Page 161 of Stay Wild Darlin’

“Nah,” Beau said with a shake of his head. “She was always going to come back. I’m glad I was there to help.”

“You’ve always been there for me.”

“That’s what brothers are for, man.”

I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. That’s the thing about family, regardless of how they’re family, they show up, even in the worst times.

“Thanks for staying to clean up. Y’all didn’t have to,” Fable said as Harleigh and Gatlin walked in with the last of the streamers.

“It was no problem.” Harleigh grabbed another trash bag from underneath the sink.

Gatlin came over and clapped a hand on my shoulder. “So, what’re you gonna do with the rest of your winnings?”

I laughed. “Got a couple surprises up my sleeve.”

We stayed late, cleaning up and celebrating until the house quieted down and the only sound left was Cora’s soft breathing as she dozed off in Poppy’s arms.

When we finally made it home, we moved through the house in silence, as I brought in the gifts while Poppy tucked Cora in.

When everything from the party was in the house, I found Poppy still standing over the crib.

I walked up beside her and whispered, “You okay?”

She turned to me with glassy eyes. “I didn’t— I didn’t know it was possible to love someone so small this much. I’m so glad I’m not the nanny anymore.”

I let out a quiet laugh and slid my arms around her from behind. We stood there, wrapped up in each other, and I realized something that hit me deep in my chest—I didn’t know I could love two people this much. I never thought my heart was truly capable of it.

“Come on. I want to show you something.”

We grabbed a few things and tiptoed toward the front door.

56

Poppy

“Where are we going? We cannot leave Cora alone.”

“We’re not.”

Dalton nodded toward the driveway, where a truck was pulling in. Through the windshield, I spotted someone in the passenger seat.

“Maribel’s here. She offered to stay for the night.”

“It’s late.” I protested, even though I was already halfway out the door. “She probably⁠—”

“She insisted,” he said, cutting me off gently.

I stared at him, barefoot in my oversized sweats and a tank top I’d tossed on after washing off the day. “Am I dressed okay? I thought we were going to bed.”

He smiled, reaching for my hand. “I mean, technically we are . . . come on.”

We climbed into the truck, and as soon as the door shut, he reached across the console and took my hand. His thumb started rubbing soft, steady circles, like muscle memory. It was as if he needed the contact as much as I did.

We drove in silence, past Kline’s place, then right before we reached Fable and Beau’s, Dalton turned onto a long gravel driveway I didn’t recognize. The tires crunched slowly beneath us, and it was dark, so I couldn’t tell where we were.

When we finally came to a stop, I glanced over at him, heart doing that weird fluttery thing it did whenever he got quiet with intention.

“Are you kidnapping me?”