare was hard. He wasn’t going to back down from this.

I put my hands up in surrender, but rather than going into the living room, I perched myself on the island, which gave me a view of his back as he scrubbed the dishes.

He had a really nice back. And a really nice backside.

I could sit here all day, just enjoying the view.

He glanced back at me and huffed a small laugh, shaking his head slightly. “You look like a kid up there, swinging your legs.”

Smiling along with him, I responded, “I feel like a kid up here, but a happy kid who’s watching someone else do the work. It’s new. I like it. ”

“Of course you like it,” he said and, without turning around, expertly shot water from the sprayer over his shoulder directly at me.

“Agh,” I screamed. I tried to kick at him, but my legs were too short.

In an effort to get closer, I lifted myself off the counter, using my arms to hold my weight.

Only my upper-body strength wasn’t strong enough to hold me, and I slipped.

I tried to gain my footing before I hit the floor, but I couldn’t get them back under me in time.

My butt landed on the floor, my legs awkwardly beneath me, my dress splayed out around my waist. Wyatt spun around quickly, the spray nozzle wild in his hands, and a jet of water hit him square in the face.

Laughter burst out of me. It was like it couldn’t be contained within my body, and it didn’t stop. I was hysterical, and I couldn’t do anything about it. Tears flowed from my eyes as I sat on the now wet floor, looking up at the now wet man standing before me.

Wyatt was looking at me like I was crazy. “What the hell happened?”

“I tried… to kick you… for squirting… water at me… and I missed,” I told him in between sobs of laughter.

“And then… you squirted yourself… with water anyway. And now I’m on the floor.

” I threw my hands up and let my head bang against the side of the island, closing my eyes and trying to control myself.

Wyatt’s laughter started small, gradually increasing until he was doubled over, before he wrapped his hands around my waist and hauled me up from the floor, his muscles barely even bunching under my weight.

Sobering quickly at his touch, I looked up to find him staring at me, laughter still lingering in his eyes .

I pulled back from his hold, smoothing my dress down. My head swam as the blood flooded to my face. “Thanks for everything today. You know you don’t have to work on my house, right? You can just come by to see Jane anytime you want.”

His gaze softened, and he reached out his hand like he was going to touch me, but he didn’t. He let his hand drop and took a step back from me.

“I told you, I like to stay busy. It’s no big deal. I should get going though, let you get Jane ready for bed.”

He kissed Jane’s sleeping head, and she instinctively turned toward him in her sleep. His smile was so soft and tender as he watched her for a moment. It almost felt intrusive to watch them together, but I couldn’t pull my eyes away.

* * *

Later that night, I lay on the sofa with Jane on my chest when my phone chimed a new text message alert.

Wyatt: Thanks for dinner today

Wyatt: And the show. I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time ;)

Me: Happy to be of service :) And thank you again for everything.

I snapped a picture of Jane on my chest and sent it to him. Technically, I snapped multiple pictures, but I sent him the one where I was looking down at her rather than one where I was looking at the camera. That way, it didn’t seem like I was sending him a picture of myself.

Wyatt: Fucking beautiful. Have a good night, doll.