Page 65 of Wilder

This time, my steps did falter.

“You good?” Laken asked, stopping, too, his voice snapping me back to the present.

I swallowed.

My phone was still vibrating and I realized belatedly my fingers were shaking in time with it.

Asher.

Slowly, I looked up, my fingers tightening around my phone. “I’m... gonna take this.”

Laken gave me a strange look, brows knitting slightly, but he didn’t push. Clearly, it wasn’t in him to pry and I was his boss, which meant he probably knew better than to press when I wasn’t offering any explanation.

He nodded slowly. “You need anything, I’ll be up at the bunkhouse.”

“Thanks,” I muttered, the word feeling gravelly, rough on my tongue.

He shot me one last look before turning, heading up the dirt path toward the bunkhouse. His boots scuffed against the ground, the sound growing fainter with every step until he disappeared into the dark.

Standing under the only light next to the main pasture, the dull glow casting long shadows around me, I exhaled sharply and swiped my thumb over the screen before I could second-guess myself.

I lifted the phone to my ear. “Hello?”

“Wilder! Happy New Year!”

I winced at his volume, pulling the phone slightly away from my ear. “Happy New Year.”

There was noise in the background—a lot of it. Excited cheering, overlapping voices that blended together in the background, noise makers blaring through the receiver, and somewhere in the distance, the distinct wail of what sounded like a fire station siren going off.

Sounded like Asher was in the middle of a party. A big one at that.

What the hell was he calling me for then?

“You okay?” I asked, hoping my voice cut through the chaos on the other end of the line.

“Was I the first one?”

I frowned. “First one what?”

“To wish you a happy New Year!”

Warmth bled into my chest before I could stop it, a soft smile tugging at my lips despite myself. “Yes, actually.”

A whoop came through the speaker, followed by the distinct sound of someone knocking into something—probably him, given how unsteady he sounded. “Yes! Oh my god, I was hoping I was! I wanted to call right after the proposal but the fire station got a call and then Gage had to go, so I didn’t have time. But now I do!”

He sounded like he was practically vibrating through the phone, rambling so fast it took me a second to catch up.

My head spun, trying to decide which part to comment on first.

And then there was the matter of how drunk he sounded because from the way his words were tumbling out of his mouth, he was at least halfway there.

Who the hell was serving an underage teenager alcohol?

I pinched the bridge of my nose, biting back a chuckle despite myself. “Slow down, kid. Did you say a proposal?”

“Oh! Remember how I told you my brother might be getting engaged? Well, it happened. Right at New Year’s when the fireworks went off!”

I tucked a hand under my arm, leaning back until my hip met the fence post next to me. I liked hearing his voice brimming with excitement, the pure, unfiltered joy I was used to hearing with no touch of that sadness from the other day. “That’s amazing. Congratulations to your brother.”