Wilder, p.1
Wilder, page 1
Wishing for Wilder—© Anna Brooks
Copyright © 2021 Anna Brooks
Published by Anna Brooks
Cover design by Passion Creations by Mary Ruth
Editing by Kim Nadelson
Editing by Editing4Indies
Proofreading by Kimberly Holm
Formatting by Champagne Book Design
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form without written permission except for the use of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/ use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owner.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE
COPYRIGHT
ABOUT THE BOOK
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33
PREVIEW OF MISSING MAVERICK
OTHER BOOKS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I was too young to understand the beauty of what I held in my arms when she crashed into my world.
Frankie Young was never far from my mind, so when she came back into my life after nearly a decade, it was as if no time had passed.
After we reconnected in more ways than one, there was no denying what we had was extraordinary and, I thought, forever. But when she discovered something I’d been hiding, she gave up on us without giving me a chance to explain.
My lies broke her heart, but her walking away shattered what was left of mine. I thought that was the end for us… until Frankie and I found ourselves bound together for life. While we navigated our new found destiny, not only did we have to fight for each other, but we had to protect our future from someone who didn’t want us to have one together.
CHAPTER 1
Frankie
My head bounced against the car window as we drove over a pothole, so I readjusted the position I was in to rest more comfortably and save my brain from further trauma. My sister, my parents, and I were on the way to our family’s annual vacation, and I was excited because we were going horseback riding this year.
“You girls want to stop at the Pickled Pig?” My dad winked at me in the rear-view mirror. “See what kind of pie they have this time?”
The Pickled Pig was this little diner in the town we passed through just before we reached the cabin we stayed at every year. They served the best pie I’d ever had before, and it was tradition that we went before, during, and after our trip… making sure to bring a few home with us, one of which we always froze until Thanksgiving.
“No thanks, Dad, I’m not hungry.” I rolled my eyes sarcastically. “Pie doesn’t sound good at all.”
His baritone chuckle echoed in the cab as he pulled into the lot, and before I got out of the SUV, I made sure I had my journal and a pen. I had always enjoyed drawing, but as I reached my teenage years and found myself unable to express how I felt, I discovered how freeing and comforting journaling was, which was why it was unusual to find me without my notebook and at least one pen in hand.
I stepped onto the gravel and got a whiff of fried food, and then opened my sister’s door impatiently to find that she was still on her phone. “Come on, Piper.”
“I’ll be right there,” she muttered distractively, and I knew she was texting her latest boyfriend. The two of them were constantly talking to each other one way or another whenever they were apart.
“Logan can wait until we get inside for you to reply,” I reminded her gently, in hopes she wouldn’t piss Dad off by making everyone wait.
“No phones at the table,” Dad stated, coming to stand beside me. “Phones are never allowed at the table. This is nothing new.”
She huffed and tossed her cell on the seat and then stomped her feet until we got inside. Dad led us to a booth toward the back, where Mom slid in first, then he sat next to her. Piper continued pouting and left me plenty of room as she pressed herself against the wall opposite my parents. “Can you hand me a menu?” I asked her, and she moaned like it was the biggest inconvenience.
I knew what I was going to get, but I still perused just in case they added anything new that year. “Hey y’all, welcome. I’m Lorna. Can I get you started with something to drink?” The waitress who’d been here since I could remember asked cheerfully.
We placed our drink orders, and by the time Lorna brought them to us, we knew what we wanted to eat as well. After she scribbled on her pad and walked away, my mom leaned past my dad and looked at the display case that housed a bunch of pies. “Do you girls want to get a different slice so we can share, or are you thinkin’ y’all want your own piece?”
“I’m on a diet. I’m not getting pie.”
“Girl, you don’t need to be on no diet.” Dad pointed at the table, stabbing his finger against the linoleum. “I hear you talkin’ like that again, and we’re gonna have problems, Piper Rae. Got it?”
At him saying her full name, she ground her teeth together. “Got it.”
I almost felt sorry for her, but at the same time, I didn’t. Piper had been really snotty lately because she was angry about our dad’s rule that we had to wait until we were seventeen to date. I didn’t mind it because I had never met a boy I actually wanted to go out with, unlike my sister, who had them lining up.
As we waited for our food, I glanced around and saw a table with a few guys who appeared to be about our age. And they were all looking at Piper, one blatantly, the other more discreetly. That wasn’t surprising. Even though Piper and I were twins, we weren’t identical, so we didn’t resemble each other. Boys always stared at her with her long hair and big boobs. I wasn’t totally flat-chested, but I didn’t have her full C cups.
