Page 30 of Wilder

Making sure Gage got at least one good surprise a year, especially when it came to knocking him off his well-structured, responsible, older brother pedestal, was our brotherly duty.

And honestly?

I had no regrets.

While Grey and I weren’t expecting Gage’s boyfriend, Xavier, and his son to be staying at the house, we definitely weren’t mad about it, either.

In fact, the surprise was a damn good one.

Finally getting to meet the man our brother had been dating for an entire year in the flesh instead of just hassling him whenever we happened to catch him on FaceTime was long overdue.

Gage wasn’t the type to parade his relationships around. Hell, he barely talked about his own life when we were growing up, let alone his love life when he actually cared to have one. He’d always been more focused on making sure Grey and I had everything we needed rather than letting us worry about him.

So when he did bring someone around, it meant something.

And Xavier? The guy was solid.

Taller than I expected, all broad shouldered and thick muscled, his sharp features gave him an edge that was quite intimidating until he opened his mouth and showed you the quiet confidence hidden underneath.

He was a calm, steady presence that wasn’t the type to be rattled easily.

And more importantly?

It told me right away he could handle our brother’s particular brand of stubbornness without breaking a sweat. Because if there was one thing Gage was known for, it was being as stubborn as a goddamn mule when he set his mind to something.

He greeted Grey and me like he’d been looking forward to meeting us just as much and making a joke about how Gage had warned him we were “a couple of troublemakers.”

Which was fair. We absolutely were.

His kid on the other hand?

Pretty quiet. Not in a shy way—more like the kind that came from watching, from observing everything around him. His eyes tracked us all carefully when we all finally met him, shifting between me and Greyson, taking in the way we moved, the way we spoke, the way we interacted with Gage.

It wasn’t an uneasy kind of silence, though. Not one that made you feel like you had to tiptoe around him or be afraid of waking up to him standing at the foot of your bed in the middle of the night. Just the kind of quiet that made me insanely curious.

Judging by the way Dexter hovered just slightly behind Xavier—close enough to be within reach but not clinging—I had a feeling he wasn’t one to warm up to new people right away. But that was fine, Grey and I always liked a challenge. If we were going to be spending the next few weeks together, I’d enjoy cracking into this kid and getting him to warm up to us.

Because behind those big, thoughtful eyes was a kid who was paying attention. Who was figuring us out before he made any move of his own.

Smart.

Sharp.

I liked that in a personality. It reminded me a lot of Wilder in a way.

Having dinner together on our first night as a full group felt nice, comfortable in a way I hadn’t even realized I’d been missing. Like coming home in the truest sense.

Even with the newness of having Xavier and Dexter there, even with the quiet pauses that naturally came from figuring out how to fit together as a unit, there was something undeniably easy about it. A kind of peace that settled over all of us the moment we finally sat down at the table, plates full, the hum of conversation filling the space.

It would take time, of course, to get to know Gage’s boyfriend and his son beyond the handful of FaceTime calls. Time to really see how they fit into the family dynamic Greyson and I had built with our brother over the years.

But there wasn’t awkwardness or any type of forced conversation or strained efforts to connect.

It was all really nice.

After we finished eating, we all pitched in to clean up, putting leftovers away, and wiping down the dining room table until the place was back in order. It was comfortable, easy, the kind of teamwork that reminded me of being back at the ranch.

Once that was done, we branched off for the night, letting Gage and Xavier slip away to their room while Greyson and I found a way to rope Dexter into hanging out with us until his curfew.