Page 41 of I Found You (Wilder #1)

Wyatt

The sounds of tools being wielded and the smell of grease lingering in the air made me smile.

The garage was finally back to fully functioning two weeks after those fuck weasels destroyed the place.

Jackson claimed he’d cut ties with them, but time would tell.

He was a good kid, and I hated to see him mixed up in anything.

He had been spending his nights at Maeve’s house the past couple of days, which I had real mixed feelings about. On the one hand, I was glad he was staying clear of those dudes, both out on bail for the time being. But on the other hand, he could be a real cockblocker.

I had been spending almost every night at Maeve’s house, her naked body wrapped around me, which was great. Until I realized that wasn’t just while we were enjoying each other biblically but also how she slept. Which honestly was still pretty fucking great.

Both of us back to regularly scheduled work meant less time in the evenings for our hangouts.

She was already busy grading assignments and making the next day’s plan.

I was usually on Jane duty until it came to the bedtime routine.

Maeve didn’t like to miss out on bath time, and since she was working during the day and I had Jane most of the evening, that was her only one-on-one time with her.

Since it was Friday night and I knew she had a long week getting her students back into the swing of things, I was picking up takeout for us.

All three of us. Jackson’s truck was finally running, but it wasn’t quite roadworthy yet, so I brought him with me to the garage every day and brought him back to Maeve’s with me every night.

My mind was on food when the music cut out on my speakers for a second. I cleaned my hands on the rag that I kept on my waistband and reached for my phone in my pocket.

Reid: You got any plans tonight?

Me: Just takeout with Maeve

Me: Why? What’s up?

Reid was struggling with his breakup with Kayleigh. Luke and I were keeping tabs on him, but he’d barely left his place in weeks. I wasn’t really feeling up for a night on the town, not after I got the idea of cuddling up with my girls in my head, but if he needed this, I would be there for him.

Reid: Never mind

Jesus. This kid was wallowing bad. I could hear the dejection in his voice through his text. Reid was generally easygoing and laid-back. I hated seeing him hurt like this.

Me: Come over. Her brother, Jackson, will be there too. You’re not intruding on anything if that’s what you’re thinking.

The three dots appeared, indicating that he was going to respond. Then, they disappeared. A few seconds later, they appeared again. I decided to beat him to the punch .

Me: Dinner’s at six. You know her address. If you don’t show up, I’m tracking your ass down.

Reid: middle finger emoji

Reid: Thanks

I finished up most of my tasks for the night, assigning a few to Jackson to take care of tomorrow.

We’d been working every weekend lately, trying to get everything back in order and on track, but tomorrow, I was spending the day with Maeve.

I had already tapped my father for babysitting duties for a few hours so I could take her on a date.

Besides the couple of times we’d grabbed pizza together and that one night that the guys and I met her and Scarlett at Harpoon’s, we had never actually been out together.

And it was past time that I took her out on the town.

I pulled up to the food truck and threw Jackson some cash, making him collect the order that we’d placed before we left. On the ride back to Maeve’s, I brought up the sleeping arrangements for tomorrow night.

“I’m not kicking you out of the house or anything, but if you have a place to crash that isn’t your sister’s spare room, maybe tomorrow night, you can take advantage of it.”

“Come on, man. That’s my sister. I don’t want to know what you guys get up to. That’s not the kind of siblings we are. I’m not telling her about my hookups.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at how uncomfortable he was that I even mentioned that I wanted some alone time with Maeve.

However, I glanced over at him and narrowed my eyes at his last comment.

“First of all, let’s get something straight.

She’s not a ‘hookup,’” I told him, putting air quotes around the word.

“Who said I was talking about you?” Jackson quipped. Ignoring him, I continued on.

“And second of all, I’m not talking to you about what we’re getting up to. I’m giving you fair warning that if you’re at Maeve’s tomorrow night, be prepared to hear every glorious second of what we’re getting up to.”

He gave me a look that said that I was grossing him out. It really made me want to keep going, but I held my tongue, knowing that Maeve deserved better than to be used as a pawn to get her brother all riled up.

We made our plates in the kitchen where Maeve had set up the food. Reid and I were alone for a moment, Jackson having already made his plate, and Maeve was changing Jane in the other room.

