Page 75 of Wild Rivals

“What is it?” I ask, almost afraid to breathe in case I miss it.

Wyatt squeezes me close, pressing a kiss to my bare shoulder. “Know that you don’t need to push me away. You can lean on me.”

“I can do that, I promise.”

That’s possibly the easiest promise I’ve ever made.

EPILOGUE

MADDIE

Three months later

It’s Sunday and the entire Hart and Wilde gang is standing in the kitchen at Grayson’s house. It’s loud as different conversations are being held, but I stand off to the side, watching it all as I sip on my beer. Who would have thought that we’d all be here under one roof? I certainly didn’t.

About two weeks after Wyatt and I had our first official date, I bumped into Georgia Wilde, Wyatt’s mom, in the grocery store. She insisted that my brothers and I come to Sunday family dinner because I’m “part of the family now” and I didn’t have it in me to correct her on that. One date does not make me part of the family. So, we’ve been coming every Sunday for three months.

The kitchen smells of roasted chicken, garlic, and gravy. The windows are cracked a little, making the most of the last of the cool evening air. The low hum of the ranch that never quiets filters through between bursts of laughter. I’m happy. With the people I love surrounding me, I couldn’t ask for a better way to spend my day.

I watch Deacon chatting animatedly to Kade, showing him something on his phone—probably to do with the mechanics of a vehicle—as Kade listens intently. Chloe looks at me with wide eyes, silently asking to be rescued, but I twist my lips and mouth, “Sorry, no can do.”

Rhett is helping Georgia with the potatoes and Sawyer is sneaking pieces of chicken every time she turns around.

“Boy,” she snaps without looking at him. “If you do that again, you’ll be wishing I’d never invited you.”

Sawyer grins unapologetically before moving to Grayson and Avery on the other side of the kitchen island. Avery’s diamond glints under the overhead lighting as she gestures while talking.

It still amazes me how we all seem to fit together. Especially when a scene like this felt near impossible a few months back, not just because of everything between Wyatt and Deacon, but because after Daddy passed, I didn’t know how to go on. Everything that was once familiar had disappeared in the blink of an eye and I didn’t know how to get it back.

But I did. It might not have been perfect, but I did it. I got through it all with the support of the people in this room. Without them, I might not have made it.

An arm bands around my waist, and I sink into Wyatt’s chest as his hot breath skates over my ear. “You okay?”

“Never better,” I reply.

It’s the truth. Sure, I miss Daddy every day, but I’m not alone; I have my brothers, as well as Wyatt and his family. I always did; it just took me a while to see it.

Twisting in his arms, I look back at Wyatt, an emotion shining in his eyes that I can’t quite name, but I know it’s been there for the last few weeks. “Are you okay?”

He bends, brushing his lips over mine and wiping any logical thought from my mind.

“With you by my side? I’m fucking fantastic, darlin’.” He grins.

That endearment used to annoy me, but now, it just reminds me that I’m his and he’s mine. We’ve come so far from where we used to be and I’m forever grateful for him. With him by my side, it feels like I could take on the world, and what woman doesn’t want that?

I turn back to face the room, watching as Autumn smooths a hand over her protruding stomach while Olivia sets a drink down in front of her.

“Sit,” Olivia insists.

“I am sitting.” Autumn laughs, rolling her eyes.

Olivia folds her arms over her chest and says, “You were half standing.”

“I was adjusting. When you’re eight months pregnant, you’ll understand that it’s incredibly hard to sit still.”

“You know what the doctor said, you have to rest.”

Autumn doesn’t say anything, but I can hear the heaviness of her sigh when she picks up the drink and takes a sip.