If our food hadn’t been delivered right then, I’d have taken out my journal, but luckily, Lorna returned quickly. I was so excited for my potato soup that I almost burned my tongue, but it was so delicious that I didn’t even care. The mood at the table lightened as we ate, and by the time we were done, everyone, including Piper, ordered pie. The girls all got a different flavor, and we shared each other’s while my dad hogged his own piece of pecan. The almost two-hour drive was worth it just for the food.
Dad paid the bill, and we all piled in his Excursion, but as I was starting to buckle, I discovered I left something. “I need to run back in. I forgot to grab my pen.”
“I’ll go get it.” Dad reached for his seat belt, but I had already jumped down and told him I’d be fast.
“Hurry up!” Piper yelled. Her excitement to go to the cabin had replaced her annoyance from earlier.
I started to run, and in my haste, I wasn’t paying attention, so when I rounded the front of the vehicle, I didn’t see the guy who’d just got out of the truck parked next to us and crashed right into him. Full-body, full-speed collision.
I almost fell, but his reflexes were quick, and he grabbed me by the arms and held me up. And when I tipped my head back, my glasses sliding down my nose, I felt my face burning. He was by far the hottest boy I’d ever seen… He looked like a model or a movie star with his killer eyes, black hair, and tanned skin. The worn jeans and cowboy boots did nothing but add to his appeal. I suddenly didn’t know how to breathe, but even through the lack of oxygen flowing in and out of my lungs, I still managed to smell him, and I knew instantly that I’d never forget that mysteriously sexy scent.
“Whoa there, you okay?” He held me strong and steady, and bent at his knees to look at me, but that made it worse. The deep, dark, soulful depths of his brown eyes spoke to me in a way nothing or nobody else ever had, and it was like time was completely frozen. “Hey. You all right?”
“Baby, you okay?” My dad’s voice registered, but I couldn’t take my fixed stare off the stranger who still held me up on my own two feet. “Mind gettin’ your hands off my daughter, man?”
“I would if she could stand on her own.”
Dad grabbed my chin and turned me to face him. “You hurt?”
I finally snapped out of it with my father’s concern. “No, I’m fine. Fine… uh, I’m good.” I regrettably put some distance between the guy and me, and he let me go, but the tips of his fingers ghosted down my bare arms as he did, and I felt tingly sparks in their wake. “Sorry I ran into you. I forgot something inside, and we’re in a hurry, and I didn’t see you, so… sorry again.” I apologized lamely. That was awful. So embarrassing. I wanted to die. Right then and there, I wanted a sinkhole to swallow me up.
“No worries.” He swooped his arm out in front of him. “After you.”
“After me what?”
My dad chuckled. “You forgot your pen inside, Frankie.”
“Right.” I bit my lip and dropped my head, completely mortified. I got to the door and was just about to pull it open when a hand wrapped over mine and halted my movement… and the beat of my heart.
“I’ve got it.”
I felt him behind me, smelled him, but still peeked over my shoulder, and at that angle, he managed to add a different dimension on the hot scale. “Thanks.”
“No problem, Gracie.” He tugged it open, and I darted inside without correcting him about my name.
I got to the table where the waitress was cleaning it off, and she reached into her pocket. “Forget this?” she asked, holding out my pen.
With a grin, I took it from her and held it to my chest. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Take care, hope to see you again soon.”
“You will.” I turned around and made it to the door without incident, but as I was walking out, I glanced over to see him sitting at the table with those other guys, and he watched me with a smirk on his face.
He winked at me, and I nibbled on my lip, then rushed outside before I embarrassed myself even further. When I got to my seat, I slammed the door and then looked up to see three sets of eyes all staring at me. My dad’s were not amused, my mother’s were sparkling, and my sister’s were dancing. “What?”
“Nothing,” Dad grumbled and turned around while my mom reached back and patted my leg. Piper giggled, and I pretended to be bored with her antics, but really, I looked out the window again, hoping to catch another glimpse of him.
Unfortunately, I didn’t, and we drove to the cabin. After we’d unpacked, we played a couple of board games and roasted marshmallows before we went to our room to get some sleep.
My sister and I were lying on our beds across from each other. I was drawing in my journal, and she was texting, but we were both forced to listen to our parents laughing from their room next door. “Gross.” Piper walked over to the TV and turned it on, not caring what was playing as long as the noise drowned them out.
She grabbed her phone and grinned from ear to ear, then typed something out before setting it back down and facing me. “Okay, now that we’re alone, can we talk about how hot that cowboy was?”
I couldn’t hide my smile when I thought about him. I actually hadn’t stopped thinking about him since I ran into him. “So cute.”
“Cute? Girl, there was nothing cute about him. He was hot.” She sat up and crossed her legs. “And he couldn’t stop staring at you.”