“How are you doing, brother? You alright?” I asked him, scooping rice onto my plate.

“Yup.”

“You can talk to me, you know.”

“I said I’m good. What the fuck more do you want?” he snapped.

“I’ll give you a pass on your attitude because you’re still hurting.” I said quietly, feeling the heat of his glare on me. “But if you take it out on Maeve…”

“Whatever.” To his credit, he did rein in his bad mood during dinner.

After we cleaned up the dirty plates, Reid and Jackson sat in front of the TV, a controller in each of their hands, racing down a track in a video game.

“Why the fuck does this guy keep spinning out? He can’t make a fucking turn?

” Reid grumbled when his avatar careened off the track for the umpteenth time.

Jackson side-eyed him, trying to hide a small smirk.

He was probably thinking the same thing as me.

Who fucking cares? It’s a video game. But if he wanted to be mad at his little avatar, have at it.

I hoped a relaxed night in might put him in a better mood, but even dinner, video games, and some company weren’t pulling Reid back to his usual self. Masking his sadness with anger was only going to last so long.

I was sitting in the only other chair while Maeve made Jane a bottle.

When she came back into the room, I sent a wink her way and patted my lap in invitation.

Her face still flushed whenever I made any hint of affection toward her, and I fucking loved it.

She didn’t take me up on my offer, opting to sit on the floor, her back against the front of my chair, directly between my legs instead.

“You want me to take her?” I asked her.

“No. I feel like you’ve been doing all of the baby duties lately. I’d like to sit with her for a while.”

She leaned back and put her head against my thigh, cradling Jane in her arms. She was getting big so fast. I looked down at the two of them, and it hit me like a lightning bolt.

Maeve was just so damn beautiful, and watching her with Jane…

it was making me feel things I hadn’t experienced before.

Out of the blue, I could see us in the future: Jane in school, Maeve pregnant with my baby.

A low moan shook me from my vision. My hand had found her hair without me even noticing, massaging her scalp and running my fingers through her locks.

She seemed to appreciate it based on the purring sounds she was making.

I gripped her hair and tugged her head back just enough to get her attention.

“You are fucking stunning, do you know that?” My voice was low, almost dangerous-sounding. She breathed in sharply, her soft lips parted, and her wide eyes stared back at me with a fire that matched my own.

“Well, that’s my cue to leave,” Reid said. I had almost forgotten he and Jackson were there. “Good luck with that,” he added to Jackson, tipping his head in our direction.

I huffed a laugh, releasing Maeve’s hair. I would have stood and clapped him on the shoulder as a parting, but I had a situation happening in my pants that I didn’t think he would appreciate a front-row seat to.

“I’m going to, uh, get out of here for a while too,” Jackson said after Reid left.

“No, you don’t have to leave. Stay and hang out with us.

I like having you around more,” Maeve told him.

His eyes darted to mine like he was looking for permission.

Having him hanging around made Maeve feel better.

She knew he wasn’t getting into trouble or running with a bad crowd if he was sitting on her couch.

I wouldn’t do anything to stop her from having that peace of mind.

“You two hang out. I’m going to take off for the night.” I stood, covertly trying to adjust myself. I wanted to give Maeve and Jackson some time together, by themselves. They had some things they needed to talk about.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, doll.” I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her to me. “Maybe your brother will be less of an ass than mine.”

“I’m sorry that Reid’s hurting. And thank you.” Her wide eyes looked up at me. Damn, it was hard to pull away from her when she looked so delectable.

I said good night to Jane, passing her along to Jackson for a moment so Maeve and I could have a few seconds alone.

When she followed me out to my truck, I spun her around and caged her in against the passenger side.

She raised onto her toes, took my face in her hands, and kissed me thoroughly.

I pushed my hips against hers, letting her feel my erection through our clothes.

Her soft moans were like a drug to me; I couldn’t get enough.

She trailed her hands down my chest while mine were wrapped around her soft waist. When I felt her reach for the button of my jeans, I slid my hand lower, grabbing her ass tightly.

She reached into my pants, past my boxer briefs, and wrapped her fingers around my shaft.