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Her mouth fell open. “What? I thought Trevor said it was his friend Tyler.”
“Oh, Tyler did it too…after I bet him he wouldn’t. He just happened to be the one who got caught.”
The corners of her mouth rose. “You surprise me, Wade Adams.”
“I do?” I asked in an innocent voice.
“Just when I think I’ve got you figured out, you tell me something unexpected.”
I shrugged. “Stick around, and I’m sure I’ll do something else to surprise you.”
Her eyes turned dark as she pulled her lower lip between her teeth. “I hope so.”
We both turned away at the same time. Fuck. Does she have any idea how damn sexy that is? Of course she does. She writes romance.
The air in the truck seemed to crack with a strange tension.
Ten minutes later I pulled up to a gated house.
“Where are we?” Amelia asked.
“A children’s home that my grandparents founded. They adopted my mother when she was fourteen. It killed them to see the older kids being tossed around from house to house. They set up the Wrangler Home for kids who had been in the system for years with no luck at being adopted.”
Amelia stared back at the house. “A home for kids. How sad.”
“Yeah. There aren’t very many kids here like when my mother was young,” I said as I typed in the gate code. “My aunt and uncle live here and are pretty much these kids’ parents. I’ve lost count of how many kids they’ve raised and sent on to bigger and better lives. Each of them went to college, paid for by my grandparents’ foundation. A few of them are now married with kids of their own, and they give back to the foundation if they can.”
Amelia sat in silence as she took in the grounds. “Your grandparents must have been wealthy to be able to operate something like a childrens’ home.”
“Oil,” I responded.
“This place is amazing.”
To my right, my aunt was giving two girls riding lessons.
“It is pretty amazing. These kids are lucky, at least they have a stable home and people who love and care for them. Mick and Wanda are their family.”
“Is that your aunt and uncle?”
I nodded as I pulled up to the front of the circular drive. Mick walked out, wearing a giant cowboy hat, his smile as wide as a Texas sky.
Jumping out, I walked toward him. “Mick, it’s good seeing you.”
He pulled me into his arms and held me longer than normal. It was the first time I’d seen him since the funeral.
“How in the hell are you, boy? Damn it, I’m glad you’re back in Texas, son.”
“Me, too, Mick. Me, too.”
Mick’s eyes wandered over my shoulder, and he smiled big.
“Don’t be gettin’ any ideas. She’s a friend and that’s it,” I said in a hushed voice.
“She’s one hell of a pretty friend.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. He was right about that.
Before I knew it, Amelia was wrapped in my uncle’s arms, and he was leading her up the stairs.
“Wait until the boys see you. They’re gonna think they’ve died and gone to heaven,” Mick said with a loud, deep laugh.
Anxiety prickled as I followed him, and I was hit by a wave of nerves. Maybe I shouldn’t have let Amelia come along. This was personal. Something I didn’t share with many people. So, why did I think I could share it with her?
I got my answer the moment I stepped into the house. Four of the kids surrounded her and little Annie, who was ten, tugged Amelia toward the playroom. With a huge smile, Amelia took it all in.
“What are we going to do?” she asked with anticipation in her voice.
“Dress up!” Annie said as the older kids groaned.
As they walked into the other room, my cheeks ached from my smile. Mick stood next to me and bumped my shoulder. “Boy, that look on your face isn’t screaming that’s my friend. It’s screaming she’s the one.”
I was so fucked.
Two hours had passed since we arrived at Mick and Annie’s place. I’d met all twelve kids, each with their own shining personalities. Little Annie was the youngest and seemed to crave all of my attention. I gave it to her the first forty minutes and then suggested we head outside for a game of volleyball. The older kids loved the idea, and even Annie was in on it.
Wade played on the opposite team, and I couldn’t believe how much fun I was having. After the game was over, we headed back in, and I got to know Mick and Wanda a little better. They were amazing people. Mick was Wade’s mother’s brother. They had been super close growing up. He had been adopted, as well, a few years after Wade’s mom.
“It seems like this is very rewarding, yet hard work,” I said to Wanda as I helped her load the dishwasher with the bowls we had used for ice cream.