“No way.” I shook my head. “I made a fool of myself, and he was looking at me like I was an idiot.”
“You didn’t see him.”
I was the one who sat up then. “See him when?”
“When you went to get your pen and were talking to the waitress. He sat down at a table but didn’t take his eyes off you the entire time.”
I was only there a minute. Besides, I didn’t believe her. “You’re lying.”
“Why would I lie?”
“Because no guys look at me like that.”
She actually gasped. “Why would you say that?”
“I’m a nerd.”
“Yeah, but you’re a pretty nerd, and he obviously thought so because he couldn’t stop staring at you.” She pulled the blanket over her legs and picked at the material.
I shrugged but still didn’t believe her. “Whatever.” Just thinking about that gooey feeling I got when he was touching me caused my neck to start getting warm.
“Oh my God, look at you.” She jumped off her bed and came over to mine. “You’re so red. You totally like him.”
“I don’t even know him. How can I like him?”
“How can you not?” She grabbed my hands. “He’s tall and muscular with dark eyes—”
“He smelled so good.” I cut her off. “His eyes, God, you should have seen them up close. They were like coffee just before you swirl the creamer around… those splashes of brown streaked in with the black.”
She bounced up and down. “We so have to find him again.”
“No way.”
“Yes way.”
The thought of seeing him caused a scorching chill to race up my spine, and I shook my head. “Not that I want to, but how would we even do that?”
“He was driving a truck that said Ryder Ranch on the side.”
“What does that matter? We can’t just ask Dad to drive there so we can snoop around to find him.”
“We both have our licenses,” she countered. “We can take a little trip of our own.”
My jaw dropped. “There’s no way Dad would let us go off alone. And even if we did and we found him, what would I say to him?” The idea of seeing him again made my heart pound in a nauseating way, and I sucked in a breath that burned my throat. “No, no way. We can’t do anything about it, Piper. I’m serious.”
“Okay, okay, relax.” She squeezed my arms, calming me as I slowly sucked in air through my nose and released it through my lips. “We won’t do anything now, but when we get home, we’re going to look some stuff up on the internet and see what we can find.”
Her phone beeped, and she practically dived onto her bed. I went back to my journal, which wasn’t really a journal. Not only did I write in it but I drew in it as well. And right then, I wanted to finish up the portrait of my mystery guy while his face was still fresh in my mind… even though if I didn’t draw him right then and there, I’m pretty sure I’d have remembered his face forever.
CHAPTER 2
Wilder
“We’ve got a trail ride today at eleven.” My brother Maverick informed me as we were eating breakfast at the kitchen table.
I dropped my spoon into my bowl with a clatter, and milk splashed out. “Another one?” I was not a fan of those guided rides we offered, mainly because it entailed me being forced to talk, and I hated wasting my time having pointless conversations with people I would never see again in my life. It just figured that the one girl I wanted to talk to, I couldn’t.
Frankie. I couldn’t stop thinking about her and how damn cute she was. After I watched her drive away, I wished I’d had the guts to ask for her number. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen a girl so pretty—klutzy but pretty as heck. She obviously wasn’t from Warrenville because I’d have known who she was, but I was hoping maybe she and her family were moving here and I’d see her again. A bunch of new houses were going up on the other side of town, so hopefully, she’d be at school this fall.
I shook my head to rid it of the thoughts of the girl from yesterday as Mav kept talking. “Yes, another one. And Dad won’t be able to do it, so it’s me and you again.”
“Why can’t you do it?” I asked my other brother Hunter, accusing him with the tone of my voice that he somehow lied to get out of it.
“Because I’m running fence on the east pasture today, and Dad said that you two were doing it.”
My little sister volunteered, “I’ll do it for you.”
“You’re too young, Molls.” Maverick squashed her idea and didn’t leave room for argument.
“Wilder’s not that much older than I am,” she argued. “It’s because I’m a girl, isn’t it?”
Mav didn’t respond to her question, but she knew the answer. Molly pouted as she slunk down in her seat. She was our baby sister, so we tried our best to protect her any way we could. Even though she made it difficult by always getting herself into trouble and doing dangerous things.
Our mom walked into the kitchen and glanced around at her kids as we all said good morning to her.
She sighed when she didn’t see Dad and offered us a tired smile. “Where’s your father?”
“He had to deal with a breach,” Mav answered as he dumped more Wheaties into his bowl.
She poured herself a cup of coffee and held the mug in her hands. “I see. Can I get either of you something other than cereal for breakfast?”
“No thanks, I’m good,” I told her, and the rest of my siblings all replied with something similar. We finished up, said goodbye to our mom, and then went to work.
